I can't write fighting to save my life so this was definitely a struggle
...
A whisper of the wind brushes past trees and stirs fragile snow and she freezes. Stands still as a statue only meant to admire, not a breath leaves her lungs as she waits for something she's not sure of until it's so very clear.
There is no heartbeat. No beating drum that makes it impossible to turn away.
After a moment, a long drawn out moment as the voices grow softer and softer, she finally takes a step. Slow and cautious but she can't ignore that her curiosity grows, the need that tugs at her chest grows. She ignores the absence of a sound that pulls her in with just as much strength.
And even though a part of her knows that realization is somehow wrong, unnatural, she doesn't turn away, she doesn't pause in uncertainty for long. She can't leave the unknown as it is, walks away, and not think about everything that's right in front of her.
She can't, not when she knows without a doubt, with every fiber of her being that the faint scent of summer will not lead her astray. So she continues, steps slow and eyes sharp as she walks without a sound.
Past the trees that don't mind the cold, the plants that choose to grow in defiance, and the snowflakes that fall around her. Past the rushing wind and crowding clouds as they swallow the sunlight.
The urge to run grows stronger with every step, to throw caution to the wind and run towards a heart that no longer beats, towards the smell of home and heat and familiarity.
She wants it, aches for it.
The wind shifts and a flicker of movement causes her to freeze, pause in alert, and eyes the shade of the dark side of the moon scan the landscape around her. Every muscle tense in anticipation as she lowers slightly in a crouch that comes naturally.
It doesn't take long to pinpoint the source, a movement so small she could have easily missed it if she wasn't looking for it. A twitch of a furry ear the color of snow; eyes the shade of tree bark stare back at her as she squints at the small animal.
A young hare stares her down, it's breathing quick and heart beating wildly as she watches. She stares into eyes that are not human until she blinks and the hare rushes off and disappears from sight.
She ignores her curiosity on where the small animal is going even though her eyes linger on where it vanished behind a large tree. The wind whistles past her as she rises and takes another step, her feet barely sinking into the snow before she takes another.
The growing need that has settled in her chest tugs her forward, another promise that she can't ignore.
When she draws close enough to hear the sounds of a conversation she still knows nothing about, she slows her steps, lingering back behind trees in caution.
A simple glance from her hiding spot, one meant to be quick is anything but, she freezes again with the sight of two blonde women having a conversation that has caused them to pause. The tone sounds like an argument, one the taller blonde is winning by the looks of it.
Two women, and not a beat of a heart between them.
She inhales on reflex, curiosity, and her eyes flutter close at the intensity of it. And she swears she drowns, in the heat of it, the familiarity.
Bergamot and leather mix together so well that there is nothing else that can compare, nothing can beat it in her mind.
A yelp of surprise pulls her up enough that she can surface and open her eyes, she blinks and cocks her head to the side as the shorter blonde laughs at the taller one who is now sprawled out on the ground, disturbed snow littering her clothes.
A snarl escapes the taller blonde as she leaps up and pushes her companion to the ground but the other blonde doesn't get up right away, she's still laughing.
She doesn't have a plan, doesn't know what will happen from this minute to the next.
But she does know that the sensitivity in her canines and the burning ache lining her jaw only grows the longer the day draws on. Involuntary, she scrunches her nose and lets out a small growl of discomfort.
She runs two fingers along her jaw as if that will ease the tension, hoping it does. Even when it doesn't.
The clouds grow bolder as they hide the view of the sun, the sky darkening to a soft grey and if she didn't know any better, as if she couldn't smell it before it even rolled in, she'd have thought that a storm was coming.
An annoyed scoff between the two blondes pulls her view from the sky, her eyes dancing between the women in curiosity.
Trailing behind them has been challenging, any noise she makes, even by accident calls their attention and she doesn't dare move. Until she hears the sounds of fading footsteps, and then she's careful as she follows. Slow in her steps and gaze sharp in caution.
She lingers behind a tree, fingers digging into the worn and breaking bark as she suppresses the urge to climb up. Knowing that the snow covering the branches would do nothing to help her stealth.
The wind shifts, a wolf howls and she glances just a moment at where the sound is the loudest, the slight breeze brushing past her and startling her hair enough to move it to rest in front of her shoulders.
She blinks against the ghost of the touch against her skin and when she glances back towards the two blondes, she's met with their absence. Not even fresh footprints give away where they went off to.
She frowns as the hairs on the back of her neck rise and her eyes dance in search of the two who now have the upper hand. She listens to the sounds surrounding her, the sway of tree branches, the fall of snow, the faint sound of wings flapping, the scurrying of a rabbit, a twig snapping.
A twig snapping.
She turns on reflex but she's too slow. A blur of movement rushes in and she's flying from the force that connects with her.
White explodes around her as she hits the ground with a sound that echoes. Followed by a weight pressing her down, pinning her where she landed.
Baring her teeth, she hisses in surprise and fury. She ignores the snarl coming from the blonde pinning her down as she twists her body, fights the weight against her.
With a strength she didn't know she possessed, she pushes against the blonde and the momentum sends her attacker flying.
There is barely a millisecond before she's on her feet but she doesn't attack, something in her hesitates and a growl vibrates in her chest echoing her frustration at her confliction.
She wants to rush after the blonde, slam her against a tree and watch it shatter. She wants to tear her limb from limb, and she wants to sink her teeth into unblemished flesh and break her.
She wants to, everything in her wants to but she's hesitating and her frustration only grows with every second because she doesn't know why.
Her gaze is trained on where she knows the blonde landed, the echo of the sound knocking around in her head, taunting her. She releases a growl through clenched teeth as she blinks against such strong emotions, the urge to breathe increases but she refuses.
She doesn't want to relax, to be soothed by the scent of bergamot and summer she just knows lingers in the air around her.
A whisper of a breeze against her skin is warning enough and right as the other blonde rushes at her, she steps out of the way and ducks just in time to miss a lightning fast fist heading straight for her face. She hisses in warning, her rage growing.
The blonde, with her wavy hair and fur-lined jacket, doesn't waste another second as she rushes in again.
This time there is no uncertainty, no inner battle, no hesitation. She charges, a growl ripping from her throat. Fueled only by rage and instinct she collides with the blonde in milliseconds.
In the blur of movement of the two ripping and tearing at each other she finds a weakness, a small slip up of confidence and pride. She finds it and zeros in, baring her teeth she lunges when given an opportunity.
Slamming the blonde on the ground with her force she bites down on the first thing she can reach, the smooth slope of a shoulder. Every ounce of strength goes into her jaw as she sinks her teeth in. She bites and with a deep satisfaction hears a crack like breaking glass, feels the porcelain skin give under her teeth.
She doesn't let go. Not when a scream erupts so close to her ears, not when the blonde struggles with a newfound strength underneath her. Not even when hands grab fistfuls of her hair and yank, the force pulling her backward. She doesn't let go.
"Get her off! God damn it, get her off of me!" The blonde's words are sharp and laced with an enraged growl vibrating through her chest. She's pushed and pulled but she only clamps down harder in retaliation. She's not going to budge. She refuses.
In one split second, her teeth sink deeper and she feels the crack as if it's settled deep into her jaw. One more forceful tug pulls her backward and she slams into the blonde behind her. Both flying from the force.
She doesn't have time to think before the both of them hit the ground hard, the sound echoing in the quiet forest around them. With an involuntary growl, she spits out the chunk of flesh in her mouth, a grimace on her face as she licks her lips.
There's barely enough time for her to blink as she sits up before an arm wraps around her neck. Pressure is applied as a warning growl in the chest pressed against her back grows in strength, as legs wrap around her ribs and squeeze.
A snarl escapes past her lips as her panic grows with the passing seconds. She struggles, vibrates with irritation and outrage but nothing she does knocks the blonde off of her.
"Easy kitten." The words are soft and smooth, low in a whisper yet so close to her ear, lightly traced with the rumble of a growl vibrating in the blonde's chest. "Once you stop fighting I might let you go."
"No! Don't you dare Kate!" The other blonde, the one she took a chunk out of barks out the words and she can't help the indescribable need to do it again.
She doesn't get a chance to even think about how satisfying it would be to sink her teeth in again before the blonde wrapped around her tightens her grip. Her growing growl tapers off as a pained whine escapes her lips without permission. She feels like she's seconds from breaking under the blonde's strength.
"Feisty kitten." Kate, she now knows her name, says with slight amusement as if the knowledge pleases her.
"She fucking bit me! Do not let her go!" The blonde who's still laying on the ground hisses out, if she hadn't spoken one would have thought her dead.
But dead she is not as she pushes herself into a sitting position and glares daggers at the newborn.
Onyx eyes are pulled in like a magnet to the wound that leaks a steady clear fluid that glistens from the brightness of the snow around them. There is obviously a chunk of her flesh missing, a deep ragged dip where she broke the piece off. It looks nasty, ugly, and very painful.
"Not very nice kitten." The tall blonde mutters under her breath as she slowly gets to her feet. Eyes glancing around for the piece of missing flesh. "You're the one who got cocky Irina," Kate releases a tease but clamps her mouth shut as she receives a death glare in return.
"Why didn't you just zap her? You have plenty of opportunities!" Irina release a grow of indignant as she catches sight of where the newborn left a piece of her shoulder.
"Don't you think I tried! I can't."