((And finally, I start ReBirth! There are some similarities to Anzels story, I'm sorry :C but GoldenWinged had been a character in my stories for a while now. Hope you dont mind. ^^;;))

She had been running for what seemed like hours, and she couldn't stop. Her chest hurt as it heaved for more air. Her legs ached, threatening to collapse underneath her. But she couldn't stop, lest she suffer a gruesome demise.

Her pursuers were laughing derisively, nipping at her heels. They showed no sign of fatigue in their twisted black faces, no sign of remorse in their cold grey eyes.

Heat lightning cracked the sky overhead a bone dry forest. It was getting dark, and GoldenWinged could barely make out anything ahead of her, unable to judge whether shadows were living or inanimate, or shadows that would harm her or drive her pursuers away.

The unforgiving surface of a tree nearly knocked her unconscious as she ran headlong into it. Slightly dazed, she tried to run around it but to no avail. She had run into a hollow part of a large old tree. She was cornered, and they had caught up to her. Two or three black figures entered the tree's cove, pacing in a half circle around her, chuckling in low tones, mumbling amongst themselves.

"What do you want with me?!" GoldenWinged yelled frantically at the figures, brilliant golden eyes darting around for any way to escape. She had to get out of here. She had just birthed a healthy litter of pups, and they would die without her. She had just went on a routine hunt, when this band of wolves showed up, and chased her. And now she was going to die in this hollow tree in a lonely part of the forest unless she could find an opening for escape.

Suddenly a strange light began to grow on the bark walls of the tree. A rather large, emaciated looking wolf walked silently, slowly into the cove. In his maw was a stick, lit with fire at the end. The dancing flames cast an eerie light on his face, making his angular features more lurid and unearthly. But as much light that could cover his face, it never touched the cold emptiness of his grey irises.

"I do not want much... but to hear you scream." the wolf said in a gravelly, dry voice. His mouth curled into a smile around the glowing fire-stick.

"Why are you doing this to me?!" GoldenWinged screamed, on the edge of a panic attack. Her voice, raw and dripping with fear, seemed to make the males twisted smile edge up his crooked maw and the laughing around him to grow. The males cold eyes scanned her delicate wolven frame, dark earth tones with golden fringes on her neck fur and face.

"Because you're here, pretty lady." The shadowed wolf drawled. The other dark figures began to draw towards him, each with a stick in their jaws. They set their sticks in the flickering flame, and drew out with each stick alight.
GoldenWinged was frantic now. Deciding it was now or never, she dashed toward a small gap between the wolves, but was thrown back faster than she could react, their laughs loud and echoing in her head. Fire-sticks dropped, and fire quickly consumed the dry foliage at an alarming rate. GoldenWinged screamed, choking on the smoke filling the hole. The flames soon licked the walls of the tree, and the heat became almost unbearable. A wall of roaring fire kept her from escaping, as well as the thought that those wolves could be just on the other side. She couldn't tell anymore, the smoke was thick and burned her eyes.

She stumbled forward, trying to escape, but the heat itself singed her fur and she could not move. Dizziness overtook her and she collapsed, her vision beginning to fade. Coughing, she tried to get up, to escape. She thought she saw a way out. From her dark blurred vision, through the white-hot flames, she saw dawn... but that didn't make sense... the moon had just rose. Searing burning pain overtook her and numbed. She flung a paw out, clawing the earth in vain. This dawn grew brighter, suddenly making her content, even though she was burning to death. It paralyzed her. She could move no more. The light was suddenly extinguished and her vision faded to black, and the last thought that flitted in her dying mind was her children.

~*~*~*~

Her own screaming woke her up from a sound sleep. She gasped, looking around an unfamiliar, quiet forest.
It must have been a nightmare, she thought with relief.
She went to get up to gain her bearings, but her body felt unnatural. Her ligaments weren't working the same, and she was not as tall as she used to be. Now that she was fully awake, she felt other differences in her anatomy too. Her face wasn't elongated anymore. Her fur was shorter, and dappled, and the long, golden hued tail she once had was shortened to a fluffy stub. She stood on wobbly legs, and looked down. By God, she was a fawn!

She turned on the spot, looking frantically around for anything familiar in this strange forest. And in fact, there was nothing. She could not smell anything but other deer. And even stranger, there was not a whiff of a predator or the kind she used to be... or was she?

Already, her life, as if it were all a dream, was slipping away like rainwater trickling off of leaves. She knew she was a wolf... but... who was she? How did she get here? It seemed as she took in more of this enchanting forest, it pushed out the old memories of her past life.
She parted her mouth, deciding to do what was only natural to her, in a life long gone. She wanted to let out a howl, her feminine, high howl, but all that came out was the loud sound of a lamb.
She stopped in mid-call, confused. What was she?

And now, colored lights had begun to fall from the sky. She stood, transfixed at them floating peacefully down and dissapearing before they touched the ground. Where was she?

She laid down again, curling up into a ball and trembling. She did not understand this world, or why she was in this new body, why she was dead, but still alive.

----

((lol there goes my story. I'll try and keep it updated. This was fun to do. 8D))


[Edit] Nothing new. Just a correction. >>