[=gray]It all wound down with a bang… well; actually more like several... then months of the insistent beeping of a heart rate monitor in a coma patient room. The mechanical and generally artificial sounds had eventually faded away into the lively song of birds and natural background noise of leaves rustling in whispering wind. The humming of dragonfly wings and symphony of croaking frogs, the occasional splash of a playful frog leaping into the depths, made for a strong contrast to the unnatural voices of the past: Rapid gunfire, humming machines, whining air vents, coughing patients waiting for medicine, and the ravings of madmen in every asylum... The air, so pure and unpolluted, minus the occasional scents of blood and smoke, made a grand alternative to the 'sanitized' air pumped into governmental buildings and every hospital, and the toxic over cloud of every city. One thing that seems to remain unchanged, however, is the stars.
Vibrant and clear in the untainted sky, they are countless in their numbers and arrangements. Perhaps, here they are more vibrant than elsewhere... but then again, most are hidden from view by the city lights. There are no artificial lights here... only the pure glow of the stars to guide the way at night.


And yet, this new world is no heaven. Not for a deer who was once so much more.
Not even close. Even though there is so much beauty, there is still the consuming ugliness and despair. It's not hell, either... Perhaps, it is merely Purgatory... a gray zone between the two.

I open my eyes, and look over this purgatory world. The sun shines down on the surface of the lake, warming my gray fur even threw the cool, shallow water I so often sleep in. Under the glare of the suns reflection, I see the fuzzy and distorted images of the koi swimming just a few feet away. I can't help but recall how I once believed this part of the forest was pure, and free of death. The koi, the dragonflies... both had been here forever...

Charlotte threw herself back again the wall, pain shot through her whole body. A drumming beat filled her head and she screamed, the pain banging on her ribs and itching across her skin. How long could she stand it? The the light of the full moon shone through the window, it touched her sweating skin and she yelled louder.
Sharp, black claws pierced through the flesh of her fingers and curled outwards over her growing hands, her hands were beggining to be covered in black fur and were turning into giant club-like paws.
Her arms and chest bulged with muscle, her shoulders becoming broader. The air was filled with cracking noises as her bones snapped and reformed , her head tilted up to the roof of the old barn and she began to scream again. Her windpipe was ripped apart and reformed as her neck grew wider, her screaming was cut off and replaced with an in-human snarl.
Thick black fur sprouted from her pores and covered her sweating body, she felt overheated and uncomfortable by this. Her jaw snapped and half of her face began to portrude into a muzzle, the skin stretching over them. Thick, yellow fangs ripped through her gums replacing her human teeth and jutted out over her muzzle, the transformation was almost complete, her pelvis snapped and twisted causing her body to move into a crouch and her spine split apart and moved so she became more flexible. A yowl of pain and the beast stood on two legs. Its huge wolf head was dipped low and its eyes were squeezed shut against the pain.
Then they shot open.
Her eyes was a horrifying orange. They glimmered like fire and bruned like lava.
Her pupils widened and she threw her muzzle back and up, the black mane that was draped over her shoulders and chest rustled as she did so.
Charlotte opened her muzzle, revealing those huge yellow fangs and the cold eerie howl echoed through the sky and the night, the creatures cowered in fear and the humans prepared for what was coming...

Two kinds of trouble in this world,
Living... dying.
I lost my power in this world,
And the rumors are flying.
So I go insane,
Like I always do,
And I call your name,
She's a lot like you...
--Go Insane, Lindsey Buckingham

She remembered it all.

She remembered the crying, the crawling, the fleeing, the dying, the devouring.

She remembered standing over her starving sister, a strange, sick feeling twisting in her stomach, recognizing it as, “Helplessness.”

She remembered Mitea tackling her brother, Seven, as he tried to call out to their missing mother and father.

She remembered yelling, “Amaya, come on!” as the poor wolf cub tried in vain to make it to the den, before collapsing in a heap, Death’s hand lightly patting her, much like a parent offering affection to their offspring.

She remembered the ravaged look on the coyote’s face, as an easy meal was finally realized.

She remembered the way her mother and father cried out in agony at the news that they were minutes too late.

She remembered hearing the neighboring packs howling as well, her body rattling with yet another strange feeling, which she had recognized as “Sadness.”

So…why?

Why does she seem so cheery, so happy-go-lucky when her sister had passed just two days before? Surely, this wasn’t normal. Surely, she’s still grieving on the inside, the sounds and images fresh in her mind.

But the truth was…it was normal.

Well, to her, that is.

The pretty brown wolf cub, splotched in hues of white and black, much like her father, tilts her head quizzically, gazing out at the land that was collectively called Slough Creek. Perched on a pretty throne of rock that was the overhead of the den, she is a little queen in her own little space.

I am kind of new. I have been playing this game from a fawn till got an adult deer. but this is my first time in the forum so..Hi everyone!