Cassia and Huck ran towards the open doors as fast they could. Huck, normally quite fast, was clearly struggling and Cassia was worried for him. She glanced over her shoulder as they ran and saw him behind her. Gaining on him there was now a light golden lion followed a ways behind by an identical one and a few other animals. "Close the doors!" someone yelled and Cassia looked back in front of her in time to see the heavy wooden doors starting to creep closed again. She lowered her head and pushed herself faster. Faster! If the doors closed Huck would never get out. Not to mention she would be trapped on the prison grounds and be left to wait for the what ever punishment the King declared fair for her. A King with very little mercy.
Something caught Cassia's eye from above as she ran and she looked up in time to see an enormous tiger leaping down from the high wall towards them, teeth flashing white in the torch light. She skidded and threw a paw up, razor sharp claws extended, and it caught the tiger across the face, throwing off the direction of his leap and causing him to land on his side instead of his feet. He rolled away with a roar of anger, pawing at his gashed face. Huck had passed her now and Cassia tore off after him, the first of the lions now on her heels. Her heart was pounding as she saw the doors were almost closed. Huck seemed to push himself and gained some speed, making it through the opening, only catching his shoulders on the wood and making him stumble. But he was outside now. Cassia pushed her leopard limbs as hard as she could and managed to scramble through the opening, thanking the gods for once for her small size which was normally such a burden. The wood caught her hips making her fall and roll forward like a somersault before she came to a stop and jumped back to her feet. Panting she took a moment to watch as the doors slammed closed behind her.
Thankfully, Huck hadn't stopped or slowed down to wait for her. Normally she was the one needing protecting and taking care of but for once things were reversed. Cassia couldn't stop herself from feeling a little proud of being able to get this man out of jail and now on his way to freedom. Gods knew he had saved her many times before. She owed him at least this. Even as she watched him run ahead of her though she could tell he was slowing down again. Behind them came the creaking sound of the wooden doors as the men behind the wall hurried to crank them back open. A mixture of angry roars and animal sounds came from the other side and she winced imaging the full power of all them coming down on she and Huck. Alexi and Beck alone, two enormous lions, could make quick work of an injured wolf and any animal Cassia managed to shift into. That was if she even had time to shift before they got to her.
Cassia caught up to Huck just as she began to feel the moisture in the night air, hear the rushing water, and smell the river. Knowing they were so close renewed Huck's energy as he pushed forward, panting as he ran. Cassia dashed ahead of him and got to the riverbank first. Without waiting, she immediately began to shift into the only animal she had actually planned for. By the time Huck caught up the leopard was gone, replaced by a light grey polar bear holding a sack in her jaws she had pulled from behind a bush where she had left it earlier. Huck looked past her at the river. It was fall and there had been a lot of rain so it was swollen from its banks, rushing so loud you couldn't hear the person next to you talking above it. At that moment an uprooted tree rushed by, plunging under the water for a time before appearing again a ways downstream.
Huck met Cassia's eyes and shook his head. Cassia paused, surprised, then nodded hard. He shook his head again with more force and took a step back on unsteady legs. A roar came from the distance then and made the decision for him. Cassia turnedaway and stepped into the freezing water. As a polar bear, the temperature was muffled by the fur and thick hide. That had been part of the reason she'd chosen this animal for her shift. She waded out into the water up to around the middle of her legs but already felt the strength of the current begin to push her down river. She glanced over at Huck and lowered herself down. The black wolf stepped into the water and scrambled onto her back. Cassia tossed her head back, letting the thick straps from the bag circle her neck. Huck locked them in his jaws and awkwardly tried to keep hold of her. Cassia knew this wasn't safe but it was all they had. There was no other way the two of them could escape. From the woods, a howl came so close the hairs on her neck stood up and Huck's head jerked in the direction it had come from, eyes wide. There was no time to wait or try to think of a better plan. If they were going to go they needed to go now. She glanced back at the woods one last time, just in time to see the two matching lions, her brothers, break through the tree line. Cassia turned back and plunged into the deep, dark, icy river.