Dark paws a deep shade of blue like the rolling of ocean waves padded at a fast pace through the dense undergrowth, the ground speckled with alternating light spots as the sunlight filtered through the tree leaves. The fox's wide cherry blossom hued eyes flickered around, as if searching for something that was hidden in the air. The rest of their face was shrouded by a thick black cloak that draped over their shoulders and down their back.
A faded silver symbol of an eye with a crescent pupil was embellished on the back of the hood, as well as on the silver clasp that connected the strips of fabric in front of their throat. One thing about this mysterious fox was clear. They were running from something. A large rustling in the bushes behind them sent the fox scrambling forward out of instinct, away from whatever lurked inside the depths of the concealing green leaves. Whatever it was chasing the fox leapt out onto the clearing, where they could see it properly for the first time.
The fox stared at the huge canine creature. A word came to mind. An old word. A terrible word. One that shot fear through even the most brave of foxes.
Direwolf.
She pulled back her hood. A lone direwolf she could take, and she might be able to fight them off if another one showed up, but direwolves don't travel alone. They travel in packs. They always travel in packs.
She bounded away through the forest, racing the bracken landscape, her muscles carrying her past mounds of dirt and over long ago fallen trees. She heard heavy breathing behind her and whipped her head around for a moment. And slammed right smack into a tree. She fell back and sprawled on the ground.
She heard gruff voices, calling in a throaty growl that she didn't understand. Closer. They were getting closer. She needed to move, fast, unless she wanted to end up as tonight's feast at whatever place the direwolves had made their camp.
Groaning, she struggled to her paws. The cape had slipped off of her back, revealing the brown and green fur underneath. She touched a blue paw to her forehead. It wasn't bleeding, but there might have been some internal damage.
Concussion, maybe?
They were close, too close. She sat and pulled herself up against the trunk of the tree, just as the pack of direwolves leapt out in her clearing. One charged straight at her. Quick as a flash, she removed a dagger from her leg sheaths and stuck it into the spot where it's chin met it's neck. A small spurt of blood escaped from it's open maw and it sank to the ground, dead.
Another direwolf roared and several ran straight for her. With one paw she ripped off her necklace, crushing the small delicate chip shaped like a crescent moon between her claws , the other removing several small discs from the pouch around her neck and spinning as many at the oncoming direwolves as she could. She caught four on the throats with the silver discs, but more came.
There were too many. Any second now, a direwolf would rip out her throat, stamp on her head, lacerate her stomach, or whatever horrible fate they surely had planned for her. A rough paw closed around her neck before she could stop it.
Goodbye, Evergreen.
She closed her eyes.
"Well well, Sakura," a smooth voice hissed from not too far away. "This is quite a predicament. How cute."
Sakura looked up. A large black fox, about the size of the direwolves, stood holding a small white stone a couple yards away from her. One of the direwolves growled at her.
Sakura pointed a claw at her throat. A choking noise escaped her throat.
"Oh, yes. I forgot. How silly of me," the black fox said, her purple eyes tuning an icy shade of teal. One of the direwolves growled at her and leapt. She grabbed it by the neck mid-leap, tilting her head to catch it's gaze.
"They say the eyes are the windows to the soul, you know," she whispered to the direwolf in her claws. It struggled against her grip, but she showed no signs of getting fainter. Her eyes flashed. A gray tinge began to rapidly spread along the direwolf's back, stemming outward from the tail and marching towards its head.
The direwolf scrabbled and scratched at Nemesis' paw desperately with it's claws, until the stony mask consumed it's head and the grey shrouded its eyes. A single tear rolled down the rocky cheek. She dropped the stone wolf to the ground, where parts of it snapped off as it crashed to the ground.
The black fox turned to the other direwolves. "I will give you all the chance to keep your worthless lives-"
The direwolves ran to her, as if they were ready to tear her limb from limb. Her eyes turned a bloody red. Sakura turned away. A moment later, the grip on her throat released and warmth sprayed her face. She got up slowly, trying not to look at the ground. Limping, she made her way to the other fox.