The day Arzhen was born happened to usher in the heaviest thunderstorm the wolf tribe had ever witnessed. The larger males maintained their animal forms, guarding at the entrance of the cave. Their eyes searching in the dark and dreary night for any threat that may lurk outside.
Inside the cave, a woman's scream echoed along the walls. A few women surrounded her, caressing her hair and reassuring her in low voices.
One of the older women knelt between her legs, urging her to continue pushing. After what seemed like hours the exhausted woman managed to force the child out.
The old woman held the child, but as she was about to announce the sex of the baby, she noticed something strange. Even in the pitch black darkness of the cave. The old woman's vision was not hindered in the slightest. She saw that the child she held had both a penis and a vagina.
Shocked by the finding, the woman quickly called for the witch doctor of the tribe. The women that had noticed something was wrong, started voicing their concerns, which made the new mother become anxious,thinking there was something wrong with the child.
The witch doctor was a woman that looked much older than the midwife who held the newborn child. She listened to the midwife's words and looked at the child, her eyebrows tightening.
"Monster."
And just like that the newborn child's fate was sealed. The child did not cry from start to finish. Staring at the group of women that had changed the previously worried faces into those of disgust and resentment.
Her eyes flickered over the woman said to be her mother, but she only saw guilt and remorse. The child knew that her mother would not speak up for her. The witch doctor took the child along the winding paths of the cave, she didn't hesitate for a moment. Bypassing the guarding males and reaching the entrance to the cave, the witch doctor looked down at the child one last time, a hint of pity flashing past her dull eyes, before she threw the child from the cave.
The child felt the weightlessness and knew that she was in danger. She quickly began to transform, and by the time she reached the bottom of the shallow cliff she had taken on her wolf form. However she was not uninjured. The harsh rain pelted against the pitiful little cub. Her eyes looked up but she could only see the rain drops continuously hitting her bloody little body. Knowing that she couldn't stay any longer, she struggled to her feet and limped into the forest, trying to find some shelter.
She continued forth for hours, never finding a suitable place to shelter. Knowing that she was at her limit she had no choice but to curl up at the root of an ancient tree, trying to curl her broken little body up to resist the cold wind and the ceaseless rain.
When the child woke up she found that the rain hadn't ended, but luckily she had a little bit of energy after sleeping for a while. She continued forward along the route that she had chosen,seeing the trees starting to dwindle and the rock walls becoming more pronounced, she had seemingly entered into a valley.
Watching the injured little cub limping into the seemingly nefarious valley, anyone that saw it would think that the cub would have no chance of living. But that cub was like no other. With a cunning that even a fox would envy, she would manage to survive in this valley until the day she became an adult.
At first Arzhen was forced to run at every step. Her injuries took a long time to heal due to the continuous danger she was faced with. Relying on eating bugs and insects to survive since she hadn't yet grown her teeth. The inhabitants of the valley hadn't opened their intelligence and couldn't become human, which proved to be a great benefit for Arzhen. She used her agile body and quick mind to avoid death time and time again.
As the years passed and she became bigger and stronger, she could change from feeding on bugs, to hunting small rodents and snakes. This became one of the times she would regret her overconfidence. When she was bitten by a venomous snake which led to a vicious scuffle that left the snake dead and the young Arzhen paralysed on the verge of dying herself.
She remained in that position, breathing weakly for days. The pain in her body made her feel as if she was being torn apart. With just the idea that she could not concede defeat, she ate the already rotting remains of the snake,dragging herself back to her little shelter,and falling asleep without knowing if she'd ever wake up again.
Perhaps luck is watching over her. After who knows how long, the cub's eyes opened. She felt that her throat was incredibly hoarse, her body ached from remaining in the same position for so long. Lapping up some of the water that flowed down the rocks of her shelter she knew that she had survived. It was from that time that she started to transform to her human form when encountering snakes. Choosing to use tools to kill them instead of allowing herself to get bitten.
This method would prove useful many more times in her childhood. She would learn to use the terrain to her advantage, leading stronger predators into enclosed spaces where they could only be slowly exhausted to death. Arzhen's skill in hunting grew better with age. Her body that had been nourished by protein since birth grew to a frightening degree. Her wolf form so large that she could no longer shelter in the crevasses of the valley and had to choose an open area as her home. Her human form also underwent noticeable changes. The years of constant running and hunting have left her body shredded. Scars lining the bronze skin, proof of her countless victories. The muscles that adorned her body showing off the young woman's unfathomable strength. Looking at her age that had only reached the beginning of puberty, it was clear to see that she would be a terrifying existence when she reached adulthood.