MARSHALL POV:
For once I am glad to be a mixed wolf. In Hilraine I tended to run hot and needed to bathe daily. The guys liked to make fun of me for that, thinking that I was worried about my looks. I never felt the need to explain.
My mother told me that her and my uncle joined the tribe after getting separated from their family. She was from a northern wolf tribe that was nomadic and lived in cold climates. My uncle isn't her blood brother, but they became like siblings. They were alone in the wilderness and took care of each other. They migrated to the capital where they stayed for a bit before coming to Hilraine to be with other wolves.
My mother was of alpha blood and my father's tribe didn't have any alpha females. Long story short, they mated and we were all born.
No one talked about how we came from the north, and my mother didn't share much information about her past. To be fair, I was never really interested.
I am thankful that I got her wolf genes, if it weren't for my mixed blood then I wouldn't be able to keep Mika warm at night.
Keeping us warm and fed is a challenge in this climate. There are no trees, which is strange. I havn't seen a single animal either. It's as if this mountain has been deserted.
The wind kept blowing throughout the night and into the morning. We packed up quickly and took off. Mika and Ishi stayed right on my tail as they couldn't see though this blizzard. I led the way and they stayed close behind.
I have never traveled this way, and the 'path' that we started on had become less and less obvious. I felt like I was heading in the right direction but there was no way to tell. Clearly no one has used this path in a long time.
We traveled for 4 days like this, heading in one direction and hoping it was correct. We all snuggled together at night to keep warm. Due to the snow storm I havn't been able to cook us a decent meal. We have been eating the scraps from the space. We are quickly running out of food though.
We were finally at the top of the mountain, we would have to travel another 2 days at least before we could start to descend towards the capital.
I stopped abruptly when I heard a noise in the distance.
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MIKA POV:
Ishi and I were both miserable in this cold weather. The blizzard has gone on for 4 days already! We were cold and hungry and miserable.
She and I were right behind Marshall, following in his footsteps, when he suddenly stopped. I bumped into his back and Ishi bumped into me.
Marshalls ears twitched and he seemed to be on alert. Neither Ishi nor I sensed anything, however we weren't made for this climate, we were bundled in our layers of clothing to hide from the blizzard.
"What's wrong?" I whispered to Marshall, Ishi was clinging to my back to hide from the blowing snow.
"Something is coming." He said.
Ishi immediately perked up and grabbed her spear. I grabbed my bow and arrow. Marshall remained perfectly still, scanning the area for the threat.
None of us could see though the blowing snow, but we all heard the call. It was deep, roaring sound that shook the ground beneath our feet. Something sounded pissed off.
We couldn't see anything, but I sensed that whatever it was had seen us and was closing in. My heart started racing and I felt icy cold fear grip me.
"What is it?" I asked, panicking. I've never heard sounds like that before.
"Where is it?" Ishi asked, squinting though the snow.
"I don't know. Stay alert." He said, prepared for a fight.
We held perfectly still while the ground around us began to shake.
BOOM.
BOOM.
BOOM.
BOOM.
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
It was picking up pace as it got closer. I readied my bow.
"On the left!" Marshall called out as he leaped ahead, tearing his clothes as his wolf tore out of him. I couldn't see that far into the blizzard but it sounded like a fight.
Ishi and I exchanged glances and held still. We couldn't see anything.
Then, Marshall came flying at us. He landed in the snow and skidded out at our feet. He had some deep claw marks on the side of his body that were bleeding. He got up, poised to attack again.
'Snow monster. It's big and strong. I'll distract it. Mika, stay back. Ishi, get on it's back if you can and drive the spear into it's neck.' Marshall said.
For some reason his wolf looked bigger than I remember.
I wanted to argue and say that I could help, but all I have is my bow. With the lack of visibility I would more than likely hit one of them rather than the snow beast.
Marshall ran off and Ishi wasn't far behind.
There was a myriad of sounds: I heard Marshall's wolf snarl, the snow monster roaring, Ishi growling and roaring. I wanted so badly to help. I couldn't even see what was happening. I was panicking and shivering in the snow, wishing with everything I had that I could just transform and help them in the battle.
Just what in the winter Wonderhell is going on out there?! More sounds erupted; each one of them were dealing as many blows as they took, from the sounds of it.
A sharp pain shot through my spine and down my tail. It was like being struck my lightening. The lump that had appeared was aching and causing more shooting pains. My stomach clenched from the pain.
I was worried about my friends, scared, and the intense pain shooting though me all combined to make me feel dizzy and nauseous.
'Not now!' I thought to myself. 'I can't be this useless!'
I don't want to pass out while my friends are fighting for our lives. I felt like the world was closing in on me and I was starting to lose control.
On instinct alone, I tossed my head back and shouted at the sky. However I didn't actually shout; a high pitched howl pierced the air and carried across the mountain. I felt my body explode; a burst of fire erupting from me and clearing the area around me. For a split second the snow cleared and I saw Marshall and Ishi working together to attack the beast.
It had the head of a ram, with slender pitch black eyes that didn't even reflect light. It had a gigantic body, shaped like a gorillas with a wide chest, huge forearms, and huge feet for traversing the snow. It was covered in gray/white hair and it's pitch black curled horns on it's head stood out.
It roared in pain as the fire touched it and ignited it's fur. Ishi was on it's back and Marshall was dangling from one of it's arms; they were completely unharmed by the flames.
The snow blocked my vision once again and everything became blurry. I finally vomited before falling down on the ground. In the distance I thought I saw the snow moving, but my vision blackened and I passed out.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ISHI POV:
'Stab it!' Marshall howled
"I'm trying! The damn thing keeps moving! Get it's arms!" I screamed back.
It would be easier if I could transform, but my leopard won't come out in this weather. She's been hibernating since the night that Mika and Marshall saved me from freezing.
I have no claws to hold on to this damned thing. I have my spear dug into it's shoulder and I'm holding on as best I can while it tries to throw me off. Marshall is already pretty beat up, but he isn't stopping.
He leaped up and latched onto it's arm. The monster grabbed Marshall with it's free arm and was about to pry him off. This is my chance! I removed my spear and was aiming for the back of it's neck. I heard some of Marshall's bones cracking as the monster gripped him.
Marshall, the monster, and I all froze when a desperate howl shook the mountain. Within seconds the snow cleared as a wall of flames shot towards us. I didn't even have a chance to block. The fire ignited the coat of this monster, but the flames didn't burn me. I was shocked.
'STAB IT!' Marshall called, jarring me out of my state of shock.
I quickly shoved the spear into the back of it's neck just as it threw me off. It flailed wildly, trying to put out the flames. Marshall jumped back and watched as the snow monster threw itself into the snow.
He leaped up, transforming into a naked man mid-air, and landed with both hands on the spear. He used the momentum from his fall to drive the spear deeply into the neck of the monster, finally killing it.
He didn't look too good, he had gashes all over his body, probably a few broken bones too. He tried to jump down but ended up falling over.
Without hesitation I ran over and helped him up, tossing his arm over my shoulder. He was half conscious as he muttered, "Mika. Something.. is… wrong…" He was cut off. He vomited blood, staining the pure white snow.
I half carried him, trying to find Mika. I can't see in this storm and we got tossed around so much that I can't remember where we left her.