Haunted Heart

She had slipped out in the middle of the night. Whether or not she had been caught sneaking out or if at some point she'd be tracked, didn't matter to her. She was aware that the pack was active at night, or at least, Recluse was, but they didn't particularly seem very competent at keeping an eye on the skeletal marked slave. She had been in and out of the pack whenever she wanted, masking her trail with carrion, and since she often smelled like dead things and not Habari, let alone a normal wolf smell, she found it easy to continuously come and go. After all, why would anyone want to stick around the smell of death? It didn't bother her any. She grew up with it. Born into it. Molded by it. She had had no choice but to embrace her younger life eating dead things for survival. And now, here she was. Slinking around the edge of the two territories in search of some bones to add to her pile. She wanted to craft a few new toys for herself, and so far, she had a few feathers and scraps of fur that she could use to piece something together.

The moon hung big and bright in the darkened sky. The warm summer breeze caressed her fur, and the lonely child closed her eyes and breathed it in. She was almost in the mindset to bed down here and meet her father. To catch him up on the things she'd been doing the last couple of weeks since she last saw him, and to hear more of his stories and what he had to say. She'd been working hard to please him. To prove to him that she wasn't a failed child (even though he never said she was), but the memories of the Habari wolves doing what they did to her and talking down to her and telling her things like she was dumb and stuff, kept getting to her. The usually happy-go-lucky woman had been getting pretty peeved and angry lately. But it was almost all directed entirely at the wolves of Habari. Was she smart? Probably not by anyone's standards. But she was smart in her own ways. She had, after all, managed to survive all this time. She knew how to hunt and make traps and other things. She was getting better at fighting, even if she wasn't winning. She was getting better at figuring out others just by the actions they showed. And truth be told, living in Habari was teaching her a lot, even if they treated her like shit.

As she got lost in her wandering thoughts, she heard the faint sound of footsteps behind her, and she turned to see who had followed her. She had expected one of Habari's members at first, but no. It was a rogue. He was bigger than her, but then again, most wolves were. His fur looked ragged, scarred, and he was far bulkier than she was. "Medusa doesn't like when others try to sneak up on her." She stated with a huff, eyeing the stranger. In weeks past, she was a pretty poor judge in character. But now? She could tell this guy wasn't friendly. "Oh, pardon me...I was just coming to see if you were alright. It's not safe to wander alone in the dark, you know." He sneered, eyeing her hungrily.

Medusa watched him, though her fur prickled with unease. She had a feeling this guy wasn't friendly, and the more he stood there watching her like a predator watching its prey, the more she felt uneasy about his presence. "Medusa doesn't like this stranger...he needs to go away!" She growled. "Is that so? And what if this...stranger refuses to get away from Medusa, hm? This stranger thinks Medusa is a stupid, silly girl. You sound like an idiot, and judging by your stink, I doubt your pack will miss you." He sneered before lunging for her.

Medusa scrambled back out of the way in the nick of time, causing the larger male to eat dust where she had been a moment ago. She turned and fled, running across the ground with a speed she hadn't really used in ages, and the fog made it more difficult to see where she was going. Luckily, she had been here before when she was a pup. She knew the layout of the land, but there was always the possibility that things could have changed since her last visit. Behind her, she heard the drumming of paws pounding after her, and her heart raced as she tried to lose him in the fog.

As she glanced behind her, she briefly saw a shadow somewhere in the fog, but he hadn't been able to keep up very well. But just as she thought she was in the clear, her foot suddenly caught in the ground and she came to a sudden, lurching stop. She was thrown to the ground, and as panic gripped her, she realized she had misstepped and gotten her front paws caught in a pit of quicksand.

She ground her teeth together and tried to remember how she had learned to get unstuck in the past. It had been a long, long time ago...but she somewhat remembered. Since it was just her front paws that were stuck, she leaned her weight back on the solid ground, hind paws digging in as she wiggled her front paws upwards. It took a few moments and hard wiggling, but she had quickly managed to free herself.

Forepaws sore from the pressure of the quicksand, she sighed with relief before she remembered she was being chased. Though when she looked in the direction the other wolf had been, there was silence. Had he given up chasing her?

When she thought she was in the clear, she was suddenly hit and knocked into the air. Whatever it was hit her like a freight train, and the air was knocked from her lungs when she hit the ground. "Little Medusa bitch thought she could get away, hmm? Not tonight, my dear. I don't care which pack you belong to, but tonight...you'll belong to me. And every night after this, you'll belong to everyone willing to pay. After we clean you up, of course. Understand?" No. No, she didn't understand. She wheezed as she tried to recover her breath. This wolf sounded like he wanted to hurt her, and like all his friends wanted to hurt her. No...Medusa was done being hurt on purpose. She was done feeling like she had no choices in her own life.

"Medusa...is not a bitch...she is not...worthless...Medusa belongs to no one! Including stupid, slobbering, mangy wolves like you!" She spat, dual-toned eyes burning with hatred and anger. With a cackle, the stranger male leaped at her, but Medusa managed to quickly roll back and left the male to land where she had been previously. Only...he had landed a little too short and had jumped right into the quicksand.

"What the hell is this!?" He struggled in an effort to get out, but the sand filled the gaps with each struggle he did. "Medusa trapped the mean wolf...now the mean wolf will be punished. Just like everyone else did to her...but all of the mean wolves will be punished one day...if not from Medusa, then by things they deserved." She hissed. "You bitch! Get me out of here and maybe I'll let you live! You stupid, pathetic, ugly little bitch! I will flay your hide! I will skin you alive and feed you to the c-!" His words were suddenly cut off as he was choked.

Medusa's jaws clamped around his throat, and without realizing it, she was tearing into his throat the same way she would tear into her prey. Flesh ripped from his body, blood spurted from his gullet, eyes wild with fear as his cries and death throes were drowned out by her teeth and his blood. It all happened in the blink of an eye, but when she finished tearing through him, he was lifeless. She had beheaded him. Just like she beheaded the smaller creatures she managed to get her paws on back home.

Normally, she stuck to things like lizards, squirrels, rodents, and birds...but tonight? Tonight she killed her first wolf. A creature from her own species...and as she dropped his head on the ground at her feet, she realized...it didn't seem any different than killing a prey animal. No...this made her feel powerful. She liked the taste of blood from her enemies, and that was exactly what he was. "Medusa is not those things! She will prove them all wrong..." She growled.

She sat back, head turned up to the sky as the blood trickled down her neck and chest. It felt hot and sticky, seeping into her fur and painting red the parts that were white. Her face was splattered with blood, but she didn't care. Her gaze turned to the decapitated wolf. His body was half consumed by the quicksand, and as she looked at his mangled body, an idea struck her. Yes...she had a grand idea indeed. Why let him go to waste? He had perfectly good bones...wasn't that what she came out here for? Smirking, she placed the head a little further from the quicksand and started to get to work on getting the body out of the quicksand. It would be a long process, she was sure. But she had nothing but time, after all.


"Medusa"