Sentient Feral

The Pathfinder led Garsam through the trees. It flew quickly, and she nearly lost sight of it several times. "Wait up," Garsam called out. She couldn't easily run after the Pathfinder because there were trees everywhere. It would do no good if she were knocked out because she ran headfirst into a tree. The Pathfinder fluttered back to her. "You're slow," it squeaked. "Your friend could be in danger." "No, you'll be in danger if you don't slow down!" Garsam threatened. Ivy's magic had been amplified since their transformation. Even if she couldn't defeat the feral that kidnapped her, she should be able to hold her ground until Garsam arrived. They moved for another few minutes. "She's here," the Pathfinder squeaked. It flew towards Garsam and turned back into a crystal. Garsam caught the crystal and shook it. "I don't see anyone!" she hollered. But the Pathfinder didn't reply. The crystal briefly glowed hot and red, as if it was angry. Garsam cursed it for being useless and pocketed it. She walked around the perimeter but could find no one. Frustrated, she grabbed the nearest tree branch and hoisted herself up. She climbed halfway to the top when she noticed something hanging from another tree. Garsam climbed even higher to see. When the white dress came into view, she gasped. Ivy was hung from her legs on a high tree branch. She was suspended upside down, and the skirt of her dress fell over her face, so Garsam couldn't even tell if she was conscious or injured. "Ivy!" Garsam called. The girl shook, hands pushed the skirt up to reveal her face. Garsam sighed; at least she was awake. It seemed her hands weren't tied, but from the muffled sounds she was making, her mouth was stuffed with something. "I'll get you down, okay?" Garsam looked at the tree Ivy was tied to. Ivy was tied pretty high; fortunately, the tree had many branches. Unfortunately, someone had broken them all. The only way to get Ivy down would be to somehow cut the rope and catch her before she plummets to a certain doom. Garsam got to the base of Ivy's tree. She elongated her claw and stuck it into the tree. Like a pickaxe, they dug into the bark of the tree and propelled her upward. She was close to Ivy when a dark shadow barreled into her, knocking her out of the tree. Shift! She changed into Scar and landed on her feet. The feral crashed into a tree. The dust cleared, and it got up. Garsam hadn't seen many ferals, but she knew enough about them to know that one shouldn't be smirking down at her. "My, a little wolf child, are you lost?" Its voice was warbly and grating to the ears. It sounded like something out of hell. "You know very well who I am," Scar spat as he attacked. He didn't want to have a conversation with this thing. The feral tsked. "So impatient. Since you can't wait to die, Illuminate!" Scar's powerful lunge was easily dodged. The feral jumped high and caught a tree branch while dropping a black ball. Scar's momentum did not allow him to stop easily. When the ball touched the ground, there was a slicing explosion. Scar was blown back and smashed into a tree. The tree broke from the impact, and Scar spat out a mouthful of blood. Blood trickled down his chin, and he glared viciously at the feral prancing happily on the tree branch. "Hehe, don't give up yet!" The feral called out. "My fun's only just begun." Scar licked the blood on his chin; his eyes had turned a darker shade of violet. 'Let me take over,' Garsam nudged. With her Acabi abilities, this annoying thing would be in pieces in a few minutes. 'No,' Scar replied, furious and battle-ready. 'I will deal with this myself!' Scar charged to the base of the tree that the feral was on. He opened his powerful jaws and clamped down on the tree. Half the width of the tree came off with that powerful bite. The feral frowned as it jumped to another tree's branch. Scar chomped down again. This continued until the feral jumped on Ivy's tree. The feral bent on the branch and toyed with the knot that kept Ivy's rope connected to the tree. "Still hungry?" It asked. "Why don't you take a bite out of this tree, hmm?" Scar growled. The feral cackled, as unpleasant as its speaking voice. Its claws raised up and then slashed down, cutting the rope, and Ivy came plummeting down. *** Ares smiled at Aria's back. They were finally alone. Her back was straight, and her grey hair didn't seem at all plain; instead, it made her look all the more charming. Ares longed to run his fingers through her hair, with his lips on hers as she moaned his name. His throat felt constricted, and he swallowed, cheeks tinted red. Why were his thoughts suddenly going haywire?! Aria didn't know which leg to put forward. She felt awkward, without turning around she could feel Ares' burning gaze on her. She wanted to turn around so badly and threaten to pluck his eyes or something, but she was afraid of what passionate expression he might be sporting. He had been acting this way since they met at Ivy's coven, and she is still not used to it; it always made her weak in the knees even though she never showed it. "Aria," he called. Aria felt her stomach flip; her name sounded like a cherry kiss coming from his lips. She dazedly turned to face him. Ares took in her slightly dazed look. "We wait here." "Huh?" Aria replied foolishly. "The abandoned warehouse the witch's in is right up ahead; we'll wait for the rest here." "What..." Aria turned to look at the building that loomed over her just through some trees. She had been facing forward, so how did she not see such a big building? "Are you okay?" Ares asked. Aria turned to see him standing so close she could smell the faint scent of grass and oddly enough fire, from him. "You look flushed," he frowned and placed his palm on her forehead and another on his own. "You're not running a fever; do you need water? Are you tired?" Aria became flustered and pushed his hand away. "You seem rather talkative." "Only with you," he replied. He took out a bottle of water and unscrewed the cap. "Drink this." Aria collected the water and chugged it down to hide her embarrassment; she choked and coughed. Ares patted her back. When the coughing fit stopped, she nodded in thanks and returned the bottle. "We are lovers, you know," Ares suddenly said. Aria looked at him with wide eyes; why did he suddenly bring this up? She had heard Selena mention it, and Ares too had heavily hinted at it, but she had been unwilling to consider anything other than the fact that she would soon die. "That was in the past," she managed to say. Ares drew close to her. "You know, I can feel what you feel...your fear," he caressed her cheek. "Your sadness," his finger brushed over her brows. "Your happiness," his hands held both sides of her face. "Your attraction," his thumb rubbed her lips. Aria gasped as a shiver of electricity ran through her body. Goosebumps raced across her skin. Ares drew so close that their breaths mingled and a strand of hair could not pass between them. Then he hugged her. His height advantage made her lose her footing. His head was buried in her neck, breathing in her fragrance; he sighed like a drunken man. He vaguely recalled such a scene like from a dream, a woman in his arms, they were happy, they were in love. The sudden movement cleared Aria's head a smidge. She wriggled in his arms. "Let me go," she ordered. Or at least she tried to; her voice came out soft and coquettish instead. Ares murmured into her neck. "I can't." "What?" "I can't let you go, never again." He bent down and kissed her.