Ever Stray

8/14/2019 Ever Stray

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Ever Stray

Thalai was a pretty normal fourteen year old girl, (all things considered) she wentto school with her friends, she had her own style (a cross between Goth andtomboy) she always argued with her mum and brother (mostly about who hadeaten the last slice of ham) and she always tried to get out the house early so shewouldnt be forced to do the cat litter, It was the abnormal things about her thatreally caught the eye, like the way she dressed (black and red striped leggings apair of stretchy black short gym shorts on over top a black short sleeveless dressfingerless black leather gloves and black boot-like trainers. Or the way her hairwas a mix between dark brown and grey, Or the way she whimpered like a dogwhen she had a bad dream or the way that she growled when she got annoyed andthe way she always wanted to howl when there was a full moon, she never didobviously due to the fact that it would probably land her in a nice cosy room madeof yellow sponge not that most people didnt think shed end up there anyway.

Thalai lived in a medium sized house in a small village nestled at the foot of rangeof small mountains. It was a relatively friendly place, once you got used to thesuburban chav wannabies.It was the cat meowing that woke Thalai up (as always) he started by purring thenhe climbed on her stomach and meowed pathetically in her ear, gently needing herstomach, he walked in circles over her letting his tabby coloured tale brush againsther cheekUuur turnip, not nowMeowthe cat responded as turnip was his name, no matter how much he despised it.Meow meeeooow meow

The cat prowled around her flicking his tale in to her wide open mouth until shewas forced to throw the covers off and carry the doped like creature out of herroom and down the stairs.Morning

Thalai nodded and blinked in unison as she entered the room. Her younger brotherjimmy was wearing his usual mix of grey track bottoms and a blue t-shirt. She saton the chair furthest away from the toaster as her younger and she thoughtslightly brain dead brother was making toast his usual way (this normally involvedthe toaster jamming with four pieces in it, him stabbing a knife into it and the toastburning a hole in the ceiling.)Hey sisUum?Schools been cancelled againUum!

Thalai lifted her head from the table and blinked at him the way she always didwhen she couldnt decide on whether or not he was lyingThey said it was miss loony againHer brother continued absentmindedly while getting a plate out of the cupboard,her real name was miss lunar but she was so bonkers that all her students justcalled her loony. Thalai paused before she decided to believe himwhat did she do this time?Duno really but I think it was something to do with wol..Aaaaaah!

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He stopped and ducked under the counter as four pieces of charcoal like toastsprung out of the smoking toaster and attached themselves to the ceiling likelimpets.Because of wool?

Thalai repeated questioningly, peeling a piece of toast off the ceiling and spreadingit with butter.

No! Not wool WOLVESShe looked at him somewhat bemusedWolves?He nodded his head spilling crumbs from his toast filled, hamster-like mouth. Shepaused and thought for a moment before sayingBut there havent been any wolves around here foryears! Jimmy, are you sureyoure telling the truth?He nodded vigorouslyI know what I heardWhat you were told you mean.Its the same thingIs notIs tooIs not!Is too!

They sat in silence for awhile scoffing down the toast and watching turnip scratchat the glass as a bird washed itself on the outside windowsill. Thalai was the firstto speakWheres mum and dad?Jimmy shruggedShops I guess.

Thalai shoved the last piece of toast into her mouth and got upRight-she said brushing the crumbs off her topIm going for a walk tell mum and dad Ive got my cell phone with me

I thought you couldnt find it?I cant but they always freak out if they think I dont have it.

Jimmy smiled and tapped the side of his nose accidentally covering it with jamThalai chuckled and walked out picking up her leather jacket as she did so.If Im not back before seven youre doing the cat litter

Thalai yelled as she ran up the road towards the hills which slowly ascended higherand higher until the small mountains merged with the sky.

She slowed to a walking speed as she left the houses behind her and entered therocky mountain terrain slowly slipping into steep grass and mud engulfed slopefilled with the fresh scent of pine needles and tree sap. She knew the path quitewell and remembering that it turned into a very very steep drop even though itwas the smallest of all the mountains she didnt think on her own it was a goodidea to climb steep slopes, Thalai sighed, she guessed that the shops would haveto be enough of an adventure.She turned and was just about to go back when two hands clamped around hershoulders on either sideYeeep!She yelped as she turned to see two figures emerge out of the shadowsGocha!

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said a girl about her own age the boy next to her came forward and his face brokeout into a grin, the girl was about Thalais height with mostly blond slightlybrunette coloured hair in two long plats down her shoulders, freckles and darkbrown eyes, the boy was about an inch taller than them with a blue cap oncovering up his hair and blue eyes Thalai grinned back at themAnnabel, Ken you guys have no idea how badly you scared me

They grinned at her for a minute before they all burst out laughing and they allwalked side by side up the slope.

Thalai walked slightly ahead of them as she always did whilst Annabel and Kenwalked a few steps behind giggling, Thalai knew that there was something goingon between them even if they would never admit it themselves.So where are we headed then?Ken said walking up beside her and swinging his arm around her shoulder asAnnabel ran up on her other sideDuno really just around I guessAround?Annabel repeated twiddling a piece of grass between her thumb and forefingerare you ok?Thalai asked turning to Annabel, she was never this quietYeamy mums rabbit ran away againohsorry

Thalai looked down, Taffy, Annabels mums rabbit was always running off, but theynormally found it by now, they walked along quietly for awhile stepping only on thebig rocks scattered about the path until they reached the top of the first tiny littlepeak, it was quite flat and small, but it dipped down to a sharp drop on the othersideWowKen stopped, looking at the network of rocks and tangled vines that led towardsthe patch of forest at the bottom, He took out his camera that he would never becaught dead with out and began taking snapshotsCome on!

Said Annabel running past Ken grabbing his hat by the peak exposing his sandycoloured brownie-orange hair to the mid-day sun lightCome on wolf girlWolf girl was Thalais nick name because of some of her dog like habits.She ran after them grinning they ran down hill laughing and stumbling until theyreached the steep part.Now whatKen asked looking down, the drop was at least forty feet and none of them muchfelt like committing suicide.I guess we go back up as always

Thalai said looking down yearning to be there. This was not the first, time they haddone this they always climbed down this far and had to go back up, theyd checkedall over the place but there wasnt another way down so none of them had everbeen inside the forest no matter how much they wanted to.Oh well I guess one day well find a way downKen said trying to sound positiveYea right Kenny not unless we grow four legs over nightAnnabel said dumping his hat on his headwhy would that help?

Thalai asked staring down into the enigmatic trees you should know wolf girl

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Annabel laughedWolves always jump off things its what theyre made for unlike humans wednever survive a jump like thatAnnabel got up and brushed the grass of her dress and white trousers leavinggrass stains as she did so and started climbing the steep hill tugging on weeds inan attempt to pull her self up, Ken followed doing the same, Thalai stayed behind

for awhile staring at the forest, wondering so much what was down there, so farout of their reach for something so close, before turning to her friendshey guys wait up!they ran up the hill pulling them selves up ripping out grass and flowers as they

did soCome on wolf girl Annabel called getting to her feet and turning aroundLast one to the tops a squashed tomato!

Thalai grinned and ran after them, she started leaning forwards and running up asfast as she could (which wasnt very fast due to the steep slope) but thensomething strange happened she leant forwards and started pulling her self alongby the grass putting more and more weight on her hands until she was running flatout on all fours. And as she felt a chill go down the back of her neck She noticedevery tiny little detail in the grass every twig every tree root and every leaf in herway she ran up without slipping once, she passed Ken and Annabel who just staredat her with there mouths wide open and reached the top in seconds, she stood upexpecting to see her friends right behind her she was surprised to see them onlyhalf way up the slope she stared at them in shock until they reached the top kengrinned at herWhat the hell was that wolfy?Thalai shruggedDuno really I mean it was like instinct or somethingAnd people wonder why we call you wolf girlAnnabel smiled at her, although Thalai knew what she was thinking crazy girl atleast it wasnt her mum, every time Thalai did one of her weird dog things hermother would just say keep on with those and people will think your nuts

Not that I dont like you how you areshe would go onAll yourtraits are what makes you who you are I just wish you wouldnt be sowildthinking about her mum she reached into her pocket and pulled out a silver watch,quarter to five what time did I get up? Ken and Annabel exchanged glances thenshrugged hey Ken broke the silence while were all here we should totally gocheck out what happened at school Annabel and Thalai grinned at each othertotally? Thalai said suppressing her laughter (badly) Kens face turned red yeawell you know Yea girls your age gotta start using bigger words! oh very funnyAnn. Hey were just messing with ya Annabel said pushing him playfully. Hesmiled at them sarcastically then broke into a wide grin the way he always didwhen ever he was trying to keep a straight face for too long all right lets go andcheck out the school they laughed and started walking down the hill towards thevillage.It was starting to get dark and by the time they got to the village the evening sunwas already sneaking in its last rays of light between the houses covering them inyellow light and making them shimmer like blocks of pure gold, the only thingmaking it seem remotely out of place was the crowd of people all gathered in thecentre by the small clock tower and they could hear shouting and wailing comingfrom the crowd come on Annabel said running out ahead Ken followed but Thalai

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didnt move, she could feel the hair on the back of her neck bristling and she didntwant to move, this had happened before, it happened every time she got near adog but never this strongly and never felt so evil. Thalai? ken was already at thecrowd but Annabel had stopped and was looking at her, in her your hidingsomething and Im going to bug you forever unless you tell me way. Its nothing

Thalai said shaking her head and running up beside Annabel come on lets go

catch up with MR. detective Thalai said nodding towards Ken who was busy takingas many pictures with his mini camera as he could without getting noticed.Annabel grinned and ran to catch up with him Thalai shivered and then pushed herself to go after her, as they neared the crowd they could just make out the voicethat was screeching miss loony? Annabel whispered as they pushed through thecrowed and stared at the teacher lying on the pavement screaming about themoon andWOLVES! YOULL ALL SEE! COAT AS BLACK AS THE NIGHT SKY HESLOOKING FOR ONE LIKE HIMSELF! ONE TO LEAD ONE TO KILL! THE ELIMENTS WILLHONER THE FALLEN GOD! Thalai felt a chill go down her spine she had no ideawhat her insane teacher was talking about but she had a feeling she didnt want tofind out ONE WILL FALL TO THE DARK, ONE WILL KILL WITH THE HELP OF THEWHITE SOUL, AND TWO WILL DIE! Thalai looked around and saw her parents andbrother standing amongst the crowd her mothers eyes were wide with concernmum dad whats going on? they turned to her, Thalai took a step towards themwhen miss lunar grabbed her ankle and she fell to her knees YOU! the teacherlooked her deep in the eyes, fear and hatred piercing her simultaneously, ALL

YOUR KIND ARE THE SAME! YOU WANT BLOOD! BUT YOULL REGRET IT ALL OFYOUR KIND WILL! ALL OF...AAAH! the teacher let go as Ken flashed the camera inher eyes. Thalai! her mum and dad pulled her to her feet Annabel and ken ranup beside her are you ok that blooming teachers a nutter! Thalai smiled atthem come on love her mum said putting her arm around Thalai lets go backhome she nodded giving miss lunar one final glance and then clinging to hermothers coat she walked home Ken and Annabel close behind her.

I tell ya they ought to sue that teacher they should her dad said hanging up his

coat its a blooming good thing you got such good friends he said ruffling Kenshair and grinning Im going to go make these heroes a cup of hot chocolate Kensat down as he left the room do you think hed hate me if he knew I was justtrying to get a good picture? Thalai and Annabel sat down next to him laughing,biscuit anyone? her mum said putting a metal tin of butter biscuits on the tableand sat opposite them on an arm chair Thalai sat twiddling her thumbs for a whilebefore saying mum what do you think miss lunar meant by my kind, or any ofit? Sorry dear? Before when she grabbed my ankle she said your kind are allthe same she cant have meant humans and I dont think she hates our familythat much so she must have meant. Thalai she was just hallucinating dont letit worry you ok? Thalai nodded although she was still playing it over in her mindshe had better things to think about, ok everyone chocolate is ever so slightly welldone but itll still taste the same her father came in carrying a tray filled withsteaming cups of what looked like mud. Oh no Thalais mum whispered I leftyoure father alone with the hot chocolate Ken and Annabel sniggered while Thalaiand her mother exchanged worried glances oh I almost forgot the marshmallows

Thalai and her mum wished each other luck and then downed the ominous liquidwell how does it taste? Annabel asked picking up her cup oh brilliant Thalaireplied wiping her mouth (and tongue) on a tissue. She didnt have time to tellAnnabel and Ken that she was being sarcastic as they didnt get the hint and soonfound out the hard way.

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They sat up watching TV and roasting marshmallows in there fire place late intothe night, it was about one AM when Annabel Ken and Thalai said their goodbyes,as soon as they walked out the door Thalai felt all her energy leave her body andshe realised just how tired she was, she stumbled up stairs and collapsed on herbed exhausted, she rolled on to her back and stared up at the ceiling what had

she meant your kind? And one will die? White soul? And wolves? Here? Thalaicould feel her self slipping into a deep sleep but the last thing she noticed beforeshe completely disappeared to the land of dreams was how uncomfortable it wasto lie on her tail.Wait tail!? Thalai awoke with a start instinctively reaching behind to check for atail she sighed with relief nothing she looked out the window it felt like it hadonly been a second since shed gone to sleep but that was obviously a lapse oftime as the sky was turning a violet blue colour engulfing the room in its mysticlight. Thalai rubbed her eyes got up and walked into the bathroom, she emerged aminute or so later rubbing her face with a towel she picked up a clock and groanedfive AM uurrrr! she put her socks and shoes on tousled her fringe leaving it spikyand then walked out of her room, she peered out the door way, she could hear herdad snoring and her mother (exhaling heavily) as she called it, her brother neverreally made a noise while he slept in fact half the time people would check him fora pulse. She reached the bottom of the stairs walked into the kitchen and pickedup the butter and a slice of bread.She began spreading it clumsily she was really in the mood for steak or duck orchicken or something moreraw. Thinking about meat only made Thalai whinelike a dog and resent the bread more, but it was all they had so she ate it anyway.She was just brushing the crumbs off her dress\top when something flashed pastthe window, a dark shadowy thing, were it not for its size it could almost havepassed for a dog its fur was short like it had been cut, but it looked morelikeAaah! No way! said Thalai watching it out of the window until it passedrunning up towards the mountains she didnt hesitate for a second she grabbedher jacket and ran out the front door speeding towards the hills.

She started panting as she got nearly half way but didnt stop until she reachedthe top completely exhausted and collapsed to her knees in the dew soakedmorning grass. Panting she looked down at the steep hill leading to the forest shesat there her fringe completely covering her face until the entire sky was orangeand purple and all the clouds pink making them look like cotton candy the sunrising up between the hills, it would have made a perfect picture she knew that ifKen was here theyd never be able to move him unless the battery in his camerawent flat.

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Thalai looked around but there was no sign of the wolf if that w

as even what it was, as Thalairefused to believe it without proof, after all there hadnt been any sign of wolvesaroundwell anywhere for at least fifty years everyone had believed them to beextinct.She sat watching the sunrise until the entire sky was completely blue and thegrass began drying off or at least just transferring the water to her clothes as thatwas what it felt more like. She waited until the sky was a normal colour and sinceit didnt look like any thing was stirring in the forest she decided to head backhome she took one last sweeping glance over the surrounding aria before turningaround and walking back down the slope.Thalai!? Yea hi mum what are you doing up so early!? Thalais mum stared ather like she really did have a tail! Gees mum no need to act so surprised Thalaisaid grinning besides Ive been up early before. Her mum shrugged in adisagreeing way. I have all right Thalai do you have to shout so early jimmysaid walking in in his pyjamas Im not yelling Jim yes you are youve just got the

volume turned down he said jamming three pieces of toast in the toaster andsitting down. Thalai raised her eye brows then turned back to her mother and saidin a hushed voice I think miss loony was right mumI think there are wolves herenow. Thalai I knew youd get paranoid she was just hallucinating it wasnt realthere are no wolves, not anymore. Thalai was about to retaliate when the doorbell rang Ill get it. Her mum said getting up and walking towards the door.

Thalai sat twiddling her thumbs for awhile before she decided to get up and seewho was at the door, she was expecting to see Ken or Annabel but to her surpriseSieris, a boy from her school stood at the door in his usual black\blue jeans andleather jacket the hood pulled up over his red hair, she had known him just as longas shed known Ken and Annabel but they almost never hung out, he was alwaysout of town on trips and stuff, Sieris what are you doing here Thalai could feelherself blushing (stupid question) she thought to herself, although she didnt saidanything Thalai you gotta see this he panted and backed into a run towards theschool she went to follow him Thalai her mum called to her as she went dontforget to take out that broken mirror today! Yea mum I will she called back asshe sped up to follow him, she was totally puzzled until it became obvious whatwas wrong. The entire school was alight, black smoke puffing out every way itcould making the sky seem like one volcano on the verge of erupting, oh my god!

Thalai said staring open mouthed at the flames licking up the side of the building,yea its terrible Sieris replied although when she looked at him she thought she

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could see the faintest trace of a smile. She looked at the school so whathappened? he shrugged miss loonys done it again she torched the school?And as a matter of fact how do you even know it was miss loony shes been firedSieris turned towards her and Thalai could feel her face burning again, at least thistime she could blame it on the fire. Its easy to tell when its miss loony becauseshe always acts on the day of a full moon or close to it anyway Thalai paused for a

second and thought, he was right, tonight was a full moon. Now that she thoughtabout it Thalai had wanted to howl all day (but as always she had restrained herself and never did) why did miss lunar do this loony? Because shes a nut no-one really gets why she does what she does, they just try to stop her from doing itin the first place. Thalai looked at him like the way shes always on aboutwolves he laughed and no-ones seen any of them for at least the last fifty yearsshe tried to laugh or at least smile convincingly but she couldnt stop thinkingabout the shadow shed seen that morning, Thalai! she turned around to seeAnnabel and Ken walking towards her, Annabels hair was different as it alwayswas, she had it straightened and hanging down over her shoulders, which madethe blonde really look gold Id better get going, Sieris said turning and walkingaway see you at school see ya Thalai smiled then turned to Ken and Annabelwho just stared at her half smiling what? said Thalai wiping the smoke out of heralready water logged eyes I say nothing Annabel said stifling a laugh Thalairolled her eyes and looked at Ken who was attempting to take a clear picturethrough the smoke Annabel coughed and started what would most likely be a twohour sneezing session.Come on we should get out of here Thalai said pulling Ken by his collar in anattempt to make him follow just a minute she rolled her eyes and dragged himafter them no, Ive . Almost, got the, perfect, picture! they walked quicklycovering their mouths until they got out of range of the smoke filled air.So where we headed now Annabel asked snapping a twig into small pieces anddropping them in Kens orange hood. I dont really know Thalai replied kicking astone out in to the road we cant just keep going up to the mountains I mean wecant get down to the forest and if we cant get down to the forest then we cant get

to the next mountain or anything interesting Thalai stopped and thought for amoment well we could go back and find out what happened with loony and riskher trying to kill you again? No thanks Thalai rolled her eyes Ill be fine she didnteven hurt me ken and Annabel looked at one another we could just go back tomy house Annabel suggested my mums not in and we just fixed the trampolineok Ken and Thalai agreed simultaneously.Annabels house was one of the best places in the neighbourhood, her mum wouldalways bake the best cookies and leave them out for who ever wanted them, thehouse was pretty big and really well insulated (which was pretty good when itcame to winter) in their small mountain village it always snowed and with all theold houses it was always freezing!. They got to her house and Annabel jiggled thehandle around but to no avail she grimaced and turned to the others umm I thinkmy mum locked it they looked at one another hey, Thalai said looking up yourbedroom windows open Annabel looked at Thalai and they grinned at each otherallow me.. Annabel said standing by the wall and locking her hands together,

Thalai grinned put her hands up against the wall and used Annabel hands as astep, she grabbed hold of the window ledge in an attempt to pull herself up, butAnnabel had started laughing as Ken, who had been attempting to take a photo ofthem in there circus act routine was now sitting in a wheelbarrow unable to movewhat the hell did you do? Annabel said in between giggles I backed up to get agood picture andAaah! Ken screamed as the wheelbarrow toppled over side

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ways, and that was it Annabel burst out laughing dropping Thalai into a flower potKen tried to stand up causing the wheelbarrow to roll backwards into the pond,with Ken still inside it.Thalai burst out laughing Annabels laugh went silent as it always did whenevershe laughed too hard, Thalai laughed so hard she thought her sides would splitbefore Ken crawled out of the upturned wheelbarrow and collapsed next to Thalai

and Annabel dripping wet and laughing almost as much as them. After about tenminutes of laughing and a really bad stitch the three friends got up still chucklingand stood leaning against the wall wondering how they were going to get inside.Well we could use Kens camera strap Annabel suggested no way Ken saidclinging to the camera as if his life depended on it. Annabel sat and thought for aminute before getting up and walking over to the house, she looked up at the openwindow and groaned were never going to get inside Ken took a run up and triedto grab the window sill but it was way to high up looks like were stuck out hereKen said slouching against the wall. Least it cant get worse Annabel said staringat the ground shaaaa thunder roared in the distance hey is itraining? Ken saidlooking up as a drop of water trickled slowly down his cheek, just then a huskyhowled across the road and Thalai could feel something change inside of her, shefelt a shiver down the back of her neck, and then she growled and ran up the wall,Annabel and Ken stared open mouthed as Thalai grabbed hold of the window ledgekicked it fully open and flipped inside. Ken and Annabel stared at the open windowuntil Thalai had completely disappeared inside (which took about four secondstotal) then they looked at one another whoa.Once inside the bedroom Thalai looked around breathless wondering what had justhappened, she shook her head brushed down her clothes flicked her tail andtailagain?! She spun around so fast she nearly fell over, but again nothing was wrong.

Thalai sighed she was beginning to get sick of all these weird things happening toher, although on the other hand it was pretty cool to be able to flip in to a twostory high window at will.Hello! Thalai snapped out of her daze and peered out the window, the heavenshad opened up and Annabel and Ken were standing by the door getting drenched

forgetting something? Ken called to her oops Thalai said as she vaulted theside board ran out the door and down stairs.She opened the door and her two water logged friends ran in shivering. Geeswhat took you so long we could have caught pneumonia out there sorry Thalaisaid suppressing her laughter as Ken ruffled her hair turning it in to a largefeather duster, hey guys Im gonna go make a drink do you guys want anything?

Thalai walked over to Annabel just tea please she said walking past her and in tothe kitchen. She opened the front door and walked out side what are you doing?Ken asked as Thalai passed him nothing dont worry I wont be long she closedthe door behind her and ran across the street and stopped by the chained uphusky who instantly started growling hey! I need to speak to you Thalai saidleaning on the fence, the dog just barked louder this is stupid dogs cant talk

Thalai turned to walk away when the dog barked and started whimpering sheturned to see it cowering behind its kennel, what the hecks wrong with you

Thalai said turning to it she turned back to the house and froze, something jumpedacross the roof tops, a dark shadow, she knew before it landed what it was.Aaah! Thalai jumped aside at last second as the wolf landed fangs and clawsripping through the air she turned around and instantly had to dodge as he lungedat her again she couldnt get a good look at it because it moved with the mostincredible speed she had ever seen it was all she could do to stay alive, about the

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only thing she could make out was that his fur was thick black and that he wasmassive even for a wolf.Aaah! Thalai screamed as she tried to dodge and failed, its fangs sunk into herarm it wasnt very deep but it still hurt she fell down and closed her eyes.When she opened them again it was gone and she was left staring at the blankwall of the house.

She walked into the living room closing the door behind her hey your teas on theside of thegees! What the hell happened to you!? What? Thalai sat downgrabbing hold of her tea, your shoulder! Thalai looked down ohthatstraydog Ken and Annabel exchanged worried glances Im fine really Thalai insistedalthough she knew she was in shock and therefore seemed calm she was certain itdidnt seem so convincing to them. Ken and Annabel still looked worried but theydidnt say anything hey lets stay inside until the rain passes then maybe weshould go check out the school Annabel suggested yea that sounds cool Kenagreed Thalai what do you think?...Thalai? she didnt respond she didnt evenhear them she just stared at the blank wall Ken picked up a pink frilly pillow andchucked it at her it hit her full on in the face and she snapped back to reality heydolly day dream hu? Oh yea sure sounds cool she said picking up the pillow andlobbing it at Ken hey he said grinning and throwing it back the three friendslooked at each other then began beating each other up with feather filledweaponry.

The rain soon passed then it got colder and eventually night fall came, they didntrealize what time it was until the grandfather clock struck midnight oh man kenlooked around I better get going he said standing up Thalai grabbed her jacketyea Id better get going too see you guys round ok yea bye see ya Annabelwaved goodbye to them at the door and they walked up the street a bit beforethey reached Kens house well this is my stop he said smiling at Thalai Ill seeyou around she smiled and carried on walking up the road till she got to her houseshe paused by the door then walked in, you were gone all day her mum said assoon as she entered the living room were you off with that boy? no Thalai saidturning red I met up with Ken and Annabel and besides hes just a friend her

mum put up her hands in surrender but Thalai knew she was trying not to smile,mum did you hear about the school? A little simply awful isnt it, it caught onfire right? Yea right more like it was burned to the ground by miss loony Thalai!What happened to your shoulder? Damn it Thalai whispered she had almost gotaway with it too stray dog her mum looked at her doubtfully a stray dog? Here?Yea Thalai said putting about ten slices of ham into a sandwich and eating it.Wheres jimmy? Thalai said through a full mouth he went for a walk with one ofhis school friends Thalai frowned what school friends? her mum shrugged he

just said one of his school friends, hes a big boy not a baby, he can take care ofhimself. I know mum its justdo you really think its safe for a kid to be walkingaround on his own at midnight? her mum smiled at her its a safe villageeveryone here knows everyone else Thalai shrugged cramming the last piece ofham into her mouth, ok she looked at the clock Im gonna go for a walk Ithought it wasnt safe for kids to walk around on there own her mother saidsarcastically I said kids, Im a teenager her mum shrugged just try not to be outto long and take out that bloody mirror Thalai groaned all right she walked intothe hall growling and picked up the mirror and walked out side she looked aroundthe wind was blowing through the trees making a whistling sound ah! shetripped on a step and instantly fell to the ground, Thalai held her self up by herarms looked in the mirror and froze, staring back at her where her own reflectionshould be was the clear reflection of a wolf. She closed her eyes then opened

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them and was left staring at her self in the mirror. Thalai are you ok? YeaImfine Thalai stood up and walked over to the house mum, can I go for a walknow? Yes Thalai but dont be to long! Thalai had already vaulted the backgarden fence and was running full speed towards the mountains panting as shesped up but she didnt stop until she reached the very top.She sat down on the grass, it was surprisingly dry considering it had spent most of

the day bucketing down with rain, she didnt move or even blink much until shehad caught her breath at which point the moon had come out from behind theclouds and the sky was almost totally clear. Thalai stared up at the moon, itsbright iridescent light shining onto her face and making all the grass shimmer likedew drops on a sheet of glass, she sat and thought for what seemed like hours,why was all this happening? The wolves, the insane teacher, her new acrobaticskills, and what had her teacher meant your kind? She sighed all the thoughtsbuzzing round inside her head until she wanted to scream.She stared up at the moon watching as the blue circles of light danced around theedges of the white sphere. Aagh not again she said shutting her eyes tight tryingto stop her self from howling.Almost every full moon she wanted howl and always had to stop herself, come tothink of it she had never howled even though shed always wanted to.What would happen if she did? She sat up straight and stared solemnly at themoon, then she threw back her head and let out a massive blood curdlingHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWW. At first she was surprised that such a deepmystical noise could come from her own mouth, but then she felt it, the back of herneck started to shiver and she could feel something change inside of her. Herarms and legs grew in unison until they were the same length her ears changedgot bigger and her hearing got a lot sharper she could feel her nose and mouthextending and her teeth became fangs her sense of smell increased and her

clothes turned into dark thick fur, and before she knew it, shewas looking down at what were clearly the paws of a young wolf!.She stopped and after letting it sink in for a moment she gasped this isimpossible! she stood up but realised she was on all fours Aaah! she hadattempted to scream but it came out as more of a yelp, she stepped back into apuddle and spun around and stared into the moonlit water until all the ripples haddisappeared and Thalai was left staring at what she had to admit was a verybeautiful young she-wolf.She gently tapped the puddle with her paw causing the ripples to jump and dancearound in the moonlight, incredible. She whispered she sat up on her haunches

and looked around blankly, she didnt know what to do anymore, her sense ofsmell was unbelievable she could tell were all the flowers were and she had neverseen the mountain range as she could nowit wasbeautiful especially throughthe eyes of a wolf. Thalai shook her head making her fur ruffle then she barked alittle (just to see if she could) then she lifted up her head and howled again, thatwas when she started to get really freaked out she whimpered and looked aroundher franticly, what the hell was happening to her? Was this even possible I meanshe was a freaking wolf for god sake! She whimpered more and more backing awayfrom the edge with her tail between her legs then something rustled in the bushes

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and she ran. Running with four legs was incredible it would have been awesome ifshe wasnt so freaked out.She reached her house in no time skidded through the front garden gate crashinginto the trash cans as she did so she yelped and bolted into the house knocking thedoor clean off its hinges she ran up stairs and threw herself onto her bedwhimpering softly until she slowly drifted into a deep sleep.

Thalai! Thalai! Wake up! Thalai opened her eyes and bolted up right fullyexpecting to see a tail she looked around desperately until she glanced the mirrorin the corner of her room human? she got up and walked towards it and placedher hand on it was I dreaming? No Im sure that was realwasnt it? Thalai! hermum called her again from down stairs. Yea she yelled back, but her voice wasshaky and small, are you up? Yea she said stroking the reflection in the mirrorit must have been a dream Thalai walked down stairs repeating it must havebeen a dream, it must have been a dream, it must have been a dream. Althoughshe couldnt convince herself of it for sure. Hey mum Thalai walked in trying toact normal, Thalai I need you to pick up my iron I left it round Miss Tweedseerrh miss tweeds? Thalai shuddered, miss tweed was an old dried up rigidwomen that resembled a prune that had a fight with a microwave and lost, andapart from that she hated Thalai and all of her friends and would always complainwhenever Thalai ken and Annabel ran down the street (even if it was four pm),mum do I have to? her mum looked at her and sighed go on Thalai fine shesnapped and stomped out the door.She passed Ken as she was walking down, he seemed different and then sherealised why ken why arent you with Annabel? he turned and snapped at her,ohso now I HAVE to be WITH Annabel?! It doesnt occur to you that I can be alone?!Ok ok Thalai said backing down the street I was only asking Ken walked offmuttering as he went, Thalai smiled and rolled her eyes, ken and Annabel werehaving one of there little feuds again, it was part off the whole liking each otherand not admitting it thing, every so often they would pick something really stupidand have a massive fight.

Thalai looked at the sky, for some reason she could tell what time it was by lookingat the sun, three minutes past fourwhat time did I get up? she stopped andlooked over the road, Annabels house was right there, she could just see if shewas ok then she would go and pick up her mums iron, no, she shook her head, shewould say hi to Annabel on the way back.

Thalai reached misss tweeds front door and shuddering, knocked on the wood,the door was answered with incredible speed and the prune like woman walked outscowling you brat? You want your iron back? her voice shook and she reachedinside then half threw a white rusted iron at her, she took it off the old womanforced a smile then backed up the road fast pausing at Annabels house shedecided to see how she was about the argument with Ken. Annabel hey Ann youthere? Thalai was about to give up and walk away when Annabel opened the doorand yanked her inside.ok so get this right, Ken started like saying you were faking the dog thing and likeso like I like you know said you wouldnt do that and like then right he says to meoh if like your gonna think that and stuff Im like gonna go prove it and like Im

just thinking too far! Thalai stared at Annabel she usually got it after a fewseconds or so you just had to take out the like she puts in every twelve secondsand its cool but this time, Ann what did you guys fight about? oh right well hesaid that there wasnt a dog and like you got attacked by something else and likethen I said right if there was no dog then were did you get the bite mark! And then

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right he says that if there was a dog he was going to go take a picture Thalai felther heart skip a beat then she felt a sinking feeling as she realised what Annabelwas saying he went to the mountains didnt he?. Annabel nodded whilst drinkingher second pint glass of water, Thalai didnt hesitate come on she said grabbingher by the arm and running through the door wait what the hell are you doing?Ann look weve got to stop him now! Why look Annabel Thalai paused she

and Annabel had been friends pretty much her whole life and Thalai knew if shecould trust anyone it would be her but even so look the thing that attacked meitwasnt a stray dogit was a wolf for a second Thalai thought she was going to dowhat she usually did and tell her she was crazy but then she dropped her glass ofwater and ran out the door next to Thalai.

They got to the foot of the mountain and although Thalai could have run for muchlonger Annabel was exhausted, she didnt have the same energy rush as Thalai gotevery full moon and as it had been a full moon the night before the energy was stillbuzzing around inside of her.Annabel stopped go on Ill catch you up Thalai didnt much like the idea ofsplitting up but she knew Annabel was right, be careful. And with that Thalai ranup the mountain as fast as she could.She reached the top with a bad stitch and collapsed on to her knees, she looked upand caught her breath, there was Ken, lying on his stomach just at the edge ofwere the cliff dropped no Thalai stood up and heart pounding ran towards themotionless boy, Ken! she jumped grabbing hold of his shoulder Aaah! Thalai!Ken your ok?! Well I WAS until you scared the hell out of me and made me dropmy camera! Thalai looked over the edge, Kens camera was hanging from a lowtree branch. Ken Im sorry but weve got to get out of here now! he glared at herand turned backwards grabbing hold of a small tree root, Ken! What the hell areyou doing!? Im getting my camera! Ken you cant climb that and even if youdid how the hell are you gonna get back up!? Ken gave her one final evil eye andthen lowered himself down with his arms Ken! Annabel yelled from the other sideof the hilltop Thalai turned and then she heard a snapping sound she and Ken and

Thalai knew what the noise meant way before it happened Ken! Aaah!! he

screamed as the tree root snapped and he fell backwards Thalai felt the familiartingle down her neck and lunged, her teeth drove straight through Kens jacket andinto his shoulder Aaah!!! he screamed as blood trickled down his arm Thalaiyanked him up and dropped him on the ground Ken are you ok? Annabel ran upbeside them and crouched next to Ken he didnt respond, he was too busy staringat the bite on his arm, Ken? Annabel followed his gaze and gasped Thalai!she breathed in what was barely more than a whisper look she turned towardsKen and then she realised what they were staring at, on his shoulder, it wasnt anormal bite mark it was massive and had four fang marks with smaller marks fillingin the gaps, Thalai? she stared at him whimpering Ken Im so sorry I didnt meanto I didnt think it would he tried his best to smile at her through the pain heyno sweat you saved my life she smiled at him although she knew that he wasreally scared by what had happened even if hed never show it.

They helped Ken up and walked down the mountain, he didnt complain about thepain once he was more upset about losing his camera.It was at least six oclock by the time they got to Kens house, my mums not inright now so Ill just get a bandage or something he gave them one last forcedsmile then opened the door and disappeared inside, do you think hes ok? Thalaisaid turning to Annabel she shrugged Duno I think so but you know how much heloves his camera onlysomethings been bugging me ever since you pulled himup The bite mark? Thalai said as they turned and walked towards the gate.

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Yea, its justhow did you? Thalai looked away look I didnt want to hurt him itwas just an instinct you know? I saw him fall and I tried to stop it Annabel staredat her for ages as they walked.Well this is my house so I guess Ill see you tomorrow, Thalai smiled and turnedto walk away when Annabel called after her, hey are you ok? Thalai turned herhead yea Im just fine they smiled at each other then Thalai walked up the street

and Annabel closed the door behind her.Thalai stopped out side her house and looked in at the faint warm glow beingemitted from the living room window, then she turned her head and stared up atthe cold dark mountains she closed her eyes for a moment and breathed in tryingto calm herself down she blinked back tears and opened her eyes again, shehadnt meant to hurt Ken or anyone but the bite marks in his shoulder, had shereally done that? If so then it couldnt have been a dream, she sighed and startedwalking towards the mountain.She pulled the silver watch out of her pocket and stared at it although she alreadyknew what time it was by the light she just needed something to distract her fromwhat was happening.She reached the top and sat down on the edge of the cliff, she was shakinguncontrollably and she didnt know what to do, on the one hand if it was real thenshe would be to scared to do anything on the other hand if it wasnt real she wouldbe disappointed it would be pretty cool to be able to shape shift at will. Thalaistared up at the moon, it wasnt full but it looked it, she closed her eyes thenhowled. At first nothing much happened then she felt it, that shiver down her neckand then her nose and mouth extended her arms and legs got longer and shecould feel the joints changing position finally her tail grew and her howl got deeper,to her surprise non of these things hurt her, and it seemed like the transformationhappened quicker this time. She looked down to see paws where her hands shouldbe she looked around then walked over to a puddle and stared down at herreflection she was a mix of dark brown and light brown with a hint of grey thrownin, she stared for awhile then she grinned and howled. After ten minutes or so shesat down exhausted and lapped up some water from the puddle she looked around

grinning then ran straight down the mountain side and stopped right before thedrop she looked down growling slightly, she had growled before but it had neversounded soreal, she stared over the edge into the black abyss of trees and rocksand she noticed something she never had before, there were loads of rocks leadingdown the gap was too big for a human to make but maybeshe shuffled from onepaw to the other then swallowed and leaped onto the first rock landing with awhimper, it hadnt hurt but it had scared her a bit and she wasnt used to fourpaws, she regained her balance then leaped again on to the second rock shetripped on her own paws and fell landing on the third, she winced as the shock hither but in spite of it she was amazed by how little it had hurt, okif I were acamera were would I be? she got to all fours and looked around.She smelled the air and although it smelled incredible! Especially as a wolf with allthe flowers, sand, pine and crisp clean mountain air, she couldnt tell where kenscamera was. She jumped off the last rock and landed amongst the trees, and pineneedles, she toppled a bit nearly falling over again (she wasnt used to having fourlegs) she stood up and began stepping tentatively through the twigs lookingaround she smiled and her ears pricked up as she began to get used to the forest.She sped up slightly breaking into a run she laughed and barked as she ran, it feltunbelievable the wind in her fur the scent of pine and pollen and boy was it funto run so fast!.

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Thalai slowed to a jogging speed and looked around she didnt really know wereshe was but she could always find her way back with her sense of smell. She tiltedher head and stared, out of the tree tops the sky was pitch black but she could stillsee the moonlight making the branches shimmer and turn silver, she sniffed the airand pricked up her ears, up ahead the trees were getting lighter as if there were anopening, Thalai sniffed the air again and began walking towards it, she stepped out

of the trees and looked around, it was a small clearing filled with rocks and smalltrees and a river running through the middle.She sniffed the air but nothing seemed to be wrong she was still cautious howeveras her sense of smell wasnt brilliant and she knew it, she wandered round a bitbefore sitting down next to a rock in a big puffy bit of grass, she rested her head onher paws and it was only then that she realised how tired she was she yawned andlay down, she would only rest her eyes for a moment

What the hell do you think your doing!? Thalai opened her eyes and looked up,the voice that had spoken was slightly rough and Thalai knew that was because itwas growling, she jumped to her paws only to be crushed back down hard hey!Let me go! she whimpered and yelped as the wolfs paws threatened to piercethrough her neck what do you think youre doing mutt!? MUTT!? Thalairepeated indignantly and that was it she rolled and lunged at him he jumped backthen reared up on his hind legs she stared at him, he didnt look like she did, forone thing his fur was white and longer than hers, his eyes were brown\orange andhe looked far more wild then she did, Thalai jumped at him trying to push him intothe near by river but he was far stronger then she was and she only succeeded ingetting her shoulder bitten, she drove her fangs into his neck before he could biteany harder, he barked and shook her off throwing her into one of the rocks she laythere exhausted with her eyes shut tight expecting to feel his fangs any second butwhen he didnt move Thalai slowly opened her eyes, he growled at her from thetop of the highest rock as she stood up and turned to him, so whats a mutt likeyou doing round here any way? Hey! she growled Im no mutt! The names

Thalai! he smirked new to this place? her ears went back well no not really Ilive in the village, with the humans, I mean people he looked at her

suspiciously you mean they keep you as their pet? he saidscratching his head, no way! Im not a pet theysorta dont know Im a wolf. Hisattention instantly snapped back to her she froze realising what a bad idea it wasto say that, he jumped down in front of her, he was quite a lot bigger than her and

his fur was slightly thicker which was probably why her bite had no effect on him.I knew I smelled something strange about you he started growling again yousmell like those humans! she gulped and looked up at him, she couldnt make itany worse so she decided to tell him, well I can kinda shape shift he immediatelyleaped up stopping an inch in front of her she yelped what were you born as awolf or a human? she sat and thought for a minute well my mum and dad arehuman but apparently when I was born I looked different he frowned at her andsat down different? Yea I looked well wolf like how? I dont know I didntexactly have a mirror did I? he closed his eyes how long have you known what

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you are her ears went down to the side of her head, she was beginning to thinkthese things would be a pain in the ass for truth or dare if they always reacted tohow she felt, I really only found out yesterday, if I had only known sooner I wouldhave been so much clearer, I never fit in with humans and now I know why helooked at her and sighed look kid you should probably get out of here its notsafe why? Do you mean that black wolf I saw the other day at least I think it was

a wolf its fur was kinda short his fur bristled and he turned to her and barkedblack wolf!? Thalai turned back to him yea, you know him? he growled deeplyas he answered weve crossed paths. She stared at him where? he growledagain ya know its not really any of your business kid she whined and sat downhe sighed uuur pups, when I was a cub he was a part of my pack but all thewolves could tell he was bad just by the smell of him, we were walking on a frozenlake and a human in a white coat grabbed both of us I bit it and got free butshadow didnt Shadow? Look do you want to here this or not kid? Ill bequiet, she said ducking her head down good, anyway a little while ago Iwondered into a human laboratory You mean you were captured GRRR hegrowled and stepped on her tail AS I was saying! I WANDERED into a humanslaboratory and he was in a glass cage opposite me, I never really got to speak tohim before I left but I heard the humans talking about him, they said he had beenenhanced, they experimented on him, the only thing I remember is, the more hekills, the stronger he becomes, the next thing I knew he had broken out halfdestroying the lab as he did. Thalai stared up at him I met him the other day hetried to kill me he hates humans more than even the other wolves he sees youas a traitor to our kind and what about him if hes been engineered then hes nolonger a pure blood either I know, but he doesnt. Thalai cocked her head to theside he doesnt know hes an experiment? the white wolf shook his head theymust have made sure he was unconscious first. Thalai sniffed the air and growledwhat now runt somethings wrongand I am not a runt! Yea well youre notexactly the expert on wolves now are you? Yea but Im still a kid so my sense ofsmell should be better than yours, how old are you anyway? 216 full moonswhats it to you? Thalai sat and thought oh you mean your eighteen? he nodded

in human years he got up and started walking come on kid what? Why?Where? Ill walk you back to your village she stood up and clumsily followedhim out of the clearing. So where did you come from? he sighed what you saykid? I mean like when did you get here? he sighed and ignored the questioncause I think people would have noticed sooner if youd been here long hegrowled a little bit but Thalai remained oblivious I mean that black wolf well myteacher saw him and then she said he was looking for one like him self I think shemeant me but I dont really know she could have meant you but then more peoplewould know about you she talks a lot and the white wolf stopped and turned toher all right kid look Im starting to get pissed off and the last thing you want is topiss me off so would you can your yap hole already! Gees! Thalai whined anddropped her ears to the side of her head he looked back at her and grimaced whatnow kid its nothing really its just that Ive never met a wolf that could talk beforeother than myself that is, I didnt think they existed I mean no-one does anymorethe humans all think they died off years ago. Yea well we came close toextinction but wolves are good survivors he stopped in front of what was theapparent beginning of the mountain rocks. this is your stop kid Thalai walked infront of him and looked up, sure enough there were the rocks leading up to the hilland the village below it, how am I supposed to climb it? she turned around, buthe was already gone Thalai jumped into a tree branch and clung to the barkoww! she barked as she sat up and hit her head, hey she laughed as she bit

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into Kens camera strap and untangled it from the leaves. She leaped on to one ofthe rocks and tripped (luckily Kens camera landed on her head so it didnt break)she leaped at the next rock only just making the jump she took a step back thenleaped for the top and landed hitting her stomach on the edge and slippingbackwards she yelped as she clung to the grass, half off the mountain, raah! shebarked as she gave it one last kick and sprung to the top panting heavily.

She rolled off her side and got up with Kens camera gripped firmly in her mouth,she looked around the light was fading fast it must have been at least five, sheshook her head then began trotting up the hill as soon as she got to the top sheturned and looked behind her, nothing, she frowned and continued down towardsthe village, she stopped at the first houses only just realising the problem, sheclosed her eyes and tried to change back, she opened her eyes and looked aroundbut she was still on all fours, umm, human! Change! Transform? Shape shift?WOOORK! she looked around and started whimpering what if she could neverchange back? What if she was stuck as a wolf forever? She closed her eyes andthought, she tried to picture her self as a human, her dark brown\grey hair, herorange\brown eyes, her gothic taste in clothing and suddenly she was standing ontwo legs with her hair trailing down her shoulders, she sighed and smiled then tookKens camera out of her mouth and jogged down the road towards Kens house.Ken hey Annabel, Ken, you there? Thalai knocked on the front door and peered inthe window but no-one seemed to be in.Hey dweeb I thought I told you not to bug us! But I wasnt I was just walkinghome! Thalai recognised jimmys voice and turned around, he was standing infront of a group of kids with there hoods up Thalai growled and edged closer, yourin our neighbourhood! jimmy started to back off as they came closer, why is thisyour neighbourhood anyway? Wont your mummys let you come any further

Thalai growled and edged closer, although she was careful to stay in the shadows,one of the suburban chavs stepped forwards and grabbed jimmy by the shirt collarraising his fist and laughing, that did it Thalai roared and lunged she howled midair and felt herself changing by the time she bit the chav by the arm she was fullwolf. DONT TOUCH MY BROTHER! she growled and threw the chav to the floor,

he then burst out crying and ran flat out down the road his friends close behindhim screaming. Thalai turned around, Jimmy was lying on the floor in a heapcowering with his eyes shut she whimpered and walked over to him on all fours, hewas clutching his arm and as she got closer she understood why, on his arm werefour massive bleeding claw marks, she gasped and felt the same sinking feelingshe had done when she had bitten Ken, she had never meant to hurt anyone but it

just seemed to keep on happening, she whimpered and bent her head to lick hisarm Aaah! he screamed and tears started trickling down his cheek. Shewhimpered louder then turned and ran she leaped over a fence and ran towardsher house howling pitifully with every step.She crashed through the back door (which was still broken off its hinges) and ranup the stairs, she looked around and she slunk into her room and lay down on herbed, she closed her eyes and sighed as she opened them again as a human.She closed her eyes and lay there until she fell asleep, although with the baddreams she had she almost wished she hadnt, Kens arm bleeding, Jimmyscreaming and running away from her, her mother and father pushing her awayfrom her friends and family...Thalai? Are you up? Yea she groaned as she got up and walked begrudginglydown stairs, she stopped as she saw Jimmy sitting at the table she froze and heldher breath as she walked down the last two steps realising just how many peoplethere were dotted around the kitchen, Annabel, Ken and their parents, miss tweed,

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Sieris and his parents, their head master and miss lunar, amongst various otheradults from the neighbourhood, Sieris hi Thalai said turning bright pink andtwiddling her hair around her finger whats going on? she knew that Ken andAnnabel would be cross with her for not saying hello to them first, but he wascloser to the door and she hadnt said hi to him in awhile, so in other words shehad many many excuses, Duno but your brothers been talking about, weird

things Thalai looked at him then at her brother he knows she whispered toherself, what? Oh she blushed nothing, hey forget about us? Ken andAnnabel walked up to her grinning, the whole towns gone nuts did you hear?

Thalai shook her head Annabel laughed do you know why this meeting wascalled? Wolves! she laughed the whole town is worried about wolves! Thalaitried to fake a smile but she could feel her heart skip a beat ha ha pretty crazyalright they said there was a big one earlier that tried to attack miss loony, a bigwhite one weird hu? They said they got a big laboratory van to pick it up What!

Thalai yelled making everyone turn to her, Thalai are you ok? I gotta go! sheleapt up nearly knocking over the table threw Kens camera at him and ran out thedoor.Ken, Annabel and Sieris looked at each other then followed her.she ducked under a fence (or rather tried to and instead hit her head full speedand rolled under it whimpering, she looked around she knew Ken Annabel andSieris were right behind her but she was panicking too much to care she stood upthrew back her head and howled, she changed almost immediately and continuedrunning on all fours, she looked behind her, the fence was pretty big and woodenso she could only hope her friends hadnt seen her, she rounded the corner andthere it was, a big silver van with weird looking symbols on the side it was dentedall over it so apparently he hadnt just given up without a fight hey! she ran up tothe van clumsily and stood up resting her front paws on the cage at the back, hewas lying on his stomach with blood, cuts and bruises all over him hey are you allright he opened one of his eyes do I look it? Thalai sighed sorry I guessnot... she sniffed the cage boy you really screwed up huh? I mean I heard theycaught you but I didnt think it would be this bad, he growled exposing his white

fangs covered in blood I can get out of here whenever I feel like it! Then whyare you still in there? he barked and leaped at the cage door Thalai yelped and

jumped back hey I can help you! Just hold on, she stood on her hind legs againand bit the padlock as hard as she could hey kid dont do me any favours! sheignored him and snapped at the lock again look mutt I dont need your help! hereared up biting one of her paws she jumped back before he could do any damageand closed her eyes she heard him growling more viciously and opened her eyesas a human she stood up and grabbed onto the padlock, then rummaging aroundin her pocket she produced a small, red and black hair pin. Hold onalmostclick! the padlock fell to the floor and the door swung open, she grinned at him Itold you I could help he growled and jumped out HEY! Thalai turned to see twopolice men, or what looked like police men she growled government! they lookedat each other then raised there bats and walked towards them Thalai startedgrowling, come on we can take them! she looked behind her but she could seethe white wolf shaking, he must have been fighting them for quite awhile, shefrowned dont worry Ill take care of this. Thalai smiled at him then turned tothem and growled, Come on kid what are you doing? He cant understand youhes just a dog, he growled Thalai stood in front of him preventing him fromstriking them wolves are just stupid animals hes just looking for food, shegrowled you damn humans, you cant tell a wolf when you see one? Not evenwhen its staring you in the face! HOOOOOOOWWW!! they screamed and began

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backing away as she dropped to all fours and snarled at them, That is not a kid!Theres something wrong with her! they raised the bats and forced them down

Thalai dodged and head butted one of them the second one struck her back legshe yelped and landed with a limp she jumped right back into the first police manwho was attempting to attack the white wolf, who could fight surprisingly wellconsidering his injuries, Thalai bit into the arm that was holding the bat, he

dropped it instantly, screaming in pain, blood ran down Thalais fur and spurted outof his arm covering them both Thalai jumped back in shock she hadnt realised justhow hard she could bite when she had to, the human fell to the floor clutching hisarm HA not bad kid you can really fight when you have to! Come on lets get out ofhere! he jumped on to the van and over the wall, Thalai looked at the police man,his arm was still bleeding and the other human had run off the first chance he got,come on kid! the white wolf looked back over the fence lets get out of here!Ill catch up ok? he growled dont come whining to me when the humans killyou! Thalai watched as he disappeared back over the fence then she turned tothe police man and began licking the blood off his cut Aaah get off! he screamedand threw her along the floor, she yelped and looked up at him and spoke Imsorry I didnt mean to hurt you really I was just defending my self! his eyeswidened and she guessed he could hear her, let me help you he shut his eyestight and turned away Thalai closed her eyes and stood up she ran over to him andgrabbed his arm squeezing it tight to stop the blood flow, he opened his eyes andtried to shake her off what the hell is wrong with you! Just hold still! she saidripping his jacket sleeve off and tying it round his arm there that shouldAaah!he took out a handgun the second she had tied the material and fired, RAAAH!

Thalai yelped as the white wolf leaped in front of her and snapped at the gun goon! Jump already! she looked behind her at the van then ran up the side andleaped over the fence and ran, she couldnt transform under pressure plus she wasmoving, the white wolf jumped over the fence and overtook her easily come onkid she stopped and howled but she was so tired it took much to long to work andby the time she was a wolf the bullet had already hit her.Ryiiiipe! she yelped as she fell to the floor and rolled violently.

she lay there breathless as the police man came slowly closer, Thalai shut her eyestight and time seemed to slow down, all she could hear was the sound of her ownheart beat she was in so much pain she could hardly believe it, and then they

jumped from nowhere, Annabel, Ken and Sieris stepped in between her and thepoliceman, Annabel yelled her name from the distance Ken and Sieris held thepoliceman back and tried to get the gun out of his hand, Thalai felt sorry for themthey thought she was still human, it was getting dark and she was hunched overon the floor but they didnt know what she was, come on kid! Thalai opened hereyes and yelped as he bit her by the scruff of her neck and carried her running upthe mountain she closed her again eyes and did her best to drown out Annabelscries, getting fainter and fainter until she felt herself swoon and she fellunconscious.Hey mutt get up your going to kill the grass if you lie there any longer uuur

Thalai groaned and opened her eyes, it took awhile for her eyesight to adjust to theearly morning light but once it had she sat up immediately and held her breathwere, am I? What? Never seen a field before? Thalai stood up and lookedaround in awe, it was the most amazing thing she had seen since she couldremember, the field was huge! It went on for as far as the eye could see going upand down, a cross between a flat field and a small hill, the grass was so green andat least three foot tall with flowers growing all around and a big clear river running

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through the middle, and right in the distance was a mountain range all around,they were in a massive valley! Where is this place?! Thalai said standing on allfours, its closer to your home than you might think Thalai looked at him whatdo you mean? See that up there? he nodded towards the mountains behindthem behind those mountains is the forest and behind that your village Thalaigrinned and walked around in a circle trying to take in all the scenery, huu? she

stopped and felt a chill go down her back as a terrible thought entered her head,wasnt she shot? What happened to the bullet and this place seemed too good tobe true Hey umm Im not Im still alive right? the white wolf looked at her

then burst out laughing hey! Im seriouswhat happened to the bullet? I bit it out Thalai cocked her head to one sidewhat? It makes it heal all right but how did I get here? I carried you hereon my back thats how he snapped and you were only shot in the shoulderanyway it wasnt enough to kill you, your just making a mountain out of a mole hill,but I warned you about that human. Her ears went back and she startedwhimpering hey kid dont sweat it theyre only humans she gave a weak smile,hey, whats your name anyway? he growled and then sighed whats it to ya?Please! he sighed deeper, then muttered begrudgingly Vitarny Vitarny huh?Cool name whats it mean? he looked at her what makes you think it meansanything? she shrugged just sounds like it should. He sighed again it means

white soul hu?! Thalai thought back to her teacher, one will kill with the help ofthe white soul but it couldnt mean him, could it? Whats Thalai mean anyway?she sat and thought then smiled, shed never thought about it before but itsounded now like it was quite a good fit for her wolf of god. He looked at her thendid what could have been a smile, but as she had never seen him do it she couldntreally tell, Come on kid we need to get food he said getting up and shaking hisfur, the village is too far we wont get any food there he rolled his eyes you reallyare a house pet I am not! he laughed and started running out into the fieldhey! Wait up! Thalai yelled while running after him, her shoulder hurt a little bitbut not enough to stop her, but she couldnt help wondering, how long she hadbeen asleep for.Hey Vitarny Thalai panted as she caught up with him, he had stopped and was

crouching by a hole in the ground hey what are you doing? he didnt answerhey? quiet mutt he said as the ground in front of him started shifting slowly,suddenly a rabbit poked its head out Aww cute, Thalai said smiling at it glad youlike it cause your going to help me catch it. What no Thalai looked at the littlefluffy creature sniffing the air then at Vitarny staring patiently at the brown rabbit,go on then mutt, get our dinner. She looked at it and whined, she was starvingbut she didnt want to kill a helpless rabbit, wellwhat do I do? he rolled his eyeshavent you ever hunted one day in your life? Thalai looked away, Vitarny rolledhis eyes of course not, stupid question for a house pet she growled at him but he

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ignored her come on mutt, she whined as she followed his lead, he skulked alongthe floor and then lunged at the rabbit snapping at the neck, it broke in one andVitarny was left holding a dead rabbit with blood dripping out of his mouth, ohman, I feel sick! Thalai said shutting her eyes tightly and turning away, if yourgonna be squeamish about it then you can catch your own food, but just sos youknow, I dont think youll find a cheeseburger hiding out in the wild Thalai whined

and licked her lips, I can eat more than just burgers you know! Vitarny raised aneyebrow city dog he dumped the rabbit in front of her eat up, if you can, shegrowled and sniffed the rabbit, it didnt smell too bad it just smelt like raw meat,she closed her eyes and tried to imagine it was chicken, she opened her mouthand hovered over the rabbit well? Go on then she opened one eye then shut itas soon as she realised she was staring into the eyes of a rabbit carcass, oh forgod sake eat! Vitarny said putting a paw on her head and forcing her open mouthonto the rabbits flesh, Aaah yuck! Thalai tried to spit it out but his paw wasrestricting her movement she swallowed and opened her eyes, it tasted sogood!He let go of her head and she blinked then drove her fangs into the rabbit rippingat the meat until there was nothing left but bone, she licked it clean breaking thebone with her teeth as her tail wagged from side to side.Well? she licked her lips and looked at him where can we find some more? hesmirked and trotted towards the long grass you coming mutt? she growled thenames Thalai! she ran after him and sat down in the grass. Hey mutt dont gettoo comfy, your caching the next one Thalai sniffed the air and leant closer to theground were there was a small tunnel, she poked her nose inside then yelped andwithdrew it quickly as a mole poked its pink nose out of the soil, Vitarny sniggeredbehind her and lay down you cant even tell the difference between a mole andyour lunch? What the hell kind of city wolf are you? Thalai growled and sat upwhy cant we eat moles? Because there just skin and bones, they take moreenergy to catch then they give you to eat, besides they taste terrible Thalaisnorted getting a little picky for a hunter arent you? he snorted at her at least Idont spend all my time eating compressed cardboard meat in a bun! Hey! shewhined cheese burgers are brilliant and theyre a lot easier to catch than a

rabbit! he rolled his eyes and walked around slowly sniffing the grass, ah! Here,hey mutt Im calling you Thalai trudged over to him and plonked down on thegrass, ears low, and whined pathetically hey mutt! stick your whiny little dry nosedown that rabbits hole and get us some damn food! she whined even morepathetically but did as she was told she pulled her nose back out a fraction of asecond later saying it smells like feet! he growled and leant on her head forcingit back into the feet soaked underground, she coughed and spluttered trying toget her head back out what the hell are you doing? Mutt youll scare off whateverlunch is in there she whined, her voice echoed through the tunnel why cant youdo this? Because Im teaching you a lesson! Youre being lazy! Youre justsitting on youre ass! Im sitting on youre head mutt this is cruelhavent youever seen Watership down? she struggled and whined but to no avail, andeventually she was forced to sit quietly and wait for rabbits.Umm, not bad mutt. Vitarny mumbled while chomping into a small hare see Itold you I wasnt a city mutt! Lets see a dog bring in that many rabbits theywere hares and you only brought in four, you are a city mutt, you cant evencatch a rabbit. Thalai bit into the last piece of bone and licked her lips, I caughthares there much faster than rabbits and bigger that makes them harder tocatchright? Vitarny shook his head rabbits are smaller and well known for beingcunning, their far harder to catch. Thalai rolled her eyes you know they would be

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hard to catch if you had caught them he growled I dont exaggerate my kills.Thalai ripped the last piece of meat off of the second hare and swallowed it, hmm,Im sureso howd you get caught anyway? he looked up at her his eyes caughtthe light turning them red and for a moment Thalai thought she would be joiningthe hares, but then he just sat down and began to scratch himself whats it toyou? she looked around well I was just wondering, I mean if you live here then

why did you come to the village? I dont live here mutt, my turfs in the forest bythe stream. And even then its not permanent. No I come from the north Thalaicocked her head to the side contemplating what he said before saying wait, if youlive in the forest why did you go so far out of your way to drag me here? he stoodup and snapped at her because mutt, if Id left you in the forest humans couldhave found you way too easily, out here were safe-er, and humans live, wolveswander. He sniffed the air then started growling Thalai felt a chill go down herback as the very air around them seemed to change, stay here. Vitarny growledand broke into a run towards the mountains. Thalai sat down and looked aroundherself nervously then she sniffed the air snap! Thalai whipped around as a twigsnapped behind her she hunched her shoulders and sniffed the air again,something seemed wrong Vitarny? she sniffed the air again and whimpered,whatever it was had gotten closer, snap! she spun around again Vitarny?! shewas beginning to worry the grass was too tall she couldnt see anything over thetop of it. SNAP! Vitarny!! she stood up tail and ears down fur bristling, she knewshe had to get into the short grass were shed first woken up but she was tooscared to move, she closed her eyes and tried to take a deep breath

Then opened her eyes and leaped over the grass she landed on all fours andbolted towards the mountains where Vitarny had disappeared.She reached the shorter grass and heard something run up behind her before sheknew what was happening she was slammed down into the grass mid air andskidded along the mud soaked ground. Aaah! she came to a stop lying on herback, she tried to get up and was instantly pummelled back down withunbelievable force, she opened her eyes and was left staring into a pare oforange\red eyes surrounded by thick pitch black fur and the sharpest yellow/white

fangs shed ever seen, she yelped and tried to get up but he was far too strong,who are you?! Thalai yelped as he pushed down on her throat she tried to howlbut she couldnt breath, vitar... she panted as she tried desperately to call tohim, vita she could feel herself losing air and the black wolf was starting toblur, she panted more and more until she could feel herself getting light headed,

when suddenly she heard a loud bark as Vitarnypounced from nowhere knocking the black wolf onto the ground.SHADOW! he growled as he pinned the black wolf to the ground Vitarny! Itsbeen awhile they snarled at each other, and before Thalai could get up bloodsplattered the grass and they turned into a blood bath filled with fur and teeth,

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Vitarny! Thalai looked franticly but she couldnt see anything she ducked into thegrass and looked from side to side then Vitarny was thrown into the river landingon his stomach half under water, he lifted his head and opened one eye (as theother one was so covered in blood it wouldnt open) shadow laughed and steppedforwards fangs bared Thalai saw her chance and jumped for his throat, at first shedidnt think anything had happened but then he yelped in pain and ducked

down to the floor in a heap, she growled at him, mouthopen ready to bite then he leaped up slammed her and ran.she stood up and looked around franticly, but the wolf had disappeared Thalai!she turned to Vitarny as he attempted to stand, but his injuries were too much hecollapsed back into the river panting, wait, let me help you up. Thalai saidwalking over to him and clamping her teeth around the scruff of his neck.

He struggled to stand but eventually with Thalai dragging him he made his way outof the river and on to the grass, hey mutt why did you step in like that? You couldhave been killed. Well yea but thats what friends do right? I mean you helpedme before, he growled slightly it doesnt make us friends I just like attackinghumans thats all he rested his head on his paws and sighed, anyway werewolves, we dont have friends, its a pack or nothing. Thalai lay down next to himwell, I guess were a pack then. he sighed it doesnt work like that mutt, a packneeds to be able to protect one another and has to have at least three members,that way theres always a way to make things work, what do you mean? Vitarnysighed a lone wolf only has to take care of himself no compromises no waiting foran injured pack member and it can sleep when it wants to, in a pack they all takecare of each other, if one falls behind all the wolves will wait behind with the fallenone, when they sleep one will always stand guard, and if one gets into a fight theywill all step in and fight togetherthats why it doesnt work with only two, theresnot enough to live and fight. Thalai grinned well then lets start a new trend! hestared at her questioningly, anew trend? Yea lets make a pack with only twowolves! he smiled slightly all right for now you can stick with me, but the secondI get the chance Im sending you back to the humans he closed his eyes and layhis head down, Thalai smiled and began licking the blood off his fur and wounds,he growled but she ignored him and carried on until he fell asleep.

Thalai stared up at the sky watching the stars for what seemed like hours beforeshe too fell asleep.

Thalai didnt get as much sleep as was her intention, she would wake up every halfhour and drink out of the river looking around nervously she was completely

paranoid that the black wolf would attack her again, neither of them were in anycondition to fight, and the more she thought about it the more paranoid she got, bythe time she fell asleep it was about five am, which was an hour before theynormally got up, and as soon as the sunlight hit the valley Thalai was wide awake.She sniffed the early morning air and licked the due soaked grass then she walkedtowards the river for a proper drink, the river water was much clearer and purerthan anything she had tasted before, she turned around, Vitarny was still asleepsnoring like a big dog (although Thalai knew he would kill her for thinking that) shelooked around and sniffed the air again, she turned around as there was a scuffling

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sound behind her, she grinned as a small brown rabbit emerged from the grass,Thalai sat down and tried to be patient but she just ended up barking and scaring itoff, she sighed and looked around there were more and more rabbits hopping intothe light, she sat and watched until there were at least five in one place then shelunged the way she had seen Vitarny do it and caught two of them under her pawskilling them instantly, all the other rabbits in the field ran and disappeared into

there burrows, Thalai sighed and picked up the rabbits it wasnt brilliant but atleast it was food.She dropped one next to Vitarny and began eating the other one herself.She finished licking the bones and stared around, apart from the birds twitteringaround in the grass and the faint noise of the river as it rushed passed the edges ofthe bank there wasnt much to do, she whined and thought about her mother, backat home, alone with her brother and father, and what about Annabel and Ken? AndSieris? They had risked there lives to save her and they didnt even know what shewas, she whimpered as tears trickled down her fur and splashed onto her paws,what if she never saw any of them again? What if that black wolfShadow hadgone back for them, she had just left them there, she had run away without lookingback, she whimpered more and more until she felt a chill go down her back and thetears stopped and she began howling, echoing through the valley making a sadhaunting noise unlike anything she had ever heard before. Hey mutt! he pausedseeing her expression and the way she was howling whats wrong? he got upbegrudgingly and walked over to her limping slightly, Thalai? he nudged hershoulder with his nose then stared at her questioningly what is it, whats wrong?she turned to him and sniffed whimpering and whining, yet no tears emerged fromher dark shinning eyes, I miss my family and my friends andwhat the hell iswrong with me? Vitarny Looked puzzled for a moment before he spoke wrong?What the hell do you mean wrong? Thalai growled if I had never howled thatnight on the hill, if I had never responded to that stupid instinct! And remainedignorant of what you are?! NO!no. Thalai stared down at the ground no, I likethe way I am, being able to run and hunt and be free! Its the best thing thats everhappened to me, its just thatI wonder if my mum worrys about me, and my dad

and brother and Sieris and Annabel and Ken and So what? Theyre justhumans?! Vitarny cut her off mid sentence, they would hate you in a second ifthey knew what the hell you really are she growled and whimpered no theywouldnt! Theyre my friends and my family, theyre like a pack, of course youwouldnt know what thats like would you!? Thalai regretted the words the secondthey left her mouth but she didnt know how to take them back so she just turnedher back and began walking over to the mountains.

Thalai took one glance up at the steep mountain although she knew the forest wasjust behind it she had never felt so far away from home, she put a paw on themuddy rubble and attempted to push herself up, only of course to fall directly backdown, she tried again this time getting a significant way up before the earthcrumbled beneath her and she slid down head over heels, she shook it off andturned around as the sound of Vitarny laughing became more apparent she snarledand turned back to the mountain, the rocks and mud were so loose that every step

Thalai took resulted in her slipping right back down to the bottom, hey! Sheturned indignantly to Vitarny as he lay on the floor rolling with laughter, you knowI could be at the top right now if I hadnt spent all night up on guard! Yea wellkid, no-one told you to do that, still Im glad you have the right instincts. She triedto argue but he just stood up and took a running jump at the mountain, come onmutt he said biting a tree root and pulling himself up, wait, where are yougoing? she said attempting to mirror his actions and failing instead landing on a

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thistle Ryiiiipe! she yelped and leaped up the mud slope landing next to Vitarny,he smiled not bad mutt, he grabbed her by the scruff and yanked her up higherand higher until the ground of pebbles and loose mud morphed into grass androcks, Thalai got to all fours and pulled her self up following Vitarnys every stepalthough she reached the top considerably later than he did, and totally exhausted.Come on mutt weve still got the other side she whined and stumbled down the

rocks to where the land got steeper tripping as she went, come on mutt! Vitarnycalled to her from up ahead yea? Im a little busy right now! he snarled at heryea well, bite me! she tripped and landed on her back at his feet, where are wegoing anyway? he smirked and flicked his tail to your home, Thalai stared athim, speechless my home? why? he scratched his ear still smirking because ifyou wont believe me about the humans then Ill show you what I mean, shegrinned youll see theyll be fine, once they know its me theyll everything willbe fine. Vitarny shrugged if thats what you want to believe he turned andbegan making his way to the bottom of the slope, well rest in my den tonight andwalk to your home in the morning. Thalai nodded ok butdo you think its a goodidea for you to come? he rolled his eyes yea as a matter of fact I think its a greatidea mutt, in fact I think its such a good idea that Im going to suggest this ideaover and over until I get it stuck in my head! Thalai looked at him and laughedeven Vitarny couldnt help smiling at his long senseless rant.It didnt take them long to get to his den although the sun was already beginningto set which made Thalai wonder what time they had left the field. Vitarny? Yeamutt? What is it? Thalai ran up beside him and sat down whats up with you andhumans? he looked at her puzzled before saying what do you mean? Theyrehumans, whats to get? Yea I know but I mean whats so bad about them?Vitarny growled theyve never given me much fun in the past. But Ive lived withthem my whole life and theyve never hurt me, thats because you looked likethem! Thalai whimpered but theyre my friends even if I didnt look humantheyd never hurt me is that so?! Well well bloody well see what they think ofyou when we get there wont we?! No need to snap! I was only saying, besides

just because they hurt you it doesnt mean theyll hurt me, besides they probably

only hurt you because youre a miserable scrogey GIT! he growled and snapped ather front paw causing her to slip tail first into the river, hey! Theres no need toattack me! he snorted and rested his head on his paws good night mutt Thalaicrawled out of the water and lay down next to him good night Vitarnyaka jerk

Thalai opened one eye and moved slightly further away from him, but he wasalready asleep, night. She closed her eyes and before she knew it she too wasasleep.

She didnt awake to the sound of Vitarnys voice for once, because he wasntThere to wake her, instead she was woken by a small brown\yellow rabbit sniffingAround her stomach, hu? Oh, hello, she said slowly getting to allFours and crouching down ready to pounce, but then she noticed something odd,

The rabbit had a small bell around its neck hey! Youre Annabels mums rabbit!Taffy! the rabbit twitched its ears and sat up responding to his name, Its ok IWont hurt you, just hold still and with that ThalaiGrabbed the rabbit by the scruff of its neck as lightly as she could andBegan carrying it through the trees, it struggled and bit just as hard as one smallrabbit could do but Thalai hung on to it all the same she was careful not to bite

Too hard as she knew her bite was far worse than her bark.By the time shereached the rocks Taffys breathing was fast and heavy, she jumped up the rocks

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Faster than she usually did (maybe she was getting used to this) then she restedThe rabbit on the grass for a moment but it remained motionless she whinedPicked it back up and began trotting up towards the village.

Thalai reached the first row of houses and was instantly presented with aproblemif she walked up to Annabels house as a wolf with her mums rabbit in

her mouth, she would most likely be shot (again!) but she could tell by the way hewas moving that if she were to put the rabbit down and shape shift he wouldimmediately run back up to the forest, and Thalai didnt think she was up tocha

Ever Stray

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