Wolves howled through the forest as the sun set, packs were starting to move out to start hunting for the night. The moon was up, not quite full, but it was a clear night so even the moon light was casting shadows around the lands and making it easier to see. The Virens Forest would be alive tonight as the wolves were hungry and looking for easy prey.

Among the predators in the forest that night was one alone, running through the forest as fast as she could. A red blur as she ran past anything, the wolf dodged around the trees and the stumps, keeping up her best as best she could. The red wolf stood at four feet tall at the shoulder, seven feet from tip of her nose to her tail and was a healthy one-hundred and forty pounds. Making her twice the size of the average red wolf that some might be familiar with.

She was out here alone having come from Vilpamolan to get more practice with the form of the wolf she was now in. The young lycanthrope had a great teacher, but sometimes going out solo was important, Cassandra needed to learn some things on her own. She needed to know the new her as good as she had known her past self. This was still very new territory for Cassandra, but she was making the best of it.

She came around a tree a little too fast and too tight in her turn and nearly ended up smashing herself into a tree behind that one. But with a instant to react the wolf mind in her kicked in and made her scramble to stop, digging her paws into the ground and come to a skidding near stop before using what was left of the momentum to dodge around the second tree. Then she came to a stop and snarled, that was foolish, but at least she hadn’t run headfirst into that three. But, now that she had allowed the wolf mind to take control, she had to fight back for that control once more. ~I am in control, not you, this is MY body!~ She screamed in her own mind and the inner battle raged for a moment before she was standing there panting.

The feral wolves howled once more, it seemed a small pack had found their prey. Curious Cassandra turned in that direction and followed the howling to see what exactly they would do. She would not interfere with their hunt or kill, just observe from a safe distance.

Well this was about as far from ideal as it was possible to be. Maia looked at the sunken wheel with growing horror as daylight continued to fade away. It had been two days since it had rained and the ground had looked firm. She’d thought it was safe enough to press on for a more open campsite. What a terrible story it would make if this were to be the final mistake. Wolves howled entirely too close for comfort and Noel agreed, calling out in alarm. A second glance at the vardo’s wheel confirmed her fears: there was no way that wheel was going to be dug out before the last of the light was lost. And that didn’t take into account the presence of the nearby wolves who would likely be drawn to the frightened alpaca. So. Defensive preparations and possibly a fight. Maia’s vision blurred and she swayed briefly as her fear surged. Which was not helpful. She needed to act fast. Taking several deep, calming breaths she closed her eyes and reached within for her internal magical reservoir. With a moment of focus she activated her Sight and Instincts. It was an awkward time of day to adjust to her darkvision, but she didn’t want to risk being unable to access it later. She needed more practice, but now wasn’t the time to dwell on that either. From her pocket Maia withdrew a small pouch of blackberry seeds. Humming soothingly to Noel she went to work walking a short perimeter around the vardo spilling the seeds as she went. Task complete she moved to unhitch Noel. If they wound up needing to fight wolves then the alpaca should not be restrained. As she went through the familiar motions she sent her power whispering through the blackberries. “Grow,” she whispered. And they did. Within moments the previously empty space around the vardo was full of snarling blackberry bushes, thorns wicked sharp and bursting with newly ripened fruit. Maia sagged against Noel as exhaustion swept through her. She’d drawn too much power much too swiftly. Precious moments passed and the howling of the wolves neared. Heart labouring painfully she wondered if she had pushed her body too far. But she had little choice as Noel continued to cry out and shift nervously. Maia climbed back to her feet even though she didn’t remember sitting in the first place. She hurt but Noel’s concern propelled her into the vardo to retrieve her striped staff. Resting on the back porch she prayed that the wolves would be deterred by the thorns and find easier prey elsewhere. Softly singing a lullaby to calm them both they waited knowing an alpaca and an exhausted human didn’t stand much of a chance if the wolf pack were truly determined to get in. Maia knew she ought to kindle a fire but she just didn’t have the energy. And so they waited.

The red wolf didn’t have too far to go to catch up to the hunting pack, given her longer legs and longer stride she was a bit faster than normal sized wolves. But as she drew closer to the pack she slowed down and kept her distance, approaching slowly as she kept out of their way as they started to circle their chosen prey. The scent of the alpaca came to Cassandra’s nose and her golden eyes narrows, alpacas weren’t common in these lands, so why was it here? Getting closer she circled around and cause the scent of the human, oh no, that was who the wolves were after!

Keeping out of the packs way and making sure they understood her as a nonthreat, for now, Cassandra got a view of what they were circling. A lone woman, her alpaca and their cart, surrounded by blackberry thorns to protect them. ~Damn it all, I can’t let the pack take her.~ Cassandra thought to herself and started to move to a better position to get between the prey and the predators, this wasn’t going to be easy, but Cass couldn’t stand by and let this happen.

The thorns did seem to slow the pack down as the started to come out of the shadows and try and find ways through the barrier, barking and growling as they did. They were all normal forest grey wolves but after only a few moments of trying to get to their prey, a howl from close by and flash of red fur came out of the trees. Cassandra barked and snapped at some of the wolves who backed away from the much larger red wolf out of sheer shock of her arrival, despite knowing she was around they hadn’t expected a lone wolf to do such a thing.

Cassandra turned her golden orbs to the woman for a moment before turning to face the back again, fangs bared in a deep growl and she barked a warning at them. It was a stare down for the moment as one side waited for the other to flinch. The pack knew they had the numbers and they wanted the easy prey beyond the thorny barrier, however, the initial surprise and the odd smell of the much larger wolf was keeping them back for the moment.