#1 Shifters: The Iced City Of Canidae

Chapter Two: Limbo

Maine gets to the river of melted ice and sits at the edge, shifting back to her human form. She stares and lets out a shiver. All felines hated water, Maine was no exception. She had to get to Canidae, her sister waited for her there. Maine plunged into the freezing cold water and swam across with her backpack tight to her shoulders.

As Maine resurfaces she turns and glares at the water, poking her tongue out then looks ahead, she can already see Canidaes burg. 'Not long left.' Maine shifts into her feline, a red ember dancing across the white snow. She challenges the harsh winds and push harder, and, quicker than she thought, Maine was at the foot of Canidae. She looks at the walls, destroyed, melted, and.... has holes, 'I can get threw that!'

Maine leaped threw the hole and looks around, the wooden houses burnt and the ground has large ditches where a fire would have burnt. It was a lot bigger than Felenae and a lot more destroyed. Maine shifts to human and taps a lady on the shoulder, the plump lady turns and looks at Maine with fear, but then relaxes "Oh dearie, you shouldn't be snaking around like that. Our precious home......" she turns and looks at the burnt snow and ice, now water. "And poor Nora too. She did so well.." she turned to Maine.

"Nora?! Do you know where she is, what happened?" Maine asks.

She gives Maine a odd look "have you been living under the snow!?" She looked at Maine with confusion. Maine shakes her head only to get a sigh from the plump lady "Nora, as usual was defending the boarder. Serpentae finally got the better of her. She's in the hospital now, she was bit and isnt looking so good, although, I was told she had died..." the lady frowned, her silver blond hair hung ruggedly over her shoulders and well.... well fed, she looked like the kind of woman you'd come to if you where lost and she smelt of winter berries.

Infact, if the town wasn't burnt, the whole place would smell of winter berries. That and strawberries and rain wood and snow and ice and even the faintest smell of chocolate. "Might I ask where the hospital is ma'am?" Maine asked.

She nods and points north of the burg "Actually just ahead and to your left." Then she looked at Maine closely, "You smell of Felenae..." she growled. Maine freeze and held her breath. "It's a lovely place at this time of year." She looked at Maine with her bright blue eyes "I know your from Felenae, you've come all this way to reach Nora with good intentions, I won't say anything." She smiled again. 'Geez what's with this woman!?'

"Okay... thank you bye!" Maine waves kindly and scampers down the road. "Dead?! Nora is dead!? No! It can't be, that lady must of lost a few screws in the fire. Or.... am I too late?" Maine tried reassuring herself.

Maine pushed open the doors and went to the front desk where a lady sat looking rather board. "Ma'am, could you direct me to Nora?" Maine asks.

She slowly blinks and looks up at Maine with the dullest look anyone could give, 'like someone just took everything away..... from........... oh...'

"Why do you want to see the Captain?" She asks in a dead tone, one Din gives Maine when Maine spills dinner or accidentally loose her contacts.

"Hum, I'm a... ah.... her sister." Maine says Unsurely. She didn't really plan this threw. The lady raised her eyebrow and looks at her screen and types really quickly, 'She must have been at the job for a long while now.'

She looks at Maine. "Name?"

"Maine." Maine says quietly. She watched as a bed was rolled past, a pale blue bag over the top and the reeking smell of death. Maine gulped, what if that was her sister in there. Maine stared at the bed as the docters wheel it away.

"Miss?" The lady snapped Maine out of her trance. Maine looks at her and blinks. "Room C17." she says pointing upstairs. Maine nods her thanks and quietly makes her way up the stairs. 'There it is, C17!' Maine pushes open the door but theres someone already by Noras side. The young girl looks up at Maine, her eyes puffy and red from crying, and the bip of the machine, was instead a long eerie siren of death. Maine's heart sunk as she saw Noras pale emotionless face 'I was too late....'

The girl with black hair stood, her eyes furious "Who are you?! Another Serpantae?!?! What? Come to gloat over what you've done?!?!" She steps forward and clenches her fists, Maine could tell she is a shifter, white hairs start to sprout from her face and hands.

"Wait! No i'm Noras sister!"

"Nora has no family!! I've only been there for her!!" The girls mouth and nose elongate and she drops to four, massive white paws. She looks up at Maine with intelligent blue eyes narrowed. "Stay away snake!!" she growls and lunges. Maine braces for impact and shuts her eyes tight but nothing happens except a thud and a clang, 'What? Did she trip on her tail?' Maine slowly opens her eyes and sees a mouse brown wolf standing longways in front of her, the brown wolfs front left paw a mash of blue and silver metal.

The white wolf stands up beside the drawers, this brown wolf must have blocked the attack. "Nora!? what are you doing? and- how?" The white wolf looked at the bed then at the brown wolf.... 'The brown wolf is Nora!!' And without thinking Maine leaps and wraps her arms around her sisters neck in a hug. Nora lets out a surprised yelp but doesn't move.

Instead Maine got "Why are you here Maine." Nora says in a low raspy voice. 'She knows me!'

"I heard what happened on the paper, people said you died!! Your okay!!" Maine finally let go and looked at Nora, she has her eyes, her mothers eyes. Maine felt the air stiffen with discomfort and the white wolf and Nora exchange unknown glances. Maine frowns, "You arent gonna send me away are you? I came all this way!" Maine exclaims.

"Open your eyes Maine! its a war and i'm in Limbo! You cant be here and i bet mother doesn't even know your here does she?!" Nora growled. Maine blinks at her sister, 'Shouldn't she be happy to see me?' Nora sighed and shook her head "I'm sorry you thought... but you have to go home. Serpentae are a problem, and you nearly got hurt already." Nora cast a glare at the white wolf then back at Maine.

"But i cant, when i came the river was high and its continuing, ill drown if i cross it again." Maine was making an excuse for not leaving. Maine hears the mechanical movements of Noras metal paw as Nora turns to sit and face Maine, staring for a long while, Nora must have missed Maine somewhere in her mind. "And whats limbo?" Maine had to ask. She couldn't help it.

this earned a chuckle from my sister "Never you mind." her turned her head over her shoulder to the white wolf who sat a distance away then back at me "Fine, stay at mine for the while until the river freezes. Then you must go home." she smiled faintly.