He is Ghost

You Stink

She took lead the next morning and together the three of them ran. Every few hours her nose would drop to the soil, following a trail home she wasn't sure she remembered. They stopped at night, hunting together and curling up by a dying fire. Shadow always slept next to her, his shadowy form coming over to curl up next to her when the others had gone to sleep. He watched her back everytime she bathed in a creek, watched her back as she washed the blood from her skin; the blood that ran down the inside of her thighs day after day. 

Her bleeding had come at a convenient time. Not. 

It set Shade and River on edge. They were hyper-aware of her, of her sore limbs, her increased appetite. She often saw River sitting up in the night, just staring at her. He would let out a whine when she would shift around after an annoyingly painful cramp. Shade did the same. They both seemed to sit up in shifts. Of course, Shade wouldn't watch her. How could he when his white wolf eyes saw nothing? He would sit next to her, over her. He would press his muzzle into her back when tension pulled at her spine. 

She thanked the goddess it only lasted a week and a half. Of course, she had already trailed a stream of blood from Shade's territory to here. Perhaps he would cross that path, perhaps he would follow her up the mountain. 

Finally, after two weeks of running, travelling, they came to the base of the first northern peak. Neira slowed, stopping at the edge of a cluster of trees. She reached over with her muzzle, to the bag clutched in Shade's dripping maw and gently pulled it from his glistening white teeth. 

She quickly slipped behind them, changing into the same pair of dirty jeans and shirt. From her location behind, she watched River try to put both legs in his jeans at once only to go falling into a juniper bush. Neira was laughing when she emerged and River cursed at her. 

"It's not funny, Loca," River snapped, but he was smiling too. 

Neira placed a palm on Shade's black shoulder and pressed the bag into his waiting mouth. With the time they had been travelling, she felt less and less afraid. She found herself enjoying their company and she found Shade to be okay. When those white eyes turned in her direction, her heart didn't fill with panic. Just a familiar warmth, like an old friend. Like pack. 

He didn't want anything from her. He just wanted to be her friend. Shade told her that much around a fire one night. It was just the two of them up, River had been snoring, passed out with his human mouth wide open. Not that the human part mattered, he snored in both of his bodies.

She found River to be someone she could quickly lean on. He was nothing but jokes and laughter and joy. The teasing he tossed her way wasn't a ploy to win her over, it was just him. Both of them, their kindness and wildness was just that. Them. It was refreshing.  

Neira took a step backwards, turning as she did so to look for Shade within the tree line. She thudded into a hard chest, and as she spun to face him, Shade's fingers dug into the skin of her upper arms. It was a quick grasp, almost as if he'd stumbled. She looked up at him, noticing that his normally human black eyes were completely white. His face was screwed up in an uncomfortable sneer, his fingers seeming to hold on to her as if to hold himself up. He let out a guttural breath, holding her arms tight in his grasp. 

"Sorry," he stammered, his eyes still white as they stared at nothing over her head. 

"Its okay," she said, reaching up to grip his wrists. 

He grunted, closing his eyes. "Its really disorientating when it does that." When he opened his eyes again, they were black once more, and his gaze landed on her face. "Sorry," he muttered again, realeasing her arms. She gave him a reassuring smile.