wrath and mercy

It being a Thursday afternoon, the bar was mostly empty except for a few patrons who were holed up in the corners. The four customers Clio could count were all hunched over their drinks, indulging in their own conversations as she moved past them, watching as a muscular bus boy wiped down the other few empty tables. Clio had never been in this bar before, but that wasn't a surprise as she had just moved to the rainy town of Bellshore.

As Clio walked by Henry, scrubbing down one of the tables, a member of his pack leaned against his table, pointing secretly towards her. "You smell it, don't you?" All of the werewolves had been able to pick up on Clio's scent the very second she had moved into town. She had been the hot topic of their group for weeks, but now she had waltzed into a werewolf owned bar, right smack dab in the middle of their little town.

Bellshore was a fishing town, also not a surprise seeing as the small town was surrounded on all sides by nothing but water. Other than lakefronts and large bodies of water, the town was also densely forested, something that made Clio both comfortable and on edge. She enjoyed the tiny knit community, the fact that it was usually quiet and the fog that hung over the city was welcoming to her. It was rarely sunny, another thing that made Clio more at ease. Bellshore was usually gray, gloomy and foggy, all things Clio had been looking for in an new place to settle.

The young girl had, she assumed, escaped her coven, leaving them behind in her home state of Oregon, after moving to the coast of Washington. She knew she could never escape her ailment, that she would always crave the warm life essence coursing through every human being she passed, but being away from her coven already felt like a weight lifted off of her shoulders. If Clio wanted to to try and source blood in more ethical ways, like stealing from blood banks or scavenging from animals, she could. Or, if she preferred to hunt on her own, that would be okay too, but she couldn't handle the way her order had tried to dictate her. They had been bloodthirsty, wanting to hunt every night, murdering countless of innocent lives... Clio just wanted to live as normally as she possibly could, only feeding when she absolutely had to...

Smack! Clio was ripped from her thoughts as she made her way to the counter, passing by a table full of men. One had thought it was necessary to slap her ass, causing her to jump as she spun around on her heel, face reddening as she thought of what to say to the man. If they hadn't been in such a crowded place, she probably would've saved her breath and just ripped his throat to sheds.

"Firm ass." The drunkard laughed, as Clio fought the urge to rip his head off. Even though it wasn't detrimental to her well being, she took a deep breath and tried to calm down, flipping the man off as she headed towards the counter, taking a seat at the bar. Clio had just settled into her new home and now that everything was unpacked, she had wanted to scout out the little township, but it was becoming more clear to her that maybe she should've stayed inside. Whether she lived in the big city, or a small little borough, ass-hats like the on who had slapped her bum were always sure to be hanging around. Ripping his head off wouldn't have even yielded much reward. Clio could smell his scent, how bitter he would taste. Just his odor alone was turning her off, so much so that she hadn't even had the energy to come up with a smart remark.

She settled into her seat, the bartender coming to see what she needed. Collin, one of the younger, but more brutish wolves in Henry's pack watched her with glowing hazel eyes as she ordered a drink from the bartender. "I want to rip her to pieces. What does she think she's doing here?" He never broke his stare from watching Clio as he spoke, his whole body tensing.

Henry wasn't one to put himself in the spotlight. He did his best to just... live. He didn't feel a desperate need to be alpha of the pack because, well, he was content with his position. He was the head bartender at the local bar, he did have a certain level of sway because he had experience and there was nothing quite like someone who could stand up and gain control of a bunch of drunken werewolves. It wasn't always easy but Henry wasn't one to put up with bullshit. He never had been. It was something that many admired him for it and there were a few who whispered about Henry challenging their alpha because many weren't too happy with their current alpha but he simply didn't want it.

He was in the middle of wiping down the bar after a particularly heavy rush, not particularly paying attention to the door when it opened. It wasn't only when that stench hit his nose that he looked up, his face scrunching as his eyes searched the bar for the foreigner. Henry's head tilted to the side, his eyes locking on Clio as she navigated through the bar. Already, Henry was torn watching her move. Anticipating having to kindly ask her to leave because he knew that this could only end badly. A vampire in a werewolf's bar was never going to go kindly. But then she wasn't losing her head when someone smacked her ass and Henry had to give credit where credit was due.

What Henry wasn't going to put up with was men who couldn't keep their hands to themselves. He protected the women of the pack because they were the packs' future. There was no way around that. Henry straightened, squaring his shoulders when he overheard Collin's words. He'd intended to just leave it alone, or at least told himself he would, but then Collin had gone and opened his mouth. Henry let out a low growl as he moved to step around the counter, stalking toward the younger member. "You're cut off. Now get the fuck out. You can come back when you decide not to bring that into my bar," Henry snapped, his voice low, daring the man to argue with him.

Henry had the advantage here, he was older, more experienced. There was no winning this, many of the members simply watched because they knew that if Henry said something, that was likely the end of it. Not many would challenge him because of his experience. He simply didn't want to fight anymore. Even if his current occupation required it on the occasion.

Holding up his hand to silence Collin when the wolf went to speak, Henry shook his head before nodding toward the door. "Out. Don't make me say it again," he growled, a low, deep sound coming from deep within his chest.

Henry spun around, starting back toward the bar, his jaw set. "Y'know. This isn't safe for you to be here," he muttered as he passed by her, his eyes narrowed into thin slits as he moved back around the bar to his original spot.

Clio ran a hand through her dark, auburn hair as she took a seat at the bar. The young vampire couldn't sense the thick, musty scent of dog surrounding her as she tried to get comfortable. Moving hours away from your home was hard enough, but making the move alone was even harder. Rum and coke, she had told the bartender, but make it bite.

She held the glass firm in her hand, smelling the rum that was sure to have filled more than half the glass. It was hard for a vampire to get drunk, but not impossible. It just took a lot. Clio had full intentions to sit in this bar until her vision swayed and her words slurred off of her tongue. She had been doing nothing but unpacking and sleeping for days and right now all she wanted was to unwind.

The young girl had been taking a sip of her drink when Henry passed by her, whispering under his breath. Licking her bottom lip as she sat the drink back on the counter top, she looked in his direction, flashing icy eyes his way. "I can handle myself, but thank you."

Clio had assumed the man had just seen what had happened to her and didn't like seeing a woman alone in a testosterone filled bar. She couldn't tell what he was, or anyone else in the room for that matter. His glare seemed to convey something different, and if Clio had still be alive it might've caused her blood to run cold. If she was privy to the fact that she was surrounded by werewolves, she might've been a little on edge, but she could hold her own.

@ castle.

Henry was thoroughly convinced that whatever Clio was thinking, that she had to be completely and utterly crazed to walk into this bar. She was so blatantly dead that it made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. He scoffed at her answer, shaking his head as he turned away from her. He wanted to tell her that she needed to leave, that he wasn't giving her the option anymore but he turned away from her entirely. Henry's shoulders pulled together as he reached for a cloth, beginning to dry off the glasses that had just finished in the dishwasher.

He turned back toward Clio, his head tilting to the side as he studied her. Clio was pale, her eyes a brilliant shade of hazel shade that would have taken his breath away if Henry had allowed it. He cleared his throat as he looked away from her, gritting his teeth. "You might be able to handle yourself against a few people but you ain't gonna be able to fight off everyone," Henry pointed out dryly. A simple admission without telling her where she had ended up. Henry was trying to warn her without outright saying it.

Realizing that Clio either didn't realize what he'd been trying to tell her or she simply didn't care at all, Henry decided to at least have a conversation with her. It wasn't every day that a vampire came waltzing into a werewolf's bar. "What're you doing here anyway?" He asked, his words coming out a bit more forceful than he had meant for it to. "People don't just stumble into Bellshore without meaning to."

Clio squared her shoulders, alarms going off in her head when he spoke again. She had hoped he would just leave her alone, let her drown herself in the cheap booze and then she would stumble home when she was ready. The way he spoke, spitting his words like venom, especially how he said everyone. She gripped her drink in her hand, lowering her head, but tilting it to the side gently to allow her eyes to scan the bar around her. His words had come off as a threat, but there was no reason for her to be scared of a few men.

Looking back down into her drink, she brought it to her lips to conceal her sigh as he kept talking. She licked her lips as she clanked the glass back down on the counter top.

Vampires were at a distinct disadvantage when it came to werewolves. Their heightened sense of smell could tick off a werewolf to a vampire in seconds, they could sense when one was within a mile radius, but vampires... They wouldn't know they were looking at a werewolf unless they focused on it, unless the werewolf gave off some kind of hint... Clio might as well have been clueless.

Dropping her shoulders, she looked up at the man, for a moment admiring his strong jaw and the cleft of his chin. "You're right, I didn't just stumble across your bar. I'm new to town. Thanks for the lovely warm welcome," Clio hissed, not entertained by how rude he was being. She still held the glass tightly in her hands, unnerved by his demeanor and words. Was she in danger? Was there something about this bar that she was unaware of? It was beginning to seem that way. "Pour me a double shot and I'll get out of your hair if I'm a nuisance."

@ castle.

Henry nearly laughed at the sass that Clio gave him. He wasn't the least bit surprised that she wasn't happy with the way he was treating her but that had been the entire intention in the first place. He was hoping that she would be so put off that she would leave, just as she had promised that she would. He raised an eyebrow at the demand for a double shot, his eyes flicking to the glass that would be required for it.

"Never said you were a nuisance. Said you didn't want to be here," Henry muttered, forcing back the growl that threatened to sound from his body. He shook his head as he turned, reaching out to grab the glass he'd been eyeing up. Henry wasted no time in pouring her double shot before he slid the drink across the counter, toward her. "Don't put words into my mouth that I didn't say," he muttered under his breathe.

"I don't just mean my bar, girl. I mean this town. People don't just stumble into Bellshore because they think it's a quaint little town," Henry said, rolling his eyes at the description of his home. Most of the residents were werewolves with a few of them being humans. He'd heard the humans describe Bellshore as cute and quaint, something that they apparently appreciated. It was enough to make him roll his eyes again, annoyed by the thought alone.

"What're you looking for? Or," Henry paused, a little smirk settling on his features. "What're you running from?" Noticing her reaction to his second question, Henry knew he was onto something. "That's it, isn't it? You running from something?"

Clio was only slightly satisfied when she had the double shot in her hand, the smell of the liquor burning her nostrils. She downed the last bit of her mixed drink before sliding the empty glass towards him, turning her attention to the large shot. Raising an eyebrow in his direction when he continued to mumble under his breath, she just rolled her eyes back at him and huffed, letting it go. It didn't seem like he was trying to get a nice tip out of her, instead doing his best to be as off-putting as possible. Clio was letting his words go in one ear and out the other as she stared into her drink.

What're you running from? Clio's throat dried up instantly, her jaw clenched and her whole body stiffened. It was all the answer he needed to continue to pester and poke at her, That's it, isn't it? You running from something? Looking up at him again, she noticed how his body language had changed. His shoulders were straight, his chest puffed out a bit, a snarl almost on his lips as he spoke. Forcing her body to relax, she glanced up at the man before throwing the shot back, wanting nothing more than to get out of this bar. "I'm not running from anything. I wanted to move away from the city, that's all." She pushed the glass towards him before getting up from the bar stool. "The other guy got my card, tip it out." Clio was already quick to make a mental note to never step foot back in this place, her face hot but not from the drink.

Leaving the bar, Clio couldn't ignore how she felt multiple sets of eyes on her as she made her way out of the building. It was obvious something was off, more than just a few brutish men doing their best to intimidate a young girl. The bartender knew she was a vampire, it was clearly written all over his face, how he was talking to her, threatening her... Vampire hunters, perhaps? That would make sense as to why he said she couldn't possibly fight them all... Looking over her shoulder, she saw a couple of the patrons of the bar had followed her to the door, watching her as she walked away.

She wasn't afraid of a few vampire hunters, if that's what they were. Clio wasn't so sure about that, it seemed more ominous than that, more dangerous.

@ castle.

Henry's frown only deepened as he leaned against the bar, watching as Clio bolted for the door. He wasn't the least bit surprised when several men stood to crowd around the door so that they could watch Clio retreat down the street. He watched the men carefully, fully expecting at least one to do something stupid but he was pleasantly surprised when they all remained inside instead of doing something dreadfully stupid.

The only thing that Clio had done wrong was stumbling into a werewolf's bar, her rotten, undead scent following after her and irritating every wolf inside. Henry's nails dug into the wood of the bar, his eyes narrowed even as the other people returned to their seats. It wasn't until one of the other bartenders called his name that his attention was pulled away from his thoughts and Henry remembered where he was. He was supposed to be working, not letting his thoughts drift further away than they already had.

---

Henry was sure that would have been the last he would see Clio. He was sure she would leave town because while he hadn't come out right and told her what he was, Clio seemed like she might actually have a decent head on her shoulders. He was convinced that she would be able to figure out the danger that was lurking in the shadows of Bellshore. There hadn't been a wolf on human attack in decades but then, there had never been a vampire here. There was far too much unknown for Henry to be comfortable.

He started down the street, his hands shoved into his pockets as he headed to the local cafe. Henry had the day off and had nothing particular in mind, only intent on enjoying himself because it wasn't very often at all that Henry had the day to himself.

The sun was setting over Bellshore, but it had been a cloudy enough day to where Clio had felt it was safe to explore the town again. That's partially why she had chosen to move to the seaside town, they often found themselves having dark, cloudy, rainy days.

Clio heard the door to the cafe open, a little bell chiming over head as the door slammed closed. It only drew her attention because she had been sitting in the little hole in the wall for over an hour without hearing anyone else enter. Looking up, she immediately groaned and sunk down in her seat, seeing the rude bartender from the other day. She crossed her fingers and hoped he wouldn't see her, at least long enough for her to leave. With the sun disappearing behind the horizon and the cover of nightfall blanketing the town, she knew it would be best to try and catch some late dinner before going home.

Unfortunately, as soon as the man stepped into the cafe, the pair locked eyes. Almost as if he could instantly sense her. She let her head fall back against the seat, breaking her gaze away from him to look up at the ceiling, asking any higher being, why?

She could at least hope he would leave her alone.

@ castle.

Henry's brows pulled together when he noticed Clio in the corner of the cafe. He raised an eyebrow and tilted his head but carried on to the counter so that he could order his coffee. His shoulders sagged after he'd received his drink and for a moment, he entertained the idea of just leaving Clio alone. But he didn't want to. Something was pulling him toward her, he just wasn't sure what that something was.

He turned toward Clio and wasn't all that shy about the way he started toward her table. Without asking for permission, Henry pulled out the chair opposite of Clio and dropped down onto the seat. He leaned back, taking a sip of his coffee and he studied Clio.

"I see you haven't been run out of town yet," Henry remarked in a low voice. He found it rather miraculous that Clio was still here but he supposed he had to give some sort of credit where it was due. "What's it going to take? The people you're running from to show up?" He asked with a dry laugh.

He studied her, quiet as he ran his thumb around the rim of his cup. "So. How long do you plan to stay here? Can't stay here forever, you know?"

Clio could hear Henry's footsteps approaching her, feeling like little pins and needles were pricking all down her arms. She tensed her shoulders, forcing herself to sit up straight, her jaw clenching when she heard the scraping of the chair on the ground. Glancing up, the man was already sitting down in front of her, talking a big game.

"What's your problem?" She couldn't help it, the sentence just came spilling out of her mouth. Clio was holding on to her cup so tightly that her knuckles were turning white, if that was possible considering how pale she already was. "Why would I be run from town? I'm minding my own business, but for some reason, it appears I've already managed to piss off the local bartender." She rolled her eyes, scooting her chair back as she thought about leaving. Something stopped her though.

She glanced back over to him, sighing as she let her shoulders drop. "I live here. I've bought a home up in the mountains, so I'm staying. Why does it matter to you?" Clio couldn't quite place why she was getting such a weird vibe from this man. He was coming off aggressive, but at the same time, protective?

@ castle.

Henry's gaze narrowed when Clio moved to seem like she was leaving when he'd just sat down. Before he had gotten the chance to get any answers out of her. It was as clear as day to him that Clio was trying to leave something behind but the fact that she had stumbled upon Bellshore, that was practically a werewolf's claim... how? And the fact that she wasn't picking up on the hints that he kept trying to lay down for her. It blew his mind.

"Because you fuckin' smell," Henry grunted with a sigh. He shook his head, lifting his coffee to his lips and taking a long sip. "Because your house is too close to mine and your stench is permeating my house," Henry said dryly. Okay so that was a lie but her house was close enough that he knew where it was.

Henry shifted, sitting up a bit straighter. He leaned against the table, raising an eyebrow as he looked up to Clio. "You could have picked anywhere else. You could still pick somewhere else. And yet you're too stubborn to realize that Bellshore just ain't the town for someone like you."

For a quick second, Clio's eyes glossed over, a shade of crimson flashing at Henry, her teeth barring before she could control herself. Huffing, she did her best to control her anger, well aware now that the man sitting across from her couldn't be human. Closing her eyes tightly, she didn't open them again until they had returned to their normal color, until she had relaxed.

"Such a gentleman," she replied snarkly, licking her tongue over her bottom lip, before she leaned against the table, following his lead, until there was only a couple of inches keeping them apart. "Normally, I'd rip a man's throat out for speaking to me like that." It was clear the man knew what she was, but staring into his golden hazel eyes, she couldn't place what he could be. A vampire hunter was still a good guess.

Clio couldn't help but smile, her anger getting the best of her again, not to mention how her throat was burning. Her fangs barred, slightly growing in length and she didn't care to give him a good look. Clio tried to catch his scent, but surprisingly, she got nothing.

"I'm staying. Get used to it." Her tone came out sharp and with a snap, before she pushed herself away from the table and stood. She wasn't sure what he was, but she wanted to get away from him, before they caused a scene in the cafe.

@ castle.

Henry nearly looked bored when Clio started to threaten him. In truth he was. He had no doubt that he could defend himself and even if Clio somehow did manage to get the upper hand on him, there was no way she would leave this town in one piece. Even if the pack fought and were angry with each other, there was no such thing as letting a vampire waltz right out of town after killing a pack member.

"You can try. I don't know how good of an idea that would be for you though," Henry remarked, rather calm despite the threat that Clio had just made. He shrugged, offering her a teasing little smile. "You won't leave this town if you do. You'd be lucky to make it out of this cafe if you did. But I suppose if you want to hurt the person who is trying to help you out here, then you can. But don't be surprised when you meet me on the other side. Dead for good this time."

Henry cleared his throat, quiet for a long moment before he spoke again. "Tell me. How did you stumble upon Bellshore? What made you think that coming to a place like this, was a good idea? Hm? What was so much worse that Bellshore of all damn places was a good idea?" Henry was struggling to wrap his mind around it. "There's nowhere else you could go?"

Clio narrowed her eyes, her hands planted firmly atop the table as she stood, still trying to figure out what exactly she was speaking to. She decided to ignore his questions, not caring to answer him. "I don't even know your name, I don't have to answer to you." She wasn't about to sit there and spill her guts to someone who was being rude to her, who was threatening her. She wasn't about to let him know about all of her problems, about the vampire coven who was most likely trying to track her down at that very moment.

"I've gotta run, have dinner to catch." She snarled, finding being around him made her skin crawl. Alarms were going off in her head, every fiber of her being telling her that he was a threat. Something worse than a vampire hunter, that was for sure. Clio grabbed her jacket off of the back of her chair, pulling it on before she glanced back over towards Henry, letting the conversation lie there. She was thirsty, her throat positively burning and now she was also on edge and pissed off.

Before he could even try to argue, the bell above the door of the cafe was jingling and the door slammed closed, Clio vanishing.

---

The second that she was out of the cafe, Clio felt like she could finally relax, letting her shoulder slouch as she wrapped her arms around torso. She was fast to hurry back towards the mountains where she now lived, but instead, lingering around the hiking trails. The sun, which was still shrouded behind storm clouds, was beginning to fall behind the horizon, darkness rolling in over the town of Bellshore.

Clio was still trying to wrap her mind around why that asshole back in the cafe was so adamant on getting her out of town. So much so, that she wasn't paying attention to her surroundings, to the werewolf that was stalking her among the trees, glowing yellow eyes trailing her every movement.

@ castle.

Duncan trailed after Clio, her eyes locked on the young vampire's movements. His eyes were narrowed into thin slits, surprised that she couldn't at least hear his footsteps. Though he supposed that he shouldn't be that surprised. She was a vampire that was completely alone, Duncan doubted that she actually had any skills worth noting. But when Clio started hanging around the hiking trails, the alpha's hair stood on end. His muscles tensed and he readied to pounce, expecting the vampire to attack a straggler human who hadn't quite made it back down the mountain before the sun started to set.

Lifting his snout in the air, Duncan scented around to see if there were any humans nearby. While he wasn't meant to protect humans, he wasn't about to let a vampire feed on his grounds. Not his pack's territory. There was no way in hell. There was a human likely still a good ten-minute hike away from them but Duncan wasn't stupid. Clio would pick up on the human's presence soon enough and then blood would be shed.

Without so much as a growl, Duncan started racing toward Clio. He didn't give the vampire any warning as he launched into the air, his jaws aiming at her neck. He would end her before she hurt a single human in his territory.

It wasn't until Clio heard the snapping of tree branches and the low, deep snarling that quickly turned into a loud roar, that she was made aware of the threat trailing her. By that point, it was far too late. Spinning around on her heel, she saw the large wolf flying through the air towards her, mouth open wide, a mouth full of razor sharp teeth snapping at her, aiming right for her throat.

Zipping out of the way before the wolf could tackle her, Clio found herself watching the werewolf hit the ground, quickly steadying itself before it looked around for her. She felt like an idiot, now knowing what the man had been trying to warn her about. She couldn't have known, there was no way for vampires to sense werewolves until they saw them in their true form, but still, she felt like she should've caught the hints. Now wasn't the right time to be hard on herself, she had to focus on the situation at hand and try to make it out alive.

Her fangs grew long, eyes glowing red as she hissed at the wolf, watching as it lunged for her again. Thick claws dug into her hips, ripping down her legs as it pinned her to the forest floor. Clio screamed in pain, leaning up quickly to take a bite out of her attacker's chest, getting a mouth full of fur and disgusting tasting blood. She ripped a chunk out of the wolf, hearing it wince and whine in pain as it fell back, looking down at its wound before rearing its head in her direction again.

Clio looked around the forest frantically, for anyway out, trying to form a plan in her head. She couldn't think straight, feeling the searing pain in her sides, feeling the way her clothes were beginning to stick to her skin, soaked in her own blood. Her breath caught in the back of her throat when she noticed another set of glowing eyes in the trees and she felt her heart sink to her stomach, knowing it was another wolf. One she could probably manage, but two? She was as good as dead... well, deader.

@ castle.

{well.. deader. god we are hilarious }

Henry was starting toward his cabin, his hands shoved into his pockets as he let his thoughts drift. He shook his head, unable to hide just how ridiculous he thought Clio was being. He was trying to tell her what was going on in Bellshore without coming outright and saying it. He sighed as his shoulders sagged, unable to get his thoughts to focus on anything else. Which is why he probably missed the telltale sounds of a fight at first. It took a moment for the sounds to register and he'd immediately went fuck because he knew full well what was happening.

Clio had happened upon a wolf and if he was scenting the air as well as he thought he was, Henry knew this wasn't just going to go away. Duncan was ruthless in a fight and while he didn't know a whole lot about Clio, he doubted the vampire stood any sort of realistic chance. Henry cursed under his breathe, launching forward as he shifted midair.

Henry raced toward the sound of the fight, not so much as letting himself stop for more than a second to survey the scene. Admittedly, Henry was surprised to see the blood pouring from Duncan's chest. But there was no time to stop and contemplate what that meant for Clio.

He had no idea why he felt so protective of her but Henry raced onto the trail, tackling Duncan away from Clio. Henry planted himself firmly between his alpha and Clio, straightening up as he growled. He chomped at the air, the hair on the back of his neck standing on end as he began to back up further. He was trying to urge Clio in the direction of his cabin while keeping himself firmly planting between the two.

Clio was struck with fear as she laid on the ground, her back barely pressed up against a tree. A werewolf had attacked her and now... another werewolf was protecting her? Could it be... She furrowed her brow and coughed up a bit of blood, her vision beginning to blur as she watched the second wolf biting at the air, in a specific direction as if trying to tell her something. She moaned in pain, her hand finding its way to her side as she forced herself up, ignoring the pain long enough to run. It was less than a millisecond before she disappeared, looking like a blur as she used her gifted speed to get away from the altercation.

Duncan dug his paws into the dirt, narrowing his glowing eyes towards Henry as he howled loudly, angry that a beta was stopping him from ripping apart a vile monster. He wanted to stay, wanted to lunge at Henry and show him who was boss, but the blood that was beginning to dry into his fur was only a reminder of how serious his wound was. Clio had taken a chunk out of him and if he tried to fight any further, he knew he would end up passing out. He turned his back to Henry, growling as he darted in the opposite direction.

Clio had run in the direction the second wolf had seemed to be hinting at, running until she found herself stumbling across a lit up cabin, with a burly black and white dog perched up on the porch, eyeing her, as if daring her to step closer. Clio cried out in pain, falling to her knees as blood poured from her side.

@ castle.