Story: Predators (chapter 5)

Authors: Chimera Bloom

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Chapter 5

PREDATORS pt5 by Chimera Bloom

PREDATORS
by Chimera Bloom

Part 5

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"You know it's a common myth, that snakes can't climb steps. But look at me! I'm an excellent climber." Licara called out vaulting herself over the top of the ladder. Even with only one good wrist she had managed to climb the ladder in record time.

She stared at Elila with wide looming red eyes. The snake was thrilled to have finally captured her prey. And now that she had the girl, there was no reason to rush things.

"You know that I'm going to kill you now? Don't you?" The snake hissed, slowly approaching Elila's position. She was taking her steps one at a time. She was inching closer to the girl wanting to extend the moment as long as possible.

"I had wanted to play nice. You are such a yummy creature." The cobra called out slowly moving closer to Elila's waiting body.

Nervously the girl glanced around trying to find any way out. But there was nothing. Her only escape would be a four-story drop onto the pavement below. If she wasn't so afraid of heights she might try it. It would be nice to ruin the end of the hunt for the slithering snake.

"But you aren't going to hold this against me are you? My need to kill you is really only natural. After all, I am a cobra." Licara said unable to keep her swelling fangs in the confines her mouth. They were large and gleaming and Elila winced when she saw the venom trickling down their sides.

Yet, their hunt was far from over. Somewhere in the distant quiet of the night, a godly being was looking out for the girl. Because when Elila tried to back up moving just a fraction more away from her impending death, she nearly tripped. She felt the most glorious thing brush against her ankle. It was a loose brick. The wonderful old building was coming apart at its very seems. And Elila was suddenly given a renewed hope.

"Forgive me?" The snaked joked moving within striking distance. The sides of Licara's neck rippled with thick chords of muscles as the snake moved in for the kill.

But the girl was quicker. Elila mimicked a rather convincing natural fall onto the ground. The snake did as she suspected. Licara fell onto her body, covering it with her own. In her haste to acquire her prey, the snake missed the girl reaching for the brick.

"It's been so nice knowing you Elila." Licara whispered wriggling her neck back to go in for the kill.

But the first strike was Elila's. She swung the brick, using every single last drop of strength that her female body possessed. And luckily, it was more then enough. The brick even made a slight clanging sound when it collided with Licara's tender skull. Her red eyes rolled up in the back of her head and she fell over to the ground, soundly knocked unconscious.

Elila stood, clinging to the brick with her one good hand. She wasn't a predator. She couldn't kill Licara even though she knew the snake would never have showed her such mercy.

Hastily she fled the rooftop not sure how long she really had. As she moved down the ladder she worried that at any moment Licara would wake. She tripped and slid her way down the steel ladder hitting the alley ground with a less then graceful thud. Despite her injury and pain, she knew that she had to go on. With as much speed as her body capable, she ran back to the dark labyrinth of streets that made up the most dangerous place in the entire village.

She became overwhelmed with the severity of it all. Her mind briefly darted back to the moment when she had chosen to board the transport. She had no idea at the time that she was very nearly signing her own death warrant.

And now, she simply had no idea what to do. She wanted to find the nearest, smallest, darkest hiding place and crawl right inside. She didn't want to come out until the bright light of the sun had chased the cobras away. But she knew that wasn't how it worked. The snakes could just as easily hunt her during the light day as during the dark of night. Besides, she knew it was many long lengthy hours before the next transport came. She couldn't stand still waiting for Licara to close on her position. The snake could come to at any moment.

But there wasn't only Licara to think of. She was wounded prey in a village of predators. She had to find sanctuary soon or she would never survive to see the next sunrise.

She knew it was sheer impossibility to even think of making it back to the Lodge on foot. She tried to remember every tribe they had passed on the way over. She wanted to find an ally to either the jungle or swamp. She needed to find someone that would give her shelter from the cobras.

But as her mind went over all the different celebrations she had witnessed, she couldn't recall a single tribe that could be considered an ally. Then she thought of the horses. They were running so wild and free only hours before. Their races seemed long and easy indicating a wide territory for their tribe to dwell in. And the best part was horses weren't known for aggressive or violent behavior. She was reasonably certain that they would help her.

She took off in the direction that she had seen them racing. She hoped their territory wasn't far. Elila wasn't sure how much further she could go. Her very fear was weakening her, not to mention the pain shooting through her arm.

She ran, hobbled and even crawled her way through the darkened streets of the city. She wouldn't give up. She wouldn't even stop to catch her breath despite the caged pounding of her heart. She had to keep going. Every single inch that she put between herself and Licara was infinitely important.

After what seemed like a near eternity, Elila heard the soft chuckling of voices in the distance. She wanted to scream for help but her throat was so scratchy and dry. And they sounded like they were moving away from her. She couldn't let them leave. If they were horses she would never catch up to them.

"H-H-HELP!" Elila managed to gasp out before she fell flat onto her face.

There were many hybrids that heard her shrieking cry. Less then a mile away, on the sandy beach of the Gallion Ocean three shark warriors looked around for the origin of the noise. Less then several feet away, two horse hybrids came rushing to the young maiden's aid. But unfortunately, deep in the recesses of a dark alley a snake changeling grinned in satisfaction.

"Is she all right?" The one horse asked the other. The one reached down to check for a pulse while the other went to retrieve water.

"What's she doing out here all alone? It isn't safe." The other horse asked retrieving a bottle of water from a tan saddlebag.

"I don't know. She's alive…" The other whispered pouring the clear fluid down Elila's parched and cracked lips.

Elila swallowed down the fluid feeling a state of awareness return. Her body was dehydrated but the water wasn't enough. She needed more. But more importantly, she knew that she needed to run.

"Help me?" Elila asked the horses clinging to the one by the long mane of her silver hair.

"What happened to you?" The hybrid asked gently removing the girl's hands. She didn't want to be rude but the girl was putting a near death grip on her hair.

"I'm being hunted. Please?" She asked hoping that they would help her get away.

"Hunted?" The silvery horse asked cocking her head to the side listening to the noise all around her.

But it was the other horse that perceived the danger first. Elila had forgotten one important thing about horses. There was nothing that frightened then more then the mere sight of a snake. But the girl had been naively hopeful. She wanted to believe that they would aid her out of the decency of their tribes' highly acclaimed gentle heart.

"It's a snake, we have to go." The other horse whispered sensing the presence of Licara moving ever closer. Elila saw the two horses dart to their feet obviously ready to take off .

"Wait! Please?" Elila begged while kneeling dejectedly on the ground.

"Sorry, we just can't." The one horse whispered before taking off in a lightning sprint.

"You should go, it will be here soon!" The silvery horse whispered before taking off after her companion.

Elila fell to the ground horrified by her abandonment. She knew she couldn't go on. There was no place to go. And there was no one who could help her. Despite everything she had just been through, it looked like Licara really was going to win in the end.

But a part of her wasn't ready to give up so easily. She realized her fatal flaw in coming to find the horses. She didn't need someone who would run away with her. She needed a stronger predator. She needed someone who wasn't afraid of the cobra.

Instantly, she knew just where to go. After all, there really was only one choice. So Elila climbed to her feet heading off once more into the darkened night. Except this time, she was going to the one place she never imagined. Because the very last people Elila ever thought she would turn to for help, were the sharks…

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Elila took off for the distant beach knowing that there was a very slim chance she would actually make it. If the snake was close enough for the horses to have sensed her, Elila knew that Licara was closing in on her very position. So instead of sticking to the more apparent safety of the paved road, Elila wandered off into the forest hoping to throw Licara off.

The heron knew there was a very slim chance of that. Snakes were excellent hunters. And going into the woods may actually work more to Licara's advantage. But Elila had to take that chance.

Moving into the darkened cover of the trees Elila tried desperately to keep moving despite her pained exhaustion. She knew she was moving in the general direction of the beach. But she didn't know how much further her journey would take.

In the quiet of the forest, her mind began to think all those thoughts that occur when one suddenly faces their own mortality. Elila began to feel cheated, like there was so much left that she could accomplish if only she survived. She also began to wonder how those she left behind would react. She knew Yamina would suffer greatly. Elila was more like her sister then simply a friend. She wondered if her parents would wish they could have treated her more kindly. She wondered if Kellis would regret never sharing an intimate moment with her.

But Elila knew she couldn't think of these things. For no other reason then the fact that she simply didn't want to. Her legs struggled to leap over rotted tree roots. Her arms valiantly tried to ward off the thorny brush of sharp branches and jagged bushes. Her heart pounded relentlessly, feeding blood to her struggling body. Yet, as she fought for her very life Elila realized that she had never felt more alive.

All of her senses were heightened. Her mind seemed sharper and more acute. But beyond all that Elila discovered that deep within, she had a passionate will to live.

"ELILA!!!" The girl froze in place hearing her name screamed across the very top of the forest canopy.

"ELILA!!! I KNOW YOU'RE HERE!" Elila recognized the voice of Licara mocking her from a distance. She had two options. She could stay and try to find a place to hide. Or she could make a run for the beach hoping to reach the Midali before the snaked reached her.

Elila knew there was really only one good decision to make. She couldn't hide from the snake, not in her condition. She knew her scent was too easy to track. She had to run and she had to move quickly.

Leaping over a log, she landed hard on her knees knocking the air about in fatigued lungs. She forced herself to stand trying to catch her breath. But now she had sharp shooting pains lacing through her ribs. Elila clutched her hand to her stomach trying to keep going but she just couldn't breath. Even a slow walk was causing brutal agony to shoot through her chest.

But she kept going. First she moved at a slow crawl. Then she moved onto to walking. Finally, she felt her body recover enough to the point that she could handle a gentle jog.

Yet, there was one thing bothering her. She hadn't heard the snake taunt her in a good long while. A quiet Licara was more frightening then the chattering one. She nervously glanced behind her knowing she would really never see the snake. It was a futile move but one she felt compelled to do.

And then she noticed the most wonderful thing; the trees were thinning. She looked up and once again saw the clear black of the night sky. The forest was ending. She knew she had to be close to the beach.

Finding a sudden reserve of strength and energy she didn't know she had, Elila sprinted through the forest moving at the top speeds her body would allow. She surprised herself with her own grace and agility as she moved up and around the trees and branches that stood in her way. She could only attribute her sudden physical prowess to the adrenaline pouring into her blood stream.

Then she nearly cried in relief when she actually saw the sandy beach stretched out before her. She had made it. The only problem was, it hadn't been fast enough.

As she tried to take the few more steps necessary to reach safety, Licara easily dropped from a tree with the ease of a panther. Elila froze seeing the snake stand between her and the beach. She had the sudden need to collapse in tears. It wasn't fair. She had struggled and fought to get her. It was sheer mental will that had carried her this far.

But apparently none of that mattered. The snake had easily overcome her speed and found the perfect place to wait for her. And from the looks of Licara's well-rested form, she had been waiting for quite some time.

"Why?" Elila gasped out shaking her head in contempt.

"Why didn't I kill you when I obviously passed you by?" Licara asked clucking her tongue in obvious amusement.

"Because what would be the fun in that? I wanted to see your face when I closed in on you mere feet from your escape." Licara said finally moving closer to her prey.

"Although I must confess. I don't understand why you came here. I mean the only people out here are the sharks." Licara said easily jumping over a rather high log.

"Unless you have some sort of death wish. You know, in case I didn't catch up to you there would be someone else around to finish the job." Licara said crossing her arms over her chest seizing the girl up.

"I must say Elila I didn't expect such a stimulating hunt from you. Herons are normally such weak prey. It was quite a nice surprise." She said delighted to watch the sorrow and disappointment cover the girl's features.

And then the oddest thing happened. Elila sensed something out in the distance. Oh, Elila knew she wasn't psychic by any stretch of the imagination. But there was one thing she could always perceive. Perhaps, it was simply an overactive and acute sense of danger. But Elila always knew when there was a shark around. Ever since her attack, she had been quite hypersensitive to their presence.

As she looked around the forest she didn't see anything. But she knew there was one somewhere nearby. If only she could attract it's attention before Licara killed her.

And as she studied the log that the snake had just vaulted over, she saw her only answer. It wasn't steady or stable in the least. She could easily now see why the snake had chosen to jump over it. It looked like it was ready to go tumbling away at the slighted provocation. Even though Elila knew it was a long shot at best, she was willing to try anything.

"How did you find me so quickly?" Elila asked deftly moving towards then around the snake. Licara didn't seem too concerned with her movements. She was far more interested in explaining her hunting prowess.

"Well, it was pretty easy actually. You left quite a pungent scent trail to follow." Licara said happy to stroke her own ego. Elila moved her back up against the log feeling it rustle with her weight.

"Although, I have to ask you something. Why didn't you kill me when you had a chance? Up on the rooftop? No one would have blamed you for ending the life of an evil cobra." Licara said knowing that no one in the entire kingdom would have blamed Elila for such an action.

"I'm not a killer Licara." Elila answered running her hands up and down the log as nonchalantly as possible. Delighted, she felt it move as she touched it.

"So you would rather die then go on living with my blood on your hands?" Licara asked quite shocked at the girl's reasoning.

At first Elila didn't answer. And then when she did, it wasn't the vocal response the snake had been waiting for. Swiftly Elila ducked under the log before Licara even knew what had happened.

Once she was on the other side she rammed it with every ounce of strength left in her tired and bruised body. It rolled easily giving into her demands. And Licara was caught quite off guard.

At first, she saw no reason to be concerned. She stood her ground expecting to deflect the log with her own bodily strength. But as it rolled she literally heard the impact it was carrying. Too late, Licara realized that she had to turn away. And by then the log had already collided with her form.

And it was all the time that Elila needed to run out onto the beach. She heard the whispered curses of the snake knowing that Licara would be on her in mere moments. Elila ran screaming at the very top of her lungs for help. She rounded the last tree seeing the dark waters of the ocean stretch out before her. She screamed, one last blood curdling time before the snake pounded into her body from behind.

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Roughly, Licara flipped the girl over thrilled to finally have Elila in her clutches. The snake was most disappointed to find that her rather forcible contact had knocked the girl into unconsciousness.

It was far more fun to kill them when they were alive and awake. The cobra liked nothing better than to stare in their eyes before her final strike. She liked to remember how they looked before she sunk her venom deep in their body. She liked to remember what they said and how they begged for mercy. But most of all, Licara liked to remember the feel of their bodies struggling against her own.

But Elila had taken away all her most favorite things about the kill. Of course, the girl had given her a rather exciting and invigorating hunt. Yet, this ending seemed so terribly anticlimactic.

Licara was lying atop the young maiden's unconscious form. She was studying her prey with an intimacy that the hunt didn't normally afford. Almost tenderly, she ran her leathery fingers up and down the girl's limbs. She kept glancing at her eyes hoping to see them flutter open and grow wide with alarm. The snake couldn't help it. She wanted to know Elila's fear one last time before she killed her.

Unfortunately for Licara it seemed like fate was conspiring against her. Not only was Elila still terribly unresponsive but she was also hearing the strangest noises. Somewhere in the distance she heard the sound of voices gathering. They were moving closer to her at a rapid speed that even she couldn't match.

Resting her head on the sandy beach she listened to the vibrations of the hybrids coming her way. They were less then a mile away now and coming towards her from the somewhere along the coastline. Licara strived to hear the cadence of their walk. She listened to the tones of their voices. And then with a horrific utterance, she realized that it was sharks moving towards her in the dead of night.

Glancing down towards the dark water she knew that at any moment they would be visible to her. The Midali were always known for their speed. And as she looked down at Elila she knew she had a terrible problem.

Licara couldn't kill the girl now without giving herself away. Once she bit into the heron, the ecstasy of the venom would carry her for hours. She would be incapable of rational thought and totally unable to defend herself. And in that kind of inebriated condition, she knew that the sharks would easily tear her to shreds.

She could leave now before the sharks felt her presence. Looking down at Elila she knew the girl would be easy enough to move. The heron certainly didn't weigh much. But if Elila came to and started screaming, she would easily attract the unwanted attention of the Midali.

Licara felt like screaming a long litany of curses. But she knew she just couldn't take that chance. She only had mere moments to move ahead of the sharks. If they sensed her in the distance, Licara knew she would never be able to outrun them.

Hovering above the unconscious girl, she gave Elila a few more disappointed stares before darting back into the forest. The hunt had certainly been a disappointing one. And her mouth was filling with the bitter taste of stale venom. Not only that, but she hated the thought of someone else taking her prey. But tonight, it would seem she had no choice in the matter. Slipping quietly back through the trees, Licara ran off at a fast but silent pace.

It took them only moments to find her body. They had heard the weakened beat of her heart from literally miles away. But now that the sharks had gathered around her broken and wounded form, they really didn't quite know what to do with Elila.

"It's a bird. What do we do with it?" The smaller shark asked the taller one.

"I don't know." It responded leaning down to take a more careful look at the girl.

"Oh, for god sakes Zeranna don't touch it." The smaller more annoyed shark quipped in an angry voice.

"But look, she's hurt. We can't leave her out here." Zeranna answered running a careful hand across the deformed appearance of the heron's wrist.

"Why not? What else are we supposed to do with it?" The smaller shark quipped with a persistent annoyance.

"Surely, you can't even be that cruel. It's the middle of the night. And she's out here all alone. We have to take her back with us." Zeranna replied feeling sympathy for the injured heron lying helplessly on their beach.

"Why? It's a bird. Not our responsibility." The smaller shark snapped beginning to walk back to the water.

"Our tribe did sign a peace treaty, remember? We're supposed to play nice with everyone else now." Zeranna answered easily lifting the heron into her stronger arms.

"That is nothing more then a ridiculous piece of paper. The kingdom can try all it wants. But nothing will ever domesticate us." The small shark snarled heading into the water.

"Are you coming?" She asked feeling the surf rise to her knees.

"No, I'll have to walk. I'm bringing her." Zeranna answered beginning the long journey back down the coastline.

"You aren't serious? The alpha is going to extremely displeased. You know how Pedryn feels about these things." The smaller shark called out wading in the dark ocean waters.

"Yes, I know. Just go… I just need to do this okay?" Zeranna answered knowing that this little incident would be all over the tribe by morning. She hated being known as the 'weakling.' She didn't think she was physically weak at all. She just seemed to lack the same predatory viciousness that all the other Midali readily possessed.

Zeranna was used to the ruthless teasing. It all stemmed from the same place. She was the only shark in her tribe not interested in the hunt. She didn't even seem to succumb to the bloodlust or feeding frenzy. There were just so many other things that were important to her. And looking down at the frail heron wrapped up in her arms, she knew this incident would cause a whole new string of ridicules. But Zeranna felt she had to help the girl in spite of that.

The shark carried the heron for over 7 miles. It was a trip that took a considerable amount of time. She could have run much faster. But the girl already looked so injured Zeranna didn't want to risk further injury by jostling her about.

But even under the thick blanket of night, Zeranna had no trouble finding her way back to the Fluid. She shuffled up the unfamiliar wooden steps of the land entrance. She couldn't help but glance at the large structure with a newfound curiosity.

The Fluid seemed so tall from the beach. It surprised Zeranna that she had never noticed before. But she had always entered through the ocean, swimming up through the channels that filled most of the building with water. But now she had a heron in her arms. And she was going to see a whole new dry side to her tribe's accommodations.

Walking through the large dark opaque doors of the building, she wasn't terribly surprised to see two familiar people waiting. Jaura had obviously returned some time ago. And she had apparently rushed right off to tell everyone about the heron.

"See, I told you." Jaura mocked still wet from her recent travel in the ocean.

"Let me see her." Zeranna was relieved when one of the tribe's healers come forward to take the heron from her arms.

"You aren't seriously going to help her are you?" Jaura snapped upset that no one else saw how ridiculous the whole situation was.

"We do have a peace treaty this was negotiated under suspicious terms at best. If this girl dies here with our tribe, the kingdom will demand answers. There will be an investigation and repercussions. And since we just ended a war with the Fasara, I think it would be in our best interest to find a way to maintain the peace." The healer reasoned gently examining Elila's neck.

"Yes, we ended the war with the jungle cats. This thing is obviously from the swamp. I highly doubt if anyone will care if she just disappears." Jaura called out unnerved and angry by her tribe's sudden desire to play by the rules. She missed the old days when the Midali were separate from the rest of kingdom. She missed the supremacy that her tribe used to wield. But above all else, she missed the savagery of an unlawful and immoral hunt.

"Can you help her?" Zeranna timidly asked approaching the healer's side.

"I'm not sure. I don't know anything about heron physiology. But I'll try my best." The healer said lifting the girl away into the white confines of the dry level medical bay.

"This is ridiculous! I'm getting Pedryn. You both will be very sorry!" Jaura screamed storming down the ramp that led to the Fluid's wet floors.

Zeranna just watched her go hoping that Jaura was wrong. She hated to see creatures injured and suffering. Zeranna knew that was essentially what divided her from the rest of her tribe. It was her kind and gentle heart that the rest of the sharks found so very intolerable.

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Carefully lying the girl down on the only solid piece of furniture in the room, the healer began to examine her body. It was most unfortunate for Elila that she was of mixed fowl and mammalian heritage. The Midali really only had the medical equipment to treat other water dwellers.

"Is there anything I can do?" Zeranna asked glancing at the towering form of the treatmant tank. But she knew the heron wouldn't survive its healing waters. If they were going to treat the broken girl, they would have to find a way to do it on dry land.

"No, there isn't. I'm not sure that there's anything that I can do." The healer confessed noting the appearance of broken bones and deep bruises.

"I'm just not sure how to revive her." The healer answered looking back down at the heron's skull checking for injuries.

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She was lying perfectly still on the very bottom of her dream chamber. It was quite an amazing feat, even for her. Her kind could never remain still, not in the water. They moved constantly keeping their bodies awake and alive. They craved the sensation of the water rushing over their skin. It was old habitat, one left over from a time of gills and fins. But most shark changelings had never grown completely accustomed to the stillness of land.

And Pedryn was normally no exception. But tonight was different. Her mind was troubled and unfocused. Seeing Elila had affected her more then she would care to admit, even to herself. With the dawn still hours away, she knew it was far too early to sleep. Unable to concentrate on the mundane routine tasks that being Alpha demanded, she retreated to her dream chamber. She had done so for the sole purpose of meditation.

It was a habit that she just couldn't seem to give up; despite the feelings of foreignness that now plagued her. Meditation was the tool of a warrior. It was used to ready the mind for battle. It prepared the body to use its strength and flexibility. It brought her entire being into one melded machine.

But now it was something that felt terribly strange to her. There was a time when mediation was something necessary to her. She learned it from her master and honed her skills. She practiced until she could turn her mind into a blank open vessel awaiting the knowledge of the universe. But that had been when she was warrior. That had been before Elila.

After she gave into her own savage needs, Pedryn knew she wasn't the same. She felt her own animal nature seize control of her body and mind. And she never even tried to stop it. For once, it felt good to giver herself over to the basic need of the shark.

Her entire life had changed after that day in the water. She stopped adhering to the rules of honor, trust, and honesty. She under went a virtual metamorphoses of regression. She became ruthless and cruel giving into to her basic desire to dominate.

And she had thought her change was complete. Not once did she let her guilt, regret, or anguish creep through to her soul. She shrouded herself in a cold steel air of indifference unable to even let mercy slip through the cracks.

But despite her attempts to remain distant and unfeeling she couldn't control her dreams. And at night when she slept, her dreams were filled with Elila's cries. She would hear the girl beg for mercy. She would see the small heron's terror when she felt her body fall into the murky deep of the ocean. She could feel Elila's futile kicks and struggles. And after all this time, she could still taste Elila's blood.

Suddenly, the lights came up in her watery tank indicating that someone was outside waiting for her. Begrudgingly, Pedryn climbed out of her dream chamber throwing on the nearest robe to cover to her naked silvery body. But when she finally opened her door she couldn't be more displeased to see Jaura waiting.

"What?" She hissed suppressing her urge to slam the door in the young shark's face.

"We have a problem." She stammered putting her clenched little fists on her waist.

"What kind of problem do we have?" Pedryn asked unable to keep the mocking tones from her voice.

"Zeranna brought a stray back. They are down stairs right now trying to help her." Jaura practically screamed totally unaware of how annoying Pedryn found her. Jaura expected some reaction from the Alpha but got none. Instead the leader of her tribe was just standing there like she had no intention of doing anything.

"She picked up some dying bird on the beach. And who knows what swamp she crawled out of. But they have her up stairs right now in our medical bay." Jaura cried out rather exasperated from her tirade.

"What kind of bird?" Pedryn asked with a soft tone of fear cresting her normally crisp voice.

"I don't know all those swamp things look the same to me. She's all dark… Maybe a heron or something…" Jaura said uninterested in Elila's exact heritage.

Pedryn stared at Jaura for several seconds simply digesting the information. Then she did the one thing that she had wanted to all along, she slammed the door in Jaura's face. Not waiting for her own thoughts to catch up with her actions, she began dressing in a hurried pace. Because unless Jaura had been mistaken, someone was expecting her. And the last thing Pedryn wanted was to keep young Elila waiting.

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"Baysha? I think she's staring to wake up." Zeranna called out watching the heron squirm all over the exam table. The healer rushed over wandering if the small girl really was starting to recover.

"You're right, I think she's starting to wake up." The healer said unable to take any credit for the sudden healing.

"Can you hear us? Can you tell me your name?" Baysha asked gently lifting the girl's eyelids. Her pupils seemed dilated. But the healer honestly didn't know if that was normal or not for a heron.

"You're going to be okay. You're safe now." Zeranna said in a soft friendly tone to the girl. Zeranna didn't know what had all had happened to the young heron. But judging from her condition she had been through some kind of ordeal.

"Where am I?" Elila managed to whisper out through her desert dry mouth. Zeranna smiled taking the heron's willingness to communicate as a good sign.

"You're at the Fluid." Baysha replied softly hoping the information didn't frighten the girl. Most people cut the Midali a rather wide berth for obvious predatory reasons.

"Can you open your eyes?" The healer asked concerned by the girl's condition. Elila was lying flat on her back with one arm draped across her eyes.

"Oh god, it hurts…" Elila whimpered out in a desperate cry of anguish. Neither the healer nor Zeranna knew what to do.

"Your eyes hurt?" Baysha asked worried that the heron had suffered some sort of head trauma.

"No, my wrist. Oh god…" Elila gasped out realizing that it was the pain that had eventually woken her.

"I think it's broken. But I don't know how to set it. I've never worked on a bird before." Baysha replied suddenly feeling impotent as a caregiver.

"Oh my.. I can't…" Elila gasped out through her pain feeling it increase by the second. She began to desperately wish for unconsciousness.

"I don't know what to give you for the pain. I don't know what your body can take." Baysha whispered wondering if Elila would be able to tell her what to do. But from the looks of it, even if the girl did have such medical knowledge the pain would render it useless. She was crying now, and the sharks could tell she was suffering horribly.

And lurking right outside the door, Pedryn finally realized what she had to do. There was really no more choice in the matter. Slipping into the room she went to the nearest medical table grabbing the necessary dart.

"Alpha, I didn't see you there." Zeranna called out to her, finally seeing her approaching form.

"I'm glad you're here. I don't know what to do for her." Baysha said hoping that Pedryn might know the appropriate way to treat a heron.

Through all their greetings Elila had slipped into the darkened corners of her mind. She couldn't stand the pain and consciousness was sheer unbridled torture. She needed a quick release in desperate ways.

If it hadn't been for the agony, she might have noticed Pedryn enter the room. She might have guessed at the true intentions of her rapist. She may even have felt the weight of their gruesome and terrible shared secret.

But she didn't. And neither did the other two sharks until it was too late. Before anyone had a chance to react she slipped the lethal dart into Elila's neck quickly sending the girl off into the darkened void of nothingness.

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"Pedryn, what have you done?" The healer said quickly backing away from the table. Zeranna looked at the girl who was once more unconscious. She didn't know what to do. But Zeranna suspected that something very unfortunate was about to happen.

"LEAVE!" Pedryn commanded the healer who rushed out of the room. Zeranna was quickly following. She knew that disobeying the Alpha could be punishable by death.

"Zeranna?" The Alpha called out stopping her retreat. The young shark turned around sensing pure malice pouring off her tribal leader.

"What happened to her?" Pedryn asked softly examining the body of the girl.

"I don't know Alpha. She was like that when I found her." The shark answered wondering why Pedryn seemed to be cataloging the girl's injuries.

"Fine… Wake my cousin Carielle. She should be sober by now. Tell her I require her assistance." Pedryn directed to the shark that quickly left the room. Zeranna felt overwhelmed by guilt as she left the girl behind. She sensed the heron's life was in grave danger but she had done nothing about it. She had been too fearful of Pedryn. But deep down there was a part of her that knew it was best to just go along with the Alpha. Anyone who opposed her always suffered the direst consequences.

Once Zeranna left the room the Alpha rounded the girl in quick circles. She was looking at her from the mind of healer. She knew the girl's physiology better then anyone else in the tribe. And looking at the cuts, bruises and broken bones she couldn't help but wonder what had befallen her Elila.

She cupped the girl's wrist in her larger stronger hand feeling the break of the tender calcium bones. Lucky for the girl, it appeared that most of her skeletal structure came from her jungle cat heritage. Pedryn knew that pure bird bones were quite easy to break and took nearly forever to heal.

Gently, she popped the bones back into place. She was concerned by the tender make-up of the heron's hand. She had never seen anything quite so fragile. Her own body was made up of a thick cartilage skeleton impervious to the breaks and fractures that Elila had suffered.

Pedryn had finished setting the bones on her wrist and hand with relative ease. From that point, she moved onto her less severe injuries checking the bruises and cleaning the cuts. She had worked her way up and down both sides of Elila's body before she finally realized what she was doing. She was touching Elila. Her hands were brushing across the girl's skin. And Pedryn couldn't help but think that nothing good could come of it.

She stepped away from the table and tried to stare at the heron with an unfeeling hard eye. But she found it just wasn't possible. She could never be neutral or cold where Elila was concerned. The girl had affected her far too much for such a false display of iciness.

But when she stared at her, Pedryn didn't know what to think or feel. Even with dirt and grime covering her body she looked just as beautiful as the shark remembered. Looking her over, Pedryn couldn't quite remember what it was exactly that had made her snap. Elila was certainly attractive, but it wasn't just that. There was something else that had spoken to her. Pedryn loved the girl's weakness, she had found it intoxicating.

Until Elila, she had only been with other sharks. And when sharks mate, it could hardly be described as an act of love or even passion. When sharks come together in the crashing waves of sexual need the result is always dominance, brutality and even savagery. And Pedryn had always accepted it as the way of her people.

On that night, when she had thrown the young heron into the water everything had been so very different. The brutality had gone leaving something strange and inexperienced in its place. Pedryn couldn't release the full magnitude of her predatory instincts on the girl. Instead, she found her animal nature responding to Elila in ways she didn't even know were possible.

But even though the act had been tame, muted and at times even tender, Pedryn knew that to Elila it must have been nothing short of an exercise in pain. The heron didn't have the body for such things. If only Pedryn had known the sheer fragility of calcium bones she would have handled the girl more carefully. If only she had known how small and incapable the lungs of a mammal were, she would have helped the girl stay afloat. If only she had known how weak and tender Elila's body was, she would never have slammed into it over and over again. But at the time, Pedryn didn't know anything about the young girl.

But now she did. Pedryn prided herself on being thorough. And her study of Elila had been no exception. She wanted to know absolutely everything about the heron's life. She wanted to know whom her friends were and what she liked to do. She wanted to know her daily routines and her favorite foods. She even wanted to know how Elila adjusted after that night in the water. But above all else, she wanted to know her body.

She spent weeks studying the mixed genetics of jungle cat and heron. She spent just as much time learning every single medical nuance of Elila's dual heritage. But Pedryn spent even longer remembering the feel of the heron wrapped in her steely arms.

Every night Pedryn takes to the ocean needing to feel the liquid darkness. Before her swims calmed her, helping to reorient her sea-dwelling physiology. But now, her swims fueled her hungry thoughts of a captivating heron.

The shark couldn't help but wonder about the girl. She wanted to know what Elila would say to her if they ever met again. Pedryn couldn't help but imagine such a meeting would involve screams, tears and maybe even a few angry slaps. And then there was the possibility that Elila wouldn't speak to her at all. Perhaps, the heron would become so overwhelmed with fear that she would simply shut down retreating to some sort of catatonic state. Or maybe Elila would demand some sort of explanation, begging and pleading for a restitution that Pedryn could never give.

No, Pedryn couldn't guess how Elila would react to her presence. But in all her wildest fantasies she never imagined having to treat the injuries of the young girl. She never imagined the heron's body being found abandoned on their beach. And Pedryn never dreamed that the she would feel so terribly conflicted.

Because all of sudden she found herself wondering if Elila would understand. She began to think of honesty. And she began to wonder how telling the truth might change things for her and for Elila. Pedryn doubted that Elila's parents had ever explained such minor details like actual facts to their daughter. Pedryn knew all too well how pig-headed and obstinate Thash could be. She could just picture Thash totally ignoring her daughter's questions and pleads for help.

She didn't know where her sudden need to be forthright had come from. There were certainly political motives to confess their dark secrets to Elila. But she didn't know how the girl would react. The whole thing could be made worse. But after that night in the water, Pedryn just didn't know how that was even possible.

"Oh no!" Carielle screamed quickly clasping her hand over her mouth. She had never imagined anything like this could occur. She had seen Pedryn staring at Elila earlier in the evening. But she never thought that her cousin could this, not after everything else.

"Uhm, okay this isn't as bad as it seems. We'll just have to put her body in the water. Who knows that she's here?" Carielle asked concerned about the possibility of another political upheaval for her tribe.

"I didn't do this Carielle. We found her like this." Pedryn said moving closer to Elila. She leaned against the exam table wondering how much longer she had before the sedative wore off. Pedryn was beginning to think that she should not be the person that Elila woke up to.

"Okay, that's a plausible story. But I think it needs a little work." Carielle stammered trying to pull her long hair away from her face. She began to wish that she hadn't drunk so much earlier in the evening. Even hours later she was still feeling the effect of the rollen juice.

"Sorry to disappoint you but I really had nothing to do with it. I haven't left my dream chamber since we got back. And Zeranna found her on the beach already injured." Pedryn said crossing her arms across her chest. She was growing annoyed with Carielle's suspicions.

"Well, what happened to her?" She asked, for the first time entertaining the thought that her cousin may not actually be responsible.

"I'm not sure." Pedryn answered leaning down very close to the girl's body. Wafting against the girl's normally humid swamp skin, Pedryn picked up the aroma of something foreign and out of place. It was the odor of leather and reptile. Pedryn let her eyes glaze over as she realized that it was the scent of a cobra.

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CONTINUED...

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