Mercy Falls, Minnesota

One winter day Chloe, a young 16 year old girl...or well a young tan (and white) wolf, was out and about in Boundary Woods doing a little hunting on her own. She was still considered new to the pack, even if she has been in the pack for about 6 years now, though most other wolves have been there for 10 or more years. She spotted a light gray rabbit in the distance. A good meal for one wolf, especially one as small as her. Darting off towards the rabbit, quick on her feet, the rabbit's ears twitched noticing the danger coming. It sprinted off and the chase began.

Hunting wasn't really Chloe's strongest point, but she was pretty fast. She caught the rabbit within minutes since the chase began. She bit down hard on the rabbit's neck, it instantly died. She laid down and started ripping apart the rabbit eating it's meat. Once she finished her meal, she stood back up and shook herself, getting some of the damp leaves off her belly. It was only the start of winter, so there wasn't much snow on the ground.

Chloe sniffed the air and listened, to locate where she was. Thirsty, she trotted off to where the lake was, getting there rather quickly, as she wasn't that far away to begin with. Lowering her head, she drank a bit water, and tried to get some of the still freshly wet rabbit's blood off her white muzzle. When she finished, she howled to let the pack know she'd be returning soon, and ran off back to the pack.

Camilla smiled as she shook hands with the man offering to buy some of her photography- for a very hefty sum, she would be sure to add. Then she heard it- the distinct howl of one Chloe Williams. She sort of felt sorry for her- she had to shift when it got cold, Camilla could shift when she wanted to at the end of summer and the start of winter- it had to get really cold for her to have to. "Excuse me, Mr.Brent, I must go. Please complete this conversation with my assistant" she pointed to the desk, where a petit blonde-haired girl was sitting.

He asked why, and she simply said she was late for another venture. She grabbed her purse and shoved it into a locker- it had been an odd request to put one in her office, but it wasn't like they could refuse it. "Bye" she said quickly and walked out the door, into the woods. She felt the change come on- it was painful, but she was used to it. Suddenly, where the modest brown-haired girl stood there was a large black and white wolf. She howled out a call to her pack and started running, letting human thoughts leave her mind.

She jumped up onto a rock and howled again- to set the meeting point for the pack. It was something she had to do- she had to make sure her pack was safe, make sure they were fed. Fed the thought passed through her mind, and she ran into the woods, letting the scents of every animal around her come in. A deer, a fox, a stray cat. She went after the deer, and crawled into the grass to hide. Soon enough, the deer came by, and she pounced on it, sinking her teeth into it, killing it instantly. She ate some of it, then drug it back to the top of the rock, pushing it over to the side of the outcropping so the others could get to it. Then, she waited.

Maylee walked into the living room with a basket full of freshly washed clothes and almost fell over. She steadied herself and took a look what had she tripped over. There were toy scattered all around the living rooms, a broken flower pot was lying on the floor with a ball next to it. She had a free day from school and decided to clean the house since she didn't get free time doing chores around the house lately, and now, almost an hour since she cleaned the living room it was in mess again. She put down the basket she was holding and crossed her arms over her chest. "Kyle!" she yelled for the four year old. "Come here, this instant." There was no answer but she heard a door close. She headed toward her brothers room but couldn't find him there, he couldn't be in her room since he knew that he wasn't allowed there, so she headed to the only room left, their fathers bedroom. Soon she found him hidden under the bed. "Found you." Kyle looked toward her with his big brown eyes and started crying. "Sowwy, May" He sobbed. "I didn't want to brake it." Maylee sighed. "It's okay. I know you didn't brake it intentionally. Now come out so we can clean the mess you made." Kyle nodded and got out from under the bed. She knelt down to be in the same eye level as him and wiped the tears from his eyes. "Now let's go and clean it up." She said with a smile, and they both went back to the living room. After the living room was clean again and Maylee put away the washed clothes she made hot chocolate for Kyle and herself. "What do you say about going out side after we finished drinking this?" She asked setting down the hot beverage on the table. "Can we make a snowman?" Kyle asked jumping up and down from the excitement. "There isn't enough snow yet." Maylee said and after looking at her brothers face expression added with a laugh. "But we can at least try." The boys face lit up as he jumped to hug his sister.

While Kyle was getting dressed Maylee washed the two cups and put them to dry. "I'm ready." The boy came running with his hat clenched in his hands. She put on her jacket and boots and helped tie the laces on Kyle's boots then they were ready to go. The house where the Dawson family lived was just on the outskirt of town from where the woods were clearly visible. It was a single story building with three bedrooms, one bathroom, a kitchen and a living room. It wasn't a big house but it was big enough for the family of three. It also had a backyard witch in spring used to be filled with beautiful flowers. But since the mother died there was nobody who could take care of them, with Maylee being busy with school and her little brother, and their father taking care of the bookstore the flowers just withered away. She promised herself that when she finishes high school she will plant new flowers and the garden will look just as beautiful as before.

She locked the door and took Kyle's hand and they headed toward the bookstore.

Zeb placed another box of nails on the shelf. He looked back to he clock on the wall, five more minutes and his shift would be over and his Father would take his place. It hadn't been a particularly busy shift, Mr. Edwards had been in for another tin of paint and Pam his wife had been complaining about the colour he had picked. It was a typical morning in Mercy Falls.

A short man with Greyish hair walked in from the back room.
' Morning Pops, it's been quiet today so i shouldn't be bad for you... I think I'm going to have a run'

And with that Zeb lifted the apron from over his head and walked into the back to get changed. He unfastened he store shirt and grabbed his running gear from the rucksack on the floor. As he took his shirt off he caught a glimpse of the small star tatoo on his back, a small memento of his younger sister. He stood for at least a minute, thinking of her sweet nature and how long it had been since he last saw her.

'Zeb you leaving son?'

The sound of his Father's voice roused Zen from his temporary state of unconsciousness. He quickly but on his black and navy running skins and fastened his old 'Nike' trainers.

As he exited into the crisp morning air he began to run at a slow place.

Stopping, Chloe's ears perked up, she listened. Hearing a familiar howl, one that she has heard many of times before, as the sound drifted through the air. She began running once more. The howl came for none other then the Beta of the pack. It was to indicate where the meeting point would be. It wasn't too long before she showed up at the rock in which the Beta was standing on top of. The meeting place was one the pack goes to often as the rock would display the higher ups, such as the Alpha and the Beta.

The Mercy Falls wolf pack was a bit different then regular wolf packs. They didn't have an Alpha male and female, just a Male who repeatedly leaves on business (either to find more members or something that's said to be a secret). Nor did they have a Beta male and female, just a female who is more of an Alpha then the real one. But that didn't matter. All the members of the pack loved both their leaders. They were good to them, or well most of them. They made sure the pack was healthy.

Upon seeing the dead deer, Chloe howled a low quiet howl and passed the image of her attacking a rabbit and eating it. She wanted to let the Beta know that she'd already had her fill and wouldn't be taking part of eating the deer. But if she did get hungry again and there was still some deer left, she'd have some.

Chloe wandered over to a patch of grass, that had little snow, and laid down. The trees seemed to have lost almost all their leaves. She sniffed the air, scenting that it would snow tonight, a little more that it did two nights ago.

((Quick OOC: I don't think I mentioned, but the wolves can pass images to each other, like in the book.))

Camillia nodded and jumped down, looking to her and passing an image of her running. She wanted to go out and see the woods, see the people who lived on the outskirts of the land, in her wolf form. It was a guilty pleasure, and it stemmed from her love of photography, though as a wolf she wouldn't know that. She only had a few human thoughts as a wolf. She liked to see the world through a wolves eyes, like a lens only she and the others in the pack could see. She howled and took off. She was one of the fastest of the group, and she was far from the meeting sight in only a moments notice.

She stayed close to the tree line, so she could watch the early morning runners. She liked to have a silent game of chase with them- she always won, though. She was following after a large-built black man, and he wasn't very much game- he was far to slow at the moment, like he was just begging his run or just out for a stroll. In any case, she was running along side him. She didn't see what was up ahead until it was to late- a large construction sight with trucks lining up in front of her path. She turned abruptly to avoid one of them- and right into the street, in front of the man.

She yelped and looked around, darting behind a bush. She knew she needed human thoughts to get her back to somewhere safe, but she didn't know how to shift without being seen by the man- or other people, considering she would be naked if she did. She saw her office, then. She howled lightly with joy and rushed behind the office, shifting quickly. She felt the air touch her skin and knew the next time it would be involuntary. It didn't matter at the moment though- there was a back door and a closet right off to the left of it- it was a personal space, too, so her assistant wasn't allowed back there. She shifted and pulled open the door quickly, dashed in and threw on her clothing before she walked back outside and sighed.

Chloe watched as Camillia ran off towards the town. The sun was rising higher, letting light shine down upon the woods. Looking around the clearing, she noticed majority of the pack was still at here. Some members didn't even bother to show up like Max, a brown and gold wolf. He was the pack's best hunter, so he usually skipped out on meetings like this. Deciding to just prowl around, she trotted off away from the pack. They seemed to be enjoying the breakfast the Beta had provided them. So she didn't want to be a bother. Walking back to the lake, she took a drink. It was peaceful without the enthusiasm of the pack. Most members after eating a meal like that would begin to pick fights with one another, but in a playful way.

Chloe didn't want to be around when that will happen. She new, even as a wolf, that she was different. Deep down she knew she couldn't stay in this form for a long time. She was afraid that if she interacted with the pack too much, she'd shift and that pack would either run away or attack her. Lifting her head from the water, she looked at herself. She saw a tan and white wolf face staring back at her, but the hazel grey eyes reminded her of something she had lost.

Then it started. Pain shot through Chloe's body, her claws digging into the snow and dirt. She felt her bones begin to rearrange themselves. Not able to hold herself up anymore, she dropped to the ground, whimpering as the pain was too much. Soon, she fainted, as her body completed the shift. It was only 5 minutes later when she awoke. Her body aching, she slowly opened her eyes, spreading her pale flesh fingers on the snow. Trying to regain her human thoughts, she gently sat up. "Ugh...I...Hate that..." She huffed, feeling out of breath. She tried to get to her feet, but she couldn't since her limbs were in pain. Her body shivered against the cold, yet she didn't shift again. "I need to get back..." The cabin was 3 to 4 miles south-west from the lake. That would take about an hour to walk there. She couldn't recall where Camillia's work was, so she had no choice.

Chloe did not like this at all. Walking through the woods butt naked. She hugged herself, rubbing her hands up and down her arms, trying to keep part of her body warm. "Why did I have to shift at the lake?" She asked herself, weaving between trees trying not to be seen. Even when she knew people don't usually go into the woods.

Max rushed around the hill's bend, chasing after a buck. It was fast, but he knew he was faster. Snow sprayed his fur, but his speed seemed to make the air blow it out. His heart pounded, and he felt warm with an odd feeling of not being the slightest bit tired. He dodged through trees, getting closer to the deer by the second. Soon enough, when the timing seemed nice, Max leaped onto the animal, taking it down from the side. Trying to quickly end its pain, he put his jaws around the delicate animals neck. With a quick snap, he broke it, leaving the animal lifeless. Its dull black eyes stared motionlessly into the distance. As a wolf, Max couldn't care less.

He tore into the animal, giving himself something to eat. One wolf could eat a full deer, but he howled for anyone else to enjoy some. A pack member or two came over within a few minutes, sharing the animal with him. He knew he'd have to get another deer, or a rabbit or two before he was done for the night, but he decided to get a drink from the lake anyway.

Jogging over, he bent his brownish gold head down to the water, lapping some of the icy liquid with his tongue. It burned his hot throat, but it felt good. He panted a bit, then got another drink. Settling him self he noticed a human on the other side of the lake. She hadn't noticed him, for she was facing the other direction. She was naked, not that Max cared being a wolf.

Her light blonde hair, and her scent was familiar. All too familiar. He knew her well, he was the wolf that changed her. She was part of their pack. They didn't converse much, but Max always felt an odd connection to her, that he never cared to explain to anyone. Then again, no one really questions him.

He could tell she was freezing, her bare feet on the snow. She seemed to shiver, but began to walk towards the cabin. Max decided she was probably small enough, and light enough for him to carry on his back.

He cautiously approached her, edging his head against the side of her leg. She looked down at him, slightly surprised that she hadn't heard him coming. He motioned for her to get on his back, his light grey eyes looking into hers. His expression was stern, if you could have expression as a wolf, he wasn't really the type to take no for an answer if he went out of his way to help.

Chloe felt something furry brush up against her leg. She jumped out of shock of something touching her cold leg. When she looked down, she was surprise to see a wolf. At first, she couldn't recognize the wolf, that is, until he looked at her with his light grey eyes. "Max..." She quietly said, kneeling down. Hesitant, she extended her hand and gently stroked the top of his head. Most wolves would bite a human if they tried to touch them, but her wolves were different.

Once Max motioned her to get on his back, Chloe let out a shuttering sign. "Alright, I get it." Her voice was quiet, but unsteady. The cold was getting to her. She climbed up onto his back, somewhat laying on him, as she wrapped her arms around his neck. She wouldn't be chocking him when he started to run, because wolves have very thick fur. It might hurt at first, but the feeling would disappear soon after.

"..So warm.." Chloe spoke calmly, having a small smile on her face. She rested her head against the back of Max's neck, rubbing her face into his fur. If she wanted to, she could probably fall asleep like this.

As they arrived to the store Kyle rushed to open the door. The bell that was hanged above the door chimed and their father peaked out behind one of the big shelves. "It's just you guys." He said as he went to take the box with the new books that had just arrived. "Are you disappointed?" Maylee joked. "We were going to play outside, but firstly I wanted to stop by the shop. Do you need anything?" She took on of the smaller boxes and gave it to her father. "Actually I do need a few things. Let me just find the list." He said and went to the small staff room in the back of the shop. "Can I stay here while you shop?" Kyle asked. "Of course." Maylee said, ruffling her brothers hair."Here you go." Their father said coming back with the list which he handed to Maylee. "Okay. I'll come and pick Kyle up after I bought everything and brought it home." Maylee said putting the list into her pocket. "Don't make trouble for Dad." She turned toward her brother who was already in browsing for a picture book among the smaller shelves. The boy nodded and Maylee walked out the door. A gush of cold wind hit her and she wrapped tighter the scarf around her as she made her way.

Half an hour later she came out of the shop with with her hands full of grocery bags. After managing to bring the stuff home without slipping and falling, Maylee went to pick up her brother. The family backyard soon turned into a war zone, as small snow towers lined up. Each of them was behind one of the towers making snowballs and getting ready for a snowball fight. Suddenly a snowball hit Maylee in the back of her head and she turned toward the little boy who was grinning behind his snow tower. "Hey. You don't play fair." She was about to throw her own snowball when she heard the phone ringing. "I'll be back." She said as she rushed inside to pick it up. When she came back outside Kyle was nowhere to be seen. "Kyle?" She called as she looked around the snow towers and all around the backyard where the boy could have been hiding. She felt panic rise inside of her when she noticed the boys footprints leading toward the forest. "Kyle!" She shouted as she run toward the forest following the faint trails in the snow. Please, don't let anything happen to him. She prayed as she kept going through the forest, tripping and stumbling in the tree roots.

Zeb built his pace steadily, his heart beat matched the drumming of his feet against the cold ground.

It was days like this that he enjoyed, the crisp air fogged his breath as it caught the wind. Whilst running his mind would often wonder back to the days when he would run around the town with his younger sister on his back, she often giggled and squeeked..

' Faster Zebby... Faster!' Her pink ribboned pigtails hitting the sides of her older brothers face.

He used to cry at the thought of his sister but now he enjoyed the memories. It was the one part of Zebs life that made him truly happy that he had beautiful memories before she was snatched from his arms.

Nothing much could break Zeb's running concentration, in fact most days he would ignore people passing so he could stay in the zone. Suddenly a large flash of white and black caught his attention. There is was a huge wolf standing in front of him.

It fled quickly but something urged Zeb to follow, so he did. Into the dark forest, which he was always afraid of, partly because he felt that is where his sister was taken. However, today he felt confident.
Zeb ran down the forest trail, he had completely lost sight of the wolf at this point but eyes focused like an eagle as he continued to run blindly.

Bang...

He crashed into a red haired girl knocking his back into a tree.

One moment Maylee was struggling to get her hair free from the branches in which it kept getting caught in as she ran, and the other moment she found herself landing on her backside as she run into somebody. 'Way to go May,' she thought to herself desperately, 'First you lose your sight of your brother and now you run into somebody in the middle of the forest.' She stood up, "I'm sorry." She was about to go on her way, when she remembered that maybe, just maybe this guy had happened to see Kyle, so she turned back to him. "Have you, by any chance seen a little boy in a blue jacket pass here?"She asked hoping that he had seen him. "His name is Kyle and he is four and..." She felt the like she would start crying any moment now, so she looked down to the round and bit down on her lower lip trying hard to not let her tears fall.

Camilla wrapped herself tighter in her woolen sweater as she walked for the street again (she had darted back into the woods to try to find her pack, but without being a wolf, she had gotten herself terribly lost, exept for a few points that were vaguely familiar) The knocked a few branches out of her dark hair. Her eyes scanned the area around her, trying to pinpoint her location. She worried that if she shifted back again, she wouldn't be able to change back- and he had an appointment with an executive of some new building in town- he was looking for decor. Her eyes caught sight of a tree near her, and she walked over. It was odd-looking. Her eyes darted down to the base, and she saw the source of said disturbance- a little boy. He was crying softly (she briefly wondered why she hadn't heard him, but it didn't matter all that much). She kneeled down next to him. "Hi there... Where is your mom?" she whispered, looking at him.

"I was with my sister..."
"Oh... Well, where's your sister?"
"I... Don't know" this is going nowhere...

Camilla stood up and gestured to him. "I'm not supposed to talk to strangers.." The boy said, and Camilla groaned. She just wanted to help. "Okay... How about you follow behind me at a safe distance and don't talk to me?" Okay, so she wasn't that good with kids, either. She turned and began to walk towards the path she had passed a while back. Eventually she found the man she had passed earlier (as a wolf) and some other girl. She heard the crunching behind her stop and turned to see the boy. "Is he one of yours? He was just in the woods a while back" she smiled lightly, hoping that she came off friendly. Then she realized she needed an excuse as to why she had been in the woods. "I didn't even see him until I looked down. I was taking pictures" she jiggled the camera hanging loosely around her neck. She always carried it if she didn't plan on phasing.

Max pushed against his wolf instincts to quickly dart away from the human climbing on his back. He kept repeating in his mind that he knew her. Once she was laying on him, her arms going over his broad shoulders and wrapping his arms around his neck. At fist he felt tense, but he could feel her cold skin against his warmth, and he began to relax. He began trotting through the trees towards the cabin, but picked up his pace as he went. He was afraid she'd get too cold, so he didn't want any wind to make it worse.

When he reached the cabin, he stopped in front of the door, and let her slip off of his back. It was about 10 x 10 feet, and made of wood. It contained clothes of everyone from the pack, and basic essentials. Whenever anyone shifted, they usually traveled here. Chloe was obviously still shivering. It was probably below 30 degrees. She looked basically worn out and tired, but he pushed his muzzle against the back of her leg, pushing her towards the little building.

Upon reaching the cabin, Chloe slip off Max's back. She looked down at him and gently patted his head. "Thank Max." She smiled, but was obviously shivering from the cold. When he pushed the back of her leg with his muzzle, she knew what he was telling her. Get something warm on. She went to the door of the cabin, unlocking it, then she opened it. Inside were small compartments, one having her name on it. She grabbed a pair of jeans and a green sweatshirt. She needed to remember to put warmer clothes in next time, as well as undergarments, socks, and shoes. But she had to made do with what she had. Quickly putting on the clothes, she left the cabin and closed the door and locked it. Placing the key back into a box the was nailed to the door.

"Well, I better go to the house now and get warm...Bye Max." Chloe ran off towards the house, which wasn't that far from the cabin, only a 5 minute or less walk. Once she get to the house, she grabbed the key that was under the welcome mat and unlocked the door. She put the key back and went inside, turning on the lights. "Now time for the heater." She walked down to the basement and started the heater up. The whole house got warmer within 20 minutes.

Going to her room, Chloe changed into better clothing; zebra print panties, a white bra, fuzzy rainbow socks, black sweatpants, a blue long sleeve shirt, and a purple beanie. Her stomach growled and she let out a small giggle. "Let's see, what's there to eat?" She went down to the kitchen and opened the fridge. Frowning, she saw nothing to eat. She went for the phone and dialed Camilla's cell number.