The Hunted [Open/Mature]

Nadi Tsakalis, a shapeshifter, was the daughter of a Tiger and Jackal, a hybrid. Her mixed blood caused her to be hated, and hunted for centuries. She was weary and alone. All she wanted was a place to settle down, she wanted to no longer worry. They found her only a few hours ago, and the fight led to them being killed and her body being wounded. Blood dripping to the ground, she pressed a cloth to the wound and tried to stop the bleeding. With a shaky breath, the hybrid kept moving. Her only thought was to find shelter, and tend to her wound better. She had to survive, she had to. Her vision blurred, but she forced herself to keep moving as she struggled to keep from passing out.

The blasted war had gone on for some time. Leo was tired of it, he was tired of all the killing and hunting. Just because one was born human and could turn into an animal and the other was born an animal and could turn into a human was not something to kill each other for. The gods had created them and then cursed them because they could not control them as they had wished. Magic changed everything and now they lived long lives, but the Fates, had cursed them.

The Fates, old hags that never knew the feeling of love, the thrill of being alive and living a life. They were old and were jelious just like the gods were of them and the normal humans. His people lived lives full of danger, love, hate, and just excitement that made one's blood flow with vigor. At a temple to the Fates he spat on the ground. "You are weak old hags, weak and dried up. You know nothing of life." he called out. "I make my own Fate!"

With that he gathered his weapons and struck out on his own But the war continued on and he saw the marks of it, the death and destruction. He skirted the so called enemy and did the same with his own kind. He had no wish for more war, he wished he could stop it somehow.

He found shelter in a cave in the forest. A large hillside covered with trees that helped block the view of the cave. He had been lucky to stumble upon it. But barely had he settled in when he heard movement down the hill. Some one was making alot of noise and coming his way. Taking his bow, he knocked an arrow and slowly decended the hill. Then he saw her. An Arcadian. His bow came up and he pulled back on the bow string. The years of fighting, the training all screamed at him to lose the arrow. But another voice in his head screamed also, not to.

He eased the bow string back down and slung the boy over his shoulder and replaced the arrow in it's quiver. He slowly moved towards the female and stopped as she nearly collided with him. He could see she was badly wounded. Damn war. He firmly grabbed her and laid her down on the ground. "Lay still." he commanded and quickly disarmed her so she could not hurt him or herself. "Let me have a look, I have had some training in healing."

Nadi kept moving, she needed to keep moving. Her determination to keep her fathers promise to stay alive was the only thing that kept her surviving, even when she wanted to give up. She would never let her father or mother down. Her wounds were bad, and she found it difficult to focus when the Katagarian found her. She gasped when he grabbed her and laid her down. Damn it. One had to find her when she couldn't focus and was losing energy.

Despite her current state, she pushed at him, and attempted to roll away. For once, Nadi just wanted to be left alone. She was just tired of everything. "I'm fine, thanks."

((Sorry its short))

Leo rolled his eyes when she said she was fine and tried to roll away. "Year right. She was weak and in no shape to be doing anything. Her clothes were blood soaked and had to be removed so he could get to the wound. He picked her up and carried her back up the hill to the cave and laid her down on the bed of leaves and moss he had gathered and covered with a blanket. "Now lie still and be quiet." he told her and took out his knife and began cutting her clothes away. He cut her upper clothing away and threw it on to the floor of the cave. All she had left on from the waist up was a skimpy thing that helped keep her tits from bouncing about. Then taking a cloth he wet it with water from a water skin and began cleaning the blood from around the wound. The wound was deep and did not look good.

Well the good news was it was not infected, but she did have a fever and was extremely weak. He opened up his kit and took out a needle and threading material to close the wound up. He closed the wound up and took some bandage material from the kit and applied it to the closed wound with a sav that would help keep any infection away. It was made up of a number of plants and roots that he knew of. Then he wrapped a bandage about her to keep the other in place.

Once done he got rid of the bloody clothing and water. Pulling a blanket over her, he sat down on the floor of the cave and cleaned his hands, then held the water skin's opening to her mouth and lifted her head so she could drink. "Slowly and not to much right now." he told her. After giving her some water he began preparing a meal. A stew of sorts with meat of a kill he had made earlier that day.

Nadi growled at him when he picked her up and carried her in to the cave. She was way to tired to really fight him. Why was he even helping her? Not even the Arcadian's would help her. Knowing there was nothing she could do, she huffed and just laid there, watching carefully as he cut away her shirt. Her body had various scars, claw marks, bite marks, stab wounds. There was even a scar from a arrow just below her breast, it barely missed her heart, and she had ripped the arrow out. Her newest wound were deep scratches from a weretiger. Kataraians fought in their animal forms, she always shifted to her true hybrid form to fight back.

Though she was annoyed with the fact that he was helping her, she could do nothing but y there and ignore the pain. Closing her eyes, she waited, with growing impatience, for him to be finished. She drank the offered water, though she really didn't want to take anything her offered.

When he was done cooking and the cave was filled with the savory smell of the meet and vegtables, he made up a bowl full and moved over to the woman. He helped her into a half siting position, propping her up with something had made for himself. Once in position he began spoon feeding her the food. "Take it easy, and eat slowly. If you want something to drink let me know."

He continued feeding her till the bowl was empty and then laid her down again and made sure the blanked was over her. He filled it again and ate his share of the food as he sat there and watched her. "You have a name?" he asked her. "Mine is Leo."

Nadi made a face at him as he helped her sit up, she didn't like getting help from anyone. But she let him feed her, while glaring at him. Her hands curled into fists, she hated being vulnerable and needing to depend on someone. He should just leave her, she wanted nothing to do with him. Nadi was very glad when the food was gone, because she hoped it meant he would stop fussing with her. Clutching the blanket, she shifted to lay on jer side, facing away from him. "I'm Nadi...."

Leo shugged his shoulders and went about his normal routine for the day. Making sure his sword was sharppened, making a few more arrows, gathering firewood and the like. He was hiding out the best he could from both sides but he needed to be prepared to do what ever. As night fell he checked on Nadi and then changed back into his normal form of a lion and went out to hunt for more meat.

He remained in the human form mostly to look human and pass among them. It seemed that they did not like anyone that could change from one form to another. Both Arcadians and Katagarians were attacked and killed by the humans and of course both sides were at war with each other. So he stayed in his human form just to be on the safe side.

He moved through the forest and came to its edge. There he saw some deer close by. He felt the wind on his face and knew he was down wind of them so they would not catch his scent. If he had been in human form he would have been grinning. They were moving right for him. All he had to do was wait and then spring on one of them. That is exactly what he did. When they were close enough he sprang and caught a Doe. The others bolted as fast as they could away and was out of sight in the forest in no time. But the Doe he had was not so lucky. His jaws clamped down on its neck, his razor sharp teeth sinking deep, the blood flowing freely. He savored the taste of the blood and when the Doe stopped moving, he dragged it back to the cave and changed back into his human form. The meat from the Doe would last for a while. Especially if he jerked it. Before skinning and butchering it he again checked on Nadi.

Nadi closed eyes and slept most of the time he was gone. She'd hoped he wouldn't come back. Her body was tired, she wanted to leave. A few times she woke up, and attempted to get up, but her body protested. Out of frusteration, she went back to sleep.

The scent of blood, of doe woke her up. Opening her eyes, she shifted her body to see him bring the doe. With a huff, she pulled the blanket over her head.

He chuckled at her reaction. "Ah does the smell of fresh blood upset you?" he asked her as he skinned the Doe. He would tan the hide and it would make some good clothing for when the weather turned cold. He then began butchering the meat and cut alot into stirps that he hung on a rack he had made of small branches. This he placed by the fire so its heat could help jerk the meat. With a bit of salt rubbed into the meat it would Jerk and he would have a nice supply for winter.

Once he was done and he cleaned up the mess, he took the leavings and burried them bit of a ways off. He then cleaned up at a stream and came back to the cave. He checked the bandage and changed it and put more wood on the fire. "You know you can talk and such. You are not a prisoner you know."

"It doesn't. I like the smell of blood," Nadi replied with a scoff, not moving from her spot. Pulling the blanket down a little, she peeked at him, before pulling it back over her head again.

The thing about being wounded meant she couldn't do anything. Nadi needed to always be doing something, she wasn't patient, and she easily got bored. Actually, she could be patient, when it came to fighting and surviving, or hunting, she knew how to get focused so she could do what she needed to do.

When he was gone for a little bit after taking care of the doe, Nadi took a catnap up until she felt him checking the bandages. Opening her eyes, she shook her head. "Why should I talk?"

"Well that is strange. A woman that wants to be silent. A very rare and probably unheard of thing." he chuckled. He went over to the opposite side of the cave and began making another bed of leaves and moss. "Who did you get into a fight with?" he asked. "It surely could not have been my people. There are none in the area. Only ones around here are humans."

His kind were off fighting a good distance off. The secret war that humans really never knew about but only heard rumors of or of some faction fighting another, like a religious thing or something. If the humans knew of them they would be hunting them as well. Now wouldn't that be grand.

Her eyes rolled at his comment. "Why should I talk?" She certainly didn't want to talk to him. Nadi had been alone for so long that she wasn't even used to really talking to anyone. "It doesn't matter who fought me. Their dead." Frowning, she sat up. Shifting her body, she tried to get comfortable but it wasn't easy with the wound.

(( sorry it took a while to reply, life kept distracting me. ))

"Well suit yourself."  he told her.  "As soon as you are well enough to travel, you can leave."  It would probably be better for him if she did.  If it was not his kind but her own hunting her, he didn't want them finding him.  He was done with the stupid war.  It made no sense.  Both races were changlings.  Why fight each other?

He tended to the fire and after making sure her wound was not infected he left her alone and got things ready for the next meal.  As the meat cooked over the file he went outside.  He scanned the area looking for any that might have been following her.