Chapter Text
Wolf knows the feeling of being stalked. She’s done it enough times to her own prey, and she’s experienced the other end of it more often than she’s liked. But it’s never gone on for this long. She’s sleep deprived and every sound puts her fight or flight instinct on overdrive. She doesn’t know if it’s the ever increasing paranoia or her lack of sleep but it’s starting to drive her insane.
Fourteen days of almost non-stop moving and the toll it was taking had been apparent by the fourth day but even dead tired, her survival instincts pushed her onward. Did she imagine that outline in the shadows or was it actually there? Did that branch just move because of an animal? Was it just the wind? Was she even being watched at all? Each night she laid traps. Each night, she fought to stay awake. These days sleep would win out.
In the early days, she had pushed her body to the brink of exhaustion in an attempt to lose the thing watching her. Had laid ambushes, shouted challenges, went through places so dangerous that would even give some of the more dangerous predators pause. Nothing. When her exhausted body had been pushed to the limit, she had reluctantly slowed down just enough to keep a quick but steady pace. There was a shelter about a day or two away with emergency supplies and the location itself would give her some reprieve, perhaps not from her stalker but at the very least, from most other dangers.
For now she would resign herself to her new companion.
Perhaps, worst of all, she was starting to get used to it.
On the sixteenth day, she staggered into the fortified shelter, retrapped the entrance, forced herself to eat and drink, before collapsing from exhaustion.
Wolf woke and grabbed Stalky. Her hands grasped the staff weakly. The disoriented feeling caused by her intense thirst and hunger, along with the exhaustion she could still feel made it impossible to stop the creature that had taken shelter in the space as well. In the haze of the setting sun, Wolf only managed to glimpse the tail end of a silhouette as it fled. And the food that was cooking on the fire. With difficulty Wolf stumbled toward the fire and resisted the urge to immediately dig into the cooking meat. Hunger eventually won out over caution, and she threw caution to the wind as she scarfed down the food. The first bite tasted like heaven, freshly prepared food was a luxury after the last two weeks of stretching what had been her already meager food supply and whatever she could forage before crashing for the night.
It was only when Wolf had stuffed herself that she realized that whoever she had seen leaving had failed to close the way in, leaving the entrance to her shelter wide open. Silently berating herself for not noticing, she moved the logs to let the fire die down just enough so that there would be hot coals available when she got back if she needed to start another one. Wolf silently approached the entrance and listened, after several seconds of only hearing her own heart, she ventured outside.
The night had fallen quickly while she had been eating and the only noises up this high, this late, were the sounds of nature, the unaggressive yet still dangerous if you poke them bugs, and the faroff hoot of an owl from below. Wolf sighed. Nothing, it was this nothing that had caused her hair to stand on end for the past few weeks and made her paranoid every turn. And now… now she was just tired . It was this that caused Wolf to do the least self-preservation action that she could remember doing even if it was going to be the last chance at a trap.
“You might as well come inside.”
Nothing. Well, it was worth a try. Wolf turned and leapt back with a shout of surprise. Striking outward with her weapon. She felt Stalky as missed the human-like thing and assessed the situation. One, whoever this was had gotten the drop on her. Two, it was fast enough to dodge her attacks. Three, it looked awfully like a-
“Hi, I’m Kipo.” The thing - Kipo - had gotten up and personal into her space, which caused Wolf to stumble a few paces backwards.
Scratch that. Three, it spoke.
“I’m sorry for startling you.”
“You didn’t.” Wolf responded as she got quickly to her feet. She did not appreciate the skeptic look it gave her. They stared at each other for a second.
“So… what’s your name?” Asked the girl, head tilted slightly to the side.
“You,” Wolf struck out with her weapon, each word punctuated by a strike each slower than the last. “Chase. Me. Through. The. Woods. Just to. Ask. Me. MY NAME?” The other simply ducked, slid, or skirted just shy of being hit. The last swing buried Stalky’s tip into the wall
“Yes?” Wolf was at least slightly satisfied that the stranger sounded a little bit embarrassed.
Wolf tugged on Stalky again, her weapon was going to come out of that wall even if she had to, had to. Wolf felt her strength give out in her hands and prepared to take the blow from the ground. Only to land on something soft.
A person. Kipo.
“Whoa, careful there.”
Wolf growled at the concern.
“Do you want me to,” the girl motioned to Wolf’s stuck weapon. “What is that anyway?”
“Its name is Stalky. Sure. You can try, you’re not going to have…” Wolf’s words trailed off as she watched Kipo easily take the weapon out of he wall.
“I’ll give this back to you if you tell me your name.”
Wolf took a deep breath, fighting the urge to leap and grab Stalky out of Kipo’s hand. “My name is Wolf.”
“And?”
“Give me Stalky back!” Wolf was half prepared to fight for it anyway if Kipo didn’t give Stalky back right now. And when it was suddenly back in her hands, she had to blink. Wolf was not awake enough for… whatever this was.
“I’m going to sleep. Stay, go, whatever. Just close the entrance on the way out.”
“Can I ask one more question?”
Wolf let out a long suffering, “Sure.” Anything to just go to sleep.
“What are you?”
It sounded genuine but she was so tired, Wolf couldn't tell. Either way the answer was obvious.
“Human, like you.” Wolf muttered, taking a step toward where she'd spotted a somewhat soft looking rock. She didn’t make it more than a couple feet before stumbling, Stalky dropping from her grip. The days without rest or food had hit her all at once as her unconscious body keeled forward.
Kipo caught Wolf, before she hit the ground. And laid her down carefully. Kipo sniffed Wolf once and cocked her head quizzically. This didn't make sense. Wolf smelled different from the humans she knew but also not like herself. Kipo knew she wasn't human.
“I’m not,” she said aloud as she went to go hunt breakfest. People like food when they wake up. But a thought nagged her and led to the single question of “Am I?"