|
|
Post by danska on Jan 25, 2009 21:02:53 GMT -5
The phone call came late that afternoon to the veterinarians office. The doctor who ran the place picked the phone up and took care of it with a brisk professional voice taking all the vital information. As she swept the last of the dirt from the examination room after the large sheep dog had been shaved and sutured Danska tried to listen to see if the doctor needed her. The clippings slid into the trash bag with a few thuds of dried mud clumps. Setting the broom aside she tied it up to carry out to the rubbish bin. It was late, hot, muggy and the back lot was filled with mud puddles she had to hop around to avoid sinking in."Danska I need you to take the jeep and head out to the woods for me. There's been a hunting accident. Some heard shots in the area and found a injured dog. The dogs too upset to come to them for help. Take the med kit by the back room and go see whats going on. If you can try to bring the dog back to the clinic for treatment." He tossed her the keys which she managed to catch one handedly instead of losing them in a mud bog. Leaving the trash in the bin she ran over the soggy ground to the back door. Reaching inside for the med kit she raced back out. The new red jeep sat full of gas ready to go on the pavement. Jumping in quickly without opening the doors her muddy boots slid on the vinyl seats making a mess of the interior but she didnt have time for etiquete. Her father would have cringed to see his daughter act so un ladylike. Oh well too bad a patient waited for her in the woods and she was going to show the doctor she was ready to solo on her own. Starting the jeep she put it in reverse, backed up then shifted to drive before heading off down the bumpy road. She bounced on the seat as it hit several ruts when she turned onto a unmarked side road and sped off as fast as she could go safely. Danska worried that the animal might be bleeding badly or go into shock before she got there from exposeure. Taking a turn too fast she nearly rolled the jeep. There in front of the jeep stood a 4 point buck just looking into the headlights of the vehicle. Right other wildlife lived there too, she would have to be far more careful. The dog would still be there even if she didnt arrive in one peice. Not good. Honking the horn she managed to startle the buck and make it leave the road so she could head into the forest to the edge of the camping ground the hikers said they had seen the dog in last. Hitting a large pot hole the jeep bounced again before slowing to a stop. Putting it in park she got out taking the med kit with her and headed out to look for signs of her patient.
|
|
|
|
Post by nightwind on Jan 30, 2009 20:30:05 GMT -5
Nadia had enough film in her Nikon for several more photos of the older trees and dwellings that dotted the outskirts of town. The trouble was she was out of ideas for flashy artsy photos for her publisher. She wanted to go back to crime scene photography something that served more purpose than filling a coffee table book with fluff for rich people to set out to make their homes look more in step with the style. She scanned the skyline as it filled with stars. It was good that she preferred night photography and black and white over the flashier touristy stuff. She smiled enjoying the earthy smell of the ground, the fresh green smell of crushed blades of grass and pine needles. Then she caught wiff of two scents at once human and animal followed by the coppery tang of blood. Putting her camera into her pack she sprinted off in an easy lope towards the smell hoping that the blood she smelled wasnt from the human or some vampire out feeding. Up ahead she saw the light of a flashlight bobbing up and down in the dark woods. Someone searching, probably the human but for what? Drawing closer she slowed moving in to get a feel for what was happening. She paused when she saw a tall slender girl her face scratched and dirty shining the light around and laughed hearing her call out to somthing.
|
|
|
|
Post by danska on Feb 5, 2009 20:28:24 GMT -5
Shining the light of the flashlight into the underbrush of the campground Danska searched for the wounded dog. So far all she had seen were the dogs tracks, somewhat faintly as the earth was only damp not muddy. For the past hour she had pushed her way past thorn bushes as well as woodland roses with no results. She had even searched behind the large dumpster at the entrance to the parking area in case the animal went to ground behind the dumpster. In her pocket she had some peices of fresh jerky that she held out letting the smell carry on the wind. "Oh come on you! I cant just leave you out here to die or even just suffer or worse. Here doggy! Come get a treat, its good jerky just from the dryer back in the kitchen." The sound of laughter though muffled startled Danska and she dropped the jerky on the dirt. Turning around quickly, forgetting the injured dog, she came face to face with a strange woman with a camera. "Oh!"
|
|
|
|
Post by nightwind on Feb 5, 2009 21:05:21 GMT -5
Nadia's eyebrow rose a few millimeters. "Well a scientist? or a specimen collector perhaps?" Pulling her hands from her pockets after putting her camera away in one she looked the girl over. Other than having dirt smudges, slightly bleeding scratches from some bushes perhaps, she looked fairly young. Her boots were covered with dust and grass stains. Perhaps she worked outside alot.
Nadia moved closer offering her a hand to shake. "The name's Nadia. Im a free-lance photographer around here"
She pulled a few smaller pictures from her inside jacket pocket that she took of a dilapidated farm house. The shadows on the windows were incredible. She would possibly make quite a bit on them if she could get the photography journal to print them.
This close to a full moon it was hard to ignore the scent of blood from her, as well as that of an injured animal. Nadia had to finish her photography fast and leave the forest. She needed to hunt, but not here, not now.
|
|
|
|
Post by danska on Feb 7, 2009 13:07:18 GMT -5
Recovering the fallen flashlight she looked this other woman over carefully. It was the same one she had seen in the subway station watching her as she went home from work that night. Danska knew she was alone as well as unprotected out here this late. She heard the rumors of strange occurances in the forests around town but she couldnt just leave without finding the bloodhound that was out here somewhere. If she could just find it then leave with nothing more happening she just might not make her boss angry with her.
"You're a photograher?" The blonde took the photo from the strange woman looking them over with a careful eye. Her one weakness besides lattes was art. This was good work. "Nice chiara scuro effect! My father would pay good money for work this good for his magazine." That was if he would still talk to her after their last parting there hadnt been much left to say between them. They were still cleaning up the debris from the verbal explosion between them. Her mother wouldnt talk to her, her father considered her dead to him for chosing to be a vet not a socialite trophy wife of some politician.
"If you can take the time to help me find this injured bloodhound Im supposed to take back to the veterinary clinic I'll see if I can send a copy of this to my father. It cant hurt anyway" Danska brushed her pants off after handing the woman the photo back.
|
|
|
|
Post by nightwind on Feb 7, 2009 13:27:25 GMT -5
The sooner she helped this girl find the dog the faster she could hunt somewhere that no one would notice the carnage. Nadia could smell her unease. Her lycan senses were good enough to pick it up easily without trying as well as the smell of canine blood.
"Sure tell me what the dog looks like Ive got a flashlight in my pack. We can split up to look faster so this dog can get medical help sooner" In reality she didnt dare let her notice she didnt need the light to find the animal. She could already smell its blood, fear, and the torn earth from the place it had gone to ground to hide and lick its wounds. "When we finish the search I'll help you get back to the main road so you dont get lost" She didnt want a reason for the girl to look for her again. The subway encounter still fresh in her mind.
Putting the picture away she waited til this other girl began to look around before heading for the older part of the woods where she knew the bloodhound would be.
|
|
|
|
Post by danska on Feb 7, 2009 16:46:52 GMT -5
Danska started to shiver from the cold air as it grew later. The bloodhound would go into shock if they didnt find it soon. Barely listening to what the other lady said she took the flashlight to search quickly behind the dumpsters finding only an old grizzled raccoon pawing through the trash discarded on the ground. She left it to its feast to go search the ruins of a rotting cabin she had seen just off to the other side of the camp grounds. Mostly rustic or au naturale the area only had a few stonelined fire pits, with grates over them in the ground and worn patches of earth where motor vehicles had parked. The cabin seemed to be just something left from before the residents of the city began coming here for picnics or sleeping.
She pushed the termite riddled door gingerly and it creaked on the rusting hinges. No odd sounds filled the air other than her hiking boots clomping along over the hard packed dirt. Ferns grew in patches on the floor amid mossy leaf litter as well as parts of rotten wood fallen from the roof. The place was ready to fall apart any time now. Entering an open doorway that led into a once welcoming kitchen filled with cheer, she saw now cupboards with sagging warped shelves, bloated tin cans of some kind of now spoiled food. She poked around under what must have been a wash stand with a porcelain bowl for washing up. The bowl was chipped. As she pushed on a part of the wood door the whole stand colapsed with a crash. A sharp pain filled her head as hot warmth ran down past her ear. She knew she was cut from the falling stand but only took time to pull a bandana from her pocket and press it to her head. Moving back out of the cabin before anything else fell she heard a rustling in the bushes down by her jeep.
|
|
|
|
Post by nightwind on Feb 14, 2009 21:31:51 GMT -5
As soon as the blond left her to look for that dumb bloodhound Nadia ran as fast as a lycan could to retrieve the injured brute from its den. A large gash in its side let her know that it wasnt an accident. Someone or something had attacked this bloodhound on purpose and she was betting her next paycheck on a rogue vampire or lycan. Ike wasnt here to seek out for advice and she didnt dare let the girl know she was a lycan. She needed to keep a low profile with the humans. Pulling her coat off to lay the dog on she wrapped it up then lifted it once more to carry down a path towards her jeep which Nadia had seen at the head of the trail.
As she passed the cabin she saw a shadow disappear into the woods just after a loud crash inside the rotting structure. Well old things collapsed didnt they? Putting the dog into the jeep carefully thankful it was unconsious for the moment she looked around for the blonde.
"Hey I found your dog! Its hurt badly but its in your jeep. where did you go?"
Heading back to the campsite she heard a weak cry and more crashing just before the blond came out of the cabin holding a blood soaked cloth to her head.
Not good, most definitely not good. She needed help, but if Nadia got closer she might lose her hard won control over shifting as hungry as she was. "Hey, listen you need to head back to town before its full dark that hound is unconscious" As soon as she left Nadia would run through the forest to put as much distance as possible between them and shift to hunt.
|
|
|
|
Post by danska on Feb 18, 2009 21:24:28 GMT -5
A thin trickle of blood ran down past her blond hair despite having the rag pressed to her head. She could feel a bump forming there already. When she got back to the clinic she would have to head to the hospital emergency room to have someone look at it. With mud from the collapsing cabin stuck to her boots she headed towards the jeep. Hearing the odd lady call to her she tried to rush to the vehicle to check the hounds vitals. Her vision swam as she dodged several rocks in her path then noticed an odd look on the other lady's face. She seemed almost ill, fevered as if she were sick with something.
"Hey, are you feeling ok? You seem like you might be sick maybe you better come back to the clinic with me. I think my boss might have something you could take for the fever" she was glad this woman, stranger had taken time to help her find the hound.. but how did she find it so fast? Or had Danska been in the rotting cabin longer than she thought?
Danska headed to the back of the jeep to look the hound over for any bad wounds. There was a coat wrapped around it, the woman had used her own leather coat to wrap the hound! Almost as if it was a child who was hurt, who was this strange photographer anyway? Taking the dogs pulse then lifting his eyelids to make sure he was alright she worried about his being unconscious. Turning back to the other lady she stumbled and fell against her for a moment. The blood dripping from her head fell on the lady's shirt.
|
|
|
|
Post by nightwind on Feb 18, 2009 22:23:13 GMT -5
God! the smell! The warm fresh blood dripping from that girls headwound down her face. Night had to get out of there fast before she lost the little control she still had over her inner beast. She shouldnt have stayed this long! Then she had to come closer, why?
Night forced her thoughts to something more ordinary like her photos and getting them published trying to distract herself from the smell of the blood. Not working. She tried to think of the vampire who lived in her apartment building who seemed to be unusual to say the least. Ok a little better......
Then the damn girl had to tell her she looked ill, like she had a fever and insist that Night come with her to the clinic. Like that was really going to happen. Just as Night was about to turn around to leave for the deeper parts of the forest now that the blond had her doggy back she heard her footsteps. Looking back she saw Danska headed to her worried then before Night could call out a warning about the path with its rocks she tripped and fell against Night.
That smell again! Sweet heavens above it was like meat and blood all warm there for the taking! "Get away from me!" She shoved the girl off her with a hurried push then turned and ran for the forest, within moments she was over a mile away her heart pounding still smelling the girls blood on her shirt she kept going shifting as she ran leaving her far behind as Night gained speed and ran for everything she was worth to banish the ghosts of her past as well as her hunger for bloody sweet flesh.
|
|
|
|
Post by danska on Feb 19, 2009 21:43:21 GMT -5
As soon as Danska falls against the other lady she is flung back onto the dirt landing hard. Her head bumps the ground and the cloth falls to the dirt soaked with her blood.
"Hey, come back you shouldnt run off like..like that.. Ouch!" She puts her hand to her head where she hit the dirt and it comes away covered with fresh blood. "Great, just great."
Standing slowly, the forest seeming to spin around her she starts towards the jeep hoping her vision clears and things stop moving. Opening the door of the jeep she hears he dog moving in the back, whimpering. Right get the bloodhound to the clinic then she would get herself to the hospital. Turning on the ignition switch she put the jeep in reverse. Her head really hurt bad. Worse the dog seemed to be breathing hard.
Backing up then putting it in drive she drove quickly down the rutted dirt road that led to the main highway. As she rounded a corner for the last stretch she hit a large pothole and the jeep left the road to hit a tall pine tree.
After unfastening her seat belt she almost fell out of the jeep
as she opened the door. Seeing spots she staggered from sapling to tree to fence post as she headed down the highway.
|
|
