The Lost Kind (Tristeza and Adrian)

[Tristeza]

It'd been a while since Ari had last come to the woods. Five years, actually. Her parents' little fishing cottage had been a frequent site to vacation in, close to the wild, full of little nooks and crannies for the kids to explore, the nice, huge lake spreading out right in front of their very eyes. And, it was safe. Ever since the great wolf hunt, the most dangerous predator in the area was gone, unseen, presumed extinct from the region. They'd said, at the time, that the wolves had been responsible for the disappearance and, presumably, death of many girls across the country. In any other occasion, one could ask the 22 year old girl and she'd say that such an excuse was nothing other than a load of bullshit. No one would be able to find her here though. That was the point.

It was a question that amazed the girl's friends too, how could Ari's boyfriend have cheated on her with such a slutty bitch. Sitting in the front porch, eyeing the reflection of the twilight sky on the mirrored reflection of the lake, Ari wondered the same. Was it the boobs? The girl looked inside her dark blue tank top for a moment, huffing. No, her boobs were just fine, a sexy, no back pain C that fit juuuust right on a guy's hand, not too little not too much. Or maybe it was. Still, to be traded by a whooping DD that sagged some (she'd seen it!) was no fun. "I hope he gets whatever STDs she has." Ari grunted, throwing a stick into the water. She'd come here to get her mind off him, not to spend a week brooding about it... That's it, skinnydeeping! A smile beamed on her face, rushing inside to get a towel.

When she came outside, the stars were already shining on the nightly sky, and the full moon cast its pale glow, lighting her towel wrapped form. Her hair was as dark as the night itself, falling neatly over her shoulders down to her midsection. The baby blue eyes searched for a trail on the ground, a bright smile curling the corners of her thin rosy lips as she found it, wobbling along in her flipflops. Her legs, long and slender, seemed to glow slightly under the moonlight due to her pale skin. Of her body, it was the one thing Ari frowned upon, her skin. Incapable of getting a tan other than a very unlovely neon pink burn.

Her feet guided her through the forest, with the knowledge of someone who'd blazed this trail many times before. It would have come many other times as well, but college was first. It wasn't that the water of the lake right in front of the house was improper, but it was... too exposed. Ari was headed to the small river that crossed the forest, to a small natural pool hidden nearby a string of caves. The sight was as gorgeous as when she had first seen it, even more so with the full moon casting its silver light. A small waterfall fed the pool, filling the air with the gentle rumble of falling water. Leaving her flipflops and a stretched towel by the shore, on top of a large slab of stone, Ari's naked curves suddenly flexed dexterously, and, with a small jump, the girl took a dive into the clear water, giggling to herself when she surfaced. This was the life.

 

[Adrian]

Adrian was wandering the forest, as all young lycans had to. All lycans of his clan had to leave the pack and return with a mate before they could be considered full members of the clan. In fact, he wasn't even really a full lycan yet, just a wolf. Of course, he could think, and was much smarter than many of those silly humans. But, in order to become a full lycan, he would have to mate with a human woman, which would allow him to become a full lycan and grasp his full abilities. The human woman would also become a lycan, of course, but why would anyone complain about being a lycan? The ability to switch back and forth between wolf and human at will, besides several other powers, of which he had only heard whispers of? Enchanting.

Adrian was off wandering his section of the forest, as in the past month he had taken to claiming a certain section of the forest. The large quantity of water in the area made it quite a value, both for the water and the prey that came to the water in troves. He was faster and strong than most of the other young lycans, and he had fought off any that had come to claim this area. He fought them off viciously, routing them and sending them home. The new outcasts of the pack thought they could fight him that easily, but they would outgrow their eagerness to fight soon enough. Finding a mate was more important if one was to become a lycan. So most wolves that didn't get valuable pieces of forest like him ended up going closer to the city, only returning with full mates, usually kidnapped.

Adrian had quite a thing against kidnapping, and was quite the honor-filled man. He respected the values of all creatures, and would rather stay a wolf in this wonderful piece of land forever instead. Adrian sniffed around as he padded to the lake. There was a new scent in the area, it was... human. Hunters? Again? He scowled, he hated the hunters that came through the forest to trap innocent animals. He padded along the river, following the scent, before coming upon a pool. He blinked as he saw the pool, it was just a human girl, swimming. And he had thought it was a hunter. Unless she was a hunter? Adrian stood there thinking, unsure what to do next.

 

[Tristeza]

Ari's mother had many times commented that, in a previous life, the girl had been either a fish or a mermaid at some point. She just had an almost irrational fondness for water, ever since she was little. No cold or wave could stop Ari from ever taking a dive, be it river, sea or the same lakes she was now in/nearby to. Entire summers spent racing her siblings, playing ball, practicing swimming or just simply floating while watching the blue sky above her. It was certainly showing through, her body glistening as her body arced above the water surface gracefully, just before disappearing underneath the rippling surface once more, like a dolphin leaping through the sea. It was as if the water was washing away the spite, the anger and the sorrow. At least for now, Ari felt at peace, in the loneliness of the night.

Time passed as she played, either mimicking the dolphins, or practicing styles, or simply floating, her long hair billowing around her, like a black curtain. The side effect of being in the water for so long eventually came around though, and Ari returned to the shore, her skin completely goosebumped, lips purple from the cold. Yet, they had a smile stamped upon them as she dryed herself, ecstatic from the precious moments she'd just passed. The air was warm, despite the night, only a faint breeze gracing the leaves every now and then. There was nothing more near Ari other than the sandals and the towel, and her own demeanour was far from someone who meant any harm to the forest. She was by herself, not even a fire to light the night. Only the full moon and it's pale shine. Suddenly, an idea ocurred to Ari, and the blue eyed young woman stretched back her towel and laid on her back, feeling the warmth that the rock slab had accumulated during the day against her back. If there was sunbathing, then there must also be moonbathing, right? Ari giggled a bit at her little crazy thought, but soon it faded into silence, giving way to the sounds of the forest as she gazed up at the moon and the stars, searching for a wishing star.

 

[Adrian]

Adrian had left the pool with the girl, and had gone away to roam his forest. His forest. It sounded good to him, he thought, as he looked at his reflection in the large pond, admiring his smooth, brown coat and his muscular frame. He hunted for game, finding and capturing a rabbit within the hour. He was a good hunter, but the prime land made the hunting that much easier. Life was good, if a bit lonely.

At night, he decided to go to his normal rock to sleep at night. He had slept there his first night in the forest, and had stayed there by habit. Over the days, the rock had been smoothed out, making a comfortable little dip in the rock as he had slept on it night after night. He went to it again late that night, eagerly awaiting that night's rest. He smelled someone else on it, though, as he approached it. He saw a body on the top of the rock, and growled, feeling territorial. He didn't recognize the scent at first, but he ignored that, feeling robbed of his bed. He growled at the creature on the rock again, howling in hopes that it would wake up the other person.

 

[Tristeza]

The emotions of the day and the exercise had taken their toll on Ari, so she couldn't avoid the slowly adding weight upon her eyes as the stars flew through the night sky. A yawn here, another yawn there, and the warm air did the rest, envelloping the girl in a soothing blanket. All that was left were the sounds of the forest, lulling her to sleep with a smile on her lips, the naked body perfectly still in the light sleep.

It was only when a foreign sound echoed across the clearing that Ari realized she had dozed off. Something had stirred her from the 'nap', but the sleepy girl took time to realize that she wasn't alone anymore, rubbing her eyes as she sat up. Only when there was a howl did she realize that something was growling at her. Something with sharp teeth. Something she thought didn't exist in those woods anymore. And, when she turned her head, something that was very, very close. It took all of Ari's fiber not to scream. It wouldn't do her any good, and probably make the wolf attack her, if anything. Still, even if she wanted to, Ari was frozen solid, trembling in fear of the creature, the stories she'd heard as a little girl coming back to her mind.

 

[Adrian]

Adrian paused as he heard the person on his rock rouse. So the invader was awake. But as he sniffed more, he seemed to smell fear, not the arrogance or fight that most of the invaders to his area had. Tilting his head, he took a few steps back from the rock, trying to see who was on top of it. He still couldn't see who it was though, as the person was still laying down, and not preparing to attack or anything.

He let out a softer growl, this one less aggressive and more like a dog's friendly bark. Perhaps it was actually an accident by someone this time, he thought.

 

[Tristeza]

Her fear subsided a little when the growl changed. At least, it didn't sound as threatening as before, the enough to actually drive Ari to peek at the creature. Maybe it was just a large dog? Wait, that was stupid. Wolves are large dogs... in a way. Slowly, the girl began to move, raising up to her fours. She trembled like leaves on the wind, scared of what could happen. The wolf could jump at her, mangle her till there were no remains left. Or he could look at her and run off. Or... something. Ari wasn't sure what would happen, a million ideas going through her mind, but, inside her, something pushed her to at least take a look at it. A child's curiosity that had been preserved within her, the wish to see one of those feared, mighty creatures for herself one day.

When her eyes finally set on the creature, her jaw dropped slightly. It was absolutely beautiful, the moonlight reflected on the muscular animal figure, giving it an even wilder shine that Ari couldn't help but feel amazed by. "He-Hello..." the girl whispered softly, trying not to startle the wolf.

 

[Adrian]

Adrian let out a warm rumble when he saw the girl on top of the rock. This was no enemy or challenger, this was some human girl who was wandering this beautiful forest and had managed to find the same sleeping spot as him. He eased up from his tensed pose, partially amazed by the girl's beauty. He hadn't seen many human women, but he somehow knew that this one was prettier than most. Another reason he tensed up was that he was sure that this person could do no harm to him.

And by the looks of her, she probably wouldn't, even if she could, as those innocent blue eyes stared into him. He stood there, transfixed, trapped by the moonlight, unsure of whether to scare her off, or just find a new spot for the night to sleep.

 

[Tristeza]

Just as he relaxed, Ari's fear slowly wafted away with each slowing breath, her eyes locked on his, soon showing no more than amazement and curiosty. The same little pinprick that had driven the girl to peek now pushed her further, fueled by the strange moment. Though her movements were cautious, they didn't show any sign of trembling panic, smooth and fluid as she slowly stepped down to the ground, figure partially hidden by the long ebony hair. Ari tried as best as she could to stay at least crouched, on the same level as the wolf, hoping to not scare him away. She stopped but a few feet away, on all fours, watching him, waiting for what he'd do.

 

[Adrian]

Adrian watched the girl as she stepped down, relatively gracefully for a human, at that. He looked at the girl's body, shining in the moonlight, at once thinking that she was beautiful and that she must be freezing without any fur. She stepped down, and didn't seem to be claiming the rock, so he slowly approached her, veering to the left a bit. He walked slowly, walking around her and hopping nimbly onto the rock, settling in for his usual nighttime nap, in full belief that the girl would not harm him.

 

[Tristeza]

A small smile appeared on Ari's face as the wolf settled down peacefully, sighing of relief. He wouldn't harm her, it seemed. After all the stories of how wolves were such harmful, bloodthirsty creatures, this one seemed to contradict it all. Just a larger, bulkier, furrier wild dog, that was it. She was still transfixed by the creature's beauty, so instead of walking off and heading back to the house, Ari just crouched there, watching him with a mesmerized gaze. She felt something mystical about this moment, and for sure didn't want to break the enchantment.