drapetomani (n.) || an overwhelming urge to runaway

running blindly.

Limbs of all sorts scratched against her frail skin and drew blood but she could barely feel it. She had made her mind focus enough to get away and that was all that mattered. She didn't know where she was heading, her feet carried her on an unknown path. She had no family in the area, they had purposefully moved away from any distant and immediate family she had left. There was no form of transportation, she had left her fathers pick up.

Oddly enough, despite her frantic, the forest around her felt extremely peaceful. It was as though a spirit consumed it and breathed only serenity into the trees. She thought of it as uncanny but didn't stop running. Her wolves kept pace with her, bounding at her sides, and Cross ran slightly ahead. She guessed that she was following him, wherever he was taking them, because in that moment she had no other choice.

She kept pace until her lungs literally screamed for air and she was forced to slow down. She had been running uphill for a solid fifteen minutes and she had no idea how; possibly the adrenaline flooding her veins, she had heard stories about people doing amazing things from adrenaline. She flicked her eyes around their surroundings and realized she could very well be lost. She never ventured straight north before, as this was new territory for her.

She gripped the straps of her backpack and walked at a brisk pace. Her mind constantly wandered. If she could do anything, she wanted to apologize. She wanted to tell her father how sorry she was for keeping her wolves a secret from him. She wanted to let Esther know how heartbroken she was, too, and that she never planned for it to happen. She wanted to hug Avery and say her goodbye.

Now she would never have the chance.

She followed Cross through the forest, trusting his instinct, and the day slowly melted away. The heat simmered into a cool breeze that caused her to shiver through her sweatshirt and long shadows played upon the land she trekked. She was worried about the coming night, she didn't know if there were any larger predators around, but she knew that her wolves would keep them safe nonetheless.

They seemed to be the only family she had left. She had raised them, took care of them, and now it seemed like it was their turn to take care of her. She ventured into their world blindly and hoped for the best. She watched the sun begin to descend from the sky, attempting to hide behind the western mountain, and she realized that tomorrow was a dawn of something entirely new in her life. Little did she know.

She was so consumed in her thoughts she didn't realize her wolves had stopped until she bumped into Thane. He glanced back at her, flicking his ears, and she suppressed a yawn. Suddenly, she felt more tired than ever.

"What's wrong, guys?" She asked, blearily glancing around. God, she felt exhausted.

Cross was alert a few paces away, his body tense and his ears constantly swiveling to catch something in the forest. She felt her wolves pressing closer to her, engulfing her in warmth, and then she heard twigs snapping. For the third time that day, her heart leaped, and she swore the organ would be a pancake by morning.

From the fading shadows, black forms emerged. She squinted and her vision focused to let her see the two giant wolves. Their bodies were massive, their fur completely black as a moonless midnight, and their dark eyes assessed her group in hidden curiosity. Their fangs weren't bared in warning but her wolves slowly growled, squishing her between them.

The black wolves glanced at her and their eyes seemed to linger before they stopped moving by the trunk of a tree. They almost blended right into the shadows, she was lucky a few streaks of light illuminated their forms. Her heart skipped a beat in fear and she was expecting to have a full blown panic attack until everything just turned numb. She was too exhausted. If the wolves wanted to kill her, then they could. She'd reached the end of her ropes.

Her wolves seemed confused when the two black wolves didn't retaliate against their growling and the forest fell to silence. They simply stared at each other and then the two black wolves tilted their heads to the right, glancing over their shoulders at something approaching from the direction they had come.

She held her breath.

It would have been an understatement to say that she was surprised when a woman appeared. The woman walked with a fluid grace, scarcely making a noise, and her plain clothes hung gently on her lean body. She didn't notice how her wolves slightly lowered their heads in the woman's presence, she was mesmerized watching the woman come to a regal standstill between the two black wolves.

Something about the woman was familiar - very vaguely - but definitely familiar. She couldn't place her finger on it. For a moment, neither of them spoke. There was something powerful in this woman's presence but somehow she just knew she could trust this woman. Something in her soul assured her and she impulsively gave in.

The woman's chestnut hair gently billowed behind her from a passing evening breeze and when she met the woman's gaze, she was shocked to see intense silver eyes; much like her own. The woman's eyes widened ever so slightly, her lips parting in a small gasp, and then her eyes seemed to flash. For some reason, the woman was utterly stunned.

"A wolf recognizes its own blood." The woman whispered, so soft she barely caught it.

"I'm sorry," She rubbed her eyes, "Its been a horrible day. What did you say?"

The woman slowly blinked, seemingly fazed, her words faint and almost inaudible, "Where have you been?"

At this, she frowned in confusion, "What? Are you okay? Did the police send you out here to find me? And what's up with your freakish wolves? Nobody has wolves as pets."

The black wolves beside the woman tensed at her last word and their lips slightly parted to reveal sharp canines, but the woman seemed to snap out of her stupor and rested a hand atop the black wolves heads.

The woman gazed at her, "You say that, but yet you stand surrounded by six wolves who look up to you as if you are their Alpha."

"Well, yeah, I raised them," She grew irritated, "Look, do you know a place I can stay nearby? Motel or something? I'm kinda lost and its been a nightmare of a day. My head feels like its gonna explode."

The woman tilted her head, "You are injured and on the run from something."

"No, I'm not physically injured," She said, leaning against Thane as her adrenaline continued to wear off and leave her legs jello, "Can you help me or no?"

"Yes," The woman glanced around, observing, and those silver eyes landed back on her, "Can I know your name in return?"

"Its Mikica."

"Come, then. You need rest."

She felt safe with the woman, she couldn't deny it. It almost felt like the same kind of trust family members held. She couldn't ponder over it as her head thundered with a headache but when the woman turned to leave, she was compelled to follow. A yearning within her heart and she was simply too tired to question it.

She followed the woman and her wolves followed her. The two black wolves seemed to disappear from sight but she somehow knew that they were still around, gliding through the shadows. How she wasn't scared out of her mind, she had no clue. She should have been having a panic attack from all the similarities to her nightmare but she just felt too tired. By tomorrow, everything would take its impact. There was always the numb spell of shock.

"Hey, thank you for helping me," She said and the woman glanced over her shoulder with smoldering silver eyes, "If you hadn't come along I'd be sleeping in the forest tonight. Say, I didn't catch your name?"

The woman was quiet for a few moments and then she spoke.

"Reeve."

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