Oliver Schwarz

A sharp chill shot down my arm as my hand made contact with the wolf-dog's face. I bit back a yelp of surprise, my fingers immediately numbed by the freezing sensation. Instead, I slowly withdrew my arm, despite the mild aching that the cold had caused.

I was right. Something is off.

But still, I could not find anything specific. It was just the ghostly way his figure appeared, like some sort of spirit animal, but there was no way that I could tell if he was legitimately this beast or not.

A loud crash suddenly caught my attention, my head snapping round to look. Slowly, I rose, trying to peer over the piles of rubble.

From here, I could not see anything. Turning my back to the wolf-dog was not something that I was keen on doing, but I had to in order to make my way over to somewhere where I could see properly.

Drawing my scissors, I cautiously approached and climbed on top of the nearest mound of broken bricks, glass and metal. I glanced back over at the wolf-dog, then back at the horizon, searching for any commotion.

My eyes widened.

Little Fox-

Even the dog form jumped at the sound, nearly causing him to lose it. What the heck?! Standing the wolf like dog followed the boy in a hopes that the boy hadn't seen the slight human like shimmer when he had jumped. Next to the boy one the bricks he looked out over the horizon not sure exactly what he was looking out at.

Oliver Schwarz

Just in the distance... I couldn't be sure, but there was a group of people, dressed in poorly-fitting armour of various kinds. I didn't recognise the faces, but the weapons were all too familiar. Especially the barbed wire whip.

Raiders. It's those raiders again.

I began to panic. They were close - too close perhaps for us to run from them. I was not keen on the idea of having to face those maniacs a second time.

Glancing over my shoulder at the shelter, I formulated my plan. There had to be somewhere better to hide in there than between two cupboards. Unless, of course, those who built it were fools enough to not create some sort of escape route or an underground bunker.

"Come on," I said to the wolf-dog. My words barely came out as more than a whisper as I jumped down from the rubble pile, and began to head for the shelter. I was afraid that moving too quickly would alert the group to our presence, and so I didn't go any faster than a jog, occasionally peering over my shoulder to make sure that we had enough time to reach our destination.

However, when I reached the entrance to the shelter, it seemed that the raiders were smarter than I had anticipated.

Just was I turned into the doorway, a strong grip grabbed me by the jacket. I struggled momentarily, before my eyes eventually looked at the face of the one who had caught me.

Oh... no, why her?

Little Fox-

The boy seemed afraid of this group. Of course he didn't have the comfort of turning into a bigger animal and killing everyone of them on the spot. In Little Fox's case that would have been exactly what he did bit then that was just his nature. When there was a threat you hit it in the face with something sharp or blunt. Following the boy the dog stayed right in his heels until they were inside. When the boy stopped so did he. This lady had touched the boy, he had to make it seem like he was actually a dog.... Widening his stance the dog lowered his head as the hairs on his neck and back raised. A deep growl escaped his throat as did a gruff bark. A dog would fight for its master right?

Oliver Schwarz

We inspected each other's expressions, the only sound being the growling of the wolf-dog. I inhaled sharply, waiting for her to say something, but instead she reached into her cloak and drew a knife. With one quick movement, she had me pinned against the wall, the blade pressing into the base of my neck.

"Hand it over, Oliver." A crooked smile crept across her lips. I knew what she was after. I swallowed my fear, and stared straight into her manic glare.

"No," I stated, my voice wavering only very slightly. The woman's grin twisted into an ugly frown. She gave me a forceful punch to the stomach, before grabbing at one of bags on my belt. I shoved her in return, and she swung her arm around, scratching me across the cheek with her knife. I let a hand drop to the satchel she had attempted to get her hands on, and was relieved to find that it was still intact.

She stepped forwards, adjusting her position to fight. I shakily grasped my scissors, backing off with every movement she took towards me. I glanced down at the wolf-dog, then back at the woman, trembling.

Little Fox-

So much for under cover.... As the fight broke out the dog suddenly jumped at the woman before he shifted back into his human form. The dog form might not have been able to touch her but him as a human could. The momentum was enough to knock him and the woman to the ground. "Get the knife!" He shouted at the other boy as he pinned the woman to the ground. He wouldn't be able to hold her for long.

Oliver Schwarz

I froze, staring at the human that replaced the form of the wolf-dog. Though at his shout, I scrambled for the knife, wielding it in my left hand. Underneath the shape-shifter, the woman struggled, cursing at him and failing her arms in an effort to push him away.

I stared down at the crimson-soaked blade of the knife. My blood. I then shifted my eyes to the woman, whose face was now crumpled into a snarl as she fought like a captured animal. Can... can I really bring myself to kill someone...?

Swiftly, I went to the side of the woman. She stopped struggling, her whole body tense. With flared nostrils, her attention was now diverted to the shimmering edge of the weapon. She smirked, a glimmer of fear in her eyes.

"Go on then." I readied myself, positioning the knife at her eye. The quickest way to the brain.

My hand lowered quickly, and I placed all of the force of my shoulders behind the swing. But I halted my movement, mere inches from her face, a sudden wave of nausea overcoming my will to survive.

What am I doing?

My eyes drifted to the man keeping her on the ground. Surely, he was wondering why I was hesitating, after she so viciously assaulted me.

I balled my hand into a fist. If I can't kill her, the least I can do is knock her out.

That I did. Countless punches later, the only thing moving on her body was the steady stream of blood running from her nose.

I stood, turning my head to look at the person who had replaced the wolf-dog. Strangely, I felt no fear; no urge to run from this stranger. Though I was curious.

"Who are you? And for what purpose have you attempted to befriend me?"

Little Fox-

Why was he hesitating?! The woman was hard enough to hold without him just holding the knife over her. Then he started punching her. It did the trick at least, that why she could feel as the knife slipped into her eye. It had been his own knife that took the woman's life but it was needed. It was a mercy kill, one that would keep others from dying at the hand of a mad woman. With the deed done the man looked to the boy. "Do you know how many people eat dogs?" He said simply before standing. "In order to make sure I didn't end up on the fire I acted friendly."

Oliver Schwarz

I had to look away as the stranger killed the woman. She had looked all to familiar to an old friend, and I sincerely hoped that it wasn't actually her. But there was a feeling, tugging at my consciousness, that that was what had become of her.

I sighed, almost losing myself in thought. When the shape-shifter responded, my focus went straight back to him.

"You didn't answer my question properly." I narrowed my eyes in suspicion, keeping my distance still and not taking a single step towards him. "I know people eat dogs... I..." I paused momentarily, and hastily tried to cover up my falter by continuing to speak. "Who are you? And... your powers... what specifically are they?" I stopped again, calculating my next few words. "I cannot trust you if we do not reach some sort of understanding."

Little Fox-

He sighed wiping his hands on his pants. "My tribe called me Little Fox though I'm not sure what the English call me. As for my powers, I can change into the spirits of animals though as you can see they are mostly just for show." The boy answered honestly.