In Opaque Darkness, a Silver Shadow
#1 of Thanatos
Part of a planned 3-chapter series (though it may be more because its rather interesting), CH1 is the wolf, CH2 the human, and CH3, the convergence
The wolf thrust his nose in the air, breathing deeply. He could smell fresh blood, taste it on the wind. He would hunt tonight, and he would feast on the flesh of the wounded. The wolf rushed off into the woods, following the scent in the air, letting the spirit of the hunt engulf him. He could practically see the trail the smell left in the air. The trees passed by in a blur, the wolf paid no mind, heard nothing but the wind in his ears, smelled nothing but the sweet blood in his nose. The scent was close now, so very close. He rushed towards it, seeing a shape in the middle of a clearing, blood on the ground, soaking into the earth. The wolf rushed and pounced at the figure. In an instant, the figure dropped the dead rabbit it had used as bait, and thrust out the sword. The wolf stared for a moment, shocked at how easily he had fallen prey. Then he knew no more.
He drifted in the darkness now, cold and alone. He could see nothing, feel nothing, and he did not know if he was alive or dead. Eyes shut, he did not notice the figure drifting towards him, like a silver shadow. "It is a shame." A voice spoke in the darkness. Soft, he could not tell if the voice was male or female. He opened his eyes and saw only the silver, no face, nothing to show the sex of this person. "I am Thanatos, and you are dead. Wolf, your time was not meant to come today, your death was... an accident, I should say. " The voice, Thanatos, moved closer to the wolf. "One which we cannot fix, but we can help." Thanatos knelt by the wolf. "If you wish to accept, we can put you in the body of your killer, a trade of souls. They were meant to die, not you, so we shall do what we can to right this error. Do you accept, Wolf?" The wolf stared up at the being, and nodded. Thanatos smiled at this. "Very well, Wolf. Close your eyes, and when you open them, you will be reborn." The wolf did so, shutting his eyes as Thanatos' robes enfolded him, breaching the gap between worlds to give the wolf his second chance.
The soul makes up half of what a being looks like. There are a few who's bodies are altered by the mix of an animal spirit and a human body, or a human spirit and an animal body. There were not many of them, because it was rare for a soul to be placed in a different race's body. The wolf was one of these people now, a Wolven. "A... name." The wolf muttered, still adjusting to his new body. The speech was the hardest part. Until this time, he had simply to bark in separate tones to convey what he wished to say. Most wolves has a sort of psychological link, so any form of bark or howl was adjusted to mean what it was intended to mean.. Now he had to form words, each one meaning something different. He was confused, but he had known most of these new words from the bodies old memories. "I will choose the name.." He thought about it, looking around for anything that could help him decide. He looked down at his tail, which was dipping into the river he was sitting by. "Rivertail..." He smiled at that. It was simple, but he enjoyed it. Now all he needed was a surname. He looked around again, trying to find something that would fit with his name. "Tree, branch, rock. No." He looked about some more, and noticed a fox rush between the trees. "Rivertail Foxx." He nodded, now he had a name.
Rivertail stood up, stretching his legs. Another thing he had to get used to was walking on two feet. This was all new to him, and he had no idea where to find any others like him, or even any towns at that. He had known where the towns were as a wolf, to avoid them, but in the time that he had been dead, the human had moved far from there. Rivertail was now in a completely new part of the world for him. He looked through the pack that had been by him, searching for something to assist him. He found a map, but had no idea where he was, and thus it did not really help him. He sniffed the air, hoping maybe he could track another wolves scent. He did not smell a wolf, instead he caught the scent of a rabbit, which caused his stomach to growl. The scent was intoxicating, and he decided to go after it, a meal would be a good idea.
Not long after, his stomach filled with fresh rabbit meat, Rivertail managed to find a familiar mark, and thus found where he was. He walked toward the mark on the tree, and then on to the nearby town. He could smell the scent of many humans and animals, but none like him. Would these people accept him, or at the very least allow him to enter, or would they simply kill him on sight? He sighed again. Another obstacle to overcome, and another risk to his life. He knew he had no other choice, and so he walked towards the gate cautiously, hoping for the best. The guards by the gate glared at him, but allowed him to pass. Rivertail knew he would be watched wherever he went within the city, and he knew he would not be truly safe, but he was glad to have been able to pass through the gates. This would be his first taste of civilization, and hopefully not his last.