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"For three long years I've hunted you and you don't even speak?! You say nothing to answer for what you did to me? I will kill you tonight and forever be rid of the torment you condemned me to that day," she could hardly breath as her adrenaline rushed. Gresh was ready to exert her rage after all her time training for this moment. The edge of her ax shined like the sliver of the moon that hung over yet her steel had a thirst for blood the other would never know. The Cougar remained silent staring with eyes that harbored a soullessness within that seemed so accurately placed. Her heart began to pound, the memories would not cease, "That's it!"

The Cougar was prepared to dodge her ax but in his haste could not predict what she had prepared in response. A fence of jagged ice shards impaled him, stopping him dead in his tracks before he would have a chance to escape. There were no more words to be had, no answer or pleading would save her nemesis from his ultimate fate. The ax came down and sliced clear through, the head sunk into the snow to be then beset on both sides by Gresh's knees. It had been so long since she was able to laugh but now she couldn't stop as her mind struggled to process that it had all come to its finale. "Father.. father you are redeemed.. I will be with you soon," her words echoed onto the wind of the winter night.

"It is with heavy hearts we say goodbye to our pathfinder, Gren. He will be sorely missed and his place in our society a hard one to fill. We offer now our kindness and charity upon the grieving family, young Gresh," the village elder ushered her forward. She was nothing but a scared child still and more so facing the world alone now. All that was expected of her was to give thanks for what she had been offered, "I appreciate what you all are so willing to do for me but all of it is not what I want, I only want my father back. I know there isn't anyway so I want to continue on in his memory, I want to be the pathfinder." It was an outrage to all who had gathered at the wake, they couldn't believe the disdain shown for their kindness. This child believed she could take on the role her father had worked so hard for a majority of his life to reach. The wake ended abruptly then and as the crowd dispersed the village elder came to Gresh to confront her.

"I know the pain you feel and I know that it will be a long while until it subsides but you must understand it is no excuse for rash behavior. You are too young to take the role of the pathfinder, you are inexperienced, and is not of tradition for a woman to be in the role," he spoke as they walked along the frozen bay. She had expected to be denied yet she had hardly worked up a counter-point, "My father would have wanted me to take his place. He had brought me along ever since I was young enough to follow. All the while he taught me the ways, he said if I could learn to do as he did I would always have a place in the village. He's gone now and forever and now I don't have a place in the village. I was better off sinking below the ice.."

They stood where she had only days before, both knew where exactly to look to see the gaping hole on the other side of the lake. "Give it time Gresh, think about this before you move forward on these intentions. You are very young and have much of your life ahead of you and many paths open. Your father did not follow the path he had by choice but by fate, your fate has yet to be set, do not set your fate on the same path," he left her with the little wisdom he had left in his advanced age. She sat there for hours, just sitting, staring at the ice recalling the event again and again, unable to let it go.

The ice cracked, her father fell in almost immediately while the others were able to escape to the shore before the lake could swallow them as well. Gresh remembered running but she was too late as their hands locked he began to sink, pulling her into the void. She thrashed as she tried to pull him up but found it becoming impossible to remain at the depth he was sinking to. It seemed to be so sudden but they were at the bottom of the lake, he was lifeless and her body was forcing her to the surface. As she breached the gap a hand pulled her up and as she became stiff in the arms she caught a glimpse of the Cougar bathed in black. He collapsed on the shore with her before she lost consciousness too exhausted and cold to keep herself awake.

She lead them over the bank moving almost weightless across the snow while the men brought up the rear digging deep into the cold. The river was frozen stiff and certainly had a wealth of fish beneath it's icy layers. It was far from home but it had been entirely the point of making it to this destination, fish were growing scarce in the lake and needed time to regroup in number. Gresh was happy for to travel as the anniversary of her father's death was at hand. Distance between herself and home helped to sothe the pain that stirred again from the thought of it all.

The men set up their tents, the plan was to remain at the sight on the river for a few days so as to bring back a stockpile of fish. They were none to eager to get out onto the ice, the work was hard and they all had seen better years. Gresh was the youngest of the group seconded by a man nearly ten years older who harbored the same resentment for the female pathfinder as his peers did. She was reclusive when her job was complete, she often would wander off to explore the area more and sight see. First however came the job of testing the ice a simple task but delegated to her all the same.

Her first steps onto the ice were cautious as always, never risking the ice opening up and swallowing her in a moment. As she proceeded forward towards the middle of the river the men began to follow her bringing their gear along with. Gresh didn't want them following so close before her job was complete but time and time again she had tried to make them listen with it only to fall on deaf ears. They were quick to pass her by when they believed the ice stable enough but she was concerned as she felt a vibration in the ice. In only seconds the group would be staring into the face of death due entirely to their own negligence.

The ice opened wide revealing the rushing river below that swept them down stream and under the ice when the way was not clear. Fighting was senseless as the current was far too strong and their bodies numb the moment they were submerged. Worse still as they head down stream they would come to the falls that would carry them even further from home and any chance at surviving. Gresh struggled for air when there was a chance to take a breathe but was overwhelmed as others pushed to get through the holes in the ice. Few had been so fortunate to grab hold of the edges of ice that surrounded the holes and pull themselves out. There were only four who still remained in the water as they approached the falls, the others were scattered across the frozen stream too cold to think about the others.

It was dark but warm in the cave as Gresh came to, shaking off blankets that were still quite damp to find no one around. She had no recollection of what had happened after the falls but was certain she did not enter the cave conscious. Now wasn't the time for it, she huddled close to the fire as she still had not entirely shaken the cold of the river. The echoes of footsteps came closer creeping up from behind her deep within the cave. "No tunnels see? We will have to find tracks out there after the storm lets up but we are very far from home," a voice came from the dark end. It was obvious there had been other survivors even before she rose, "What about the others? Do you think they may have sent for a rescue party?" "Where would they send them? As far as they're concerned we didn't make it after going over the falls," a third voice broke in. The second man's voice came again, "Great far from home, weather against us, no supplies, no rescue, and we're stuck babysitting a pathfinder who is younger than my youngest. Then again she might not be entirely useless." "What is it you have in your mind? She is just a young girl leave her be," the first voice rang though it could be noted how he tried to remain hushed. The second man couldn't let it alone though, "A bit of entertainment and if worse comes to worse a morsel more supplies to go around, once what we have is gone she becomes the next item on the menu."

Gresh moved for the exit as the footsteps drew near, she wasn't about to let whatever may come happen without a fight. "She's making a run for it, stop her!" one man cried as she exited the cave into the blizzard that had hit the area. She wouldn't stop running, not if she wanted to remain alive, path or not she had to escape and could feel them not far behind. A piercing feeling halted her dead in her tracks, as she inspected the pain in her stomach she found a fisherman's spear poked through her. Gresh was on her knees unsure if this was it, the three men circled her and she knew the trouble was only to get worse.

"Guess we'll have to forgo the entertainment portion of our evening aye fellas?" the one with the maniacal tone spoke up. Tears splashed through snowflakes and onto the top most layer of snow as Gresh tried to push the spear out. "You're a sick man you know that? She may be almost useless but she's a clansman same as we, we shouldn't treat her as you desire." the first man's voice came in now arguing with the other. The third and more quiet and timid man spoke up, "But if she dies and we near starvation then why shouldn't we? The sacrifice of one to save three is quite noble." "See even the boy is on my side, now you hold her and I'll get the spear out," he said with a laugh as he put a foot against her back and tugged on the spear. The young man held her still and whispered to her, "I'm sorry to do this, it's nothing personal. You were pretty and brave but someone should survive this and it can't be you it would seem."

The spear tore out of her back taking with it bits of muscle and far more blood than imagined, she cried in a horrible blood-curdling way that only one so close to death could. As the men closed in she held out a hand and from it came a frozen torrent that ripped through her attackers. Gresh opened her eyes to find the two men mortally wounded with throats slit and blood oozing down the snowy slope. A pair of warm and gentle hands grabbed her shoulders and lifted her to her feet. "I know you're hurt, I can help you if you let me," the last man's voice spoke softly. She touched the gash feeling the cold frost from her hand seal the wound and freeze shut the open veins before she could leak anymore blood. "Lies.. I'm either a hole to deposit your seed into or flesh to dine upon to keep yourself alive," she felt the cold surrounded her and overtake her before she dropped onto her hands and knees.

They were all three gone now, two slashed apart and the other frozen solid, Gresh was alone trying to find a way home. She first returned to the cave to find what rations and dry clothes and blankets she could to help her shake the cold. It was a place she had never been before but she hadn't worked so diligently to become a pathfinder to become lost in the first bit of foreign territory she tread. First was getting up the falls, easier said than done when seeing the only way up was all the way around a massive rock formation surrounded by a thicket of trees. Just above the tree line she thought she saw a man but it was impossible to be certain as the wind picked up and the snow came flying more rapidly.

It was a steep winding hill that brought her from the brook, up around the rocks, and finally to the top of the waterfall. She was winded and tired as the wound began to open again only for her to attempt to seal it once more. Gresh kept pushing on upstream but it was at terribly slow pace as the wound kept her from making progress at any expedient rate. Not long after reaching the top she was crawling alongside the river, to weak to walk, getting colder, and her blood melting through the ice patch that kept her from bleeding out. Was it all over, soon it would be if it wasn't, is all she could think as she crawled along wishing she hadn't followed in her father's footsteps. In the distance she could see something, a shack, not too large but a chimney atop it gave the illusion of warmth.

Crawling through brush and downed limbs and trees she made her way off of the path to the shack and pulled her numb legs inside. There was no one inside, no fire to warm her, not even a spare set of clothes, blankets, or a bed. She rocked her head back onto a low shelf and turned her entire body in the direction of the wall trying to support herself and stand by use of the shelf. Her legs gave way halfway up and she slammed back down onto the shelf stirring ash and dust into the air. She let out a heavy sigh that froze as it touched the wall and reflected an image of the door as it swung open. A traveler stood staring before entering paying little mind to Gresh.

"Sir... Please.. Help," she struggled out before finally falling unconscious from her blood lose, the ice still holding strong but not entirely. Gresh was fortunate to be in the hands of one who was more caring than her previous companions. He lit a fire and laid out a thick blanket he had been carrying to wrap her in. The traveler dressed her wounds and made certain to hang her wet clothes over the fire to dry for when she came to. He had a small bit of food, only enough for one meal, that he was cooking as she began to shake herself awake. The meal was ready as she finally rose, it was hers for the taking but as she opened her eyes she couldn't even think of the pain of hunger.

"You?" she spoke shocked and appalled to have been saved by and taken care of without reason by the man who sat before her. Kovu's calm voice was barely audible over the fire, "Eat, rest, you are lucky to have survived whatever you have been through. Do not strain yourself I've worked very hard to do what I could about your injury." "No you are the reason I am here. You killed my father!" she screamed at the Cougar who seemed to have no idea of what she meant. Kovu was perplexed but couldn't even begin to tear into the issue, "Miss I don't know who your father was, I can't say I killed but maybe I did. It's not what matter now, you getting better is what is important. So get well then maybe you can make sense of this to me." "One year ago on the lake that boarders the Lynx and Cougar territories you killed him. He had led the fishermen to a point on the lake where they could catch fish. I was watching along the shore, you killed him with two shining black blades. I tried to save him from sinking but I wasn't strong enough and then you had to stop me from drowning. I can't remember my mother, father died, and once he was lost I wasn't even permitted to die because of you! Why didn't you just let me drown?!" she demanded an answer for his actions.

"There is much you don't know about this world girl and though your mind will forever thirst for that knowledge it is better to not know it," Kovu spoke as he opened the door to the now gently falling snow. Gresh sat up, straining as she did so, "You owe me an explanation and I don't care what it is as long as it's the truth!" "I...," Kovu faced her to begin to explain but only then realized she had sat up leaving her breasts entirely exposed seemingly unknowingly. She shrieked as she realized what she had accidentally done and immediately covered herself. "Listen I'll explain this all to you but I have been traveling for almost an entire day through this snow and when I got here I wasn't expecting to play servant to a wounded child. When I wake I will tell you everything, but as for now you eat, you sleep, and don't bother me or I'll leave this second," he said after the awkward moment had passed.

It was an uncomfortable night for both as even without the added tension between them they were both still rivals by race. Gresh struggled to sleep between the pain of her wound and the paranoid fear that the Cougar would rape or murder her. The thought of the truth exposed kept her mind racing as she had wanted so badly to know only to have it be deterred for even a moment drove her mad. Kovu slept make-shifting a chair and a shelf as his bed which was more uncomfortable than the cold ground worsened only by the lack of a blanket. Even with his patient in a weak state he kept his hand on one of his knives unsure if he would actually need it or if he was just too precautious. The situation on both sides was nothing but tense and neither side could let down their guard but in the end the fatigue of worry would get to the two of them and both would fall asleep without even knowing it.

Gresh woke shocked to find that she had been asleep not only that but to find the shack empty and everything he had brought in had disappeared with Kovu. A note sat on her lap atop the blanket written in ash it bore the Cougar's name, "I am sorry for what you have lost and all you have endured from your lose but the truth will never help. Leave the past in the past and move on and make your future what you want it to be. Your hatred will bury you and that is simply it. You will never see me face again and you must forever know that, so and let it go. Let this burden no longer weigh on your soul while you still can be freed of it." "That bastard! I should have known. I will find him and turn his heart to ice to shatter it in my grip," Gresh screamed as she shredded the note.

Gresh returned from the wild a time later after she had her run in with Kovu, her village was glad to see one survivor return. She hastily renounced her position as pathfinder and demanded from the village elder to become a warrior. Even as he did not deny but merely hesitated to respond she became violent threatening him with her newly found gifts. There was not choice in the matter, she was given a battle ax and turned over to the harshest fighters the village had. Her rage was unmatched which made her a strong fighter more terrifying still is that her techniques could back her violent temper. Gresh had become a tactful, precise, and deadly warrior in the course of three years time.

"I leave our city today Elder one, I can not return until my father had been properly avenged. What say you?" she reported as she bowed to him. He looked down to the young girl now barely a young adult, "Your will is strong and efforts noble however your quest is muddled with ideas other than honor and redemption. I will grant your leave, I could not argue it if I wanted, but know this simple fact. You can hunt all your life and find nothing and you can hunt and find exactly what you are looking for however the former can sometimes be better than the latter." "I am sure there is wisdom in your riddles old one but I have no time for such games of speech. My father was slain by a cold-hearted Cougar who is beyond redemption even amongst his own. This monster must die for father's soul to be free and for my mind to be at ease. Far thee well noble elder, some day I may return," she spoke before rising and leaving her home fixed to kill Kovu.

All was quiet but the sound of the wind blowing the snow across the ice on the vacant lake as Gresh sat without feeling staring at the lifeless body. Months of hunting had all culminated to that moment and now it was over, she had completed all she had set out to do but why did she feel so empty? The heart ache she felt had not subsided after defeating her foe nothing had changed simply the closure he could never kill her. She thought about death, if she had died too would it all go away, would these feelings subside and I be free of it all? The ice on the lake was thick at this time of season but she could chip it away in a matter of time and not long after she would be with father.

She rose and stood on the bank looking at the ice, the flat slate, that sealed below it her father's crypt from which she could never, no matter her strength, could pull him from. Gresh swallowed hard as she thought about taking her own life, being taught her entire life it was wrong but she had nothing else to do, no more effort to give to any endeavor. There was a snap behind her like that of a twig if any had not be entirely encased in the snow. The body was moving, no not only moving, it was growing, it was changing, the body was becoming something else.

The noise carried on the idea of snapping sticks was replaced with the reality of cracking bones and a morphing figure. Firstly it sat on its hands and knees while the arms and legs grew in mass and the hands and feet became larger and wider. The back let out a large crack as it separated into two halves connected by exposed tissue with the spine rising from it adorn now with spikes. Finally the head split open into a hungry maw with a tongue that extend out further than any normal creature. Fleshy little wires shot from the back of the severed head and reconnected to the main body completing it. It made for a frightening beast that seemed to look at Gresh as its next meal and nothing more.

It moved clumsily as it attacked but hit hard and on the mark as it leapt at Gresh knocking her on the lake and sending her sliding through small patches of snow. The powder hung in the air and for a second she was confused and turned around only able to hear the beast moving in the haze. It came at her again this time landing on her rather than knocking her down. She fought to keep her head from entering the mouth as it chattered open and shut missing its chance just barely every time. With her ax out of reach she summoned the ice allowing it to encase her hand. Hastily she smashed the beast's head again and again trying to shake it off her. Finally the ice began to break forming a point she quickly used to punch into the beast's head.

It relented and seemed to try to escape its prey before it became prey but Gresh would not allow whatever this thing was to escape into the cold night. Taking ax in hand she hunted the bloody tracks further out into the lake. As she followed the tracks seem to become less frequent and began to disappear as the wind gusted and drove away bits with a covering of fresh snow. The tracks ended but she could feel something lingering in the darkness of the night but where it was she couldn't be sure. A voice came from the darkness, a weak and weary voice, crying for help.

"Who's out there? Where are you?" Gresh called trying to find the source of the noise to no avail. It sounded as though it were coming closer, "Help, please.. I'm hurt.. something attacked.. me!" A figure entered her vision lit only by moonlight she could see very little of the person but could see it was a fellow Lynx. "Come here I'll help you back to the village," she assure the stranger in the hopes they could help her find the monster. The man collapsed on the ice near here too hurt to continue, she was quick to pick him up and help him limp along. "Which way did that thing go?" she asked not wasting anytime about it. The stranger said nothing all the way to the shore where she say him down and assessed his wounds.

There was a lot of blood but it was all from one wound on the right side of the man's head explaining why he had trouble walking. She looked into the wound to see its severity and made an interesting discovery. With careful precision she extracted a sharp piece of ice that had no other way of entry other than being jammed or stabbed into him. As she realized why it was there it was a moment to late as the man's head split open and the tongue shot out wrapping around her neck tighter than a noose. It pulled her closer and closer to the snapping jaws that would surely take her head off. Her ax lie in the snow nearby but out of the creature's line of sight as it drew her closer to her weapon. Gresh reached down once it was within in her reach and in one quick motion brought it up severing the tongue.

A hideous screech came from the creature while Gresh collapsed unwrapping the tongue and catching her breath once freed. In an instant the creature was on its feet and with great speed ran at her delivering a kick to Gresh's head leaving her disoriented while it escaped. She knew there was no point chasing it, it would only lead to the game becoming more deadly. It was seeking her out, she could fight it better if it came after her rather than following it and being paranoid of everyone she may encounter. Gresh remembered one thing she had heard about the Cougar with the black fur, he was abhorred by his own kind. She would have it hunt her to its native land so it would no longer be able to hide in the form it seemed to find so comfortable.

It was known to her that Lynx were not welcomed in the Cougars' territory however she found this to be a reasonable excuse to strike a deal with them. She would offer the head of the black Cougar in exchange for the bounty and use of the land to do so on. The Cougars would certainly attempt to negotiate a better deal, it would not dissuade Gresh, they would refuse to pay the bounty but she had no want for their money. All she wanted was to know this thing, whatever it was, was dead to know it could never hurt or kill again.

Alureon was alive with activity when Gresh reached it at the height of the day while all the bazaar was filled. Seeing peace-keepers well armed weaving through crowds as she descended the hill she knew she was in for trouble before she was inside the city. "What business do you have here Lynx? Your kind is not allowed here," one guard spoke as she tried to push through the crowd. Gresh had seen it coming and had prepared her statement beforehand, "There is a bounty for one of yours who's fur is black as night. I have information about him and possible could have him captured by day's end if I am permitted to move about freely." "Bring her to the bounty officer, let her work it out with him," the second guard chimed in as he passed.

"That's a very interesting story miss but I'm afraid that's all it is, a story," the bounty officer responded after hearing it all, "You see the one you said attacked you has been at sea for about two and half maybe three years now. Now if you were attacked and say this Cougar was capable of everything you have stated, then what you dealt with was not a Cougar or even a being we are aware of. At this point we are more a help to you then you us. I can give you the information we have on the man but it will do you little good at this point. When Kovu shipped off he said he would never return to these lands, said he would find those who would accept him despite his fur. So miss I'm going to have to advise you to leave our city before any trouble arises."

That was it, it was over, her quest to destroy he who had wronged her had ended at a dead end after so many promising leads. He was gone, disappeared that night and may have even left within the week before Gresh had even reached home. The creature that attacked her was the furthest thing from her mind now as she tried to think of anything she could do. But that was simply it, there was nothing she could but chase the man into oblivion and beyond. She wanted to scream, wanted to cry, to mash her teeth, she wanted to do something other than walk away from Alureon empty handed. The wind blew from the harbor and the smell of salt began to tingle in her nose.

She could never return to her home and hold her head high if she not avenged her father's death and Gresh was not one to lie. The cold salty breeze made up her mind before she could rationalize it or make any consideration to logic. Gresh sped through Alureon grabbing bits of food and supplies from various shops before anyone could realize she had made off with them. As she ran she stuffed the stolen items into her bag and exited the back end of town. There was no slowing down she knew the Cougars would be on her trail soon so with little thought she began to freeze a path through the water out to sea. If she had stopped for even a moment she may have decided differently, made a plan, or changed her mind but this was not the case, it would not be a precise move but a wild and brash move that with one wrong move would end her.

The bridge of ice broke moments after she had formed it giving her enough time to cross but not to be followed by the same means. By the time she became winded and her mind began to calm and consider her choices Alureon was all ready a faint vision in the distance. Gresh wouldn't turn back even as her mind made clear the reality of her choices, she would press on, there was nothing to turn back for neither home nor family awaited her. She moved a bit slower now as she continued further out to sea with no need to hurry away from pursuers. Small islands peppered the horizon as she moved south east, she would need them for rest, it would take time to recover her strength once it was spent so they became her destination before the day's end.

The sun was gone as she lay her weary bones on the shore of a small island populated by a sparse amount of trees that shield the ground below from snowfall. Even as the temperature dropped below freezing Gresh was not bothered by the cold however she was not much in the habit of sleeping in the snow and made a bed in the pine needles beneath the conifers. She ate of the food she had taken that day, still perfectly good from the cold temperature of the season. Gresh laid back and watch the sky through the limbs of trees; she didn't know where she was going or if she would ever reach land again without turning back. It was something she had not considered before and indeed it hurt her heart to think of it but she would not regret it. Her father was all she had and vengeance was all that could replace it, Kovu would pay, she could not falter or forget her duty.

It was a journey, a death trip, Gresh began from the island a week before and she hadn't stopped for more than a few minutes at a time. She couldn't stop, there was no land after she had left the island and her icy steps could only last so long before dissolving in the warmer water. Her only hope was to push on until she either died or could find rest. Gresh found her supplies dwindling on the seventh day and could feel inside the certainty of death coming on with no way of holding it off. Dreams of death filled her mind as she pushed on, these dreams began to take their toll and play tricks on her mind as the lack of sleep left her open to such things. Periodically she would wake from the dreams on her feet lying on a small sheet of ice that was floating on the current.

Gresh was ready to give in on the tenth day, her last bit of fresh water was gone and a rotten apple sat in her satchel. Her body could take no more of over exertion of her power, she lie on a small bed of ice that she could hardly maintain letting the ocean carry her where it would. She was somewhere between life and death, not awake but not able to sleep so as not to allow the ice to disappear. The waves began to intensify but so long as they did not throw her from her place she would not be bothered by them. However as she cracked open one eyelid to see why the sea had become rough she was greeted with a massive wall of wood that blocked out everything in on direction. A ship had come by making massive waves that began to splash onto her iceberg melting it away with salt and warmer currents of water.

It was rest if she could gather her strength to pull herself aboard before any of those on deck could notice her. She could not stand, she was too weak, but she could still summon the ability to create ice and with the last bit of that energy she formed a pillar below her that rose from the sea ever higher to reach the ship's main deck. Not a moment could be wasted as she built the pillar the water and warmer winds rushed to destroy it. As the icy tower neared the deck it began to shake and with a shift of her weight began to fall forward towards the ship. It had not been completed and if she didn't move quickly she would be going down with it. Her body quaked as she forced herself to her feet and with all the strength she could muster she threw herself at the railing of the ship. Gresh hung there for a moment unable to pull herself up hoping someone would come along and grab her. But after a few moments her grip began to loosen and she lost hope in the thought of being helped aboard. Her last bit of energy kept her conscious but if she wanted to survive she would have to risk it. With one last spasm of energy she pulled herself over the rail and fell face first onto the deck.

The moon shined bright as Gresh opened her eyes to the starry night above and the quiet calm of the ocean. She struggled to her feet still weary with hunger but now more confused than anything as to the location of the ship's crew. No one had disturbed her from her slumber or moved her from her place, she had slept for what had to have been nearly twelve hours without anyone's interference. As she moved about the deck she could detect a fowl odor somewhere on the ship but couldn't find the source on the main deck. Taking a lantern she went below hoping to find the crew somewhere within and with any luck food.

The stench was far greater within almost unbearable to the point Gresh covered her face with a bit of cloth. She found no one inside however as she made her way through came to the location of the horrid scent that lingered in the air. A meal had been prepared and seemingly been abandoned before anyone had began to dine on it. The meat was rancid and looked to be a kind she had never seen more bizarre than that the ship had preserved meats that were still good but not at all similar to what was prepared. Gresh helped herself to the food she found that still was edible and took it above as she was uncomfortable below. There was something more in the fowl air that was unsettling to her but she was unable to place what the feeling was that it invoked in her. After setting the ship's course south east she finished her meal and rested on deck until the sun rose allowing her to finally shake the uneasy feeling she had of the empty ship in the vacant ocean.

Confident now with the sun out she decided to once again venture into the ship knowing the broken boards of the deck would allow light to slip below. Her body was still weak so she used her ax to support herself as she ventured away from the handrail of the stairs. After finding a bin she returned to rake the rotten meal into it and cast it overboard to make the ship less unpleasant. However as she returned into the ship she noticed the scent had not completely dispersed yet became slightly fainter from where she had detected it. Following the scent she came to a closet in the kitchen that was barely illuminated by a hole in the deck that shown its light directly on it. As she cracked open the door she was thrown back by the odor and horde of insects. The light shown directly on a decomposing body that had seemingly been butchered by someone who knew what they were doing. Maggots covered what flesh had been left and were devouring the remains to bone.

Gresh became violently ill and began to vomit before she managed to kick the closet door shut and exit the kitchen area. As she made her way from the kitchen she caught a glimpse of something shimmering in the opposite end of the ship. That end was hardly illuminated and left her banging into crates and other various items while she made her way as though blind. Finally coming near the end of the ship she saw what had revealed itself ever so faintly in the distance. The skull of an unknown creature sat within a strange statue that was engraved with a series of foreign symbols that stretched to each point diagonally in all four directions.

"What a bizarre.." Gresh was stopped mid-sentence as a chain was wrapped around her throat and she was dragged from the statue. A figure came before her while another worked the chain reeling her up in the noose of a chain. The crew had finally exposed themselves and they were a sight that she had not anticipated. They were a various lot; Wolves, Cougars, Caribou, among others but all shared in an exterior form that seemed to be falling apart by the moment. "Looks like meats back on the menu boys," shouted the Cougar who stood before Gresh causing the rest to cheer wildly.

"Captain wait one moment," came a voice from the rear, the owner of which soon pushed their way to the front of the crowd. Gresh was running low on breath as she still hung high while the rotting crew listened to the young Fox. "She has set a course, Captain, and it would seem as though the ship has listened to her direction," he spoke with a tone of disbelief. The Cougar motioned for Gresh to be lowered, "Now how was she able to do that?" "I'm not sure the rest never were capable of changing the ships directions but this woman comes along and does it without a problem it must mean something," he reasoned a bit angered by the notion. The captain hadn't much concern, "All the same it's meaningless, you can't change it, I can't, and anyone else who comes aboard won't be able to either. Now stop stalling me, I am hungry as are the rest and I am sure your mouth is watering just waiting for a taste of this sweet girl."

The eyes in the statue lit with an immensely powerful red light that cut through the darkness of the ship and drew all but the captain to its attention. "Captain what's it doing?" asked a Caribou standing by the hoist for the chain. He wouldn't even bother to look in the same direction, "Nevermind with it, get over here I want you to have finished cooking the first bits while she still is breathing." A whispering began to echo through the ship before the cook could even take his first step. It came to a hush a moment later but as it did the light grew unbelievably intense before letting out a beam of crimson. The beam shot out and blasted through the Captain's chest causing it to explode open launching the rotten organs everywhere.

Gresh fell from the Captain's grip before the beam ripped through allowing it to sever the chain in her place. The burning ray did not stop there as it continued on to the other end of the ship tearing through those who stood in its path. Having regain her composure Gresh took the opportunity to escape the ship's depths to return to the deck where she may fight her foes as they came. However as she made her way up the stairs the crew chased her though it was short lived. As the crew of corpses moved after her the beam became unstable and began to branch out to hit those who had tried to follow the Lynx. She sat at the top of the stairs watching the creature being ripped apart by the violent force of the glowing ray.

It was quiet and the ray dissipated yet Gresh still waited to see if anyone still was living below deck. She sat listening to the waves splash against the sides of the ship which soothed her racing heart and brought her to a calm enough mood to proceed. No one had been spared from their overdue demise, obvious from the overwhelming number of bodies on the floor. The eyes in the statue had shifted from red to a calm dark blue tone that made it seem almost inviting. Gresh noted it but was not about to risk her life to examine the bizarre statue any further.

"Gresh," called a voice from within, "Come here girl we must speak." She was terrified the instant she heard her name, "Who goes there?!" "Come to me young Lynx, you and I have some planning to do," the voice came again now seeming to come from the statue. Gresh drew her ax and slowly started towards it, "You're not another member of the crew are you? Are you the one who saved me?" "Yes but I am not important at the moment you are and your desire," the voice came from the skeletal face in the statue barely lit by the sun through a crack. The idea chilled Gresh to the bone but she continued to converse, "My desires? What do you mean? And how are you.. or what are you?" "You want revenge. I could feel it as you set a course for the island southeast from where you have come from," the skull chattered confidently. Her heart began to race as she became all to unsure if she hadn't died floating in the sea and all before her was just a death dream.

"How do you know my name and what I am after?!" Gresh demanded as she held tight her ax while her pulsed jumped higher. The statue went silent for a moment before returning to its earlier thought, "You are after that Cougar, Kovu, and you have come a long way to find him. There is an island in the way of the course you have set, I can not be certain but he may very well be there." "An island? Wait how certain are you that Kovu could be at this island?" she asked distracted from her fear for the moment. The statue kept on its way knowing now it had only to reel her in, "Few ships leave the lands you have come from however the few I know of always end up at that island and there they stay. If Kovu was aboard these ships I do not know but if he were the island is where he would be." "Then that is where we will go," Gresh spoke now only concerned with her vengeance, "but I have to ask, what is it you have to gain from helping me?"

"It is a sinister plot, one that you would not care to hear I assure you however if you must inquire I will tell you," it chattered reluctantly. Gresh nodded as she waited on for this bizarre vision to utter its purpose and motivation. "I hunger and there is but one thing that fuels my thirst, revenge. The hatred, fury, the raw emotional typhoon that runs wild in the hearts of the vengeful is all that can satisfy this craving. It is why you were able to set a course and why I knew I had to save you from the old crew. That anger you exude in every breath you take whilst thinking of Kovu quenches this thirst. You will have your revenge that I assure you, so you may be relieved of your burden and my hunger finally satisfied after decades a float in this ocean."

"You know I shouldn't trust you. You want to use me to feed your own lust, kept a cannibalistic crew that you could have dispatched of anytime, and as far as I'm concerned you are demon," Gresh spoke starring into the blue clouds that served as the skull's eyes, "But you are the only who has had the nerve to help me hunt Kovu. So long as you only care to absorbed this anger I have then I trust you but once it is done I no longer have use for you." The ship went quiet again, "Of course nor I you. Once your urge for vengeance has been fulfilled our connection is broken." "Very good, how long until we reach this island?" Gresh asked as she finally put away her weapon. The skull's aura turned from blue to green for a moment before shifting back again, "I can bring you there within a day's time if you desire so." "As soon as you can. I have waited far too long for this all ready," she spoke before exiting back to the sun baked deck.

The time pasted by on the ship without a second confrontation between Gresh and the spirit within the statue something she was more relieved for than anything else. She wasn't so much afraid of what it was as so much as what it could do if it got angry. The crew had been destroyed in only a few minutes, how long could she last with her powers if they did her any good against that beam? In either case she spent her time on the main deck with no intention of going below deck without good cause. Land came into sight after a little more than a day and with its sighting Gresh's body began to surge with anticipation.

As the land drew closer she became impatient unable to wait any longer she leapt from the bow and laid out a path of ice through the water. She ran faster than she had when escaping Alureon as the sight of smoke clouds in the distance directed her to her target. The island was not so encumbered with snow as the mainland she left had been however being much further south it was to be expected. It seemed largely uninhabited as there was hardly any signs of life or passage in the area which she arrived in yet the frosted hills would be no issue for her. Gresh climbed the slope of a great hill and looked down over the trees to a valley where the smoke originated from, if Kovu was here she would surely find him there.

In the village below she crept behind houses and buildings spying on the denizens hoping to spot the black Cougar in the mix. Too much time had passed for her to bare after not spotting him immediately and so she charged onto the street. Gresh swung her ax and summoned a row of spiked ice following the swing drawing all attention to her. "Where is he!? Where is the one in black, the one called Kovu," she shouted as her actions silenced all in the area. There were no guards nor anyone who would speak up after seeing what they had, the entire town was silent with neither an answer or one to challenge. "Come on damn it, one of you must know the black Cougar! Tell me where he is and there will be no trouble," she came again waiting on any to reply.

A hooded man made his way forward despite others trying to stop him he made his way towards Gresh who watched him patiently. "What you are after is foolish. I told you that years ago but you are stubborn, you didn't listen and now here you stand at the end of the world. How has it been hunting me?" Kovu said not showing his face as he kept all but his eyes shelter in the hoods dark. Gresh's grip tightened on her ax, "Your escape has made my hatred burn for all that time, only your blood can snuff the flame." "Then before you try to do so let me tell you something, it was something I hadn't wanted to tell you when we met last but now if one of us must go then you should know it. That day when your father died it was not by my hand but by that of a demon. Don't you remember the black ooze that spilled out of him when a slashed his throat? Your father was taken over by the demon I was chasing, it killed him and then I killed it. I remember saving your life even after those who were with your father tried to take mine. The blood to satisfy your lust is long gone and all that remains from that memory is you and I. So fight me if you must but I will not hold back and I will not concern if in the end your life is taken," Kovu assured no longer amused with Gresh's anger.

"Demons....," Gresh uttered as her memory cleared and what she thought she remembered began to change to what she actually witnessed. Her mind was shattered she fell to her hands and knees and began pounding at the earth as her rage began to overflow. Blood began to run from her hands as her knuckles ripped open but as she saw this it only drove her further down the spiral as she began to summon bits of rough ice. The patches rose beneath where her hand would impact only serving to tear her hands apart further. As she continued the crowd watched on, Kovu included, as the young Lynx drew closer and closer to taking her own life. With her hands sufficiently damaged and her arms too gushing blood she reached for her ax bringing it to her throat quickly.

She wanted it all to go away but as she raised her head to the blade she made eye contact with Kovu. The look on his face made her blood boil worse than ever before, she would be damned if she didn't slay him too while she still was able. Gresh charged at him screaming, throwing shards of ice with every swipe she took at him which he narrowly avoided. The bits of ice flew off to either stab onlookers or explode once they hit a solid surface while the two carried on. Kovu hadn't even yet drawn his daggers by the time Gresh was pushing her self with the full force of her aggression. He wouldn't have to go on the offensive though as with every swipe it became more and more clear to him that she was feeling the effects of the blood lose. She was slowing as her body became tired and as he avoided one last strike he delivered one quick blow to her that knocked her from her feet and unconscious.

Her cell was dark with the only bit of light coming into being from a slit where others could look in from. Gresh felt her hands and arms checking to see the state of them finding the wounds had been treated and covered. "The bastards...," she muttered to herself, "They should have let me die, I'm too foolish." She knew that if she applied her powers properly she could escape but thought on it for a moment trying to decide if she deserved freedom. It wasn't something she wanted to admit that she wasn't worthy of it but she didn't want to be a burden to these people. She wanted to find a way to be useful again but first she would need her ax. Night was upon her and it seemed to be the best time to make such an escape. Making a wiser choice than before she would employee subtlety by breaking through the back wall rather than running out of the front.

As she made her way out into the moonlit snow covered town she heard not a sound nor saw a light made by fire. Creeping through the streets the town felt empty and by all means could have been entirely vacant. A puddle of her blood still stained the street where the fight had occurred and was frozen into a crimson spike of ice. While looking around trying to decide where to look for her weapon Gresh failed to notice the figure who appeared in the center of town. "Looking for you ax?" Kovu's voice called from behind her. She didn't turn around unsure of what was to come, "I just want to leave. It is of my people and should only be held by one of our own." "Take it. But do me one favor and stop this obsessing over me. If you come after me again I will kill you, so do not test me again," he warned as he held out her ax. Taking it she bowed in respect, "I am sorry for all of this and scaring away your countrymen. I was wrong, my memory was wrong." "Mistakes are made but its over just never bother me again. Even if you wanted to you would not I suppose, after tonight this town is no longer home, my crew and I set sail in the morning," he said taking off his hood to feel the snow falling upon his brow. Gresh sheathed her ax, "Do you leave because of me?" "No, this world has no place for me or my crew but we still must serve a purpose for we still want our place. We chart the world, the ocean, and edges of the world. I figure if someone did something so important as that, that there is no way that they would be left out or unwelcomed," Kovu said looking into the sky.

Gresh was ready to leave but her ship was gone, of that she was certain without having to search the shore. "I'm a bit embarrassed to ask this especially after all that has happened but may I have passage on your vessel?" the question seemed ludicrous to her. Kovu looked to her for a moment puzzled, "How did you get here if not by ship?" "It was a ship that brought me however not one that I command but one that would seem to command itself. It does not wait for me and has left now," she replied honest but avoiding the truth of the ship. He nodded his head, "Sure I suppose we could take you back to main land but don't expect it to be a free ride." That night she joined Kovu's crew unknowing of what would come of it and what it would make of her life from then on. All the while relations of those in the territories west of her home land became more unstable and their futures uncertain.