On The Run To Freedom

Uco saw the girl shift into a bird.. then mouse. He flinched. He snorted and took a few steps forward. He heard her words.. and then Embar's. He quickly shifted back into a wolf/leopard creature. Telling the mouse/shifter in front of him, that he wasn't just a horse. Then he heard Embar's words about having an.. owner!! He looked into her eyes with fear, worry, and sadness in his eyes. Reasons for fear. Reasons for worry... and reasons for sadness.

Uco heard the question. He nodded and turned into a horse. He lowered his body so they could hop on his back. He snorted again. Still worrying. As they jumped on his back. He looked up. He started trotting.

Uco didn't say anything. He had a shy soul. But a devious mind at times. He knew the kind that this mouse was... He flickered his ears. He stopped with a jolt. He looked calmly at the trees ahead. Suddenly.... dogs ran after him. His eyes widened. He reared as they approached, he neighed and whinnied. He turned while rearing and galloped the other way. The dogs close behind. He galloped to the river. He jumped in the air. He shifted into his wolf/leopard form in the air. Then he hit the water. With Embar and the mouse still on his back. He turned his head slightly at Embar.

"Get off!! Swim to the other side!"

Uco hoped she would obey. He dove under water and grabbed the dogs feet in his mouth. He pulled them under water.. one by one. He breathed in the fresh water... it was extremely deep. He was glad. He rushed to Embar and Kaede. He swam to shore with them.

The dogs attempted to swim to them. They slowly swam to the shore that Uco, Embar, and Kaede were on. He shifted into a horse and waited for them to get on his back. Then began to gallop.

Kaede remained in her mouse form and stayed on Ember's shoulder as Uco started to trot. She held on as he galloped, really not in the mood to fall off. Once they were in the river and she heard his command, she shifted into a falcon and soared over head, watching Ember carefully as she swam to the other side.

Kaede stayed a falcon as Uco started off again on the other side of the river. The dogs were still close behind. Shifting from falcon into a powerful eagle, she started to dive bomb the dogs. One or two eventually gave up, but the rest soon just started to ignore her or snap at her as she flew down again.

She caught up to Uco and Ember again and, shifting into a sparrow, landed on Ember's shoulder once again. She looked back at the dogs as she caught her breath. They still refused to give up. "Don't stop for me." was all she said as she hopped off of Ember's shoulder once again. She shifted into a large wolf as she hit the ground and growled fiercely at the dogs.

One more dog gave up and turned around, fearful either of the wolf or the fact that she had suddenly seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Kaede ran toward the dogs, her growl intensifying. She reached the first dog and threw him into a tree. He lay still for a moment and she knew she wouldn't have to worry about him for a little bit. The dogs were soon all growling and ready to attack her. She crouched low, ready for the attack.

The dogs all moved toward her, teeth bared. At the very last second, she shifted into a mouse and burrowed into the ground. She watched as the dogs attacked one another for a moment before realizing she had disappeared. That was when she transformed into a tiger. Her fierce roar scared off nearly the rest of them. But a couple were still determined to take her, Ember, and Uco down. She sprinted toward her friends, taking care not to lead the dogs too close to them. The dogs followed and she continued running. If they weren't going to leave, she would tire them out.

Ember held on tight as Uco galloped through the trees. He dove into the water and Ember held her breath. She felt the water try to pull her down, take her with it to who knows where. But she was able to dig her paws into the soft dirt and dragged her body through the rushing water. When she got up on the bank she was gasping for air, but knew there was no time to rest. The dogs were still coming and Uco suddenly appeared, in his horse form, and sit jumped on his back and held on again.
She heard a small voice in her ear and watched Kaede leave. Ember felt the guilt begin to consume her. If it wasn't for her, Uco and Kaede wouldn't be in this danger. She knew the dogs would never give up. It was the way they were trained, and why so many slaves never escaped. A growing anger began to rise inside her and a deep growl that wasn't her own oozed out her mouth. Thoughts that didn't belong inside her mind crept up and started to take over. A darkness was growing and Ember let it take her.
A young fox girl had jumped off Uco, however when she landed, she was huge fox the size of a horse. Her eyes were glowing a deep, crimsom red and deadly dagger fangs were barred at the approching dogs. She watched a tiger zoom past her and when she saw the dogs not far behind she let out a firece roar. The dogs were taken off guard, but only for a moment. It was all the time she needed. She grabbed the nearest one by the neck, killing it and swung the body around to take down the remaining four. She threw the carcass from her jaws and pounced on the other two. She broke their backs, killing them instently, then turned on the last two. She growled deeply and crept closer and closer. But the dogs wouldn't allow her to get any closer. They ran with tails between legs.
The huge fox chuckled and looked back at the tiger and the horse. To the fox, they ment nothing, however to Ember they did. The fox began to let it's grasp go on Ember's mind and she was soon herself once again. She laid on the ground, unconsious, and had no idea what had just happend.

Uco watched everything happen so fast. He never saw a fight go by so quickly. Uco saw a beast before him... but it reminded him of himself, a beast. Embar had just killed three dogs, the other two ran. Then Embar fell to the ground... unconscious. He shifted into his normal form. He ran to her side. Uco looked at Kaede... but looked at Embar again. He grabbed her armgently and swung her to his back. He shifted into a horse again.

"Kaede! I need you to help me, make sure she doesn't fall off." Uco paused. "Just get on,"

Kaede skidded to a stop and turned around. Had she just seen what she thought she had seen? Instead of Ember, there now was a creature the size of a horse. It was unlike anything she had ever seen. She watched as Ember took out three of the remaining dogs and then the last to took off running. She shifted back to human form when Ember returned to her normal form and passed out.

Kaede nodded at Uco's instructions and climbed onto his back. She shifted Ember so she had less of a chance of falling off. Alright, Uco. Where to?

Uco didn't walk. He stood there as if he'd seen a... fox the size of a horse. He turned his head as Kaede hopped on and asked a question. Uco turned his head so he could at least see her.

"You're the rider... I do go where I like with a rider most of the time, but it doesn't matter now. It's your decision."

Uco didn't know where to go. He just didn't want to worry about it.

Darkness and pain.
Ember didn't know what happened, and she never would. All she knew was that she was safe now. The voice inside her had gone and she was left alone in the darkness. But her whole body hurt. It felt as if her bones had been shattered and then molded back together. She couldn't move, and yet she felt her body being lifted. She could hear voices and they ment something, but she just couldn't figure it out. It didn't matter. She just wanted the pain to go away.
"Please...stop...pain," she said out loud in a mumbled voice. She didn't know if anyone could hear her, maybe those voices could help. She wanted the darkness to consume her, but all it did was surround her and mock her. She growled, both in her mind and out loud. Why wouldn't it just leave her alone? Why couldn't she just sleep in peace for once?

Kaede thought about where the best place to take Ember would be. She wasn't sure if the dogs would return with their owners or not. Maybe a hideout would be good... She was about to respond, but Ember mumbled a sentence that was barely understandable.

Let's get her to a hospital. Maybe they can help there.

Uco heard a slight mumble. Then he heard Kaede speak. "There aren't any hospitals around here..." Uco paused for a long while. "Trust me."