Sleeping With Fish

The trees ended suddenly in a large clearing. At the edge of the clearing, directly across from her was a ring of massive trees, too large for one to get their arms around. The trees framed an oddly shaped rock, the Ulfric’s throne. Isabelle liked to think that the generations of Ulfrics with their sharp asses had slowly shaped the rock into a throne. Smiling once more, she headed toward a cabin some thirty feet to the left of the stone.

The cabin was more like a small one-room shack. Isabelle didn’t even glance at the two massive wolves lounging to the side of the door. They appeared to be the only two outside. She had no respect for those that preferred they’re wolf selves to they’re human selves. They were all humans first weren’t they? These were the ones that liked to hide from their human lives. In fact, she had never even seen the human form of Sandy, the darker of the two wolves.

Sighing, Isabelle pushed the weak door open and walked into the small cabin. It was dark inside, due to the fact that there were only two windows, more like holes in the wall and both were facing the woods rather than the lupanar. Isabelle tensed instantly upon entering the cabin. There was a strange scent. A man… Or rather a male, other than that she couldn’t place it, he definitely wasn’t a normal human. The man in question was sitting at the large, clawed and beat-up wooden table in the center of the room. His back was to her, but she could see the tension in his broad, white clad shoulders. Across from him sat Rai, giving her an annoying grin. Rai was somewhat average. Part native, or so every one assumed by his slightly dark skin and sharp features. At the moment he was looking oddly pale and she wondered where the hell little Ralphy was. He had called her after all, and she had only assumed he was calling from the lupanar, but there was no recent scent of him.

Isabelle had stopped just past the door and she was studying the back of the man. Surely he was no predator, or else he would not sit with his back to the door with so many other available seats. Perhaps he was overly confident. His head was completely bald and pale.

Before Rai’s lovely smile faded Isabelle had him out of the chair by the front of his blue sweater. Gasping, Rai fumbled with the pathetic sliver knife he carried at his hip. Isabelle caught his hand and squeezed. “That would be unwise, vargamor. In my eyes you are lowest in the pack. Not worthy of the protection it offers. What are you trying to pull here?”

“This man is lukoi… H-he wants a place in the pack.” Rai’s voice shook.

“You are an idiot. This man is not lukoi! I should kill you for bringing him here. Where is Ulfric? You think you can lure me here to be challenged without his presence?” Her eyes had not left the shocking face of the man still sitting silently at the table. He was wearing reflective, wrap around sunglasses. His face was completely hairless, no eyebrows, no nothing. His features were sharp and angular. He barely looked human. He was completely still; it didn’t even look like he was breathing.

“Take her Mako! Now!” Rai cried as he struggled against her. Mako? The name meant nothing to her, but suddenly, while her eyes were pinned on him, he was on her. She did not see him move. Isabelle released Rai, a shiver of shock and fear coursing through her. The next thing she knew she was flying through the air, an impossible throw, hard enough that she couldn’t get control in the air. She crashed through the door sending pieces of wood in all directions and skidded out into the dirt of the lupanar.

Her fist lashed out from the ground as he came bearing down on her. She caught him in the stomach and lurched to her feet. He was around six feet tall, not much taller than her. He was wearing grey slacks and a button up, long-sleeved white shirt. His black shoes looked freshly polished. They began to circle each other. Sandy and the other wolf were no where to be seen. Tricked into leaving? Or paid off to take a break from guarding the lupanar?

There was no time to think as a lightening fast punch grazed her shoulder. Isabelle kicked out at his knee wishing she had worn shoes and missed, the force of the kick knocking her into him. He used her loss of balance to kick out her other ankle which sent pain searing up her leg. Her ankle had already been sore and she went down with him on top of her. He pinned her easily which had Isabelle raging, her skin rippling. The pupils of her eyes widened, swallowing the brown which lit up in bright amber and flowed out until there were no visible whites left. Fear shot through her as he opened his mouth revealing a row of razor fangs. All of his teeth were fangs she realized, as his lips pulled back. All of those fangs sank into her shoulder and Isabelle howled in pain. “He’s lying to you! Killing me will get you nothing!” Her voice was hoarse. “He’s using you as some kind of an assassin.”

Slowly his mouth released her shoulder and he tore her shirt revealing most of her blood soaked torso. He leaned down to lick at the blood that flowed around her left breast and swallowed loudly. “What makes you think I’m not an assassin?”