Under The Full Moon

Grey Water Beast

Gale was unaware of the arguments taking place back at the rest site that she had left behind. Her head was buzzing with the chanting and music that seemed to come from every direction, her ears almost permanently fixed in a pinned back position. She beat her wings against the air about her hard enough to make them ache, but this wasn't enough to stop her. When the dragon did finally come to a stop, she landed, panting to try to catch her breath as she looked over her shoulder. She had left the resting site quite a distance behind her, unable to spot it from where she stood. Snorting, Gale noticed that the chanting had quieted a little, though it was still there. However, instead of sounding like it was in her ears, it sounded more like it was in the distance. Baring her teeth at the mountains and the valley she had left behind, she turned to start walking. 

She hadn't gone far before she realized just how tired she had become. Her ears drooped, and as she walked, her feet began to drag. Her sore wings were hanging at her sides, though she lifted them again to try to keep herself awake. Before long, even this didn't work. She slowed, soon coming to a stop and laying down. No sooner had her head met the ground at her feet, did she fall into a heavy sleep. It was such a sleep that she didn't pay much attention to the dimming of the sky overhead, nor did she notice the cooling of the air around her. When she finally awoke, it was well into the night and clouds had begun to form and block out the sky in patches. She pinned her ears, her thoughts returning to the villagers and soldiers that she had left behind, as well as her friends. They were exposed to the elements, and if it began to rain, it was going to be a hard journey. However, once she had awoken a bit more, her thoughts on this were clear. It wasn't thick rain clouds that had begun to form, but the fluffy clouds that drifted on the air and absorbed the moonlight. Looking away from the clouds, Gale sat up from where she lay. Yawning widely, she tried to wake herself further but it was a little tough. In the state she was in, she was quite tired. Getting to her feet, she started to walk again but soon came to a stop again. Travel wasn't in her best interest at the time, her irritation having given way to exhaustion. 

Sitting down, Gale stared at the ground at her feet. She felt lonely, and the dimmed sound of the chanting and music had allowed for some of Gale's usual thoughts and demeanor to come forward. With this, came the fact that Gale had to leave her friends behind. She had to leave Broin behind. Looking toward the last place she had seen her friends, she felt the longing to return to them, though she knew this was not the best idea. Returning to her friends meant returning to the mountains she had just left behind. And this meant she would have to deal with the chanting and the music all over again. Pinning back an ear, she grumbled under her breath, turning away from the mountains. She looked around some for anything that looked like a path, and when she spotted one, she got to her feet. Forcing her wings to take her into the sky, the dragon flew to the path and landed beside it, looking down the direction her friends would have to come through to get to the villages. Sitting down, Gale decided that here was where she would try to get some sleep. Before she could settle herself, however, Gale's stomach let out a rumble that made her flinch. She hadn't eaten since the last time Broin had offered her the venison that they hadn't needed, and it was beginning to get to her. Getting up, Gale began her search for food. Soon, she came upon a herd of mountain goats, taking one of the ewes that had fallen behind in their hurry to get away from her. Once she had eaten, Gale returned to the path and settled herself in for the night. 

Laying on the worn dirt beside the path, Gale rested her head on her paws and tucked her wings in against her sides as she allowed sleep to take her. Her stomach full and the resulting ache gone, Gale found it next to impossible to keep her eyes open. Her wings loosened at her sides, soon resting lightly on the ground at either side of her, her shoulders relaxing a bit as well. The softness of the chanting was at a tolerable level for the time being, and Gale was going to take the time to rest if she could, in the event that something changed and they grew louder. Subconsciously, she hoped that this wouldn't be the case. She wanted to be able to function, she didn't want to be a constant source of frustration, and she surely didn't want to hurt anyone if she should go off the deep end from the persistent chants and music. 

Sighing in her sleep, Gale didn't see or hear the figure that approached her. They were a slight creature, built like a cross between a scrawny wolf and a human with ragged, blackish-grey fur that looked as though it had mange, and glowing eyes that settled upon her as if watching prey. However, when the beast saw just how big she really was, it stayed back a ways from her. 

Cocking its head to the side, the beast watched Gale as she slept, its ears flicking back then returning forward as it judged its actions. Not finding any that would be best for the situation at hand, it took to watching her again, crouching down so it was sitting in a squat position. When it breathed through its partially opened and elongated muzzle, it was silent, though the breaths that it did take were rapid as though it had run from wherever it had been to reach Gale. The creature gave a grunt-like growling sound as it moved to get a little closer to Gale, though the sound wasn't loud enough to rouse her from sleep. The wolf creature stopped when it was a little closer to Gale, though it wasn't quite brave enough to stop directly in front of her. However, the distance that was between the two of them was close enough that Gale was able to catch the faint, acrid stench that wafted off the beast's scrawny body. 

Gale's eyes opened, only to drift back closed again. The wind had shifted some, so she didn't get another smell of the creature right away, and she hadn't had her eyes open long enough to see it. The beast took this as an opportunity to get a little closer, though its bravery diminished a little when the dragon shifted in her sleep. Instead of getting closer, it jumped back some, baring its yellowed and broken teeth at her with a gurgling growl. This was enough to make Gale's ears perk up ever so slightly, though her sleep was enough that she didn't respond further. However, this was to change. The beast decided to take a chance, its emaciated form darting forward. It was hungry, and it was willing to take the risk that going after such a large creature would bring. Rushing forward, it snarled, the sound coming out as though it was being held underwater. When its hand-like paws met her shoulder, Gale jumped awake, snarling as she sat up quickly with the beast latching onto her hide with a vicious snap of its jaws.

As a child, she had heard tales of beasts that lived in the forest surrounding the mountains. Until now, she had always assumed it was just something her father would tell her to stay out of the forests or from going too far. These were what he called Grey Water Beasts, humanoid creatures that were taken by the swamp and driven mad before they were left to wander the world with an insatiable desire to kill. As Gale struggled to remove the beast from her shoulder, she gave another roar of anger, using her wing to swat the beast around the head, though all this seemed to do was make it angrier.