Snowblind

Orin Cordova dashed down the massive mountain of snow, his vision impaired by the harsh conditions. His tail flipped with every step and the lush white fur of the wolf anthro blew with the rush of air against his run. He knew that if he stopped or slowed, he would be caught and probably subject to a terribly gruesome death. Creatures like him were considered no more important than flies by the humans, and treated no better. Recently, the humans had begun to hunt the anthros. An action born of hate, this "game" became incredibly popular and day after day more decaying anthro bodies littered the snowscape. Something had to be done, and soon. Orin jumped, landing on his underbelly in an effort to slide down the hill from the pursuing group of angry humans. He heard the whizzing of a crossbow bolt less than a foot over his head. when he reached the bottom of the hill, he used his hands to flip himself back to his feet and kept running. He knew he could outrun them, but with the wound in his left hip, it was a difficult feat. The wound had begun bleeding again, and badly. It was only a matter of time before he would have to stop and fight, but alone it was suicide. If only the pack hadn't banished him. He rolled to the left and a bolt from another crossbow clipped his arm, sending a small spatter of blood flying from the cut. He winced. "Maybe I should just give up..." he thought to himself, seriously considering the idea. He had slowed down drastically in the past few minutes because of the ever worsening wound in his leg. Now he was at a slow limp, just barely able to keep his footing. He had to turn and fight. He lifted up the crossbow in his right hand and took a bolt from the tiny quiver attached to his thigh. He let the bolt fly, nailing one of the pursuing humans right in the center of his head. As expected, the others turned and surrounded the human, kneeling down to check if he was dead. Clearly, a wound to the head is instantly lethal. When they looked up, Orin had dissapeared. "Damn!" one of the men cursed towards a comrade. "Maybe we should just stop chasing this phantom."
--------------------------------------------
When Orin looked back, he noticed the humans walking back in the direction they came from, just as he had hoped they would. He winced in agony as he yanked the bolt lodged in his hip and threw it in the snow angrilly. He went to his knees, pounding his fists into the soft snow with a snarl. Blood trickled like a small river out of the wound, colouring his majestic white fur a dangerous crimson. If no one found him, he would most likely die here, because there was no way he could run any longer, or even walk for that matter. His eyelids shut involuntarily as he sunk deep into the mercy of unconciousness.

Suddenly, a volley of three arrows was launched from a nearby pingrove, downing two of the humans that were chasing the white wolf. The group skidded to a stop before another pair of arrows disrupted them, downing a third human. Before the last one began to run, a grey wolfess walked forward from the grove with an arrow pulled back on her bow and her eyes narrowed.
"Y... you..."
She let the arrow fly, piercing his throat neatly and cutting him off before she put away her bow and walked over to the fallen Orin. Crouching down, she shuddered and waved over another group of random species who promptly pickedu p the fallen man and took him to the grove.
~~~~~
"Nngh... where am I?"
"Relax."
As Orin's eyes opened, the grey wolfess from before smirked.
"Nice evasion there -- gave me a clear shot. You feeling any better?" she asked, a nearby falcon just putting the finishing touches on the wolf's wounds.

Orin's eyes narrowed. His vision was blurred and his head ached something fierce. He took her advice and relaxed his muscles.
"My eyes hurt..." he said weakly. He opened them a little wider and his gaze fell on the wolfess.
"You killed them... why?" he asked.
"They were heading in the other direction. I think they must have lost-" he coughed hoarsly.
"I think they must have lost me in the blizzard."
The wolfess put a hand on his forehead.
"Don't talk so much. Just calm down."
In submission, Orin left anything else he had wanted to say unsaid for the time being. She was right, he needed rest and he knew that he had to be up as soon as possible. He closed his eyes again, but despite his greatest efforts, he simply couldn't sleep. He layed there, eyes shut for over an hour before sitting up and looking around the room. It was empty. he assumed they must have thought he was asleep and left him alone to rest. He flipped his legs over the bedside and stood up. With a shock of pain, he dropped down. His wounded leg was bandaged, but that barely took away from the pain. He brought himself back up and limped through a door at the adjacent side of the room.

"We need to strike, damnit!"
"Calm down Kira. If we rush out and attack, we'll just be massacred."
"Then let me take a few archers and we'll harass them for the night."
"No!"
Behind a nearby closed door, the grey wolfess from before slammed her fist into a sturdy wodden table.
"Damnit, McDohl! If you won't help me no-one will!"
"I'm will to help you, Kira, just give us more time."
"I can't! Every time I see one of those anthro pelts on a human's back, it takes all my willpower to keep myself from going berserk!"
"We can't figh-" said a red squirrel before being cut off.
"We have to!! If we don't fight, we die! They'll find us eventually if we don't strike now!"
"Damnit Kira! You've taken every chance you could to get a shot in for that attack on..."
The squirrel calmed down as he saw the wolf's eyes lower before she turned away.
"Kira, I didn't-"
"Save it." she said, grabbing a warhammer near the door and opening it. "I need to blow off some steam."
With that, she stepped through and headed down a corridor, passing Orin without batting an eye as she shouldered the heavy granite hammer.

Orin paused and gave a quizzical look to the others. He had heard some of the conversation, since most of the time, voices were raised.
"She's right, you know..." he said to them.
"She's right, but she's going about it the wrong way. Nothing will be solved by strutting out there and bashing some skulls... At best, she'll get herself killed, which isn't good at all, but at worst, she'll sell you out under torture and we'll all be killed."
He didn't know if they were listening to him or not, but he didn't care either. He turned around, snatched a pair of what seemed to be arabian swords from a conveniently placed weapon shelf, threw the holder that came with them over hiws back and sheathed them in an 'X' fashion. He then proceeded to limp after her as fast as he could, with nothing on but his fur and a pair of white, tattered pants with a rope belt.

Stopping at the basement's main door, the wolfess unshouldered her hammer and grabbed a bow. Slinging it onto her back, she strapped on a waist quiver before opening the small doorway. Turning to shut it, she saw the white wolf on his way forward, limping down the corridor. With a sigh, she shouldered her hammer as he came close.
"What're you doing up?"
"I'm coming with you."
"Like hell. You'll just slow me down with that leg of yours."

"It doesn't make a difference how fast you're moving until they come for you. Going out there and busting heads isn't going to stop them. If anything, they'll be even more merciless. I'm coming to make sure you don't do anything foolish, and i know you will because if you didn't plan to, you wouldn't have a warhammer in your hands."
He sighed.
"Why kill if you don't have to?"

"I don't kill when I don't have to."
"What?"
Kira shook her head softly.
"There's a corrup, one-sided government in place and I can't take it out on my own. Until now, nobody's been willing to kick these bastards in the face and tell them to piss off, and that's exactly what I do."
Glancing out behind her, she let out a snarl and stepped back in.
"But I'm not dumb enough to go out when a snowstorm's starting." she said with a sigh, closing the door.
"Come on, you're just getting these people angry."
"They pushed me over the edge when I was hardly twelve." she snarled, glaring back at him. "I was born in Tesla, eight miles north of here."
"Tesla?"
"You wouldn't know it. Humans raided it ninteen years ago." she snapped before hanging her head. "I was the only survivor."
"How'd you survive?"
"My parents hid me in a nearby cave." she said before heading down the corridor to the mess hall. "I'll tell you the story if you come with me. I get hungry when I'm angry."
The two wolves walked down the corridor and into a wide open room. There was a good amount of food in the stockrooms -- most of it stolen -- for the members of the resistance to eat. Kira picked up an apple and a deer-calf before sitting down, Orin in tow. As she tore into her food, she began to talk.
"Well... like I said, it was nineteen years ago..."

~~~~~

"Kira, run!"
"Daddy!"
"Go!"
A twelve year old wolfess, along with her mother, was rushed away from the burning villiage by a third, older wolf with a warhammer.
"I swear, I'll kill them for that." he muttered to himself before rushing back.
"Dad!"
"shh!" the older woman said, picking up her daughter and rushing for a nearby cave. They both crouched there, hidden from sight and by the wind as they watched their burning home. Suddenly, the woman kissed her daughter softly and looked into her eyes.
"Kira, honey... I'll be right back."
"Where're you going...?"
"Dont' worry, just promise me you'll stay, alright?"
"Bu... but..."
"Promise, love."
"...Alright."
Standing up, the woman turned and ran out of the caver as Kira shifted further back, shivvering in the cold. After hours of waiting, the girl peeked out to see the fire had died down, smoke floating up into the air above it. She immediatly tore out of the cave, dashing down into the ruined village and skidding to a stop to search around. Black, charred skeletons lay all around, bloodstains slowly being covered up by falling snow as she searched for her parents. She finally found them, her mother laying over her father, both of them gone cold and still.
"M... mommy... dad...?!"
Breaking down into tears, the wolfess hugged the two corpses shakily, crying unstopably until she heard a voice.
"Hey... what happened?"

~~~~~

"And that's how I met McDohl. A few years later he helped me get a few people together to start fighting back, but we still haven't seen any real action -- just a few shots at hunting parties, like the one that was following you."
With a sigh, she polished off the last of her apple and set it down next to the leg bone.
"My hammer was daddy's... I still have no clue why mom rushed back in."
"Gods... I'm sorry, Kira."
"Don't worry about it." she said before raising an eyebrow. "Wait a second, how did you figure out my name?"
"I could've heard your argument with McDohl from the other side of a snowfield."
"Oh, yeah..." she replied, her ears laying flat agains her head as she blushed. "Dorry about that."

Orin had a look in his eyes that had never before graced his divine features. It was a look of rage. A look of lust for vengeance. He had known that the humans hunted them, but he had never before heard such an account as Kira's. It woke something in him that he had hoped would never rise to the surface again. A simmering hate for human kind.
"Kira, we are going to end this. I don't know how long it will take us, but we will end it. We will kill them all if we must, but we have to be smart about it. I say we begin recruiting followers. We can track down my pack, and yours too. Maybe McDohl knows people who would embrace our cause."
Orin put a hand on her shoulder comfortingly. "they will experience the fear that they have instilled in our hearts..."

"Did you miss something?" Kira asked, raising an eyebrow. "Everyone in my villiage was killed. Everyone who's willing to fight is right here."
Rubbing her forehead with a sigh, the wolfess shook her head. "The other tiny resistances hate us for some reason. Though, I know why -- they're more like shelters. Cowards." she corrected herself. "We're the only group who's even making an effort to fight back. They think we're just making trouble, but I won't be suprised when a handful of people rush in 'cause their shelter was destroyed."
Shaking her head and sitting back, she looked up at the cieling.
"Although I suppose there might be a few willing to fight amoung them."

"I'm sorry." he shook his head.
"I didn't mean your village. I thought you would have found another pack. Then again, I haven't, and I was banished from mine. I was thinking we could go and try convincing them, but we would probably only succeded in getting ourselves killed by them."
He began pacing, that fiery look still stuck in his icy blue eyes. It could melt the most fearsome of warriors to nothing.
"Fact is, we need to find people. There's no way we could accomplish anything with this few unless..." he trailed off.
"Unless we do so like ghosts. Kill people in their sleep. Men, women, and even children. We have to make them afraid to even speak the word 'anthro'. yeah, killing innocents would weigh heavily on my concience, and probably those of the rest of you aswell, but in the end, it will result in less death on both sides. We have to become what they fear most. The unknown."

"..."
Sighing softly, Kira stood up, picking up her hammer and shouldering it again.
"...You're right." she said, nodding. "The storm's letting up -- I figure we can reach the nearest shelter by the time it comes back in, and that's with your injury factored in. Think you can make it?" she asked.
"Yeah, I think so."
"Good." she said. "Then let's head out."
They immediately headed for the door, and Kira opened it to peer outside. It wasn't a full-on blizzard, and looked safe enough to walk in. The wind bit at her cheeks, but it was missing those familiar fangs that dug deep into a person's flesh. She stepped out, alongside Orin, and the two began their trek to the east, and the nearest shelter.

Orin had managed to walk rather than limp, but it was still somewhat painful. Without saying a word, he walked beside her, thinking about what he had just come up with as a pln to fight the human's actions towards the anthros. He planned to fight fear with fear, and to do that, he would need as much help as he could get. After a time, he finally spoke. His words were unexpected.
"Kira, what were your parents like?"
"Why do you ask?" she replied absent mindedly while staring at the clouds overhead.
"I just... I don't know. I'm just curious. You don't need to answer if you're not comfortable..."
"Well..." she began. "Mother and father never fought with eachother, never argued, never yelled... They were the nicest people I knew, and I know that they loved me just as much as I loved them. Everything was perfect, and I guess I revelled in it too much, because when everything came to an end, it hit me like the blunt of this hammer. Out of everyone that died that day, I miss mom and dad the most..." A tear rolled down her cheek, followed by a few more. She sniffled.
Orin looked down at the ground, wishing he hadn't asked. He didn't know how to comfort someone. He'd been alone for so long.
"Hey, i'm sorry..." he said quietly. "I'm sure they were great people. It reflects on you."
He put a strong hand on her shoulder as they walked. "Really, it does."

"You flatter me." she said as the wind picked up. Rubbing away her tears, the wolfess looked around. "We're close-"
"Is that it?" Orin asked, pointing at a snowbank nearby. Kira narrowed hir eyes and looked forward, chuckling.
"It is." she said before starting to jog. "C'mon, this blizzard's gonna hit hard."
The two wolves made it to the hidden door, where Kira knocked hard.
"Password." a voice from inside said.
"I'm a very irate, very cold wolfess with a warhammer who doesn't want to freeze to death in a blizzard, open up."
A few moments of silence before the door opened and a thin rat looked out.
"What do you want, Kira?" he asked, half-glaring at her."
"A place to wait out the storm." she said.
"And?"
"And what?"
"You never come here unless you're looking for recruits."
"Gimmie a break, every time I come here at least five more leave with me."
"...Come in."
The pair was let into the shelter before the rat closed the door, and were led through the small base to a small room off their stockroom.
"Wait here, I'll see if anyone's willing to help you."
The rat turned to walk off as Kira set down her hammer with a sigh. Sitting down on one of the benches, shi buried her head in her hands softly.
"Hey, are you alright?"
"I'm fine." she said, sniffing softly.
"Are you sure..."
"...No."
"Hey now." Orin said, sitting down and hugging her awkwardly. "Don't worry about it."
"I try not to." she said shakily, shaking her head. "I just can't forget. Nightmares, every night."

Orin hugged her tighter, whispering in her ear.
"The past is done..." he said wisely. "Yes, you should reserve a large portion of your heart to remember those you lost that day, but worrying won't bring them back to life."
He knew what he was talking about. He'd been there, but not as harshly.
"To dwell on what cannot be changed brings nothing but sorrow. Be happy, for they are in peace now. They are no longer a part of this merciless world."
He put a comforting hand on the back of her head, drawing it to his chest where she could let it all out.
"I'm not saying you should forget. I'm saying that you should let the good memories outweigh the bad, and that you should take out your anger and your sadness on those who are at fault, but in the end, the only thing that will cure you of this terror is acceptance."
And with that, no longer able to contend with his own past, he sat there with her face buried in his chest and cried with her until neither one of them had a tear left to shed.

"Ahem."
Starled, Kira shot upright, rubbing her eyes immediately.
"Touching, I have to say, but... Kira, you've got your recruits."
"T... that was quick."
"I should say 'recruit.'"
"Huh?"
"I'm coming with you." the rat said, crossing his arms and chuckling. "You need a rogue of some description to help you out. The name's John."
"John huh..." the wolfess said, having cleared herself up and straightened out. "Plain name."
"It's not one you'll forget any time soon, I promise." the rat chuckled. "Now... listen. I figure we can stay here tonight, but after that, we should head out."
"Why's that?" Orin asked, raising an eyeridge.
"The hunting parties have been out in full force."
"I noticed." muttere Kira.
"If we leave at night, we can reach the Front's base safely -- maybe hit a few camps on the way."

"Why not strike out as soon as the sun sets?" Orin asked, thinking that perhaps it would be a better and more effective idea.
"We could get our supplies ready and head out immediately. There's no need to delay, and the blizzard will benefit us more than it will slow us down."
The rat nodded. "He's got a point."
Kira considered for a moment. It was a bold move, but it could come out effective. Blizzards were dangerous to any creature, but they were more dangerous to humans than to wolves. As long as John kept warm, they would be fine.
"Alright, Orin." she said in response. "We leave as soon as it's dark and we massacre any camp we walk by."
"We slit their throats while they sleep." Orin said. "It'll save time, and there won't be a chance that one of us will get killed. As I said, we need to be phantoms."
They immediately went to gathering their things.

Standing on a small snowy hill, Kira watched the sun set over the frozen wastes as the wind blew the snow around the plains. Picking up her hammer, she shouldered it and turned around to the two men, her hair whipping about in the wind.
"Let's go." she said, walking between them and towards the resistance's home base. "People should be starting fires now. If we take our time, they should be well asleep by the time we stumble on any camps."

Orin nodded in affirmation. He semi crouched into a stalk and took out two daggers just to be ready incase they were taken by surprise. A true blademaster never lets his guard down, not even in his sleep. He doubted anyone knew it, but Orin always slept with one eye open... and he could see through that eye. He walked silently alongside his companions.