Slender fingers trembled as dark colored eyes stared at the blood that was thickening against her skin, drying. But as she stared, she started to wonder if it was her fingers that shook or if it was the rest of her body. She couldn't be sure because nothing stayed still. Nothing remained in the same spot for any amount of time and that included her. Her hand pressed against the white painted wall, leaving a streak of dried blood that caught her attention. It was stark and aggressive against the bare walls, and it seemed to tease her relentlessly. It was like a mark against purity, the burning A that hung on a young woman's dress that proclaimed her different. The heart that beat recklessly in her chest was that of a bird, desperate and fluttering, begging for a release and it pounds itself bloody against the bars of it's cage. Staring at the marks on the wall, she let her eyes slowly trail down, first across her knuckles, then sliding over the wrist. Her skin was stained with the dark blood, and she knew it was her own.
As she focused on the place she'd felt the wolf's teeth press into her flesh, it was the healing marks that had her enthralled. Just moments ago it had been torn open as she was tossed by an impossibly strong jaw and now there were just thin white marks that had once been filled with blood. Now it just smeared over those scars and she wondered if they would heal too. But there was more than the healed wound that had her attention. Looking past those marks, she noticed the shape of her arm. With a slightly less clouded mind, she could tell that it had, in fact, been broken when the wolf had snapped at her. She could just barely remember the sound of a snap when it happened. First the desire for blood had been so thick that she hadn't truly noticed the pain. Then came the fear as she looked at the large, menacing creature growling at her, licking bloodied jaws. Without knowing if he wanted her or not, she had run. The adrenaline, then the feeding on her own blood once in the room, had distracted her enough but now it was clear.
Not only had it been broken, but it had healed--just like her bite marks. Seeing as it had healed without being set, it was at a slightly awkward angle. Would she have to deal with it like that forever? Would it stay that way? She ran her fingers slowly over her arm. There were too many questions but a stark lack of answers.
Frustrated, she clawed at the mark her blood had left on the wall and tried to crawl towards the bed. If she could just get under the covers, if she could just forget about this happening, and ignore that thing inside of her that refused to let her free, maybe then she could breathe again without the pounding of blood in her ears. She stumbled like a newborn calf to her feet, streams of tears drying on her cheeks. Maybe she needed to get away. But where would she go? She had been pushed away from her parents and told not to come back. The last part was a recent event that, until now, she hadn't want to think about. It was shortly before her night in the woods when she attempted to make peace with her parents.
But peace would not be given.
It was slapped out of her hands, refused, and the door slammed on her face as her mother informed her she did not want her to come back. Was it still grief talking? Raina had wondered. How would she ever know? Would her parents ever forgive her for what happened? As she took a step towards the bed, cradling her broken arm against her chest, she caught a glimpse of someone she did not recognize. The creature was pale, eyes dark and wild. There was a red thickness smeared along it's mouth. Raina stared for a moment, wondering when anyone would have come into her room, and what she would say to this seemingly vicious stranger. Does she invite her in? Does she run screaming? When she was leaning towards the second option, it was then Raina realized she was staring at.. herself.