Welcome to the Jungle

Terra moved with an easy grace, her footfalls soundless as they padded over the leaf-strewn ground. Even in her human skin, she was completely at home here, the wilds of the forest now seeming more natural to her than any city had ever been. The sharp tang of spruce was in her nostrils, freshening the scent of the dear kill that hung over her shoulder, the smell of animal musk and blood both lingering around it.

The buck was young, the meat would be tender she knew, though she made a mental note to lay some aside to dry for winter stocks - not at all desirable, the beast in her demanding fresh flesh as much as the hunt itself, but she had learned the hard way before now that pickings could be slim come winter. The pelt would make a nice addition to her bedding pile too...

Coming to a halt by the stream, the she-wolf stopped to lower her kill to the ground, kneeling to scoop up a handful of the crystalline liquid, lifting it to her lips to slake her thirst. Lowering her hand for another moutful, the brunette paused a moment, eyes snagging on the image reflected back at her, the feral looking woman a far cry from the clean cut, bright eyed girl she always remembered herself as.

Lip lifting in disgust she dashed the water, breaking the image before lifting another handful. That girl had been weak. To weak to survive here. She was more than her now. A wolf. An Alpha no less. Her people needed her to be strong to keep them safe. On the island it was rule of the strongest that reigned true. Weakness was not something she or they would tolerate.

Sydney ran through the woods, her eyes seeking through the shadows. It was almost dark, thankfully the sun had disappeared shortly before. She had needed to get out of the caves, feel the breeze on her skin and just run.

It was tough, being holed up all day, she loved her covens little home, having the others around her so as she was never truly alone no matter how much she tried to hide from them some days.

She felt free out here in the forest. It was peaceful, serene, just right. Suddenly, as she came across the stream she saw the silhouette of someone kneeling to drink from it's cool depths. She stopped dead in her tracks.

No.. Not one of them here she thought to herself, taking a step back. She blinked, and then tilted her head as she took in the figure. It was that of one she knew well, who's face she could picture by merely closing her eyes.

What is she doing here? she thought, taking in the dead dear hanging over her shoulder.. Sure this is a trick? She moved forward towards her, curiosity causing her to forgot what she could be putting by doing so.

"What are you doing?" She hissed at the other women, having no idea at all just what the other women was, Sydney only spent time with her Coven, she saw no need to interact with the others, for they were not her problem. Only the other Vampires. But now.. Oh how she wished she had taken the time, it would have stopped this little surprise from popping up just when she was starting to make some progress to figuring things out.

The vampire approached from down wind, hiding her scent from Terra, her steps as soundless as any wolf, it was only as a sixth sense sent a shiver down her spine that the brunette realised she was not alone, her preoccupation with maudlin thoughts allowing the predator to creep closer than she should have ever gotten. Reacting on instinct at the shock of seeing the vampire so close, Terra’s hands fell to the ground before her, body tensing ready to spring as a threatening growl broke from her throat, eyes flashing yellow as they fixated on the threat.

It took several long moments for her human brain to catch up with the wolf, this particular vampire’s painfully familiar countenance sinking into her consciousness. Sydney… Slowly the rumble died in her throat, teeth lowering over her lip, though she continued to eye her warily.

How long had it been since she had last seen this girl? Probably only a few years, though it felt like a life time… She had changed. Almost as much as Terra herself had, the terrified, hurt and suicidal girl of her memories replaced with something strong and dangerous – a fellow predator. Lips peeled back from her teeth, the vampire hissed a demand at her, causing the wolf’s eyes to narrow a moment in dislike, her beast side bristling at the challenge, though her human still flared in a bone deep guilt. She remembered Sydney well… remembered her tortured eyes meeting Terra’s while strapped to that table. Remembered her screams… Remembered the acid burning scent of her flesh as she stood unflinching under those deadly rays of sunlight.

Of all the vampires to wander into her woods… why did it have to be this one? The one she had successfully avoided for the last… however long it had been she had been running this island as a wolf. The only one that knew the truth of her past. An from the scent of shock to her, that had been completely unaware of her present.

“Drinking,” Terra returned at last, voice abrupt, discomfort both from guilt of seeing her again, wolfish agitation at being close to an unknown predator, and general uncertainty of how to react making her harsher than she really intended. “And hunting. Same as most. Why, what were you planning on doing here?”

Sydneys eyes widen at the other womans reaction to her. If only she had seen who it was before walking over, she would have carried on, getting as far away from her as possible. It had been too long, but not long enough, if that even made sense which it didn't even to Sydney.

Her eyes took in Terras appearance and she couldn't help but notice the change that had occurred since seeing her last. The women had been impeccably dressed, not a hair out of place. Now.. Well she was quite sure she herself must look the same, like she was in hell. Yet there was a strange sense of strength about her, and Sydney was wary, though she was certain she would have been no matter what circumstances they would have met again in.

Why is she here?Sydney thought once more.. Her mind almost refusing to take in the words that been spoken. Is she.. No.. She can't be!.

"Why on earth would you be hunting.. Do they not provide dinners any more at.. At.." Her voice faltered, and she looked away. She couldn't bring herself to say the words. She had tried to convince herself the place didn't exist, that it had been some sort of.. Dream. Though it never lasted long, a new comer to her groups ranks, a memory surfacing, a thought.. A smell, anything could set her off, and shatter the small illusion she had worked up.

She shook her head softly, looking back to the women, the thought stirring in her mind mind, almost only half formed, that maybe.. Maybe she was like her.. Not entirely human any more.

She couldn’t help the sort that left her at the question, Terra arching up an eyebrow at her. She knew that vampires senses were different to wolves’s but surely the other girl could see that she was clearly no longer human, let alone one of the Organisation.

“For Employees only sadly,” she returned sardonically. “My meal card ran out years ago.”

Stormy grey eyes considered her a moment, still a little wary, but more at ease than she was previously at the lack of attack.

“I haven’t seen you for years either… honestly I figured you’d thrown in the towel. Where have you been hiding?”

She turned away, the words cutting into her. They were a remainder of the past.. And made it painfully aware to her that she owed everything she had become.. The life she had carved out painstakingly for herself and the others in her coven was down to her, not Sydney. She had never spoke of it to anyone, the only 2 people who she was aware of that knew were here.. Standing by the stream.

She concentrated on the sound of the water trickling for several moments. She needed these moments to figure out how to phrase her reply.. She was struggling to find the words that she would need. It was a shock.. Such a shock to see this women here, that she had lost herself, it had overridden her very senses, and she had to admit, she hated it!

"I.. I'm still here. I'm still holding, for me.. For my Coven." She spoke the words softly, though she knew they would carry through the night air to their destination. "Employees.. Employees?" She spoke the words twice, the 2nd coming out questioningly. She did not trust her ears, or what her mind was telling her.. It can't be true..

"Yes, employees," she deadpanned back. "As in those hired and paid by the employer to undertake specified tasks and responsibilities."

Letting out a sigh, the she wolf, considered the woman before her, snarkyness slipping a way for a moment as she took in her words.

"Yeah," she murmured at last. "I can get that."

Wasn't it the same with her? How close had she been to giving in, letting the beast take control for good and loosing herself in the bloodlust and moon madness, like those protypes gone before her. If it hadn't been for her kin she would have... would have thrown herself into it wholeheartedly, nothing else to keep her to this life. But she remembered all to well that moment, looking around her seeing men and women, fighting, snarling and whimpering like animals. Lost, isolated from even each other, afraid. Torn in two by their instincts and their memories, natures in conflict. Realising then, that she didn't have the right to loose herself... That those people needed her. That was the price of her sins. Her redemption, if such a thing was even possible.

Sydney sighed. Of all the people on the Island, Terra was probably the only one who had ever seen just how bad things had been for her after being turned. Sure enough, Angel had seen her vulnerable and scared the day they had done it. But Terra.. Terra had seen what happened after, had saved her from death. To this day, for herself, Sydney wasn't sure she was thankful for this. For her coven and the safety and stability she had given them, yes, she would always be thankful. Though she doubted she would ever say that to her, somehow Sydney couldn't imagine them having a heart to heart over a cup of tea and biscuits. Probably because Tea and Biscuits weren't really an option on The Island.. Not to those that lived in the wilds anyway.

Finally she was forced to acknowledge what she had been trying to avoid.. Terra was one of them. A million questions came to her mind, but Sydney stopped herself from voicing them. Did she really need to know? Well.. No. She didn't, the past didn't change anything for them, they were too gone to be helped now. She decided to skip over that, and latch on to the womens final words.

"You get that.. What could you possibly get about any of this.. This bullshit. You know nothing.. Nothing about what me, and the Coven have been through, the struggles we've faced. You may be one of us to them, but to me.. You will always be you, the reason why many of us are here. You.. You're a monster." She said the words angrily, like she had needed to get them off her chest for some time. She felt no remorse for having said them.. Sometimes, you just needed to go with the flow as it were, and this was one of them times.

The wolf snorted at her, standing at last, body uncurling from its crouch to stand at her full height. The eyes that met Syndey's were full of self depreciating dry humour.

"Your an idiot if you think that," she retorted simply. "Think you and the vampires are the only creatures on this island that struggled to adapt? To change and become the creatures they were made into without loosing themselves to the madness and lusts? Don't be stupid... Every damn one of those strains is unstable and unpleasant - and I can vouch for that better than anyone, as well you know."

Lifting her head, she let her eyes wander to the sky, breath leaving her lips in a rough sigh.

"It might not be the exact same, but out of all the beasts on this island, yours and mine are the most alike - predators, to the other's prey. I know all to well wrestling with that hunger, the torment of trying to sooth the savage beast within, to not let it control you, but at the same time to know if you try to reject it to much you risk it destroying you anyway..."

Cool grey eyes fell at last to her face again.

"We'll never know what you and yours went through exactly, it's true, but don't be fool enough to think we didn't go through every bit as much, didn't fight every bit as hard to chizle out our place on this rock with tooth and claw."

Vampires still had their minds after all... not something that was guarenteed for her wolves. Some of them never managed to regain their humanity, trapped forever as a mindless animal. It was true, the vampires lost the son, but in Terra's mind, it was more than a fair trade for retaining their mind.

"As for me..." her mouth kicked up ironically. "That's the one thing you did get right. Yes. I am a monster. You wont hear me denying that. Now more than ever."

Sydney shook her head, listening to the words but should could not and would not take them in. What could one of them know of what it's like? It didn't matter to Sydney that Terra was in fact one of them she could only see lies and deceit like every time she had any contact with The Scientists.

"They had you.. And you understand about this better then any of us. I.. I had no idea about what was happening, I was 19 when you turned me into this damn it. I had my whole life ahead of me, so did many of the others that are now stuck here.. Forever, without a home, without family, only a miserable exsistance carved with blood, sweat and tears. And you know.. Even then it's not certain. What if yo.. They decide to stop this.. This what ever it is, and then what will they do? We can't live in the mainland and they've already shown they're above the law but not above killing people!" Sydney was almost shouting, the anger inside her was getting worse with every word Terra was saying. Her hands were shaking..

She needed to vent her frustration somehow, but she knew showing signs of anger such as hitting trees would not look too good, especially as she was currently stood with the leader of one of the other species.. I will not be seen as weak she thought to herself. Her eyes travelled Terra up and down, she shook her head and she turned around, so she was facing away. She blinked, feeling tears well up in her eyes. I will not be seen as weak. she thought to herself once more.

"At least you understand what you are.. We had no clue, we felt things.. We done things.. We.. We didn't know or understand." She spoke the words softly, not knowing or truly caring if Terra could hear them.. She wrapped her arms around herself, feeling cold even though she had no reason to. Sometimes.. She knew she was still the vulnerable and scared girl she had been 2 years ago, but she put on a show, put on a face to show she was strong and she was there for the others.. It was something she had proven good at, especially as the years went on.

“They had me,” the werewolf agreed, voice low, unpeturned by the other’s flare of temper, her grey eyes simply tracking her as she shifted in frustration, stance remaining relaxed though in reality she was ready to react at any moment. “And I did know more than most… But it didn’t matter. Knowledge means nothing when you’re in the grip of the change. Expecting it doesn’t change the terror, or the anger or the self loathing… YOUR kind have stability that mine never will have, so yes we had better knowledge in the beginning, but we were pushing up a steeper hill to regain our minds, to try and impose order on ourselves, to try and cling to whatever shreds of our humanity that we have left.”

Her breath left her in a snort at her words, arms folding over her chest as she looked away.

“And I didn’t?” she countered coolly. “I was at the beginning of a promising career that could have taken me anywhere – I turned down major offers, ones that could have made a difference in this world, working in genetic research with leading universities, researching things that mattered like cancers and diseases, to come here. I had a home, had a family too… Ones I will never see again. As did everyone else on this miserable island, every creature you meet… Not just islanders either. They ran out of them in the end, so they started luring others in. I’m sure you’ve noticed. Poor bastards that think they’re getting a second chance, that think if they sign up then those medical bills for their loved ones will vanish, that think it’s some jolly adventure to come to a mysterious island and sign up for testing.”

Turning back to her, Terra met her eyes sardonically.

“Hate me for what I did to you all you want – that’s your right. But spare me the sob story. It’s no different from anyone elses.”

Her words were harsh but true. A year ago she might have behaved differently to seeing Sydney again. There was no doubt she felt the guilt still… but where she once would have apologised and self flagellated, she now looked at practically. The vampire was her own personal reminder of the sins of her former life, but dwelling on that weakness didn’t help anyone. To survive you had to be strong, to walk away from who and what you were. To embrace the monster in you.

As the conversation continued, the vampire becoming more and more agitated, Terra let out an embittered laugh and shook her head.

“If they decided to stop it?” she mused. “When they decide to stop it. No research is forever.. If we’re lucky we’ll be dead and they’ll be onto their second or third generation, but I doubt it. Not with technology this hot… No, if we’re lucky they’ll abandon us here, leave us to live out the rest of our lives as they made us. More likely though, they’ll put a bullet in our brains and cut open our bodies to take the last they can learn from us before tossing us in the trash… Or if we are especially lucky they’ll sell us to the highest bidder… Someone that’ll either cut us open themselves, use us for weapons or better yet, keep us as breeding stock. Using us like prized sows to pop out the next generation of biologically enhanced weaponary.”

A weary, drly mocking gaze was cast over to her.

“You see? Knowing isn’t always all it’s cracked up to be.”