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Felina heard whispers in the darkness, whispers of fear and creatures of evil.... the type of whispers she liked to hear. Felina was a skinwalker hunter, and although she usually kept herself to herself she would permit herself to get close to another when it came to.... information, or pay back -but that was another story.

Today, she had ventured to this forest hearing whispers of two pure skinwalkers having attacked a herd near a lake not far from here. And so she searched, searched and searched.... but so far her search was fruitless. Usually when she found truth of a single pure being present it was because of the littered bodies of carnage left in its wake.... but here... nothing. Felina didn't believe the beasts she hunted cared about cleaning up there mess... which meant one thing. The rumours were false.

Disheartened but still determinded to keep up her hunt Felina travelled through the land with her normal high alert state, her horned tail swished from side to side with leathel intent. Her blind eye was useless but thanks to its absence Felina's hearing had improved tendfold, already she could hear the scurrying of small animals as they fled from her.... good. She may not hunt 'innocents' but that didn't mean she wanted them near her. Felina.... was not very good around.... anyone.

Felina's ears twitched, she heard the noise long before she saw anything. Thanks to her dark pelt she moved into the shadow and turned so her seeing eye could scan freely from her vantage point. She saw.... a grounded mare, with a beautiful coat and very long hair... hair that was not tied back. She almost tutted.... long hair was nice but it got in the way, that was why her own was braided and kept firmly back. Any disadvantage could mean death against a skinwalker.... something she wouldn't permit.

She pulled her useless wings into her sides, using them more for insultation than anything else. During an attack that had nearly cost Felina her life she had sacrificed her left wing in an effort to shield herself, it had given her a moment but a moment had been all she needed to escape. She had never been so foolish since... skinwalkers could NOT change their nature, they could pretend but the truth was they were nothing more than a beast. She wanted to growl, the memory of her mother being slaughtered when she was a foal wriggled like an angry beast inside of her.

ALL SKINWALKERS MUST DIE!

The order surprised Felina, she had not expected one so.... seemingly powerless to risk giving such an order when she knew not what lurked in the shadows. More evidence that they were unaware of the danger of skinwalkers? It was seeming her chase her had been for nothing....

Usually she would have ignored the mare, Felina rarely sought out others, and even when she did it was to observe and learn not to converse. Having lost her mother at an early age she had never been good around others... a trust issue, the issue was... Felina trusted no one. Still, perhaps this mare would be able to confirm without a doubt that no skinwalkers had passed by here... then Felina could move on.

She took an almost nervous hoof step forward, still managing to hold her head high as she approached. "You ordered...." She said, her blind eye staring unblinkingly while her working eye took in all the mares details now that they were closer to each other. She had a quiet strength to her, but still not enough to determine the truth behind her confidence, after all Felina's own body was riddled with muscles and power from her years of training and hunting, and despite her slight size it seemed she was slightly larger than the other mare. Part of her wanted to open her wings out in an attempt to scare her... the whole 'I'm bigger than you' stategy that she had seen wild animals use. She continued, "....but what gives you the right to order me!?" In the pecking order Felina was higher up... after all, flightless or not her genes were far more destructive than any common regular could ever be.

She had spunk whoever this mare was.... a herd? Felina had never heard of such a thing, though since she had spend most if not all of her life after her mother alone bar the company of those she hunted or observed it was easy to understand why something like that would never have become a topic of interest let alone of conversation. "A herd?" She asked, cocking an eyebrow. She hoped she didn't come across as niave or docile simply because she didn't know... or worst niave! Felina was wise about what she needed to know, anything else just took up space in her head. She should have left.... but the fact that this mare was trying to 'protect' called to something deep inside of her, was that not what she did by killing and hunting skinwalkers? Protecting more innocent lives like her mothers from being stolen for nothing more than sport?

The question about her business in the area snapped her back too quickly to the danger they could possibly be in -despite the fact all the evidence pointed to the idea that there had been no skinwalkers in the area for some time, Felina supposed there was still a slim chance. 'Get the information and move on.' She told herself before speaking, "I am hunting skinwalkers. I heard.... whispers that there had been an attack recently in this area." Information was power..... and Felina wanted to have all the power she could to aid her cause.

She dismissed the information about the mares family... she had lost her family, and it had been that painful ordeal that had left her alone in the world with a sudden drive to destroy the lives of those who had given birth to the beast that had destroyed her life.... she had been so small, so helpless. Painful memories indeed. Felina didn't like feeling helpless.

Still the information that followed stunned Felina, she turned her head left and right swiftly.... looking for a sign, something, anything, blood.... death... decay... but she saw nothing. How had there been an attack here without bodies littering the space in the aftermath? Felina had never heard rumours of grounded mares and stallions having defeated skinwalkers.... of course, Felina was simply assuming all the mares relatives were the same breed as her. Her own mother had been a Kalona, the mother before her a Kalona... Felina simply didn't understand that she was a mix, part Kalona and part Kirin because her father had been a Kirin. No, when it came to such things Felina was niave. "You..." she spoke in utter disbelief, "... were attacked and survived? How many did you lose? Why didn't these two skinwalkers kill you all? Are you sure they were even skinwalkers?" The fact was many confused those that wore animal skin blankets and the such for skinwalkers, and Felina had never heard or saw a 'bird formed female' before... did such a monster truely exsist?

To say Felina was in shook would probably have been an understatement.... two skinwalkers, confirmed shifters, had attacked this herd and a sister one.... and NO ONE HAD DIED? Felina knew that she hunted skinwalkers for a living, but the amount of specialist work and training that went into it would make most cringe at her effort. She had become an expert tracker, trap maker, strategist... and had of course even sacrificed her wing to keep her life. There had to be more.... there just had to be.... or, was she really that weak that she struggled to destroy each and every skinwalker she huntered? She had never sought out two at a time before, by their nature skinwalkers prefered to hunt alone which gave her good odds... two on one, and with their extra strength would be trouble. Felina just hoped they had split up to hunt after their obvious failure.

Still... there was a mystery here that Felina needed to understand. Seeing herself as weak was not an option, and would likely get her killed. "What breed are you really? Surely a regular alone would have no chance against two skinwalkers?" Rude perhaps but Felina needed the truth and she needed it now, she didn't have a talent for dipolmacy having never really interacted with anyone other than her mother -before and after her death.

"Yes. Alone. Others bring distraction and weakness." Harsh but true. She had tried hunting in a team before and it had ended in disaster.

Felina would have whistled had been able to.... what would cause such a wide mix of species to come together? And the fact that the mare before her wasn't as she appeared seemed to answer all the questions floating around in her head. The fact her mate was an Angeni also interested her... she had never seen one, they were far too pure to be found in the same hunting grounds as her prey.... though she had heard of some that had become hunters... Angeni's torn between their need for good and their domain. Still, Felina ignored these mythical creatures... she was not interested in hunting innocents.

"You are lucky." Felina said at last, all matter-o-factly. "I have seen the carnage left behind when those who thought they could handle such beasts fell. Not a pretty sight." Especially since skinwalkers liked to sample all their kills before deciding which to destroy. A sick ritual.

Yet, the way the mare spoke of a certainty that they would return suprised Felina, she had never heard of skinwalkers returning when they were defeated.... or perhaps they had only just pushed them back? That would make more sence. Still.... "Why are you so sure they will return? It is not in their nature." Skinwalkers were mindless when the bloodlust took over, they would hunt what was easiest not return for a fight.... right?

That interested her... so this Angeni mate of hers had been one of the legendary hunters, Skinwalkers and Angeni were naturally well matched. Foes of foes... still Felina had found others ways to bring down skinwalkers, not everything had to be done directly, and Felina was a VERY patient hunter.

Still.... family? "You protect a skinwalker?" The thought disgusted her, why would they protect something so vial and evil as a skinwalker? It was shameful even to consider it for a second. She took a step back, her respect quickly waning to be replaced with contempt. Even with this new information something didn't make sence, skinwalkers were exactly known to be 'faithful' to family, they didn't usually care about what or who they impregnanted, it was an urge to be filled and nothing more... she had seen it before, abadoned baskets of evil. Some may scorn her for it but she had destroyed such evil spawn without a second though! Why wait for it to grow strong first? Destroy it before there is ever a threat... quick and simple, and one less skinwalker in the world.