The Inevitable Things In Life (R) (Reserved)

Kikani's breath burned in her chest, making every ragged breath torture. Her muscles screamed in protest. She had been running for days, and everything hurt. Rain hit her like frigid needles, driving straight into her without mercy. Cold, hungry, and at the verge of collapsing. If she fell, Kikani wouldn't rise. Her demon's glowig red eyes glanced around nervously, squinted against the relentless rain. The forest was dark around her. The pounding of rain covered any scent or sound that would help her. She relied on the whiskers on her muzzle, and her blurry vision to guide her through the under growth, and anything could trip her up now. A fallen fence, an old hunter's trap. Her paws were shaking, slipping in the mud and doing all they could just to keep her up, never less running. Kikani could feel the salt of tears in her maw, and winced. She didn't know she had been crying.

Her hunters had finally learned that sending big groups after her wasn't going to work. She made quick work of them, easily. But now, now was different. They had one man after her. Trained by someone she had never heard of, and obviously deadly. Kikani had no hope of finding him in this state, or fighting him when he found her. So she ran. They didn't know she had the form of a 19 year old girl. They only knew of the demon that terrorized their camps. She regretted murdering their men, plaguing herself with a life on the run. It had all been fun and games when she was 16. It was funny watching them run around in confusion and smiling at the fear in their eyes as she killed them. Now she paid the price. Whether it was an instant death or a slow torture, Kikani was going to find out.

And that prediction rang true. The demon's paw tangled in the wire of an old trap. Her beaten body flipped around in the air, hitting the ground with a soft thump. She struggled weakly. The wire just cut into her paw. Kikani tossed her head, backing up slowly. The long horns on her head were tangled in the thorn bush behind her. It was all a matter of time now. She was a sitting duck.

The wire cut deeper into the flesh of her paw. Kikani grated her teeth, biting back a whimper of pain. She yanked her head forward, freeing her horns with a snort. Mud matted her raven black pelt, and blood ran down her paw to mix with the mud on the ground. Fear had its hold, making it difficult to breath as she lay there, defeated in the mud. She could escape if she changed. The magic that laced her human and demon form together allowed her to keep her clothes, but the tight fitting jeans and t shirt she had chosen wouldn't protect her from the frigid rain. Kikani caught site of something moving, and whimpered. It was him. She struggled a little harder, and managed to free her paw from the wire that had wrapped around it. Kikani curled it to her chest, and followed the form of her hunter. Her demon couldn't speak. That was fine. She had nothing to say to her potential murderer anyway.

With only three legs to run on, Kikani wouldn't of been able to escape if she wanted to. The fact that her hunters knew her only for the demon didn't help her at all. Did she dare shift? She wouldn't be able to fight that way. But fighting injured was difficult. There was the possibility that the wound would be transferred to her human body. If the chance arose, then she would shift and escape. But staying demon was her best bet at the moment.

Kikani froze. Even with the rain and blood scents blurring her nose vision, she could still smell the substance rubbed on head of the arrow. She cried out as the arrow sliced into her, and instantly black edged at her vision. Her form flickered for a minute as she struggled to keep her demon form. He hadn't shot to kill, but it still hurt. Her sounds of distress were a mix between the yelp of her demon and the whimper of her human. Kikani tried to fight off the effects, but she was tired, and her body welcomed the rest and peace pf being unconscious. Her demon form stayed. She sent him a cold look, but her head hit the ground seconds after.

The aches that should of come with sleep weren't there. Whatever was on that arrow was strong, effective, and she wouldn't be waking up for a while.

Kikani hoped her demon would maintain form. If not, then she would be in serious trouble. The things that filled her mind couldn't be called dreams, really. More like nightmares. Visions of what could happen to her, what they might to do her. Even if she didn't feel the pain of the blade, her mind made it vivid enough that she whimpered. Her injured paw was still leaking blood freely. Her maw moved as if she were talking, but the demon didn't speak the language of humans. No sounds came except for the sound of her rapid breathing.

Kikani could regenerate energy faster than normal. She was ready to wake, and her body fought off the effects of the drug the best it could. Her red eyes cracked open. Her paw stung and her vision was blurry. Everything ached but that wasn't the worst of it. She gently tested the bonds on her front paws. Her human wrists were much smaller than this, as well as her ankles. She could shift from human and back quickly, and fight him on equal ground. It would hurt, but she wasn't about to face her 'justice'. Taking a deep breath, Kikani shifted, rolled off his shoulder and slipped from the rope. "Bastard..." she muttered, and quickly shifted back to her demon form. An insane looking smile formed as she slowly circled him, and a growl rose in her throat.

Kikani made sure she kept straight, not giving him the chance to shoot at her shoulder or neck. He would have to shoot her in the face if he wanted to down her. She contemplated shifting again. It seemed like the best idea. The demon melted away, leaving a young woman sitting cross legged in its place. Kikani brushed her hair out of her face, but still watched him carefully. "Those arrows could kill me in this body, you know that, right?"