Sharp winds lashed across the barren, rocky surface of a mountains peak, whipping white gravel from the ground and flinging it down to the cliffs below. A howl echoed across the screeching wind, crying out in pain against the unforgiving storm above. Moments went by, during which one howl was answered by many, and then many more. Soon the mountain side was alive with the cries and howls of the beasts hidden within its snowy embrace! The echoes traveled down from the peak, and reached the forest floor, where yet more howls called back all carried effortlessly on the wind. A beautiful symphony of animal calls danced in the icy winds, all calling, searching, for one in need!

A sharp howl cried out alone, then fell into a sputtered gasp. A gasp that spoke of fierce lacerations, and the choking of blood. The gasp echoed like a howl, but somehow ever louder. Everything heard, because it was an unnatural sound. An unnatural sound that stirred many beasts. If one of their own was suffering, then they would all answer the cries for aid. The wounded would be found, and the assailant would be punished. The severity of which determined only by the disposition of whomever found it first. The packs scattered. Throughout the woods calls echoed from one beast to another. White and grey silhouettes flashed across the underbrush, with movement so fast only their shapes could be discerned. Everyone and everything knew to hide, as the pack searched for its lost brother. Yips and growls skittered the forest floor like spiders with so many legs. Everyone wanted to be the one to find their brother, or the one who assailed him. Every bush, tree, log, river and burrow would be searched. If it took days, then that's how long they would search, until the lost were found!

A lone howl broke free from the overload of noise, different from before, this one long and drawn. A signal! Something had been found! Everything stopped as the pack dropped their tasks and converged on the location of their signaler. The sight that greeted each as they descended on the location was met with low growls of anger, and the showing of teeth. Against a tree lay a man, who gave off no Seiðr, battered, bloodied and unconscious. His mind was disturbed, in almost as much pain as his body, which was cold to the touch. Had death already laid claim? Adjacent to that man lay a pack mate whose Seiðr was faint and uneven, for he was choking, pained...and defeated...both fighters would not survive without aid. The scene was easy to read for the beasts of the wood, as the start of the conflict lay mere feet away from the fight, its tiny neck broken where the brother had snapped it upon impact. A clean strike, precise, perfect. The wolf who examined the hare grunted with pride as thoughts of his brothers perfect attack played out across his eyes. Another stepped forward and studied the man. Smelling him, licking his wounds, sensing him through the world. Though his thoughts would not flow evenly, and were too painful to follow, his injuries told the whole story. The many strikes upon his arms, knees and face told of the struggle he'd faced, to overcome their brother. He bled profusely, even more so than he should naturally, likely due to his bodies Seiðr being bluntly suppressed. Was that his doing, or a punishment some other foe had inflicted upon him?

A third wolf examined the pack brother. Breaths were ragged and choking. It took effort for the wolf to breath as blood and air bubbles seeped through each of the beasts lacerations. The wounds were deep, slashes made from a mans weapon. The culprits lie in the snow, separated from each other by some distance, but easily identifiable. One was a tool men used for chopping trees, another a tool for removing foliage, and hunting, yet only the chopping tool was stained...curious. Snarls of wrath echoed around the pack, from both the new arrivals to the first on scene. The snarls wanted blood, wanted vengeance, to rip and tear the unconscious man to pieces, use him as servings for their young.

A rough snarl from the back silenced these demands, echoing above all other sounds of the wood. The whole group fell into silence as the pack Mother strode forth, her body larger than all her children by a significant amount. Her eyes a deep blue, rather than the sharp yellow of her brethren. Those sapphire eyes spread the pack apart with their gaze, and fell upon the sleeping man as she strode to his side. Without moving her head so much as an inch, her eyes darted to the choking pack mate. Still savable, he could recover in time, but the man, with no Seiðr to aid his healing, he was going to die. That he had not already expired was quite a feat, one perhaps worth looking into? The Mother leaned down, and took a long whiff of the mans scent. Just as her children could not follow his memories, so neither could she. His mind was pained, his thoughts disturbed and uneven, like raspy breathing or a stream divided into many paths. Still, she could sense a familiar scent upon him, the scent of one known much time ago. Her head tilted, curiosity gripped her. Perhaps he was useful? Perhaps he was...more?

A quick bark was loosed, and an order issued. There was momentary hesitation from all who heard, but they dare not disobey or question. The dying brother was dragged forth and placed against the man, the bleeding throat of the pack brother was pushed up against the disfigured and lacerated arm of the man, so that their wounds bled onto one another. The Mother stood over them both, pausing, as though giving a momentary thought to what she was about to do. The moment passed as quick as she could blink, and the Mother leaned her head down towards the dying pair, extending her tongue. Grunts of disapproval echoed across the pack as the Mother lapped her tongue across the mans many wounds. Her saliva glowed a thick white as it settled on his body, and began to seep into his bloodstream. After a moment the Mother repeated the process across the pack brothers wounds, however instead of her saliva seeping into the small wolfs body, it pooled atop his many wounds, and seemed to be sucking the blood out. Thick, sickly sucking sounds of an indescribable nature perforated the air around the pack, causing many to twitch their nose in disgust. It was as if they could smell the insult taking place before them. Many pools formed across the rapidly thinning body of the wolf, as its blood was drained at a superb rate. The color in the beasts eyes faded after only a moment passed, and the Mother sensed his Seiðr return to the earth. Once he had passed, the blood stopped pooling, and the many large globs of crimson saliva, began to slosh their way off the dead body, and onto the dying one. It was lucky for the man that he was not conscious for this process, the pain of what he was about to experience would likely scar him for life were he to feel it. As each blob jiggled its way atop the mans body, they scooted and sloshed over to a pore, a wound, or any entrance into his bloodstream they could find. Then the original process repeated itself. The crimson saliva glowed a bright white, and began seeping its way into his body, forcing itself into any entrance it could find. As the goop passed through his wounds, many of the more severe ones began to clot and close behind their invaders.

The process took several minutes, during which many low growls of disapproval continued to float through the pack. But the Mother paid them no heed. She watched until every single drop of goop had made its way inside the mans body. Once there was no trace of it left on his skin, the Mother dipped her head down, just over top of his heart and gave a firm lick across his chest. Her tongue became like sharks skin for a brief moment, partially scraping off some of his skin as she licked him, and leaving him with a very odd looking mark over his chest. Once she retracted her head, the Mother stepped back. The mans body began to glow, shimmering and radiating powerful waves of white light for one brief second. It was a quick as a flash, yet hundreds of times brighter...then it was over. The man lay where he was before, color returned to his skin and his body no longer deathly cold to the touch. The Mother snorted in satisfaction, then turned to her pack, and snarled orders.

Though apprehensive, the pack did as the Mother commanded. The man was hoisted onto the back of the strongest brother present, while others gathered up the fresh kill and the mans discarded weapons, leaving the shriveled corpse of their deceased comrade in the snow as food for the other beasts. The mans feet dragged in the snow as the one brother struggled to hold him steady upon his shoulders. The Mother snarled, an inquiry and an order in one. The brothers head lowered, as if ashamed. As she commanded, he obeyed.

Their was a momentary spasm that traveled throughout his body, a visible and violent shiver that perforated the air around him with physical waves of energy being taken in from the area and pushed throughout his body. Smaller trees bent their trunks towards the earth, and the surrounding snow swirled his body like a miniature tornado. Snarls of pain loosed from his maw as sounds of stretching muscles and snapping bones echoed through the ranks of the pack! The wolf howled in pain as his body rapidly enlarged, more than tripling in size, then his fur and muscles reformed to match his new appearance. The wolf now almost equaled the Mother in size, but only just barely came up short. The thick energy waves dissipated, the trees stood back upright, and the wolf, now having sufficient strength and size to carry the man with ease, began to walk. The pack followed behind, watching to ensure the mans limbs did not touch earth as they drooped lazily over the brothers shoulders and backside. The Mother took up the rear, chuckling to herself with enjoyment. Surely this would be an interesting day once home was reached.

Itchy. The first thought that graced Daybreaks mind when consciousness found him again, was that his head was itchy. Like a turban of poison ivy had engulfed his head. He wanted to reach up, to scratch the itch, or remove whatever irritated him, but found his limbs refused to obey. Perhaps if he stood up? His legs refused motion as well, like their was some kind of invisible pressure holding them down that he could not feel. Odd, he could feel that all his limbs were in place, so why did they ignore his commands? And why did his head throb so much? Not in the physical sense like his itch, or a headache, but as though someone had taken his brain and mistaken it for a pair of maracas. Something clawed at the edge of his thoughts, just beyond reach. It felt like he was being poked in the brain.

“Are you the one to become our Hróðvitnir ?”

A voice echoed. His ears detected no sound, yet he definitely heard a voice. A familiar sensation of violation made itself known within him. Instantly Daybreaks body went into self defense mode, and he attempted to form a mental barrier within his mind, but to no avail. Whether due to his exhaustion or the strength of his assailant, no defense could be formed, and the voice boomed in his head once more.

“Awaken, young one.”

The voice, if that was what it could be called, sounded foreign to him. Which was odd considering it was in his mind, so whatever was speaking should make sense to him. But it felt...different as though their was a difference that could not be translated between him and whomever was assailing him. The voice was calm, and feminine, it felt...pleasant when it brushed against his thoughts. Something inside him wanted to let this voice in, to not even attempt resisting what it asked, not that he could anyway.

“You are tired young cub, and your body is new, but you must awaken. Your continued safety requires it.”

The voice was soft, like a cool breeze or slow running water, it was...fresh, new. Their was no forcefulness behind its intrusion. If his mind was a house, this person had simply walked in, rather than kicking down the front door...hell, this voice felt like the kind of person who wiped their feet and took off their shoes before coming in.

Resigning to obedience, Daybreak brought himself into consciousness. As the darkness and fuzz faded from his brain, he allowed his eyes to open slowly. Spots greeted him, then the discomfort of adjusting to light. He blinked several times before he could actually see his surroundings. The first thing he noticed was that he was lying down on his stomach, and that his clothing was gone...yet he felt warm. The second thing he noticed, or rather, that he saw, was a massive wolf sitting on its haunches barely five feet away from him. Panic struck instantly and he attempted to rise...but found once more that his limbs did not even acknowledge his instructions. He tried once more to move, as hard as he could think it, and this time actually felt the presence pushing against him, suppressing his ability to control his limbs! Their was no pain, just the absence of feeling that occurred only when he tried to move. So something was actually stopping him. That was comforting, at least he hadn't randomly lost his motor skills.

Once he gave up on trying to move, he refocused his gaze on the bison sized wolf before him. The first place his gaze went was its eyes. The deep blue in them caused another brief surge of panic to well up, but it quickly faded when he realized it was not the same icy blue as Famine or Jackie. This was deep blue, like a sapphire, or the bottom of the ocean. Those were things he felt as he looked into the beasts eyes. It met his gaze with one of tenderness and...curiosity? The tilt in its head could only communicate so much, but he could swear it was looking at him with intrigue.

“Are you comfortable?”

Daybreaks eyes never left the beasts face, so he knew for a fact that its lips had not spoken those words. Yet the wolf did motion its head as the voice spoke to him. Was it really the source? He wasn't sure how to respond, he'd felt foolish the last time he'd attempted communication with these animals. Yet even then he'd felt that the creatures might understand him. What harm could he cause by trying? Was he comfortable? One could hardly be considered comfortable while laying naked, face down on a table, unable to move from this pile of, what he could only assume was thick leaves. But at least it was soft to the touch.

“I suppose?” His voice croaked. A sting of dryness struck at his throat, he tasted metal on his tongue. How dehydrated had he become since passing out?

The wolfs head continued to tilt side to side as it looked him over. It looked perplexed, had he said something odd?

“Perhaps I was unclear with my meaning. I shall try again. Are you in pain?”

Well that certainly was more specific at least.

“No.” He spoke more certainly.

“Excellent” The voice answered, a hint of positivity in its remark. “I am glad to hear this. Our healing wraps are not generally meant for those of your...unique nature. But it seems they have done their job well. We shall remove them soon!”

Just to test, Daybreak again tried to move his limbs, to push himself upright, but again to no avail. The loss of feeling returned the moment he thought about movement.

“Why can't I move anything but my head?” He spoke in the wolfs direction. At this point he was certain it was the thing speaking to him, so he felt considerably less awkward than before.

The wolf stood up at his question. Not quickly, as though surprised, but in a calm, slow manner, then strode over to him. Its full size became all the more apparent as its body towered over top of his own. The beasts head lowered to meet his gaze at face level.

“Because I do not wish it.”

“And who are you?” Daybreak asked, though with a slight hint of nervous in his words. It was hard not to show how apprehensive this beast made him. Its jaws alone could squash his head like a melon in one chomp...and he'd fancied that he was going to fight one of these things earlier. As if.

The beast chuckled aloud, or what would pass for a chuckle coming from that maw. “I am the one who will decide if you leave this chamber. Do you have more questions? The longer you delay my own inquires, the longer you keep your mate waiting. Two days is already quite a lengthy time to be gone, is it not?”

“Two days!?” The shock he felt almost spurred movement from his limbs as he attempted once again to get up! There was a visible widening of the beasts eyes as it momentarily recoiled back. The surprise passed quickly, and the beast regained her composure.

“Fifty hours in your culture to be exact. Your body was physically exhausted from the procedure I used to save you. You are lucky that me and my scouts found you. It is doubtful you would have survived your wounds without our aid. Especially with your body sealed the way it is. Quite surprising that the seal did not lift itself when you were in mortal danger. Whomever placed it on you must be quite powerful.”

Sealed? This wolf could tell his aura was being suppressed? But why did it think someone else had done this to him?

“No one else did this to me. I suppressed my aura myself.”

Another brief flash of emotion crossed the wolfs gaze. This one even quicker than the last. “You mean to say, that you yourself have placed this restriction upon your body? Then it is ever more curious that it did not lift when you fell unconscious. Death was prickling your fingers with his grip, yet your body did not attempt to heal itself. Why?”

Daybreak briefly opened his mouth, then shut it just as fast. Could he really afford to explain why he was here to this creature he knew nothing about. Sure it had saved him, but so had Jackie...right before she tried to kill Twilight. This thing had already said it would decide if he left or not. That likely meant there was something specific it wanted to know about him. Probably something he didn't feel like sharing too. Perhaps he could direct the conversation elsewhere.

“Look miss wolf, I need to leave. Now. If I've really been out for two days, my uh, 'mate' is probably worried sick.” It was almost surprising she wasn't busting down the entrance to where ever he was already and threating to beat him to death for making her worry.

The wolfs expression did not change. “My name is not 'miss wolf' little cub! You may call me Hati if you must address me. And as I have already stated, you shall not leave until I decide it. If you worry for your mates situation, know that two of my children were sent to her at the end of the first day. They will communicate your condition to her, and provide the kill you earned by defeating one of my children. Until you give me the knowledge I seek, there they will remain. Your mate holds young within her, so my children will provide for her until I see fit whether to release you or not. Should the questions I ask not yield satisfactory answers, our aid will end, and she will be left to fend for herself whilst I decide your fate. So it would behoove you to answer me with haste. Are you ready to begin?

That was alot to take in so quickly. Rainbow would worry about him, certainly, but there was nothing he could do about that right now. If this Hati spoke the truth, then at least she would be guarded and have food. So she was safe. Then there was the wolf herself. Hati. The name sounded familiar...perhaps he had read it, or heard it somewhere before? He felt like he should know the name. Clearly she was no ordinary beast, that much he had ascertained himself. She could communicate with him mentally, and bind his limbs with her will. She must be a being of immense power. But with no real knowledge of her and no magic to aid him, there wasn't much he could do but accept her terms and answer her questions.

Not able to do much more than barely move his head, Daybreak nodded in resignation. “Ask your questions.”

Hati loosed a low growl. Light and slow, baring all of her teeth. Daybreak wouldn't call it comforting, but it wasn't wholly unnerving either.

“Do not think to lie to me either, little cub. Though your memories remain hidden from me, I can easily detect the changes in your thought patterns if you are not wholly truthful. Such acts will not help in your judgement.”

Hati allowed Daybreak a moment to take that in, and possibly reformulate what he might say. It likely caused her a smidge of satisfaction to see the discomfort form on Daybreaks face. She enjoyed it for a moment before continuing on.

“Now then. Tell me. Why have you come to my forest?

His only hope at not revealing everything about who he was and what had happened, was to be as vague as possible with his responses, unless she pressed an issue. Hati loosed a snort, almost in tandem with his thought. It occurred to him then that she might be reading his mind, but if that was the case, then what was the need for spoken dialogue? Thoughts he wished to keep secret swam through his vision as Daybreak attempted to think of the best response to give the wolf.

“We are...hiding, from....something powerful.” Daybreak could only hope that answer sufficed, he truly did not want to go into detail if he could avoid it. Lacing words to be truthful yet vague was suddenly alot harder when his adversary might be literally reading his thoughts as he formed them.

Hati's head tilted, but she did not press the issue. “Hiding. I see. And how did you come to be here? What allowed you to appear in the woods?”

That question seemed a bit weird, but not particularly invasive. Perhaps humans were just rare this far away from Equestrian borders. “We arrived through a portal.”

Hati growled. “No portal can reach this place unless one has already been here. Who crafted you this portal?”

No portal could reach here? Yet it was marked on their map? Where were they?

“A friend.” He answered quickly, but could tell immediately by the grimace he received that was not enough to satisfy.

“Elaborate. Describe this person. Tell me their name.”

Daybreak felt a looming suspicion that he was about to seriously screw over Sunset somehow. In his head, he had surmised already that Sunset had likely encountered these beasts herself and so they likely knew who she was. Yet he also felt like he shouldn't tell her name. It was just a feeling, but he wasn't sure how to act on it. He had to be truthful nonetheless.

“A...A girl... With red and yellow hair...very fair skin...”

He paused, hoping that might be enough, but the wolfs eyes only grew larger at his description. Now he was sure of his suspicion.

“Her name?”

Well, no choice now. “Sunset...Shimmer?” He spoke slowly, hoping that he had not just done something terrible.

Hati just stood there for a moment, staring at his eyes, emitting no sound except for her panting breaths. A moment of silence hung in both the air and his mind as Daybreak wondered what might occur next. The moment passed as the wolfs eyes softened against his gaze, even before she addressed him again, Daybreak could feel her attitude towards him change.

“I see. So she is well then. Well if she sent you here then the threat you face must indeed be a vast one. But perhaps you can be trusted. Tell me, do you know where you are?”

“No” Daybreak answered quickly. At this point that statement was without doubt. So far, every time he thought he'd grasped their whereabouts, something else made him question it again.

Hati, seeming to sense his frustration, loosed a snort through her snout. “Indeed. She was always very secretive that one. Yet she must trust you to send you here. Sadly I cannot accurately describe your location to you in a manner that would make sense to a human. This forest, and this mountain, are neither here nor there. A place between places. No outsider can simply walk in, to enter you must have already been here before, or been invited in. We warned young Sunset of the consequences of sending others here. Yet here you lay. With one of my packmates blood on your hands and your Seiðr sealed...Tis a lucky thing that I smelled her scent upon you, else my children might have torn you apart when we found you.”

More and more questions flooded through Daybreaks mind as the wolf spoke. Each revelation brought only more questions. Too many for him to address all at once. The most pressing of them pushed to the forefront of his mind.

“Are you going to let me go?” He finally asked, unable to help himself.

Hati eyed him. “Ah...well you see that is a complicated question, requiring a complicated answer. If you refer to this room, then yes, you will soon be released. However if you refer to this forest, no, you may never again leave this place.”

Daybreak couldn't deny the brief flood of relief that entered his brain at just knowing he could see Rainbow again. Personally he didn't really care if he ever left these woods as long as Rainbow could stay with him...But he also knew that judgement would not satisfy Rainbow. She didn't want to hide forever, she wanted to fight. So they had to leave.

Daybreak sighed with disappointment, though he was sure his feelings would be misinterpreted. “Why can I not leave the woods. Our shelter here was only meant to be temporary.”

Hati snorted again. “If your friend allowed you to come here believing that, then I would wonder to her true motives. When we released her from this place, we warned her of the consequences. Should she, our any others she might send, ever return here, they would never be permitted to leave. Sunset Shimmer was a very rare circumstance. Humans with knowledge of this place can never be free from here. For in freeing you, we risk you exposing this place and thus freeing my kind, which is far more grave a threat than you understand or could likely comprehend.”

That was not a comforting revelation. Sunset had sent them here knowing they would not be permitted to leave? Had she really had her own motives? It made sense in a conniving sort of way. Sunset tricking them into a plane where they would be safe, guarded and alone with each other forever? Of course she couldn't tell them because Rainbow would disapprove, and Daybreak wouldn't want to deceive her by hiding it. A momentary flicker of happiness crossed Daybreak's face as he felt his respect for Sunset climb to new heights. Was he free, finally?

Hati's snout suddenly appeared before him, her nose brushed against his forehead, creating a cold shiver down his back as she sniffed him. “Are you not saddened? I sense joy in your heart.”

There was no point in lying now. If he was truly stuck here forever, he might as well get comfy with his captor. Not bothering to hide his near bursting excitement behind his words, Daybreak spoke with a smile.

“Honestly...I don't really want to leave. I feel compelled to because my 'mate' will want to eventually get back to her friends and help face the threat outside...but me personally I would be happy just staying here with her forever.”

Hati loosed a growl that sounded akin to a cat purring in delight, or perhaps this was amusement?

“Do you not feel a sense of duty to aid your other companions? You truly only desire freedom because you feel its expected of you?”

Daybreak nodded, feeling a sense of certainty within. Hati loosed a loud bark, shaking the room around him with her booming 'laughter'.

“What an interesting creature you are! I've spent countless millennia here, watching humans arrive and desire freedom. All either fought my kind in an attempt to escape this plane once learning their fate, or attempted to find ways of leaving peacefully. All of them perished here. None ever accepted their confinement. Even Sunset desired to leave, and eventually did. But you are the first human to ever visit this place that actually wishes to remain.”

Sensation returned to his limbs, catching Daybreak so off guard he rolled straight off the leaved bed.

“Come.” Hati's tone radiated joyfulness as she allowed Daybreak to rise. Though grateful he was finally able to move again, a burning sensation flooded his face as he remembered how underdressed he was.

“Umm, where are my clothes?”

Hati turned her back to him and moved towards the only source of incoming light flickers the room held, lightly wagging her enormous tail as she did.

“The cloth and dead skin you wore has been returned to your mate, along with everything else you had with you. You shall not need it any longer. This climate will no longer cause you harm. In time your mate may join you here as well, should you desire it.”

Hati pushed aside a hanging cloth with her snout that had escaped Daybreaks notice, and the room flooded with outside light, revealing that they were inside a cave. Daybreak followed Hati outside, and gasped as his eyes took in what they beheld. They were atop the mountains peak, yet the snow fall was light enough for him to see for miles. Looking slightly down, Daybreak spied a path leading to a large clearing covered in snow, yet blooming with flowers and life, where hundreds of furry bodies wandered about. Hati strode past him, making her way towards the grassy path ahead.

“Come young cub, leave your old world behind and meet your new family.”

Author's Notes:

So I've finally started things up again. Can't promise anything for speed, but know that I am writing again. So at least there will be constant progression. Let me know below if you prefer my longer chapters, or if these occasional short one are ok too. See you soon.