Kiela woke up to screaming and a rush of movement around her tent. She swung to her feet and exited, the early morning sunlight burning her eyes. "What's going on?" she asked, but no one could hear her. Various shifters in both animal and human forms were gathered in a circle. Kiela pushed her way to the front and stopped short. There, sitting in the ground was a petite brown haired shifter, who lay, sobbing.

"Out of my way!" Ramsea commanded, leading a group of elders. She knelt next to the brunette and spoke.

"Leya! what's wrong?"

"Where is she?" The girl wailed.

"Leya, please calm yourself." Ramsea ordered sternly. "Tell me what happened."

"She said she had to get something, but it was taking her a long time. I went in to check on her. The back of the tent had a hole cut into it and her blood was all over the ground. I looked everywhere but I couldn't find her..." Her voice was cut off as she sobbed.

"Who was it?" Ramsea asked gently.

"Adrianne." She cried.

Immediately, Ramsea stood up. "Everyone! Split into three groups. Ellil, your group will search the camp. Heru. Take the birds and search the lake And Adrastos, take the woods. We cannot let the killer escape.

They quickly split up. Kiela and Tori were with Adrastos while Lono was with Ellil. They hadn't seen Connix.

"Meha! Over here! Tori called out. A small brown coyote turned around and raced towards them. Her eyes burned with a fevered light. "Adrianne was her best friend." Tori whispered to Kiela."

"Okay everyone!" That was Ellil speaking now. "We will split into smaller groups of three and search the forest. If you find anyone you have been ordered to capture them, and if that is not possible, to kill them on sight. Report back to me in half an hour." Everyone took off into the woods.

"Kiela? Do you smell anything?" Tori asked.

"Nothing." Kiela responded. "Let's head in that direction." She gestured with her muzzle.

"If we find anyone I will tear them apart." Meha vowed.

They searched the entire afternoon but found nothing. Weary and footsore, they gathered with the rest of the shifters in the middle of the camp. "Adrianne has not been found." Ramsea announced. Tori pushed against Meha, trying to comfort her. Meha's ears were laid back against her head in sorrow. "We have examined her blood and we have decided that no shifter could loose that much and live. Adrianne is gone."

Meha threw back her head and howled. She broke off the sound and collapsed, sobbing, on the ground. Leya made her way towards her.

"We will hold Adrianne's funeral in three day's time." Ramsea said and then turned and strode towards her tent, letting the flaps slide closed behind her.

"What's going to happen?" Someone shouted.

"None of us are safe!" Another shifter screamed.

"Calm down everyone!" Adrastos yelled. "From now on we are going to have a watch every night to patrol the area. I strongly recommend staying with at least one other person at all times for increased safety. We will do our best to make sure that everyone is safe while we find this killer."

-

Kiela emerged from the concealment of the forest, Lono flapping overhead. Ever since the murder of Adrianne, no one had left the camp alone. Lono and Kiela had stuck together, sometime joining Tori and Meha on their hunting trips.

Kiela bounded up the slope that led to the camp. Once at the top, she slowed down. Lono dove out if the sky and shifted. He began walking beside her as they weaves their way around the teepees. "Let's go to that fire over there." He gestured. "Sky's over there and I feel like some fish." Sky, a kingfisher, was one of the older shifters. At about thirty, she supplied the village with most of the seafood that they ate.

As they approached, Kiela caught the tell tale scent of fish and she wrinkled her nose in distaste. "I don't understand how you can deal with that disgusting thing. Fish has got to be the worst thing I've ever tasted."

"Hey! Kiela! Lono! Wait up!" They stopped and turned around to see a red fox running lightly towards them.

"Hi Connix!" Kiela barked.

"How are the rabbits running?" Lono asked, and soon they were engaged in a lengthy discussion about the availability of small prey in fall.

Kiela looked around, getting antsy. From the corner of her eye, she saw a black, whispy shape. She tried to look at it head on, but found that her eyes slid right over it. It appeared to be a large coyote, almost as large as Kiela herself, but with a twisted paw. Kiela uncovered her fangs and snarled savagely at it. Instead of fleeing, Kiela was surprised when it snarled back at her. Its fangs gleamed cruelly white in the moonlight just as Kiela's gleamed. Still snarling, the creature turned and headed back the way it had come.

"What's that?" Kiela asked, interrupting Lono and Connix's conversation. She pointed to another of the shapes, a tall, raven haired woman. Like the coyote, she was formed entirely out of swirls of black mist. Her hair floated around her face as if in water.

"That? That's a member of the blood watch. Things must be serious if they've brought them in." Lono replied, studying the figure. It glided away silently.

"What's the blood watch?" Kiela asked, confused.

This time, Connix replied. "The watch is a group of shifters from all of the villages. Normally, they live in the black woods, but on occasion they are called to help protect us."

"They're shifters?" Kiela asked.

"Well, not exactly." Lono answered. "The members of the watch were born from shifter parents. They were either born wrong, or were unable to shift." Kiela nodded, remembering the twisted foot of the coyote member. "They are afraid if nothing, and totally ruthless." Lono went on. "you've seen how they're made out of mist? They can wrap you in it and pull you in. Once they have you, you disappear. Your life force merges with theirs and you're gone."

"Has that ever happened?"

"Yes, but never in our village. The village to the south has many tales of shifters being consumed."

~

Kiela changed into a soft tanned leather dress. She met Lono outside for the funeral of Adrianne. They met with the rest of the shifters in the center of the camp. Since Adrianne's body had never been found, the carvers had made a wood image of a sleeping wolverine to go in her place, as well as the stone one that would rest over her grave. Adrianne's wolverine lay curled on a woven mat that lay suspended from four trees. Underneath the mat was a scrap of cloth from her tent and the first painted femur that she had had hanging in her teepee. The shifters gathered in a circle around the mat. Meha stepped forwards as the closest person to Adrianne. She was silently crying as she lit a fire and ceremonially burned Adrianne's teepee. One by one, each of the shifters came up and whispered their goodbyes to Adrianne.

Four shifters came and took the edges of the mat and carried it towards the west side of camp, the place where no shifter, save the mourners ever went. The dying sun illuminated the endless miles of sleeping stone animals, representations of the shifters that had left their friends on earth.

Meha followed the four shifters for a while and then stood. She cried her grief to the sky as she watched the silhouettes depart.

Away, away, you have gone away.

Wherever I search you can not be found.

Soon I will join you, together we will be

Away, away, you have gone away.

And will never return back to me.

Lonesome, her voice faded out. Tori's voice rose to meet it, singing the part of Adrianne.

Please, do not weep, I feel no pain.

No hunger, no blow can hurt me now.

Don't cry for me, let it be brief.

Feel me near you, breathe with you, run with you.

Know my love will always touch you.

This is never goodbye, I am with you.