Rieka placed her hands at the sides of the sink, bending over as the droplets of water fell from her chin. She looked from the drain then up towards the mirror in front of her. She let out a hesitant breath before washing her face once more with cold water. Her head was beginning to pound along with an ache in her gums that made the moment more unpleasant. She closed her eyes, feeling weak in her knees. A sudden knock on the door had her straighten up quickly and turn off the faucet.

"Yeah?" She called over her shoulder, though given the music that played throughout the home she figured the person did not hear. They knocked once more and with a roll of her eyes she went and grabbed the door knob. She opens it and sees a girl with brown shoulder-length hair staring at her.

"Hate to break it to you, but there are only two bathrooms in this place and one of them is occupied by teenage sex," The girl spoke, looking Rieka from the head then down, before making eye contact with her again. In her expression, she held what looked like a curious gaze. "While it seems like the other is occupied by a girl with some issues of her own."

"Excuse me?"

The girl only smiled faintly in response and opened the door wider to brush by Rieka and inside. Rieka stepped out and turned herself around to watch the girl close the door. She shakes her head at the moment she shared with the stranger. She then finds herself in the hall of people busying themselves with what was in the red cups they held. She stepped in their direction, hoping to find her way to the main room where the music was coming from but she stopped midway. Her vision blurred for a split moment and she swayed, finding support using the wall.

"No, not now." She murmured, looking down at her hands that were becoming a light shade of red. They were throbbing and her body soon followed with aches in different spots. She pushes herself off the wall, sweat building up on her forehead. Her breathing was getting shorter as the panic made its way in.

She turns herself around to get away from the party scene. The music and voices fading to an echo with the silence forming in the back of her head. The looks she gathered from people that she pushed through were the least of her worries, it was the space that seemed to get smaller and smaller as she walked through hall that concerned her. A hand reached out towards her the moment she passed the entrance to the kitchen, but she flinched away, her heart racing. Her eyes found the door that led out back and she picked up her pace.

She pulled the door open and ran into the cold air. The backyard of the home stretched on for the size of half a football field and she took off running to the woods on the other end. She gritted her teeth, the heat of her body never disappearing but growing. Her legs took on long strides, crossing the border from the open field into the thick brush of trees. Fog clouded above with her nose gathering the smell of the rain that passed by moments ago and the earth that was soaked beneath her feet.

A misstep had her drop to her stomach and she grunted, coughing as if the wind was knocked out of her. She lifted her head slowly to look at her surroundings and there wasn't anything to be seen. She was alone in the darkness of the woods. Her hands went to the ground, pushing herself up to her knees as she reached for her phone. Though as she reached into the pocket of the leather jacket she wore, she felt nothing. She widened her eyes, cursing herself.

"Damnit." She murmured, looking around, her hands reached out around her to feel for her phone. She hoped it could've landed nearby but there was no sight of it.

Just as she slumped over, feeling defeated and the aches worsening, there was movement. She lifted her gaze forward, furrowing her brows together. In her state, she faced exposure as she rested on her knees surrounded by a circle of trees. It was open and what she gathered from around her was the sense she wasn't alone.

As if her mind had been read, she caught a pair of two eyes illuminating. It was watching her as she watched it. She was careful about making her next move. She turned her gaze away for a moment, seeing a thick branch at the trunk of the tree closest to her. Her body slowly leaned towards it, taking hold of the branch to grip and use as a weapon. She knew her efforts would give her some chances to fend for herself, but in all, the battle was close to a loss. Or so she thought. She brought up the branch with her as she stood back to her feet.

In response, the creature growled, then the eyes went from being close to the ground to a height much taller than she was. Her heart stopped for a moment as she had to tilt her head to look up at it.

The clouds that covered the sky above the forest eased their way into disappearing. In which revealed the pale moon that shined down upon them. Through the fading fog and the shadow of the creature that stood tall before her, she could see the outline of the dark fur coating it. The pointed ears on its head and large snout that gave away to the sharp teeth it had. It took a heavy step forward to Rieka and with it being close, it was clear what it was. Her eyes widen and she slowly began to shake with fear. She breathed unsteady, watching as it tilted its head with baring teeth.

It was a painful moment of silence that was shared between them. She then suddenly tosses the stick aside, knowing better then to fight the creature inside her that begged to be let out for its first time. The need to protect herself.

Rieka held her breath, closing her eyes. One minute she was standing before the creature, the next she dropped to her knees screaming. A sharp pain of her spine snapping had her hunched forward. A burning sensation found its way in her throat and flowed through the rest of her body. She felt inflamed with a constant pressure in her chest and back. Her shoulder blades pressed up against her skin, her spine following afterwards to release what felt like nails piercing into her. The ache in her gums became a jab that felt like needles, as she could taste blood. Her tongue felt along her teeth that were sharpened and meant for digging into flesh.

She leaned forward more, gripping the dirt as her newly lengthen hands balled into fists. A sharp pinch came from where her nails grew and dug into her palms. A warm liquid began to pour out from her hands, dripping to stain the green grass to a cherry red. The bones under her skin cracked, shifting into their place as her body itself was forming into something bigger, stronger. She squeezed her eyes shut, a cry that turned into a whimper as her face deformed.

The shape of her face sculpted itself to that of a canine, her ears becoming pointed and moving upwards along her head. Her skin began to tear at the edges around her face and the screams that wanted to come out were silenced. There was dark fur growing all over her body, but under the shine of the moon were hints of an auburn color. The clothes she once wore ripped to pieces before falling to the ground beneath her. She rose to stand on her feet that lengthened in size and she brought her hand towards her face to remove the excess of her skin that tore apart. The height of how she stood resembled that of the wolf that stuck around to watch her transform. Her vision sharper than she could ever imagine in the night, but she could not see the colors that she saw in the day. She took in the new scent of pine and maple that came from the stranger.

Rieka looked towards the wolf that stood tall before her and she growled lowly. She took one step towards it. The wolf stared at her before getting back on all fours, keeping low to the ground and bowing its head in acknowledgment. She kept her eyes on the wolf then she lets out a howl towards the sky that ripped into the night around them.