Nathalia: Fledgling 1

"Breathe deep.  As you exhale, you release yourself into the comfort of the smell of burning leaves.  You can hear the fire crackle.  That comforting warmth blended with the kiss of a cool autumn's breeze.   The smell releasing a world of color in your mind as you imagine the leaves of the autumn tree.  Breathe in once more, and you see the pumpkins carved and lit.  Another breath takes you to a smooth bite of pumpkin pie.  Each time your nostrils absorb the scent further transports you through the season until you reach home."
I allow the words to fool me, transport me, and take me away with them.  Opening my eyes, returns me into the sad reality reflected in the grey walls of my tomb.  I share truths about my week while silently denying the dark thoughts.  How sometimes I think about driving my car into the lake.  How sometimes I wonder how the blade would feel on my skin. Those thoughts I quietly tuck away from the sight of anyone.  I wouldn't really do those things.  I have no desire to do those things.  But I can't help to imagine what it would be like.  What would it be like to fall from the top balcony. With a flick of his spine-like tail, my cheek radiates with stinging pain.  "The sooner you admit whatever it is you hide and become more honest with me, the sooner we can end this nonsense."
I've spent months in his care.  He's been incredibly patient with me as I have stumbled through my new life.  He's taught me to reach my mind to animals, helped me to find my animal type for summoning, to see the auras and what the mean, to read the history of an object by it's touch, and even to speak and comprehend the English language.  With a deep sigh, I listen myself saying aloud the dark curiosities of my mind.  He just sits back, listening with a devilish grin spread across his face.  It feels difficult to place myself with the words escaping my mouth.   Andrei extends out his taloned hand, chuckling as he toys with the cross necklace that was given to me upon meeting the rest of the pack.
"If you're that curious about the various pains of life, I would be happy to meet those needs me princess," he hissed before plunging his talons into my scalp.
The sound that escapes me is a blend of pain and pleasure.  The sensation is so fresh and amazingly new, leaving me almost as quickly as it came.  Andrei smiles warmly at me as his arm extends to the wall on our right.  Plucking the mirror, he pulls it towards him and I can see what he's done.  My skull now forms points and curves, like a crown encircling my head.
"Now you can begin practice of manipulating the flesh and bones," the curl of his grin almost looks to spin more than once as he smiles. "The flesh and bones of yourself and of others my fledgling child."

Nathalia: Embrace 2

As the day turns to night, the sounds of war continue but with a longer break between explosions. I step out from the tent and immediately light up my cigarette. I take a drag looking into the night sky to see the stars but the smoke of war has clouded the night sky. I slowly walk away from the medical tent towards the outskirts of the camp. I try to keep fairly hidden as I look out towards the battlefield looking for the creature of habit. I could almost think that it shows every four nights to feed but I watch every night, just in case.
I saw it last night; the head crowned like a horned lizard, plates like a stegosaurus running down its back, and an armored tail whipping across the battlefield. It matches to nothing I have ever read or heard about before. I stare out from my quiet perch in observance of the war zone before me, I can see the pattern of the few soldiers left to patrol scattered across the field. A soft explosion echoes across the sky as I watch the clouds flicker with light.
"привет мой маленький кролик," a voice above me whispers, startling me that I drop my cigarette to the ground.
"я могу вам помочь?" I ask casually as I reach for my pistol without turning around.
"Вы наблюдали за мной, и я наблюдал за тобой.," the gruff voice whispers into my hair as I feel nails raking against the skin of my cheek. "Вы совершенно иная, чем ваши товарищи на поле боя.."
"Вы совершенно иная, чем все, что я когда-либо слышал." I pant back to the voice as I pull back the hammer.
"Вы не принадлежите здесь с этим скотом. Вы вырезанные из тонкой ткани," the gruff voice whispers as I let talons drag the pistol from my hand.
 "Что вы предлагаете?" I ask as I turn to absorb the full view of my conversation partner.
I can see that he is searching for some reaction of shock or fear. I give neither, I have been watching him for too long to suddenly be surprised by his looks now. His eyes clearly can see me, inside of me, who I am and not just what I show. He could break me in half right here where we stand, he could rip the flesh from my body. I smile into his elongated face as I know, I will survive as I always manage to do.

Nathalia: Embrace 1

"следить Наталья!" Dr. Kukrachyov calls from the medical tent.
I stop for a moment just as Gewehr round blast dirt from the trench into my face.  I spin from the direction of the bullet and fire my Nagant M1895 at the ублюдок that dares to take me down. I have survived a farmhand childhood, I have outlived the Romanov family, and I will be damned if I don't make it out of this war. He falls at my shot as I continue towards my fallen comrade who was not as lucky as I.
I apply pressure to the wound while trying to stay observant of my surroundings.  There's no time to fully mend the wound, not in the middle of the battlefield. I wrap bandaging around the wound to keep the pressure.
"пришел к палатке сейчас или вернуться к борьбе!" I yell to the soldier as I run back to the medical tent.
Back in the tent, Dr. Kukrachyov reprimands me for placing myself in danger to provide aid to our comrade. Called me a glutton for injury, that I know that we are to stay in the tent as they bring the wounded to us. As he shouts all of this at me, I can't help but to think what a hypocrite he is as the sound of war and the blasts of explosions shake through our tent. The fabric walls surrounding us won't do much to protect us as if we were running around out there ourselves.
If he had bothered to run out with me and watch my back I could have easily removed the bullet, stitched the wound, and had our comrade back to fighting quicker than he would have any day. If I had more arms, I could have defended myself and taken care of our comrade. I don't say anything though. I let him finish raging to ease his incompetencies in my silence.