While Sylvia was gathering up her supplies Yrsa was miles away waking up. Someone was breathing on her eye hole and she wanted it to stop. Groaning Yrsa pushed away the muzzle of the beast breathing on her. She was cold, wet, and itchy.

“What happened?” She asked out loud. Her voice sounded muffled. Confused she cleared her throat before speaking again. Still muffled. She tilted her head to the side try to shake what she hoped was water out of her skull. While she tried to coax the water out she began to figure out where she was.

She was lying on a rocky shore of a river. A deep river judging by the calm surface. Another puff of air caused her to look up at the source. Her heart froze when she saw the sunken eye of a kelpie. She waited for it to realize she was still alive to attack.

Instead of dragging her to her death it nudged her skull with its head. Her hand automatically went up to give affection. She feared if she used her claws the skin would tear off more than it already was. Even in a world filled with Beings of all types, kelpies seemed the weirdest to her.

Like, where did they come from? Some speculated they were bred from darkness itself.

Then again, they said about most Nocturnals. Content with the affection it danced away with a little neigh. Hearing the garbled sound through her waterlogged skull sent a shiver down her spine. She tried sitting up to see if it would help any when she was forced onto her back again. Her left leg pulsed in pain. Craning her neck she caught a glimpse of the limb lying innocently on the rocky shore. From what she could tell it wasn’t at an odd angle or anything which was a good sign. She hoped. Lying back down on the gravel she tried shifting into a comfortable position.

The sun was already drying out her clothes making the mud dry uncomfortably. Even this early in the day she was already feeling too hot. She took a deep breath as she tried to inch her way towards the shade. The pain in her leg caused her to yelp. All her energy evaporated she laid back down closing her eyes. Focusing on her breathing, she tried to figure out what she was going to do next.

Yrsa had been lying in that exact position for hours. During that time the kelpie tottered around the shore aimlessly. Using her arm she covered her eyes to the best of her ability. The last thing she heard was the kelpie entering the water. During that silence, she drifted off into a deep sleep. She awoke to the sound of hooves on gravel. Writing it off as the kelpie returning she didn’t bother to open her eyes.

When she heard the hooves picking up speed she didn’t have any chance to react before the blow. Her skull had to be cracked now. There was no way it couldn’t be.

Blinded by pain all she could do was half hear what was going on around her. In her ear, all she could hear was her own heartbeat. Trying to calm herself she began to hear her breathing, trying to match her heart rate.

She laid there panting and bleeding from the head. Her panting escalated to hyperventilating as her heart tried to vibrate out of her chest. Then she felt nothing.

She was still alive that's for sure. It just felt like she was underwater again. Vaguely aware of her surroundings yet unable to do anything. Her limbs tingled slightly as she turned her head to the noise nearby. Opening her good eye she saw the Satyr from earlier fighting with the kelpie. It charged at him forcing him back. Dodging the kelpie’s broken horn and wild kicks the satyr began backing away towards Yrsa. Too focused on the kelpie the satyr failed to notice he was almost tripping over the wendigo.

Then dark thoughts began to pollute her mind. Thoughts about the feel of the kill. The thrill of warm blood on her tongue. She was going to die unless she got something to eat. She was starving.

‘Dying.’

‘Need Food.’

‘Eat meat!’

‘NOW!’

Her claws lashed out. She gripped the leg before her holding it steady as she positioned herself to-

There was screaming. Much to Yrsa’s dismay, her meal was getting away. She only got one measly bite too. She tried going after him but her leg was still broken.

‘Needs more meat.’

Using her claws she dragged her body after him as he limped away. She got a few inches when she felt something soft under her claws. Instinctively she looked down to see what it was. It was a red backpack with a stuffed rabbit inside. It was also caked with muck from the river. Not that any of that mattered. She was still starving while her dinner was getting away.

Unfortunately, she didn’t get too far before she blacked out completely.

Thip Thip Thip Thip

Yrsa squinted against the constant noise disrupting her sleep. From what she could tell there was a box fan to her left with misaligned blades. As nice as the breeze was the noise was a deal-breaker. Reaching up she tried to blindly turn it off only to be stopped. Her eyes flew open in a panic. She cried out at the brightness that assaulted her eyes.

“Easy now. Don't want to hurt yourself now do we.” A soft voice coaxed. There was a click of the light switch being flipped and the room became darker. ‘There. Better?”

“What’d you do to me?”

“Standard protocol for those affected by Primal Hunger. Nothing personal. Just a few more tests and you’ll be out of here in no time.” The voice reassured.

“Can you at least turn off the fan?”

“Sure. Your Healer should be in shortly. For now, on a scale from one to ten how is your pain level?”

“I feel like my skull has been split into two,” Yrsa answered trying to open her eyes. She wasn’t being dramatic, her right side pulsed with pain from her horn to her cheek.

“Not quite.” The voice commented before Yrsa heard the sound of a sliding door.

“What in Bee-boan’s name does that mean?” Yrsa asked to the empty room.

There were no windows. Her view was limited to whatever she could immediately see out of her left eye. Considering all she could see was the bed sheet it did her no good. Her arms and legs were strapped to her side. This might’ve been a place of healing but at the moment she felt like a prisoner.

She tried to remember what happened but it came as if trying to recall a dream. Did a kelpie come by demanding affection? Did she try to eat a satyr’s leg?

If she was in her right mind she would be more worried about going Primal. A state several Nocturnals could suffer from Primal Hunger.

It was one of the reasons they were feared to this day. Like the lycans who refuse the collar to bath in the feverish blood lust brought on by the full moon. If vampires or wendigo do not feed regularly they could cause themselves to become unrecognizable. When a Being went Primal it often ended in tragedy. Some areas still recognized the death penalty for those who kill a fellow Being in this state.

Two days felt like a dream to her as she lay there in and out of consciousness. During her lucid time, her healer explained the full extent of what happened to her from his perspective. They patched up her skull enough to move her onto her back. Thankfully sight returned to her eye once the swelling went down.

Her injury was from a sharp blow to the head. Judging by the blood from the scene it was from the satyr they also brought in. According to the satyr she had attacked him first and her injury was a result of him defending himself. When Yrsa protested the healer held up a hand.

“It is not my place to pass judgment here. We have contacted the authorities about the manner. While you were sedated they sent someone out to take pictures of your injuries.”

"What’d you tell them?” Yrsa asked trying not to slur her speech.

“The facts. Now we’re going to get you something to eat.” The healer made a note on his clipboard before leaving again.

She was going to jail. There was no skirting around the issue. She bit a fellow Being. If it was in defense it would be one thing. The fact that she was free from the Hunger for two days now and still strapped to the bed told her all she needed to know. They didn’t trust her. She was a threat in their eyes. Might as well enjoy the small comfort she was getting now because it would be her last.

She dozed off in a sort of half-sleep where you hear things were happening around you but didn’t care enough to react. A plastic tray being sat down, furious hands making quick work of the straps holding her arms down. Her hearing had returned enough for her to realize the Being unbuckling her was holding their breath as if fearing she’d snap awake if they breathed on her. Just beyond that shuffling, she hears rubber wheels on the floor settle on the side furthest from the door. When the sound of the door being shut she counted to twenty before she felt safe enough to move.

Rotating her arms she then rubbed furiously at the spots where the leather straps were. She was careful not to dislodge her picc line.

“They brought you food you know.” A calm voice spoke from the far corner. Yrsa jumped a little as she looked where the voice was coming from. Sitting in the corner of the room in a wheelchair was a stern-looking mermaid.

“What do you want?” Yrsa snapped.

“I just want to talk.” Was all she said unfazed by the harsh tone.”You’ve had a rough few weeks.”

“Go away.”

The mermaid seemed unphased by Yrsa’s reaction. She smoothed out her blanket draped over her fins.

“I understand. You’re afraid. You lost control and now your life might be over.” The mermaid said folding her hands neatly in her lap. She seemed more like a princess attending to her vassal than a creeper sitting in a dark corner.

“I said get out.” Yrsa sat up sending a sharp pain through her head. She covered her eyes holding it would help. Taking several deep breaths she collected herself the best she could.

“You remind me of a hammerhead shark.”

“What?” Yrsa asked looking up from her claws.

In response, the mermaid unlocked the wheels to her chairs. She wheeled over to the overbed table to push closer to Yrsa. It was a large piece of uncooked chuck roast placed on a plastic plate. The staff did not feel it necessary to leave cutlery for her. Yrsa pulled it closer still eyeing the mermaid.

“Sure you both look menacing. You both eat meat and have been known to attack Beings. But those are the exceptions, not the rule.” The mermaid leaned forward making sure she had eye contact with Yrsa.

“And?”

“Hammerheads are protected and cared for on my islands. I can do the same for you.”

Yrsa wished she had eyebrows to fully express her disbelief of the craziness she was hearing.

“Think about it. Can a wendigo with a broken leg and a cracked skull take on an able-bodied satyr in that state? Besides, his injuries were caused by teeth, not claws.” She paused allowing the story she was spinning to sink in. “There was also a mention of a kelpie in the report. They on the other fin have been known to attack Beings. Who's to say the bite wasn’t from it.”

“Why are you doing this?” Was all Yrsa could say.

“I run the world's largest nature perserve in the world. I am always on the lookout for skilled individuals. Sylvia told me how you tamed a jackalope to act like a dog. There was a kelpie guarding you when you were found.”

“That doesn’t mean anything.”

“We’re all connected to nature in one way or another. But that's a discussion for later. For now,” She shifted back into her seat. “All you need to do is follow my lead and we'll both get out of this with what we want." She then quirked a small smile before extending her hand. "Hello. My name is Konani Kalakiki. I am the head administrator of Atlantis Nature Preserve. Nice to meet you-"

"Yrsa Windstrider." They shook briefly before Konani spoke again.

"So tell me, in your own words, what happened yesterday.”