Lost in the Storm [Rikki]

[Caitlyn Moore]

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The forests were unusually quiet as Caitlyn walked amongst the bordering trees. It was early morning, but all of the usual songbirds were mute. It seemed that even the squirrels were hidden and the customary sound of their scampering was silenced. The forests today were eerily tranquil.

Caitlyn knew that animals could often sense changes in the weather and it seemed now they were all predicting something big. The whole forest seemed to be preparing for something. Caitlyn looked up at the sky worriedly. It was an overcast day and it looked like rain was imminent. Caitlyn could handle rain. Besides, she had just walked all the way to the forest for her daily hike and she didn’t want to let a little wet weather send her running back indoors. If it rained, so be it. She could always head back if it started thundering.

She started her trek through the forest, taking the usual, well-worn walking trail. Usually she’d go off track and find her own way in the forest, but she didn’t want to take any chances today. The stillness of the place made her feel wary and unsettled. If it did start storming, being lost in the forest would not be good for her chances of escaping the storm unharmed.

She was about a quarter way through the hike, just beginning to forget about the worries of a storm when the rain started. At first it was just a normal shower and Caitlyn easily disregarded it. By the time she was halfway through the hike, the rain was coming down in sheets and the wind was starting to pick up. The forest canopy swayed in the wind, the sound of thousands of rustling leaves almost deafening when combined with the rain. Even someone as stubborn as Caitlyn knew that the best course of action would be to give up on the hike and start heading inside.

She turned around and started heading back towards the campus, eyes squinted against the wind lashed rains. The storm was roaring in her ears as she struggled onwards against the now frenzied winds. The sounds of the storm were so loud, that she didn’t hear the tell tale groan of a falling tree. She caught the dark movement out of the corner of her eye and her gaze snapped up just in time to see the massive trunk falling towards her. With a gasp, Caitlyn leapt out of the way, landing just as the tree fell where she had been just a few moments earlier. With a jolt of pain, Caitlyn looked down and realized that she hadn’t landed as she had hoped to. Her left ankle was twisted at a grotesque angle and waves of pain emanated from the bones.

Caitlyn knew she was in definite danger now. She was alone in the middle of the forest with a twisted ankle and a storm brewing in the skies. She wondered if she could shift into her bear form and make it back like that. She shook her head. She hadn’t yet mastered the basics of shifting and it was very likely that in such a chaotic environment as this, she’d lose control. Without restraint, her bear form would most likely just run deeper into the forest. She grimaced in pain as she moved her leg. That meant she’d have to walk back there in human form. She slowly got to her feet, leaning heavily on her uninjured leg as she stood. Pain wracked her body as she began limping back towards the campus. She could only hope she’d outrun the storm.

[Rikki Cross]

Rikki ran to her room once the storm had started, she left the door open a crack and stripped down to shift. There were still people down there, outside, they needed to be brought in and the rains and winds were so intense only her sense of hearing and smell would keep her from getting lost. Rikki’s bones began to crack as her beast swam to the surface, he muscles and tendons unlatching from her bones, reshaping and resizing to fit into a Spotted Hyena body. Her face elongated and she cackled in pain as her teeth swelled in her undersized gums.

Finally she fell forward in four legs and she was finished. She crouched and pushed off hard blasting through the door and down the hallway of the girls dorms. She probably left claw marks in the floor but that was nowhere near as important if she saved someone from being crushed by the storm surge or falling tree. Rikki hustled down the stairs and finally out the door and into the storm, she immediately started scenting the air, she went to the gym and followed the tracks of the girl who was going towards the woods earlier. She followed the scent train and finally heard footsteps through the crashing thunder and down pouring rain hitting leaves of the canopy.

Rikki came upon a girl; at least she smelled like a girl she looked much more male. Rikki heard the tell tale groan of a tree about to snap and it was close to the girl. Rikki charged through the rain, and finally crashed into the girl who was limping. Rikki pushed her back just as the tree came crashing down right where they were just seconds ago. Rikki latched onto the girl’s shirt and dragged her to the side as yet another tree came crashing down. This had to be Rikki’s lucky day saving the girl from two downed trees. Rikki helped the girl up by pushing her with her muscular head and upper body. Once Rikki had the girl standing she would help her out of the forest and backtrack her own scent, like natural musky breadcrumbs. Rikki was sure she didn’t smell too good being soaking wet she probably smelled like a wet dog times 100 but at least she was here to help.

Would help the girl hobble towards the school compound, following her own scent trail to the girl’s dorm; Rikki could now see, the girl had pulled her ankle and would need to lean on Rikki to walk. Rikki didn’t have a problem with this, hopefully they could make it to safety in time to not be struck by lightning to crushed by a tree or drown in the imminent storm surge. The water would rise considerably and if they didn’t get to high ground they would probably drown in the thrashing waves.

[Caitlyn Moore]

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Caitlyn yelped in surprise as she felt something knock into her and push her off her feet. A tremendous boom seemed to shake the ground as a tree crashed down onto the space that Caitlyn had occupied only a few moments prior. She looked around to see who had saved her and found herself staring into the canine face of a hyena shifter. Before Caitlyn could even react, the shifter suddenly pulled her away by the shirt as another tree came tumbling down.

Caitlyn was breathing hard as the shifter, still in hyena form, helped her to her feet. Adrenaline flooded her veins as she got unsteadily to her feet. The sound of the storm was deafening. She leaned on the canine shifter for support as she limped back in the direction of the campus. "Th-thanks." Caitlyn stammered, "I owe you." The words sounded oddly out of place in the middle of a disaster, but Caitlyn couldn't think of anything else to say. As they approached the edge of the forest, Caitlyn could now see the full force of the storm in effect. The thick canopy of trees in the forest had provided some shelter from the wind and rain, but out here where the trees were scarcer, it was much easier to see and feel exactly how powerful the storm was. The rain was hammering at them, propelled by the hurtling winds.

The water was rising rapidly as they exited the forest. Caitlyn's feet were already submerged above her ankles. The water turned the earth beneath them into mud, making each step a struggle. The mud felt like it was trying to pull Caitlyn's feet down and it didn't help that her ankle felt like a very painful deadweight. It was slow going, but Caitlyn knew they had to make it to higher ground. If they didn't, the water would continue to rise around them until it gathered enough force to sweep them away.

They trudged on until the campus finally came into view. By that time, the water was almost up to Caitlyn's knees. Caitlyn couldn't believe how fast the water had risen. This was no ordinary storm. Caitlyn squinted against the wind and rain, trying to make out the shapes. She could make out the form of the girl's dorms ahead. Caitlyn struggled forward against the rising waters, still leaning on the hyena shifter for support. They were almost there. If they made it indoors, they'd be safe.

[Rikki Cross]

Rikki was Giddy with relief when she finally saw the Girls Dorm through the wind and rain. The water was lapping at Rikki’s belly as the trudged through the water Puling the girl from the occasional mud hole. Rikki’s feet finally hit concrete and the girl would have to get the door open, she would have to talk to someone about making doors shifted accessible. Especially sense she didn’t have thumbs in her shift. Rikki waited for the door to be opened then they trudged up the stairs, Rikki having to half pull the girl up the stairs when they were out of the water and to Rikki’s Dorm, Rikki nosed the cracked door open and pulled the girl towards Rikki’s bed. Rikki pushed the girl over and onto the bed.

Rikki trotted off into the bathroom and leapt into the bath tub and shook herself vigorously, mud and stinky, Spotted Hyena scented water all over the bathroom. Hopefully the smell would come out by the time she got an actual roommate, but at the moment it didn’t matter. Rikki hoped out of the tub and started shifting back. Rikki felt her bones relocate and her muscles go back to a human form. Rikki groped for a Robe to cover herself in. The robe was black cotton with a skull over the pocket. The tied the sash and trudged, exhausted from the bathroom tossing a towel she grabbed towards her dorm guest. “Dry yourself off please your getting my bed wet.” Not the most hospitable thing to say but Rikki was darn near exhausted.

She looked at the pitiful girl lying on her bed and tried again. “I’m Rikki Cross, you obviously know my shift and I’m a Law Enforcement Major, and just so you understand we are both very lucky to be alive.” Rikki plopped down in the desk chair her father had shipped her to replace the uncomfortable chair that came with the room and looked out the window. It looked like everyone was inside, though she couldn’t see far outside. She could see flooding, the storm surge acted just as she had predicted the bottom floor of the Dorms and most of the other buildings would be flooded, the sod would need replacing, and the fallen trees would need to be cleared. She had seen similar but not exactly the same damage from tornadoes back home. Rikki turned back to her guest. “Sorry to be so blunt but I was raised like that. Anyway I hate to ask the standard questions but what is your name, your shift and your Major, Just to get that out of the way.”

[Caitlyn Moore]

Caitlyn had never been so grateful to have solid concrete under her feet again. They both picked up speed as they approached the girl's dorm. Caitlyn opened the door just enough to let both of them in before quickly shutting it tight against the accumulating water. She could still hear the rain pounding against the roof like some beast trying to gain entry, but it was still a relief to be indoors. Getting up the stairs was a challenge, as her ankle had gone completely numb and was useless in movement, but she managed to get up with the help of the hyena shifter.

They finally reached the girl's dorm where Caitlyn pretty much collapsed onto the nearest bed as if she'd just survived the end of the world. She sat up and carefully lifted her ankle for inspection. The entire area was swollen and red. She'd have to get that looked at once this thing finally ended. She frowned as she wondered how many others had gotten hurt in the storm. A darker possibility crossed her mind, causing her to wonder if anybody died in the storm. She could only hope nobody else had been in the forest when the storm hit, or worse, the coast. A towel suddenly landed in her lap, along with a request from her hostess to dry herself off. Caitlyn complied, towelling herself off as best she could as she listened to the hyena shifter introduce herself as Rikki Cross.

"I'm Caitlyn Moore." Caitlyn said, "I'm a grizzly bear shifter, but I only joined the academy in the middle of last year, so I'm still working on controlling my abilities." She spared her a small smile, "I'm also a Law Enforcement major." Her smile wavered as she turned to stare out the window. It was chaos below. Churning brown waters swirled beneath them, occasionally carrying clumps of driftwood and debris. Caitlyn knew she had severely underestimated the power and speed of the storm when she had decided to keep walking in the forest. It was her first time experiencing an island storm and she was much more used to inland weather patterns. She silently promised herself not to make such a foolish mistake again. "Thanks for saving my life out there." Caitlyn said, "I'd probably be dead by now if you hadn't showed up."

[Rikki Cross]

Rikki looked back at the girl. “Grizzly bear, you don’t have enough control to shift and retain human thoughts or you could have made it on your own.” Rikki turned her whole body in the chair to look at the girl; it was only polite to give the girl her full attention. “Don’t worry about me saving your life you can pay me back by searching for the wounded, helping the injured, moving the rubble. We have one big mess on our hands and it will take everyone to clean it up. We are both very lucky to be alive.” Rikki looked back outside quickly “Very lucky indeed. Speaking of luck you must have some awful bad luck to be out wandering in the woods when a freaking hurricane hits the island. What were you doing out there?”

Rikki looked around and found her brush and started brushing out her hair, it was completely tangled and she plucked quite a few sticks and leaves from the dirty blonde locks. She was definitely taking a shower later; that was if the water still worked when the storm was over. Rikki continued to brush the tangles out of her hair, a most painful process but it needed to be done. Rikki looked at the soaking wet Caitlyn “If you want I can offer you some dry cloths.”

Most of Rikki’s pajamas were patterned with guns and skulls and the like, not one article of pink clothing to be found in Rikki’s wardrobe. Rikki went over and picked up the cloths she had shed earlier and tossed them in a basked for dirty clothes in the corner. She would wash the later if the wash room wasn’t destroyed. Next she went over to her dressed and pulled out her Army gear, she would be helping with the rebuilding effort she would need some more durable clothing. Night pattern camouflage pants, tank top and jacket with an army shoulder back for supplies, and of course her dads black ops hat.

Rikki laid her cloths out on the bed next to where Caitlyn was sitting and grabbed some pajamas for Caitlyn and put them in her arms. Then went and grabbed a black sports bra and underwear and headed for the bathroom. After she had set herself up she returned from the bathroom “I hope you don’t mind I need to get ready to help after the storm is over,” Rikki looked outside, they eye of the storm had already passed and it looked like things were winding down. “This is my first Hurricane, and boy is it messy.” Rikki grabbed the pants and pulled them on under the robe, not being completely comfortable being semi nude in front of another person even if they were the same gender. Once her Pants were on Rikki untied the robe and pulled the tank top on. After she had all her cothes on she finished tying her Combat Boots she was ready to go.