The Wilds

Chapter 1

Echo wandered through the tree's for the third day in a row. Her mouth was more parched and dryer than the Sahara Desert, and her legs ached from the constant walking. She wasn't from this part of the forest, and she didn't know the trails, in order to find water or safe resting places. She found herself doubting her wood-nymph abilities as of late, and even more so now. Sure, she was only half nymph, half Goddess, but for some reason, the powers she was born with did nothing to actually help her with anything. Since she was only 3 summers old, she's realized that what she can do was only a nuisance to herself and others. Echo, just as her name describes, has the ability to annoy the living Tartarus out of everybody. At a young age, she found that by channeling a part of herself she didn't quite know much about, her words of her choice could repeat in the ears of those that made her upset or angry. Her words could forever cause torture or a simple annoying week. For 3 moons she's been walking in a forest she doesn't know, all because she got angry at her brother Remus for taunting her in front of the other Villagers.

"_c'mon Echo, prove it. Annoy me. I bet you cant. In fact, I think im the one that's annoying you." At 14 summers old she had promised herself to never use her powers again and now at 19, she was beginning to regret her pact. She wished desperately to have the strength and bravery to put Remus in his place, but she feared the Elders of the Village. Her home was all she knew, and to be banned from seeing her family- no matter how angry they made her- was a heart breaking thought. _

"_she's a liar, she's nothing special- just a weak demi-god with nothing to show for it." He taunted, he had turned his back on her laughing with his buddies. Her face was twisted in grief, but her mind was reeling. 'I could do it, I could make him sorry' she thought. He had smirked at her before giving his friend Lolaus a high five. _

"_I'm the most special demi-god you'll ever meet Remus!" she said menacingly. His ugly smile turned into a frown, worry lines creasing his forehead. "and don't you forget it" she whispered, a very cheery yet michevious smile spread across her face as the look of realization crossed his. _

_His hands flew to his ears as his knees hit the ground. He looked up at his sister with fear, but his eyes blazed envy and disgust. "You Bitch" he spit at her, but he couldn't hear himself speak, all he could concentrate on was Echo's words that screamed in his head. 'and don't you forget it…'_

Echo smiles at the memory, suddenly being hungry, tired, and sore was all worth it.

* * *

About 2 miles away, a girl with wild raven hair jumped through the trees. She hurdled though the air towards the ground, and her feet crunched against dead leaves and soft dirt once she landed. A snarling wolf stood in front of her, his shiny white teeth glistened in the late afternoon sun. He eyed her dark sun-kissed skin with hunger, but her eyes showed no fear. In fact, a playful smile was what she presented to him. 'Come get it, ya big lug' she said to the dark wolf. His fur was almost midnight black, except for the grey undertone, and his eyes were darker then the depths of Tartarus. He lunged at her with a menacing growl and pushed her to her back. She quickly flipped them and held down the dog. Her arm was hooked around his neck and as he struggled, he managed to scratch her bicep. Blood dripped onto his snout and he quickly wiggled free.

'Oh now look what you did.' She whined and looked at her wound. The wolf advanced but instead of attacking a second time he sniffed the wound, a guilty expression in his eyes. He licked the scratch and her face lovingly.

'Im sorry Lycus' he said to girl. Lycus scratched behind his ear and smiled at her brother. She was quickly reminded of the third summer being with her Wolf family. She was only 6 summers old, but she was quickly becoming an important asset to the pack…even if it was to act as bait for her older family members to lure in bears and large animals to eat.

_Her brother, Thantos was trying to provoke her in a good wrestling match. He was a pup himself and was very playful and charming. He nipped at her ankles and jumped from side to side, his mouth wide in a smile. She swatted at him, not feeling up to wrestling her brother yet. She was small for her age and her mother wolf Lila feared the humans safety. He yelped and jumped at her again, but this time she turned sharply on her heal and lunged on top of the pup, she growled at him and tucked his legs from under him, causing him to lie down. _

_She bit his ear softly and growled again. They played for a moment before another pup joined in, he was young and stupid and bit Lycus sharply on the leg. Her blood was bright in the moon light but he didn't notice, he continued to playfully maul her, thinking the noises she was making weren't from pain, but rather from play. _

_A loud growl quieted her whimpers and stopped the pup from his play. There stood a large, slender She-wolf. Her coat was white as snow but her eyes were just as black as the sky behind her. 'Whats going on here?!' she growled at her pups. She noticed her human bleeding from cuts and scratches that littered her arms and legs. Her tear stained face looked up at her and she approached her daughter. 'oh little one, I warned you not to play just yet. Your skin isn't tough like ours'. The other pup dropped his ears and scampered away in shame, but Thantos stood beside his mother. _

_Lila nuzzled Lycus's face with her muzzle and licked way the wetness on her cheeks. 'I'm sorry mother' she whispered and buried her face in Lila's fur. She quickly climbed onto her mother's back and they all made their way back to the pack. Thantos was throwing her guilt ridden looks for the rest of the night and most of the next morning. _

'Remember that night when Laxos made me a bloody mess?' The girl mused to her brother. His dopey grin told her he did in fact remember. He licked her face one last time before hopping away slightly.

'Race ya to the Falls. Loser takes the blame for actually being there if we get caught" he barked at her.

The Falls were a fun place to run too when being with the pack got boring. Thanto's and Lycus went there often, but were always warned about the dangers of the deep water and loose rocks. Neither ever listened, and both were up for adventures every day.

'fine. Ready, set, go!' she said and started running towards the cliff side. She stopped suddenly, letting her brother quickly gain a large lead. Her ears pricked at the heavy footsteps in the forest. The steps didn't match the light, stealthy footsteps of her and her packs. These were strange. They were heavy and almost dragged out.

She climbed the nearest tree and swung quietly through the tree tops until she found the target. A being, a _human_ being that looked similar to Lycus herself was slumped against a tree wiping her forehead. Her face was weathered and tired, and her legs and hands were dirty. What was this? Was this a trick of the sun? It was very hot and dry out today but she was sure that her trained eyes weren't tricking her. She studied the strange human quietly, before curiosity got the best of her. She jumped from the tall tree top in front of the human, effectively startling her.

The strange human screamed, the noise echoing throughout the forest and in Lycus's head painfully, causing her to howl at the girl. The girl, being startled by the animalistic noise coming from this woodland's mouth, screamed again. This time making sure to cause a painful echo in this potential harmful human's mind.

Birds flew from the tree tops, scattering in the wind. Echo's breath came in short bursts; she gripped her chest tightly to calm the frantic heartbeat. The woman in front of her was kneeling on the ground covering her ears making small whimpers and grunts. She immediately stopped the echo in the other human's mind and swallowed thickly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do that. You gave me a fright!" she exclaimed and touched the tan woman's shoulder. Lycus jerked back in surprise, but grabbed the retreating hand before bringing it to her nose and sniffed. She sniffed up Echo's arm till she got up to her neck; she grunted again and backed up.

"I'm Echo; I'm from the Warsaw Village about 4 moons away." She began and grabbed the small skin leather pack she kept her clothes in that she had dropped during the encounter. "Do you think you could lead me to the next village?" When Echo got no response she started to lose the trust she immediately gave the girl. "Or perhaps point me in the right direction?"

Still no response and Lycus eyed the woman carefully. She looked young, perhaps around her age, but her skin was a lighter tone than her indicating not as much time in the sweltering sun. Her hair was long and smooth looking, the color of leather, and she donned a simple leather top that covered her breasts. Her stomach and navel were exposed, but her legs were covered by a pair of dark brown cloth pants. The other human was making strange movements, another language was coming from her mouth and the noises were familiar yet frightening and strange.

"Look," Echo said, getting angrier by the lack of decent communication. "I'm seriously lost, and I'm not ashamed to result to physical violence" her stance became tense and ready for any kind of fight.

Lycus, noticing the change in stance and the tense shoulders of the other human became instantly alert and crouched on all 4s. She growled lowly and looked the stranger straight in the eye. 'so a fight is what you're looking for' she said. But Echo didn't understand, she saw the rabid woman looking at her with hungry eyes and she was beginning to doubt herself and her strength. This woman was clearly strong and fit like a warrior. Echo swallowed thickly again and lowered her fists, she held out a palm as a peace offering but was startled when Lycus stood abruptly and looked behind her.

The hair on the back of Echo's neck stood and she was anticipating a large animal ready to maul and eat her. She turned slowly to follow the Raven haired girls eyes, there sat a wolf. His ears were floppy and his tongue was hanging out of his mouth in a goofy manner.

'what the fuck is this?' Thantos asked? His cocked to the side and he sniffed the air of the other human. He was confused, he had never seen another like Lycus before, and rankly he was quite scared.

'I found her, I think she's lost, but I can't understand her language. She must be a foreigner.' She replied to her brother,

Echo watched the exchange and realized the wolf and the woman were communicating with each other. Based on the looks they seem to be doing it telepathically, and it wasn't a dangerous situation after all.

'We must go, Lila is calling for us.' Thantos told Lycus. She grunted in response and looked to Echo as a good bye before taking off running with the wolf. They became a blur as they ran thought the forest, and Lycus's mind reeled from the new discovery. 'There are more like me' she thought to herself before meeting her mother and the rest of the pack.

Echo stood in shock before following the way the Woman took off.' If she went that way, there must be water and food' Echo thought, and began to trek farther into the trees.

**. Xena/Gabrielle will make an appearance later in the story but are not main characters. reviews please? **


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