[Silver]

There was something about the Whisper Forest that Calla just loved. Perhaps it was the shadows cast by the trees or the constant low lying fog… or maybe it was the mystery. The legends that surrounded the forest suggested that people go in, but they don’t come back out. Well, she wouldn’t know anything about that. Certainly not.

Regardless of the reason, Calla was pleased to find out that there was a mission available in the forest. She was eager to take it up for herself and even requested to go alone so she could really enjoy it. It was unlike her to volunteer for missions, so they were happy to give it to her on her own terms.

[Silver]

There was something amiss in the forest today. Strange sounds had been heard from inside. She learned that from the locals as she passed them on her way there. ‘Don’t worry,’ she had said. ‘I’ll make sure to be really careful.’ They looked skeptical, but they didn’t know who she really was.

Calla didn’t have time to toy with them, so she pressed on into the forest without heeding their warnings. All they did was confirm for her what she already knew - this area needed investigating, and she was the one who was going to do it.

[Silver]

The legends surrounding the Whisper Forest had intrigued her for a long time. Calla wondered how they came to be. What monsters must lurk here that it had such a poor reputation? Well, other than her, of course. Whatever it was, it gave her a lovely excuse to do whatever she needed. If bad things happened… well, that’s just how the forest was, wasn’t it?

The mission sounded exciting on paper, but now that she was here, Calla already found herself getting a little off track. It was like she lacked the ability to focus on what she should be doing. She idly rubbed her thumb back and forth across her wrist for comfort and tried to force herself back on track.

[Silver]

Strange creatures lurked in the shadows, just out of sight. She was snapped back into reality by the gleaming eyes of an unknown creature. Just as she turned to look at it, it ran off into the fog. That was certainly quite creepy. Exactly the kind of thing that started legends, she thought.

Calla considered the beautiful imagery around her. In her head, she was spinning words into couplets as they came to her from the surroundings. A dozen half-finished poems about trees, darkness, fog, and a mystery creature came and went. She was unlikely to remember any long enough to write them down.

[Silver]

Her plan was so vague that she could hardly do anything but wander around until it resolved itself. Either she would find what she was looking for or she wouldn’t. While she was looking forward to something to cure her boredom, the thought of not having to do anything was also rather appealing. She could always lie and make it sound more interesting than it really was.

The one downside of this place was that it wasn’t well mapped, and everything looked exactly the same. It was so hard to find anything that she was personally thinking her chances of completing the mission were slim.

[Silver]

She could always try sniffing around, but she hated to get her paws dirty over something small like this. Was it really worth the effort? It’s not like anyone would see her in here, though. Even if they did, would they think anything of another monster in the Whisper Forest?

Calla sighed, then growled. Fangs began to erupt from her mouth, and fur burst forth all over her body. In a few short moments the young woman was replaced with a snarling beast. It was a huge shaggy tiger with black fur and twin tails. Colorful blue and purple stripes marked her fur, confirming that she was much more than a natural creature.

[Silver]

Surely, if anyone saw her like this, they would have to look twice. Maybe she would have to eat them. She would decide that if and when it happened. As much as an effort as transforming was, she did like the increased senses and mobility this form offered her.

Just as she had expected, her heightened sense of smell offered her a whiff of something familiar. Blood. Not only was it blood, but she was pretty sure it belonged to a human. Her feline face twisted up into a strangely eager looking grin. Maybe she had made a good choice of missions to take after all.

[Silver]

Calla reminded herself to take it easy. She couldn’t just go charging along like a dog racing for a squirrel. There was no dignity in that. Besides, she had no idea what she would actually find at the end of the trail if she followed it. She was going to have to prepare herself for the different options.

She considered whether she wanted to be forward or sneaky, whether she wanted to hide in her human form and feign innocence or go charging in claws and teeth bared. It was really a hard choice that took her some time to mull over.

[Silver]

She had been avoiding missions like this for some time, as she wanted to give herself some personal space to improve her craft. She wondered if her lack of recent experience meant that she should play it safe… but her lack of recent experience also drove up her adrenaline and made her excited to get on with it.

The smell intensified and Calla knew that she was getting close. Now was the time to decide. It was really a shame that she could hardly see anything in this stupid fog. It was so poetically beautiful and lovely atmosphere, but it didn’t lend itself well to finding someone in a huge empty forest.

[Silver]

Calla crouched down into a stalking position when she saw the faint outline of her target. It looked like a human propped up against a tree. Now she couldn’t be sure that this was the human she was looking for, but what were the chances it wasn’t? If it turned out to be the wrong one, then she would just… apologize and let them go. Or something like that, anyway.

Calla pounced out of the fog and took a defensive stance. She growled a low rumbling growl, hoping to intimidate her target into staying put. Well, he certainly didn’t move. In fact, it didn’t even look like he was breathing. After a minute or so of not receiving a reaction, Calla cautiously approached. The human form that was sitting there slumped over, falling unceremoniously to the ground. Calla sighed. Well at least he mission was easy...

[Wild Pet Found]