Two-Faced

this is a story that involves a lot of POV changes, just to allow the reader to get into character's heads and see what they're thinking.

            It ran through the grass, the rime sharpening and stiffing the blades, suffocating but preserving the gentle plant life inside. The bosky surroundings made maneuvering difficult, and the temperature was problematic enough, if not for vines of thorns and bushes several feet tall. Jumping over a large downed tree, it let out a yelp as its back-left paw grotesquely twisted inward and the crack of bone echoed through the surroundings, accompanied by rolling and a sudden stop. Shuddering due to the pain and the immense cold the small creature righted itself, continuing to run at a slower pace, staying off the broken paw. Shouts were heard in the distance and the ripping uprooting of foliage was near. With labored breaths it shoved on, not willing to be caught, not strong enough to continue for long.

***

            I walked down the shaded forest path breathing deeply, amused by the ghostly mist produced by my own breath. I watched the ground pass under me, the dry brown leaves and the snow crunching as I walked. The surroundings were nothing short of serene, a calming bliss surrounding me in the form of cool air. It was the middle of December, right when the temperatures truly dropped, and people retreated in their homes, covered in blankets and sharing hot chocolate by a fire. It’s my favorite time of year, though I’m not a big fan of the cold and cringe whenever I must go outside. This time, however, I decided to take advantage of the silence and decided to go for a walk, to clear my mind.

***

            Minutes became hours as time slowly elapsed, as though in a trance. Walking in lethargic, tedious steps, he was suddenly knocked over by what looked like a small dog, catching only a glimpse of the beast as it ran into the thick undergrowth. Lifting his head from the snow with a vividly red nose he sat for a moment, pondering, and considered running the other way, back to his cabin. Finally, he stood up, determined to discover how such a small creature could knock him down with such ease. It was not difficult to track, the small prints left in the snow were hurried, and deep. There were only three tracks, with an occasional drag left where the fourth would have rested. ‘Odd,’ He thought, as he followed them hastily.

***

            Panting, she stopped by a small frozen river and sat, exhausted. The bleeding in her left leg had ceased, but it would require regular wraps�"a luxury she didn’t have. She laid down on the snow, unbothered by its frozen touch. Gears started to turn and panels flipped, and her fingers came back into their slots, replacing the blackish-brown paws that had once been there. Connecting seamlessly, soft flesh was snapped into place.

            After some time of rest, a sound was heard, and she immediately sprang up. Sweat dripped off her face and her muscles ached, but she knew she had to keep on. Climbing into the nearest tree more gears ticked, and she transformed into a large squirrel, climbing the rough bark with ease. She sat and watched, risking the chance of being sniffed out, to see what had been stirring the brush behind her.

***

            “Hello?” I called into the forest ahead. I took time to look at each trace the creature had left, and slowly pieced its trail together. I eventually reached a small, frozen stream, dotted with leaves immobile as they were trapped on the surface of the crystalline water. Something had been there, no doubt; an imprint was left in the snow where they laid, where they had laid. I proceeded to look around in confusion, realizing the tracks stopped at the imprint and didn’t continue back the other way. ‘I would have run into it if it had come back the way it came...,’ I thought, with furrowed brow and pursed lips. Turning in circles, looking for any sign of the creature’s path, I listened to branches above...

***

            This person was… Different. Different hair, different eyes, different clothing… There was an inexplicable off-ness about the male that stood under her, looking with curiosity at the brush around the water. ‘Had they sent him as a decoy? Maybe as a distraction...?’ She thought, leaning further back into the branches. He called out again, not in any direction, and looked down in disappointment as he was answered with silence.

***

            I looked down, giving up on the idea of finding the creature that had left me prone. Just as my head turned to head back, I noticed a pinkish tint in the snow, in the place where the dent was left from the creature. “What....” I mumbled to myself, crouching and taking off my left glove to touch the mysterious substance. It was close to the bottom of the imprint, near where a human’s foot or ankle would have been, and the snow wasn’t as heavily engraved near the blemish. The idea that something had been injured here was unsettling at best, especially in such worrisome conditions. Once more I called out, hoping the creature was at least alive, if not near.

***

She leaned forward in hostile stance, ready to strike the male that had come after her. She was curious but guarded, as she was taught by many years of distrust and pain. He suddenly crouched and brushed the faint stain of blood in the snow with his bare hand, a concerned scowl on his face. Immediately she stopped, confused by the gesture. She shifted her weight, forgetting about her injury, and inhaled sharply with pain as she attempted in vain to regain her balance. She fell to the forest floor and landed centered on her back in the absence of snow, where branches had prevented the gentle flurry from touching the ground under the tree. In her panic she changed back into a human in midair, from the large squirrel she was previously. Her emotions played a large role in her ability to change, which was a large disadvantage in the case of survival.

***

I saw her gasp with pain as her head raised from the hard ground, trembling with shock and pain, slightly disoriented from the impact. I, being a shrimpy twenty-one-year-old, shrieked like a child when I saw her fall. Our eyes locked, and a sudden wave of fear overcame my body as she struggled to stand up. She stood about a foot under me, but was intimidating and terrifying in the middle of the desolate wood. We both stood immobile, horrified, as the other examined the first.

Author's Note

If i decide to continue this story there won't be as many POV changes as there were in this particular segment. They will be more sporadic and spread out, so you wont just be hopping from character to character :)