Oh, glorious day!

She had discovered something wonderful. As night began to fall and the adventurers conversed around the campfire, probably busy with telling stories to each other and laughing, Ivy had been exploring within herself. Meaning, she had been testing her limits and abilities, including some of the new ones that she had gained from assisting in the defeat of the large beasts that had tried to kill them. She discovered that she could teleport a short distance using the power of ice, and call woodland creatures to follow her command (this mainly resulted in her leading a parade of tiny mammals throughout the forest).

Not only this, but she could change into a variety of creatures. Even, unbeknownst to her, a creature she had never seen before...or at least one that she didn't remember seeing. Maybe she had encountered such a being back at her own realm, among the magical and odd creatures that inhabited those lands. Maybe she had met one during her time of imprisonment. Whether she had seen the being once or not, the transformation was only half-voluntary.

Ivy began to think that this new form was another version of self-defense. It was dark, she was in a new place, surrounded by strangers and strange beasts. So naturally she had adapted to the situation.

Yards away, there were footsteps. Someone was coming. With a low, chirp-like noise, Ivy hopped through the trees towards the sound, paying attention to look for any signs of da-

It was Xanik!

Overjoyed, Ivy didn't hesitate to leap down from her perch in the tree and run to greet him. A bad idea, on her part, for the being was probably used to her normal appearance. The current one differed greatly from her original form.

Xanik would see the creature running towards him and, most likely, assume it was threatening; Ivy had taken on the form of a wyvern-like creature, reaching the height of a normal human's waist. Her skinny wings, which doubled as appendages, were at her sides. She had clawed feet and long legs, a slim body, and a long neck. Ivy's face was probably the most terrifying; This transformation had graced her with a mouth. The top-half of her face was still covered with the white mask, her now two sets of eye sockets filled with glowing, green orbs, but the bottom half was a jaw. The teeth were grey and sharp, some curved. Her tongue was black and pointed and hung out of her mouth like a dog's, lolling on the side as she sprinted towards him. Her mask had a pair of long, pointed horns that stuck out one the end of it. Ivy's colors were still the same, and her tail streamed out behind her.

A truly strange sight.

Xanik froze as a wyvern jumped out from the dark of the forest. What the- wait. It looked... Familiar. Xanik watched it's strange form standing there, waiting, while Xanik was on edge and ready to fight. Xanik looked inside the mind of this creature; which was only more confusing. It was happy to see him. Why? Xanik had no clue. The strange wyvern looked up at him, but it didn't seem threatening anymore.

Xanik was still petrified. Had this thing devoured the others? How can it be this close to camp without them noticing? The wyvern was not like anything Xanik had ever seen before, with it's strange-looking head and double-appendage wings. And it's color was oddly unnatural; a bit like the color of that-

Wait.

Then, it hit Xanik.

This was that creature, that strange wolf-hybrid that was, somewhat, part of the group. He trusted it even less as a wyvern, but he knew it was friendly.

All of a sudden, it's mood changed; from peace, to shock, then fear, and finally, anger. Xanik was shocked by this sudden mood change, and realized he might have been wrong about thinking it was the wolf. He drew his sword, ready to fight, when it started doing a dance? No. It was gesturing to something with it's head. Xanik was fascinated by this; what was this random change in-

Oh s***

Xanik realized what was happening before he even noticed what the creature was gesturing to. He turned around anyways, and froze.

Deathly Winter had followed him back!

She tried, in vain, to warn him. Ivy "danced" on the tips of her claws and jumped around, moving her head in a direction that indicated behind him. All the while she yipped and called; a guttural but high-pitched sound, meant to alert him. Xanik didn't seem to get it until he finally turned around and spotted the beast.

This...this didn't make any sense. Ivy had killed it. She distinctly remembered the fatal blow she cast on its neck, along with the Orc's own killing blow. The life had bled out of the creature and onto the ground. It was impossible, no, improbable that the same creature should be here, moving about and coming towards them.

But, Xanik. Xanik was in trouble! He didn't seem to know it, either. Panicking, Ivy sprinted full-speed ahead. She had to save him, somehow, and get him out of the danger zone. Ignoring his loud protests and surprise she dipped under his legs and pulled herself back up, heaving Xanik onto her back (facing backwards). Not having slowed down Ivy switched directions and ran back towards camp. She had to get them away, warn the others, and quick...the creature was huge and would catch up in a split second.

Ivy's back was smooth and a bit hard to hang onto, but she was leaning down as she ran which would help him keep a good grip. Ivy began to call out a warning to the others as she neared the light of the campfire, swiftly navigating through the trees and the tall grass. It was a relatively smooth ride.