Ker darts through the trees above, utterly silent on her feathered wings. "Up ahead," she tells her bonded, and wolf-Oizys jerks her head in approval. Her jaws slip agape, unleashing a string of drool and displaying every savage fang, whilst her eyes - still their usual steel blue-grey - glow with malice and excitement.

Their prey is not conventional, nor is it the sort of creature that should be tracked and attacked without plentiful planning. It is a gargantuan grizzly bear, lumbering through the forest and snapping branches from trees with its size and strength. The second Oizys laid eyes on it, she coveted it. If she can steal its blood and put it in one of her vials, she will be able to shift into it - and that great, monstrous form would be a godsend. So she and Ker have been tracking it through the night, waiting for the choice moment to strike.

Finally they have their opportunity. The bear has paused to snuffle at the ground, probably looking for prey of its own without realising that it, too, is being stalked. Now, commands Oizys. Her heart thunders in her chest as she prowls to a standstill, watching the bear's idle movements from her position in the shadows of the trees. In one fluid movement, Ker swoops. Her beak is agape, and she sends a spasm of dark, hideous energy towards the unprepared bear. She uses her ability to inflict a sudden, crippling headache onto the monstrous creature, and with a roar that shakes the forest, it plants its huge clawed forepaws against its skull in a desperate attempt to rid itself of the pain.

Oizys seizes her chance and lunges. She approaches from behind the thrashing, agonised bear, sinking her teeth into its large rump and jerking backwards in a vicious shredding movement. Blood erupts, and in an explosion of shattering bones and ripping flesh, Oizys transforms back from a wolf into a muscular yearling filly. She snatches up one of her empty vials and holds it to the bear's wound, not stoppering it with clumped grass until it is filled to the brim with thick crimson liquid. A cold grin of success flashes across the filly's muzzle as she stashes her prize, then turns to leave whilst her eagle bonded continues to hold the bear in her thrall.

Unfortunately, things don't always go to plan. Driven mad by pain and deciding that the crippling headache can only be cured by attacking the eagle and the filly, the bear swings around with a savage bellow and almost nicks Oizys' flesh, missing by the barest of whiskers. "Oh, shit," she declares. Another earth-shaking roar erupts from the pained bear and it throws itself towards the filly, who barely gets out of the way in time. RUN! she screeches mentally at Ker, breaking into the fastest gallop she possibly can; her hooves scrabble for purchase on the chilled ground, hurdling logs and fallen trees as she pelts through the woods. The eagle soars alongside her, casting wary glances backwards as the bear rampages after them, bellowing and snarling as it crashes through the undergrowth.

The predator has become the prey; Oizys runs like her life depends on it which, given the grizzly's evident fury and agony, it probably does.