As the white form of certain death leapt for Gautan, something heavy slammed into it's side, sending it back onto the shore with a yelp. Shouts of men and half snarl/half whimpering noises drew Gautan out of his defensive curl to see four big men tying the wolf up and shoving him into an old feed bag. Once inside, they kicked, beat and threw him around until the yelps subsided and it appeared that he had returned his human form. "Wh-what...." "Go home boy, and forget what you saw here." One man said fiercely to him, with eyes the same piercing blue as Zohariel's. Gautan scrambled up the muddy bank and ran for the hold without looking back. "What do we do with him?" one of the men asked Zephiel. "Take him to my wagon while I go take care of his mother." he responded coldly, hefting the thick pole of wood he'd struck his son with earlier. "Drive the wagon to the clearing in the woods, I'll meet you by nightfall!" he called, mounting his runner and taking off toward his house.

Stopping at the edge of the forest just before he approached the house, Zephiel tied his runner to a tree and approached the cottage. The sun was high in the sky, removing his ability to hide in the shadows, so he stayed just inside the trees until he knew where Jaslyn was, out in the back yard tending their small garden. He crept up to the side of the house and flattened himself against the wall. When she was close enough to reach, he leapt out and tackled her. Seeming to know just a fraction of a second ahead of him, Jaslyn transformed into her wolf self, gnashing teeth and raking claws all at his throat. Zephiel responded with his own ferocity, pummeling her until she backed off. Blood dotted her fur, the grass, and Zephiel's shirt. He was pleased to see it was coming from her. "After all this, you can't even protect your little boy from his own father." he taunted. Eyes widening, Jaslyn realized what he meant and howled in rage before leaping at him. In her anger, she'd foolishly exposed her underbelly while leaping and when she was close enough, Zephiel stabbed the pointed end of his pole into the soft flesh of her stomach. Whimpering, Jaslyn fell to the ground and looked up at Zephiel with glazed eyes. Maybe it there was still some part of him that loved her, because he didn't leave her to die in that agonizing way. Kneeling beside her, Zephiel drew his dagger and slit her throat before running for the safety of the forest.

It took the rest of the day to make his way to the clearing. He found the three other men practically sitting on the feed bag they'd stuffed Zohariel into. Snarling and the sound of ripping fabric came from it, and Zephiel stepped forward to knock the other men off and let Zohariel out. "You fools, if you would have told him I was coming then he would have calmed down." he whispered harshly. The wolf form of Zohariel leapt from the bag to face his attackers, confused when he saw his father. Inexperienced in his shape-shifting, he had no idea how to change back, so he tried to talk to his father while in that form. All that came out were strange whines and yelps. Frustrated, he glared hard at his father. That was when he noticed the blood stains on his shirt, the claw marks down his leg, and the bloodied dagger he held in his hands.

"If you see your father or anyone you don't recognize, I want you to come straight to me."

Zohariel remembered his mother's words, as well as his father's from the night before.

"I'm leaving you and taking the boy! You no longer exist to me but maybe I can beat it out of him....don't expect this to be the end!"

His father had threatened to take him away, and so he had, killing his mother as well. "No..." he thought. Glancing back at his father, he knew what had happened, he could smell his mother's scent in the blood. "You murderer!" he shouted, but it came out as a long ragged howl. "I can't fight all four at once, but I will not live with that man who used to be my father!" he thought fiercely. Looking around, he noticed that he could turn and dart under the wagon to freedom in the forest, but he'd have to be quick. White fur stood out in this black wood. "I need snow, the mountains aren't far from here." "Zohariel, you need to change back, I can't bring a wolf with me into the village." his father tried, kneeling down halfway and stretching a hand out. Acting as if he were trying to change, Zohariel closed his eyes and squinted, calculating how long it took to get to the mountains. When his father was getting too close, Zohariel turned and squeezed under the wagon, making for the forest. Stopping briefly, he bit the backs of the runner's legs, sending them into a frenzied panic and creating a diversion. Without looking back, Zohariel turned away from his former human life and began a new one, as the lone wolf Ech'inee.