He noticed that she was getting better at using full sentences and wondered just how long she had been a wolf. The idea, though foreign, didn’t seem so crazy anymore. He could still distinctly remember the urge to drift away. He could also remember phasing right through solid metal blades. It still made no sense, but somehow it felt natural, unlike the sense of responsibility that only grew the more he learned of the girl next to him.
A closer study of the map showed a distinct line passing between two large, upward pointing arrows Leif took to be mountains, then continuing over wide depictions of hills and stopping at a big, grey dome that reminded him unmistakably of the city seen from afar.
“I think this shows where the men who killed my father came from.”
“Leif,” She said, shifting her gaze from the map to his eyes. There was something strange in her voice, a mix of emotions Leif couldn’t quite make out. “I’m glad he died.” The words were deliberate, each one carefully enunciated. “And I’m sorry.”
He felt a weight fill his heart as the distant sense of crushing grief drew slightly closer. “I don’t understand.” He said tentatively.
“He was crazy mad, I smelled it. He needed to die, like mad wolf. But, you were family. I like you, so I’m sorry.” She continued in the careful, deliberate tone that made him think she’d been working on how to say it the whole time he had been away.
He looked down at the crackling fire, not sure what to say.
“I’m sorry too.” It was all he could manage.
They sat there for a long time, staring into the fire. Then she wrapped a slender arm around his chest and leaned into him, resting her head against his shoulder. It felt right.
He woke up the next morning not remembering falling asleep and the first thing he saw in the grey-blue light was Ria. She was still sleeping, lying on her stomach, her gently lidded eyes inches from his own and glossy black hair splayed out across her back, mingling with the faded robes that almost looked like a blanket.
Carefully, he lifted her arm from across his chest and rose, moving to pack up the carelessly scattered stuff they had left on the ground the night before. Nothing seemed damaged by any residual water that might have been on the ground, this side was far drier than the forests on the other side of the mountains. When he found the water skins; two from his pack and three from his fathers, he was surprised to find that only two of them weren’t empty and were both at less than half. This was worrying because the last source of water was more than three days away.
He pulled the map out from one of the many small pockets he had sown inside his leather coat and checked it. In the growing light of day he could see quite clearly where recent changes had been made, all along the dark path. Whoever these people were, they had way more resources than any normal band of raiders and were far better organized.
He relaxed quickly when he saw a wavy line with ripples, clearly depicting water, not too far to the north. From the small segment of the river they had explored, it looked like it passed far to the east of the shell, maybe even splitting further up stream to connect with the one he and his father had crossed.
After returning the map to his jacket, he finished packing up and rekindled the fire before hearing a high, yowling yawn, so wolfish that he laughed. When he looked over she was stretching rigorously, more like a cat than anything else.
“I sleep good!” She said, yawning again. “I’m hungry.”
She walked over, bare feet padding lightly on the soft, dead grass and black robes billowing out behind.
“After breakfast I’ll see if we can find something that might fit you better.” Leif said, laughing at her strikingly dramatic figure.
“Ya, good idea.” She replied as she knelt down beside him.
She reached over toward the pack and pulled something long out of one of the many straps on the back.
“What’s this? You kill deer with it. How you do that?”
The fire was growing on its own by then and he looked over. She was holding his short bow. His father had one as well; it had broken in the city.
“It’s called a bow; I can show you how to use it if you want.”
As they ate, he explained the water situation and she agreed that they should try for the river depicted on the map. He spent some time with his extra set of city cloth to make it fit her and they ended up using a few wide strips of leather to keep it from billowing, fastening them around her stomach, arms and legs. She declined his shoes, which was good because he only had the one pair he had made since the wolf attack, and they were way too big for her.
“I have wolf feet!” She explained, smiling and lifting her foot to show him the thick sole. She frowned then and started tonguing around in her mouth, then stuck her finger behind her teeth for a second and smiled again. “Man claws are nice for getting things from teeth.” Then she frowned again. “Man teeth kinda suck though. Not very sharp.”
Leif laughed again. He seemed to be doing a lot of that around her, it felt good. “Maybe you can change them, like your feet.”
This comment surprised her and she sat down, concentration engulfing her features for the whole time it took Leif to pack up again.
“You’re gonna need to carry one of the packs,” he said, finally breaking into her trance.
“Ok.” She replied, then smiling widely, showing all her teeth. “Did it work?”
Alec
Still in a haze, Alec wandered around aimlessly, thinking furiously of any possible way to save Grey. It was easy to get lost in the more than forty different buildings, better organized than any town he had seen, but still a bit random. When he accidentally bumped into somebody; the poor little girl frightened out of her wits and running away before he could apologize, he noticed he was standing near the women’s quarters.
They had their own corner of the fortress, directly south of the recently constructed arena. They had their own dormitories, mess hall, and toilet. The only area of the women’s corner where men were ever seen were the public houses closest to the center of the fortress. This was where most men went after their daily duties were completed. Alcohol and food were available, as well as gambling; currency ranged from precious stones, gold and silver, to unique items, and even favors. They played dice mostly, though some of the more experienced fighters bet on their throwing ability with small knives. This was also where the women made themselves available for… entertainment. Alec had never really explored the places much.
It was still mid-morning, so most of the women were in bed or cleaning from the night before. The area around Alec was empty except for one person. It was her. Long, brown, almost red hair waved down her back as she walked across in front of him about ten strides away. She noticed him quickly, dark grey-blue eyes narrowing and full pink lips pursing as she sped up to pass out of sight.
He hurried to catch up to her. He was at least a head and a half taller so it didn’t take much.
“Wait!” He said, pleading as loudly as he dared to avoid attracting unwanted attention.
She looked round again, four strides away, and sped up again, a look of fear marring her beautiful features. He grabbed her wrist and stopped her, not hard enough to hurt, just letting her know that he wasn’t letting her go yet.
“What do ya want?” She asked, her indignation quickly succumbing to the fear and gloom that characterized so much of that place as she struggled to free herself. “Come back tonight, I’m busy!”
“I want to talk to you. If I wanted to harm you I could, and no one would stop me. But I don’t want to hurt you. Please, just listen for a minute.”
“Fine.” She said, the oppressive despair retreating just a bit. He let her arm go and she didn’t run.
“I know how it must look.”
“What, like you’re a smaller version of that monster?” She said, her naturally strong spirit reemerging quickly, “Ya, it does!”
“Please, just let me explain.” He said again, trying to soften his voice. “I ha
te him as much as you do.” She snorted. “No, really!”
“Then why are you all buddy buddy with him? Huh?”
“Because,” He said, carefully drawing out the word, “he gave me the position, and I saw it as an opportunity to overthrow him.”
“What, so you can replace him? Why do I care about that?”
“No, not replace him, just stop him. I hate how he treats everyone!” He was getting frustrated.
“Seems to treat you nice enough!” Her accent was strange, drawn out and oddly slurred; he would have thought it cute if she wasn’t glaring at him hard enough to melt ice.
“I know it seems like it, but he makes me do things I hate... like order the deaths of innocent people, oppress people, ignore the horrible treatment of women.” Her glare slowly lessened with each statement.
“Why would you care about us?” She demanded, though most of the vehemence was gone.
“Because I think everyone has a right to freedom, to live how they want.”
“But, why tell me this? How do you know I won’t report you?” It was such an unexpected question that he answered truthfully before thinking about it.
“Because I think you’re beautiful and I don’t want you thinking I’m like him, in case I fail.”
Her eyes went soft and her cheeks reddened a bit.
“I just wanted to tell you that before I try anything. I had to let you know.” He said, blushing a little himself.
“Why don’t you ever visit me then? At night?”
That made him blush furiously. “I never want to force a woman.” He responded in a hoarse whisper. “It’s just wrong.”
“It’s not so bad, the big guy never bothers with us personally, I don’t think he really wants anything to do with us. We do most of the choosing around here, makes it even easier when they drink so much.
“It’s still wrong.” He said, getting very uncomfortable with where the conversation was going. “If I’m going to have you, I want no other, and I won’t let anyone else have you either.” It sounded so weird when he said it, but it felt right.
She was just about to respond when a harsh, older woman’s voice called out, startling them.
“Mandy! Where you at girl!”
“Got to go!” she said as a brief flash of panic shot across her face. She reached up and kissed him then ran off giggling, leaving him completely stunned.
“See ya later lover boy!”
The mix of emotions surging around inside him was profoundly confusing. She had kissed him, he could still feel those soft, pink lips on his, but at the same time Grey was in terrible trouble and Alec had no way to rescue him. He thought about checking in with Gerard, worried he might be waiting for him with some new horror, but instead decided to go visit Jeremiah. Perhaps he could finally tell the old man the truth. Maybe he would even be able to help with Grey.
He easily slipped down the hallway and through the hidden passage; he had been using his increasing proficiency in sneaking around a lot lately, it sometimes seemed unreal how close he could pass by people without them noticing.
“I didn’t expect you this early.” Jeremiah said without even looking up. He was lying on the bed in the corner, drinking from a skin and flipping through another dusty tome. The skinny spine read ‘The Art of War’.
“More study for Gerard?” Alec asked.
“Something like that.” He responded. He had an infuriating habit of never giving direct answers.
“Why doesn’t he just have you teach him, like me?”
“I’m not sure that he doesn’t already know. Besides, he is far too busy being powerful to take lessons.” He said with a dry chuckle.
Alec wasn’t sure how to breach the topic, so just went for it. “Help me kill him.” He put as much force and conviction behind the words as he could.
Jeremiah didn’t show a single sign that anything in the conversation had changed, he didn’t even look up from the book. “I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that.”
“I’m serious. He needs to be stopped.”
“Boy,” the wrinkly old man looked up, his voice becoming far more present and forceful than Alec had ever heard, “That is no man; he is a creation of science. He has shown me things that defy reason. You don’t have a chance in hell of doing anything to him.” Then he looked back down and cleared his throat. “Besides, you’re in his good graces, why would you want to change all that?”
Alec was stunned. Was he telling the truth? Or was he just a coward? Then something he had heard earlier that day clicked into place. The fat man had mentioned concoctions that made the animals sleep. Jeremiah had given him a drink that did just that. He was doing all he could to appease Gerard, how else would the man have known of his usefulness?
Even more than that, he was comfy here. He may complain, but he was far better off than many others in the fortress. He was a survivor by nature, how else could he have stayed alive that long? There was no way Jeremiah would help him; lying or not, he would never put himself on the line. He was an incredibly intelligent man, but he had no family, no reason to care about others. He was completely secluded down here. The only reason he even tolerated Alec was boredom. As this realization slid into place, a new feeling manifested, forcing all the others out. It was resolution.
He left without another word and went straight to Gerard’s study where he spent the rest of the late morning watching him plan out the details of the expansion project. Hours later they left for the arena where people were already preparing for the evenings entertainments. The foreboding he had dismissed that morning as they left the animal cages began growing, but it only reinforced his conviction.
Ria
After reaching the river, Leif persuaded her that they should continue to follow the trail on the map all the way back. It hadn’t taken much convincing, she understood Leif’s desire.
The days flew by for her. Her fluidity with words quickly improved, with Leif’s help, as did her ability with the bow. In fact, she rapidly surpassed Leif’s own ability, becoming, once more, a natural hunter. Her days also included many, many requests for Leif to check her teeth. She could almost feel the change coming. It was like every time she tried, really tried, to make them sharper, she felt a closer connection with her own body, a deeper understanding. Maybe with time she could even go back completely.
However, the longer she spent with his intoxicating aroma and the unique interaction language provided, the less acute was her desire to change back. It was almost like being in a pack again. In her last pack, Pine and White had been the parents and the rest of them were siblings, even though Red Fox, Fern and herself weren’t related at all, that was just how the pack worked. But with every night that they slept in each other’s arms, sharing warmth and comfort, and every morning that she woke up to the smell of sizzling meat, the more she wondered whether they might, someday, be mates, instead of just siblings. Maybe they could even have pups of their own, really start a new family. She never asked him about it though, she didn’t know how.
One of her favorite parts of each day was watching him dance. He was slowly incorporating the surreal wavering, fading ability he had used in the city; first just the fingertips on certain swooping and gliding motions, then his whole hands, then gradually reaching up his forearm. It only added to the beauty that seemed to give him so much peace. She thought it might be similar to her own unique past; perhaps the overwhelming waves she had felt in the city had changed him too.
The weeks went by and the land changed, rolling hills to rocky paths to wooded mountain slopes. And they grew closer still, learning each other’s pasts, sharing knowledge, living life together. She had never felt so close to another living thing. Ria just hoped it would last, that Leif’s revenge wouldn’t take him away from her. She knew it was different from her own experience, he had her to keep him grounded, but still she worried. They really had no idea what they would find.
The cakes Leif had found were sweet and chewy, full of
nuts and dried fruit. They made such a unique change to her diet of meat that she began hounding Leif about what other kinds of human food there were. He told her about berries and spices and roots with such fervor that she almost didn’t make fun of him for eating rabbit food.
“You know,” he retorted, a sly note entering his voice, “those biscuits are made completely from plants.”
He laughed at her slack jawed surprise so heartily that he choked on his food. Recovering quickly, he threw the final blow, “Who’s the rabbit now?” and broke into uncontrollable laughter again.
Ria knew he was probably telling the truth, he always did. She decided she wanted a big bite of meat right then and also that she wanted to tear it apart like she would if she was a wolf. So she did. The meat was almost raw, a compromise between the wolf and the girl, and when she bit into it the blood and juice oozed out over her lips. She was enjoying it so much that she didn’t realize for some time that Leif had been silently gawking at her.
“What?” She asked, looking up.
“Uh,” he said, beginning to point, a smirk just touching the corner of his mouth. “I know you’re not a rabbit, you don’t have to prove it so, um, dramatically.”
“What are you talking about?” She asked, becoming more confused by moment.
“It worked, check your teeth.”
She tongued her teeth and didn’t recognize her mouth. Or, rather, she did, but it was her wolf mouth she recognized, in a shrunken, somewhat awkward fashion.
The smirk was fully lit on his face by then and he laughed, “You’re kinda scary, Ria!”
She snarled at him and then tore into the rest of the meat.
Leif
They followed the trail on the map through a low pass across the mountains; the little arrows on the map comically miniscule compared with the overwhelming peaks themselves. The woodland quickly returned and, just as quickly, began thinning. The path continued to lead northward into colder and colder climate, the rapidly approaching winter only amplifying the situation.
Of Wind and Waves - Chronicles of the First Age, Book One Page 9