Fable - Ask An Escort to Vel Anir

[Varo]

Varo felt a breath drift into his lungs as she thanked him. "I'd do it a thousand times."

And more.

It wasn't really even a second thought for him. He was happy for having saved her, happy for finding her because of his own foolish actions. The Half-elf did not know what would have happened if he hadn't met her, but he knew it would be worse off.

As she drifted to sleep he slowly and carefully kissed her neck, trailing his lips along her skin to help her drift into sleep.

The next day came, and with it another leg of their journey.

It was much like the day before, except no one was chasing them this time. They walked for what seemed like a whole day, though it was only half of one. Most of the time Varo could not keep his hands away from Colette, fingers brushing over the small of her back, resting on her hips, or intertwined in her palm.

He couldn't help it, like a magnetism.

When they stopped by a small pool in a stream he pulled her into a kiss that lasted just a second longer than he had intended. "Just a bit more."

Varo said softly.

"We might reach the city if we keep going through the night." Though they would have to push themselves.

 

[Colette]

Sleep came so easily that Colette didn't even recall its embrace. One second she felt Varo's lips touch her neck and the next sunlight was peaking itself underneath her eyelids. Lazily she lifted one open to see the certainly-reforming-cutpurse snoring away. She laid there, waiting for him to naturally rise while remaining close.

Then, they walked. And walked some more.

At a certain point she began to get a cramp in her calf but the continued marching, combined with the flirtatious touching form Varo, helped her to forget it as the pain dulled. When they stopped for a rest the half-elf pulled her in for a passionate kiss before she even had a chance to sate her thirst.

"Will be nice to get ourselves indoors." Her words came right after pulling away from his lips, his facial hair tickling as she pulled away. A palm dipped into the pond and pulled a serving of fresh water, she brought it up towards her mouth and took in a long drink. Followed by several more.

Colette's head tilted back and forth, sending straw-colored hairs vibrating. "My vote is for pressing on through the night," she said after a bit more thought. Maybe it was dangerous, she didn't know elven customs, but the idea of sleeping outdoors on the barren earth reignited the crick in her neck from the prior night's slumber.

"Let's keeping going," she said quickly, not wanting to leave the subject up for debate as she reached a hand out to Varo to help him up. She led the way for a few paces until she turned her head and asked, "which direction is it again?"

 

[Varo]

Varo smirked for a second. "Really not for outdoor living, huh?"

He teased quietly, though in truth he had been quietly begging that she would make that decision.

Though he had been forced to survive out in the wilderness after his initial transformation, Varo would have chosen plush sheets and goose feather mattresses over anything. He was a man of luxury, someone used to quality and wealth.

He wouldn't shy away from it for a second if offered.

That was half the reason he had turned into a con-man, why he'd chosen to join the gang and not found honest work. It was easier to scam your way into places like that than actually work for it.

Slowly he caught up to her, gently pressing a palm to the small of her back and pointing her in the right direction.

"Me too." Varo said with a smirk.

 

[Colette]

"Not at all," she called back. "A few times, before the guard, my father tried to take me out into the wilds," in truth it had been a small clearing less than a mile outside of Vel Anir. "I was fifteen I believe and while I was excited the whole way there I couldn't stand the bugs and the campfire cooking."

She purposefully left out the part where she cried all night and her father finally relented and took her back to the city at daybreak.

Colette pushed into Varo and looped both of her arms around his. "The guard broke me of those habits pretty quick though. Hard to hate the outdoors when you're forced to sleep in a tent nightly." Of course the guard still had the luxury of tents. And bedrolls. And proper rations.

"Can I ask," she stopped her words and shut her mouth before reforming her question. She was going to ask if he had learned his outdoorsmanship, if that's what you'd call it, from being a fugitive. But decided to instead ask, "if you prefer the city-life as much as I do how are you so good in the wild?"

He had told her it was all tricks his father had shown him but it seemed to be more than that. Colette had been in the guard and ignored any advanced survival training. His instincts seemed secondary, almost as if thy were born out of necessity.

 

[Varo]

Amusement flickered over his features at her story. He remembered instances that weren't too far from such in his own childhood. He had always enjoyed the luxuries of life, though he suspected that his were...grander than hers.

"Well." He told her as he reached out and gently stroked his fingers through her hair. "I'll make sure you get only the finest Arel'enian Spider Silk blankets."

Varo didn't think that she would likely have never heard of an Arel'enian Spider, much less the fact that the silk they produced was widely lauded as the softest and most comfortable in all of the Falwood. "You won't even need me for warmth."

He claimed with a smile.

A breath filled him as she asked her question, his lips thinning for a brief moment.

"I was..." He didn't want to lie to her, didn't want to tell her some story. "Forced to learn. When I originally left Ivladrin."

Varo said with a smile. "I taught some things before, but the Falwood shows you quickly when you need to survive."

 

[Colette]

"S-spider silk?"

Spiders, silk, and comfort didn't go together in her Anirian head. To her they were a creepy pest that resided in barns, attics, and crawl spaces. The idea that their webs would be used to craft something for comfort was beyond wild.

"Not sure that anything will be warm enough for me to not need you there," she said while accompanying the statement with a coy smile. "And I'm not completely sure about... Arelnininain spider's... silk?" She re-iterated her concern, not certain what that material was or why it was appealing.

The next part was purposefully vague from the half-elf. This wasn't entirely lost on Colette but she assumed he had a reason not to tell her. Maybe he thought that he was keeping her safe? Maybe he thought she wouldn't approve?

Colette wanted to tell him to just be honest. She knew that whatever it was couldn't have been so bad. The Anirian had gotten to know him over the past few days and she knew that he was a gentle soul. He couldn't hurt a fly. Whatever he had done was surely for a good reason.

Instead, her voice got quiet, "sounds like it was tough," her hands grew tighter around his arm and she buried her head into his shoulder as they paced on. "Those days are behind you." She assured, not really knowing if it were true but also not wanting to push him to talk about a past he clearly didn't wish to.

It'd come out soon enough.

 

[Varo]

"Mostly." He said with a smile.

There were a few days where things were still rough. The Safe House in the Shallows wasn't exactly the lap of luxury, though he'd taken a few creature comforts that saw him through most nights. A good blanket always helped things.

He leaned over and softly kissed the top of her head as she leaned on his shoulder. "No no."

Varo admonished.

"You'll be sure when you feel it." He said softly. "It's the softest thing you'll ever feel."

The Half-Elf claimed. "Like..."

For a moment he was lost for words.

"I don't know how to explain it." He said with a laugh. "But when we get there. I'll put you into bed, pull your clothes off you, draw that blanket over us and make sure all you feel is me and that silk."

As Varo spoke it was clear he did not really see the salaciousness of his words. In his mind the statement was almost innocent, as far-fetched as that seemed, but his enthusiasm spun over his tongue as he tried to explain.

 

[Colette]

Colette’s cheeks went several shades of red.

”I don’t get any say in this?” she questioned while staring back at him. Her face still the color of a strawberry.

The guardswoman was ready to shed the dirty clothes she’d been wearing for several days. That much was true. She wasn’t sure if she was prepared to let Varo strip her down though. Although, perhaps…

A grin formed as she looked up at the elvish man and her eyes performed a quick scan of his features. ”I’m eager to get out of these military fatigues too but I don’t know if I’m that eager.”

There was a part of her that certainly loved the idea of being under those sheets with him. But it wouldn’t be any fun if she made the effort easy now.

”I’m sure it’s plenty comfortable,” her words quick and unemotive as she tried to hide a smile from him. It’d be interesting to see him sweat.

 

[Varo]

"Oh no, n-" It wasn't often that Varo found himself at a loss for words.

As soon as she spoke though he realized what he himself had said. "No I didn't mean like that."

Varo said, a small amount of fluster to his words as he stammered over himself to get them out. He did not want her to think...he didn't...well. His lips thinned for a brief moment and the took a deep breath as if to steady himself.

"You get all the choice." He assured her.

"I was just...it's just." Varo breathed. "Very comfortable."

The young half-elf wanted to slap his own face. This was part of his job. He was supposed to be skilled and smooth, good at talking. He'd seduced Allirian noble ladies into giving him their husbands keys and most prized possessions.

Now he was making himself a fool.

 

[Colette]

There it was. He was in full blown panic mode.

Colette, unlike Varo, wasn't that great in social interactions. She had a tendency to be too honest and too trusting. But getting the chance to see the tables flip, well, it felt rare. The blonde haired girl didn't know when, or if, it'd happen again.

Still, her nature prevented her from reveling in it any further. "Relax, I'm kidding silly." She stood herself on the tips of her toes and laid a soft kiss upon the half-elf's cheek. His beard and stubble scratching at her face.

"I'm looking forward to it," a smirk appearing on her porcelain face as she moved away from him. Truthfully any kind of sheets, cotton, wool, or even spider silk would be a luxury for her at this rate.

The outdoors were not a pleasant place.

 

[Varo]

Varo was left standing, sputtering for a moment as she practically skipped away from him in glee of having momentarily trapped him with his own words.

The Half-Elf frowned, and then broke out into a broad smile. "I'm sure you are."

He said quietly, more to himself than to her, as he quickly quickened his steps and chased after her. A smile touching his face as he gentle caught her in a half hugging touch, steps falling in line with hers as they continued their trek.

It took them the whole day and half the night until Varo brought them to a stop.

His hand gently squeezed Colette's, pulling her a bit closer to him as they stepped onto a strangely kept path within the middle of the forest. Though it was difficult to tell in the dark, the trees around them had changed. They were less wild, more in line with one another.

As though they had been purposefully shaped rather than naturally grown. "Stay close to me, okay?"

Varo said softly.

"Velem is a city, but it's also a fortress. Built a long time ago." The Half-Elf explained. "They won't hurt us or anything, but they're already watching us."

He hadn't wanted to spring that on her, but he'd only noticed it a few seconds ago. "They'll ask us questions when we reach the gates, let me do the talking."

 

[Colette]

Her heart exploded in her chest.

Varo's insistence she stay close, that they were being watched, that they'd ask questions. It all reminded Colette of the stories she heard as a girl. Elves ate babies, they wore dried human flesh as hats, and they ate soup from bowls fashioned from Anirian skulls.

The flaxen haired guardswoman stayed glued to the half-elf's side. Increasing levels of worry on her face as they got closer and closer to the fortress-city. It wasn't just that Colette was human, she was an Anirian serving in the guard.

The elves were her enemy. If they recognized her guard fatigues they'd view her as an enemy.

Perhaps the dirt, grim, and blood was thick enough to coat over any emblems or obfuscate any patterns they might recognize of Anirian design. Perhaps Varo was as correct as he seemed to be. There was no need to worry because he'd clear any misunderstanding up at the gate.

Right?

"I'm scared." A shaking hand gripped at his hard. She clung to him in a manner she hadn't since they'd met. If the elves that greeted them planned on separating her from him she'd fight them until she couldn't any longer.

 

[Varo]

"It's alright." Varo told her softly. "It will all be alright, I promise."

He knew it would be.

There was no war now. Though Elven memories were long, they were not savages. They knew when to hold back, and none of his kind...none that lived within Velem would strike out against two travelers upon the road. Not even if they were both human.

As they came upon the Gates Colette would already see the difference between the cities of man and those of Varo's people.

Instead of stone, the walls were made of thousands upon thousands of interwoven vines. They latched and latticed over themselves, forming a defense as powerful as that which protected Vel Anir itself. The gate seemed much the same, a single circular plain of wood marked with large Elven symbol.

As they wandered closer a voice echoed.

"What brings you here son of my Kin and Foe?"

The greeting was an old one, traditional and meant for Half-Elves during the wars. It was not surprising, though less welcome than he would have liked. "I seek shelter and refuge within the walls of Velem."

There was a pause.

"Why the walls of Velem?"

"I was taken by Bandits." A half-truth. "And this woman saved me. We have been walking for days to find refuge."

There was a long pause, almost as if the words were not enough. His lips thinned, and then Varo continued. "My name is Ilvisar Myrdin Naevyre, Son of the High Warden of Ivradin."

Varo frowned for a moment, and then he heard the slow creaking of wood as the gates pulled away and opened.

 

[Colette]

At first she merely marveled at the interweaving vines that made up the walls of Velem. She wondered just how they had coaxed the vegetation to grow in those specific patterns, completely unaware that magic might’ve caused them to grow like that.

A tug on Varo’s sleeve came when the elves questioned why Velem. Colette was certain that this was a dead end. That these folks didn’t care for their plight.

But eyes went wide when Varo revealed his full name. Who was the high warden of Ivradin? How did he get the name Varo from… whatever that was?

The gates opened, interrupting her thoughts. ”Are we still safe?”

A pit loomed in her stomach as the paranoia grew. Would they walk through and be attacked? Would the elves take Varo or whatever his name was away and throw Colette into a pit? For now she just kept pace with the halfling, putting her faith in him.

 

[Varo]

"We're still safe." Varo said softly, his thumb stroking over her skin as he took in a deep breath.

The gates had opened, and that was enough of a signal for him. If they did not intend on being kind they would have filled him and Colette with Arrows. Neither of them would ever have seen a single soul if the guards of Velem meant them ill-intent.

He took a deep breath. "Just stay close."

Varo said as he reached over and kissed the top of her head softly, fingers interlacing with hers. "I'll always make sure that you're okay."

His hand squeezed hers, and slowly he began to move forward. As Colette pressed herself into his side the Half-Elf guided them both through the gate, a fog rolling over them as they stepped into a massive courtyard. Almost as soon as they stepped through the Gate Colette would catch her first Glimpse of Velem.

It's buildings were much like the wall, grown instead of built.

Huge trees had been shaped and shifted into houses, the flickering light of magic illuminating the natural curve of branches and oaken bark that formed dozens of buildings and homes. They seemed to extend upward with the trees, stairs formed naturally of wood.

Everything was interlaced and intertwined, so purposefully and beautiful that it seemed almost like the forest itself.

"Prince Ilvisar."​

A voice suddenly echoed from the right, Varo turning his head as he noticed a woman approaching. She was flanked by two men, all three of them wearing illustrious silvery armor that seemed to gleam in the moonlight.

She was old, that much he could tell from how her hair flowed. A frown pulled across the Half-Elfs lips.

"Yes...it is you."​

The woman seemed to smile. "I wouldn't lie."

"Of course not, but I had to make sure. I can see him in your features. Your eyes. He fought with me in..."​

She looked to Colette.

"Well, I suppose that doesn't matter now. What brings you here?"​

It was the same question again, but Varo did not mind answering. "My...indis and I were captured by bandits. We managed to escape, and so I sought refuge here."

For a moment the woman looked over him, the Colette. After a few seconds her head tilted in a nod.

"You will have it. As is only proper for you. I would not have your father hear otherwise."​

 

[Colette]

Colette drew close as they walked into the fortress-city of Velem. Never straying more than an inch or two from his side. And then... Prince Ilvisar? Not only was Varo not his name but he was a prince?

The elven woman looked at Colette, her doe-eyes staring back at the pointed-eared woman who changed the subject as soon as she realized there was a not-elf present. Whatever she had been about to say was not meant for human ears. Or, perhaps, just not meant for her ears.

Indis? What was an indis?

Her head swam in a growing flurry of questions that she was far too tired for. It was well past the time they'd normally have sought shelter and sleep. By the sounds of it they'd be given a place to stay here due to status afforded to Varo, or whatever his name was.

Colette had wanted to speak up then and there. Ask him a dozen different questions. But instead she held her tongue, not wanting to embarrass the two of them in front of these elves. Not wanting to say something out of place or inappropriate.

 

[Varo]

Varo gave Colette an apologetic look, not wanting to break into an explanaiton here and now. He doubted they would have been turned away, but it would complicate things.

He was tired, exhausted, and he could see the same in Colette. For now he just wanted to get them to a room, somewhere private where they could rest and relax. If that meant using a bit of the authority he apparently had...he would do it. "Thank you."

The half-elf offered, making a strange gesture with his fingers.

For a moment the other Elven woman only smiled.

"Your father always was a stickler for the old ways. Follow me then."​

The woman nodded her head towards the left, then turned. They made their way quickly through Velem, and though she was tired Colette could take in more of the city.

No torches lit their way, but instead glowing bulbs of luminous flowers and mushrooms. Patches growing along the walkway, the walls of wonderfully shaped buildings that fit directly into the trees. Eventually they reached a staircase, thousands of vines intertwining around the shape of a massive tree.

Varo held onto Colette as they began to climb, the Elf woman leading them near to the top of a tree to a large home that had been shaped from the tree itself.

"We have not had guests of your status for some time, you may find it somewhat...old fashioned."​

"As long as there's a bed." Varo said with a smile, offering another thank you in Elven before nodding his head.

The Woman gave a small salute, or close enough to one for Colette to recognize, then began to descend the stairs. Varo reached out and pulled open the door, revealing apartments fit for a King.

 

[Colette]

Though a part of her wanted to keep her focus ahead and avoid a wandering eye she found the desire to take in the sights and sounds irresistible. Beautiful illuminated flowers of every shade peppered the pathways to provide more light than the sconces in Vel Anir.

Varo hadn't lied about the architecture either. Most of the buildings weren't buildings at all. They were a mixture of wide trees interlaced with curling vines and greenery. Occasionally she'd notice a stone structure carved into the earth rather than constructed. It was like nothing she had ever seen before.

Once the pair entered into the apartment building and found themselves alone her jaw dropped.

Did all elves live like this or were accommodations this nice only reserved for supposed princes? The tapestry on the far wall was adorned in a multi-colored pattern with a wide mirror in its center. A large window with lush silk, perhaps the spider silk he had mentioned earlier, drawn in to hide away the city of Velem. The bed was plush and comforting which she noticed as she sat on its corner.

Colette stared at the far wall a mixture of relief and concern overcoming her.

Relief because they were finally, truly, safe in a comforting environment. She assumed they'd be fed and could sleep without being awakened by first light or worried about whatever forest creatures might lurk in the shadows.

Concerned because, well, she wasn't sure why. Varo hadn't lied to her but he hadn't been entirely forthcoming either. It was odd. Colette wasn't in the mood to argue about it. She was too tired. However, letting the doubts lie wasn't going to work for her either. "So, you're a prince."

Her words were hollow. Empty. Not accusatory or judgmental just straight to the point as she kept staring at that damn wall.

 

[Varo]

Varo felt his stomach drop almost immediately.

He felt...bad.

There had been no lie, not really. He had told her every truth she had ever asked, but he knew that it was still wrong. Wrong to skip out on what he'd actually been. Wrong to not talk about it before with her, but he had been afraid.

"Yes." He breathed, though he did not know why he was so weary of the question.

"I..." Varo bit his lower lip. "I don't really think of myself as one anymore."

He explained quietly, never looking at the room, just her. "I left....I've lived...I've lived like a criminal for the last year. Not a Prince. Not my fathers son."

Varo chewed his lip.

"I didn't want you to think..." He frowned for a moment. "I didn't want you to think I'm someone I'm not."

Not anymore.

 

[Colette]

One of the more common folktales in Vel Anir was the story of Fenrich Luana. He was a noble born into a life of splendor and privilege that gave all of it up, realizing that a life of hard work and simple things was worth far more than all of the riches on Arethil. The subtext of the fable, that the middle and lower class were somehow "better off" than the nobility, was lost on Colette as it was on many other loyal Anirians.

But as Varo spoke she couldn't help but to be reminded of that tale. A fanciful, if convenient, story to explain that Varo had been on the run not because he had done anything wrong but rather that he had realized the noble's life wasn't for him.

For a long while she just stared at that wall. As he kept speaking though she could hear the hurt in his voice. The pain he was feeling. She didn't want him to hurt.

"It's, it's," finally she turned to look at him, azure doe-eyes meeting his bright blues. "It's okay. Come sit." A firm hand patted the part of the bed beside her.

Colette didn't take her eyes of him while she spoke, "we can talk about... all of it... in the morning. If you want. If it's too hard for you just tell me." Her nose scrunched and a single tooth was revealed as she bit at the corner of her mouth. "You can be honest with me."

Her look became serious as she added, "about anything."

 

[Varo]

Varo hesitated for only a moment, lips thinning before he slowly stepped towards her.

Should he tell her?

Should he share that one secret that he held? That one thing that had driven him from his home and taken him away from everything he'd loved? Could he speak of the monster that he was inside? The beast that ruled within him?

His chest hurt. His heart thundered, and as he looked at her he couldn't help but feel as though he were betraying her.

Varo felt his heart skip a beat. He felt his stomach tighten and twist. Breathing was almost impossible. His lips thinning as he sat himself down. "There's...I'm..."

He didn't want to lie.

He didn't want to keep things from her.

"I..." He didn't want her to hate him, despise him and look at him with disgust. "There's...there's just one more thing."

Varo said quietly. "I'm a Prince. I'm a criminal. But...there's a reason I had to leave...I had to go."

How could he ever tell her?

"I...I don't want you to hate me...to be scared of me...but I know you will be. I know you won't be able to help it." He looked down at the ground, unable to meet her gaze. "I just..."

He couldn't tell her. He couldn't. "I can't."

Varo breathed.

 

[Colette]

Colette gazed at him, taking him in. He looked uncomfortable and he tripped over his words in a manner she’d yet to see. There surely wasn’t anything so bad as for him to be this concerned over.

She already knew he was a thief. Had he broken some vague elven custom? Said something that he shouldn’t have? Had he… hurt someone?

No.

Varo wasn’t capable of that. Colette knew him well enough to know that if someone had been harmed it must’ve been an accident. They could make it right now that she was here. Whatever it was they could fix it together.

A small hand reached out and grasped his, squeezing it slightly while a thumb traced the gap between his own thumb and index finger. ”Hey, hey, it’s ok.” The girl’s words were soft as she stood and inched closer to him, pulling her free hand up to his cheek.

”I couldn’t hate you or be scared of you.” She traced his facial hair with her fingers and forced a smile. ”You can just… tell me. I won’t be mad. I promise.”

What was the worst it could be? He’d accidentally thrown a rock through a window or ran into a young woman after recklessly riding a royal elvish horse? Colette knew he was beating himself up over nothing. She’d done the same thing the time she burnt that pie her first month in the guard or the time she’d stepped on her mom’s daisies.

”It’ll be okay.”

 

[Varo]

Varo wanted to believe her, wanted to think that she would understand, but he knew that wasn't likely.

There were few people who knew his secret, the reason that he'd had to leave home. The reason that he had been out in the woods in the first place. A part of him wanted to keep it from her even now, tell some other lie, but what was the point?

If she found out he kept it from her it would all come crashing down anyway...and she was safe now. She might not have believed it, but she was.

"I..." Lips thinned.

"There's a reason I had to leave home." There was a reason he couldn't be around Colette for too long either. "I was...I was in the forest near Ivradin. Something had been stalking our forests for months, slaughtering wildlife and leaving behind carcasses. My father insisted I go with."

Lips thinned, and briefly he wondered if the old man would blame himself. "It was a calm night, a quiet night. The cloud were swept away by the wind...and a full moon hung in the sky."

Varo swallowed.

"It jumped us. Faster than us. Stronger. A wolf...but a man at the same time." He frowned for a brief moment, then continued. "I got separated from the others. It hunted me through the woods, and eventually cornered me in a grove. It jumped on me, claws raking over my face."

He gestured to the scars over his lips and across his cheek. "Then...then it bit me."

There was a pause as he took a breath, tears slowly rolling over his cheek.

"My father killed it before it could rip out my throat, brought me back, had the healers tend me." Lips thinned for a moment, and then finally got to the point. "The next full moon..."

He couldn't look at her. "The Next full moon my body tore itself apart, changed...and I became the monster."

Varo fully expected Colette to scream, to look on him in horror. To scramble to the nearest door and inform the Guards of what he was.

 

[Colette]

If it were not for the tears on his face Colette likely would've thought he was joking. He didn't make eye contact with her either. Causing her to look at him as if he were some sort of injured bird.

She'd heard tales of werewolves but she assumed they were just that. Tales. Now he was claiming to be one and it wasn't a joke. He wasn't joking.

It all hit her at once, everything felt like it was falling apart. Lower lip trembled, tears welled up, her throat felt tight and her face hot. There had to be something she could say though, something she could do.

"We'll fix it," Colette finally choked out through the now falling tears and rough voice.

How would they fix it? "Th-there must be some elf magic, you were so good at that, with the stick remember? M-maybe someone can teach you the trick to not..." A gentled hand rubbed Varo's shoulder blades as she ceased that line of thinking. But the gears in her head kept racing.

After a time she moved in closer, squeezing his hand in support. "Have, have you tried not being a... that thing?" Maybe he could just put his mind to it and it wouldn't happen. That made sense to her, if she wanted to become a baker then she just had to put her full commitment into it.

Or perhaps there was some kind of plant that would stop it. They could go looking for it tomorrow. This wasn't going to be a problem without a solution he just hadn't thought of it yet. She was certain.

"We can find a fix," she practically pleaded as she pressed into him in a full hug.

 

[Varo]

He could have died in that moment and been happy.

Varo had assumed she would look at him on disgust, would scream, run away. He had thought that she would look at him like a monster and try to put him down. His greatest fear had been being pushed away, rejected for what he was just a few days of the year.

He could feel his heart thunder in his chest as she wrapped around him. His arms lay still at his side for a moment, too shocked to even hold her back. Tears spilled down his face, and he took a deep ragged breath. "I-I-I...I don't know."

Varo stammered quietly.

He had of course tried a dozen times to stop the transformations. He'd used magic, chains, a few times he'd even tried to drown himself on the same night. Always it came, always it plagued him. There was no stopping the Wolf, not when it was full moon, and not when he was injured.

It was like a shadow, always following him, always there.

"I've tried. I just...I..." His lips thinned. "I just can't."

Varo bit his lip. "I don't know. I just don't want to hurt anyone."

His voice cracked.