Private Tales Bare Skies

[Wren Kingsley]

The moment the call was made, Wren moved. Her feet barely made a sound under her boots, allowing her to creep up behind the closest guard to her, a hand settling on the hilt of his blade to ensure he didn't draw it, and the other holding her blade to his throat as she stood behind him.

He tensed, and Wren whistled to the other guards who each turned to her, drawing their weapons and calling for their comrades. She moved back, taking the guard with her, ensuring none of them moved behind her.

"Ah da da da.. Let's not be hasty. No need for bloodshed. Weapons down now.." Wren cooed, the cold steel of her dagger kissing the guard's bobbing throat, causing him to flinch and raise his hands into the air in front of him.

"Which one of you kind gents are going to open these carts for me, hm?.." she asked with a smirk in her tone.

 

[Varo]

Every single one of the six guards turned their attention towards Wren almost immediately, heads whirling and swords drawn from their scabbards.

It was probably the sexiest damn thing Varo had ever seen in his entire life.

For just a split second he found himself somewhat startled by Wren's brazen act, only able to shake himself off by remembering his role in all of this. Fingers tightened for a moment, breath drawing into his lungs as he stalked forward.

One of the Guards stepped forward towards Wren, sword in hand.

"Easy there lass, don't do anything stupid. Know who owns this? Who you're messing with?"

Varo wasn't paying any attention to him, instead he moved towards the front guard. From his pocket he pulled a blackjack, grabbing the front of the cart and smacking the driver hard over the head as he focused on Wren and the hostage she held.

He felt the man's body collapse, dragging him off of the cart and setting him down quietly onto the ground.

Varo was so consumed with his task he never even noticed the tent flap of the second cart move as someone slipped out of it.

 

[Wren Kingsley]

The guard in her hold winced and sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth as her blade pressed against his skin, biting at the flesh and drawing the first ruby beads of blood. "Fuck - Frank stand the fuck down!" he held up a hand to the guard who was approaching, asking questions.

"Aye, Frank. Stand the fuck down." she repeated and tilted her head at him. "What's it worth to you, hm? It's just a job, don't you be doing anything stupid.. Come on, get it opened and we can all get home for supper, hm?.."

They each exchanged glances, unsure of what to do.

"I don't have all night boys." Wren snapped irritably. "And I've been polite so far." her gaze narrowed and she turned to purr in the ear of the guard she held. "Maybe you can talk some sense into them before I'm forced to try a different tactic.."

"Open the fucking cart!" he barked.

 

[Varo]

Varo dragged the driver back into the bushes, deciding not to kill the man even as Wren single-handedly kept the focus of half a dozen guards on her.

He tried to move quickly, practically throwing the unconscious man into the brush before he rushed back towards the cart. He rushed so quickly that he did not notice the man fully emerge from the second cart, his figure shrouded in dark robes.

The man watched quietly, not doing anything as Varo climbed upon the cart and offered a waving signal to his companion.

Fingers wrapped around the reins, preparing to pull and yank the cart towards Wren as the Guards took half steps backward and away from Wren. One of them turned their heads, taking note that the driver had been replaced by a copper-haired elf.

"What the fu-"​

Before he could finish his sentence Varo drew a knife from his sleeve, and with one smooth motion flicked it towards the man.

The blade buried itself in his shoulder, the man letting out a groan of pain as he stumbled back. "GET ON THE CART!"

Varo shouted at Wren.

 

[Wren Kingsley]

Wren shot a glance to Varo with a quiet growl to herself as she shoved at the guard she held and he stumbled forward a few paces. She moved quickly, hopping up to grab onto the side of the cart.

"Go!!" she barked as she climbed her way around to the front, keeping watch of the guards who gathered their wits about them. She'd planned on ensuring they wouldn't be chased, but Varo it seemed was a little more impatient.

"In a hurry are we?" she hissed.

 

[Varo]

"Just want to make sure we get away!" Varo rebuked quickly, fingers grasping the reigns as he gave a 'hyah'.

The horses took only half a second before they suddenly lurched forward and began to take off, trampling the ground beneath them.

They got only a few steps, not even half a dozen, before Varo suddenly felt something pull at his body. It wasn't a rope catching around him, it wasn't a chain or something the guards had, instead it was a lash around his throat. Something unseen and unknown.

It yanked him from his place at the front of the cart, pulling him off of the wooden bench and sending him flying to the ground with a couch wretch echoing from his throat.

"What have we here?"​

A voice echoed out from the darkness, the silhouetted figure that had slipped from the other cart slowly moving into the clearing with his hand raised and half pulled back.

"Some thieving scum? Or something more?"​

 

[Wren Kingsley]

"Var- Shit." Wren groaned and reached to grab hold of the reins to pull the horses to a halt. Within seconds she stood facing the approaching figure, her emerald gaze glancing to Varo as he writhed on the ground.

Shit.

"Let him go. I won't warn a second time." Wren growled, glaring venomously from underneath her hood at the male, her fingers tightening though she held no weapon.

 

[Varo]

The man seemed to smirk, glancing down at Varo for a moment who was now grabbing his throat and coughing in pain.

"Let him go?"​

There was amusement to the words, Varo half trying to pick himself up as he lay on the ground. A bruise was already forming on his neck, bright purple and ringed with blue. Heavy coughs wracked his entire body as he forced air back into his lungs.

"F-fu-" He did his best to insult the man, but words were hard to say.

"I don't have a leash on him, but he should be wearing one...given what he is."​

Varo looked up in an instant, his eyes bulging with paranoia and fear as the strange man gave a cruel and echoing laugh.

 

[Wren Kingsley]

Panic rose in her, but if she was afraid she did not show it. Her body remained still, poised ready to fight, her gaze steady and narrowing slightly at the man's words. She glanced to Varo, having no idea what he had meant, but matters were too pressing for her to care.

She inwardly groaned, seeing the rest of the guards approach to catch up, but they kept their distance behind the man they currently faced, their weapons ready. Wren's jaw tightened, and her hand slowly rose. Her magic wasn't something she had used around her new little team of thieves, but right now she saw no other choice. Weapons wouldn't match a mage, and the guards behind him would no doubt shit their pants and run for it rather than attack.

And so with her palm face up, her fingers curled toward herself, calling forth the air from his very lungs.

 

[Varo]

The made made a strangled sound in the middle of his laughter, the air escaping from his lungs in a rush.

Eyes bulged, lips thinned, and his hand came up to claw at his throat. Varo looked up from the ground, head turning toward the man, then towards Wren. He shivered, not quite understanding what was going on but scrambling onto his feet to begin to rush towards his friend.

He managed three steps, and then he heard a click of fingers behind him.

The man at his back still struggled to get air, still struggled to breath as Wren ripped the air from his lungs. Yet in his fight his other hand had come up, and a surge of magic rushed through him as he snapped his finger.

A surge that touched Varo like a lash.

On his third step Varo felt the first snap of bone. He tumbled to the ground, his his instinctively turning towards the sky in confusion and anger. "No!"

He hissed out, rasped and broken from the pull on his throat.

"It's not ti-AHH!" Pain lanced through him, another snap ringing out, and then another, and then another as he tumbled to the ground in pain. His skin began to shift, rip and tear, dark coppery fur appearing.

The Guards who had been stepping towards Wren stopped, confusion and fear pulling over their features as they saw what was happening to Varo.

 

[Wren Kingsley]

There was little she could do to hide her panic now, and her chest heaved with each heavy breath as the sickening sound of Varo’s bones snapping caused her to squirm. The sound of his screams. He was going to kill him, surely.

“Stop!!!” Wren screamed out, both hands thrown out toward the man, and a wall of air rushed at him as a solid form to crash into him and send him flying backward.

She tugged a little harder on that grip on his lungs, her fist twisting as rage consumed her and she strode toward him. “Stop or I swear to all the gods I’ll kill every last fucking one of you!” She’s already said she didn’t warn twice. Half the men were already fleeing.

 

[Varo]

The man went flying, thrown back a dozen yards and crashing into a tree with the sound of a sullen thonk as the tree smashed into him.

His body slumped against the tree, a bone broken at least, yet there was a smile on his face as he sunk against the ground. His eyes were half hooded, but he looked up just as he saw Wren step towards where Varo was hunched on the ground.

The sound of snapping bone and tearing flesh continued to echo out into the forest. The rolling pain of his transformation already rushing over him. "W-Wre-RAAAAGH."

Pain lanced through him, his hand coming up to grab at some of the peeling skin on his chest. Fingers dug into it, as though he could somehow slow it down.

"R-RUN!" He shouted at her, his head turning up to face her. "RUN!"

Varo screamed at the top of his lungs, the sound echoing through the forest.

 

[Wren Kingsley]

Wren halted, her heart leaping into her throat as she finally looked at Varo. Her head slowly shook in mute incredulity as she took a few wary steps back, wincing at the sounds of his body tearing itself apart and the screams that ripped from his chest.

He was telling her to run and yet her legs refused to move, her mouth gaping as she stared in horror at what she was seeing, at something she'd never witnessed before in utter shock and confusion.

She shot a glance to the guards as they all let out their gasps of terror and made their run for it, their group splintering and rushing off into the wood in various directions. She should run, and yet, it was..

"Varo?.."

 

[Varo]

His flesh rent, his bones reformed themselves, and his whole body seemed to grow.

Skin replaced by fur, his ear growing tall, his entire body morphed into a monstrosity before her very eyes. It happened quickly, far too quickly. Within a few beats of the heart Varo changed from a kind hearted Half-Elf to something entirely different.

As the last of himself was peeled away Varo, or what had once been Varo rose onto his haunches. A powerful bellowing howl called from his throat, the sound of it deafening within the clearing and seeming to echo throughout the forest itself.

No moonlight shone down upon him as the unnatural transformation was complete, the Wolf's massive form settling into place.

Slowly it's piercing yellow gaze settled down upon Wren.

Two bright eyes that seemed to glow within the night itself stared down at her. He loomed, a low growl escaping his throat as his teeth flashed from beneath his jowls.

 

[Wren Kingsley]

Not Varo...Not Varo...

Finally, she took another step back as the wolf's eyes fixed on her, and another as he growled. She held her breath, her adrenaline surging so quickly she feared she might vomit.

What the fuck was happening?

He had done something. She glanced to the man crumpled at the root of the tree, his hooded eyes too were fixed on the wolf. "The fuck have you done?.." she whispered out of the corner of her mouth, her words shaking.

Wren had quite literally never been more afraid of another living creature in her life. Her already milky skin paled and her palms were clammy with sweat as slowly oh-so-slowly backed away from the beast, and toward the horses in her peripheral vision.

 

[Varo]

The Wolf took a single, slow step forward towards Wren as she began to back up.

It's tongue flickered over it's teeth, ears twitching and entirely focused in upon her as she spoke. Another step was accompanied as she backed up further, eyes fixed upon her form. There was no hint of the boy that Wren knew, of the man within the monster.

There was only the beast.

"Me?"​

A cackling laugh followed the word, resounding loudly through the clearing.

The instant that it sounded out The Wolf's head snapped around, ears flickering and twitching as it's eyes set upon the scrunched up form laying against the tree. It's feet seemed to root in place for a moment, as if watching to ensure it would not be surrounded.

"I only brought out his true form! What he really is! What his hea-"​

The mage never got to finish his sentence.

Before the last words could spill from his mouth the Wolf pounced across the clearing. One swift jump saw him land upon the man, a loud crunch echoing out as a massive set of jaws came down upon his skull in one swift bite.

 

[Wren Kingsley]

Mission accomplished, divert the wolf's attention toward the mage whilst Wren made a break for it.

She slipped a dagger into her palm and bolted for the horses. The cart would be too slow, and she decided that she valued her life more than any amount of jewels and coin she'd be leaving behind. Her blade sliced through the leather straps binding the closest horse to it's wagon and she pulled herself up as quickly as she could without looking back.

 

[Varo]

Another crunch echoed out, a squelch, and then the mage was gone.

A life that had twisted and brought misery snuffed out in an instant by what he had wrought. The wolf pulled itself up, slowly rising back up on it's haunches. Blood dripped from it's maw, head slowly turning back to where the other sound on the clearing was coming from.

Teeth flashed once more as it watched Wren climb atop her horse. The beast quickly bolting away as it's own fear took hold. The two of them galloped from the clearing and down across the dirt road.

For a few seconds it almost seemed as the Wolf would not follow, and then it leaped forward once more.

The Best landed with a thud upon the worn earth, falling onto all fours and breaking into a sprint faster than any man was capable of.

 

[Wren Kingsley]

So this was how she died. Having her throat torn out by her fake husband in the body of a gargantuan wolf. "Fucking great." she breathed to herself, kicking at the horse to move as fast as it possibly could as she held on for dear life.

Her raven locks whipped at her face as she turned to look over her shoulder after hearing the beast leap, after feeling the earth tremble. "Shit." she whined in panic. "Come onnnn you fucking donkey!" she screamed at the horse as the beast gained ground.

She wasn't going to make it, not like this. Her hand swept out to her side and she threw back a strong gust of wind, hoping she could slow it enough for her to make it to safety, the blast throwing up a thick plume of dust from the road.

 

[Varo]

The wind pressed against the Wolf, a sudden rustle of force that saw it sliding back on the road. Claws dug into the dirt, dragging for a few seconds and kicking up through the plume of dusk.

A sneeze shook the great beast, it's head turning back and forth before he drew himself back up.

Wren would hear an echoing howl escape through the night. It pierced the veil of silence that seemed to hang over the forest. Then, suddenly, the Wolf darted off the road and into the forest. Within three great strides it disappeared from the plume of dust and into the darkness.

When she glanced back she would see nothing but the dark, no yellow piercings eyes, no tuft of coppery fur.

All that she would hear was the wind.

 

[Wren Kingsley]

That howl of his caused her very bones to shudder with vibration, a militia of chills marching across her spine and causing her skin to tingle with a bloom of goosebumps. Her heart was hammering so rapidly against her chest that it ached. She dared to glance back. She hadn't seen which way it'd gone, only that as the dust settled, the road was clear.

Perhaps she had scared it away. She prayed she had. She slowed the horse slightly to listen, and her emerald eyes darted around the dark wood, looking for any signs of life. Other than the gentle stirring of the trees in the wind there was nothing. Wren swallowed, and she couldn't shake that tingling on her spine. Slowly, she urged the horse forward again. If she could get back to the town, she could get inside and bar the doors.

Her eyes teared as she thought of what she'd seen, what she'd heard. Was this really what Varo was? Whatever he was, he'd left her alone out here running for her life.

 

[Varo]

From the forest, the wolf broke free.

It came in an instant, as if peeling from the shadows of the night itself. The only warning that Wren had was the slightest hint of copper fur that flashed out beneath a particularly bright star. Before she could move too far, before she could send another blast of win, it was upon her.

The Wolf pounced on her, lurching forward and letting out a loud snarl as it suddenly came down from his jump.

Massive Jaws snapped open, claws struck outward.

Peeling from the darkness it did not fall upon Wren, but instead her mount. Varo, or what he was now, bit down upon the horses throat, his whole weight crashing down on the beast just a second later to send them all tumbling to the ground.

 

[Wren Kingsley]

A sharp scream in fright tore itself from her throat as the wolf barrelled into her horse, the force of which sending her flying through the air to land hard on the ground and rolling to a dizzy stop in a small clearing in the wood.

She grimaced as she pushed herself to her feet, holding onto her shoulder as she staggered on aimlessly, trying to pick up her pace and run for her last chance of survival.

 

[Varo]

The sound of crunching bone and tearing flesh echoed out for a few second as the Wolf dug into it's newfound meal. The brutal symphony giving Wren a song to flee with. It seemed to carry through the wood as she walked, echoing between the trees.

Until it stopped.

Silence dominated the woods. Utter and complete stillness. There were no birds, no insects, nothing at all. The only sound was that of her own breath, the beating of her heart. They seemed to echo into the Dark of night, resounding so loud it blocked out all other sound.

It was when she looked back, when she glanced towards the road that the Wolf appeared again.

When her head turned back Wren would find the Beast towering over her, it's coppery fur dark with crimson, it's lips peeled back in a growl as blood and spittle dripped down upon her.

 

[Wren Kingsley]

She dragged in an audible gasp as she turned to find the creature right there. How such a beast could move so swift and yet so silently would've been something she'd had marvelled at had it not been about to maul her to death..

"Varo.." Wren whispered shakily. "It's Wren, listen to me..." she frowned gently, and slowly lifted her hands in front of her as she took a single step back.