Private Tales Of Steel and Wolves.

[Sephrenia]

“Thank you for everything. If you wish to stay you of course can...but you owe me nothing. If this beast is looking for me you will only be putting yourself in needless danger..”

"I will stay, I am not concerned with the danger." She said softly as she slowly sat down, watching the woman quietly. "At least until you are back with your, group... pack... family. There is no reason for you to face whatever that is alone." Seph was worn, she'd run, hard and was feeling the burn in her muscles from such. She slowly lay out on the floor, stretching out on her back and looking to the ceiling quietly, pondering the Legion.

"What is the Legion exactly?" She asked quietly, rolling to her side to watch her start cooking and taking the room in. She drug her tongue slowly over her muzzle as she watched Maxine with the raw deer hungrily. She stopped herself from continuing to watch her, before she scared the poor woman with her hungry wolf drooling.
Maxine Steelborne

 

[Maxine Steelborne]

A piece of raw back strap was thrown her way landing in front of her with a bloody slap.

“You ran hard. Eat that while I cook.” Maxine said with a smirk tossing her some clothes in case she wished to shift to her human form for supper. While nice the surroundings were old.

Very old.

And the layer of dust over everything seemed to speak of the vast amount of time it spent unoccupied.

“And as for your question..The Steel Legion was a group of warriors. We held outposts in every major town and city. Elite forces for the highest bidder. We picked no sides. Played no politics.” She said as she prepared the meat to be spit roasted over the small fire she had gotten going. The old fire place held a sword and helmet over the mantle. Maxine ignored it.

“But as vast as we were..There were those that began to split. Those of us that gave into greed..others power, and still others kindness..” She continued getting the meat cooking. She sat back in front of the fire. She gestured for the wolf to join her if she wished. She pulled off her jacket laying it on the floor as a sort of blanket. A tank top of an undershirt was left.

It revealed her many tattoos not many had ever been privy to knowing the existence of.

A pack of wolves ran across her shoulders.

At the head a smaller blue and a larger red wolf lead them. Each wolf had a name above them two were crossed out with the blade of a knife. Another was on her right shoulder the legions crest with a crown underneath it. Under the crown were 6 bars. Years of service. The final was on her left forearm. Tick marks up her arm.

Each tick representing a hundred kills.

She had 5.

And with a sigh she pulled off her left arm at the elbow. It had remained gloved in her armored gauntlet but as it appeared she would remove the glove only air was revealed.

“We shattered. Our enemies attacked as well aided by traitors to kill any that had retained anything of value.”

Her eyes grew sad and misty. She gave a far of look as if gazing into the past it’s self.

“All that’s left were the four largest guilds before our collapse. Each with its own grandmaster, and its own way of doing things..We share supplies, but that’s the limit to most of our interactions. Even sending or reviving aid is priced as if they were just another customer...It’s not what we were meant to be..” She said with another sigh as the meat began to sizzle.

 

[Sephrenia]

“You ran hard. Eat that while I cook.”

Seph picked up the meat quietly and began eating in silence while she watched Maxine curiously. She looked to the clothing and nodded softly, she would stay in this form however. She felt safer, not that she was overly worried for her own safety, more she was worried for Maxine as that beast, whatever it was, was still alive out there.

“And as for your question..The Steel Legion was a group of warriors. We held outposts in every major town and city. Elite forces for the highest bidder. We picked no sides. Played no politics.” But as vast as we were..There were those that began to split. Those of us that gave into greed..others power, and still others kindness..”

Maxine gestured for Seph to join her by the fire… she smiled softly “I’ll stay here, fur and all, I am already quite warm” She chuckled softly, the heat from the fire filling the room easily. Her sapphire eyes watched as Maxine took her jacket off and laid it on the floor leaving her in just a tank top. Sephs eyes wandered the tattoos curiously for a few moments before pulling away. She noted the wolves, curious foreshadowing perhaps.

As Maxine removed her arm, Seph was really thrown off. This was a new scene to her, a false arm? She tilted her head, the usual odd look a canine gave something it did not understand. She was quite flabbergasted by the sight. Her usual humanistic movements for once appeared more animal, something that was quite rare for her. She quickly forced her eyes away, not meaning to stare.

“We shattered. Our enemies attacked as well aided by traitors to kill any that had retained anything of value. All that’s left were the four largest guilds before our collapse. Each with its own grandmaster, and its own way of doing things..We share supplies, but that’s the limit to most of our interactions. Even sending or reviving aid is priced as if they were just another customer...It’s not what we were meant to be..”

“So.. Can it be fixed, changed to what it was before?” she asked softly, turning her eyes to the meat that was cooking as she took another bite of the raw meat. The metallic taste of the blood was amazing against her tastebuds, a taste she despised in her human form.

 

[Maxine Steelborne]

“I like to think so..I work for that day..” Maxine said with a sigh.

“But..My fellow grandmasters do not see as I do. Ronin in the east would very much like for him and those in his guild to be left alone. They were the remnants of our elite guard.
The black steel.They were mostly separate from the legion proper to begin with. It didn’t make sense for those who guarded our highest ranking people to be tied to the rank and file. And the northern and southern guilds are run by Sinlyn and Nich’e. Twin elf sisters. They fight like animals. Always squabbling over territory, supply stashes, or artifacts..” She chuckled darkly.

“The only thing they seem to agree on is how much they hate ronin...Then there’s me. Stuck in the middle of them all..” She seemed deflated after this.

“In truth I feel there is little we can do to undo what has been done.” She pulled the deer. Sank her teeth into the thick cut of meat. Holding it in her teeth she used the same hand to pass two others to her companion further away. “It’s alright to ask about the arm you know.” she said noticing her previous curiosity with a wink. “It’s a good story..”

 

[Sephrenia]

“I like to think so..I work for that day..But..My fellow grandmasters do not see as I do. Ronin in the east would very much like for him and those in his guild to be left alone. They were the remnants of our elite guard. The black steel.They were mostly separate from the legion proper to begin with. It didn’t make sense for those who guarded our highest ranking people to be tied to the rank and file. And the northern and southern guilds are run by Sinlyn and Nich’e. Twin elf sisters. They fight like animals. Always squabbling over territory, supply stashes, or artifacts..”

She listened quietly, taking it all in curiously as she noticed the changes in @Maxine Steelborne’s demeanor as she talked about it all.

“The only thing they seem to agree on is how much they hate ronin...Then there’s me. Stuck in the middle of them all.. In truth I feel there is little we can do to undo what has been done.”

“I think there is always amends that can be made… perhaps it will never be as it was, but it can possibly be brought close to its former state.”

She watched her bite into a piece of the meat, then she handed Seph 2 pieces. She took them happily and ate quietly as she pondered things she’d said.

“It’s alright to ask about the arm you know. It’s a good story..”

Seph chuckled. “Sorry, didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, just never seen anything of the sort. Please… tell me the story I am quite interested.”

 

[Maxine Steelborne]

“It was a dragon that took it.” She said with a grim grin. The fire casting shadows and setting the atmosphere nicely. Her voice enunciated by the crackle and pops of the fire

. “We were in a village when it was set upon by 4 dragons. This small patch of dirt in the middle of no where was suddenly a battle ground for the beings that ruled in ages long turned to dust by times passage.” She grew quiet for a moment. “One reached out to me and offered protection. I took it. It was only later that I learned the true cost.” She finished.. rubbing the stump where her elbow remained as a grim reminder of the limb that had once been attached below.

“I had a friend make me this from scrounged up, old world legion armor.” She said as a small rune glowed on her stub and the arm she had taken off began to move on its own like she was wearing it.

Moving its wrist and fingers.

“My squad and I won the day, but many villagers were lost. The whole place was little more than a crater when they picked it clean and left...such destruction has not been seen since Elbion by me at least..” she finished. Her story as well as her meat. “What about you. Someone like you must have a story or two between those ears of yours. Speak if you would.” Maxine said with a good natured smile taking the place of her previously grim expression as her mind pushed past those darker times.

 

[Sephrenia]

She chuckled as she finished her meat while Maxine talked about how she’d lost her arm. Seph tilted her head slightly this way and that as she looked to the hand while it moved as if it were made of actual skin and bone.”Very interesting….” She said softly as Maxine spoke.

“What about you. Someone like you must have a story or two between those ears of yours. Speak if you would.”

She laughed softly… she did have a story or twenty. She smiled softly as she stretched out on her side. “Want the short or the long of it?” She said softly as she settled herself in. Her sapphire eyes wandered around the room again quietly before she opted to give a long, short version.

“I am a shapeshifter, as was my mother. She was a lady of the night to put it cleanly and my father was a government official. He pretended I didn’t exist until I was roughly 4 and he had to take care of me because she could not. When she tried to get me back, he had her killed for witchcraft, made me watch to try to prevent me from shifting and getting involved in magic of any kind. However I was born as I am, so I refused to be contained and magic usually can not. He and I got into it one night, he thought he killed me but he obviously did not. So I ran.

I ran into other wolves, somewhat like me I suppose. They are not shifters like me, they remain in this form. Somehow the son of the alpha found me, we fell in love and now I am the alpha female of the pack. Of course there are many stories in between all of that, but that is the long, short version.”

She chuckled again
Maxine Steelborne

 

[Maxine Steelborne]

Maxine quietly listened even let out a short whistle of disbelief that a father could be so cruel. “So there ARE more of your kind then? At least kind of..” Maxine said with a knowing nod.

“It’s always nice to have a pack or a family that you can rely on. I know all too well what it’s like to lose both. I guess this is the reason I value it so dearly...” She drifted off into silence.

The fire began to die, Maxine simply stared at the waning flames allowing comfortable silence to reign. Neither of them were particularly given to idle chatter. At least that was how Maxine felt. However after a moment something came to her attention.

“It will be waiting for us to leave.” She said with certainty. “I’m not sure what it is or if I can kill it. So I would not ask the leader of a pack to risk themselves in a such a way. If you leave it will not follow you. I’m not sure why..”

Maxine rubbed her head trying to justify this feeling with a reason but she could not. She just knew it. “But I know it will not..” She let the statement hang. This new silence far less comfortable.

 

[Sephrenia]

She nodded in silence at her words.... She thought about Baraek and the pack. Putting herself at risk was a bad thing, but her pride and loyalty would not allow her to turn her back on Maxine whom she now also felt a bond with. She drug her tongue slowly over her muzzle, pondering things as they lay in the dying firelight. She lifted her head to the sky and let out a deep howl. She was likely too far from the pack to be heard, but if she caught any wolven ears, perhaps the message would get passed on. She didn't expect it would be the case. But she at least tried. She yawned a little as she turned her eyes back to Maxine.

"It will be waiting.. we will be ready. Get some rest. I will stay mostly awake as is my nature... in the morning we will prepare a few things. I have some things up my sleeves that we can use to our advantage perhaps. But we will figure it out in the morning. For now, rest is needed for clear minds and strong muscles." She smiled softly as she moved to rest her chin on her arm, ears perked, rotating with the sounds outside as she listened.

Maxine Steelborne

 

[Maxine Steelborne]

“Very well..” Maxine said nodding at the logic in the statement. In all honesty she didn’t have the energy for much more conversation. She simply curled up where she sat. Her dreams were no better than her last rest even if her physical state was far healthier. She was laying on the snowy ground.

She was younger...A festering wound in her side. Her nose bleeding badly. She struggled to her knees. Her vision was growing dark. The darkness closing in around her. “Maxine....Darling..” A whisper in her ears before the darkness surrounded her.

“We want you here with us..We miss you so very much..” Suddenly the darkness shifted to clawed hands. “Don’t you want to be with mommy and daddy?” They rushed her, clawing at her face and body. Pulling at her eyes and mouth until a massive monster shrouded in shadow swallowed her. She snapped awake sitting bolt upright. She placed her head in her hands..These dreams..

These memories..

Things were getting worse. She remembered most of her life but patches seemed to appear the more she thought about it. What was happening to her.. She sat up as she felt it. Her wolf companion would no doubt feel it even before her. A shift as the shack that covered their little safe haven was crushed to splinters as something large slammed into it.

The force of the blow cracked the ceiling and it was only getting larger. The sound of fists or hammers being slammed into it over and over. Maxine put her arm back on as she scrambled to a door labeled “Armory.” “Come on Seph!” She yelled ducking inside. “I’m not even sure if these work..” Maxine cursed as she revealed a room full of a wide assortment of dusty weapons and armor. The armor was large and boasted a thick metal plates that seemed far to heavy to move in. Swords that were far too heavy to wield. Strange ropes of metal covered in a strange black substance ran from the swords to the back of their respective armor suits. Maxine was checking each of their backs which seemed to boast tanks. The swords metal rope running into one and the other seemed more for the armor.

“No..No..I knew nothing here had any lightening ether..Damnit..” Maxine cursed as something crashed through the ceiling in the room they had just left. A deep bone chilling howl shook the floor.

Then the sound of other heavy but not as heavy steps could be heard along with heavy breathing. “The right arm works on this one..I think..”

Maxine said finally coming to the last suit. The back canister glowed blue. It was the canister flowing to the sword. That was when the door was slammed into. A massive dent rocked the heavy metal door. “Wait..” Maxine said with a pause as a heavy silence fell in the room outside. “You owe me nothing Seph..Please run..This isn’t what I thought it would be. There are more than..-“ The door caved in and a lycan threw itself into the room followed by another.

“Damn it!” Maxine cursed slamming her hand down on the top of the canister and pulling it free along with the sword. In a fluid motion she swung the tank like a club smashing the first massive creature. Her hand clutching the large sword squeezed the metal handles trigger. The blade glowed a bright, brilliant blue and cut through the beast before blasting it back with a crackling boom of thunder following a brilliant flash. The dented canister fell from her hand as the sword flickered and dulled.

“What? No no no..” Maxine pleaded clicking the swords trigger in vain. As she looked up she realized her lack of Foucault had cost her as three more entered through the hole faster than she could even raise a sword to defend herself. Time seemed to slow as she closed her eyes ready for them to take her...

 

[Sephrenia]

Seph watched Maxine as she slept in silence. She did not wake the woman, though there was obvious distress in her dreams. It was not Seph’s place to awake someone that was dreaming, she was not the stealer of dreams, good or bad. She drug her tongue slowly over her muzzle as she rested, listening, watching.

Sharply angled ears caught the sound of crunching of snow, heavy crunching. She lifted her head quickly as she listened, sapphire eyes narrowing a little. The shack above them crumbled beneath whatever it was that was walking above. Maxine scrambled to her feet, putting her arm on as she scrambled towards a door named Armory.

“Come on Seph!” Maxine yelled as she ducked inside, Seph following her. “I’m not even sure if these work..” Maxine hissed as she scrambled through the weapons frantically. Seph remained calm, lifting her head to take in the scent of the beast that was upon them. Maxine was still frantic, Sephrenia was not sure what she was struggling to get working.

“No..No..I knew nothing here had any lightening ether..Damnit..”

Maxine cursed at the same time as the beast slammed through the ceiling in the room they’d just left. A deep howl broke through the rumble and Seph instantly snarled, the scent now recognized by her as Maxine continued to ramble to herself. “The right arm works on this one..I think..”

“Wait.. You owe me nothing Seph..Please run..This isn’t what I thought it would be. There are more than..-“

“NO” Seph snarled. The fur on her back raised as she kept her eyes on the door. The door to the room they were in buckled as a Lycan slammed into it, the Lycan that had hit it stumbling in, followed by a second. Seph put herself between Maxine and the lycans, standing tall, assertive. She was an alpha female after all, she would not back down. Maxine was behind her, obviously struggling with something but Seph paid little attention to what she said as she looked to the 2 lycan before her, then the others behind them.

She stood her ground as she watched them, her ebony lips prying back from her sharp ivory teeth. She attempted the assertive Alpha stance against them. If she did not have to kill more of her kind, well, her mates kind, she wouldn’t.

“She is with me. Back off.” She snarled, her blood was already raising in temperature as it pulsed through her veins quickly. Her sapphire eyes narrowed as she stood tall, ears perked forward proving her alpha lack of fear. Her tail was rigid as she stood in place.

Maxine Steelborne

 

[Uhfred]

(Hey. Seph informed me that I'd was permitted to join in.)

Soon after Sephrenia finished her last statement she'd hear a howl, a familiar one, and not that far off. Her howl earlier had gotten attention. The attention that it was good of her to get. It was true that the pack was too far away for them to act so fast or even hear her call to them. But she'd been gone longer than planned and her mate came looking for her.

Baraek had left the pups in the care of one of his closest friends in the pack, so they could survive without him for a while. And he'd taught his pack well enough to survive on their own while he was away, he had time.

His padded feet carried him swiftly through the snow, weaving effortlessly through the trees as he sped towards his cornered mate. Unfamiliar scents filled his nose, seven wolves and a human, in the middle of it all he picked out Seph, she was definitely there. Now he just had to make it there in time.

He saw the splintered remains of what appeared to have been a shack of some kind. And that's where the scent came from. From his throat came a growl as he charged full speed ahead. He'd told Seph before, that he'd be killed long before he let her, he intended to make good on that.

 

[Maxine Steelborne]

“Your not our prey female.” One growled pointing a clawed finger to Maxine. “Her and her legion are. She is not one of your pack. You have no claim to her.” One growled with a jerk of his head towards the corpses Maxine had made of the first two that had entered. The massive Lycan was still in the main room. The only room that could house his sheer mass. “Stand aside.” Another added. “or we will make you.”

“Seph listen to them.” Maxine said. She didn’t understand why the wolf had given her so much already, but she would not see her harmed. Seph may be an alpha but Maxine was a grandmaster. A leader, and she would not see someone sacrifice on her behalf so needlessly. “But if you think that means I’m coming quietly.” She said turning to the enemy. “Then your sadly mistaken.” She spat before tossing aside her broken sword and diving at them head on. The first slashed her stomach before a brutal knee shattered its bottom jaw. It collapsed with a whimper as Maxine tackled the second. Pummeling it with heavy handed blows as a third came up behind her and sank its teeth into her shoulder. Jamming her thumb into its eye as it shook her like a toy. It released her with a howl as she twisted around grabbing its shoulders and wrapping her arms around its neck she placed her feet against his back and wrenched with all her might as the creature thrashed to unseat her until a loud, grinding crunch halted its struggle. Maxine dropped to the ground with the corpse before collapsing off of him and onto the ground. Her breath was short, and the gash across her stomach was much worse than it had appeared, and was rapidly worsening.

“Damnit..” She cursed struggling to crawl back to Seph who was only feet away. She was already growing pale looking at the pool of blood grow underneath her. They only could get so big before she knew she was a goner and it was getting to that point very quickly. Her vision was swimming as even more Lycans were already coming in.

 

[Sephrenia]

*If I overstep any boundary with my attack on the other lycans let me know and I will edit, just wanna get a reply up for ya*

A familiar howl hit her sharp ears but her face showed no sign of acknowledgement as she stared at the Lycan before her. Her sapphire eyes had turned a deep grey, narrowed dangerously as she listened to his words.

“Your not our prey female. Her and her legion are. She is not one of your pack. You have no claim to her.”

Seph snarled in retorte “You think to tell me what and who I have claim too, you do not know me mutt.”

“Stand aside, or we will make you.”

“Then make me….” She snarled, prying her lips back from her ivory fangs, dragging her tongue over her sharp teeth dangerously, making them glisten. Her body temperature spiked in anger as she watched the scene unfolding and her heart began racing, her blood production increasing rapidly.

“Seph listen to them.” Maxine pleaded

“No” she said flatly, not one bit scared. She’d taken on larger packs than this, though usually not alone. Fear she’d learned only caused you to falter, there was no room for fear here.

“But if you think that means I’m coming quietly. Then your sadly mistaken.”

Maxine hissed before tossing her sword to the side and jumping at the first Lycan. It slashed at her, but it met her knee, a sickening crunch breaking the air as its bottom jaw was shattered and it crumbled to the side while Maxine threw herself at the second Lycan and began pounding against it with strong, heavy fists. A third Lycan came up behind her and sunk its teeth into her shoulder and Maxine dispatched the lycan quickly before collapsing off him, onto the ground.

Maxine drug herself to Seph with a defeated “Damnit..”

Seph bit her wrist quickly letting her blood flow freely, moving her wrist over Maxine’s stomach so her blood would pour into her wound, then over her shoulder for the same effect. She lifted her head to the sky and howled loudly, letting her mate know there were injuries before she lept over Maxine putting herself between the injured woman and the remaining four wolves. One Lycan launched at her, hitting her in the stomach, hard with its shoulder. The action was all she needed to claw at his back with her injured hand sinking into his flesh and gripping, her blood pouring into his wounds as they were opened, her hold making sure that her blood made it into him. Her blood, already hotter than his would be would sting as it overtook his own cells, racing through his veins as the cells mass produced rapidly and attacked his.

He landed on her and she kicked at him, hard in the stomach, sinking sharp hind claws into his thighs as she kicked, her claws tearing apart muscle and flesh in their wake. She rolled, throwing him to the side with the kick and her head snapped to him and she hissed “Ulcus” loudly as she stared at him. She felt her blood temperature spike as she spoke the word… to her, this change would not affect her yet, to the wolf who’s body was now being flooded with her blood, the sudden increase in temperature would sting and drain his energy quickly.

Her ears twisted backwards, listening to Maxine for any sound. The spell she used to increase the blood temp in the wolf before her would focus only on her blood within him. The blood in Maxine would do what it naturally did, which is clot quicker as it reproduced within the woman’s veins, keeping her going and healing her wounds slightly faster, stopping her from bleeding out as the wounds scabbed over.

Seph watched the wolf she’d injured as he toppled in pain, grabbing his sides as the blood in his veins began to boil, his temperature spiking even higher as he struggled with the pain. She twisted her eyes to the next wolf with a threatening growl, putting her hands out, palms up and beckoned him towards her. Her energy was draining, but she would not back down from the remaining wolves, especially with her mate close, between her and her mate, these remaining wolves would easily be killed if they chose to fight.

Uhfred
Maxine Steelborne

 

[Uhfred]

He came closer. The scent of his mate getting stronger as he drew closer to the ruined hut. She was there. And the sounds of fighting reached his ears. These wolves threatened her, it would cost them their lives.

He picked up the pace, sprinting faster at the hut and leaping into the now open hole in the ground. After taking a split second to get his bearings he zeroed in on the two women, and the group of wolves threatening them.

He came hurtling into the back of the group, and tore open one of the wolves throats on his way in, putting himself between the pack of attackers and their prey. He spared a quick glance behind him. Seph looked mostly unhurt, her companion looked to be under the effect of Seph's blood magic and healing from a would-be mortal wound.

He gave the group in front of the once-duo-now-trio of human, shifter, and wolf, a threatening growl. He didn't bother reaching for his sword. It was too long to be useful in a place like this. No, this fight would be all claws and teeth.

 

[Maxine Steelborne]

Maxine was struggling. Trying to keep herself behind Seph as much as she could. Clutching her wound. It was healing, but not nearly quick enough to get back in the fight. The massive Lycan was already gone as if he had never been there.

Where had he gone? Maxine didn’t know, for all she knew he could be right outside and above their demolished safe house, but she felt in her gut this was not the case.

It had fled once it heard the others coming. There were others it seemed or at least one Lycan that was not in league with the others. He growled at the final remaining wolf who seeing he was now alone decided to cut his losses.

Maxine seemed to understand the new wolf wasn’t with the others but that didn’t mean he was with them. She sat behind Seph silently trying to regain her strength. Her eyes showed the wolf she would make him pay if he attacked even if it killed her which it most certainly would.

 

[Sephrenia]

Seph backstepped slightly as Baraek stormed into the back of the wolves facing them. He tore one of the offending wolves’ throats out as he positioned himself between the threat and Seph. His eyes turned to her for a moment before turning his eyes back to the other wolves with a growl. The remaining wolf upon setting its eyes on Baraek opted to bolt away. She snorted in it’s direction before turning to check on Maxine.

She dropped to her knees besides the woman, moving her hands away from the wound, now able to really focus on healing her with magic rather than the innate abilities of her blood. She used a sharp claw to reopen the wound on her wrist and let the blood again pour onto the woman’s stomach. She held her hands an inch or two over the wound, closing her eyes and concentrating as she spoke the words “emantur ligna’ repeatedly as she focused on her blood as it melded with Maxine’s.

She repeated the words a few times as she focused on envisioning her blood as a needle and thread, stitching up the wound, drawing the sides of the wound taut as the blood clotted in the space between sealing the wound. She moved to her shoulder, doing the same quietly to the wound, concentrating again. She took a slow breath as she finished, her head spinning slightly with exhaust as she straightened herself, standing and turning to look to Baraek quietly…

“Maxine… meet my mate Baraek… Baraek… Maxine Steelborne of the Steel Legion” She said softly.
Uhfred

 

[Uhfred]

It had fled once it heard the others coming. There were others it seemed or at least one Lycan that was not in league with the others. He growled at the final remaining wolf who seeing he was now alone decided to cut his losses.

Maxine seemed to understand the new wolf wasn’t with the others but that didn’t mean he was with them. She sat behind Seph silently trying to regain her strength. Her eyes showed the wolf she would make him pay if he attacked even if it killed her which it most certainly would.

Seph backstepped slightly as Baraek stormed into the back of the wolves facing them. He tore one of the offending wolves’ throats out as he positioned himself between the threat and Seph. His eyes turned to her for a moment before turning his eyes back to the other wolves with a growl. The remaining wolf upon setting its eyes on Baraek opted to bolt away. She snorted in it’s direction before turning to check on Maxine.

He watched the wolf flee until it had gone from his sight, and until the scent had gotten weak before standing up straight and relaxing a slight bit. Once he was certain that the danger was passed he turned to observe Seph as she moved to help the human. He stood back, silent and observant while Seph healed the woman with her blood magic. It was still a little unnerving to see her pour her own blood onto someone else's wound to heal it, but it wasn't bad either.

She took a slow breath as she finished, her head spinning slightly with exhaust as she straightened herself, standing and turning to look to Baraek quietly…

“Maxine… meet my mate Baraek… Baraek… @Maxine Steelborne of the Steel Legion” She said softly.

He approached her to offer some support while she recovered from her blood loss. And while he did that he was introduced to the human woman, Maxine it seems. But what was the Steel Legion? It didn't much matter at the moment, they were exposed.

"It's an honor to meet you Maxine." He told her before turning his attention to his mate, "You were supposed to be back a week ago. Did something happen?"

 

[Maxine Steelborne]

“W-wait..” She struggled with Seph for a moment as she tried to pull her hands away from her wound. It was a foolish gesture and one the female shifter over powered easily with a calm sort of sternness Maxine had been known to use herself when dealing with wounded recruits.

It was healing but still looked worse than it actually was at this point. “N-nice to- Ah!” She clenched her teeth as she adjusted her position and the blood went fully to work. The feeling of the warm fluid moving under her skin and inside her body in general didn’t feel..

It didn’t feel right, but as an alternative to the feeling one hand with their stomach hanging out she much preferred it. Even if the haunting image of what her blood had done to her enemies stuck with her.

“Nice to meet you..” She said offering a shaky hand.

 

[Sephrenia]

"W-wait.." Maxine attempted to struggle but she was not in any form to fight her and Seph just removed Maxine's hands from hers. She smiled as she concentrated, hearing, but not really paying too much mind to the niceties between Baraek and Maxine.

"It's an honor to meet you Maxine.. You were supposed to be back a week ago. Did something happen?"

Baraek said as he turned to her and slid his arm around her to help her. She nuzzled him lightly.

"Just wandering, you know me love... easily distracted, then I came upon Maxine and we got to talking after she was attacked... The Steel Legion sounds interesting and she has many stories to tell.."

She turned her eyes to Maxine, watching her closely to make sure she healed well, least she need to give the woman more blood.

Maxine Steelborne
Uhfred

 

[Uhfred]

“Nice to meet you..” She said offering a shaky hand

He politely took her hand and shook it, but quickly let her get back to holding her guts in. "Save your strength Maxine. Seph will heal what she can but I know from personal experience that you need to rest afterwards, at least with injuries like that."

She nuzzled him lightly.

"Just wandering, you know me love... easily distracted, then I came upon Maxine and we got to talking after she was attacked... The Steel Legion sounds interesting and she has many stories to tell.."

She turned her eyes to Maxine, watching her closely to make sure she healed well, least she need to give the woman more blood.

He cocked an eyebrow, easily distracted. Wandering he could excuse if she had only been late a day or two, but she was a week overdue, not including the time he spent looking for her. But he said nothing. "What about those wolves? What are they after?"

 

[Maxine Steelborne]

“My strength is recovered Im..fine..” She began to try and sit up but a look from Seph made her lay back down. When asked what the wolves were after she let a tremor of nerves leave her hands shaking slightly. She had been through much with those wolves already..Many terrible nights fighting them. She recovered quickly with a blink.

“N-no idea..” Maxine said as the pain subsided. She wouldn’t look Uhfred in the eye when she said it. In all honesty she did know why.

The box she had rescued from the carriage wreckage held the answer, but she couldn’t risk telling outsiders of the legions business. Friends were just future enemies in her line of work. Kindness given was kindness returned and she knew that kindness now was no assurance there would be kindness later.

“Maybe they were just hunting trespassers we didn’t..We didn’t mean to if that was the case..” She said. Another lie. Or more like a half truth.

She knew why the wolves were hunting her, but the events that led to it had been unintentional in the beginning. She would glance to see Sephs hands still above her wound. If they decided to press her she had no doubt Seph would easily undo what she had repaired if she thought she was lying.

The thought of those wolves felled by the same blood now writhing through her veins made her heart speed slightly, but her expression remained relaxed, but once more she refused to look Seph in the eye as well.

 

[Sephrenia]

“My strength is recovered Im..fine..”

A brow rose as Seph looked to Maxine, and the woman ceased to attempt to get up. Baraek asked about the other wolves but Maxine notabley did not want to respond, her lack of eye contact proved she was uncomfortable with discussing it.

“N-no idea.. Maybe they were just hunting trespassers we didn’t..We didn’t mean to if that was the case..”

Seph nodded softly as she stood. Maxine would heal sufficiently now, she no longer needed to control the blood with contact, or close contact. Her blood would do what it needed to do without her being right on top of the woman. She sniffed the air slightly, before turning her eyes to Baraek.

“Maxine barely knows us, whatever this group is that she belongs to likely has a history with these wolves, perhaps. But I suspect she isn’t overly comfortable disclosing the issues. So she doesn’t have to…”

She smiled as she walked to Baraek and nuzzled him gently, nudging her nose into the thick pelt of his neck lightly as she cuddled against him.

“I would like to make sure she makes it to where ever she is headed safetly then I will return home love…” She said softly, questioningly.
Maxine Steelborne
Uhfred

 

[Uhfred]

“N-no idea.. Maybe they were just hunting trespassers we didn’t..We didn’t mean to if that was the case..”

Seph nodded softly as she stood. Maxine would heal sufficiently now, she no longer needed to control the blood with contact, or close contact. Her blood would do what it needed to do without her being right on top of the woman. She sniffed the air slightly, before turning her eyes to Baraek.

“Maxine barely knows us, whatever this group is that she belongs to likely has a history with these wolves, perhaps. But I suspect she isn’t overly comfortable disclosing the issues. So she doesn’t have to…”

He nodded. "Reasonable. Everyone has their secrets and I have neither right nor reason to press for answers."

She smiled as she walked to Baraek and nuzzled him gently, nudging her nose into the thick pelt of his neck lightly as she cuddled against him.

“I would like to make sure she makes it to where ever she is headed safetly then I will return home love…” She said softly, questioningly.

Her nuzzling was answered by one hand behind her head scratching behind her ears. "Very well. It's clear that she can't make it on her own. Where are you headed Maxine? Seph and I will see you there safe."

He didn't entirely believe that she didn't know why she was being hunted, but quite frankly, it wasn't important. And He was willing to help her because Seph wanted to see her new friend safely to her destination, and Baraek was unwilling to deny her such a simple, heartfelt desire. So he'd help her, but they also needed to get it done quickly, the pack could survive without them for quite a while, but if he was gone too long the other alphas of the Alphapack would take notice, and probably try to absorb or assimilate his pack into one of theirs, and he didn't want that happening.

He gave Seph the attention she was looking for but he always kept his ears and nose in the air, sniffing for the scent of approaching foes, and listening for footfalls and howling.