Open Chronicles The Wolf and The Bat

[Rose]

Her expression dropped a little, not actually expecting it so soon, despite his constant warning. "Oh. ...Ok. I mean, I can do that. I've been doing that," she told him, though her voice was tight.

Sure, they were only a day into knowing each other. But they knew each other. That was a welcome changed to pace. And .... he knew what she was going through? Something bit at her throat, tightening inside her chest.

"You-you too," she offered sincerely.

 

[Ishar Morrad]

Standing, Ishar looked down at the girl for a moment. "You can stay here for another day or two."

Looking around the common room for a second he found the Innkeeper.

"I'll tell her you're taking my room." The old woman looked at Ishar for a moment, then to Rose, then smiled and offered him a wave. "But I wouldn't linger for too long."

The longer she stayed the more likely someone was to find out. "There's a village to the South along the road. I would head there."

It would be friendlier than going north. Up in the Blight she would only get herself killed.

 

[Rose]

She nodded again, but she had stopped truly hearing his words, the bite in her throat growing. And for once it wasn't thirst. "Okay, she repeated, almost growing distant from him in that moment. "I'll- I'll do that. And you'll be safe, right? No-" she drew a line across her neck.

 

[Ishar Morrad]

"I'll be the safest thing for miles." The way Ishar said the words were almost entirely too depressing to truly vocalize.

The Werewolf within him was strong, stronger than him.

It would kill anything in it's path, just like it had last time and the time before. Though the beast hungered, it also just...wanted to kill. He knew that, he could feel it even now in the back of his head. It was why he was so angry, why he had such a short fuse. It was always there.

Flashing her a smile, one that was forced, Ishar turned and headed to the room to grab his things,

 

[Rose]

"Wait!" Rose called out. She fingered the bag, offering a dry, self-deprecating smile.

"Which way is south again?"

 

[Ishar Morrad]

He cringed as he looked back at her.

"Look to where the sun rises." This was really the easiest way of explaining it. "Then go to the right."

She would need a compass eventually. "Failing that, just ask someone."

They would be kind enough to tell her.

 

[Rose]

She grinned wider, whether or not she actually needed to hear that unclear.

"Thanks. See ya." She picked up her cards, shuffling them and dealing them out to herself. As nonchalant as she acted, a plan was already forming... one he would only understand in two mornings, when it was too late.

 

[Ishar Morrad]

Ishar rushed back into the room. He didn't run or jog, but he did move more swiftly than any man should have been able to while simply walking.

As soon as he was in the room he gathered up his things and stuffed them into his pack. Within just a few seconds he had everything packed, sword in it's proper place and his bag tied firmly. This was his life, truly. It was what he had lived for more than just the last few years.

Templar were always moving.

Turning on his heel Ishar headed out of the room and back into the common area, glancing at Rose and offering her one final wave before he left out the front door.

 

[Rose]

She watched his back, fingering the coins. After a moment of biting her lip and debilitation, she stood, knocking back the table as she did so.

It was obvious, obviously.

She was gonna help him. She downed her mug and scooped up the money purse, running upstairs to grab her bag. And then it was as simple as shifting into the shadows and following him into the night. If she did it right, come daylight, he wouldn't even notice her presence occupying the dark corner of his bag. Shadow magic was nifty like that.

But she was going to protect him this full moon. No more deaths. No more infections. At least for him.

 

[Ishar Morrad]

Ishar moved just as quickly once he was out of the building as he did inside.

He had always been a large man, and that gave his stride a certain amount of purpose. Villagers scattered in front of him, chickens clucked their way to the side of the road, and eventually the road was laid bare before him. Within twenty minutes of the conversation being over Ishar was already more than two miles out of the city.

The road, he knew, would take him far and fast, but that wasn't what he wanted. The more he traveled down the worn dirt path the closer he would get to another settlement.

After a little while walking Ishar simply turned form the road, glancing back at the rising sun for just a brief moment before he broke east and headed into the forest. Before long he knew it would turn into a Jungle, but that was alright with him.

No one lived in the jungle.

 

[Rose]

It was actually quite the effort to catch up and keep up, but after a deft tug to his pack as he brushed on a branch and she managed to sneak in and gain her ride and rest.

She would be content to keep up with method throughout the day, even able to sleep like this, though entertaining herself would soon become a chore. Perhaps hiding into the shadows of his hair...

 

[Ishar Morrad]

He moved quickly once he hit the forest.

Though most of what he had become was a terrible detriment, it had it's benefits. The closer they came to the full moon the stronger he became, the longer he could run, the further he could go.

The change didn't happen overnight, and he knew that. It was a slow push on his body, a slow press that seemed to invade and creep over him over time. That allowed him to grow stronger, to do more, but it also meant he would change soon. That very fact pushed him to go faster.

He needed to get away, needed to reach the jungles.

Ishar continued even into the night, running, bounding ever forward until finally the sun once again rose upon the horizon. The plants began to change around him, the heat became scorching, and Ishar stepped into the Wilds.

 

[Rose]

And sleep she did, the heat felt even through the tinge of shadows. She made herself content to continue on with her game, alert for any sign of him slowing... stoppping... pulling the bag flap open, as that would surely send her spilling out around her. But spare her luck, he kept on moving, as if crazed. And she really ... felt for him.

It made her all the more determined to do this. To help him. To protect him from this curse.

And perhaps, a small part of her hoped that when it came time, he would do the same.

Because it soon would become time.

She understood his haste.

 

[Ishar Morrad]

The day was a blur.

There was more moving, more running.

Ishar had no idea how far he had come, how fast he'd traveled or where the nearest village was. None of it mattered really, all that he knew was as night began to fall he could begin the pressure building along his spine. The sun began to set, and then slowly the moon began to rise.

He did not hesitate, stripping off his clothes, pulling his sword free and packing them tight. He moved quickly, peering towards the sky with nothing but pure paranoia. His fingers tightened as he pushed away a large boulder, moving his things beneath the great bulk before putting it back into place.

His breath began burn, his eyes began to ache.

Fingers and muscles grew tight, then slowly he looked over his shoulders. Though it had only seemed like minutes, the full moon had begun to rise.

He looked at it, eyes locked, and then there was nothing but pain.

 

[Rose]

Rose's stomach rolled as she looked on from the shadows in nothing short of discomfort. There was nothing pretty about what they were, and to see it as an outsider for the first time... she felt like an empath in that moment, tears streaming down her face as his every scream and every jerk of transforming agony was understood.

It was only when the agony passed into a fully transformed calm that she slipped out from the comforting shadow, her presence trying to draw his enthralled gaze from the moon.

"Hello," she whispered. "This way."

And she ran deeper in, dispersing into the shadows by his feet the first moment he lunged for her.

A long moment later, she appeared on his distant left. She grinned a little to herself and started running that way instead, intending on leading the wolf on a ragged race 'till morning.

 

[Ishar Morrad]

It was a brilliant plan, and it would have worked.

Save for one small fact.

The wolf within Ishar was a vicious thing. Interested in killing, maiming, feasting however and whenever it could. It wanted to kill, it was designed for it, but it wasn't stupid. Every time it missed, every time it's claw swiped the bark of a tree instead of flesh it learned a lesson.

Beady black eyes search, nuzzle sniffed the air. It searched, and then the girl would appear again. It chased, hunted, but each time it would miss. Aggravation grew into frustration, and then into slow seething anger. Again and again it was just one step away from catching her.

Again and again it was just one swipe from taking her throat.

Then, after hours and hours as Rose disappeared into the shadow...so did the wolf.

The next time she appeared distant within the woods she would not be able to see it, It's hunched form having folded into the jungles.

 

[Rose]

Rose looked around in confusion, her sharp eyes glinting against the moonlight.

"... What?" She whispered softly, turning in a circle.

She whistled for him, muscles braced. "...Heeeere doggy, doggy." She shook her butt at the air. "...Doggy?"

"Shit." She cursed, running back the way she came. If she lost him... Visions of slaughtered villages scattered through her thoughts.

 

[Ishar Morrad]

The wolf watched. Waited.

It was a hunter. An apex predator. Nothing more, nothing less. In it's time within Ishar it had come to learn many tricks though the mans eyes, and one of them was hiding. The wolf hid within the jungle, covered by thick leaves and branches which seemed to span over themselves.

It heard a voice.

Ears flicked.

Beady black eyes watched as the girl appeared once more, her voice ringing out within the empty expanse of the forest. Muscles went taught. Voice rang out again.

She walked forward.

Then the wolf struck. With a single great leap the Werewolf bounded from within the trees, it's rancid claws hacking away towards the girls flesh.

 

[Rose]

She screeched, dispersing out into the shadows like a smoke cloud just as his nails dragged across her skin.

She remained clung inside the shadow, clutching at her shoulder and crying slightly at the pain. He could pace and wait or slid away, she'd remain in the shadows, clinging close to him until morn.

Consider that a lesson learned for her as well.

 

[Ishar Morrad]

As the shadow dispersed the wolf let out a blood curdling howl.

It pierced the veil of the jungle, and all around him birds began to chirp and animals were torn from their sleep. In the distance another howl echoed, though it was so far it may as well have been within the mountains.

After a moment the Wolf stood, beady black eyes searching the darkness.

It watched for a time, waiting, but it did not hide again. Then, slowly, it began to stalk towards the east. Within a few moments it flowed back into a spring, bounding over roots and logs faster than any man could hope to.

Even at that speed though, it was too late.

Before the wolf could make it more than a handful of miles the sun began to rise, and the pain came again.

 

[Rose]

By the time he was whole and conscious, she had emerged from the shadows. She sat waiting patiently for him to wake, dirt caking her hands and knees. Her shoulder was hidden under her cloak, not a thing she planned on revealing at all. Besides the exhaustion that pulled at the bags under her eyes, she looked fine.

The more pressing question would be how she had gotten there.

And where his clothes went.

 

[Ishar Morrad]

Ishar knew exactly where his clothes where.

Well, relatively speaking anyway. He had no idea where he was when he first woke up, but it wouldn't take too long to figure that out and make it back to where he'd stashed his things.

What really irritated him though was seeing the small figure within the shadow of the wood. A scowl immediately appeared on his face and he stared at her. No accounting for modesty of course. "What are you doing here?"

He demanded, pointing at her in anger.

 

[Rose]

She gave him a small, devilish smile. "Keeping you leashed. Have a fun walk?" She teased, trying to lighten the moment with humor. She stepped out, trying to keep her gaze locked on his face.

 

[Ishar Morrad]

"You could have been killed." He said with a scowl, entirely ignoring her words.

Ishar didn't particularly care about anything she had to say right now. He was angry, more so than one might have guessed from his expression.

Part of that was due to how tired he felt.

Turning meant he didn't get any sleep. Though his mind was not awake, his body certainly gained no rest. Bones ached, muscles sang in agony, and it seemed like this entire being was screaming out for a comfortable bed.

"Or worse." He scowled.

 

[Rose]

She held open her arms, palms up. "But I'm not. You're wrong about me, I can handle myself. And you. you didn't get into anything you shouldn't have," she told him, beaming.

"You got nothing to stress about anymore, I can just help you from now on. No more people have to get hurt." She beamed with pride over her solution, clearly expecting him to feel the same.