Private Tales Wolves At the Door

A private roleplay only for those invited by the first writer

Jorg

Werewolf
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Vague Area in Arethil

Jorg breathed heavily. His hand was clutched to his bloody chest, mouth still containing the taste of metal and copper as he tried desperately to gather himself up. "Fuck."

He said softly, glancing around the tiny village.

Bodies lay strewn about everywhere, most of them torn into absolute shreds. There were no women among the corpses, no children either. He had absolutely no idea where he was, though in the distance he could see the forest where he remembered having first changed three days ago. His lips thinned, and slowly he walked over towards one of the bodies.

He stumbled slightly, his bare feet touching the cold earth. Fingers tightened slightly, and he reached out to flip the mans mangled corpse over onto his back.

The face was not one he recognized, but the brand on his throat was. "Bandits."

Jorg spat onto the ground, shaking his head slightly in disgust. At least the Wolf hadn't slaughtered an innocent village. These men had been bandits, thieves in the night who likely did their best to slaughter and take whatever they could.

Small solace, but it was one nonetheless.

His head shook, and he quickly went about stripping some of the clothes off the bodies.
 
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It was the scent of blood that she'd picked up first. It was miles off, and even still it surprised her how strong the coppery taint was on the air and how she could track it to the source. It was taking some getting used to. There was another smell though, one that caused her to slow her horse to a stop as she pulled at the scent from the air. It always smelled a little like wet dog, but it stirred something veiled and primitive that she had no control over, and she found her curiosity tugging at Raksha's reins and turning her off road to gallop through the heavy thicket a few miles off route.

She slowed her mare just before the tree line and she peered through it, able to make out the peppering of bodies strewn across the cold ground, and the single lone figure who moved between each body, stripping them of her clothes. Silver slipped from the saddle and stroked at Raksha's neck to mollify her nickering and she patted in gesture for her to wait as she stepped up to press against a tree and watch for a moment. She hadn't considered, that if she could smell him so easily, that he could also most probably smell her.

Until now she had only ever met one other like herself, aside the one who'd mauled her and left her to die. She couldn't shake her fear of what was now, her own kind, but the wolf's instinct drove her sometimes, it'd been what had brought her here, whether Silver cared to admit it or not. Her gaze flashed brighter for the briefest of moments, and a low guttural sound of something far more feral and untamed played quietly in her chest.
 
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Jorg stiffened as soon as he caught the scent.

It was barely there, and in truth if he hadn't just turned back he probably wouldn't even have noticed it, but it was there. His lips thinned, and as he pushed over the next corpse Jorg pilfered what looked to be a poorly made hatchet of some sort.

He still had no clothes, unfortunately, all of the bandits had been too small for him to fit into any of their furs. His hand slid along the handle of the ax.

"I know you're there!" He called out to her.

The wolf had his hackles up, clawing at his mind, desperate to get out. Meeting his own kind was rare, infact it had only happened to him once before. "I've had a hell of a night."

Jorg continued. "I'd rather we talk than fight."
 
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Silver's shoulders flinched upward as he called out to her and she took a hesitant step backward, staying engulfed within the shadow of the tree line.

"Is that what you said to them before they died?.." she called back from behind the trunk of a conifer and peeked out to study him from afar. "I've no interest in fighting you, but I do value my wellbeing.." she added, her voice a soothing cadence.

Still she couldn't draw herself away, even as she looked over the men that he'd slaughtered...She knew that she had once done the same thing, that she'd had no control over it and she considered that this instance may well have been the same.
 
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"No." Jorg countered quickly. "I believe I said something like. Roar! Grawr! Grrr!"

He motioned with his hands as though he were swiping a claw, then drew himself back up and shrugged his shoulders at her.

There wasn't really any choice in the matter for him. It wasn't women and children, the Wolf had stuck to that part of their bargain at least. He was glad for it, though that didn't mean he suddenly enjoyed the taste of blood in his mouth.

"I'm not gonna hurt you." He contended, letting the axe drop on the ground as a sign of goodfaith.

He didn't seem to care about being nude in front of her.
 
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Silver's lips twisted as she fought off a smile at his humour.. It hadn't been what she'd been expecting in his current predicament and she refused to let her guard down enough to laugh. She watched him lower the axe and turned back to Raksha to lift her rolled up blanket from the back of the mare's saddle and she hugged it to her chest as she turned and stepped out into the light.

Silver couldn't control her blushing and she kept her gaze elsewhere as she wandered toward him, and she stopped a safe enough distance away that she might draw a weapon or run if need be. Clearing her throat, she offered the blanket and tossed it over to him before looking over the mess of bodies that littered the ground..

"Did you mean to?..." she asked firstly, her look a sombre one as her amber gaze flicked from face to face as they brought back her own terrible memories which were never far from her mind.
 
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Jorg caught the blanket, unfurling it and quickly wrapping it around his body. The cold was starting to set in, and the warmth of cloth was most welcome on his skin.

Plus it would help with the shrinkage.

"Kill them?" He finished her sentence for her, though in truth he wasn't entirely sure how he could answer. "I didn't."

Jorg said with a shrug. "But as I'm sure you know..."

His eyes narrowed, taking a deep breath as he caught her full scent to confirm what he had already suspected.

"It's not really my choice." A shrug rolled over his shoulder, and he glanced up at the sky with a frown. It looked like it was going to storm. "Not that I really care about these fuckers, bandits."

He motioned to the brand on one of their necks. "He kept to our deal."

Jorg said vaguely.
 
Silver didn’t look at him until she was sure the blanket had shrouded his nakedness, but even still there was a slight tinge of pink on her cheeks. She didn’t feel threatened, but she kept her distance as her amber gaze studied him with obvious curiosity and the she committed the scent to memory. She felt a ripple across the muscles on her back as the wolf stirred under her skin, trying to break free. It hurt enough for her to grimace and she looked back down across the men she now realised to be bandits.

Oh..” she answered quietly and rubbed at the back of her neck.. She gave him a look of mute understanding and bit on her lip gently. The only other wolf she knew didn’t share their predicament, he had control, this one was more like her.

Her head tilted slightly.. Deal? "What do you mean?.." she asked with a brief frown and she too glanced upward at the distant sound of thunder.
 
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"I made a deal." He did not know enough about the diseased that plagued him to understand if it was this way for all of them.

For Jorg, the wolf was a consciousness. The two of them never spoke, at least not directly, but he could feel it's emotions, feel how it responded to certain things. That was how he'd made his deal, how they'd come to their understand.

"With the Wolf." He pointed to his chest, as though that would help. "He gets three days a month, instead of the one night."

How they had achieved that, he had no idea, but Jorg had always suspected it was because he didn't resist the transformation. That he had begun to embrace it when it came. "In return he doesnt kill women or children, and I get some...benefits."

He shrugged, continuing to look through the corpses in hopes of finding something that fit him.
 
Silver was staring at him incredulously, all manner of thoughts trying to compete to display themselves upon her expression, but confusion, disgust and fear were overruled by disbelief. "I... How?... Why? What ...benefits?" her head shook, so many questions flooded her mind and she tried to get all of them out at once.

"You understand each other?" she arched a brow, seeking clarification. He had no control over what the wolf did when it was freed but he did have some level of compromise it seemed. But the very fact he'd want to allow the beast to roam for three days every month made her feel sick to the stomach.
 
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"We have an understanding." Jorg clarified with a smile.

It was not like the Wolf spoke to him and he spoke back. Striking the bargain had been an intensely difficult process and most of it he'd spent simply screaming into the abyss until the damned thing finally answered him.

"It took me near a year." He said with a frown. "I kept trying to kill myself, and he would stop me every time."

Part of the curse he supposed. Every time he was near death the Wolf somehow saved him, either by transforming or some other damned thing. "Eventually, I worked something out so I could actually still live."

He frowned, glancing down at a bandit that looked to be his size.
 
"Oh.." she frowned and dropped her gaze for a moment, her fingers fidgeting idly by her sides "Yes I .. tried that too." she admitted morosely. The wind was picking up, whipping at her fiery red hair and she watched him for a moment longer before slowly turning away and took a few steps back toward her horse.

She paused, apparently fighting with herself over whether to leave or ask him more questions and she chewed on her lip as she turned on her heels. "Could you teach me?.." Silver asked with a slight grimace. At least if she had a choice over who or what the wolf killed she could avoid further crippling guilt.

Silver cast another look over the bandits and frowned.. If she had to kill, wouldn't it be better to do as he had? Some choice in the matter had to be better than no choice at all..
 
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Jorg blinked for a second, in the midst of taking off one of the bandits trousers as she asked her question.

His hands stopped, and then he frowned even deeper. "I..."

He had absolutely no idea. Teaching someone what he had done seemed entirely impossible. It had taken him nearly a year of constant attempts for the Wolf to even try and listen, and he doubted he could put her through that.

She was a stranger after all.

At the same time though he saw the pain in her eyes, the lost and hopelessness. He'd looked that way one day.

"I can try." He said softly, already wanting to throttle himself.
 
Silver chewed anxiously on her lip as she looked at him, wringing her fingers together in front of her as she awaited his answer. She wanted to learn, she had to, no matter how much it frightened her she needed to find some aspect of control over her life.

The rain was starting and Silver wrapped her arms around herself, trying to look as hopeless as she possibly could whilst he reached a decision. When he did, her face lit up and she flashed a bright smile at him. "Thank you.." she nodded, placing her hands against her chest to emphasise how grateful she was.

Another gust of wind. Silver tucked the tip of her tongue under her thumb and index finger and whistled toward the tree line. Raksha, her black clydesdale mare came cantering over from the thicket and nudged at Silver's shoulder with a rumble.

"My name is Silver.. This is Raksha.." she offered brightly and stroked at the mare's face. "Do you live nearby?.."
 
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Jorg slowly looked around the tiny village.

Most of the buildings looked to be pretty rundown. It was likely that this place had been abandoned some years ago, probably crop failures, and the Bandits had just taken it over as a base of operations. He'd seen that happen more than once.

"Well." He said with a loud sigh. "I do now."

A laugh broke from his lips, his fingers curling around the trousers he pulled on. They were surprisingly well made, something he was glad for. "I'm Jorg."

He didn't give his full name...or title for that matter. She didn't need to know that.

"Come on Sil." Jorg motioned for her and the horse. "That Inn looks like it still has a roof over it."

It would be as good as any of the houses.
 
Sil? She quirked a brow at him and looked at Raksha who seemed to look back at her and share the thought. She'd deal with it, she supposed, since he'd agreed to help her. Taking Raksha's reins she followed behind the man toward the inn he spoke of. There was a small stable outside, it was a bit of a ramshackle but it seemed like it would be sheltered enough for her to ride out the storm.

The rain had come pouring down over them by the time they'd reached the door of the inn, and Silver slammed the door closed behind her and shook the loose droplets of water from her with an irate grumble to herself. It seemed like there hadn't been anyone here in a long time, and that the last people who had been here had left in a hurry.

Silver wrung out her hair and wandered over to the hearth, pleased to find that it was still dry and that there was a small bucket of wood to burn. She made short work of getting a fire lit and she smiled at the warmth as the flames illuminated her glistening skin with an orange glow.

"So you can shift when you want to?..." she asked as she looked up at him from the dusty floor.
 
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As Silver lit a fire, Jorg had his priorities straight and was searching behind the bar for any wine of spirits that may have been left behind by the inhabitants of these village.

It took him a while, but when he noticed a loose floorboard something went off in the back of his head. Leaning down, Jorg pulled the board aside, and there he found an entire crate of bottles. A warm smile spread across his lips, and he pulled one of them up.

There was no label, but the cork was firmly in place. "Yes and no."

He explained as he pulled the cork from the bottle, his nose crinkling at the scent of extremely strong alcohol of some sort.

"I've never tried. Never wanted to." Shifting was still painful, incredibly so. "But I give over for three days. Don't fight it or even try to. As long as I do that, the Wolf keeps his part of the bargain."

It had for nearly three years now. "I figure it's better than the alternative, and so far it's kept me from getting hanged."

He wasn't entirely sure if he could just suddenly shift at any time. Though he guessed The wolf would not mind if he tried.
 
She felt odd asking such things, as though it were any semblance of a normal conversation to have with someone, it wasn't something she generally chose to speak about. "I see..." she twisted her lips in thought and a shudder ran up her spine at the thought of shifting. Every month she wished for her own death, and every month she was denied it. The pain was unbearable, and it never got any easier.

Silver frowned slightly as he mentioned being hanged "Hm.." she looked down, fingers running through her damp fiery waves.. "I came too close to the noose. Though sometimes it's easy to wonder if I should've just gone willingly." .. She hadn't killed anyone else since, but the guilt crippled her still and she felt an all too familiar sense of panic each time she thought about it.

"I remember everything." she sighed solemnly, still staring at the splintered floor. "I just want to have some sort of choice."
 
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He shrugged his shoulders. "I was awake the first time too. It's not...something you can forget."

Jorg well understood the trauma that she was going through, he remembered the first night, the first transformation. The Wolf had slaughtered an entire village to the last man. Every woman, every child, everything it could get its hands on.

The guilt had nearly destroyed him.

"Take a seat." He said quietly, motioning towards one of the half destroyed tables as he brought the bottle. "How were you turned?"

Jorg asked as he sat himself down.
 
Silver's brows knit as she thought over what he'd said and her head shook.. "No, it isn't.." she agreed "The first time? You mean you can block it out?.." she asked curiously. The wolf was going to kill whomever it crossed paths with anyway, she couldn't stop it, but not having to live with the memories of the slaughters would at least separate her from it a little more.

She pulled herself to her feet and sat as he gestured to the table, her bare feet leaving wet footprints on the dull planks of the floor. "I don't really remember, there were a pack of them though, on the outskirts of Vel Anir.. Almost a year ago now... My friend didn't survive. I did. Barely." she answered and unbuttoned her wet shirt to take it off. She wore a vest underneath, but the silvery scars visible on her chest told at least a little of the story of the beast that had raked it's claws through her olive skin.

"What about you?..." her head tilted.
 
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He did not like talking about when he was turned. The memory was not a good one, though he supposed it was that way for everyone.

"It was five years ago now." Jorg said quietly, deciding to answer this question before the other. "I was in a mercenary Band. We were traveling across the Spine for work. There was a howl, we fled, and then I got bit."

He frowned for a moment. "Bastards decided to leave me for dead in the Mountains. Couldn't even finish the job themselves."

A sigh escaped his lips. Despite the venom in his voice he still missed the Band sometimes, couldn't help it really.

His head shook.

"It's more like I go to sleep." Jorg continued as he lifted the bottle and took a heavy swig. "That's one trick I can teach you at least."

He was sure of that.
 
Silver's eyes saddened with a gentle frown of understanding and she nodded slowly at his story and rested her arms over the table. "I managed to hide it from my family for the first four months. They tried to kill me when they found out.. Thought it a mercy. It would've been." she laughed under her breath despite the sadness in her tone. She'd had a close family, and her mind drifted for a moment, her gaze growing distant.

"I hope so.." she smiled as she looked back at him finally. "I can't imagine how you could possibly make your mind sleep through that.." her brow arched.
 
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He sighed, taking another sip of the drink before he slowly pushed it across the table in offer to her. "Family..."

A breath filled him.

"Family is tough. Mine think me a Mercenary still." He was in essence, but not in a Band. A letter here or there kept his father happy at least, though every now and again he got something from his mother begging him to come home.

Mallian needed it's future Duke.

Leaning in his chair he smiled. "It's a learned trick, but not too difficult. Though I guess we'll need to stay here a bit."
 
“Mhmm..” she nodded and reached to take the bottle, her face a grimace as she drank from it and coughed before handing it straight back.

“We’re” cough “Travellers..” cough..

So my home was always my family.. I’ve just, sort of been wandering since.” she laughed dryly under her breath. “I tried living in Alliria for a while but I’m just not made for the city.”

Silver returned his smile as he spoke of the trick and she leaned on the table with a look of intrigue as she looked over him.. “i’m ready to learn.”
 
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He nodded smiling as she had to suppress the liquor with a few coughs. "I've met a few travelers."

Interesting folk really. Most of them tended to be seen as thieves and scoundrels, but really they were just a very transient people. Made easy targets as scapegoats for pretty much any ruler.

His head shook away the darker thoughts. "Let's see where do we start?"

Jorg asked himself out loud. He wasn't a scholar, hell wasn't even close. He had no idea whether it mattered if she had the same kind of curse as him or if it was different or if it even mattered at all. All he knew was himself and what he had done.

"The wolf." He began. "Can you feel it?"

His voice lowered, eyes closing. "Somewhere in the back of your mind, in your soul. Looking, watching, lurking."

For him it was always there. It hadn't been at first, but as time went on it had become more bold. Now it responded in turn with him, snarling, howling, even offering advice at times in its own unique way.