Private Tales Wolves At the Door

[Jorg]

The sword left it's scabbard as soon as the sound echoed through the fortress, blade ringing out as he took half a step away from Silver in order to give himself more room to maneuver.

His ears seemed to twitch as he looked around the Fortress, eyes wandering as he did his best to figure out where the noise had actually come from. It was after a few seconds that he spotted it, a creature moving towards the top of the wall.

It's flesh was grey and odd sinewy wings hung from beneath it's arms. His lips thinned. "Harpy."

The word could have been a curse with the way that Jorg actually said it.

Harpies were not pleasant creatures. Mildly intelligent and incredibly vicious, the damned things had a reputation for tearing travelers to shreds just for the fun of it.

 

[Silver Romani]

Silver followed his gaze as she heard the creature. She'd only ever seen one, but never this close, and she'd never had any desire to be. She sidestepped, slowly away from Jorg, splitting the Harpy's target should it choose to attack, and she subtle nocked an arrow but kept her bow low. The beast looked between them both, but she had her sights set more on Jorg.

The harpy gave a few warning snaps before stretching her wings and letting out an ear-splitting screech before diving from her perch atop the wall, her razor sharp, clawed feet splayed toward Jorg as she flew toward him.

Silver took her aim quickly and loosed her arrow, it flew past the creature and she cursed, quickly drawing another and loosing it, but the arrow sliced straight through the creature's wing and done nothing to slow it's trajectory, and everything to fuel her rage.

 

[Jorg]

The harpy swooped down low directly towards Silver, and Jorg broke out into a quick sprint.

Harpies were strange things. Territorial, aggressive, and not in the least amount friendly. The broken little bitches would kill and eat near anything that came near their roost, even if they had no children nearby. Other Harpies were as fair game to them as all species.

As the monster dipped low, it's talons coming forward to tear into Silver, Jorg jumped up.

His blade went sweeping forward, but it seemed the creature caught sight of him in the middle of his leap. Almost as if on a dime the monstress turned, it's wing suddenly sweeping and it's Talon cutting over towards Jorg instead.

Sword clashed with razor sharp bone, the Werewolf barely blocking the creatures claws before it could dig into his face.

 

[Silver Romani]

"Jorg!" Silver panicked, and lifted her bow to nock another arrow as she stumbled back a few paces, but as she did her arm snapped and she screamed and buckled to her knees. The screaming continued as more bones broke, and the wolf left her no choice but to accept the shift. She had never shifted like this, it was purely the need to protect him, the fear of losing him, and the wolf was tearing free. Silver rolled onto her back and writhed in excruciating agony, claws shredding at the clothes she wore as they restricted the expanding muscles that erupted under her skin.

It took a minute. She'd never transformed as quickly, but the pain caused Silver's mind to shut down, and the only consciousness left was that of the wolf who shook her auburn fur and let out a snarl of fury and launched itself, claws splayed and jaw open at the harpy, intend on shredding the beast limb from limb and clamping it's muzzle into it's throat.

 

[Jorg]

Jorg took half a skipping step back as from his right Silver's Wolf suddenly darted out of nowhere.

The mass of Auburn flesh and hair was on the Harpy as fast as Jorg could perceive, ripping into the monstress with reckless abandon. Cries of pain, agony, and fear quickly began to echo from the Harpy's lips, Jorg letting out a muted curse.

His sword flipped in his hand. "Uhh."

He could feel the rush in the air, smell the fear and rage coming from Silver's Wolf. It was in the air, lingering even as she fought the creature.

Jorg slowly lowered his blade.

The wolf in his own head was watching from behind his eyes, staring, wanting, but Jorg did not let it seize control. He was not sure if his body could handle it.

So he watched, watched as the monster he had claimed defended him.

 

[Silver Romani]

The wolf was clumsy, mindless.. reckless. It's mind was on one thing and that was ending the horrid creature's life regardless of risk of injury to herself. Claws tore easily through the beast's chest and her jaw found purchase on it's throat and bit down. Torn, sinewy wings wrapped around her, the sharp claws of bone raking across her back, but Silver refused to let her jaw open to allow her to yelp. Her teeth clamped down harder, and she forced the Harpy down into the ground, pinning her before ripping her head back and tearing the throat clean out.

The creature stilled and silenced, it's wings slipping from Silver's bloodied back and slapping to the stone floor. The wolf spit the bloody mess onto the floor and she turned her eye to Jorg with a huff and stood, chest heaving as adrenaline coursed through her. She stared at him intently for a moment before looking around with a quiet growl, her nose pulling at the air in search of any more surprise guests.

 

[Jorg]

Jorg looked at the wolf for a few moments, wondering if Silver could stare behind it's eyes like he could when he had shifted.

Fingers tightened on his sword for a brief moment, but he did not raise the blade. The wolf standing in front of him now could no more hurt him than he could harm himself. Jorg felt that a part of his was afraid, but the greater whole of him...just wasn't.

He was confident she would not, maybe even could not harm him. "They usually roost alone."

Jorg said quietly.

"Too territorial to play with others." Unless it was mating season, then they tended to pair together.

Would the Wolf understand him?

 

[Silver Romani]

Silver was fully conscious, she could see all it seen, taste the foul blood on her tongue, feel the searing pain in her back where crimson rivulets dripped from her blood matted fur. An ear pivoted toward Jorg and her head lowered. Silver understood, and yet had no control, no way of responding, and the wolf seemed to understand more in the way of Jorg's tone of voice and body language, how the atmosphere had eased since the Harpy fell silent.

She listened a moment longer before turning her body to step closer to him. She'd never been in this form and this close to a person before without attacking, and yet Silver felt no fear of doing so. Jorg's wolf had become alpha the moment he'd bitten her. She wanted to protect him just as he'd protected her against the hunters. Now she had a way of shifting, a trigger. Him. She'd been afraid, in danger, angry, hurt on several occasions since she'd been bitten and not once had the wolf ever tried to come to her own aid.. His bite had unlocked something in her the wolf's mind, an instinct and primal need to defend.

She dropped to her haunches in front of him, studying him, he didn't look like a wolf but she could smell him, and she lowered her head to meet his gaze and nudge at him with her nose as though searching through the skin he wore for the beast she knew hid underneath it.

 

[Jorg]

Jorg didn't quite know how to react at first. The Wolf's massive nose pressed against him for a few seconds, and almost instantly he knew what was happening. Lips thinned for a brief moment, and he raised his free hand to run it through the beasts fur.

"Two days." His body couldn't take the weight of shifting again.

Four times in quick succession was simply too much. He could still feel the ache in his bones, the hurt radiating through every muscle and tendon. Even with the Wolf's added healing Jorg had been in pain since the morning.

He needed time to recover. "The Full moon."

Instinctively, fingers grasped the hair at her neck, seizing it and holding her in place for a few seconds as if to signal what he was trying to say.

Would it understand? In truth he had absolutely no idea, but the Wolf in his own mind seemed to have calmed itself as he'd spoken the words. A promise had been made, another bargain.

 

[Silver Romani]

The wolf's gaze narrowed slightly but she allowed the touch, a soft growl rattling through her but there was no apparent aggression behind it. She felt his fingers tighten at the thick fur around her neck and her lips curled over her teeth for a brief moment, her nostrils flaring as she pulled at his scent once more to ensure it was him before she eased and flicked her tongue at his face.

Her head lowered and pressed against his chest with a loud huff of air, and as the wolf began to ease, sure the threat had been eliminated, her body slowly started to shrink. The wolf whined over the sound of cracking bones, fur receded into her olive skin, leaving it sinewy with sweat. It was a far smoother transition than the former, but one that still left her shaking and exhausted as she fell naked to her knees in front of him, pulling in deep, pained breaths and grimacing as the pain in her back became far more difficult to ignore on her much smaller body.

 

[Jorg]

As she slowly shifted back to her human form Jorg wrapped his arms around Silver. Muscles kept her up against himself, pressing her tight against him as sinew and flesh reformed itself into their more natural state.

His eyes were closed as she shifted, not because the sight disgusted him, but rather because it would have reminded him of his own transformations.

A part of him believed he wasn't strong enough for that. "It's okay."

Jorg said quietly as he felt Silver fold into his arms, a cry of pain rupturing from her throat. He remembered the agony well, could still feel the ache of it.

Maybe they would find a bed inside the fallen Keep.

 

[Silver Romani]

Her body shook as he held onto her, and she summoned the strength to wrap her arms around him.. His words were a comfort, and she tried to ignore the churning nausea that came over her in waves..

“I’ve, never done that before..” she breathed out and lifted her gaze to him, messy red hair stuck to the sweat on her face.. “I couldn’t stop it..” she frowned and let out a deep sigh, trying to slow her pulse..

“I don’t think there are any more..” she rumbled and looked toward the large oak door that lay ajar. “Let’s get inside..”

 

[Jorg]

Jorg slowly helped pick Silver up off the ground, his arms still wrapped around her. "We need to stop ruining our clothes."

He whispered quietly.

The only other time she had shifted that quickly had been when they had first fought. Both the wolves had contested one another then, and the two had been ferociously fast. It had also been the most painful shift he'd ever experienced.

"Here." Jorg said as he helped Silver move towards the door, using his other hand to half carry his sword just in case.

When they reached the door he kicked it open with his boot, finding the inside dark and of course completely abandoned.

A great hall lay before then, three or four hallways branching off from the central room and a great Hearth sitting directly opposite them. "There."

He pointed to what appeared to be an old sofa, covered in dust but good enough to sit on still.

 

[Silver Romani]

Silver laughed under her breath and nodded “Lucky I stole spares from that line..” she half smirked, but the pain soon wiped all amusement from her face as he helped her toward the door and she leaned most of her weight against him when her legs threatened to buckle underneath her.

“Raksha..” Silver clicked her tongue at the mare, the door would be large enough for her to fit through and she wasn’t leaving her out here as fodder for whatever decided to come hunting.

“We should burn that..” she looked over the Harpy’s corpse before turning her attention back ahead when she was sure Raksha was following.

Silver squeezed at his arm in thanks as he helped her to the sofa and she peered around the dusty old hall and quirked a brow.. “Why would anyone abandon this?..”. The place was massive, and had clearly belonged to a family of wealth and standing. She was desperate to explore the rest of it and see what they’d find, but her body would protest and she sighed quietly.

“There’s still plenty wine...” Silver murmured and jerked a chin toward Raksha’s saddle as she wrapped her arm around her back to press her fingertips to the gaping wounds on her back, the bleeding had already slowed considerably..

 

[Jorg]

"There isn't much around here." Jorg said with a frown as he lowered her onto the sofa, looking around the main hall for a few seconds.

The Keep was large enough to hold a dozen rooms, and immediately he began to map out in his head just where they could go. One of the bedrooms in the back would be a better place to stay than the main entrance hall, but he first wanted Silver to get a little bit of rest.

"Supplying this place must have been a nightmare." Even if there was a road, they would constantly have to cart in food. "This was probably some sort of outpost at one point."

Perhaps for the Allirian Rangers, it was hard to tell.

A smile flickered over Jorg's face as he gently reached down and pushed some of the hair out of Silver's face. "How about you rest for a little first, then we find a bedroom, then wine?"

 

[Silver Romani]

The sound of Raksha's hooves on the stone echoed around the hall as the mare wandered lazily over to nibble at Silver's shoulder. Silver gave a soothing stroke at her nose, and reached to pull her blanket from her saddle and wrap it around herself before curling up on the sofa.

"Only if you come rest with me.." Silver rumbled at him as he stroked her hair back from her face. "I'll hunt us something for supper.. Unless you can stomach Harpy, but I wouldn't recommend it.." she grimaced, still able to conjure the taste of it's blood.

 

[Jorg]

Jorg smiled down at her. "I think I should probably do the hunting."

Silver seemed exhausted, far more than she had the last time. Perhaps it was because she'd changed so quickly. The transition this time had been quick, and Jorg knew from experience that it could make things...difficult.

Plus there was the night before too...

"You rest, I'll get us food." He kissed her forehead. "Then we'll go find a bed in this dump and get some sleep."

His hand stroked softly over her skin. "Okay?

 

[Silver Romani]

Her brow creased at the thought of him leaving her. She wasn’t sure if it was that he was going on his own, or whether it was the simple fact that he was leaving her, but something felt wrong and she couldn’t place why. Jorg could look after herself, that much was obvious, but Silver felt the wolf far more prominent in her mind of late and it’s own emotions were tangling with hers which was both frustrating and confusing.

She nodded uncertainly and offered some semblance of a smile as he kissed her forehead.. “Okay..” She agreed quietly. “Take my bow... Please be careful though, I’ve no idea if we’re being tracked..” she huffed quietly..It was ‘we’ now.

 

[Jorg]

He nodded his head, glancing back at the horse for a few seconds as he considered how to best keep Silver safe.

"It'll be alright." He told her with a soft kiss to the top of her head. It would be best for her to get some rest, even if there were hunters he would not have wanted Silver to go out and about on her own so this was a trade off he was more than willing to make.

With a small smiled Jorg hefted her bow and a few of her arrows.

He'd never exactly been the best Archer, but he had skill enough for hunting. Giving her a brief wink Jorg slipped out from behind the massive gates to the main hall, pushing them closed a second later to ensure she would at least be able to tell if someone was coming.

It was only an hour later that the Mercenary returned, calling out as he knocked. "Don't throw anything, it's me!"

 

[Silver Romani]

She had at least tried to relax but it was hopeless. Something felt physically wrong, as though there were some invisible rope tying her to him that felt stretched and the silence was deafening. It worried her somewhat, that she felt this way, like being alone didn't feel natural anymore, like she felt some sort of dependency that she'd never felt before. Her mind raced, and she worried herself over ugly thoughts of him being attacked by hunters or harpies, wondering if she would know..

Raksha had sensed her worry as she always seemed to and had stood by the sofa, her head bowed to hang over Silver's shoulder, and she stroked at the mare's nose, unable to switch off from her worrying.

She flinched as she heard his voice and sat up a little more, finding her heart suddenly pounding as she breathed out in relief.

"Catch something?.." she asked casually, and settled back down, now more content to relax herself.

 

[Jorg]

The answer to Silver's question was wrapped around Jorgs shoulder.

It was a deer, or at least an animal that looked close enough to a deer that one could pass it off as such. It had two strange curly horns instead of the usual antlers, and the tail was longer than that of a deer. Jorg had no idea what the animal was called, but it would do well enough.

"Should keep us fed for near enough a week." Except for the fact that two days from now they would shift and probably eat three of these damned things each.

The Wolf always did like to eat a lot.

"How are you feeling?" He asked as he brought the strange deer thing to a nearby table. "Good enough to look around?"

 

[Silver Romani]

Silver had the same thought as Jorg. Her wolf always killed way more than it needed to eat on the night of full moon, it hunted and killed for sport, some things were simply slain and left behind whole when she picked up the scent of something else.

"Mhm.." she nodded in response to his question. She hadn't slept or relaxed but naturally her body had started to heal enough that the pain was not too difficult to manage. The wounds on her back had stopped bleeding entirely and had slowly begun to knit back together, leaving thick angry scores in her flesh and the dried blood clinging to her skin..

Silver pulled herself to her feet and stood for a moment, making sure she was stable enough before she started moving toward the main corridor, wrapping her blanket tightly around her and waiting on him before going off to explore.."I hope there's a bathtub.." she murmured to herself.

A dozen rooms led off of the main corridor, and a grand staircase sat at the other end. Spiral staircases led down into what she assumed were kitchens or storage rooms. She turned on her heels, waiting to follow Jorg's lead.. He was the one with the sword, and if there were any surprises she doubted she could handle another shift right now..

 

[Jorg]

The small castle as it turned out, wasn't so small after all.

There were a dozen rooms, though half of them had either collapsed roofs or open walls which left much to be desire for a place to actually room in. Jorg closed the doors to those and then wedged them shut. "Wonder how old this place is."

He mused to Silver as they walked, his sword drawn just in case another harpy had decided to make it's home within the walls.

Steps were careful, but by the time they reached the eighth room Jorg was a little bit more lax. He still smelled the air, still watched everything keenly, but his body language was clearly far more at ease. His hand wrapped around the handle of the door, jerking it open to reveal a large suite style bedroom.

There was a central sitting room, then a bedroom, then a bathroom beyond.

"This looks promising." He commented to Silver as he waved her inside, offering her a small graze of his palm on her rear as she stepped by.

 

[Silver Romani]

She stuck close to his side, her blanket wrapped tightly around her as she padded barefoot through the halls. As he opened the door to the suite, Silver's eyes lit up. It was perhaps a little dusty, but it was like nowhere she'd ever seen before. An ostentatious four-poster bed dominated the room, and her eyes fell on the large, mirrored dressing table, laden with combs and perfumes, and she was instantly drawn to sit in the cushioned chair in front of it.

Her fingertips ran over the ivory hairbrush with a small smile and she opened a small musical box and her head tilted as she listened to it play.. "Rich people have such pretty things.." she mused aloud and lifted the brush to comb it through her hair. It wasn't often she saw her own reflection, and her eyes fell on the scarred bite at the crook of her neck as she pulled her hair around her shoulder. It was his mark, and her lips curled as her fingers traced over the raised, silvery skin that she wore more proudly than she would a piece of fine jewellery.

Silver watched him in the mirror, wondering if he could read the thoughts on her mind as she smiled at him.. "I think this place will do nicely.." she sighed quietly and set the brush down.

 

[Jorg]

"For a little while." He confirmed.

The fort, was fallen and abandoned as it was, sat in the middle of nowhere. There were no towns or villages nearby, and if they were he doubted anyone would come within twenty miles of this place due to the Harpy that had tested here.

She would have kept near everyone away.

Slowly Jorg stepped over towards Silver, watching her face in the mirror as she played with some of the riches left behind. It was an odd thing to think about, the disparity in how they had been brought up, how they were now on the same level due to a simple curse.

As he stepped up behind her Jorg softly placed a hand upon her, fingers sprawling over her shoulder and onto her collarbone before they slowly slipped over her neck. "I think a few days here will do us good."

Jorg said as he leaned down and kissed her cheek.