Private Tales Wolves At the Door

[Silver Romani]

She followed Jorg's gaze toward the window and she gave a huff in understanding. Her gaze swept the room and she padded over to lift a heavy oak chair to launch it at the stained glass which shattered, and the updraft dragged flames and plumes of black smoke into the room.

The flames caught quickly, the red wolf let out a low whine and snorted as she breathed it in. For a moment, she froze in fear before glancing back at Jorg and making a run for the window, paws sliced by broken shards as she clambered over the edge, and dropped into the courtyard below.

 

[Jorg]

Jorg seemed to linger within the room, flames licking his flesh as he looked down at the fallen Great Wolf. Claws tightened for a few seconds, extending further before they dug through his flesh and peeled off a piece of his fur.

Then he followed after Silver.

With a single great leap he bounded through the window and landed in the courtyard below, the weight of his injuries sending him crashing to the ground with a loud yelp. For a brief second there was a struggle, then he pushed himself back up.

The Keep itself behind them was now on fire, the flames catching on the roof and what wood was left.

Jorg's ears flattened, his head twisting as he looked for Silver.

 

[Silver Romani]

The wolf let out a furious growl as she tried to walk and she shook what shards of glass that she could from her paws. Jorg's yelp was like a shock of ice cold water however, and she abandoned the task and hobbled over to him to help him up.

There was a thunderous crack as a large section of the roof gave in and collapsed in on the keep, plumes of black smoke billowing free and Silver slunk back, pulling Jorg with her as she watched with a quiet whine.

 

[Jorg]

The wolf stared at the collapsing keep for a few moments, knowing somewhere in the back of his mind that the Human would be somewhat displeased by this development. His hears flatted for a moment until he felt Solver tug on him, then slowly he turned, stopping for only a second before he glanced over towards a corner of the courtyard.

A low whine escaped his throat and he trotted over to a line of clothes that had been hung out to dry a day before.

The wolf pulled some of the random bits of cloth free, dragging them off the line and gathering them up in it's jaw before he turned once again and began to follow after Silver. Their steps were not hurried, but carried them away from the burning Keep which by now would stand as almost a signal flare.

They made their way for several hours, wounds aching and bodies hurting until they found themselves in a small isolated glade. A stream slowly bubbled through one end, and a serene sort of quiet lay across the area.

That was until the two wolves began to change back and howl's of pain erupted from them both.

 

[Silver Romani]

Silver lay on her side, her body shuddering as she rode the aftershocks of agony. Her hand rubbed at her brow and ran into her hair to grip it as she rolled onto her back and dragged in long, deep breaths.

"Raksha.." she growled a sound of anguish and buried her face in her hands.

 

[Jorg]

Jorg remained on his hands and knees, but mostly because he was busy puking out the contents of his stomach onto the grass.

His head was swimming, everything ached, and the cuts that the Wolf had endured did not simply go away as he transformed back into his human form. Fingers dug into the dirt, and he let out a low growl of pain until he eventually flopped over onto his side.

"Fuck me." Jorg said softly, turning his head towards Silver.

Fingers reached out, gently touching her.

"Are you alright?" He certainly fucking wasn't, but as long as she was okay he didn't much care. His wounds would heal.

 

[Silver Romani]

Silver didn't answer. Her face was still a grimace of pain and her jaw was clenched tight shut to keep her nausea down. She sat herself up, her hands and feet soaked in blood and her skin blackened with bruises and smoke.

"Shit.." she growled and pulled a sharp slice of glass from her palm with a wince and tossed it away before turning to Jorg, looking over him with worry.

"I'm sorry. This was..This was all my fault." she swallowed as tears welled up and she reached a shaking hand to his face. "I'm sorry."

 

[Jorg]

"It's alright." He said calmly.

Jorg had wanted to kill the man as soon as he'd heard the name "Akkara" fall from his lips. Lop his head off and be done with it right then and there, but he knew why Silver had intervened. His eyes closed for a moment, and he looked up in the distance to where he could still see the smoke.

"We're alive." Jorg told her softly as his hand softly grazed over her skin. "We're still alive."

They once again found themselves in the wild, but at the very least they had clothes this time. He glanced over towards the pile of garments that the Wolf had brought along, curious that the beast had thought of it. "And we may have saved a dozen lives."

Avenged dozens more.

That sat right with him.

"Come on." He said, wincing from his wounds as he stood and picked her up. "We need to clean our wounds."

 

[Silver Romani]

Silver leaned into his hand and closed her eyes. He was right, of course, but she couldn't help but wish she had just allowed him to deal with the man the way he'd wanted to. She wished even more that they'd never let him inside the gates...and that she hadn't thrown that fucking sconce.

He had picked her up despite his wounds before she could intervene and her arms looped around his neck. "Careful.." she rumbled and nosed at his jaw.

"We have no weapons, no coin.. Raksha.. We have to go back, Jorg." she frowned.

 

[Jorg]

Jorg slowly waded into the ice cold stream. Goosebumps quickly rolled across his skin, but he ignored them as he slowly soaked both of their bodies in the water.

The stream almost immediately turned a deep crimson, washing away the blood that stained both their skin and wounds. He let out a sigh as he submerged himself, the water feeling surprisingly soothing upon his aching wounds. "We will."

He told her softly.

She had left her horse, and he had left his sword.

That weapon had been in his family for as long as Mallian had been a city. He could no more leave it behind than she could Raksha. There was no doubt in his mind that by the time they made it back others would be there, but perhaps they could at least use their wounds to their advantage.

That was something at least.

 

[Silver Romani]

Her grip tightened on him as he waded them both into the water and once she was over the initial shock of cold she eased. She stroked at his face attentively and nuzzled her face into the crook of his neck just to take a moment to breathe and let his warmth and the water soothe her.

Her eyes opened at a thought and she captured her lower lip between her teeth and chewed idly for a moment. She watched a trickle of crimson race it's way down Jorg's chest from her bleeding palm and she dropped it into the water.

"Why did he look like that? I've never seen a wolf so big." she growled quietly.

 

[Jorg]

They would need some bandages, he decided.

His hands wrapped slowly around Silver, holding her close enough that their skin was touching but not so tight that either of their wounds would ache from the touch. He took a breath as they sat there for a minute, frowning only when she asked her question.

"Akkara." He said quietly.

Jorg had only heard stories from the Bands Sorcerer, explanations of the rituals and the like, but he'd never quite believed any of it.

Now it seemed hard to deny.

"Magic, I guess." It didn't seem so preposterous. "We had a Sorcerer with the band. He explained to that the cult thought through sacrifice they would receive blessings from their gods...I guess he was right..."

Lips quirked into a frown.

 

[Silver Romani]

Silver gave a troubled frown and sighed deeply.. "I've never heard of anything like that.. They're going to track us, aren't they?.." she looked up at him. It wouldn't be difficult, they'd track the old man's blood to their keep, and Silver and Jorg's blood away from it.

"We have to be quick, and then get as far from the keep as we can. We can't.. They'll kill us." One had been frightening enough, a whole pack was suicide.

 

[Jorg]

Jorg shook his head. "I don't know."

It was an honest answer.

"The old man said that they had lost, and I think..." He glanced over towards where they had first shifted back. "The wolf took a strip of flesh from him, I'm not sure why but..."

Perhaps as a way of warding off others? There was a reason for it, he was sure of that fact, but he could not say what that reason actually was. Lips thinned for a brief seconds seconds, head shaking. "He was old, larger than any Wolf I've seen. I think he was their leader."

With him dead, maybe they would be in chaos.

He hoped it would be so.

 

[Silver Romani]

Silver's brow furrowed at him.. "Why would it?.." she asked in a tone of confusion.

"If he was their leader, i'm not sure if that's a good or a bad thing.." she sighed and rested her hand on his stubbled cheek to caress it with her thumb as she pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth.

"Come. We need to move." she rumbled

 

[Jorg]

Jorg nuzzled her gently, shrugging his shoulder in answer to her question. "I have no idea."

That fact almost made him want to laugh.

It still bothered him just how little he knew about his other half. A thousand questions swirled in his head right now and none of them would ever get a straight answer because the damned wolf couldn't have spoken if it tried. Lips curled to a frown, and he nodded his head in agreement with her.

Briefly he couldn't help but wonder if the old man could have answered some of the questions they'd had. If they could have interrogated or done something to make him talk.

Yet he knew he wouldn't have been able to stand it. Not from someone who'd done what he'd done.

"At least it took some clothes for us." Jorg commented as Silver and He pulled themselves out of the freezing stream and trotted over towards where the wolf deposited the clothing. He picked up his tunic, noting some of the drool stained in it with a frown. "I swear the thing is getting smarter."

He murmured.

 

[Silver Romani]

Silver held onto him as he carried her from the river and she limped a little as he set her down, lifting her foot to pull another piece of glass from it. She was starting to heal already and her bleeding had stopped, and she looked over Jorg's wounds for a moment before looking down at the clothes.

"Seems so." she frowned and looked at her palms.. "Mine isn't.." she murmured. Then again, she'd been entirely human when she'd thrown a lit sconce at a wolf and quite literally burned their keep to the ground. She inwardly groaned at herself and chewed on her lip before picking up some leggings and pulling them on.

"She was definitely a little more wary, at least.. Not as mindless." she shrugged and lifted a shirt over her head before wringing out her fiery hair.. There was something of instinct to how she'd backed away, and she knew the wolf wasn't mindlessly protecting Jorg but also trying to protect herself as well. Silver's brow arched and she huffed and shook her head.

"Sometimes I think parts of our mind connects in some way and then it just slips away, like trying to remember a dream after you wake. It's damn frustrating." she growled and limped a few paces before the stinging started to ease.. "Long walk back.." she sighed. The wolves had gone several hours, it'd take them longer than that in human form.

 

[Jorg]

It felt as though something had changed. Jorg wasn't sure what, hell he wasnt even sure if anything had. Yet since he'd been with Silver things had certainly begun to tumble out of control. His understanding was slipping away, and in that moment he was too tired to care.

What he did care about was her.

Jorg stepped over to Silver, having only just put her down but still feeling as though he needed to be by her. His arms wrapped around her as she finished dressing, muscles squeezing ever so gently as he kissed her cheek. "We'll figure it out."

The mercenary said softly in regards to the wolves within their minds.

"And if you get tired I'll carry you." It was a promise that Jorg was not entirely sure that he could keep. His body felt as though it were on its last leg. Shifting so many days in a row had worn him down, and it was an easy thing to see upon his skin and in the set of his eyes.

Yet he would endure. For her.

"Come on." He said softly. "Let's go get your horse."

 

[Silver Romani]

Silver happily took comfort from him as his arms wrapped safely around her and she rumbled, leaning in to his kiss and she held onto him with a deep sigh.

"Hm." she smiled up at him, but there was worry in her eyes. "I'm fine. But it seems like I might be the one doing the carrying. Lets just, find us somewhere to rest for the night and I'll go on and get Raksha." her brow knit and her thumb brushed over the stubble of his cheek.

 

[Jorg]

"I'll be alright." Jorg insisted as he unfurled his arms from around her after another gentle squeeze.

The wolf was tired, exhausted, but he wasn't about to let Silver that far from his view.

Not after this mess. "I'm not letting you go back there alone."

Jorg told her protectively, his fingers tightening for a moment as he smiled at her. Besides, it wasn't just the horse that they needed to get. Raksha was important of course, but he couldn't leave his families sword behind either.

The weapon was a damned heirloom after all.

"I can manage a little walk." He told her. "Let's just...not fight anyone."

 

[Silver Romani]

Silver laughed quietly and shook her head.. "No.. Lets try to avoid that." she agreed and wrapped her arm around his lower back to walk with him should he need to lean on her. She wouldn't have let him go back alone either, and so she knew there was little point in arguing.

The further she walked, the more her wounds healed and the more tired she grew. Pain gave way to exhaustion, and the plume of thick, black smoke grew closer. Silently, she prayed that they were the only ones who'd be moving toward it.

 

[Jorg]

They were, unfortunately, not the only ones who were moving towards it. In fact they weren't the first ones to reach it.

Jorg saw them first, or more accurately he was the one that stopped and grasped Silver first. His breath hitched, and his hand came up to pinch the bridge of his nose. Lips immediately thinned and a plan already began to form in his head. "Soldiers."

He said quietly and then quickly pointed them out to Silver.

She would see the glint of steel through the trees, some of the soldiers from the night before were moving around the burnt out Keep, though their numbers had considerably thinned from the night before. He could see that some already moved behind the wall.

Jorg grimaced, then looked to Silver. "Remember when I said I would teach you to be a Princess?"

He said with a frown.

"We may have to do that sooner rather than later." If they wanted their things back.

 

[Silver Romani]

“Shit..” Silver groaned as she peered through the trees, her heart sinking at the thought of losing her horse. She had assumed it was time to give up and leave, but Jorg’s words suggested otherwise and she frowned at him..

“What do you have in mind?..” she asked somewhat nervously, but Raksha had saved her life more times than she could count, she wasn’t about to leave her if she could help it.

 

[Jorg]

Jorg shrugged his shoulders. "The old wolf said this army is from the East. Chased them across the spine."

He remembered those words well.

"They have no idea who lived in this place. No idea who it belongs to." From their current perch he could see that most of the Keep was already burnt out, the smoke still rising telling him that likely most of it had been destroyed. He doubted any paintings or papers survived, and that would serve them just fine in this situation.

Especially if they followed through with the plan that was now forming in his mind.

"So we just pretend this place is ours." He told her with a shrug. "The wolf attacked us, place for set on fire, we ran scared."

His expression told her was utterly serious. "Raksha will recognize you, my sword will still be there...it'll help set the story."

 

[Silver Romani]

Silver studied his face as he spoke, her uncertainty was obvious. A cacophony of thoughts raced through her mind as she considered and she chewed anxiously on her lip as she dragged her gaze back to the mulling soldiers. They knew nothing about them, who they were, some of them might have been hunters for all they knew. They might not believe their story or see through their lies.

She dragged in a breath and looked back to him with a nod. Regardless of what happened, they'd deal with it together. Silver was still half convinced that the remnants of the old wolf's pack would be on their way, and she'd rather deal with soldiers.

"Alright.. Yes. I can do that." she agreed. Acting wasn't an issue, she'd spent her life doing it. She looked down and made sure that the loose shirt she wore covered the scarring on her chest and neck. It didn't take a genius to spot lycan bites. She wrapped her arm around the small of his back and pressed a kiss to his stubbled cheek before nodding.

"Let's go."