Red and The Wolf [EverlyxNivan]

Status
Not open for further replies.
Kaiya blinked and nodded once, watching him leave the room. She tilted her head in curious confusion, wondering why he would worry that she would stray.. Oh. Unless it was a werewolf at the door. Was he.. protecting her? She considered that, realizing that was exactly what he was doing by allowing her to stay here. And if any of the other werewolves found out, she'd probably be dead. Would he get in trouble too..?

She remained as silent as she was able, listening to the conversation taking place in the other room. It was obvious that the newcomer, Jerall, was very fond of Cathal. They called each other brothers. Were they really, or was it just a term of friends? They seemed close. She wondered what it was like to have friends like that - people who simply accepted that you wanted something different than what they wanted for you. This Jerall person seemed to just go along with Cathal staying here even though he did not think it was wise or safe.

She continued to listen, lost in thought. Cathal's wound was still bothering her. That made her feel a bit guilty. She had cleaned it as best as she was able, but with no true knowledge of how werewolf biology differed from a human's, it may not have been very effective.

But he was alive. So it was effective enough.

She shifted slightly to keep one of her legs from falling asleep, her boot twisting a mere inch. That was all it took to knock her bag over. It tipped onto the floor, making a heavy poofing noise. She froze, staring at it. Thankfully it wasn't full of pots and pans, but it was still a noise. She bit her lower lip, glancing toward the doorway that Cathal had disappeared through. Hopefully it went unnoticed.
 
Cathal's ears prickled at the noise. He had always been good at thinking on his feet. He made his eyes go wide, and he let an expression of horror fill his face. He grabbed Jerall's wrist.

"The potion-" He cut himself off, and darted for the door, dragging the blonde lycan behind him. "Run!" He insisted.

Jerall -apparently- knew Cathal well enough to know that his potions were frequently highly unstable before their completion. He ran without question. And ran. And ran.

When the pair of them were nearly a hundred yards from the house, Cathal looked back to his home, as if waiting for some sort of grand explosion.

"What in the blazes are you making in there?!" Demanded the blonde werewolf, bewildered at the sudden flight from the home.

Cathal continued to stare for a moment longer, tense. When he finally broke his eyes away, it was only briefly to glance at Jerall before returning them to the cabin. "A remedy for rheumatism." He said, frowning. "It's liable to send the whole hill up if it gets knocked around too much. Might leak gas too, if it spills into water. Very touchy."

The shorter lycan stared at Cathal if he were crazy. Cathal glanced back at him.

"I've got to make sure the potion's not going to level my house. I'll bring you something nice tomorrow, but you should probably swing wide of it when you head back to the Wolfwood. And Jerall?"

"Aye?" asked the incredulous man.

"Keep an eye out for yourself. Urge caution for the next few days. Killing begets killing. And put on some damn pants if you're going to be walking into my shop." Cathal leveled an easy punch at the man's shoulder. It brought out a grin.

"Alright. Take care, Cathal."

"It's good to see you as ever, Jerall."

He said, before cautiously striding back toward his house. The sounds of transformation filled the night in his wake, and soon a blonde-gold wolf went racing off, giving his house a wide berth.
 
The sudden yell and thud of feet was punctuated by the sound of a door, then.. silence. Kaiya looked all around the room in confusion. She had expected some sort of awful thing, not the pair of them running out of the house like a pair of lunatics. It took her a full minute before she dared to move, but the silence was complete. She stood and carefully walked over to the doorway, peeking around it. Nothing. They were gone. She frowned and fully stepped into view, peering into a few rooms just to confirm the obvious. For some reason, Cathal had insisted that Jerall run out as though something bad was happeni-

Oh.

"Far more intelligent than Father ever gave them credit for..." she murmured absently to herself, shaking her head as she went back over to the couch and took her seat. She picked up her bag and set it back upright, leaning against the couch this time so it couldn't fall. After a moment of thought, she stood back up and unfastened her belt, setting it aside with all of her blades so that she was unarmed. It seemed like the right thing to do.
 
Cathal felt abruptly very tired, as he trudged up the hill to his house. He'd left the door to the shopfront standing ajar for effect. He closed it behind himself as he re-entered the room. Judiciously, he locked the door behind himself, in case any of his other brothers came to call on him that night. He didn't know whether or not the girl -Kaiya had been her name- was in danger from his ilk, but it would be better to keep her off the radar 'til the whole thing blew over.

The cabin was cooling in the hours since the sun had fallen beyond the horizon, and the few candles he'd let burn were poor illumination to keep company by. The lycan glanced at the girl on the couch, as he swept to the fireplace. He knelt, and struck a match against the hearth. It flared to life, and he lit the tinder quietly.

"I can't fathom," He murmured. "How you got here in the middle of the night, with a forest full of angry wolves." He said, glancing over his shoulder, and appraising the girl with a contemplative frown. The fire took, and he dropped the match into the flame, stepping back from the little blaze.

Hands tucked into his pockets, as he regarded his guest. "What do you plan to do?" He asked. There was no need to clarify when. If she didn't plan on staying, then she had to be planning on going.
 
"I don't know," she admitted honestly, giving him a blank look as he dropped the match and moved away from the small fire he had created. She gazed at the flames, frowning to herself as she thought of her run through the Wolfwood. "I only saw one.." she added after a moment, recalling the large white werewolf that she had hidden from. How had it not noticed her..? She still didn't understand.

As he asked what her plans were, she thought for a moment. She had already considered this question, doing her very best to look at the situation objectively. That was the only way she was going to be able to keep from breaking down in front of the enemy.

But was he even her enemy anymore? No. At least, not right now.

"I am going to go home in the morning and see if Nathan survived. He was at the cabin when I left," she said, closing her eyes momentarily to try and banish the image of her brother collapsing in a puddle of his own blood. She opened her eyes, managing to hold back tears as she frowned to herself and watched the fire. "Then I will find my family and I will bury them."
 
Cathal watched the fire quietly for a time. He didn't have the heart to suggest that there might not be much family left to bury. Hunters were prey to the Lycans. Food that fought. Part of him wondered if the Wolfwood was safe for her, any more. Another part wondered why he bothered to worry.

"You'll need an escort to search the Wolfwood for the bodies," He said quietly. No hunters meant no danger during the day. No hunters meant lycans had free run of the Wolfwood again. The Wood was vast. It went on for miles and miles. To the east, -where he had made his house- was a concentration of human settlements. To the south, plains occupied by nomads. To the north, there was a small settlement of elves, before the Wood ran into the ocean, and to the west, were mountains that separated the Wood from the other side of the continent. But there were many lycans. They wouldn't be roaming in packs any longer, but even one might consider her a threat to their way of life. The last of the Hunters.

"I'll go with you when you leave in the morning. Help you search for your fallen." He didn't offer to help bury them. That was not his to do. He had no love for them. He glanced at the couch, and then at the side-room with the closed door. "You may use the bed to rest tonight, if it pleases you. I'll fix some sausage, and eggs come morning."
 
Kaiya glanced at Cathal in surprise, but he was looking at the fire instead of her. She was stunned that he would offer to escort her through the Wolfwood. Why? It would be early in the morni- Oh. There were no Hunters left. Just.. her. That meant the werewolves would not be considered stupid for running around at all hours anymore. She frowned to herself, wondering if she was crazy to think she was going to go back home tomorrow night. Well, that was up for debate. She certainly could not remain here for the rest of her days.

"Thank you," she said, grateful for his offer now that she had realized the wisdom in it. In the back of her mind, she wondered if he had really thought it through. Sure, it was dangerous for her, but what if he was caught with her? For all she knew, every other werewolf in the Wolfwood had participated in the slaughter that night. None of them would want a Hunter around. Was he going to be in trouble if he were caught? He certainly hadn't wanted that other werewolf, Jerall, to know she was here. She glanced at him again, not wanting to get him in trouble, but also not wanting to argue since he was old enough to be making his own decisions.

"Oh, no, that's okay. I don't want to put you out of a bed. The couch is fine. I.. really don't think I'm going to be going to sleep tonight.. or any time for the next few days," she admitted, looking away from him after attempting a faint smile and failing. Even blinking brought thoughts she could barely handle. Sleeping was out of the question.

"You should sleep, though," she added after a moment, hoping he didn't think she expected him to stay up with her. That wouldn't be very nice of her at all.
 
"Let me worry about me," He chided softly, glancing up from the fire. "But you should rest if you can. You'll need your energy in the days to come." He rose, stepping towards the dividing wall, to disappear into the front room. When he returned, it was with a clear bottle filled with silver liquid. He placed the stoppered bottle on an end-table near the couch. "A sleep-aid. It'll put you under dreamlessly, if you're of the mind to sleep. The whole bottle, if you want it. Plug your nose. It tastes foul."

The young lycan stared at the girl for a moment longer, before turning to the closed door. "I'll see you in the morning."

_____________________________________________________________________________________

The night left Cathal tossing and turning himself. Had he done the right thing in opening his home to the huntress? Would she carry on her family's vendetta against his clan? Would she be well going it alone? As night faded into morning, Cathal wondered if maybe he shouldn't have taken a dose of the sleeping potion himself. Instead, he got out of bed with the first rays of the sun, and moved into the rest of the house. The fire had long since died down, and only ashes remained of the blaze.

Without casting about for the girl, the young lycan made his way out the back door to his wood pile, to fetch an armful of firewood for breakfast.
 
"Thank you," Kaiya murmured, looking up at Cathal as he set the bottle down. She watched him go into his bedroom, then returned her gaze to the bottle. It was sorely tempting. He was right in that she would need her energy, but every part of her screamed against sleeping. Instead, she turned away from the bottle and watched the flames.

As the fire died, the little Hunter sat perfectly still, her arms wrapped around her legs as her chin rested on her knees. Perhaps she should use this entire event as a signal to move on. Find her family, bury them, and leave. To go where? She knew nothing of life outside the Wolfwood. A few books that told stories, nothing more. Those were useless. She had no experience to get her a job doing anything useful unless somebody wanted a forest guide. Even then, she knew only the wood that she was leaving. Suddenly her desperation to leave home was gone. The Wolfwood, for all its dangers, was home. That cabin was hers now. It was all she had left of her family, if Nathan had not made it.

What would she do if she stayed? Clean out the cabin.. There was no need to live in a place that was filled with weapons that she was not even able to use. She would keep them, of course, but right now weapons were the main form of decoration in the home. Then what? Do nothing? She had no coin, no job, no support. Perhaps she could work here in town doing.. something.

If the werewolves didn't finish her off, anyway.

By the time Cathal came out of his bedroom at dawn, she had made up her mind and was still very much awake. She remained still, simply watching him as he went outside without so much as a glance at her. After a moment, she got up, stretching out her sore limbs before picking up the bottle that he had offered her. She went to the front of his house where the shop was and carefully set it on the counter so that he could put it back wherever it belonged, then she went back to the couch and tugged on her boots to go help him with the firewood.
 
The morning was warm, and Cathal did't want the fire burning all day while he was out of the house, so he was going to cut the cords of wood down to a more manageable size. Moving to the stump, and the ax buried within, the lycan selected a number of half-cut sections of wood, and set them near the stump. Standing one on it's end beside the ax, he pried the tool free. Leaning it against his knee, he peeled his shirt free to save himself from having to change the blasted thing once he'd gotten to sweating, and he took to cutting wood.

He lost himself in the act for a time, splitting wood, setting aside the wood he'd split. His wood bin had been emptied with the last fire, he may as well fill it again.

Chop. Place. Move.

Sweat glistened across his shoulders, as the pile of split logs grew. When he finally came to a stop, he buried the ax-blade in the stump again, and piled an armful of wood in his grasp. It would take him another trip to retrieve the last of it.
 
Kaiya wandered outside, heading toward the sounds of dull thumping. She came into sight of Cathal right as he pulled his shirt off. Her steps paused and she stared, unable to help herself since she was off to the side and he wasn't looking at her. The act of chopping the wood was boring every other time she had watched it or done it herself, but this.. this was different. She gazed at him with interest, watching the way his muscles tensed and moved under his skin as he went. He really was very attractive..

Stop daydreaming, Kaiya! Focus! You have too much to do today to be going all girly over a werewolf of all things!

She shook her head slightly to clear it, looking up once more as Cathal loaded himself up with a pile of wood. Without looking at him too closely - mostly because she feared she may start staring again - she went over and picked up the rest of the wood that he had to leave behind, then she followed along behind him to see where he wanted it.
 
Cathal only noticed that his guest had come out when he passed her on the way to the house. How long had she been standing there? Was she watching him to see if he'd turn into a slathering beast, to tear her throat out? Was she waiting for him to let his guard down, to gain vengeance for her family? She'd saved him once, but that was before his kin had killed hers nearly to a man. He supposed she could have killed him in the night, although if she had tried, she'd have found the door bolted.

Troubled, Cathal made his way inside, depositing the armful of wood into the bin. He held the lid of the bin up, for Kaiya to deposit her own bundle of wood within, before selecting five or so pieces to start the breakfast fire with. He bent over the fireplace, working to allow the flames to catch. When they did, he gingerly placed the metal grate on the narrow lip ringing the fireplace, halfway up. It served well as a cooking surface. On that, he placed a frying pan. He went to the nearby icebox, and produced several eggs, and four large sausage links. Each went onto the griddle in turn.

"How much would you like?" He asked, glancing over his shoulder to appraise the girl.
 
The little Hunter followed Cathal inside without a word, carefully putting her wood into the bin on top of his before stepping back out of his way and brushing a few small pieces of bark from her arms where they had gotten stuck. She watched the werewolf with interest as he set the fire up for cooking. It was interesting to her to see the differences between how he cooked and how her family did. Of course, having several older brothers and a grouchy father meant that meal time was always.. entertaining. Heaping plates and bowls, squabbling, laughing. There was always a fight over the last piece of bacon. Always. Every morning. And almost every morning, Kaiya had won, sneaking in to grab it while the others were arguing and punching each other. She smiled a bit at the thought, the memory fading from her mind as she heard Cathal speaking to her.

"However much you're having, I suppose.." she murmured absently, not really thinking about it since she was used to a serve-yourself-or-starve setting. She went over to her bag that was on the floor and opened it up. Ah, the emergency bag. Spare clothes, spare weapons, some supplies that may be necessary. Everything from a small blanket to a tin filled with matches and a couple coins. She pulled out a fresh set of clothes and went to the bathroom he had pointed out before. After a quick wash of just the necessities, she pulled her tangled blonde curls back into a somewhat-less-messy bun. At least now it was out of her face. She put on her fresh clothes, choosing dark brown leggings and an emerald green tunic that was more sturdy than some she owned. It had short sleeves, which she thought would be good for later on when she was going to be digging.

Once finished, she left the room and put her other clothes in her bag, then set it out of the way and looked over at Cathal.

"Can I help with anything?"
 
Cathal arched a brow as she indicated precisely how much she'd have, but didn't speculate on it further. He went back into the pantry, and retrieved three more eggs, and two more sausage links, before setting them aside. There would be room for them in the skillet after the first serving had been finished. "Nothing much needs doing besides the cooking. You could set the table, I suppose." There was a small, round table in the front of the establishment, just past a shelf of potions. "Dishes are under the counter. Don't drink any of the potions there." He warned.

"Back in a flash. Gotta grab my shirt." He explained, walking back out the back door. Cathal was something of a solitary creature. A rarity among the pack-minded lycans. He liked his peace. He liked keeping people at arm's length. Hosting the strange girl was... New. Unfamiliar. He didn't quite know how to handle it. So he just went right on doing what he did, only with another person in the house.

Out back, he retrieved his shirt, slipped it on, and tucked it into his breeches again. He rolled the sleeves up past his elbows, and returned to check on the food. The eggs were getting close to done, so he hurried into the front room to grab a plate, and went back to the fire. A spatula hanging over the stove ushered the eggs onto the plate from the pan, before he hung it above the fireplace once more. The plate got set on the mantle to cool, and he cracked another trio of eggs onto the metal.

"We'll set out after we wash up. Then we can either head right to your home, or begin searching for your family." He said, brusquely.
 
It was a good thing that Cathal went outside, since Kaiya was staring at him as though he was insane. Why in the world would he think that she would drink anything she saw? Oh, a potion sitting there that does something that might be horrific? Better drink it. She rolled her eyes once he was gone and shook her head, wandering in to the front room where the table was. After locating the dishes, she carefully set the table. Giving it a quick once-over, she nodded in satisfaction and went back to the living room to find him cooking with a shirt on.

"I plan to go straight home first," she said, trying not to think about it too much. This would be difficult as it was once they left. For now, she was concentrating on breakfast. "What would you like to drink? I can get it out while you finish cooking," she offered, watching him.
 
"Water suits me," He said idly, as the next group of eggs were readied and plated. The other two sausages joined the first four, filling up the pan. Warmed by the fire, he stepped back to sit on the arm of the couch. "There's milk in the icebox if you'd like it." He added, stuffing his hands in his pockets while the meat cooked.

The first four sausages came off the griddle some five minutes later, and he brought the serving plate in to set it on the round table, before disappearing into the back of the house-shop to finish off the other two. He crouched by the fire this time, watching the flames lick the hearth. A hand rose to run through is curly brown hair.

The urge to Change was coming upon him again. To run in the Wood. To let the sun warm his fur. To wade through the rivers, and bound up rocks, and around trees. But he had a duty. There would be time enough to frolic once it was done. The sizzle of sausage brought his attention back to the food, and he frowned, turning the sausages over. They had charred slightly on one side, but that didn't bother him at all. He broke one in half gingerly with his fingers, to eye the innards. It was cooked through.

He took the two sausages in hand, and brought them out to the round table. "Will you be staying at your home?" He asked.
 
"Okay."

Kaiya went back out into the front room, filling his glass with cold water and filling her own with water as well. She paused for a moment, taking a sip as she looked around the room. When she had first come here, trying so hard to save Cathal's life after being the one who nearly killed him, it had struck her as odd that his home had the feeling of being human. Now it still seemed off. There was nothing here that marked who or what he was. Sure, there were potions lying around that betrayed his chosen trade, but she saw no marking of being a werewolf at all. Was it because he hid it to avoid trouble? She frowned thoughtfully, wondering how she would feel if she had to live while hiding who she truly was every single day. It seemed exhausting.

She looked up as Cathal came in with a plate, then walked back out. Was there more? She blinked and eyed the plate, then looked toward the doorway. Perhaps telling him that she'd eat whatever he did was a mistake. She considered that, slowly realizing that a werewolf who was also male probably a poor choice. Oops. Well, she'd eat what she could. She set her glass down as he came in again, nodding once as she took her seat.

"Yes. I need to stay," she said, though she honestly wasn't sure why. It was simply a driving desire to stay home. "If something else happens.. then.. so be it. I'm going to try. It's home," she added, then she looked over at him and tilted her head a fraction, wondering how much he knew.

"Do you think it'll happen again..?"
 
Cathal served himself precisely half of the eggs, and one sausage in addition to the two he'd singed, and brought in with him. That left three eggs, and three sausages for the girl. He had a fork at hand, though he ate the sausages with his fingers. It seemed that a life alone had left his table manners wanting somewhat. He grunted in response to her insistence that she was going to stay at her family home, his mouth full. He was practically inhaling the meal.

He paused the shovelling of food into his mouth at the question, tilting his head quizzically. "Will what happen again? The fight? I can't say. If you keep on killing wolves, they're going to start killing back. There's too many of us to kill us all. Unless maybe you drove us out of the forest, but that would be hard and bloody work. Work that I don't think there are enough of you left to carry out. I suppose if you leave the wolves alone, stay out of their hunting grounds, and don't kill them where you see them, they'll leave you be."

He glanced down at his plate, and tucked back into the sausage. That was more words than he'd said together to the girl in the entire time since they'd met. Only when the sausage was gone, did he take to the fork. And that was mostly just to dice the eggs, and push them from the edge of his plate -which he'd lifted- to his mouth.
 
Kaiya nodded a little at what he said, but she was much more distracted by his actions. She was no prim and proper lady, but she found his manners at the table a bit.. lacking. Instead of being offended or disgusted, however, she was amused. She nearly informed him that he ate just like a wolf but she didn't want him snapping at her. Instead, she looked down at her own plate, serving herself some of the eggs as well as two of the sausages that were left. As long as she didn't look over at him, she wouldn't start giggling.

Hopefully.

"I don't plan on hunting alone. As I'm sure you've noticed, I am not a killer. I couldn't even handle an unconscious werewolf.." she muttered, frowning slightly to herself as she finally started eating. It wasn't as though she wished she had some sort of natural killer instinct. She just wished she could have been somebody that her family could depend on more. If she had been a better Hunter and had gone out with them instead of staying behind, would they have survived to run away? Probably not, but the faint possibility was starting to haunt her.

"I'll just stick to myself."
 
"This particular werewolf," He said, letting his plate down, empty. "Is glad that you weren't able to finish off one unconscious werewolf." He said, his voice wry. He took up the glass of water, and consumed it even more quickly than he had his meal. He moved to the washbasin near his alchemical array, and ran the hot water, setting his dish in the bottom of the basin. He added a pinch of powder to the water, and a vial of blue liquid from nearby, and shut the water off when it was about halfway up the basin's sides. "Throw your dish in there when you're done. I'll get to them after I get home."

He said, turning back to the table to watch the huntress. eat. What was a host supposed to do? He'd fed her. He'd sheltered her. He'd turned away visitors that would see harm come to her. By the old customs, -among the magical folk, those customs were stronger than law- he'd carried out his duties of guestright. And yet something still felt missing. Was he supposed to engage her in conversation?

What could it hurt?

"You have very lovely hair." Cathal was not much for smalltalk, apparently. "And eyes." He added. "And your dagger-flinging skills are commendable." It was getting awkward. He felt tension creeping into his shoulders. A conversation needed two sides. He needed to ask a question. "Do you like the Wood?"
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom
Back