The Last Wolves

[Ravenbelle]

​

Wolf:

1. a wild carnivorous mammal of the canine family, living and hunting in packs. It is native to both Eurasia and North America, but has been widely exterminated.
2. used in similes and metaphors to refer to a rapacious, ferocious, or voracious person or thing.

A wolf is, by definition, wild, ferocious, rapacious. A mammal of superior intellect that never gives up, that is unafraid of death, that sings unto the moon the most beautiful songs.

She runs on instinct.
She runs on fumes
She runs to survive
But she is not afraid to die.

Johanna's will is much stronger than her body. Crossing a frozen wasteland with no food in your stomach is harder than she thought it would be. All alone she sprints, eyes struggling to stay open in the wind as her limbs continue the interminable motion, burning as they propel the dark shadow across the white snow. She doubts how much longer she can last like this. Though the moon gives her incentive to keep going, it can't keep her alive forever. The worst part is the fact that she can't see far enough ahead of her to know if she's even heading in the right direction of the domed city. Her nose is runny and useless in this terrible weather and her paw pads are killing her. She's had ice stuck between them before, but it was never this bad. They were never numb like this. If Johanna had dared look down at the tundra below her for a second, she would have noticed her bloody paw prints. She will only watch where she is going. Nothing else matters. Not her heart pounding hard in her chest and not her ears that are unable to block out the screech of the wind.

One paw in front of the other. That's all. She made it through the last moment of her life, she can live through this one and the next, every step is a goal accomplished as swift as the wind attempting to push her back.

Until she saw it. Finally, after more than three weeks traversing this abominable tundra she's reached her goal at last!


There it is...the next city, protected from the outside world with heaters, gates and an overhead dome that lets in the image of the sky, but not the temperature or snow. Those humans are spoiled rotten while she can hardly breathe in the biting air. Johanna growled under her breath, but miraculously picked up her pace, clearing the last stretch of snow between her and the resources to survive found in that city.
-----------------------------

Sneaking inside was a cinch and Johanna immediately began searching for a heated manhole in an alley somewhere. Slinking along with the shadows, Johanna trotted along the edges of the city while most were asleep. The ice in her paws was starting to melt, but now she could feel the pain of the ice shards that had been cutting up the thin skin between her paw pads. Yes, he was a little worse for wear, but she grit her teeth and endured it. She'll find an alley soon...one with a nice dumpster for a snack and a manhole for warmth. Yes...that would suit her just fine until morning.

Johanna found herself in the seedier part of town, which she knew was bad news because the last Hunters hang out in bars when they're not on the job. And their stupid hybrids are always prim and proper at their sides. Johanna's been lucky to escape these drunkards whenever she runs into them. The only reason she has trouble with them though is because she's alone. So she has to find more of her kind and for the last two years, well she's obviously found no new pack to join and no way to live comfortably on this wretched planet teeming with its plague: humans.

It's been pretty lonely since her old pack was murdered in cold blood and she still has nightmares about that, unfortunately. She's a Lone Wolf. And she has to fix it.
-------

Some cautious corner turns and alleyways later, Johanna found herself loping through a wide alley when a dark doorway opened loudly. Her nose was instantly bombarded by a cloud of smoke and the harsh smell of alcohol. She coughed a little, but picked up her pace, whimpering under her breath when a cut on her front right paw opened up and left a blood in her wake. Not good not good...
"Woof!" Someone barked. No not someone...a hybrid. Things just got a ton harder!
A trio of wolfdogs instantly gave chase, sniffing her out and ganging up on Johanna immediately. Their owners followed, rifles already backed by their raucous laughter.
Johanna outran them for a little while, but didn't last long with starvation and slow paws hindering her so much...not to mention the dead end she was backed into. The three large males growled. One gray, one black and white and the last was a blonde color. All collared. Owned. Bloodthirsty.
It was sick.

They towered over her while the humans, red faced and rearing for some action, called to their pets.
"Sick em boys!" They roared. Johanna snarled and attempted to leap up to the wall. With enough strength, she could push herself off the walls, side to side over and over until she'd be high above this madness. The humans would be too drunk to aim right and the hybrids wouldn't be able to follow well enough.
Sore muscles tensed, ready to pounce and up she went as soon as they released like a spring, allowing Johanna to feel the air in her fur and her---
Sharp jaws snapped shut on the end of her tail, stopping her momentum mid-leap. Her blue eyes widened and she yipped before the gray hybrid slammed her to the ground, rendering her breathless and shocked. Two of her ribs were cracked and lying there, staring up at the blurry forms that would tear her to pieces, she knew she was as good as dead. After all this time, taken down by a bunch of dogs!
They leaped for her all at once, slicing through her side, her leg, her chest...they were toying with her!

...Stupid wolf...
...Skinny female...
...Kill her yet...​

On account of her assailants being half-wolf, she could hear bits and pieces of their thoughts, not that she could pay attention between her whimpers and futile squirming to escape. Her claws slashed into them every so often when she kicked at them, but their jaws were stronger, spilling blood wherever they could find purchase on her body. Ragged bubbles of oxygen scraped down her throat as she struggled beneath them. Her main focus? Stay wolf. If she allows her body to shift to its weaker form in order to store energy, she won't only blow her cover, but the illusion of all the Shifter Wolves that survive among the humans on Earth. She was born a wolf and he will die a wolf damnit!
Johanna glared at them, letting her anger build as they continued to teasingly destroy her body for the heck of it, until a ferocious growl tore from her throat and she made one last attempt to save her own life. Johanna pushed off of their legs, tripping two of them, before sliding far enough away for her to try to stand. The blonde one still had a grip on her though, so crimson slivers of flesh were ripped from her shoulder when she finally evaded their bloody maws with a last desperate, weeping howl to the distant moon.

​

Swift as lighting, she weakly jumped over them and landed in front of the humans who pointed a pair of rifles right between her electric blue eyes.
The hybrids circled behind her like sharks. Having had a taste of her blood which dripped from their snouts and smeared across the pavement, they were torn between loyalty to their masters and the instincts of the dormant wolves inside them. But they would let the humans get the kill. Cowards.
Johanna stood proud, even as her legs shook, her right side bled from various wounds and her left ribs had her breathing too shallowly. Her paws left yet more bloody prints, marking the ground where she thought she would face death head on and snarling.

​

 

[OnyxTrumpet]

Cold liquid was dripping on Elias's face. The sensation was what woke him up from his uneasy slumber. When a drop rolled down his jaw, he finally opened his eyes and felt the sensation of the cold concrete against his slumped back and tender knees. He had been sleeping this way for a long time, and the stiffness was an unwelcome but all too familiar visitor to his tense joints. He clambered out languidly, stretched the thick muscles around his torso, and stood up. The crevice at the bottom of the pile of metal sheets had seeped water through it. He remembered the time when he could easily shake the droplets loose, but that was reserved for wolves. It's been ages since his bare human skin had been covered when he slept.

Elias had been living off his shifting form since his brother was killed, darting in and out, stealing when no one's looking. No one questioned the silent traveler in worn clothes, especially since he never really entered any establishments. It was what he and his brother had always done long before the killing started. Travel. Settle. Pack up. Repeat.

Except now he knew he was alone and in constant danger. He had to stay out of sight until it was time to move again, turn human, then he'd find a way to blend into the crowd. He didn't speak, nor did he make eye contact. His life until now was spent being invisible and numb. And extremely vigilant.

He walked down the street of the domed city, looking up and noting that being under the dome was probably the smart thing to do in this weather. It had been getting worse, and the citizens have talked in hushed tones about the changing climate. There was only one place Elias knew that would still be richly covered in green foliage, though he had never been there himself.

~~~~~~~~

His ear twitched - a fleeting trace of his wolf nature. Had he just heard what he thought he did?

The howl of a wolf. It was definitely not his imagination. An old instinct to protect his kind rose up in his chest, which had been dulled so long by pain and fear. Where was that sound coming from?

Without thinking, he darted into an alleyway towards the source of the noise. Crossing several city streets by an urgent game of Over, Under, or Through, he reached a spot he thought he could smell a musky smell of fur and blood. It had been barely seconds since he heard the howl. His agility, as well as his sense of smell and hearing, have been deteriorating over the last few months as a human. It was time to follow his instincts again after so long.

Canines, ears, claws, a tail. His body was covered in a black coat that taunted the moonlight. Blood rushed back into his body as if it had been put away some time ago. He could smell her. He could hear her weak breaths. Her heart was a distant drumming in contrast to her creaking bones.

A jump into a nearby rooftop. A grandiose howl like a war cry. And he attacked.

Elias dropped down on the hunter pointing that infernal weapon at the tattered wolf. "There's two of 'em!" In their surprise, the other hunters had barely any time reorienting their guns at him before one met his powerful tail and the other saw the darkness between his jaws.

The hybrids were a little faster on the uptake. No doubt they sensed him long before his heroic howl on the rooftop. Now they were circling him, snouts wrinkled in vicious growls. Elias suddenly realized that he had placed himself in the exact situation that he had spent so much effort avoiding. That she-wolf had better survive this.

Of course, he was bigger than these pathetic little house pets, but there were three of them. One was dispatched quickly with a forceful tackle and a bite to the throat; however, the other two had gotten to either side of him to attack. They both jumped him at once. Honestly, how did they train these lapdogs?
He dropped backward on his haunches and the two wolves hit each other in midair. Dazed, they began to attack each other.

...Why you...
...That hurt...
​

Elias took the time to check up on the she wolf, looking at her with his empty eyes and dripping with the hunters' blood...

 

[Ravenbelle]

So consumed by the fact that she was about to die, she didn't notice the nervous shifting of the hybrids behind her. All she saw was the barrel of the rifle staring her down as she trembled. She didn't dare shut her eyes, waiting for that moment when all the agony would disappear when her brain would burst to bits. She was satisfied knowing that she had done all she could to survive. Now there was no way she could save her life on her own. No escape.

The Hunter's finger repositioned to the trigger.

Suddenly, a ferocious howl cut through the night as a shadowy figure was lit up by the moonlight. A WOLF nearly twice Johanna's size came down on her assailants and her eyes widened. Black spots blocked her vision and she tried to shake it away, but only succeeded in becoming dizzier. Johanna stumbled in shock of having seen one of her own species after two years.

Growls and barks rang in her twitchy ears as she whimpered, doggedly struggling to stay in her wolf form while her rescuer saved her tail in a midnight coat. After incapacitating the hybrids fighting in a testosterone fueled tangle of fur, the male wolf met her gaze. For a charged moment, Johanna sensed the power behind that stare, but she could no longer stand on her bloody paws. Her eyes shut tight and her skinny body collapsed in pool of her own blood of which the alley now smelt. She refused to shift into a helpless human. If she was going to die, she was keeping her pelt, no matter how excruciating it is to hold onto.

"This is.. a lost cause, stranger. I don't know if I'll make it."
She whimpered and curled tighter into herself.
"Don't waste your time..."

And with that, Johanna lost consciousness to a dark wave of pain and blood loss, ears flat and fur sticky with blood

 

[OnyxTrumpet]

Elias watched as the female wolf began to collapse. At the moment, he wasn't sure there was much he can do for her here. He couldn't carry her in his wolf form, since his powerful jaws and swift movements might serve to aggravate her many wounds; and he definitely couldn't lug her around in his human form, overwhelmed with fur and weight. Saving her was risky - carrying her around would be suicide.

Around him, the dead and unconscious hunters lay, unable to enjoy the company of their ridiculous incapacitated hybrids. There was much too much blood and noise not to have attracted others from far across the city. He had to get her out of here and cover their scent.

He tried prodding her with his front paw. She was definitely unconscious. Her breath was getting weaker. Lost cause... she had said. Was she right?

Elias was about to scold himself for blowing his cover over a futile rescue, when he remembered something that had been hiding in the back of his mind, unused for half a lifetime. Hybrids can't jump as high.

Moonlight.

He didn't need to get her farther away - he needed to get her higher up. His jaws might not have to factor into the equation at all.

This had better work. He crouched down in front of her, wedging his snout painfully under her upper body. Fur, blood, and sweat got in his face as he forced his head under her. So heavy. Breathing was for the weak. At least it's not a very large one.

He finally stood up on all fours, the female draped limply over his back with limbs uselessly flailing like tassels. Just one strong jump. Here goes.

Paws left the ground and met metal. They were on the balcony of a building. Higher. And higher.

Finally, they reached the top of a tall building, the rusty ragged wolf and his bloody beat-up companion. Elias was tired. The concrete of the rooftop met his jaw, the she wolf still on top of him.

But the moon is so peaceful...

 

[Ravenbelle]

Though she was unaware of what the strange wolf had done for her, Johanna began to dream. and in her dream, the pain was all gone. She was with her pack, her family and they had welcomed her to a place called Sanctuary. She had never believed in such a place, but in her dream, nothing was ridiculous because the moon was shining so beautifully and all she wanted to do was howl. It was a wonderful night and if Johanna had recognized that this was not real, she still would have preferred to stay here, unconscious forever.

The reason she felt so wonderful in her dream was because of the direct moonlight taking the edge off her numerous wounds ever so slowly. Of course she would not be completely healed by morning which was swiftly approaching, but Johanna was warm because of his body heat beneath her and so the coming day didn't seem so horrible at the time. Her breathing pattern became deeper and slower as she finally relaxed and stopped bleeding altogether. She was still going to be terribly sore and somewhat injured when morning arrived, which would make her body want to shift to its human form, but if Johanna could prevent it, she would.

What would make the situation much better would be if a wolf licked her external wounds, but that would be a sign of weakness on her part and if she were awake, she would refuse the affectionate assistance. Nevertheless, it would be beneficial to her for sure even if she'd rather not admit it.

 

[OnyxTrumpet]

Elias's body was covered by the other wolf, but the beams striking his face was enough to rejuvenate him. He regained consciousness and shifted out from under the weight pinning him to the concrete. He got on his paws and inspected the wolf closely. Breathing. That was good... probably. He realized he had no idea what this wolf was even doing here.

The wounds on her paws told him that she had been traveling from far away with practically no rest. She didn't trudge through that blizzard, did she? He shook his head at the insanity that this wolf should have had to even think of traversing the violent gusts of wind and biting ice crystals. He had been staying in the safety of this city from since the snow began getting stronger, and he felt no motivation to move.

The cuts looked awful. Elias could barely stand the sight. He felt like something should be done, but he had no medicine. A thought struck him, that licking wounds would make it heal faster. He had done this to his brother whenever they played a little too roughly. He could do it now.

But he looked at the mass of fur and blood and felt the urge to turn away. He had not been living around other wolves for some time now, and the idea of using his tongue for anything other than eating had become practically foreign. He put his snout up to her paw and sniffed. Blood mostly. Some dirt from the ground inside.

Licking the blood up was weird at first, but the instinct returned to him in no time at all. He started with her paws and limbs and worked his way to her torso and head. In a few minutes, his wolf instincts had fully returned, and he howled at the moon, which was about to disappear in a purple sky.

 

[Ravenbelle]

Johanna's perfect dream faded away with the moonlight as the sun began to rise and her weak body laid motionless on the concrete roof. Had it not been for the wolf who had brought her under the last bits of moonlight and generously licked her wounds, she probably wouldn't have survived the night. And she would have stayed asleep for a long while to rest, but that didn't happen.

A loud howl bidding the moon adieu beside Johanna had her ears flicking up towards the sound. It sounded unpracticed, but definitely wolf. A wolf who had just regained its instincts maybe. Johanna's eyelids fluttered from the first rays of sunlight, but she immediately shut them tight and flipped her ears back, growling under her breath from the tightening and complaining of her empty stomach. Her whole body was aching from various wounds and every breath she took sent a jolt of pain through her left side, which had bruised ribs she was lying on.
Johanna shook her head slightly, scolding herself for dwelling on pain before situation. Her nose was filled with the scent of a wolf. Someone of her kind. Someone she had been looking for for two years!

Johanna reopened her eyes and stared at the black coated male with the golden eyes.

"You were the one howling just now weren't you? Shouldn't you save that for when we aren't anywhere near the humans?"

Yes he had saved her life and she probably should have been introducing herself, but safety first. What if someone heard? They should be heading to a safer place than the roof of some random building, shouldn't they? Johanna wasn't sure how far she'd make it with no food and a sore, scabbed body, but she thought she would have to find out. Johanna slowly rolled so that her head rested on her paws before she attempted to push herself to her feet. The instant she put any weight on her paws, she collapsed to the concrete again with a painful huff. It was no good. She had virtually no strength. The only way she could do anything would be in her human form and she definitely did not want to shift.

 

[OnyxTrumpet]

Elias slowly looked at the wolf regaining consciousness at his feet. She still looked horribly frail, and standing made her falter and fall back down. She asked a question, using communication he hadn't heard in a long time. He realized she expected an answer.
"Yes. I apologize. I had not been in full control of my shifting for a while." He glanced down at the wolf struggling to stand. "You are still unwell. Perhaps I can once again carry you on my back, but it would be much safer if we traveled as people and incorporate ourselves with the masses. Do you not have a human form?"

Being with only one other person for most of his life, Elias's tone was unduly formal at all times. He found it was the best way to express himself. This wolf worried him a lot. If this is the only wolf he had met in so long, and she was nearly dead when he found her, then what had happened to the large traveling packs and lone wolves he and his brother had encountered previously?

He decided that questions were for a better time, if there would be one. For now, they needed to get this new wolf food and water... and clothing. Her human form would not do if she strolled through the streets bare naked. He himself had left his tattered clothes at the alleyway as they dropped from his body when he leaped for the rooftop. He would need to steal again.

 

[Ravenbelle]

The male watched her fail to stand pathetically and she scolded herself for being such a weakling. She's a wolf! She should act like one. She growled at herself under her breath and watched the stranger's eyes when he replied to her for the first time. His voice was deep, but she felt like he was holding back, which she supposed she understood.

"Of course I do." She glared, restricting herself from insulting him. "I just find it to be pathetic to disguise ourselves that way. But obviously you've been using yours for who knows how long." She snorted and rolled her eyes. "Where's your pride? You're a wolf, not a stupid human. Besides, even if I did use mine, I'd be naked. Now I'm sure you wouldn't mind that Mr. Fancyfur, but like I said, I actually have some self respect."

Johanna wasn't always so snappy, but his formality bothered her. It was as if he was trying to show off the fact that he's more often human than wolf. Plus, she was still bitter about the fact that he had carried her up here while she couldn't survive on her own. And that she doesn't even know his name yet.

Or anything about him really. She didn't want to have to be wary around her own kind, but times are hard and she has to be careful. She'll keep a close eye on him and hope she'll be able to stay around him long enough to become less cautious around him. Maybe later she'll be able to ask him about life in the city. She doubted it was any fun, but maybe he knew of other wolves. Maybe he even belonged to a pack! Johanna reminded herself not to get her hopes up and to distract herself from her hunger pangs now. Her stomach felt like it was feeding on itself! She winced and squirmed slightly, trying to get rid of the terrible sensation.
Later she'll have time to ask him all the questions she wanted to ask to this strange male, but for now, she really wanted food.

 

[OnyxTrumpet]

Elias was used to hostility, but this particular prideful wolf struck a nerve. His snout began to pull back to growl, but then he reminded himself that - strong as her words might sound - this wolf was not in fighting shape. He took a different approach. Calm, but abrasive. He held her gaze with his own sharp stare.

"I have survived this far, much better than you I might add. Pride is useless when you are dead. What can your pride give you? It can neither feed you nor warm you, and it is impossible to hold your chin up when your body is too worn from protecting your so-called pride. What is your pride when you no longer have use of your legs?" He jerked his snout at her lower body, where her legs fail in their only purpose. "And perhaps you should ponder for a moment, whether you are in a position to be antagonizing the only other wolf in the entire dome."

He could see that she was very weak and would need food soon to remain conscious, but this wolf claiming that he was lower than she for the sole fact that he accepts his other form had awoken a feeling of indignation.

He turned from her and began to walk away. It would seem like he was abandoning her, but he was actually leaving to weigh her chances among the people and possibly find food. She was not the ideal grateful victim, but that does not mean she deserved to die alone and hungry. He knew the dangers of being too attached to one form, and he was determined to somehow convince her that survival is the only way to leave a legacy.

He didn't bother looking back when he stepped on the edge of the rooftop, shifting as he fell, grabbing clothes from the intersecting clotheslines on the way down. By the time he hit the ground, he had trousers on. He walked as he put on his shirt, and exited the alleyway fully clothed.

 

[Ravenbelle]

She didn't look away from his sharp, topaz eyes even as he began to hit home. He had a point, but that didn't mean she had to agree with him. Her blue eyes glared back at him before he turned and leaped off the edge of the building. Her expression softened then. He was the only other wolf? She wanted to believe he was lying or misinformed, but what reason would he have to lie?

Where did he think he was going anyway? If she was the only other wolf,why would he leave her? She whined for a moment, basically helpless and unwilling to be left alone. So she grit her teeth and let her bones slip into a human skeleton. She shivered, laying on her stomach with dried blood on her tanned skin. Johanna cursed under her breath. She hated this form so much.

Why do human females get cold so easily?! And what's with the bags of fat on her chest?! They're useless unless she has children which she would never do. At least not as a human. Her wounds and numerous scars were too visible with such little fur. She examined them all and her eyebrows scrunched together. How did her wounds scab over so quickly? The only other time that had happened to her was in the pack when her mother--
Did that wolf lick her wounds?! Why did he care so much? Johanna shook her head. No need to dwell on that. She had to catch up with him.

She placed her palms on the concrete and slowly rose to her feet, knees wobbling and skin prickling with goosebumps. Her hands and feet were softer in this form and so her feet were sore since she was putting all her weight on her legs. It was...weird to stand this way. So exposed and fragile. Weak.

Johanna wrapped her arms around her stomach and stumbled to the edge of the building. Her cerulean eyes went to the clothesline and then she was relieved to find that the wolf was waiting for her at the bottom. She could tell it was him because of the scent. Musky and natural. Like soil after a nice rain.

Johanna wasn't shy about her body, but she didn't want to draw attention and she didn't want to display to the topaz eyed human all her previous scars and newest painful injuries. Taking a deep breath, she shook away a spell of dizziness, then dived to grab a toose shirt and then a pair of shorts within her reach. She had the latter on before she landed on her feet and stumbled forward before catching herself on the wall beside her. Breathing heavily, Johanna pulled the dark shirt over her head and leaned against the wall for a bit, face pale and stomach tightening excruciatingly.

"Just...give me a minute." She mumbled, knowing he could hear her just fine. "My name is Johanna by the way. I assume you know how to get something to eat around here?"

 

[OnyxTrumpet]

Elias watched as the wolf - now a girl, followed him. He wasn't so sure she would make it very far walking, so he had to get her someplace safe and go for food on his own. He didn't respond to her giving her name. He just nodded in reply to her question, and walked.

He led the way through the least conspicuous streets, to which he was particularly familiar. Rarely looking back if at all, he maintained a steady, but excruciatingly slow pace, allowing the girl enough time to rest and catch up at her own pace if she so desired. His wolf instincts were back, so he could hear her movements behind him, and he could still smell her blood on his tongue. It somehow tasted different from his brother's. Perhaps every creature has a different taste...

He stopped in a place not very far from their initial location, but just far enough for the nosy hybrids to kick up a lot of fuss to reach them. He stood in front of a crack on the wall, just enough to fit one person in a very cramped space.

"Stay here." This place was one of his sleeping areas, so it smelled distinctly of him. His territory... but he supposed that it was a necessary compromise to maybe find other wolves, perhaps even his final destination....

 

[Ravenbelle]

Johanna made a face when he didn't tell her his name, but he turned before he could see it. She wouldn't have told him hers if she didn't expect him to tell her his. She huffed and followed after him with crossed arms. Well. His loss. Because he would be FancyFur until he revealed to her a different name.

He walked slowly, definitely thinking her too weak to walk any faster. The worst part was that he was right. She could just about keep in step with him when the dizziness and inexperience with two feet didn't get the best of her. Stupid, frail human body...

They didn't walk past any humans in the unpopulated backstreets he led her through, especially since most humans weren't awake at this hour. She did her best to keep from fainting and not focusing on the pain radiating through most of her body.

Eventually they made it to a crack in the wall that felt miles away from the rooftop they'd slept on. She knew it must not have been that far, but the trip had exhausted her. She had assumed they were getting food but apparently he didn't think it worth the trouble of bringing her along. She didn't blame him and though she would have voiced her gratituade over his invitation into his territory, it was already getting hard to breathe, especially with the sharp pains in her ribs. She slipped into the dark crevice warily and curled into a ball on the floor, trying to take up little space so no one would see her. Her nose was so full of FancyFur's scent that she probably wouldn't be able to tell when he'd be back. Not with her nose anyway. Johanna felt like a pup. And he was definitely treating her like one. And even knowing that, she stared up at him with curious eyes, hoping he'd make sure she knew he would be back. It humbled her greatly to realize how much she wanted that reassurance.

If he left her then she would keep her head down and eyes closed, gritting her teeth and ignoring the pain.

 

[OnyxTrumpet]

Elias took the large tarp hanging from a nearby wire and draped it across the opening. The dawn air was still nippy, and this gave her to option to cover up if she felt chilly. He knew how difficult it was at first for him to keep warm without fur. It struck him that probably the reason why he doesn't just leave her alone is that he wouldn't wish his own loneliness and struggle of surviving alone in this city upon anyone, except maybe an annoying hybrid, if they even count.

"Don't be seen." He walked away.

The moment he was out of that alleyway he grabbed a half-empty sack from an unsuspecting fruit and vegetable vendor's stall. He peeked inside. Potatoes. They'll do. A walk down the road led him to a butcher's shop. Raw meat would help make her stronger, but it was very difficult to procure. Between him and the rich meat stood a burly, seven-foot tall man armed with a bloody meat cleaver and a skill for detecting animals trying to nip at his products. Elias had seen what he's done to stray dogs and mice. He decided biting them to death was a lot more humane.

Does he go for it? He was torn, picturing the frail wolf sleeping in his den possibly wasting away at that very moment, and the image of the stray dogs getting horribly mutilated by a guy all too familiar with animal flesh.

Was he doubting his ability? Heh.

A second ago, he was standing across the street from the butcher's. Right now there's an empty space where he was, and he was nowhere to be seen from the street.

Five minutes later, he exited from a vent, slightly disheveled but undetected, holding a fresh piece of meat in a plastic bag. Now... let's get some dessert.

Later there would be at least 5 stores around the area with small inconsistencies in their inventory. A missing roll, a handful of candy, some milk off the top of the jar. They were disregarded as acceptable deviations.

He made his way back to the crack in the wall, laden with food in sacks and bottles of different shapes.

 

[Ravenbelle]

FancyFur flung a tarp over his hideyhole apparently to keep her hidden and relatively warm. The dome's heaters hadn't fully kicked in yet and Johanna was shivering especially because the lack of food or fur didn't help to make her warmer.

Then without more than three words of warning, she heard FancyFur walk off and she was alone again, freezing and starving. She was assuming he would bring back food but he never made that clear. What if he just left her there? He hadn't even given her his name after all. If he had no problem roaming among humans what reason did he have to stick around? What if the black-coated hero who had saved her life and even licked her wounds was a temporary thing? It was surely a struggle he wouldn't want to repeat. Maybe he just thought of her as a burden. A pup that isn't worth his time or effort...
Johanna bit her lip. It vibrated under her flat-bottomed teeth as she eyed her deep cuts and dark bruises. The cuts had turned into large, thick scabs. One created a jagged set of lines on her right shoulder while the rest of her right side was riddled with the black healing skin in spots and stripes. Her left ribs were still making it hard to breathe deeply, but they didn't hurt unless she touched them from the inside or outside. Of course her hands and feet still felt sore, but for the most part, the spaces between these strange, long fingers were lightly scabbed and even scarred in some places.

He has to come back. No way even FancyFur would leave another wolf, especially a female, to die in his territory no less. After putting forth so much effort to keep her alive, he wouldn't want to waste those efforts right? Johanna growled and trembled even harder. These clothes are not meant for winter! She covered herself with the tarp like a child would a blanket if they were scared of monsters. Then she combed her waist-length hair in front of her shoulders. It wasn't as good as a fur coat, but she had to deal with it. She had no idea when FancyFur would come back with his formal speech and guarded gaze, but until then she would try to stay human...for at most 15 more minutes. Then she'd call it quits and shift again. Curling into a ball didn't keep her teeth from chattering, so she sincerely hoped for both their sakes that FancyFur's instincts to protect his own kind wouldn't disappear when he shifted into his bulky human form.
Agh! How long can it possibly take?! She assumed he stole food, but she couldn't be sure. No way was he out in the snow searching for prey. That would be stupid and while he lowers himself to human standards too often in order to 'blend in', FancyFur probably isn't that stupid.

Soon enough, Johanna detected a new scent. Strong and tasty and....food! All kinds according to her nose, but the scent of FancyFur was everywhere in this crack in the wall while her little human nose was too weak to quite pick out which specific foods he had on his person. Johanna patted herself on the back for staying in her frail human form, them stuck out her head from under the tarp to watch him approach in the alley. Nearly vibrating in the cold by now since her body couldn't produce enough energy to warm her, Johanna's upper body emerged from the crack in the wall. Her blue eyes widened and she nearly drooled at the sight of FancyFur carrying multiple food items. If she could salivate much while dehydrated, a river would have been streaming out of her mouth by then. Instead, she licked her lips and said, "How did you get all of that? Did you steal it all? Nice..."

 

[OnyxTrumpet]

Elias was walking slowly to keep the food weighing him down from rolling off onto the ground. He sped up a little when he saw her peek out and stare unintentionally at the burdens on his back. She had eyes that spoke only of need and hunger, pride no longer factoring in on her actions.

He knelt down in front of the crack and put all the food down, laying them out. He knew what it was like to be starving, but he always liked doing things the way his brother did, laying out the food in a neat assembly, sitting down, and enjoying it mouthful by human mouthful.

Of course, this lady would unlikely follow that pattern in any noticeable order, so in order to preserve the little part of his brother he had, he decided to lay out the raw meat and potatoes, and took the sacks with dessert with him as he stood up and walked to the alley's opening. "You can turn back for a while to eat. I'll keep watch." He leaned up casually against the wall, seeming to all like a bum with nothing better to do than sit around and watch other people go about their busy days.

 

[Ravenbelle]

Johanna shifted impatiently as he laid out the food he had procured from the ignorant humans. With the tarp still wrapped around her like a blanket, she kept her eyes on the sacks of food, but kept her ears alert for his permission. She might be starving and shivering, but she still respects him for what he's done for her. He's saved her life multiple times now so she wouldn't scarf it all down if she could help it. FancyFur told her he would stand guard so Johanna took that as her go ahead and sat deep in his territory where the cold breeze wouldn't hit her. It didn't help much but it was something.

Picking up the raw meat first, she bit into it swiftly, shaking her head back and forth to tear it, but her teeth weren't sharp enough in this form. The taste and blood it squirted onto her tongue teased her taste buds and made her stomach clench but she couldn't tear off more than tiny morsels as a human. Johanna growled and dug her nails into the meat in frustration. But then she remembered something from back when she was a pup, playing with her siblings who used to shift to their naked human forms and back to show off. Some of her brothers used to grow out specific parts of their human bodies to become more wolf like. She had never been very good at it, but now she wished she had practiced with them. Johanna closed her eyes and concentrated on just shifting her teeth, her mouth. She knew she could have just went back to her wolf form completely, but it would take too much energy and she would probably end up eating all of it greedily. It took her a minute or two, but slowly, her canine teeth grew slightly sharper and tougher, turning spots of her gums darker. It would have to do. With that done, it was easier for Johanna to consume a little more than half of it rathr ravenously.
Then she moved onto the potatoes which weren't half as tasty at all. But at least they would fill her stomach. Johanna's teeth went back to normal (by human standards) and by then it was much easier to stand and carry the rest of the meat slab and some potatoes to the alleyway opening. It was way colder out there, and she was still shivering, but it was easier to endure now.

She sat beside FancyFur and offered him the food. "Don't you want some? Oh and...thank you..." She muttered a little awkwardly. She wasn't used to others doing things for her so she glanced at her lap and pursed her lips.

 

[OnyxTrumpet]

Elias turned around at her voice and walked back, having determined that the streets are clear today. It was probably because a bunch of dead hunters and hybrids were found in an alleyway this morning, apparently attacked by a wolf. People are staying home.

He walked over to the crack and looked down at the meat. He sat down and ate it in his usual slow manner, sometimes sneaking in a bite of potatoes. Once the meat was all finished, he put the remaining sack of potatoes aside and laid out the other sacks.

"Time for dessert." He said quietly. He hadn't done this in a while, not since he and his brother were kids. Dessert was definitely a luxury, but he wanted to share this human pleasure with Johanna. Maybe it'll make her soften up a bit more about... well, not dying for pride.

He introduced her to the sweets he'd nicked, pointing at the candies, the toffees, the rolls, the cakes, the meringues, and whatever other little bits he picked up.

 

[Ravenbelle]

Johanna hadn't really thought of the reaction the humans might have had to the Hunters and halfbloods last night. She just figured that maybe this part of town wasn't awake yet. She was just glad they were well hidden, especially, as much as she hated it, as humans.

FancyFur ate the meal at a leisurely pace in his territory, which now smelled slightly of her now as she shivered under the tarp. She watched him silently, the way he moved, the way his eyes seemed stuck in the past sometimes. She didn't even know his name, but these days, every wolf has pain in his/her past. At least the lone ones. She didn't want to say anything or interrupt his meal, but she was curious as to what was in the rest of the bags. They smelled unnaturally sweet. Johanna was indebted to him. Absolutely.
And she doesn't even know his name...

FancyFur finished his meal and then finally let her see what else he had brought. He called it dessert and she assumed it was a sort of meal, but having lived in a wolf pack for most of her life, she wasn't familiar with the concept. But food is food. He laid out little treats and introduced them to her individually.

"What's dessert?" She picked up a candy first and put it in her mouth with the wrapper. Not appetizing. Johanna's nose scrunched up and she spit it out immediately. What artificial trash is this? Her eyes conveyed to him extreme confusion as her head cocked to the side.

 

[OnyxTrumpet]

Elias expected as much.

He held back an amused upturn of his mouth and cooly picked up a candy and unwrapped it. "Humans never eat anything without putting it in plastic. They think it cleaner." Humans actually have hardy immune systems, but their ways have taught them to fear the slightest bit of dirt and the very mention of germs. He let the piece of candy roll onto his palm and held it out to Johanna.

"Dessert is food consumed after a meal," he explained. "Usually something indulgently sweet and cold. It is supposed to add a tone of finality to the meal."