What One Thinks is Only A Monster...

The injury sent sharp pain through his left leg and yelp/grunted as he staggered into the bars.
That had been a cheap blow!
Razgul was at the door the second it slammed closed, his eyes narrowed angrily on the humans there.
His wings were flaring, clawed feet pawing at the ground.

This stupid human!!
If his darn jaws were free he'd castrate that bastard!
 
Yes it was a cheap shot indeed, and the hunter had no regrets over it. As the man stood watching the wolf from the safe side of the cage he shook his head, "Do not, by any means, remove that collar, are we clear?" He was talking to the collector, but looking at the wolf, a firmness in his stare that suggested he had figured out more about the creature than when he'd first captured it. The fat man nodded and expressed his wish to have the muzzle removed, at which point the hunter turned around to him shaking his head more, "The wolf isn't ready to have that removed, in time, while I work with it, that may be a possibility. But for now, if you value your fingers or..." looking down to the man's legs, "Other things, I suggest you leave that on." The larger man agreed whole-heartedly after catching Eska's meaning and agreed to let the hunter come and go to the cages as he pleased.

The hunter came to feed and give Raz water every day. He'd made sure the top of the cage was covered, giving the wolf shade during the day. He would sit for hours outside the cage, watching the creature studying it's movement. After a week, there was business he needed to attend to, and so regretfully he had to leave for a couple days. When he got back, the condition of the pup was startling. The muzzle had been removed but....(you finish, was he beaten/whipped by someone for reacting harshly? is he emaciated? yay fill in the blanks! :P)
 
Oh yes, he would have lost something special indeed if the muzzle had come off anytime soon.

However, when it did finally come off, the hour after the hunter had left, it changed nothing.
The large fat man decided to try and work with the wolf while the real training was out of town.
So, he grabbed one of his good cow-hide whips and started work.
The only problem?
The man had no idea how to truly train a creature. He did have trainers on his staff but the human wanted the wolf as his own project.
Unfortunately the man wanted things that the wolf wouldn't give and with each decline the whip flew.
He targeted the injured leg more than anything, tearing open the old healed wound.
By the time the hunter came back Razgul looked like literally shit.
His back left leg was matted with blood and fur and definitely not usable.
His ribs were showing as a pile of disgusting mush sat rotting at the front of his cage.

The man had decided to change his diet from fish and deer to leftover human food.
It tasted horrible, smelled horrible, and caused him to vomit horribly.
So, Raz just didn't eat.

When the hunter finally came to stand in front of his cage the wolf barely took notice.
This man had sold him to a demon and was no longer worth even paying an ounce of attention.
Raz knew he would die if he kept going on the track the fat human had laid out for him but even if the hunter threw him a fish right now he probably wouldn't have eaten it.
Why bother when he was just going to be whipped again?
 
As Eska saw the state of what was one of the most beautiful creatures he'd ever seen, his composure finally broke. The man was raging mad, and went straight back to the house. In a minute, he dragged the fat man out by the back of the neck, his guards demanding the hunter release him but waiting for an order to attack. As they reached the cage Raz was in, Eska pushed the collector towards the bars, "What in the name of the gods have you done to him?!"

The fat man was shaking, never having seen the hunter so emotional, in fact he usually only saw a slight mocking to the man, and nothing more. "I-I just wanted to make s-sure it was trained while y-you were gone!" His hands were up next to his face, and his expression pleaded with the other man to not hurt him.

Eska's gaze flicked back to the creature in the cage then back to the man, "I'm taking the wolf back, don't worry, you'll get a refund of what you paid me, plus the expenses." Quickly the fat man's eyes went wide and he shook his head, "No no, that won't do. It's part of my collection now, and I can't give it up, but you.." starting to grovel to the hunter, "you could make him better, right?" The hunter's eyes narrowed down on the despicable excuse for a man in front of him. "Fine, I'll fix him." The collector thanked him over and over again as he cautiously made his way back into the house.

It was then that the hunter turned, shaking his head and knelt down near the door to the cage, hands wrapping around the bars, "You poor thing, this was never meant to happen to you. I will fix this Raz, I promise you."
 
The anger of the hunter was honestly surprising to Razgul.
Why was he so caring about him? He'd sold him to a monster.
Sure Razgul might have eaten several humans in his lifetime but that didn't mean he tortured them.
He caught them, and abruptly killed them.
There was no pain or suffering unless he was subjected to it himself.
Which was why he tore off those men's arms when they caught him in a net.

After several quiet minutes the pup forced himself to stand.
His left leg was pulled up from the muscles going rigid in constriction from damage.
The pup really had no trust left for these humans.
He'd rather die then be 'fixed'."

Turning his head Razgul looked right into the hunter's eyes.
There was no hostility or anger, just disappointment and pain from his wounds.
 
Eska stood then, seeing the look in the wolf's eyes and disappeared for about fifteen minutes. When he came back, he was holding a rag, a bucket of water and had some jars tucked into his belt along with more ripped pieces of cloth. His hawk was circling again, finally screeching as she came down and landed on the top of a cage opposite Raz's. Putting the bucket down, the hunter opened the door to the cage, entering, and closing it after himself.

He was taking a big risk by going in while the muzzle was off, but he couldn't stand what he'd returned to. The state of the wolf he'd entrusted to the fat man was just horrible now. Setting the bucket of water on the ground near the pup, Eska knelt down next to it and dipped the rag in, keeping a cautious eye on the beast. "I promise, I'm going help you get better, and then take you home, do you understand me? But I need your cooperation, fully if I'm going to do that."
 
Raz slowly made his way towards the human, limping until the bucket was set down.
Then he dropped his head into it and started lapping up the fresh water.
Yes, he'd also gotten recycled water with disgusting larva and what not in it.
He'd only drunk when he absolutely had to so to have clean water in front of him he would down as much as possible.

The bucket's water level drained to about three or four inches before the wolf finally pulled its head out and glanced at the human besides him.
He'd heard that lie before and considering his current position he had no reason to believe it.
However, he knew this man could heal wounds very well so he didn't back away when his back leg was starting to be tended.
Raz was still deciding whether to let himself die or not.
He hadn't eaten in the week or so the hunter had been gone but he could go maybe another six days before it was fatal.
 
Carefully, the man washed the wounded leg, regret and sorrow clearly shown in his expression. At some point his hawk had flown off, even though the hunter had never given a verbal command for it to do so. He'd just finished putting ointment on the nastiest part of the wolf's wounds when she returned, two hefty fish in her talons and the second between her beak. The hawk landed, having to drop the one from her claws to do so, near the edge of the cage on the ground. "Toss it in." the man commanded of his pet without even looking back. And so a decent sized fish landed near the wolf's mouth, fresh to the point it had only just stopped flopping around. And then the second landed on top of it.

Once he was finished bandaging the leg, which he had a great concern for, the man stayed squatted down, "I know you have no reason to trust me, but had I known what this man would do to you, I'd have never brought you here, I can promise you that." Motioning back to his hawk, "You've seen how I treat my own pets, they are friends, not things, this fat man has no respect..."
 
The wolf's nostrils flared widely as the hawk flew closer.
He could smell the fish from nearly a mile away and as it was tossed at his feet he had to bite his tongue to hold back from downing it.
The pup was still deciding whether it even wanted to eat or not.
If it was just going to be left to the large man when the hunter left what would make the bigger human not go back to the previous food and treatment?

With those thoughts he limped away from the two fish and hunter to the back of the cage, then laid down.
A bit of shifting later and he was pawing at the metal collar around his neck.
 
Eska sighed heavily when the wolf refused the fresh food, moving to clean the disgusting slop out of the cage and into the bucket. After placing that near the door, the hunter turned to see the pawing at the collar. It was a decision on instinct alone, but he slowly made his way back, holding his hands out to the wolf to show he meant no harm. Carefully he reached into a small pouch on his belt and drew a little key from it. "I'm putting my trust in you, my friend, please understand..." and so he reached down, unlocked the collar, letting it fall to the ground.

Just as slow as he approached, the hunter backed away, grabbing one of the fish on his retreat and tossing it closer to the wolf again. He then did something curious, he sat down on the opposite side of the cage, inside, and waited.
 
As the collar clanked to the cold iron floor Razgul shifted his head from side to side, then shook it.
His fur had been pressed down where the collar had been tightly pressing.
He was still growing so it had become extremely uncomfortable.

Once he'd stretched sufficiently his attention turned towards the fish that had been tossed to him again.
He was already salivating slightly, the moisture dropping from his panting mouth but he wasn't sure yet.
The wolf's muzzle nudged at the large piece of food, sniffing and licking it hesitantly.
It was a few minutes later before Razgul finally decided to eat.
He lunged at the fish, snapping it in half and then grabbing the tail, downing the entire thing in seconds, whole.

Now that he had a fish in his stomach, the taste in his mouth he got up and limped over to the other, snatching it up eagerly.
That fish vanished faster than the other and left Raz licking his lips fervently.
However....now there was no more food.
And a human sitting right against the bars, inside.

He wanted more food, a lot more...and a human...sitting right there...

The pup hopped over to the hunter, sniffing at him and inhaling his scent deeply.
It as a scent that had haunted his dreams for several uneasy nights of sleep.
This man had ruined his life.
Taken him away form everything he'd ever known.
He wanted revenge.
He wanted food.
He...scooted into the man's lap and shifted into his human self.
There he curled up a little against the hunter's chest, nuzzling several times as he silently begged for contact.

Wolves were pack animals and having nothing but a whip against him for over a week was too much for the pup.
He might turn aggressive later but right now he took the only physical contact he could.
 
The man watched the wolf, glad to see him finally eating, but a pit forming in his stomach as the wolf eyed him next. Even though his breathing increase as he prepared himself to defend against a possible attack, he never budged, never went for a weapon. And then...well that was wholly unexpected. The pup shifted, as the hunter thought he might at some point, but he wasn't thinking it was going to crawl up into his lap.

It was a little awkward, as Eska wasn't used to having anything in human shape anywhere close to him like that. But tilting his head, he looked down at the boy, carefully wrapping his arms around him. If it was a trap, the man was falling for it. He held the pup close, asking softly, "Are you still hungry, Raz?"
 
The boy nodded slowly, trying not to think of the food/human against him.
Raz couldn't afford to lose the contact at the moment or his sanity might start to slip.
It was just like how a baby needs contact throughout its life to grow correctly.
He tried to shift a little but even in human form his left leg was crippling so he couldn't move a whole lot.
"Leaving..."
His voice was very quiet, almost afraid to ask the hunter for anything as he looked up towards the man.
"Want to leaving..."
If he knew the word 'please' he'd have said it five hundred times.
 
A nod of his head sent the hawk off again, damn that bird would get a nice treat for all the fishing she was doing and not eating it herself, such a good pet. The hunter reached up and ran his fingers through the boy's hair, intending for it to be a comforting gesture. At the request he nodded, whispering back, "Yes, you will be leaving, but you can't travel until that leg gets better, do you understand? That means eating and resting, letting me tend the wound, and then I'll take you home okay?"

Se came back then with another fish, that would be all she could get for now, the hawk getting worn from all the fishing where normally she'd have one and be done with it for the day. The man caught it as it was tossed into the cage and held it in front of the boy's face, "Tomorrow I can try and get something other than fish for you.." saying it more to himself than the kid.
 
Normally if the hunter were to touch him Razgul would have snapped but the fingers felt comforting at the moment so he leaned into them lightly.
He was unfamiliar with human gestures but his instincts said it would be okay with this much.
At the next whisper he blinked up, a bit surprised.
Then his gaze dropped to his injured leg before going back up to the man.
Hmmm...

He still didn't trust him completely but if his leg did get better he could put up a better fight the next time the fat man tried to hurt him.
But, there was a condition.
"...hunner give name..."
That would determine whether agreed or not.

Right after he said that the last fish was tossed to the hunter and he quickly snatched it up into his arms, already biting into the fish as a human.
At least his teeth were decently sharp so he had no trouble with the rough scales or skin.
The only other thing the boy could think of in terms of edible food was human and deer...
 
At the demand, the hunter sighed, but this was no longer a battle for dominance, it was fight to trust each other, natural enemies as hunter/prey where both could play either role. "This is for you to keep, do not share it," and leaning in, he whispered to the boy's ear a single word, "Eska." then sat back watching the other eat the fresh fish in his lap. It was different to watch a human face rip apart the uncooked fish with his bare hands and teeth, something slightly disturbing about it even though the man knew this was the same creature he'd just watched devour the other two fish only minutes ago.

The sun was starting to set again, the wolf's more active time typically. And it occurred to the man, "Razgul, that fat man doesn't know you can change like this, I have never told him and you weren't able to again until today I believe." Trusting his instincts on the collar having prevented the change, "It will probably be best if that man doesn't know you can look human save those wings. We can used it later when we're trying to get you out of here, alright?"
 
The name was definitely correct.
He could sense the power of it as he spoke.
"I keep it" He responded quietly as he licked at an open gash he'd been working on on the fish.

At the mention of the collar the boy stiffened but after thinking about everything said he realized what the other meant.
He quickly shifted back into his wolf form and finished the fish in two bites like usual.
Then he was nuzzling against the hunter, getting a bit of fishy blood on his shirt.

There was the sound of a large door opening then heavy footsteps.
I think the fat man was coming?
Well, good thing he had shifted back then.
 
Se screeched at the door opening, warning her master if he'd not heard it. The man nodded at the wolf changed back, approving of this and glad of the timing himself. He spoke softly to the wolf before the fat man came in ear shot, "Time to play, Raz, I won't hurt you and I will keep to my promise of bringing you home, but the mean fat guy can't know of this." And just like that he stood, pushing the wolf back hoping the pup realized what he'd meant.

Loud enough now for the fat collector to hear as he came up into view, the hunter had his knife out, staring down the wolf "Whoa there boy.."he backed up close enough to the edge of the cage, right at the door. The Fat man gasped seeing the man inside with the beast, calling out, "My my Hunter, you are a brave man indeed, and talented, the wolf is already looking better." The man tried not to sneer back at the other safe outside the cage, but he did make a comment that was a low blow if the collector caught its meaning, "Yes, it's amazing what fresh food and water will do for a beast, my friend."
 
The pup did as hinted, backing away and growling quietly.
He didn't snap or act very aggressive because he figured this man was supposed to be training him.
So, he would let the fat man think he was.
Perhaps in a few days he would let the hunter take him out on a leash and then they might be able to work on a way to get out.
Oh how much he wanted out right now.
But one thing the boy had learned since being captured was patience.
So, just to strike the blow a bit lower to the fat man he headbutted a small tin of nasty water, letting it spill onto the cold floor before finding a dry corner to lay down.
Raz would wait...and hopefully Esca would finally let him get out soon.
 
Ah, good boy. This creature certainly was smart, smarter it seemed than the fat man, who bought the whole act. Eska stepped out of the cage as the disgusting water splashed everywhere, hiding his smile at the pup's gesture. The collector immediately clapped the hunter on the back, praising him for the work he'd seemed to have already managed.

The man was gone the rest of the evening, having to play nice with the wolf's current captor in order for the whole charade to work, but his pet hawk was there, watching over night, though staying out of reach of the wolf just in case. Her owner might trust the canine, but she sure didn't.

The next day, the man came back, alone and with another clean bucket of water along with a huge chunk of boar meat. He stepped into the cage to put the bucket down, tossing the meat towards the wolf shortly after, but stayed near the door. "Let me check that wound pup, okay?"
 
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