The Last Lycan
Set in an old, enchanted world, a young mage stumbles upon a reclusive Lycan, who has lost her powers of transformation. The Lycan distrusts humans because of its past and thus, the mage finds herself thrown into the topmost tower as a prisoner for trespassing.
A/N: Completely AU and OOC. I'll have to let you know that I am also contemplating futa in this story. It isn't just yet, but there is a possibility, so if you do have objections on that genre, please do not continue. I will include it in the summary if that ever happens though, so there.
Chapter 1
Italics – Thoughts
It was a blustery autumn day and a young Natsuki Kruger was sprinting out of the castle and making her way out into the gardens, taking in the wondrous sights of gold and scent of fresh leaves. She descended down the flight of cobbled stairs, her bare feet pattering against the cold granite slabs was quickly replaced with the clacking of claws as the lycanthrope shifted fully. The young pup stuck her tongue out into the wind, her speed increasing exponentially now that she was on all fours. She was a beautiful shade of midnight blue, taking on a majority of her mother's good looks, further accentuated by well-defined silver markings on her forehead that she inherited from her silver-maned father. Emerald eyes glanced behind to find her parents joining her eagerly on the run and she lets out a yap of excitement.
She sprints off as fast as her little paws would carry her, straight into the large training grounds where young Lycan soldiers were practicing at, earning a few startled exclamations as she dashed in between their legs. She glances back to look for her parents but when she turned back around, she finds herself heading straight for a stack of hay. She hits it with a thump but warm hands gently pick her up from the messy tangle and she laughs happily as she settles into her mother's embrace, who had now reverted her form. The leader of the Lycans turned to the soldiers and apologized for his daughter's disruption, inviting them for lunch at the nearby fields. The soldiers laugh it off and heartily accept. The Lycans who were working in the fields wave excitedly when they spot the young heir peeking out from behind her mother's shoulder, tail wagging enthusiastically.
The pup hadn't fully mastered the art of transformation yet but no one minded either way. They were all one big family. Rolf and Saeko Kruger, Natsuki's parents, had been leading the pack for centuries and the lycans respected their leaders dearly. Both were wise in their rule and everyone in the pack had a role to play that contributed to their prosperity. The Lycans knew of the dangerous outside world where judgmental humans were found. Many other packs had fallen to humans once they were found out and the Lycans knew that humans feared things that were different from them. Thus, they had their home carved out in the impassible mountains and shrouded their castle and lands with thick bramble, where they hoped to live in peace for the rest of their time.
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Greed, however, somehow has its means of finding them and just three years later, the nearest town tavern had erupted into alarm, when they that they had beasts living just a few days hike away from their lands.
"And you say there are beasts in there?!"
"I've seen them! They're monsters, I tell you! This tall, with fangs and claws!" he produced something from his pouch, "But look what I found!" The tavern went eerily quiet at the pouch full of gems.
"I say that we should get rid of these beasts! They're a danger to us and our children!" All eyes turned to face the speaker, a tall and thin man who continued telling of his experience. He was met with silence, but there was soon a growing murmur in the tavern. Content at the increasing approval going around the joint, he smiled to himself. There was finally a way to get at those riches those beastly wolves kept in their towers. He continued to lead the villagers on with more falsities and word quickly spread around town. An angry mob was soon assembled at the edge of the village, ready to march ahead and storm the lycan stronghold with spears, pitchforks and axes.
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Back with the Lycans
"Rolf, Saeko! There's a horde of villagers fast approaching us and they don't seem friendly," a worried Lycan had jogged up to the pack leaders to inform them of what she had seen. She had encountered the mob while out hunting and managed to make a stealthy escape with a quick transformation.
"Elsi," Rolf reassures the panting Lycan scout, patting her shoulders, "We'll take it from here."
Elsi's blue eyes softens at her leader's remark and nods quickly, "I await your orders." She disappears through the doors.
Rolf glances at his wife Saeko, who had paused in quiet contemplation. "It would seem conflict is inevitable, Rolf," Saeko murmurs, nuzzling her husband gently.
The larger Lycan closes his eyes, "But, sometimes I just wonder. Why are they always bent on destroying our kind? We have had no ill will with them." He opens his eyes and spots his daughter standing in the doorway, with a confused tilt of her head. "Come here, Natsuki."
The young Lycan obeys, shuffling up to her parents, "Is there something wrong? Ma? Pa?"
Rolf felt his heartstrings tugged as his daughter peers at him with those innocent viridian eyes. She was just seven and there were many other young pups in the pack. He would not sit by and wait as invaders ravage the pack and their livelihoods. They knew what suffering these humans wrought onto their kind. He would never condone mindless bloodshed but if they were going to bring the fight to them, he'd have no other choice.
His hazel eyes meet his wife's emerald ones. They came to a wordless agreement. Saeko sends him a small nod that was only detected by him, affirming that she supported his decision. She then bends over and plants a firm kiss on Natsuki's forehead and turns away from her child, exiting the room to search for her friends. Rolf picks Natsuki and places her on his lap, "Now listen here Natsuki, you are to head up to the East tower now. And you are to obey your aunts Julia and Amber at all costs. Do you understand me?" Sensing the tension in the room despite her age, young Natsuki nods and her father offers her a soft smile, rubbing his nose gently against hers. "We love you, little one. Go now."
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"Aunt Amber. What's happening down there?" Natsuki asks, trying to pull herself up against the window to get a peek. Her sharp ears had picked up on loud clashes of metal, howls of fear and many other sounds that she was unfamiliar with. However, she finds herself lifted from behind and scowls after being placed back down.
"Your papa wouldn't want you tumbling off a window now, eh Nats?" Amber smiles at the grouchy child. "Besides, Saeko would slaughter us if anything happened to you."
"OW!" Natsuki yelps, causing her aunts to spin around worriedly, only to find Juliet Nao chomping hard on Natsuki's arm. Amber and Julia pry the mischievous redhead off, her lime green eyes sparkling with glee. Natsuki growls at the younger child, hint of her fangs showing menacingly.
"Imma Lycan!" Nao cheers in mock glory but her victory was short-lived as her sister, Mai, had moved up behind her and used her toy spatula to smack her head. Mai was the same age as Natsuki, with Nao just two years younger. Amber and Julia were Saeko's closest friends, having met centuries ago. Both aunts were enchantresses and raised two children, Mai and Nao, making them an entire family of redheads. The lycans and enchantresses lived in co-existence, but everyone was always wary of Nao. The young tyke was notorious amongst the pack for her misguided and random spells.
"Oh, I think that about wraps it up," Julia smirks as she watches the angry mob get subdued easily under the powerful Lycans. Feh, mortals. She really didn't understand why they tended to think so highly of themselves and their attempts to make everyone conform to them and their idea of normality. She watches on, eyes sparkling in interest as she watches Rolf and Saeko surround the "leader" of the mob in the castle gardens. Shrugging to herself, she bends over to pick Natsuki up, ready to head down to welcome Rolf and Saeko but her blood ran cold at the sudden incantation she heard from the gardens. Julia rushes back to the window to catch a glimpse of the figure slicing open his palms in exchange for the powerful curse. A dark shaman?! Damn it!
Her eyes meets Amber's concerned golden ones and they instinctively recite a counter spell, causing a white ring to surround the confused wolf-child seated in the middle of the room. Juliet snarls when the incantation was complete, turning her rage back to the cackling figure below. An inferno momentarily swallows the unsuspecting victim, a tall and lanky man. The blaze subsides in less than a minute to reveal a charred corpse and beside it, glittering gems that belonged to the Kruger clan.
Amber had come up beside her and let out a heavy exhale as she takes in the scene down below. The Lycans had turned into stone, scattered around the pristine greenery in a morbidly artistic way. She catches sight of her old friend Saeko and her husband, both trapped, frozen in their stony prison. Her eyes brim with tears as she turns to their young charge, who was still in the middle of the room but had involuntarily shifted because of the spell's effect and was now a furry beast. Despite their efforts, they could only prevent the child from turning into stone. But her transformation powers were now disabled and there was no way that Natsuki could ever shift back into a human again.
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