Cadis Etrama Di Raizel staggered as he saw Muzaka cradling the dead girl. He did not know what to do, although he had rushed to them.
Muzaka looked up, and settling the body down, he rose. He was in a state of emotional duress, but he manifested it as rage. Which was to be expected, since he had raised a human child.
Cadis looked at them both, then over the human corpses around them. He needed to say something, before Muzaka's mind and heart shattered altogether.
And then a hand was placed on his shoulder, roughly, and Muzaka said words that the Noblesse did not know how to comprehend. Kill humans? Kill all the humans? How many hundreds, thousands, millions of lives what he talking about? Humans also lost children. From diseases, injuries, and murder. They saw them slaughtered for reasons that made no sense. But that was only to be expected, as humans were weak. Cadis did not know why they had to kill each other, but he did know that it was not his place as a superior species, to interfere with them.
Of course, if any human were to gain so much power they threatened the world itself or other species, that was an entirely other matter.
Muzaka had to have known what taking on a human girl would mean. She would eventually die. Humans could die just from tripping and falling on a tack. They could break their bones and die of some infection, too.
What did her death have to do with humans the world over?!
"Muzaka!" Cadis realized that in his moment's shock, Muzaka had headed toward the nearest human civilization. "Wait, you must remember…" He started out, but Muzaka lashed out at him, savagely, and he sailed under the force of gravity toward the mountain side, were he impacted on the face of the earth.
It hurt.
Muzaka landed on him, or very nearly. But, Cadis did not want to harm Muzaka. He wanted to save him from breaking any more than he already had. And he did not want to make the same choice again; he had done his duty once before and it had always tapped at his mind, that he had not listened enough. He had not paid close enough attention before. Muzaka was not a Noble. He was a Werewolf. But, Muzaka was also his dear friend. Just like, before, he had had a younger brother.
Whom he had killed.
"Muzaka!" Cadis managed to catch Muzaka's arm. "Please, listen to me!" He had never raised his voice before. He felt a little shattered as Muzaka ripped his sleeve off, and his clothing became filthy and shredded. But he did not allow that to stop him. "I am sorry about Ashlyn. Please, Muzaka, listen to my voice. If you can hear my voice, then please heed me. I will stand with you. For those who had harmed you and dared to raise a hand against your companion, I will offer my judgement. So, please do not harm the humans!"
Muzaka caught him by his upper arms, shaking him hysterically. "They murdered her!" He snarled. "First her mother, and now her, too! How much must they take away from me before it is enough?!" He gnashed his teeth, foaming at the mouth a little, and his claws had sunk deeply into Cadis's arms. "My child! My poor child…" His voice broke on a sob.
Reality fractured…and Cadis Etrama Di Raizel, felt extremely stupid. He had failed to understand such a simple truth. He knew he was lacking in many ways; he was terribly inadequate when it came to hearth and home. This was largely due to the fact that he was always alone. Only Muzaka and Frankenstein stayed with him. He liked being at home, and to him, the most beautiful moments, were the quiet and serene ones. This was why he had never thought about something complicated like love.
He did not know what it meant to be a lover.
Therefore, he did not have children, and could not know the loss of a child.
However, he did know the loss of a younger brother.
Wincing from the pain in his arms, as his precious blood flowed, he swallowed thickly. It came to him, as he looked at the blood flowing, that Muzaka was also an idiot. "Muzaka…" He said, softly. "…if that child is your daughter, there may be an opportunity to save her. I do not know if this can be done now or not. However, if it is possible, you must hurry to act now." He looked at his friend's face. "Ashlyn has your blood inside her. If she awakened, she would regenerate. I cannot image the daughter of a Werewolf Lord being so easily slain by an arrow."
Muzaka looked at him, staring a little. "Ashlyn." He moved back to the river side, where Ashlyn was laying. She was very pale, and her hair fluttered a little. She was limp and did not stir at all. "She is dead." Muzaka said, bowing his head.
Taking a deep breath, Cadis knelt beside Muzaka. Reaching out a shaking hand, he collected some of her blood; slowly, painfully slowly, he brought it to the edge of his lip. Where he traced his lip line with her blood. It left not a mark upon him, as he assimilated all of it. "Ashlyn…" He called to her, in the depths of her slumber, where her human half had undoubtedly died off. "…Ashlyn, open your eyes." There was a very faint ripple. Her consciousness responded, and he called out to her again. "Ashlyn, open your eyes." It was hard on him, he could almost not breathe himself, and he felt the blood run from his left ear as the strain on his body increased multifold for every second that passed. "Ashlyn! Open your eyes!"
The girl sucked in air, coughing up blood. Her eyes opened, and her hands went to her chest spasmodically. Of course, she passed out form the shock, but she was breathing and her body began to regenerate. Her hair, a tawny fawn colour, turned dull grey. She was no longer a human, now, but a werewolf, just like her sire.
Dizzy, Cadis wiped the blood from his nose as it ran over his upper lip. Muzaka was binding her chest in her shirt. So, because the poor thing was left mostly naked as a result, Cadis lifted his hand and clothes appeared around her. A simple, dark blue tunic. Something modest, and not strictly speaking Wolven in design, but it would serve her all the same.
For a moment, Cadis thought that was the end of their adventure. However, at that time, the encroaching army heading from one battle front to the next, came upon them. The men to have attacked Ashlyn, had been only the vanguard, and now the main bulk of the advance troops came bursting out of the forest.
Blinking red eyes at them, Cadis felt rather contemptuous. It was his duty as the Noblesse to protect humans. But, he could not help but despise them. They wore the same tunics as the dead men in the shallows, and more than likely, Ashlyn's would-be murdered was among their number.
Muzaka was undoubtedly thinking the same things. He stood up, turning to look at them, and his eyes were drawn down into slits. "You bastards." He muttered, his hair fluffing up and his hands twisting into claws.
"What the devil is the matter with you?!" The General demanded. "Are you with those other monsters? Hmpf. A little quick silver is all we need for the likes of you!" He lifted a crossbow, and the sunlight glinted on the ornate metal tip. "Go with God, beast."
Muzaka caught the arrow by the shaft, however, and looking at the fletching, he let out a howl. It was the same kind of arrow he had pulled out of his daughter's chest, just a half hour previously.
The slaughter of a hundred thousand men, started from there. It only took twenty minutes for Muzaka to have murdered every single one of them. The sun beat down on them mercilessly, and a steam rose from the corpses as that much blood created a filthy quagmire.
Cadis shivered as he stood there watching. Everything he had lived for. Everything he knew and valued and considered sacred, had been desecrated and stepped on. He did not know what to do next. He had not only used his powers to save a dying child, but he had not protected humans about to be killed by a werewolf. He had intentionally stood there, making himself see it through, because he could not deny that Muzaka was important to him.
After it was over, and the Werewolf Lord was satisfied – for the present – they regrouped in a nearby cave. Muzaka bathed himself before-hand, so that the smell of blood did not attract wild things. He also found some fruits, which he crushed between his hands, so that Ashlyn could drink their juice.
Still shaking, Cadis thought he now knew why the other nobles feared the werewolves. He did not have the staunch nerves everyone thought he did. To him, that had been extremely traumatizing and revolting. He wanted to bathe in rosewater and rest for a few thousand years just to recovered from the stench of the battlefield!
"Cadis…" Muzaka spoke up. "…thank you." He was looked at the small fire he had banked. "Thank you for standing with me."
Honest thanks was not going to right all wrongs, but it did salve his emotional wounds. Cadis smiled eversoslightly at the werewolf. "I am your friend." He said, simply. Blood ran over his lip again, and he hastily wiped it away with his fingers. "Forgive it. It is unattractive."
"Why are you bleeding like that? I…I hit you, but…you should heal faster than that. Even if not as fast as us." Muzaka lifted his hand, frowning.
Sighing a little, Cadis looked at Muzaka. "That is the way it is for me. Although it is unknown why, my body and my powers are not equal. My power is too great for my body to bear, and if I use it to any extent, then I will forfeit an equal measure of my life." He stated it like that, as that was the important part. "That is not for you to worry over, Muzaka. I have only considered it a little distressing; it is unattractive."
He hated being dirty and messy, and he was both, so he was struggling not to have a breakdown. At least he had been able to repair his clothing, although he could not help but get dirty when he was sitting on the dirt.
Muzaka stared at him, his silver eyes gleaming, but then he took a deep breath and put a hand to his forehead. "I will worry." He said, almost sharply. "That is my right as your friend."