Disclaimer: Noblesse isn't mine.
The Legend of Wolf Mountain (Part 3)
"You're worried."
"Hahaha, Master!" Frankenstein poked the embers with a stick. Sparks whirled in the air and floated toward the creek. His laugh did not conceal his concern. "I know he needs to go through this. We just have to wait for his return. I shouldn't interfere." He peeked at his master from the corner of his eye. "Unless, you want to interfere?"
Rai glanced at the tent.
"I understand, Master." Frankenstein bowed and crawled into the tent. "Regis, wake up."
"What is it?" He stifled an inelegant yawn and snapped instantly alert when he saw Frankenstein's face. "What happened?"
"It's M-21."
Regis looked at the shredded blanket beside him. "He's gone?"
Frankenstein held a finger to his lips as a gestured for him to be quiet.
Regis nodded and slid out of his sleeping bag, carefully stepping over Shinwoo as he maneuvered toward the door. "Where's M-21? What happened?"
Frankenstein walked away from the campsite, leaving Regis no choice but to follow. "Do you know what a hazing is?"
"I haven't heard of it."
"Well, you may see one tonight." Frankenstein stopped at the edge of the creek. The water, aglow in the moonlight, trickled over the rock layers and clouded in a fine mist. "You recall what my master said about werewolves?"
"The story, yes."
"They have selected M-21 for initiation. I believe they sensed his powers and desired to add him to their pack."
"But they can't have him! He's our comrade!" Regis squeezed his hands into fists and glared into the water rather than look at Frankenstein. "M-21 will not stand for this."
"Yes, I know, but M-21 is disoriented right now. A werewolf's saliva carries a transforming agent that is somewhat similar to a hallucinogen. When bitten, the agent is injected directly into the bloodstream, causing an intense burning sensation followed by illusions and transformation. I wouldn't say he is in a complete state of delusion, but he will find it very difficult to focus on reality, which makes his transformation hazardous. When mixed with his own latent powers and the proximity of the full m-"
"I don't understand what you are saying. Is M-21 sick?"
"I suppose you could say that. I do not believe M-21 was bitten by a pure werewolf. It was a descendant of the human-werewolf subspecies. M-21 already has the heart of a werewolf. To add a bite on top of that may cause an exponential increase in his strength."
"Then this is good?"
"Yes, it's very fortunate. The trouble is that M-21 may be stronger than the werewolves here. Werewolves are very similar to normal wolves when it comes to such things. The strongest becomes the alpha male of the pack."
"M-21 wouldn't want that. He belongs to us."
"But the pack may want it."
"What do we do?" Regis watched the sky. He knew his eyes were wide and full of moonlight. "Stop M-21 from fighting the werewolves?"
"Yes, isn't it simple?"
"Simple?" Regis choked and tried to cover it by clearing his throat. "Have you ever tried to control M-21's temper? There will be no stopping him!"
"I'm sure you will manage." Frankenstein smiled and turned back toward camp. "I will leave it to you."
"Wait, you're not coming?"
"Am I ever the first defense?" Frankenstein glanced over his shoulder, his hair catching on his collar and falling free a few locks at a time. "You can handle it. If the situation becomes too dangerous, I might stop by eventually. Good luck."
"But, wait!" Regis reached out, feeling as if he were grasping at lost hope. "I don't know where he is."
"You'll find him. Just follow the moon."
"What's that suppose to mean?" Regis looked to the heavens. Follow the moon? It filled the sky so brightly that the stars dimmed in its light. How could he possibly pursue it? He glanced back at Frankenstein, but the man was already gone. Follow the moon. Easier said than done.
Regis tiptoed across the creek, carefully securing each step on the rocks before taking the next step forward. Follow the moon. Into the sky? Ridiculous. Even nobles could not leave the earth behind.
Hoooooooowl!
"Hooooooowl!"
Was that Tao? It sounded like it came from the mountain side. Why was he howling like that? Was he trying to attract the werewolves? Maybe that wasn't a bad idea. Draw the werewolves away from M-21.
He ran up the mountain, searching for his comrades. For anything. The red streak of Takeo's hair, flaming in the moonlight. The sound of Tao chuckling at his own poorly timed jokes. Even a sarcastic quip from M-21 would be a relief.
"Why are you howling?"
Takeo's voice. It came from the cliffs above him. Regis sprung to their level and landed on a flat surface eroded into the rocks. Quiet. Don't cause a commotion. They will sense him soon enough. Takeo stood at the edge of the cliff as he gazed into the darkness below. His back was to him, and he seemed to be too transfixed to notice his question was not answered.
Where was Tao? Did the mushroom shape to his silhouette blend in with the surrounding boulders? He must be near if Takeo-
A cold hand grabbed his ankle from behind and knocked him to the ground. A werewolf! Regis pulled his hand back, crackling with blue power, and held back the shot as Tao rolled out of the line of fire.
"Tao, I could have hurt you." Regis sat up, dusting what dirt he could from his star pajamas.
"I didn't want the werewolves to see you." Tao grinned, lying, and flipped onto his back. He made a pillow out of his hands and watched the stars burn faintly in the night. "Good move, No. 3. I should have worn camouflage."
"What?"
"Your pajamas." Takeo answered, never moving from his perch. "There's no need. The enemy already knows we're here. The breeze will have carried our scent downwind."
"They are dogs, after all." Tao chipped, waving one finger to the melodic beat of his voice. "They'll pick up our scent."
"You really don't need to make the dog jokes if M-21 is not here to benefit from them."
"Takeo, you're no fun! I can't just save them up!"
Regis crawled across the ground to the ledge beside Takeo and laid on his stomach as he peered over the side. Young werewolves fought playfully, leaping and tackling each other, as older werewolves howled with noses raised high. There weren't very many, but they seemed familial and close. "This isn't very threatening."
"That's what I thought at first." Takeo dropped to one knee and leaned forward to point at the largest wolf in the pack. It sat alone, distancing itself from the others, and stared back at them with a hard expression in its eyes. "Just watch how the others behave around it. Tao, come here."
"Again?" Tao reluctantly stood on the edge and allowed himself to be seen.
The leader's ears swished back, and the pack crouched low in fear.
Tao stepped back, hiding from sight. "That one doesn't like me."
"Maybe it's because you were howling at him?"
"It was just a joke!"
Regis pushed himself up to his knees. "Where's M-21? Frankenstein was worried about something called a hazing."
Tao and Takeo exchanged a silent glance and nodded in turn.
"What is it? I haven't heard of one."
"Ah, aren't you a little too young to ask about something like that?"
Regis gave Tao a pointed look.
"Alright! Alright! Ahh, it's a form of harassment. Someone goes through it before joining a group. It's not good. They're going to beat him up."
"Is that all?" Regis looked back at the werewolves again. The cubs were no longer playing, and the howling had stopped. "We'll just protect him."
"There's movement." Takeo whispered, waving toward a cluster of trees. "There are a few more werewolves."
"That's M-21!" Regis shouted, tugging on Takeo's arm with excitement. "He's right there!"
Takeo pried his arm free. "How did we get here first?"
"How can you tell that's him?" Tao laid down beside them and discretely poked his head over the edge. The leader's ears flapped back, but his attention was upon the newcomers. "He transformed right after he tried to scratch Takeo."
"It's him! It looks just like him!" Regis skated down the side of the cliff, leaving a trail of tumbling pebbles in his wake. "M-21!"
"Takeo, did he just rush into a battle against werewolves?" Tao sighed, dropping his head to the ground.
"Yeah, he did."
"I'm starting to hate full moons."
"Come on, we should help." Takeo jumped off the ledge, freefalling for a moment before his feet hit the ground, and slid to a stop behind Regis. "You sure that's him?"
"It's him, I can tell." Regis walked forward, fearlessly approaching the werewolves that had just arrived. Two of them scooted away, suspiciously watching him from a distance. The third remained in place, mesmerized by the moon. "M-21?"
That name. He grasped at it. Tried to wrap his mind around it, but it seemed so foreign. Were they talking about him? Yes, they had to be. The moon ebbed, pulling back in the sky as if harnessed by that thought. Where was the call? It was so quiet. Had he arrived?
"Regis, he won't know who you are." Tao lingered in the background, still hiding from the leader. "Just look at him. He's out of it."
"He'll know me." Regis reached out his hand an inch from the werewolf. "M-21?"
Something touched his shoulder. A hand. It felt light and hesitant at first, as if uncertain of the gesture, then it moved over his head and back. Fingers dipped into his fur with each stroke. M-21 twisted his head to watch the movements. Moonlight swayed over his body as the hands pushed it deeper into his fur.
"See? He knows me!" Regis glanced back at Tao proudly. "He's so soft."
"I want to try!" Tao dashed to M-21's side and slid his hand over his coat. "He is really soft! Takeo, come feel this! M-21 is never going to live this down!"
"If he knew you, he wouldn't let you pet him."
"Takeo's right."
The hands lifted as gunpowder and shampoo drew closer. M-21 tried to focus in on the scent and force the moon back. The light felt alive, twirling and bright as it danced among the other werewolves as well. It cloaked all of them in a heavy glow.
Hooooooowl!
The light exploded, raining down upon the leader of the pack. He captured the moonlight. M-21 lowered his head, baring his teeth. He stole it.
Come and fight.
The werewolves backed away, crouching low and trembling as the leader rose to his feet.
"They can't fight!" Regis grabbed a fist full of fur and yanked M-21's head to face him. "You can't fight!"
Come.
"M-21, you belong to us! We're your comrades! You're ours!" Regis swung around and met the leader's eyes with determination, with challenge. "He's ours! I won't let you have him!"
"Regis, what are you doing?" Tao caught his wrist to pull him back. "Don't antagonize that one."
"Frankenstein said that M-21's stronger than these werewolves right now. If M-21 wins, he becomes the leader, and they won't let him leave their pack."
"He's ours." Takeo stepped in between M-21 and the leader. "He already belongs to a pack. We're not going to let you take him."
The leader growled, moving closer.
"Do you think he understood that?" Tao joined Takeo as a barrier between the leader and M-21.
"Tao?" Takeo gathered his powers as the leader neared.
"Yeah?"
"Don't let him bite you. One werewolf is enough."
"Yeah, okay."
"Regis?" Takeo glanced over with just his eyes.
"Yes?"
"Snap M-21 out of it. We'll need his help."
"I'll try." Regis pulled on the scruff of M-21's neck. "Wake up! You're teammates need you! Wake up!"
The moon swooned, light cascading down the mountainside like a rushing river. It flowed over him, over his pack. Burning fire. It filled his heart. Swam though his blood. The wound was on fire with the scent of blood. Fire and blood. Blood and… eyes.
Relinquish.
The river of light thickened as it changed from yellow to crimson. Eyes glowing red.
Hoooooooooooowl!
Relinquish... control.
M-21 gave in to the call.
Come.