Disclaimer: I do not own Spice and Wolf or any of its characters.
Lawrence was silent as he was bombarded with Myuri's blunt and direct question. He knew he had to make this inevitable choice eventually in their journey. Maybe it was because he knew that parting with someone would bring him sadness and sorrow, which caused him to travel alone for seven years. However, if that is the case, then why did it change when he met Horo? Why did he suddenly accept her to be his traveling companion, even though he lived an isolated life for seven years? He looked deep inside of himself for the answer, and he realized the answer was completely obvious to him.
"I had already made that decision a long time ago." The merchant's eyes leveled with Myuri. There was no hesitation in his answer, like a businessman talking a customer into a deal that he was confident it wouldn't fail.
The ears of the wolf deity in front of him twitched, wanting to hear more.
"When I first met Horo and decided to let her travel along with me, I had already made that decision. Even though it was a contract and she would pay me back at the end of the journey, I realized that I didn't actually care about the contract. I just wanted someone to be with me and to spend the days together on my travels. I was so sick of traveling alone that despite knowing the pain of an eventual parting, I still decided to let her join me. To me, I would want to travel with her for as long as I can. Although I didn't know what problems or sadness that lays ahead by choosing this road, it was better than continuing on my travels alone. That is my answer when I first met her, and the answer is still the same right now." Lawrence eyes showed no signs of doubt; it was his final and absolute answer.
"Hmm… I guess you can be direct and straightforward with things related to relationships if you tried hard enough." Myuri smirked and her tense gaze lifted off Lawrence.
"Sadly, I do not think my reckless sister thinks the same. Your journey involves the lives two people, yours and hers. It requires the mutual consent of both people for your journey together to continue. You have made the choice in your life, but she has also made the choice in her life. Unfortunately, those two choices don't agree. She would rather leave stop the journey now, since she scared that she will eventually be left alone."Myuri continued
Lawrence looked down, and knew that she was right. It wasn't his choice only, Horo also need to agree. He couldn't force her to continue with him.
"But, I think I can do something about that. Actually, more like you will, but I will offer you some assistance." Myuri smiled at him mischievously.
Her eyes wavered off to side, she walked towards the table where the drinks are located, and wrapped her hands around an empty cup. Using her small hand, she delicately poured water from the vase until the cup was half-full. Her small lips moved as if she was chanting something. Myuri took a small thin knife and a glass vial from her pocket. Using the knife, she gently inflicted a small cut on the side of her hand. A few red droplets of blood oozed out and dripped into the cup. She opened the glass vial she placed on the desk, and another few red droplets fell from the vial to cup.
Lawrence was rather dazed and confused at what Myuri was doing. He expected a verbal or a physical response from Myuri, and not an "I'm conjuring some suspicious substances" type of response. He wondered if this was a type witchcraft that the Church condemned as being evil, but it was quite fascinating to see it firsthand.
Her lips stopped moving, and she blew into the contents of the cup. She slowly picked the cup up of the desk, and handed it towards Lawrence.
"What is this?" Lawrence asked Myuri, who had a very mischievous smile on her. Her smile made him even more suspicious of what she was offering him.
"It is just water." Myuri answered light heartedly, and urged the cup closer to Lawrence.
Lawrence looked at the cup; the liquid was crystal clear that he could perfectly see his reflection on the surface, like he was gazing at mirror. The liquid seemed to be radiating an aura of light. He had never seen anything like this. The only world that came to his mine to describe the liquid was "otherworldly", and it intrigued and scared him at the same time.
"From my experiences with a merchant for many years, I don't think water is supposed to glow like that." Lawrence sarcastically responded, and Myuri's smile widened more. He knew that she was having fun playing with him.
"This is special water, just drink it, it's perfectly safe!" Myuri gleefully advanced towards him. Lawrence retreated away from Myuri to keep her and whatever she is holding away him, until he backed up against a wall.
"Ah crap." He whispered to himself. Realizing Myuri's was slowly advancing towards him, and he has no more room to back away, he began to panic slightly.
"Okay, calm down Lawrence and assess the situation. It is the first step to getting out troublesome situations. Remember one of the first lessons his master taught him in business.
"So, I'm stuck between wall, and a wolf deity trying to force some ambiguous and questionable drink down his throat. Even his mater, would not have thought up a situation like this in his lifetime." Lawrence whispered to himself.
His eyes darted left and right, quickly scanning the room for any openings of escape.
"If I dash to the right, I will hit the bed, and if I dash to left, I will hit the wall. So the only option is to breakthrough in front of him. Myuri is still in her human form, so he should be able to easily overpower her small body and make a run for it for the door." Lawrence thoughts continued to race in his head, as Myuri was nearly inches away from him.
As he was about to make his move for freedom, his body felt heavy, and his legs were losing strength.
"What is going on? What is happening to me?" Lawrence panicked thoughts banged against his skull, as he tried to understand what is happening.
Myuri seeing Lawrence panicked expression like a small prey trapped with no hope of escaping gave him an explanation to relieve him.
"Sorry, you know the beer I gave you when I came into the room. I secretly added a special ingredient to it, which might explain the sudden numbness your feeling. But I promise, this is all for you." Myuri said with a big grin on her face. The only grin you can get when a girl is happily playing with her brand new toy.
"So she planned this from the very beginning; my reactions, my responses, and my answers. Am I that freaking predictable?" Lawrence criticized himself. He fell and sat on the ground leaning against the wall, as his legs no longer have the strength to support him.
"However, if you drink this, I'm sure you would feel all better." Myuri moved the cup closer towards Lawrence's face, and he knew she was having fun torturing him.
It only required a person with a bit of common sense to figure out that Myuri was lying. Whatever, the liquid in the cup was, Lawrence was determined that it would not go down his throat.
"I seriously don't think anything made from witchcraft is going to help me feel better in any situation." Lawrence exclaimed.
Myuri stopped advancing the cup towards him. Her ears peaked up, and her eyes widened. She seems to be surprised by what he said.
"Witchcraft? You think this is made from witchcraft? Myuri asked.
She placed her left hand on Lawrence right shoulder. Just when Lawrence was about to answer, Myuri interrupted with her finger over his mouth.
"No, this isn't witchcraft. Witchcraft is the excuse the Church uses to execute anyone that gets in their way. Witchcraft is fake, all and act made up by the Church. What I have here is special liquid that my elders used to drink when they need to make decision that involves the whole pack. It allows them to see things, which they cannot see in the world around them. Some say it allowed them to see beyond time, spirits, or provide insight on the present. However, I just think it lets you see what your heart want to see the most. How do you think we know that the Moon Hunting Bear was coming, or that we should fight or flee? The elders made their decision with the knowledge they gained from this elixir. I guess you could say this is the real magic. Although, I only heard of wolves like myself drinking it, I absolutely sure nothing bad will happen to you."
Myuri big sinister smile made everything she says a matter of doubt, and her explanation did not relieve him in the slightest bit.
"Wait, so you're saying that this is the real deal? That this liquid is made from magic? After hearing that, there is no way I'm drinki—hmph.
Lawrence sentence was cut short when Myuri use her hand to force his mouth open, and forcefully made him drink the contents in the cup. After a few large gulps, Myuri released her hold on him.
"See, it wasn't that bad. Although I personally haven't tried it myself, you should probably be alright." Myuri was quite ecstatic for her newfound guinea pig.
Lawrence was in a state of horror, expecting something terrible to happen to him, but nothing happened.
"I'm surprised that nothing happened." Lawrence worriedly remarked.
"I told you everything will be fine. However, if your limbs start falling apart from your body in a few hours, then I'm sorry!
"Wait what?" Myuri relit the horror within Lawrence mind.
"I'm joking! You are so fun and adorable to play with. No wonder my sister loves to be around with you so much!" Myuri happily said.
As much as he wanted to smash Myuri's head against the wall for playing with him so much, Lawrence eyes started to feel heavy like he was falling to sleep.
"Why am I getting so sleepy?"
"It's probably the drink taking its effect." Myuri answered.
Lawrence did not have enough energy to reply.
"Remember, you can only view what your heart want see for one time. Remember the resolve you had when you answered my question. I'm sure it will guide you to where you want to go. Don't let this chance go to waste. I hope both you will have a happy ending together, and I pray for your safe return." With a saluting gaze from Myuri, Lawrence's eyes closed, and fell in to a sleep slumber.
Myuri poke Lawrence body a bit to test if he was truly unconscious. He didn't move or wake up when she pinched his face or shake him around.
"I'm surprised that the drink had such a powerful effect. However, I don't think it would be appropriate to leave him sitting on floor sleeping. Better get him to a bed" Myuri thought to herself.
She lifted Lawrence's slump and heavy body towards the bed where Horo was sleeping in with much effort. Since he was too heavy for her small body to carry, she was only able to get the upper part of Lawrence's body on the bed. He lied on the bed with his stomach on the bed, and his head resting on Horo's chest. His legs were on the floor, and looked like someone who has fallen asleep on the bed from working too hard.
Myuri wiped the sweat on her forehead from labor she had just performed.
"If he doesn't kneel before me, and show his undying gratitude to me what all I have done, I will kill him." Myuri thought to herself.
She walked over to the desk and blew out the candle, and made her way towards the door.
"Tomorrow is going to be an interesting day for you. I wonder if your resolve will be able to change the direction of my sisters' life. Whether or not you are able to get what you need to continue your journey with her in your vision, I wish both of you good luck in the future. Sweet dreams, Lawrence and Horo.
Myuri slowly and quietly closed the door, and walked down the hallway to her room. She also needed a good night rest to recover her strength from the enchantment she casted earlier.
Lawrence was flung around like a ragdoll in what can be only describe as being in the center of a dark vortex. It was cold, and it was getter colder as the current drag him deeper and deeper into the vortex. His mind lost all sense of direction, unable to tell if he was going up or down, left or right.
As he was pulled deeper down, he can see the end of vortex, and it was pure darkness. Instinctively, he knew that he should prevent himself from being dragged all the way down into void. He quickly looked around, but the constant strong winds that blew against his face were blinding his eyes, and the continuous spinning was disorienting him.
"Remember your resolve. It will guide you to where you want to go." Myuri voice echoed faintly in his mind.
"My resolve…That's right. A real merchant would never stop until he gets what he wants. And right now, he needs to go where Horo is currently at." He yelled from inside his heart.
As he bear the full blunt of the storm that was dragging him deeper into the darkness, he caught sight of a thin white glowing thread, as it zipped across his vision. He quickly searched around for the thread that just passed him. He caught a white tint from thread out of the corner of his right eye. It was dangling on the other side of the vortex, and he was approaching it at amazing speed. He was also nearing the end of the vortex, and realized if he didn't grab that thread on the next roundabout, he would probably be drag down and trapped within the darkness.
Focusing all his concentration on the thread as it approached him; he reached out for it with all his strength. His right hand made contact with the thread, and it started to twirl around his hand. A warming sensation filled his body, like the afternoon was showering his warmth on him. Without notice, he felt a hard tug from his right hand, and was pulled violently upward, away from the darkness of the vortex.
Lawrence felt he was just been fired through a cannon, as he raced across the vortex. His right arm feels like it was going to be torn off, and the winds crashing against his face made him able to open his eyes. He held on to the thread for his life.
After several torturous moments, he made a hard landing on a soft surface, or he hoped it is a surface. The scent of wheat reached his nose, the dancing ears of wheat tickled his ears, and the tall prairie grass prickled him from the back of his clothing. He opened his eyes and was met with a clear blue sky with the sun shining left of his field of vision. He was lying with his back on the ground. The gentle wind blew across his body, and he realized that he had landed at a place. A place that was unknown to him, yet so familiar at the same time.
He was certain that he was not in the bedroom at the theatre in Revattle, and he was not in any northern cities or towns.
Lawrence sat up to survey the surroundings. He was still disorientated and dizzy from his horrible experience earlier upon arriving.
"Agh… that was more terrible than the time I spent weeks working on a merchant ship that was lost in a storm. It was like I was tied to a post of a sinking ship at sea under a furious storm." Lawrence covered his face with his right palm, trying to let everything sink, and hoping that it help eliminate some of the dizziness he was feeling.
He felt something brush against his eyebrows from his palm, and lifted his hand away from his face. A silver thread was dangling in front of him. It was tangled around his right hand, and seemed to extend continuously into the blue sky above him. He wondered about the purpose of the miraculous thread that saved him, and attempted to untangle the string from his hand. However, no matter how hard he tried, the silvery thread would not become loose. After many ties, he gave up, since it was not hindering him or causing problems at the moment.
Lawrence stood up, and saw the swaying ears of golden wheat stretching for yards before him in all directions. Scanning his horizons, he assumed that he was in the middle of a wheat field. It was on an incline on the side of a hill. Noticing that the wheat grew in organized rows, he was certain that a farmer or somebody nearby planted these.
He decided to have a better look at the surroundings by climbing to the top of the hill.
"Damn that Myuri. When I see her again, she better kneel before and apologize to me for what she has done to me, or I'll kill her." He muttered to himself as he traversed up the golden hill. The thought of him getting revenge when he got back to Revattle brought a small chuckle from him.
Upon reaching the top of the hill, he used the analytical skills he gained from being a merchant to determine approximately where he was located. A traveling merchant should always be able to find out where he was by looking at his environment, since they could be off-route and get lost due to poor roads and bad weather conditions.
He looked below, and could see a river running across the plains. Rectangular fields of green and golden hazel were parked beside and near the river. Those were probably farming fields, and he could see small moving figures walking along the river. His intuition told him that he had very likely stumbled upon a small farming village. The warmth and lack of coniferous trees in sight told him that he was somewhere south. The green leaves of the trees below were broad and covered the entire upper portion of the tree like a green umbrella. Fruits were starting to bud from the stems and branches.
"Great, I'm in a small southern farming village, and it looks like it should be summer right now." Lawrence puffed out his chest in pride, as his merchant skills had not failed him.
Lawrence traveled down the hill, and he could see the residents and field with better clarity as he got closer to the base of the hill. However, the more clearly he saw the field, the more doubtful he became.
He didn't recognize the farming techniques the residents used for farming their fields. Although, he is not an expert in farming, he had a general knowledge on how to farm crops because his teacher taught him when he was little. Their style of clothing was also unfamiliar to him. It was a crude design made out of linen and leather, and was loosely sewn together.
He made his way to the trail that leads toward the village. The villagers viewed him with curious eyes, which made him feel uneasy. As he strolled down the trail, he noticed that the architecture of buildings were very primitive. It was nothing but huts made of straws bounded together by sticks and wood. The tools that they have were also very basic. He assumed that this must be a town that is isolated from the outside world, as the village was lacking fundamental technological and agriculture innovations and advancements.
He needed to know what country he is currently in, and also hope to find a map to tell him exactly where he was.
He walked by some stand that seems to be selling some of his crops with another villager. They exchanged some copper coins that to his embarrassment, was also unfamiliar. However, an idea instantly sparked in his mind, and made a dash toward the stand.
The stand owner and the other villager looked at him. Both were obviously quite surprised that an unfamiliar man came running in front of them.
"Can I help you?" The stand owner looked at him, and then to the other villager, thinking he was an acquaintance with the other villager by the stand.
"Uh yes, do you mind if I look at one of coins? Any coin would be fine." Lawrence wore his usual business smiled and diligently ask the stand owner, which was quite baffeled by Lawrence's strange request.
"Um… sure" The stand owner took out a copper coin from his pocket, and handed it to Lawrence.
"Thanks." Lawrence took the coin from the stand owner's hand.
The ruler of a country usually prints or stamps an image of himself at the back of his country's currency. If Lawrence knew who the ruler is, he would know exactly which country he was currently at. Flipping the coin to the back, he was amazed that he also didn't recognize the face of the ruler. That should not be possible because he had remembered every currency and ruler in the world ever since he was young. He read the small print underneath the image.
"King Kerrenius" he spoke softly. The name sounded familiar to him like he read it somewhere when he was young. He closed his eyes, King Kerrenius, he repeated that name many times in his mind, he knew he had heard it somewhere before.
The stand keeper looked curiously at the mysterious ma who went into deep thought from just looking at a coin. He reached out for Lawrence with his right hand, until Lawrence jolted with sudden realization that startled the stand owner.
Lawrence realizing that he has frightened the store owner and the villager beside him, he apologized. He handed the copper coin back to the stand owner, and thanked him.
"Excuse me; is the current ruler of this country King Kerrenius?" Lawrence inquired the stand owner.
"Of course, King Kerrenius rules most of the southern land in the continent." The land owner replied, which Lawrence sunk into deeper contemplation.
"Sorry for asking, but you aren't from these parts, am I right?" The villager beside him asked.
"Well, you could say that." Lawrence replied with a slight laugh.
'So, you're a traveler than." The villager guessed.
"Yes and no." Lawrence reached the back of his head with his hand.
"Ah, sorry for taking up your time, I must be in the way of you doing business." Lawrence quickly said farewell to the stand owner and the other villager, and tread further down the road.
"What an odd fellow." The stand owner said
"At least he didn't seem like a bad person." The villager and stand owner both watch the stranger as he walks away from them.
'That is impossible." Lawrence muttered inside his head.
King Kerrenius was the first member of Trenni bloodline. King Kerrenius was the first ruler of the Southern Kingdoms, and King Trenni was the ninth ruler. If this was all true, then either he had travelled about five hundred years back in time, or the entire village was tricking him. However, looking at the people and his surroundings, it was probably the former, which would explain why he was unfamiliar with everything in this village.
"How the hell did I get here?" Lawrence mumbled.
Thinking back to where he was stuck within the black vortex, he probably did not want to know. However, he remembered falling asleep after Myuri gave him a strange elixir to drink.
"Is this a dream then?" He thought to himself.
However, even if this was a dream, the surroundings and the details was all too realistic. Lawrence had realistic dreams in the past before, but this didn't feel like one. This was more than a dream, it was something more.
He felt something vibrating from his right hand. Taking a look at his right hand, the silvery thread seemed to be resonating with something. It was like it wanted to go somewhere, and it begun to slightly tug his right arm in a certain direction. Following the guidance of the thread, it led him to the outer perimeters of the village.
He saw a girl sitting on the ground with her back lying against the trunk of a large deciduous tree. He could see that the girl was wearing a pair wolf like ears on her head, which moved with the gentle breeze. Her thick tail sweeps across the ground as if it was playing with the wind. Lawrence heart finally relaxed a little, as he finally found something that he recognized in this strange world.
Lawrence sprinted towards the tree where the wolf deity is resting. However, unknown to him was that two small children, a boy and girl, accompanied the wolf deity. The young girl was taking nap on Horo's lap with her autumn hair suspended in the wind, while the boy appears to be chasing something in the tall grass. He hadn't noticed them, until he got closer to the trio. He stopped in front of Horo, panting heavily, and looked at directly at her ruby eyes.
"Thank goodness, I found you." Lawrence said, panting between breaths.
"Um… do I know you by any chance? I believe this is the first time we met." Lawrence chest dropped upon hearing Horo's response. Her eyes reflected a hint of confusion, which told him that she wasn't playing any tricks on him. He assumed that he had mistaken her for someone else.
"Uh sorry, but your name is Horo right?" Lawrence quickly asked the confused girl, who sharply responded in a dignified manner.
"Yes I am. I am Horo, Wise wolf Horo, and how dare someone greet me with such disrespect. Now, who are you exactly?" Horo venomous tongue was directed at Lawrence, who immediately apologized.
"Sorry, I'm Craft Lawrence, people just call me Lawrence." Feeling a bit confused as to why Horo didn't remember him. However, seeing the situation he was in, he should just play along with it to see where it would lead him.
"So, what are you doing here? Seeing how you are dressed, you must be someone out of the country." Horo gazed at him with her sharp curious eyes, trying to figure out who he was.
"I'm just traveler, travelling between different towns." Lawrence lied, but he had no choice because he just couldn't say that he suddenly appeared in this place out of nowhere.
He saw Horo's ears twitch upon his answer.
"Well, I do not really care if you tell me the truth or not, since that has nothing to do with me. However, I must say that you indeed look familiar."
Lawrence mental slapped himself, as he forgot Horo could detect lies with her sensitive ears. By this time, the young girl woke up from her nap from the conversation. Her drowsy green eyes looked at Lawrence and then back to Horo.
"Horo, who is this strange man?" The young girl asked.
"Just a fool." Lawrence gave a small laugh at Horo's quick answer. She was Horo alright, whether she remembered him or not.
The young boy came running towards the three; curious to what was going on.
"Samuel… what are you doing here?" The young girl asked rubbing her eyes. The boy hair color was identical to the girl, except that his eyes were light brown, matching the color of his hair. Upon first glance, they appeared to be siblings, both close to about ten years in age.
"What are you talking about? Are you still asleep, Josephine? I'm here to protect Horo. I'm going to grow to become a strong warrior to protect everyone in the town!" The boy stood between him and Horo. His innocent brown eyes looked up towards Lawrence filled with fighting spirit. Lawrence cannot help but return an innocent smile towards the boy.
Horo patted the young boy on the head, while the Josephine gave a small giggle.
"I think you should learn to take care of yourself first, before you go protecting others. I heard you are still afraid of noises during the night." Horo mockingly said. The boy looked down at the ground dejected, his fighting spirit completely extinguished by Horo's mocking reply.
Lawrence could not help but notice Horo's natural ability make the opposite party give up with just using her words and sly way of talking. He had experienced Horo's cunning ways many times during their travels.
"You should take Josephine back home Samuel, it is getting late." Horo said as she looked at the setting sun on the horizon.
Samuel dejectedly held his hand towards Josephine, who grasped it with her small hands.
"Bye Horo, see you tomorrow." The two children said their farewells, and made their way to the village.
"Horo bonding with children." Lawrence thought in his head. He didn't even know it was possible for Horo to be compatible with children. However, seeing how gentle and caring she was to them, he couldn't help but feel lighthearted. A grin surface on the face.
"What is with the creepy grin?" Horo look at him skeptically.
"Nothing." Lawrence gleefully replied, seeing that Horo was clearly annoyed by his smirk.
"What do you want me to do for you?" Horo asked.
"Huh, nothing I guess." Technically, Lawrence wants Horo to remember him, but knew that it could not be helped under the current circumstances.
"So, you came running straight towards me without wanting anything out of me?" Horo laughed.
"Well, how about a talk?" Lawreance sat down the opposite of tree side of tree.
"You're the deity in this village?"He began.
"Yes, I am. Well, currently I guess." The wolf goddess diligently replied.
"Currently, you say?" Lawrence asked
"Yes, I am actually on a journey to travel between different countries. This place is like a detour for me. I am taking a break from travelling." Horo stated, playing with a strand of grass between her fingers.
"Can I ask for what reason you are travelling?" Lawrence directed the question at Horo, who nonchalantly answered.
"I'm trying to find the elixir of life." With Horo's answer, Lawrence confirmed what Myuri told him was true. Even though he didn't doubt her, he didn't truly believe Horo would really go search for the elixir of life.
"I see." Lawrence voice trailed off.
"Why are you not laughing?" Horo inquired, as if she expected him to be laughing.
"Why should I?" Lawrence was surprised at Horo's question.
"What a strange person you are. Every time I told someone that, they either laughed or mocked me." Horo laughed, and then slightly sighed.
"Well, I have seen a lot of things in my life. So I can believe pretty much anything right now." Lawrence felt he sounded somewhat wise when he said that.
"Haha, you are indeed a very strange person. It is even stranger that you invoke a sense of nostalgia in me. Have we truly met for the first time? Horo looked at him suspiciously, trying to remember all the people she met in her life.
"Maybe we met in another lifetime." Lawrence laughed, not wanting to tell her where he was really from, and who he was.
"Perhaps it is. However, it is strange, so very strange" Lawrence glanced sideways towards Horo, and could see that a light smile appeared on Horo's face.
Lawrence sat against the tree in silence for awhile. He turned to see the wolf deity, but to his surprised, she was already gone.
It was already nighttime, the sun has gone down, and was replaced by the moon above him in the sky. The chilling breeze blew through the fields. He scrunched up his legs for warmth.
With their conversation, Lawrence had confirmed several things. First, this place was really in the past. Secondly, she truly did not remember who he was. Thirdly, Horo was apparently very fond of children. Lawrence gave small giggle at the third point.
He kept asking himself, if this was a dream, then how was able to act so freely like he was in a real world. He pinched himself hard on the0 cheek, but to his amazement, he did not feel any pain.
Lawrence came to the conclusion after punching himself several times on his face, and still felt no pain or bruises, that this was in fact was some kind of weird dream. However, this was not only a dream, but a world created by someone. This was because he would not have possessed vivid and detailed memories to create a world in the past. Horo's memories came into his mind, but he realized that if this was indeed her memories, than he shouldn't even exist in this dream because she hadn't met him yet. A white thread blew past his face with the chilling night breeze. Upon seeing the thread, his intuition told him that maybe he was bounded here by this thread. No, a better explanation would be that this thread connected his and Horo's minds. This world was part of his dream, which was created with Horo's memories of the past.
He closed his eyes to think more deeply about this place. When he opened his eyes, he saw two red eyes staring straight at him and startled him.
"Ah!" Lawrence screamed, which also seem to startle the wolf deity in front of him.
"What are you still doing here? Don't you have a place to stay? You will catch a cold if you stay out at night." Lawrence was surprised at Horo's sudden concern for him, since he was total stranger to her. He noticed himself staring at her, without answering for awhile.
"Well… I don't have any money with me, so I can't stay at an inn." Lawrence smiled nervously.
"What kind of foolish traveler travels without any sort of valuables?" Horo was contemplating with herself to figure out how the person in front her survived for so long.
"Here, follow me." Horo commanded, holding out her hand in front of Lawrence. Lawrence quickly accepted, and allowed Horo to guide him through the darkness of the night.
They stumbled upon a small house that appears to be a shrine of some sort. It was built on a small clearing in the forest near the town. The building was enshrouded by the forest, and he could not see any other building or settlement nearby.
'What is this?" Lawrence asked curiously.
"It is a shrine that the villagers built for me. It is nothing special, but at least it blocks out the cold wind at night." Horo answered.
"I see." Lawrence walked closer to the shrine with Horo.
"You know, you are awfully trusting of me like you have no suspicion of me at all. You do realize that I can be tricking you to go inside, so I can devour you whole until you are just white bones. You being a traveler with no ties to anyone in place; no one will ever notice you are gone. Horo said slyly, revealing her canine fangs.
"Well, I am a foolish traveler." Lawrence ignored Horo's threatening remark, and walked past her, and entered the shrine first. She stood on the spot stunned for a moment at the person entering the shrine in front of her.
Inside, there was basically nothing except for a wooden floor to stand on.
"Seems kind of empty in here." Lawrence remarked dryly
"I told you it was nothing special." Horo walked to a corner of the room and sat, leaning her shoulder against the wall. Lawrence did the same, and sat on the corner opposite of Horo.
"So you have been living here all this time in this village." Lawrence asked flatly.
"What do you think?" Horo ask rhetorically.
"How long?" Horo lifted up her fingers in front of her and counted.
"Around 20 harvest seasons". She stated
"Each year has only one harvest season. That's 20 years, that is quite a long time for a detour your taking." Lawrence remarked
"What does it matter to you how long I spend time here? But I guess 20 years is quite a lot for you humans." Horo smirked.
"Oh nothing, just curious that is all." Seeing Horo spend 20 years in this empty dark room every night for 20 years made his heart dropped.
"Don't you get lonely in here?" Lawrence asked softly.
The wolf goddess didn't reply, but tensions build up in the air.
Changing the subject, Lawrence asked another question.
"So who were those two children that were with you today? I believe their names were Josephine and Samuel."
"Those two siblings were orphans. They had lost their parents to the wars waged between countries. I met them wandering the nearby forest, scared, hungry, and covered in blood. I took them into the village, and asked the village elder to take care of them." Horo looked at the forest outside the window.
"In return for…?" Lawrence continued.
"Hmm?" Horo looked at him. Even in the darkness of the room, he could see her eyes as clearly as they are in daytime.
"Oh, I thought you needed to something for the elder in return that he shelters the two orphans." Horo was surprised at how sharp the man in front of her was. He was indeed very foolish, but also very sharp.
"Of course, but then it was not a huge price to pay, since it was me."
"I see." Realizing that he shouldn't probe further to see what she needed to give up for the elder to adopt the orphans."
'Josephine and Samuel mostly play and stay by my side, since no other children in the village wanted to play with them. The reason partly being that they have no parents, and that they are affiliated with me. It is sad to be excluded by your own race." Horo continued. Even though, he didn't ask for her to continue, he felt that the Josephine and Samuel reminded Horo of herself.
"Wait, why am I telling you this?" Horo noticed that she had been babbling her life to a stranger she met for the first time. She wondered what had come over her mind, but it just seemed so natural. The man in front of her gave her an odd sense of trust, like she could talk to him about all her troubles.
"Humans are like that. However, I believe there is a place for everyone in this world. I'm sure that in this vast world, there will be someone that will accept the Josephine and Samuel for who they are, regardless of their standings and connections." Lawrence directed his comment to the partly to the orphans and partly to Horo.
"Your name is Craft Lawrence, right?" Horo asked.
"Yes, it is." He replied.
"Thank you, Lawrence." She spoke softly. She also believed that someone will be able to accept her for who she is, and place they can belong in the world. She was glad that she had met a person that shared the same ideal as her. It was also the first time that a person had talked to her so casually, like she was talking to another friend.
Horo dozed off contently to her sleep, and Lawrence watched her white tipped ears slowly drooped down, and her breathing became heavy. The Horo in front of him was Horo, yet not the same. This wolf deity had a feeling of innocence within her. She still had hope for her future and the kindness of the world around her. She was also a lot more open and talkative about her life. While the Horo he knew back in Revattle had no feeling innocence in her, and had a quite a dim view of the world around her and her place in it. She always kept things about her life deep inside her heart, never telling anyone about it.
In his honest opinion, Lawrence would rather prefer Horo to stay like the person in front of him right now forever, not knowing the extent of cruelty within humans. He wanted her to continue hoping and searching for a place where she belongs.
Deep inside his stomach was a feeling of apprehension in his that this bliss dream was going to turn nightmare for him and her. This was because we humans were not much different than wolves.
Lawrence did not sleep at last night. He wasn't tired nor did he feel hungry, even though he had not eaten any ever since he got here. He looked up at the wooden ceiling above him, and wondered what was his purposed here. Time passed by without him knowing it, and the tranquil night rolled by.
Seeing the sun's ray shining through the windows, it must be early morning. Looking across from him, Horo was still sleeping. She always looked so peaceful and cute in her slumbering state, and he couldn't help by fixate his eyes on her. She slowly started open her eyes, as if knowing that someone was watching her.
"Morning." Lawrence stood and straightened out his clothes.
"Do you always wake up so early?" Horo yawned a stretched her body, who was obviously not used to waking up this early.
Lawrence approached her and reached out his hand to her. She looked up at the strange man that just suddenly intruded in her life with great curiously. Although she had only met him yesterday, she felt safe around him for some unknown reason. She mocked herself for thinking up such foolish contradictions in her mind, and stood up.
"Do you want to have a walk around village?" Lawrence asked. To be truthful, Lawrence did not know why he had asked Horo to go on a walk with him. He just wanted her to get out of this isolated shrine.
"The village? I guess I have not been at the village and greeted the villagers for awhile." Lawrence noticed hesitation in her eyes.
"Aren't you wanted in the village?" Lawrence asked as if reading her mind.
"Hmph! Of course I am wanted! I just do not feel comfortable around town with all those people making loud noises, and the fouling stench of manure." Horo pridefully answered, but Lawrence knew she was not telling the truth. It was just her usual act to not lose face in front of him.
"Well, if you don't want to go then I'll go…" Lawrence was cut off when he saw that his important wolf deity had already walked over to the shrine door, leaving him behind. He quickly caught up with her, and walked beside her. She avoided his gaze, as they travel down the dirt trail towards the village.
As they approached the village, Horo stopped.
"Say, why are you following me? Should you not be on your way to the next village, "so called traveler"?" She asked suspiciously.
Lawrence places his hand around the back of the head, and glanced sideways. "Oh um… I was planning on how to pay you back for allowing me to stay in your shrine last night." He was surprised himself that he was able to think up a logical response so quickly of the top of his mind.
"Actually, I was the one that invited you to stay with me, so there was really no need for you to owe me any debt. However, I would be extremely happy if I get the have my own personal servant for today." Horo turned around and faced him with a sinister grin. Lawrence could only laugh slight heartedly, knowing that he couldn't deny her.
"I guessed that is settled then." Horo grinned happily and she happily walked towards the village.
They entered the village and the nearby farmers working on the fields saw them. They immediately came running towards them.
"Wise wolf Horo! Please help my family. My harvest has been going unwell lately, can you please help us. We may not survive through the winter at this rate." A village ran up towards Horo, got down on his knees and pleaded.
Horo tapped the man on the shoulder, signaling him to stand up. She smiled gracefully at him.
"Do not worry, I will look after your wheat field, Though, I might not ensure you a bountiful harvest, but it will at least be enough to keep your family fed through the winter." As soon as Horo finished returning the villager's plea, and other villager came running towards her.
"Great goddess Horo, the neighboring wolves are becoming more hostile and ferocious. I already lost some of my livestock to them. Can you please take care of them?" The second villager asked.
Horo nodded, and said she will take care of it. More people started to converge upon her, as more villagers approached Horo with pleas and questions. Soon a mob formed around her, creating a barrier then separated Lawrence and Horo.
'Wow, she sure is popular with the villagers." Lawrence watched from the back of the crowd. From his perspective, Horo fit exactly what a benevolent god would look like. She smiled at every villager that approached her, and answered their pleas ranging from killing locusts to blessing newborn babies. However, this image triggers something unpleasant in his mind.
"I always hated being treated as some kind of special existence. I only wanted to be treated normally. I only want a chance where I can act who I truly was, and not some ideal image imposed on me by people around me."
A distant memory popped in his mind, and somehow he could no longer stand the sight in front of him. He wanted to help her get away from this, and he realized that this might the reason why she found it uncomfortable walking around town. With people who kept asking her favors, who would be able to or want to bear all this burden. Also knowing that it was him who made her come, his heart sank.
"Wise Wolf Horo. I beg for your assistance. Hunting recently has netted a poor result, and I don't have enough pelts to pay for the taxes to the landlord. Please, with your power, you could surely somehow make the pelts more valuable." The man flipped over a thin cloak over the box, revealing a bundle of fox pelts. Horo could not answer him, knowing that there was nothing she could do for him.
"I can help you!" Lawrence interjected. Horo and the other villagers looked at the unfamiliar man standing at the outer ring of the crowd.
"Can you guys lend me a basket of fruit, apples would be perfect." The villagers eyed at the strange man with suspicious gaze.
"Do as he says!" Horo said, and the villagers immediately brought baskets of fruits and placed on the ground in front of Horo. Lawrence walked up towards the basket and picked up an apple, and tossed it to Horo.
"Eat it, and make sure you it on top of the fox pelts." Intrigued by what Lawrence had to demonstrate to her, she did as he told, and began munching on the apple over the pelts.
'"You too." Lawrence threw an apple at the owner the fox pelt. Unsure of what the unknown man was up to, but seeing that the wolf deity was obeying him, he obeyed him also.
After eating the entire basket of apples, the villager approached him.
"So how did this change anything? All it did was dirtied my pelts." His voice of stern, mixed with a combination of frustration and skepticism.
"You didn't notice anything chance." Lawrence said calmly, not being intimidated by the pelt owner presence at all. The man walked up to his box containing the pelts.
"No, nothing has changed!" He stated once again, but Lawrence business expression did not change.
"Well, why don't you smell it?" Lawrence coolly suggested.
The owner picked up a pelt and put it under his nose and took a whiff. A pleasant fruity aroma filled his nose.
Lawrence whispered into his ear so that no one them around could hear. "Now, when you hand in those pelts to the trader, ask him to take a whiff at it. Make up a story of how the pelts are taken from top quality vibrant foxes in the jungle. The fruity aroma will make him believe the fox pelts were of utmost quality, and you should be able to take it from there." Lawrence displayed his usual indiscernible business smile.
The pelt owner, finally catching on to Lawrence's plan, smiled happily, and tanked him. He quickly made his way down the path towards the village to trade his furs.
"That was a pretty neat trick you pulled there." Even though Lawrence whispered as quietly as he could the pelt owner, Horo's sharp ears heard everything.
"I learned it from an important friend of mine." Lawrence stated quietly to Horo's ears, staring straight at her red eyes.
"I see, that person must be very clever. I shall remember that trick for the future." Horo replied, and glanced sideways to avoid his stare.
"You certainly will." Lawrence thought to himself.
The two worked together like a perfect team. Answering villager's pleas and question one after another. When they had finished responding to all the villagers, it was already noon, and they were both exhausted. They returned to the outskirts of the village and to the tree where they first met in this village.
"Being a deity must a tough." Lawrence lied on his back against the tree.
"The amount requests to day were actually not a lot compared to most of other days." Horo scoffed
"Then, how do you find time for leisure, it would have taken you all day just to talk to the villagers, let alone solve their problems." Lawrence was quite amazed a Horo's resilience. Even though she didn't like this position, she would greet and answer each villagers request with a smile and generous voice.
"I will manage, I have gotten used to it already. However, I must say, you are lot smarter and sly than your foolish demeanor imposes on you." Horo snapped a piece of long prairie grass from the ground, tickled her hose with it, and played with it. Lawrence found that extremely adorable for some reason.
His thoughts were disturbed when two child-like figures came running towards from the village.
"Josephine! Samuel!" Horo brought them into a tight hug.
"Horo!" Both children replied eagerly.
"I brought some fruits and vegetable from the elder for you." Josephine emerald eyes look up at Horo, and then slowly turned to Lawrence.
'Ah, you're that fool from yesterday!" Josephine said to Lawrence, which hurt his pride a little bit; being called a fool by children.
Horo noticed the expression on his face, and snickered.
"Samuel, have you been behaving properly lately?" Horo patted the browned hair boy on the softy on the head. Like an owner petting his dog.
"Of course I have! I woke up early to help chop the firewood." Samuel spoke proudly, puffing his chest out.
"No, you did not! You completely overslept!" Josephine quickly retorted, pointing out Samuel's lie.
"Well, at least I was not the one that tripped over the stack of wood and caused a big mess." Samuel countered amazing fast. And the two siblings stuck out their tongue out against each another. Ignoring her brother, Josephine turned to Horo.
"Is this man going to stay with us, Horo?" Josephine asked both of them.
"Um…" Horo looked at Lawrence, unsure of what were his intentions of staying in this village.
"Horo never spends her day with other people in the village except for us two. Sometimes, I wonder if she is lonely without anyone to be with." Josephine said with a slight tone of sorrow and concern."
Horo slightly bonked Josephine on the head by her fist.
"Do not go thinking of such wild ideas of me." Horo scolded, but she smiled at her.
"Wah! I'm sorry." She covered the spot on the head where Horo just hit with her small hands.
'Serves you right! Horo is strong! She is the guardian of this village after all." Samuel proclaimed.
"But she is still like us. Don't you agree? She must have the same kind of feelings as us." Josephine answered in a sympathetic tone. Samuel looked at her.
"Nope, I don't agree." Samuel stated
"Argh! Why do you always disagree with everything I say?" Josephine pouted. Raising of her fist in front her, she pounced on top Samuel.
Samuel reacted quickly, and instantly flipped the Josephine, so that he was on top of her. The two children rolled around in the grass, trying to gain the advantage of the other. Eventually, the sounds of grunts and shuffling in the grass were replaced by laughter, as the two sibling played together on the grass.
Lawrence glanced at Horo face. Her eyes were watery as if she was about the cry. She was watched the two siblings closely, like a wolf eyeing his delicious prey, but knew that she would never be able to get it.
"You care for them deeply, don't you?" Lawrence asked solemnly, who always watching the siblings roll around on the grass.
"I do." she wiped her eyes with the selves of her shirt. She stood up, and turn towards him.
"Can you do me a favor, and watch over these two? I need to do something, and I… trust you. Think of it as repaying back the debt you owe me." Horo smiled
"Sure." Lawrence accepted he request.
'Make sure they return home before evening, servant." And with that last sly comment, she disappeared into the golden wheat fields.
The afternoon passed by without a disturbance. The two siblings tired themselves out after playing with each other, and took a nap besides Lawrence. Lawrence found it ironic that a child's heart will be able to understand Horo more fully than all the adults in this village. Maybe when we grow older, we will no longer be able to accept and understand people that are different from us.
Evening came, and Lawrence watched the siblings bid him farewell, and walked into the village.
With nowhere to go, he followed the dirt trail back to the shrine Horo resided, and rested there for the night. He opened the shrine door, and Horo was not back yet. He took his place on a corner near the door, and sat.
"This place is really too empty." he thought to himself, and he felt a lingering sense of loneliness here. He also wondered where did Horo go in the middle of the day, and she was taking a long time to come back. His worrying turned to exhaustion, and slowly fell into a dreamless sleep on the corner.
Lawrence awoke when he heard the door slide open. A slim figure slowly walked in, and he noticed that it was limping. The person walked further to the room, and the moonlight illuminated the figure. It was Horo, and she was injured.
Her clothes were completely shredded, and claw marks gash through her arms and legs. He instantly stood up. The sound of him standing up caught Horo's attention, and she immediately turned to face him.
"What are you still doing here…Have you not already repaid your debt?" She said nervously, as she took a step backwards away from him.
"Are you okay? His voice expression genuine concern for her well-being, and he approached her.
Horo slowly retreated away from him, the moonlight reflecting fear in her eyes. Her injured leg gave way to her weight and she fell backwards. Lawrence quickly dashed forward and caught her, pulling her into his tight embrace.
"Let go of me!" Horo resisted and squirmed under his tight embrace, which made her injury hurt more.
"I won't let get go, your hurt! Just look at you, you're a complete mess." Lawrence strong and compassionate voice startled her, and she allowed her to succumb to his warm embrace.
"What happened to you?" Lawrence asked. She released Horo from his hold, so she could talk more easily.
"The local wolves have grown rather hot-blooded and cocky. I tried to talk to them, but they would not listen. So, we got into a small fight." Horo replied shyly, her eyes not meeting his.
"Don't so something so reckless like that again. I have been worried about you." He scolded her.
She looked up at him; the moonlight sparkled on her radiant ruby eyes. He looked down at her, his eyes unwavering.
"Why are you so caring towards to me?" Horo asked.
Lawrence gently placed her head on his chest, where his heart was beating.
"It is because I love you, Horo." Lawrence shouted within his heart.
A.N: Sorry it took this long for me to update this story. Now why did it take so long.
Well firstly, this story about Horo's past was harder to write than I had orginially anticipated. The first problem I encountered was determining Horo's personality in the distant past. I want her to still mantain her wise and prideful charcteristics, but I also wanted to instill and bit of innocence into her charcter. This is because she hadn't had the same number of life expereicnes she had in the anime/novel, since this chapter takes place when she was still "young" for her species. Sometimes, I find she seems to go out of character in this backstory, and i tried very hard to maintain an acceptable balance.
The second problem is Lawrence. To be honest, I finished this entire backstory(which was suppose to be part 2 and the continuation on the last chapter) back around Christmas Eve, but Lawrence was only playing the role of a passive observer, and didn't actually interacted with Horo or any of the settings within the backstory. I review that chapter, and I didn't like it. I find it very lackluster and plain, and just didn't have the "oomph" I was expecting. So, i scrapped that idea, and made Lawrence have a more direct and interactive role within this chapter. And when i did that, it made the chapter exponentially harder to write. It added a lot of plot elements and ideas to the original plot, and expanded it way beyond my expectations. When i was approaching the 22 page and realized that I haven't even introduced the main antagonist in this backstroy yet, I knew that there will be no way this story would be completed within a single chapter.
Was I happy about this change? Hell yea I am. Sure it took a long time to write, but i feel like it was way better than the original and that I am giving the story the justice it deserves. So I hope you all enjoyed reading this chapter, and hope you stay for the final conclusion for this backstory. And as always please rate, review, and criticize! This is my first time writing a chapter like this, and I know there will lots of room for improvements.