Chapter 20, War Games
(A.N. So sorry for the wait, I've recently become employed and have been rather busy and/or scatterbrained. Here is the latest chapter, warning for a good bit of gore, hope you guys enjoy! -C.)
The ride home had felt much quicker than the journey there. Saying goodbye had been tough for the both of them, but Aurelia was more than ready to get back to the den they shared together. Both still exhausted from their Alaskan adventure, they slept through the majority of the flight home. "Next time, we can visit my uncle in Texas. Nobody wants to kill me there." She had joked as they arrived in Tokyo. "You sure about that? Seems we can't go anywhere without someone tryin to snatch you up." Kouga had commented in return. Ready to collapse on their bed of furs, Aurelia wasted no time in getting back to the shrine and down the well. Feeling jetlagged, Aurelia all but fell asleep on Kouga's back along the way, despite flying high above the treetops, and the snow that had begun to fall. Kouga, also in a rush to return home, was still wearing his modern clothes, not caring for the reaction he might get upon returning to the den.
As they came upon the edge of his mountainous territory, Kouga relished the familiar smells of home. The clean air, the scent of pine needles and wolf dander, and the stink of his beloved pack mates. Bounding up the mountainside to the entrance of the den, Kouga was greeted with a mixed sense of welcoming. Many were troubled and speaking in hushed whispers too faint to be heard, some had come up to greet them, and others paced about furiously. Kouga was worried and about to ask aloud until Ginta and Hakkaku pulled the pair aside to fill them in personally. "Well first, welcome back. Hope you had a fun trip." Ginta commented nervously. "Hey sis, why do you smell different?" Hakkaku blurted awkwardly, his nose twitching like crazy. Dropping her bags on the floor, Aurelia pulled off her winter coat, allowing her new tail to drop naturally behind her. "Okay, that wasn't there before, was it?…" Hakkaku commented, his head cocking sideways as he tried to process the new information.
"Alright, spit it out, what's up with everyone? What happened while we were gone?" Kouga barked at his second in commands. The pair looked to each other nervously, neither knowing how to breach the subject. "Well…" "You see…" they mumbled as they tried to find the words. "The humans from the nearby provinces have been on the move. They look like they're about to go to war…" Ginta muttered nervously. "And? What does that have to do with anything? They've been at war much as of the last few years." Kouga questioned flippantly. "The Uesugi and Takeda clans are on both sides of our lands…"Hakkaku added, "And they're moving in towards us." Ginta finished. "We thought maybe they were going to go for each other, and just cut across our lands to get to one another, but it appears as though they're going to try and see who can make claim to our lands first. They're both gathering on opposite sides with the intention of taking us out of the way so they can expand their own territories."
Aurelia sighed, flopping back onto the bed, "Just can't catch a break…" she muttered as she covered her face with her forearm. She wasn't allowing it to show, but she still felt as if her blood were on fire. Her insides felt as if they were on overdrive, still trying to process the raw power that her body had yet to embrace as its own. Her stomach was still in knots, her heart felt as if it was going to break through her ribcage, and her head felt as if it were going to explode, but she wouldn't let Kouga or any of the others see, they had enough to worry about anyhow, they didn't need her problems as well.
"I'll meet with the others in the main den, one of you go hunt granny down and have her give Aurelia a once over-" "I'm fine!" she interrupted. "No, you aren't. If you think I can't tell, then you must have very little faith in how in tune with you I am." He snapped. "You won't admit it but I know you're still in pain, I don't care if you just don't want me to worry; you and this pack are my priority."
She simply huffed and indignantly pouted off to the side.
"Now," he said, kissing her forehead, "If you don't mind, I have a pack to defend. I love you, you stubborn little shit." he joked, walking out towards the den entrance. "Love you too, asshole." She pouted once he was out of hearing range. She didn't want him concerned about her, the last thing she wanted was for him to get hurt because he was distracted worrying about her well-being. Nonetheless, he knew, so there was no avoiding it, and though she wished he didn't, she was glad he could tell. 'More observant than I give him credit for' she mused as the doorway fluttered open. "Alright, what's wrong this time?" Obaasan sourly joked.
"So what are we looking at?" Kouga questioned Yotogi. The sinewy leader of Kouga's scouts weighed a piece of parchment marked with their territorial borderlands and began collecting pebbles to place. "We've been monitoring their movement closely for the past three days, and have noted that the Takeda clans 300 some odd soldiers are closest, about a day's march from the den. The Uesugi clan has lagged behind here on the opposite side, but has more numbers and heavy artillery on their side. We can take the Takeda troops head on, and catch them at this chokepoint in the mountains, or wait for them to come to us. If we do, chances are we can take them down a bit more efficiently since we will have the upper hand of the cliffs, and our own numbers." He said calmly, placing the appropriate amount of pebbles in place.
"How long until Uesugi is on the move?" Kouga questioned, wary of the considerably larger pile of pebbles on that side of the map. "A few more days, it seems. They appear to be waiting on supplies for the troops, but we've made sure the caravans headed towards their camps didn't quite make it." Yotogi replied, chuckling as he pulled a juicy apple from his supply pouch, biting into it with a cheeky grin on his face. "They'll have to move a bit sooner once they realize their goods aren't coming in, but when they get here, they'll be too tired or hungry to fight for very long." He noted, wiping the sticky juice from his wiry goatee.
"So" he questioned, biting another chunk of apple, "What's the plan, boss?" Dropping flat on his bottom, Kouga crossed his arms and legs as he considered his options. "With Aurelia in her current condition, I don't want to be too far from the den, but I definitely don't want to engage them here. So, we'll set traps and a few of our best archers out in the forest for the ones that think they can sneak past. We'll engage the main force here near the valley, and have Bengosha and a few other fighters stay behind to guard the pregnant, the elderly, the infirm, and the children. Tomotsu and Ruka will split the ground forces and flank from either side, and you, Yotogi, will take whatever scouts you choose and pick them off from behind. Everyone good with that?" he questioned, looking to his chosen elite. "Yes sir" they answered in unison, jogging away to prepare for their respective tasks.
Eyeing the map, Kouga was scared half out of his skin when Aurelia silently approached from behind him, placing a delicate hand on his shoulder. "So where will I be?" she asked flatly, looking down at the hand drawn map and stones. "You'll be here, under Bengosha's guardianship. You're in no condition to be out in the field." He responded, the sternness of his statement softened by the undertones of concern.
"I'm not completely helpless, you know." Aurelia half-snapped back. "If you want me at the den, then fine, I'll stay here at the den, but I'm not going to hide away and do nothing." She said, the frustration welling up in her voice. "This is my home too, and I'm not going to just sit back while you run off and do everything alone. If you want me to stay and be part of this pack, you'll give me that much. I can agree with you on one thing; I'm not at one hundred percent, not yet, at least. But even though I may not be able to fight in the field, I can still help bar the door from anyone that happens to slip through the cracks." Kneeling behind him, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, and buried her face in the warmth of his neck. "I'll be okay. Just promise you'll make it back to me." She whispered, kissing the warm crook of his throat. "I promise. You just make sure to stay out of harm's way. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you." He murmured softly, leaning his head against her cold nose and cheeks.
It took him no time at all to change back into his usual attire of armor and pelts before he took off into the early evening forest with his party. Aurelia, however, decided to dust off her old Halloween armor, determined to at least look the part of the fierce warrior. Fastening the old adornments to her trusty recurve bow, she opted for an old, bright red scarf her grandmother had made her, rather than the tattered red cloak she'd made for her favorite cosplay. 'May not cover much, but its studier than what I was wearing' she thought to herself as she ran her hands over the various joints and buckles, ensuring herself that everything was secured in place. Walking out, she was met with an assortment of reactions from the other wolf demons, ranging from apprehensive glances to catcalls. Sure, her armor was a tad intimidating, and more than a little revealing, but there was no need to look at her like they were afraid of her. She was still the same girl they knew.
Stepping out into the main den, she checked in with Bengosha and Biruda, and proceeded to her post. She walked the narrow, winding path that led to the perch above the den where Kouga would typically be found lounging about and watching over the tribe. Seating herself nearly behind the waterfall, she remained silent and observed the surrounding woodlands, listening intently to everything around her. Now that she'd gone through that awful ritual and nearly lost her life, her senses had sharpened a thousand fold. The demon blood that coursed through her veins had been allowed to blossom, and the magic that had forced into her body only served to intensify what was there. It was overwhelming, the sights, the smells, the sounds, almost unbearable when she'd first woken up, but now, she had figured out her own way of focusing her senses to ease the strain. 'Well nana' she thought to herself as she pulled her scarf over her nose and mouth, 'you always told me to work hard and fight for what I wanted. Maybe I'll come out of this in one piece.' She thought, smiling meekly.
It started out simply enough, she'd hear several of the traps within the woods snapping shut, or whipping into the air, and the screams for help from the men caught in them. All too quickly, though, the screaming ceased, and the traps stopped releasing. 'They're figuring it out' she thought, clenching the bow in her hands. Then as expected, the outpouring of soldiers began. She remained on her perch as she was told to do, and picked them off as quickly as she could, laying arrow after arrow into the foreheads of the charging men. More had been sent their way than initially expected, and Bengosha and Biruda were being swarmed. Unable to get a clean shot, she haphazardly jumped the 20 feet to the stone platform below. The humans had figured out how to slow Bengosha, and were holding on and dangling from every limb, while others tried to stab him through the openings. Biruda was only faring slightly better, being smaller, and more maneuverable.
Once Aurelia began to fire into the crowd, the loosely spread rabble began darting her way. Quickly swapping weapons, she pulled the oversized hunting knife from her quivers side pouch, and defended herself. If not for the sheer number of people overwhelming her, she might have made it out fine, but they'd closed in and smothered her, depriving her of room to move and maneuver herself. She'd taken out maybe eight of the twelve to thirteen people surrounding her, but before she knew it, someone had put a spear through her shoulder. Before she could fully process what was happening to her, she'd lost control of her motor functions, her body moving of its own accord in a frenzy of self-preservation.
Aurelia looked on in horror as she watched herself tear the remaining men apart, and felt her mouth twisting into a grin, laughing sinisterly without her willing it. She felt as if her eyes were bleeding, and as much as she wanted to, she could not will her body to stop until it was too late. "I'm so sorry, I can't make it stop!" she screamed in her mind, followed by several exclamations of "Oh god" and "God help me" as she ripped the unfortunate men limb from limb, disemboweling them and dragging out their suffering before finally granting them reprieve from their torment.
As the final man in her small crowd fell, she menacingly sauntered towards Bengosha and Biruda, her head lolling about her shoulders as she giggled, eager to assist with exterminating the pests that remained. Grabbing the nearest human barnacle by the topknot, Aurelia wrenched back the man's neck, snapping it as his limp body released Bengosha's chest, eliciting terrified screams from his compatriots as they detached and turned their attention onto her. "Monster!" they screamed as they feebly tried to take her down. Making quick work of them now that they could move again freely, Bengosha and Biruda cautiously stayed out of Aurelia's way. They could tell she was lost to the blood, her sclera black as ink and irises a bloody red. They would let her settle on her own, knowing that if she were anything like them, once the bloodlust settled and the field calmed, she'd regain her senses and be herself once more. With any luck, she wouldn't remember it. Seeing what their alpha's chosen was capable of when pushed to the brink, they'd both decided they wanted no part of trying to stop her, and decided to let it run its brutal course.
As she cornered the last remaining soldier, she toyed with him, like a cat with a mouse, dropping the bloody body of the last man she'd put down (minus his head, which was in her hands, one hand tightly fisted in his hair, and the other gingerly resting on the open wound of his neck, holding his head upright) and sensually ran her tongue from the bleeding stump of his neck, up his cheek, over his eyeball, and to his eyebrow, leaving a red smear streaked in its path before making unbroken, menacing eye contact with her prey, who had sprained his ankle and fallen in his attempt to run. Stalking towards him, she casually tossed the bloody head aside, and knelt down, picking the man up by the throat, and stood, holding him just off the ground as she squeezed so tightly, the blood vessels in his eyes and nose burst, and his frantic squirming ceased forever.
Carelessly dropping the bloody ragdoll that had been begging for his life just seconds before, Aurelia slowly ambled back towards the den, her head dropped and shoulders sagging, before collapsing against Bengosha's chest. Bengosha passed the unconscious girl to Biruda, simply saying to him "Take her inside, I'll handle this." Before walking away to collect the corpses of the ill-fated soldiers littering the entrance of their den. Carrying Aurelia inside, Biruda couldn't help but wonder how Kouga would have reacted had he seen his mate lose control like that. He shuddered at the thought. Bringing her past the barricade, he walked her across the main den to the healer to be patched up before their alpha and his war party returned home.
Biruda sighed, knowing it wasn't going to be pleasant trying to explain to Kouga that Aurelia was injured. Again. Resigning himself to his fate, he left Aurelia in Obaasan's skillful care, and headed back outside to help his pack mate with the cleanup.