(Here's the next update y'all. Hope this chapter is enjoyable.)
gemm1mt: Thanks.
Chapter 16: A Familiar Feeling
(Themyscira, a few days later)
Drew slept in a spare room the Queen had found, it wasn't very large. His wound and the travelling he did had him out for a few days. He apparently had been kept far from the Amazons, for he didn't sense them in the immediate area. The Queen still had reservations about the young man, despite the Lasso revealing the truth. He growled under his breath as he got off the bed. The mattress and pillow were ok, but he had a hard time resting. He had taken his gear off, now just robed in a black shirt and pants. As he walked out the door, no one was present in the hallway. As he walked through the hallway, he looked upon ancient pottery and architecture yet they are pristine in their quality. He eventually made his way outside, the dusk sky coated in its graying hue. A few guards were positioned at either side of the entrance to the hallway.
"Pardon me, where is your princess? I just wish to give my farewell before leaving." The young man asked.
"She is currently speaking with her mother, in private. You will have to wait…or you could leave." One of the guards replied.
Drew grumbled under his breath.
"Thanks…I guess." The young man grunted.
Drew heard the familiar sound of his stomach growling. The guards started to roll their eyes, until they heard another kind of growling. Their eyes stared at Drew's snarling face, his canine fangs bared. The guards slowly moved their weapons.
"Sorry…just…I was growling at myself. I don't mean to intrude…but...do you all have anything to eat around here?" Drew grunted.
"We have been feasting for the princess's return, but we do not have any left." One of the guards replied.
"Wonderful…seems I don't have much else choice. What kind of wild animals are there on this island?" Drew asked.
"Several, mostly game animals: wild boar and deer are the most abundant." The other guard answered.
"Thanks." Drew replied then began walking forward.
"You are to weak to stalk game, and you have no weapon." One of the guards grunted in confusion.
"I guess your princess didn't tell you much about me, that's ok. If I don't get back before that meeting is over with, tell Diana I went hunting." Drew replied.
He shifted into his wolf form. The guards were surprised to see the young man turn into a beast. The shapeshifter rushed into the forest.
(Woods of Themyscira, several minutes later)
Drew carefully made his way through the brush, on the trail of prey. He had caught the scent of a buck, but he wasn't sure. Before the League and team found him, he sometimes hunted in the wildernesses across the United States to survive. Deer, boar, bird, and fish were his usual prey. Since being an official vigilante, he hadn't hunted in a long time. He had gotten rusty, but a familiar feeling helped him get things back on track. Carefully moving through the brush, he found a large red deer buck. The animal is grazing on some grass about 10 or more yards away.
'Ok, let's do this.' Drew grunted in his mind.
The shapeshifter leapt from the brush towards the buck. The deer bolted when the predator was about five yards away. Drew pursued the buck for a few minutes, moving through the dense woods. The shapeshifter felt something overcome him that he hadn't felt in awhile, but he never had been able to understood what it was. Soon the buck found himself on a grassy cliff and thick woods behind him. As he turned, the green eyes of its hunters emerged from the shadows of the woods. The predator materialized from the shadows, tongue slightly rolled out, panting from the chase. Hungry and still slightly injured wasn't helping his stamina. The buck bleated slightly and grunted, lowering its antlers hesitantly. It recognized a predator as the shapeshifter taking the form of a large timber wolf qualified.
'To the end then. I respect that.' The shapeshifter thought, nodding his large head.
The deer charged forward yet something about its behavior, along with every other prey animal Drew had hunted made him curious about them. But that wasn't what concerned him. He snarled as he leapt forward, his jaws latching around the buck's neck.
(Amazonian area of Themyscira, a few minutes ago)
Diana and her mother had exited the council chambers of their civilization. The other Amazons moved to hear their counsel about the news delivered by the shapeshifter.
"Amazons! Fortify the island! Prepare the armaments! Armor! Weapons! Get the horses ready in case we need them!" Queen Hippolyta ordered, her voice ringing out like a lioness's roar.
"Mother! We should help Drew heal! He can help us!" Diana stated.
"No. We don't need men to defend our island. Besides, we cannot spend time on an injured boy. You haven't even told us much of what he can 'do'. Since he was attacked by one who bared Ares's mark, he won't be of much help." Queen Hippolyta replied.
"Mother, please he-wait…where is Drew?" Diana grunted.
"He left your highness…to go...hunting…" One of the guards that Drew had talked to earlier replied.
"Hunting?" Diana asked.
Before the guard or the other, who stood beside her, could saying anything a howl called out from the woods. They all turned instantly, looking towards the woods and the full moon in the sky above them.
(Woods of Themyscira, several minutes later)
A band of the Amazons on horseback rode through the forest, torches lighting their way.
"My queen, princess! Something broke the brush ahead! A trail leads to one of the cliffs of the island." One of the Amazons said.
They followed the trail till they came upon the cliff. They found a large, black wolf standing over a red buck, painted by the aura of the moon. His jaws are painted in the buck's blood. The predator's luminous green eyes fell upon the Amazons, who gasped at it haunting gaze.
"Great Hera. This is him?" Queen Hippolyta said, a bit aghast at the scene.
"Yes, he is a shapeshifter, mother. It seems he's feeling better. Mother, he can help." Diana replied.
"Very well." Queen Hippolyta sighed.
Diana nodded. The shapeshifter turned his head to the side in curiosity.
"…Shapeshifter, you are welcome to stay on our island if you help us in the battle to come." The queen said, her voice lingering with slight unsurety of the situation.
Drew nodded his head in understanding.
"We head back now, sisters. Your…friend will return when he wishes. He will need to train, for when Ares comes…he will bring Tartarus with him, daughter." Queen Hippolyta ordered.
The Amazons, except for Diana, rode back into the woods. She looked at the shapeshifter, who nodded in return. The Amazonian princess rode back into the forest. The shapeshifter lifted his head and let out another howl, the primal sound echoing through the forests and night.
To be continued…
(Oh, I changed Drew's wolf form size to make it a bit less crazy. Sorry for the lack of continuity…and if this chapter was a bit awkward, it'll have greater meaning later.)