~ Running with the Wolf ~
LYKOS
How long, Lykos wonders, has it been since he last connected with someone? More than a millennia, he's certain of it. That is not to say he's forgotten whom the connection was with… though some days, he wishes he didn't remember. There is much else that he has forgotten because of this cruel, unforgiving new life.
What he does remember, is where he was from... sort of. He remembers that it was a beautiful place, but something terrible had befallen it, something he has either forgotten or the memory is suppressed by his own mind. He knows that it was the wolves who had saved his life, changing him before he could die of his wounds. At least, that's what they keep telling him happened. He cannot find it within himself to be thankful, not after all he had lost.
He had tried to die, many, many times over, and he succeeded many times over. It was then that he realized what the true curse of this life is. It wasn't being changed into a wolf, or being forced to serve under a cold, heartless master. No, that was not it at all. The curse, as he has come to see it, was never being able to be free of it. There was no escape, no release of death. He was forced to be reborn and return, over and over again.
His time in the realm beneath the Underworld changed him further. The inhabitants of the Pit are cruel, unforgiving, and ravenous. Centuries of being forced to fight and kill had in turn, made him more savage, more… monstrous. It made him forget how to retake human form… and it made him forget the name that his own family had given him.
There was a time, during his first few years of this life, that he thought he could find happiness. He remembers her name, surprisingly since he cannot recall his own. But hers burns in his memory only other person, in this life, who accepted him for who he was, trusted, and cared for him. But she too, was taken from him. That was when Lykos realized there would be no joy in this life. No hope. No light. Nothing.
Until earlier today… that girl that has for some reason, insisted on befriending him. A hunter, no less. He recalls how she had told him her name. Saphira. For the first time in a very long time, Lykos doesn't feel so alone. He could see it in her eyes when she spared his life. He saw it again when she had come to help him, and again, when they finally, truly confided in each other today.
She is like him. Very much like him. A tormented creature, haunted by the past and a desire for a future.
Lykos heaves a sigh through his nose, shifting his head on his paws. The night air is frigid, but of little bother to him. The sounds of the nocturnal life of the forest is soothing. The owls in the trees, the song of crickets in the grass… the gentle lapping of the lake water against the shores. He feels at peace, something he has not felt and could never feel while with the Pack. He wonders if they would ever search for him, then quickly dismisses the idea. Lycaon and the rest of them do not care for each other.
At the same time, if they knew that he was in the company of the enemy, they would hunt him and Saphira, and kill them both. It's been less than one day since he finally decided to trust in her as a friend, yet, he finds himself caring for her safety. At least a little bit. He doesn't want her to be harmed for helping him. In fact, he doesn't want anyone else to be hurt anymore. He wants this war to end, something he knows will never happen until the Hunters of Artemis are wiped out for good.
He feels a presence nearby, something approaching, coming down the narrow pathway into the ravine. Startled, Lykos lifts his head and tenses, already preparing for and expecting the worst to come from that path… until he takes a whiff of the air, for he is downwind, and the scent not only surprises him, but alleviates his fears.
It's her.
His ears turn forwards as Saphira emerges from the path, her hood pulled up over her head to shadow her face from the moonlight, but even then he can see her face clearly in the low light. He tilts his head, wondering what she could be doing here in the middle of the night. He sniffs the air again and strains his hearing, but he senses nobody else with her. She came here alone… just to see him?
"Hey," she greets him. Her voice is soft, but a little hoarse, as if she had been crying before she came. Lykos rises from the grass and pads towards her, to his own surprise, wanting to comfort her somehow. Clearly, something had happened, and she needs someone. Since he's realized how much like him she is, he realizes that could be the very reason she's doing this at all. She feels just as alone as he does, and she needs someone she can be herself with.
"I um… couldn't sleep," Saphira says, stuffing her hands into the pockets of her jacket. "Is it okay if I just, be with you for a bit?"
Lykos is stunned. Even knowing their similarities and why she could be here, it still shocks him to hear somebody say those words to him, to ask just be with him. He finds himself nodding in reply, much to her apparent relief and gratitude. She looks towards his shoulder, then down towards his leg.
"Are you feeling any better?" she asks. He shifts his gaze to his injuries. He had been keeping his weight off his leg this entire time, but now that she's brought attention to it, he figures he may as well test it out.
Shifting his body to be properly centered on all four limbs, he winces and -embarrassingly enough- yelps at the sharp, stinging ache that fires through his leg.
Saphira frowns. "I see. I didn't bring anything with me, except for my weapons. I can come back in the daylight and take another look with the right supplies."
Lykos shakes his head to tell her not to bother. Now that she's gotten the silver out of him, the wounds will heal on their own. It simply will take a bit more time. Still, he is impatient with this. It was rare back in his time to be left injured in the mortal world, despite his many… conflicts. Most of the time, they had ended with him going right back down to that horrid place to reform. He hates being incapcitated like this. Saphira seems to sense his discomfort with the situation, based on her next suggestion.
"Would you like to run with me?"
He frowns at her and she awkwardly clears her throat.
"Just a quick run through the woods, you and I. It's a nice night… and the movement may help you," she says.
Taking a moment to contemplate this, Lykos is silent. A light layer of clouds are rolling across the night sky, forming a ring around the moon. With them comes the smell of rain. Saphira must be able to smell it too, but she doesn't seem to be concerned by that in the slightest. She's only focused on him. He finally gives his response in a nod. She smiles slightly and together, they head for the path that she had come down through, heading back up and into the forest. It's here that they pause, neither of them sure of how to proceed from here. His shoulder and leg still ache, but perhaps she's right. Maybe this will help.
Of course, his impatience gets the better of him as he tries to take off immediately, and instantly stumbles to fall face-first into the pine needle-covered ground with a yelp. He sits up, shaking his fur clean of the needles and feeling his pelt heat up with his frustration of now twice yelping like that in front of her. Yet, she still makes no fun of him, only coming to kneel by his side.
"Take it easy. Start slow," she says to him. Lykos glares at her. The faster he gets moving, it should be for the better, but his shoulder and leg now hurt more than before, almost to the point that he can barely flex the muscles. Saphira notices his obvious discomfort and sighs, seeming to try to think for a moment. Then, she looks him in the eyes and speaks.
"Close your eyes."
Raising a brow at her, he does not do as he's told. He wants her to explain first before he does anything.
Saphira sighs and straightens her posture. "Trust me. Close them. Close your eyes, and simply listen. Listen to the forest, to what's around us, and focus on that, not the pain."
Lykos exhales, exasperated, but in the end he decides to just go with it. Closing his eyes, he takes a deep breath, tuning in to the forest like he was doing earlier, while allowing Saphira's soothing voice to still reach him.
"Hear the owls. Hear the mice as they creep through the grass, and the squirrels that scurry about in the trees," she coos. "Hear the wind and the thunder in the distance."
At first, he wonders how she is even hearing any of that, but he quickly pushes that distracting thought out of his mind and focuses on her words. His ears flick and turn, aiming this way and that as he listens for the sounds she describes. He can hear them. With his wolf's hearing, he can not only hear them, but picture exactly what they are doing in his head while his eyes remain closed. An owl, fluffing its feathers while perched on a branch somewhere above him. The softest pitter-patter of the mouse's paws on the ground to his left, and the sniffing of squirrels as they forage for their hidden stashes.
"Keep your eyes closed, and follow me. Follow my voice. Focus on nothing but the sounds and me," Saphira murmurs. He can hear her rise and begin to step back from him, so he follows her, keeping his ears trained forward. They only flick away when he hears the rustling of the nocturnal creatures, but they take a backseat to the voice of the hunter before him. Lykos takes his first step on his uninjured leg with no difficulty, then takes the next on the injured one. The ache returns, but its dulled, somehow not interrupting his focus on Saphira.
"You're doing great," she whispers. "Keep going."
And go they do. One step after another, Lykos is moving forward. He adds the sound of her soft footfalls to what he's letting into his senses, and as she slightly picks up the pace, he does as well. Little by little, the ache is fading away, replaced by strength and newfound confidence, confidence that it will no longer hold him back. When he finally opens his eyes, Saphira is smiling at him with triumph, her eyes twinkling in the moonlight. She then turns while keeping her eyes on him, and begins to stride away at a quickened pace. No words are needed now to understand, no words needed, only feeling the silent connection between them.
He follows her.
First it's a trot, then a lope, then a bound, matching her stride for stride. As she moves faster, so does he, and by now the ache is completely gone. He can feel the muscles in his limbs working to keep him going, he can feel the cool air flooding his lungs and escaping him in misty breaths, and the breeze that works through his fur. Saphira is now gaining distance on him as she gracefully sprints through the woods.
"Come on!" she calls back to him, but never slowing down.
Lykos frowns at first, but then feels the exhilaration beginning to flow, the sense of freedom and spirit. He won't be outdone that easily. As they begin to run down a hill, he finally kicks it to his full speed, racing down the slope and building enough momentum to go rocketing from a boulder, soaring through the air while the sprinting hunter below looks over her shoulder, gasping when she sees him coming down to land beside her, but neither break their stride. They keep going, racing on into the night, slipping between the trees. Agile as the deer, swift as the puma… and tireless as the wolf, they run.
Their run takes them from the woods to a river, and they dash straight through, sending misty sprays into the air that catch the light of the moon to cast a silvery glow. Even though she's not a wolf, she keeps pace with him, never falling behind. They leap logs and rocks, dodge branches and dips, showing their grace and sync. Lykos hasn't felt so free in such a long time, an eternity even, and it only invigorates him even more.
Nothing gets them down. Nothing makes them want to stop. Not even when the clouds finally unleash their rains, sprinkling down on them, do they think to go back. Not even when the frigid winds and falling waters nips at their faces, do they think to turn around. They only pause when they hit a break in the forest, exposing themselves to the open plains. It's as if the universe had set this just for them, with the clouds forming a perfect ring around the moon to continue their sprinkling, but never blocking the illumination. Lightning flashes and thunder booms. They both turn their heads to the skies, welcoming the soft patter of droplets upon their faces, welcoming the breeze that sweeps over them, but only for a moment before they take off again. Saphira is smiling the brightest smile he's ever seen, and he feels just as happy as she looks. They race out onto the plains, cutting through the tall grass and startling a flock of sleeping birds that fly with them in their fright. They race past the elk that only look on as they dash by. They race all the way across the plains to enter the forest again on the other side.
Lykos paws hammer against the soft earth, his claws digging into the soil and letting it fly behind him. The frigid wind rushes over his fur, his paws thump softly and rapidly against the cold earth, and his heart begins to race faster and faster just to keep up with him. He has run all his life, but never before has it made him feel so exhilarated, so energized. Before, he had to run with the Pack, forever with its shadow cast over him. But now? There is no Pack surrounding him. There is no Hunt with Saphira. It's just them and nobody else right now.
Finally, they skid to a halt at the crest of a hilltop, overlooking the valley, their breaths heaving but they still feel just as alive as they did when they first began running. The world seems so open to Lykos now. He could go anywhere, do anything. He could keep running, and running, and running as far as his legs would carry him, as far as he could want with nothing to stop him from doing so! He could make a life for himself out here, in the wilderness. He could be free to roam the beautiful forests, the vast prairies, and the magnificent mountains...
Yet, he hesitates.
He has his freedom now. He has endured through his pain and realized that there is no longer anything to hold him back. But what about the one who made this possible to begin with?
Shifting his gaze to Saphira, he finds she is looking at him with a quizzical look. She had freed him from the hunters' trap, followed him so that she could tend to his wound, and even came out here alone, to be with him; a wolf, a creature who is supposed to be her mortal enemy. She did all this… for him.
Heaving a sigh through his nose, he makes his choice. He cannot bring himself to just run away and leave his new companion, no matter how much the world beyond calls to him. That doesn't mean that he cannot enjoy what he has now, at this moment. Lykos tips his head up to the night sky, beholding the incredible view of the millions of shining stars above. Still feeling his happiness, he decides he wants to let it, tell the world that he is no longer shackled. Closing his eyes, he takes a deep breath and lets it free in a howl, then another. He sings the eerie call of his kind to the stars, telling them he is free.
And nobody will ever take this from him again.
. . . . . . . .
They remained on their own for only another hour, enjoying the thrill of the night and the forest, until Saphira finally decided she should return before anybody noticed she was missing from her tent. At first, she thought they should go their separate ways from the ravine, but Lykos ignored her pleas and accompanied her back to her camp. At least, most of the way. Right now, they are sitting together on a hill that is overlooking the site of the camp. The light rain has long since stopped, once again returning the skies to clarity.
Lykos gazes down upon the camp, feeling a sense of wistfulness about them. He wonders if perhaps others would show him the same kindness that Saphira has. The thought brings with it, sadness, at the fact that this war and the cruel behavior of his kind means that his friendship with her can never be brought out of the shadows. It would spell terrible things for them both, be it brought on them by the Hunt or by the Pack.
"This war's been going on for too long," Saphira murmurs quietly, apparently thinking similar thoughts to him. "So many of my sisters, killed. There's hardly enough of us to keep going like this."
Lykos' ears fall back at those words. He's stayed out of the war best he could for the most part, but there were a few times now that he's been in the thick of it. Most recently, the raid of a few nights ago, when Saphira had shot him. Even despite that, he's forgiven her for it. She's more than made up for that arrow in his shoulder, and this is a war. He holds nothing against her for doing what any of them would have done… and what he or any of his brethren would have done. It's a sickening thought, but he's had no choice. He'd give anything to go back in time and change that, try to decide a different course… but there is no undoing what is done. They've both killed in this war, but they've also both forgiven each other.
"Have you… have you lost anybody you care about in this war? Any friends in the Pack?" Saphira asks.
He sighs and shakes his head. He's never had any friends since becoming what he is now. None of the other wolves accept him. He supposes perhaps that's a good thing. He's not sure what he might've become if he did have friends among them. Perhaps he would have become more loyal to the Pack, more loyal to a tyrant, more loyal to an army of ruthless killers.
Saphira seems to understand that this is what he means, rather than having friends who were yet to be killed.
"I don't know how we're going to come out of this," she sighs. "We have to be really careful. If we get caught… I don't even want to think about what could happen to us."
Lykos huffs in agreement.
"But whatever does happen, know that I'll stand by you," she adds. He looks at her, and sees the determination and resolve set in her expression. She means that. One look at her and he knows that she truly believes in what she's declaring. She will not abandon him.
And so, he will not abandon her either.
"Well, I should get down there. I'll come see you in the morning, okay?" she says as she gets up off the grass. Lykos nods, standing up as well. Saphira smiles at him, casting a small wave his way before she starts to head down the hill towards her camp. "Goodnight, Lykos."
Lykos throws another nod in reply, watching as she turns away and hurries off, leaving him behind. He keeps his gaze on her long enough to make sure she gets back to her camp, before he turns and pads alone into the forest, heading back for the ravine.
Goodnight, Saphira.
