~ Against His Own Kind ~
LYKOS
"I think we should start heading back," Saphira says, standing up and shouldering her pack and bow.
Lykos licks the deer's blood from his chops and rises, shaking the pine needles from his pelt. He catches Saphira's gaze for a moment and believes he sees a glint of sadness in her eyes. When she notices him looking at her oddly, she quickly wipes away her frown and smiles half-heartedly at him. Maybe he shouldn't be feeling it, but a twinge of guilt snakes its way into his heart. It's not that he doesn't want to help her and stop this war, but if he reveals the location of the Pack, she and her sisters might go there… and get slaughtered. He knows full well that the full strength of the Hunters of Artemis, is no match for the Pack.
It's been a few days since he's last seen his kin, but he does know that their numbers are still at least over two hundred wolves strong, and that doesn't count the other beasts that have allied themselves with Lycaon… or the one that they all serve. An ancient enemy of the Hunt, thought to have been killed in the war with Gaea. Well, he was killed, but somehow brought back to life by some means that he refused to share.
In any case, Lykos cannot allow Saphira to go to that place. She spared his life and nursed him back to health, and he will not repay her kindness by letting her march to her death. Even if she doesn't understand his motives, he won't reveal the place where the Pack is lurking.
But he does hate to see her so crestfallen. Such a change from the happiness she had greeted him with earlier. With a deep huff, he considers his next move. He really doesn't know how he feels still about being touched, but… what the hell? They've already crossed this road.
Dipping his head low, Lykos moves in stride closer to her side and brushes his head against Saphira's hand. A soft gasp escapes her lips as she glances down at him with stunned, confused eyes. He emits a soft grunt and nudges her hand again. This time, she slowly lifts her hand to trail her fingertips over his head, gently caressing it. Lykos closes his eyes for a moment, unable to help the subtle rumble of pleasure that stirs within his chest.
"You're just full of surprises, aren't you?" Saphira murmurs, continuing to stroke his scalp.
Lykos reopens his eyes and gently bumps her waist with his muzzle. It's a barely a nudge on his part, but he's still somewhere around three or four times her strength, so the nudge sends her sideways a couple steps. However, she only chuckles and ruffles the fur on his head, and that's what he wanted to see again; her smile.
"I wish other wolves were like you," she giggles, falling back into stride with him.
Lykos huffs in agreement, but it's not as if he doesn't know why they do it. The flesh and blood of humans and demigods is savory, addictive, and for some, even vital. While he's never consumed it, he has tasted it before, always when he had no choice but to kill to defend himself. It's difficult to describe the experience. It does taste… good, in a way. Not that he likes it, but because it's more like a powerful drug. He knows its wrong, but his body, the animal part of him, craves it nonetheless. Only the remaining shreds of his humanity have kept him from giving in to it.
His deviance is not understood or appreciated by his kin, least of all by Lycaon. They've tried many methods of getting him to let go and be like them, even starving him for weeks and then offering nothing but the corpse of a mortal. After years of trying, they eventually gave up and settled for the fact that he would kill, but not eat. This confounded Lycaon the most, the alpha of the wolves always having been the one who most often demanded that Lykos eat mortal flesh. Why this was the case, Lykos never understood.
"So, Lykos. I've been thinking of an emergency plan for you," Saphira begins, stirring him from his thoughts. He frowns at her, confused but curious as to what she's talking about. "If there ever comes a time, gods forbid, that you be discovered by my sisters, I was thinking of a place you could go to be safe. You know that demigod camp that's on the northeastern coast?"
Alright. So, maybe she hit her head this morning, or something. Lykos narrows his eyes into a skeptical glare. It's also possible that she's just messing with him.
"Oh, don't give me that look. I'm being serious."
She definitely hit her head. Lykos rolls his eyes and returns his gaze to the path they walk.
'Lykos, I mean it. The demigods there have accepted monsters before. For gods' sake, the son of Poseidon himself has a giant pet hellhound that comes and goes as it pleases," Saphira says, her tone becoming stern, like a mother scolding her child. What she says about the camp accepting monsters does have his attention though… but what about Saphira? If her sisters discover him, surely they wouldn't just let her off the hook for their friendship.
"If something happens, I think your best bet would be to head there, but you would still need to be careful. You would have to show them that you're not a threat," she says.
Lykos bumps her waist with his shoulder and gestures at her with his muzzle, hoping she'll understand, and she does.
"Don't worry about me. The worst they would do to me is exiling me from the Hunt… I think," she replies. 'She thinks.' Amazing. That makes him feel so much better. "But they would most definitely try to kill you."
Lykos shakes his head. So, hunters would try to shoot him dead with silver arrows. What else is new? Saphira seems to sense his indifference and flicks his ear, drawing an annoyed growl from him.
"Lykos, promise me that you'll escape and go to the demigod camp if we're discovered. Promise me," she says, gazing down at him.
How can he make a promise that he knows he wouldn't keep? Abandon her to whatever fate that Artemis would set upon her, just for befriending him?
"Lykos?" Saphira presses him for a response.
Heaving a heavy sigh, Lykos glances up to her and emits a soft a chuff. She seems to accept this response with a smile and a nod. He feels a little guilty for this, as their level of understanding is great, but not perfect… that chuff could have meant anything.
"Thank you," she whispers, ruffling the fur of his scalp once more. He rumbles softly in reply, shaking his head.
That's when he catches wind of the one scent that he didn't want to smell at all within this twenty mile region.
Wolves.
The scent is fresh in the air, so they had to have passed through here recently. As in, 'this morning' kind of recent. Why? Are they tracking him? Why bother with trying to find him? The Pack doesn't look out for each other, not once, not ever. It's every wolf for himself, so why would they ever come looking for him?
Unless it's not him that they're tracking.
Lykos snaps his head to stare at Saphira in alarm. Of course. The attack on the patrol that she had told him about. Lycaon's wolves are still around, trying to find where the hunters are so they can find them and wipe them out!
Then a wolf's howl rings out, echoing throughout the woods around them. Lykos draws back his ears and feels his fur and hackles rising. Within a fraction of a second, Saphira has drawn her bow and nocked an arrow to the string with her wide, volcanic eyes darting about.
"Lykos?" she murmurs with a nervous edge in her voice.
Lykos doesn't respond to her, keeping his eyes trained on the woods and undergrowth. Narrowing his gaze, he scans the forest, searching for any sign of movement. Then he hears the voices in his head, that he hasn't heard since he first fled from the Pack, during the raid on their encampment.
"Well, well. If it isn't the runt."
The voice is gruff and hoarse, like growling. Then he realizes that it is growling. Lykos whirls around to see a large, black beast that resembles himself, however its pelt is all nightmare black and its eyes are blood-red. He folds his ears back out of habit upon seeing the much larger, more imposing wolf emerging out of the bushes, staring cold fire at him. He recognizes this one; one of his long-time tormentors from his earliest years with the Pack. A sadistic murderer called Kano.
"No greeting for us, runt?"
The second voice comes from the other flank, drawing both Lykos' and Saphira's attention. A second wolf, just as large as Kano with an ugly scar that runs down the side of his face. Lykos takes great pride in knowing that he is the one who gave him that scar, down in Tartarus; a lackey of Kano named Fovos. A deep, burning hatred for these two boils in his blood. They attacked him relentlessly, beat him, scarred him, and
Kano and Fovos both curl their lips back in snarls, their eyes burning into his icy yellow.
"What are you doing here, prancing about with her?" Kano growls, his eyes flicking to Saphira for a brief moment. "What's the matter, forget how to speak?"
Lykos snaps at him, warning him that it is not his business and to ensure that he keeps his distance, before he snaps his gaze towards Fovos to ensure he's staying put.
"Lykos?"
He glances back at Saphira who looks both frightened and confused. She can't hear the conversation going on between the three wolves, but she must know that they're communicating with each other somehow.
"Lykos? You let this hunter bitch name you, like you're her pet?" Kano sneers, but there is no humor in his tone. Only vile contempt. The insult to Saphira ignites a spark of fury within Lykos and he lets them know it with the deep, savage growl that rumbles in his throat. The pair sense his clear anger towards their insult of her.
"What do you care? She'll be dead in seconds anyway," Fovos declares and lifts a paw to advance with his eyes on Saphira.
For centuries, Lykos has never stood against the Pack. Any time in the past when wolves had killed, be it demigod or mortal, he had never attempted to stop them. He had always been too afraid to try to stop them. Now, he does what he has never done before. He moves and places himself between Fovos and Saphira.
Fovos recoils and widens his eyes as if in shock. "What are you doing, runt?!"
"Stand aside and let us tear this whore apart! Then maybe, we'll let you disappear instead of killing you!" Kano roars.
Lykos brings his head up high and his ears forward, raising his tail into the air. He stares the two evil, vile beasts in the eyes and even without responding, he sends them a clear message:
Go to Tartarus.
Kano is the first to lunge, his jaws parting to reveal his gleaming, drooled-covered fangs and release his rancid breath. He's going straight for Saphira, but Lykos had been expecting it. In a single blur of movement, he whirls around and rushes to intercept Kano in a collision of fur, claws, and fangs. He feels a burning, searing pain as Kano's fangs stab deep into his shoulder and twist side-to-side in a violent thrashing motion and plunges his own fangs into the base of Kano's neck. He wrenches the mouthful of flesh as hard as he can to rip Kano's teeth out of his shoulder and slams him onto the cold earth with a sickening thud.
In an instant, he is on Kano and going straight for the throat, but his rival manages swing his paws up just in time to throw Lykos' head back and snap at his chest. Grappling with his own forelimbs, Lykos wrestles and struggles to break through Kano's defense, only to slammed off and onto his flank with one mighty swing from Kano's paw. Now, it's Lykos who's on his back, snarling and snapping up at the larger wolf in a violent struggle to regain his footing.
"No!" Saphira cries. Managing to keep Kano far enough at bay with his forelimbs, Lykos steals a glimpse of Saphira taking aim with her bow to shoot for Kano, only to be lunged at by Fovos from behind. Thankfully, her reflexes are quick and she manages to evade him with a spinning sidestep, swiftly swapping her aim to him and loosing her arrow. Fovos swerves and leaps over the shot, the arrow tip only just grazing his leg, but it's not enough to slow him down and he charges again with open jaws. Saphira shrieks, bringing up her bow between them just before he tackles her and throws her onto her back, drawing a gasp from her. Her bow is caught in his teeth that are mere inches over her face. Fovos growls and thrashes his head, trying to rip her bow from her grasp to leave her defenseless.
No! Lykos returns his focus to his own opponent and scrabbles with his hind-claws at Kano's belly, but it does little to deter him or drive him back. With a swift snap of his jaws, Lykos clamps down firm on Kano's left paw, refusing to let go even as the wolf bellows and thrashes to yank back his foot. The second Kano is pulling back far enough, Lykos brings up his hind-legs to plant them against Kano's chest and kicks out with all the force he can muster to throw him off to the side.
He scrambles to get back on all fours at the same time that Kano does and the two rear up to clash against each other once more. Lykos's rear paws slide over the soil as he finds himself getting pushed back by Kano's superior brute strength. He has to think fast! Dipping his head low, he slips right underneath his rival's upper body, placing himself perpendicular, directly beneath his belly and pivoting his entire body around to sweep through Kano's hind legs with his flank. Kano is thrown up and twisted through the air by the force of Lykos' sweep and flops onto the ground with a tumble.
Kano rolls back onto his feet and regards Lykos with surprise and bitter acknowledgment.
"New moves, runt?"
Lykos fixes him with a cold stare, directing all his anger and hatred toward him. He spent many, many years in the PIt, fighting nearly every monster that dwells within that cold, horrible place. He is not the same as he was in his first years of this life.
Kano dives in low, most likely trying to go for his throat, but Lykos raises up onto his rear legs, jumping to the side and bringing his claws to rake down over Kano's right eye as he surges past. He yelps and stumbles, pitching headfirst into the earth and flipping over with his momentum to crash on his back. He claws at the soil and whips his head about, pawing furiously at his clawed eye.
Lykos turns around in almost a panicked fury to find Saphira and spots her trapped on her back, desperately locking her arms and legs around Fovos' neck, with one hand going for a knife at her hip, but the thrashing wolf over her is making it nearly impossible to hold on with one arm and find a grip on her weapon. Lykos locks on Fovos, like laser-focus, and springs upon him with a single bound, tackling him off of Saphira. The force of his impact launches Fovos off his footing with Lykos' fangs piercing into the scruff of his neck. Driving his entire body behind his shove and maintaining his grip on Fovos' neck, Lykos drives him into the soil with so much force that he creates a trench with his head.
Fovos' claws furiously flail and scrabble at the ground and at Lykos' fur, but to no avail, only finding purchase when he's forcefully wrenched up by his scruff and swung headfirst into a tree. Lykos tosses the dazed wolf and rears up to slam both forepaws into Fovos' shoulder and knock back down into the ground, pinning him there and rearing his fangs to deliver the final killing bite. Before his fangs can reach the throat, he finds himself getting slammed by a powerful, heavy force that sends him rolling over the dirt.
Kano.
His old tormentor looms over him with blood pouring from his missing right eye and dives in with open jaws. Lykos is faster, twisting his head out of the way and slashing his teeth against Kano's skull, feeling his teeth scrape against bone. Kano recoils with a snarl of pain and leaps away, shaking his head. His blind side is turned towards Lykos, something he takes full advantage. Completely focused on the pulsing veins in his exposed neck, Lykos drives his fangs home, plunging them deep into the vessels and drawing spurts of blood that spray over the trees, ferns, and soil. There is a sickening sound of tearing flesh as Lykos pulls back with his entire body, stripping nearly all the meat from Kano's neck with him.
A choked, blood-drowned gasp escapes Kano as he struggles to make a proper sound. His remaining red orb widens with shock from both what just happened to him and from the rapid blood loss setting in. His healing factor will not save him from this, and he realizes it. Within a few seconds, he collapses on the ground, spasming violently for only a moment before his body goes motionless and dissolves into shadows.
Lykos' breath escapes him in deep rasps as he watches his long-time rival disappear with his essence returning to Tartarus. Distracted by this, he has no mind or thought to pay attention elsewhere and only hearing a soft rustle behind him. Turning his head, he has just enough time see to Fovos… taking a silver arrow through his head. The remaining wolf drops dead and melts into darkness. Only a few meters away is Saphira, kneeled with wide eyes and her empty bow aiming at where there had just been a wolf a moment ago.
Her breath is just as ragged as his, but aside from a few scrapes and bruises, she seems unharmed. He can scarcely believe what he just did. He turned on his brethren, his own kind, to protect what is supposed to be his most hated enemy. He has just crossed a line that there is no hope of ever going back over, not that he would given the chance. The instant Kano and Fovos reform in Tartarus, a lot of monsters, not just Lycaon, but all monster factions across the Earth, are going to know what he did. If he thought he had a target on his head before for being different, that is nothing compared to what may now lie ahead.
"Lykos, are you okay?!" Saphira rasps, scrambling towards him. He feels he should be the one asking her that, but he physically can't. He nods his head and shakes off his coat. The wound he took was Kano's bite to his shoulder, funny enough, the same shoulder that he had just finished healing.
"Oh, damn it," Saphira mutters when she leans in to examine him. "Right as you just finish healing."
Wow. She thought the same exact thing as him.
Saphira glances around, eyeing the spots where Kano and Fovos had melted. She glances back at him with concern evident in her wide gaze.
"D-did you know them?"
Lykos huffs and nods his head again. Suddenly, Saphira has her arms around his neck in a tight embrace and he freezes.
"You fought for me," she whispers. "Thank you."
He can feel the gratitude and appreciation in her voice and knows instantly that she's grateful to him for protecting her. He would have done it again in a heartbeat. The feeling of her embrace around him sends a shiver down his spine. Almost a millennia since he has felt such a gesture and he hasn't realized until now, just how much he had been craving it, longing for such a feeling again. He shuts his eyes and allows himself to bathe in this moment of peace until Saphira pulls away from him and regards him with a warm smile
"Come on. Let's get back to the ravine so I can take a look at that wound," she says, standing up straight. As she pads away to pick up her bow, Lykos gingerly flexes his shoulder, extending his leg to get a feel for just how badly he's wounded this time. It could be the adrenaline, but he doesn't feel much at the moment. What he does feel is a strange, repeated gust of air on his tail and he glances over his shoulder to see it waving about. Ugh. He can't believe he just- never-mind all that.
He shifts his eyes back to Saphira and she gestures for him to follow her.
"Let's go."
