It is dull. Gods, is it dull. According to the lead soldier, we are making good time, which is something I am glad for, but the lack of action is getting to me, 'Blood, kill.' The only relief for that is when camp is made and I spar with a few soldiers. It occurs to me that I never actually have used Yato yet, and it makes excellent practice to getting accustomed to the weight of the weapon and knowing how long my reach is. Once I find my rhythm, though, the soldiers might have just kneel in defeat before even starting. Except… except two of them, the lead soldier and another who is always by his side.
Despite their rather unremarkable appearance, the lead soldier easily counters my blows and can seemingly put me on the ground within a minute, while the other almost lazily dodges my attacks. Where did Xander find them at? These two couldn't be just the average soldier. Yet, when I try to pry for information, their scents come out truthful as they say they are just soldiers.
A few times I contemplate shifting, so I can get practice using my dragon form, but a lingering cloud of doubt has me fearing that the enchants will fail and then I will be left without an exquisite set of armor. 'Lithe, ugly . '
Even after I told Camilla that I feel better after our, 'encounter', the raw need just comes back even stronger. Some nights I find my legs trembling, my pulse shoots up, face burns red, or I just want to grab the nearest soldier and go at it.
Other nights, a different need just slams me, this time in my stomach. When this happens I just want to storm out of camp, find the nearest animal and just eat. The rations do me no justice, it is the exact opposite of the food in Hoshido, bland and colorless, sometimes even vile looking. Why is Nohr devoid of the light and prosperity that Hoshido has? It seems like they are just siphoning it from Nohr, or they have some large magical headquarters that attracts all of it, it bothers me.
We are closing in on a small forest when I have had it. "I'm going hunting, alone." I tell them and two soldiers attempt to follow, but a quick growl and a heated gaze cause them to shrink back to camp. I shift when I reach the forest line. The burn is gone and I suddenly feel free. 'Feast, kill . ' I spare a quick glance down and am relieved to not see a ruined set of armor near me, I will have to thank Leo later. I enter the forest and can see nearly every single detail, hear the slightest ruffle of leaves… and take notice that there are more than just wild animals stalking the woods, three humans hunting game, it seems. I choose to play dumb and focus on the hunt, but if they cross me I will kill them. There is a deer nearby, it is not much but any meat sounds good right now. I surprise myself at how quietly I have crept up to the beast. Just a few more steps and I will be in striking range.
"We got him now, son!" Damn it, the deer takes off at the gruff shout and my mood drops immediately. A thought crosses my mind and I decide that human will be on the list tonight. I nimbly gallop towards the sound, my large form inevitably causing limbs and twigs to snap. I come to a clearing where two men has a monster of a beast, his fur coat is white, backed into a cliff. I realize that these are the smell are the same as the two humans from earlier, did the third one leave?
The beast is massive, can I even consider him a beast? The thing stood on two legs, easily three times the size of his attackers, with arms the size of the average tree trunk. Why does he not just… they have Beast Killers. These are not some random people or the average hunter, professional poachers? Someone has to drop a hefty amount of gold for those weapons. The beast seems to take notice of me, a plea in his eyes. 'Murder, blood.'
I roar and the leader turns around immediately, while the 'son' still focuses on the beast, they are organized, too. I have them both to run, "What 'ave we here?" He asks as I enter the clearing, "A dragon? Ha! Your scales would make a hefty profit. Keep the beast in yer sights, son. I got this one." With a Beast Killer? I am a dragon! Is he so dull that he fails to realize that the weapon will be like a slap in the face rather than a threat? But then he drops it and my heart falls to the grass with it when he pulls out another weapon, he has a Wyrmslayer, too? Gods… Fear must have shown in my eyes because he laughs out loud. "Foolish animal, you face William the third and his son, William the first! Killing animals like you and yer friend 'ere is a family business." I steel myself, as long as I stay calm, I can do this.
William does not charge, instead he waits for me to move. He kicks his Beast Killer away several feet. I stalk him in a circle, I cannot approach the son wielding the Beast Killer without coming within his father's striking range, but I can line the two up. My body shook, eyes are locked on the Wyrmslayer. "Oh, wait! Can you… breathe fire?"Elise's question rings through my mind at the perfect time. Better off trying before even attempting to getting close. I will something in me, I feel a pressure building in my chest, I rear upwards before slamming the ground and releasing the pressure. It is… water? But my doubts about its power end as soon as they begin, it is highly pressurized water, traveling faster than any arrow I have seen.
William seems dumbfounded at the attack coming at him, he obviously has never seen such an attack before. William the First is behind him, eyes still locked on the beast, completely trusting of his father. "Move back!" The coward jumps while warning his son, but the First is not prepared for the command and only just notices the water stream as it drills straight through one side of the man to the other. There is a clear hole through his side and his left arm. He falls over as soon as the water stream leaves him.'Blood, maim.' The dragon in me roars for more. William the Third grabs his discarded Beast Killer and wields both, feigning the sort of bravado that gets people killed. It is probably family pride that keeps his feet locked.
The beast licks his lips, we approach the man, I am on the side wielding the Beast Killer and the beast on the side wielding the Wyrmslayer. We are close enough to where a quick charge can have us striking in a second. I opt to blast another jet of water, purposely missing to throw him off balance, the beast seems to understands my strategy and leaps in less than a second later. As I expect, the man clumsily dodges the water only to be slammed into the earth from a single swing of the beast's fist, a loud crack following the attack. If he is not dead then he is knocked out, but the beast makes sure he is dead, one more swing crushes his body, leaving an indent at the area around his heart, a large amount of blood splatters from him. The beast does not seem to be finished, another strike and another. The man is virtually flat as paper before he ceases and a… mournful howl follows?
"You did me a real favor, there." I look around before realizing the voice has came from the beast. "Uh, you are a Shifter, right?
I still cannot get myself to talk, so I just shift back. "Yea," I cough, "I just can't talk as a dragon."
He tilts his head, it would probably look cute if he isn't so menacing, "What? Did you just not transform for a decade or something?"
"No, I just learned that I could transform less than two weeks ago." I look away sheepishly.
"Interesting."
"So… what are you, exactly?" I feel… strange… warm?
He scoffs, "Were you sheltered, too? I'm a Wolfskin!" He shifts and I see a man with hair that is white on top and black on the way down, his chest is covered with white fur, leans muscles on full display, his pants are black as night and his feet, um paws rather, have black fur covering them. The nails on his hands and paws look like they can do serious damage on their own. A small 'x' scar adorns his left cheek. He smiles and shows off his razor-sharp canines. He has a bushy tail following the same fur color pattern.
"Yes, actually. I've seen the outside world for probably about a month now." I am at ease now, probably because he is no longer three times my size, I still feel rather warm, though.
He sucks in a breath and a frown forms, "Ouch."
"Are there more like you? Wolfskin, I mean."
He rolls his eyes, "Well, yea, there's a whole pack of us up the mountains." The smile returns.
"...mountains?" I glance around, before remembering that I am in a clearing in the forest and cannot see past trees.
"Oh… yea… I might have," his voice drops, "gotten a bit lost."
A bit lost? There is not a single mountain for miles if I remember the map correctly. "Then you don't know your way back?" He looks away. "Well, would you like for me to help you back…?" What am I saying? Father will be livid if I dally around for another mission. "It will take a while, I mean. King Garon wants something done and I'll have to… do that first."
He seems interested when I bring up the King, "Huh, the King is pretty damn lucky to have a Shifter for a fighter. Where are you headed?"
'You must finish this task alone . ' "The Ice Tribe village."
"I… don't know that place." He admits.
"South-east of here, it's a few days journey. You could… tag along. The common soldier doesn't make good… conversation." 'No retainers, no butlers, no maids . ' "Like I said, it'll probably be a few weeks before I can actually get to my promise about helping you back."
"A few weeks, huh?" He looks away as he considers it. "I suppose I could. Just make sure you keep that promise, all right?"
"I will!" I almost said for you. "We should probably get back to the camp, then. Before they send a search party after me."
"Yea." A pause, "I'm curious on how a Shifter got to work for the King. Did you happen to save his life or something?"
I am having a conversation with a total stranger and make a promise to get him back home, and his question has me realizing that I do not know his name, "No, I am part of the Nohrian Royal family, King Garon is my father. My name is Yasei. What's yours?"
"Keaton…" I giggle, "What's so funny about that?" He glares at me.
"No, not your name… it's just, you are the first person I held a conversation without knowing who you are." I calm down, "I like your name, Keaton."
"Right." He mumbles.
We walk in silence through the forest and it occurs to me that I have forgotten to eat anything, but I don't really care right now. Keaton seems to be exerting this… aura that soothes the dragon in me. I steal a glance at the Wolfskin. 'Claim, Mine . ' He turns to face me as if he hears my thoughts and we stop as I just stare at him. "I-uh…" My throat is suddenly dry and my breathing feels weaker.
"She's here, sir!" A soldier announces and the feeling that has overcome me just vanishes.
"Gods, Lady Yasei!" The lead soldier approaches and bows, "I heard your roar and I rounded up your men as quickly as I could, I should have at least sent a scout with you…"
"It's alright, I'm feeling better now." I have a genuine smile on my face to prove it. "We also have a new companion, this is Keaton."
His mouth forms a thin line, and I have a feeling he wants to call me a hypocrite for bringing someone, but he is a soldier and I am a Royal. He knows better than to question those higher than him so he forces a smile, "Welcome, Keaton. I'm afraid we don't have enough cots…"
A sort of anger flows within me, "Two soldiers tried to follow me, have them share a cot. Place the spare one near mine." I order him.
"Yes… of course, Lady Yasei." He nervously bows and leaves.
"There's nothing wrong with the grass, you know?" The Wolfskin asks.
"You're a guest, I can't have you living on the minimum. I insist." 'Claw, claim.'
"Well, thank you." He smiles and my body feels warm again. The moment from earlier returns. Keaton notices the change and he licks his lips, my legs feel weak. "Where is your cot, anyway?"
My mind caught up to what I have the soldier actually doing, "Oh, in my… tent." Great, I am going to run him off.
"Is that a normal thing for humans to do? If you don't want me in there…" He shifts around uncomfortably.
"I do! And yes, it's for the sake of keeping things compact."
He narrows his eyes and groans, "Ugh, I don't get it, then why do you have your own? Does being royal make you an Alpha? I would think being King would do that."
'Huh?' "...Alpha? No, it is just that royalty and the… common folk tend to be separated."
"Oh, so the royals are like… a pack of Alphas? How does that work?" He is genuinely confused and it is starting to get me confused.
"What is an Alpha?" Frustration starts to grip me.
"Leader of the pack." He answers like it's the most obvious thing in the world.
"King Garon would be the Alpha then, I guess, he gets his own… well, everything. Then there are his children who also get their own things."
"That's not how it…!" He sighs, "I give up. See this is why Wolfskin tend to live apart from humans, there are all of these… minor details that just serve to complicate things. We run on instinct and there is nothing wrong with the packs. Everyone pulls their own weight and if you can't you're out, simple as that."
"That does sound… pretty nice, actually." I agree. "If humans lived like that, then we could easily assist the poor."
He shakes his head and scoffs, "What? No, that is not the…" A pause, "Look, I don't want to get on your bad side, you are going to help me, after all. Could we just… do something else?" A scent enters into my senses and I remember the grub that is served. My insides feels like they want to come out. "That's… what the hell? Who left a carcass out?" He actually gags. "And they are eating that? Jeez, no wonder you guys are so messed up."
I choose to ignore that last sentence, "Well, I did originally go to the forest to hunt, but then that man scared off the deer I was going to kill."
"How about I get something for us, then?" He looks away, "You know, so they don't send a search party or anything."
"I would like that." He is treating me to dinner… do Wolfskin have the same courting process as humans? Probably not, they probably just skip all the 'dancing' around and just have… sex. I suddenly have the urge to jump on him and let him take me. 'Lust, Mine .'
"Sweet." It seems like he is trying very hard not to do something.
"You won't get lost, will you?" It is a light-hearted jab, but I worry regardless.
He takes the question seriously and suddenly he is in my space. My breath quickens as he brings his face closer, is he going to kiss me? He takes a deep breath and exhales, the air igniting my skin even through my armor. "Now I won't." His voice sounds husky, and I feel hot while my legs are threatening to give out. He leaves the space as quickly as he enters and walks off into the forest. All the warmth leaves and I am cold, but also full of this raw need. The smell of that food is not getting any better so I decide to wait by the edge of the camp. Well, the food always has a certain… musk to it, but tonight it seems especially apparent.
I overhear the soldiers exchanging stories and laughing at jokes. It does not bother me, I have Keaton and they don't. Does Keaton notice how warm he makes me? He has to, he has much more experience with his beast form, he can actually talk in it. I feel like a child learning how to run around when compared to him, would he teach me? Child… Another thought burns in my mind that I want to bear his… children, Gods help me. Minutes pass and I start to worry, did William the Second appear? What if he got distracted? 'Why am I worrying so much ? Why do I need him so badly?'
A familiar scent enters the air and I see him in his beast form, hauling a stag back, it is about a size or two up from the deer I have encountered. He shifts back after he lays his kill before me, I see no visible bite marks or rips, he probably just has snapped its neck. "He was actually pretty fast." He comments. Then he quickly takes the first bite while blood accompanies it and drips down his mouth, gods the red liquid makes him almost irresistible. He then pushes the stag to me, as if I am not allowed to take the first bite, "Uh, dig in?" He says after he swallows the chunk of meat. He smiles and shows off his very sharp and blood-stained teeth.
"It's my first time." My humanity is hitting me hard, I am not supposed to eat meat raw, but dragons do. "It's a bit, overwhelming." I want to eat it, but I also do not want to eat it.
"All I can say is just don't think about it. Wolfskin don't have that problem." Of course they don't, the way the blood just drips from his furred chin, before carelessly ripping off and swallowing another piece. "If your dragon form is anything like my beast form, you'll find it much more appealing than that… bile they are eating."
"Fur and all?"
"Well, the fur takes time to get used to… here." He reaches slightly under the spot he has bit off and rips off a layer of skin along with the fur. "There, no fur to worry about there."
'Don't think about it . ' "Here goes." My pupils narrow and I reach in head first like Keaton has done. The moment I bite I have a doubt, can my teeth even rip it out? As if responding to my thoughts, I knew my teeth have sharpened themselves, the same way I know when my pupils narrow. A chunk of muscle comes out with ease. It is a smaller bite than what the Wolfskin has taken and I manage to down it rather quickly without gagging.
"Well?" He smiles.
I am too busy processing the fact of what I have just done to answer right then. Suddenly, I find I do not care. 'More . ' I smack my lips a few times and lick up some of the surrounding blood. It is definitely better than the rations and stew. "Tasty." I finally say, "I think I need a few more bites before I can be certain, though."
He chuckles and a shiver runs through my body, "I had a feeling. Well, there's plenty left and it would be a waste to not finish it." I agree by taking another bite out, I can get used to this…
Heat fills my chest as I continue taking bites out. "That…" I lick some residual blood off around my mouth, "is the best thing I had recently." 'Alright, maybe except for that bowl of fruit back in Hoshido.' I glance over at him, he seems much more attractive right now. 'Need, claim.'
"You got that right!" He has a large pool of blood covering his mouth. "Hey, you okay?" A blush forms.
"Never been better." My breath comes out shaky, the entire area feels super-heated. ' Mine . '
He seems like he is trying to restrain himself, from what? "Yasei..." I stop. "You don't know what you're getting yourself into."
"Then tell me." Gods, I sound so needy.
"I-... it's too soon. You, uh, should probably wash the blood off. It will become difficult to remove if you leave if there too long." He hurries up and leaves towards the camp's water basin.
I feel cold again, "Did I do something wrong?" I ask no one. I look at the stag, the muscles and fat were ripped off, several organs were missing and a chunk of the skeleton was showing. Did we really eat that much of it? "Yea, I should wash." I got up and make my way to the basin. Keaton has already finished. I got a lot to learn.