Thank you for reading Fox Rain. Due to copyright agreements, I can only put up the parts that are already published in the webcomic, Fox Rain, so I apologize for the late updates. It would be lovely to see what you guys think about this story, and how I could improve my writing!
The Rotting Orchard was once a beautiful place, filled with mouth watering fruits beckoning those under its lush trees. Now, as the name implied, trees twisted and deformed into snarling, unnatural beings and an eerie fog suffocated any life around it. It was a perfect place for monsters to gather, howling into the silent moon. Many guards and travelers came here, in hopes of defeating the monsters and claiming a little part of their land back from the darkness, but it was never easy. Each one that fell, more came to take its place, to a point they had no choice but to send a lone elf to cover up the path leading to it.
Hulking figures roamed in this forsaken place, and their snarls and howls warned those unfortunate, that they were waiting, watching and hunting. Worgens had recently received guests from Darkshire, those who sought to end their terrible reign over the forest. Needless to say, they were no more. Fell under the cruel and powerful claws of the savages with a twisted grin. One was alive. The faint smell of hope mixed with fear filled the alpha's nose and made his mouth water. It wasn't hunger that made his ears prick up and eyes sharp, it was the sheer thrill of tearing him apart.
The worgen easily picked up the collapsed human, barely clinging onto life. The worgen's claw was raised to shred him, when another scent filled the air, making the other worgens look up in anticipation.
Their terrible gold eyes focused on the figure. It was a female elf. From the smell of fel energy around her, she was a blood elf. Strange: There was no trace of fear.
She stepped closer, her green eyes settling on the worgens looking at her. Lis looked at the human caught in the worgen's grip like a lifeless doll. From the smell of carnage around her, she could guess there were no other survivors.
She pointed at the human.
"Get your filthy paws off my potential research victim!" She shouted in a stern voice. "He's mine." She smiled wickedly, showing her perfect teeth.
In response, the worgens snarled at her, ready to tear her apart.
"Oh, I won't be playing with you." Lis put her delicate hands on her chest and smiled. "I hate fighting." She battered her eyelashes, pouting.
"But, Biryuk will be more than happy to."
From the shadows, a figure swiftly came to her side. He was covered in thick black fur as his cape, and his feral golden eyes shone in the darkness.
"Go." Lis swung her hand down, smiling.
The figure beside her disappeared.
He moved at an inhuman speed. It was faster than the worgens themselves. On his hands, he wore a sharp gauntlet, used to shred the Worgens into pieces. His face held no expression as he weaved through the Worgens, who did their best to keep up with his speed, but howled in pain as the figure sliced a good chunk out of them. Only his golden eyes shone as the Worgens fell one by one.
Lis was leaning against the twisted tree, watching. She was used to Biryuk fighting, but the speed and strength compared to the worgens was frightening. She conjured her notebook and started to take notes on their comparison. Maybe their mission was going to be a lot harder than she first anticipated. She looked at the lone surviving human on the ground. He didn't look like he was going to make it. She was no healer, and she couldn't risk the townspeople discovering her true purpose. She rolled her eyes. She knew Biryuk would growl her for thinking so callously. Maybe she should at least pretend to help him, and if he dies, there was no skin off her nose… Her eyes focused on his hand. Did he just move…?
Biryuk could sense their fear. The smell of sweat and blood, mingled with that sweet scent of fear. Realizing his feral nature, he frowned. It was hard not to embrace his other self as he desperately clung to the last of his humanity. He grabbed the head of the worgen easily with his hand and sliced his stomach with his other claws. Immediately, another lunged at him. Biryuk easily avoided the worgen's mad attempt at his face, and did away with him when he felt someone behind him.
That human.
The human's eyes were golden, his face distorted with hatred and rage. His face turned that of a wolf and it immediately lunged at Biryuk's back, and Biryuk was prepared for the pain, but all he felt was a rude shove.
He turned his head to see Lis. Specifically, her arm.
With her staff firmly in hand, she had blocked the half wolf, half man's jaws with her arm. His mouth was firmly lodged on her bent arms, blood soaking her tidy robe.
"Lis…!" Biryuk's voice shook, his eyes wide with shock, as her arm looked like it was about to be torn off.
"Stupid mutt…" She gritted her teeth, her face twisted in pain.
"Think you can touch Biryuk?" Her other hand conjured fire.
Before Lis could do anything, Biryuk impaled the human through the stomach. He grabbed the jaws that tightly clasped around Lis's thin arm and threw the man into the tree, causing the tree to fall with a deafening crack.
Lis slumped down on the ground, gripping her arm.
"Lis." Biryuk knelt down beside her, full of worry. He didn't know anything about healing others. He carefully touched her arm, peeling her blood soaked sleeve off. There was so much blood. He felt his emotions overwhelming him. He could feel his breath picking up speed. A firm hand grabbed his chin.
Lis held his chin with her other hand and forced him to look at her eyes.
"Biryuk."
He froze under that gaze.
"Don't forget what our goal is." She said slowly. "Focus. You know what we need to do now." She said, gritting her teeth to hold back the pain.
Her steady voice, her determined green eyes brought Biryuk back from the haze of panic. With a quick glance at her arm, he nodded. It angered him that he let Lis get hurt. He stood up slowly, turning around to the few left behind. Shadows curled from his shadows, swirling around him.
It angered him that Lis was pretending she was fine.
It angered him that she was hurt because of him.
He wanted to make sure they suffered, but getting Lis to a healer was the first thing. It had to be quick. His golden eyes became brighter. His teeth became sharper. The shadows around him grew larger and swirled ominously around him.
He would finish this quickly.
Lis grimaced. The pain was unbearable. But now was not the time to whine and be weak. She conjured her research kit and took a handful of vials. Blood splattered onto her robes and she briefly wondered if she could use her arm again. Not that she minded; but doing research would be awfully inconvenient without two hands. She rummaged behind her rucksack tied loosely around her waist and pulled out a long bandage. She could treat it later. She just needed it to stop the bleeding, incase she contaminated her research with her own blood. She ripped her sleeves away, wincing at the sudden rush of cold air, and carelessly tied the bandage down her arm, pouring the medicinal potion down her arm. Beads of sweat formed on her forehead as she kept her pain in check, and stood up and walked towards the man that turned into a worgen.
She felt annoyed that Biryuk was angry enough to kill the research subject she needed, but what annoyed her more was the fact he got angry. She knelt beside the crushed body and checked the body.
She did not deserve Biryuk's anger or concern.
"We need to get you to a healer." Was the first thing Biryuk said when he ran over to her.
Lis ignored him and scribbled on her notes her findings.
"Doesn't it hurt?" He sighed.
"It freaking hurts." She replied, not looking at him. She was too interested in her subject's eyes. It was golden, just like every other worgens, just like Biryuk.
"Let's just go. We can come back later." He knew how much Lis worked to finally find someone who turned into a worgen. That's why she pretended to be a sweet, innocent girl to snoop around the town, learning where the recent battle was, where the next patrol was, and when it was going to occur.
"You did a very shoddy job with your arm."
Lis glared at him. Biryuk raised his hands in the air, admitting defeat. He sat down beside her with a sigh.
She worked quickly, collecting samples and her face didn't change as she worked with a corpse, something that would make many turn green at the thought.
"There may be other survivors." Biryuk commented.
"Mmhm." Lis replied uninterested.
"We could be helping them."
Lis sighed. "Would you stop worrying about others? We have plenty to worry about ourselves. If they somehow survived, they would have already turned into Worgen, there's nothing we can do for them." She snapped but stopped when she saw his hurt look.
"But Lis." He smiled bitterly. "I am the same as them."