Chapter 11
Aeron was fell asleep a little after, exhausted from the day's travels, but Dark was still quite awake, quietly practicing her flute. She couldn't sleep out of excitement. A human! Not ever meeting one, that aspect overrode her excitement that there were survivors in a selfish desire. Maybe she could tell her about her parents. While Dark seized her flute playing to ponder the possibilities of learning more about her parents, she realized something was amiss. Out of her excitement, she didn't realize it. But the crickets have stopped chirping, and the air was filled with a cold and unholy silence. Dark stood up, and with her elf eyes made a quick sweep of the perimeter of the castle, unable to detect the source of the uneasiness. Unknown to her though, a creature was slowly crawling towards the castle. A powerful, deadly creature. Only when he was twenty yards away did Dark notice it. It was moving with a slightly limp, and its shoulders fell up and down in labored crawling. The clouds moved slowly from the moon, and the silver light of the full moon fell upon the creature. Dark gasped with dismay.
It was a werewolf, its feral features cast in relief upon its snarling face. Its fur was black, with streaks of silver running along its spine. Tatters of the clothes that it was wearing before he transformed were still hanging on by the very threads. But the interesting thing about it was that regardless of its unreadable imposing demeanor, the wolf was still quite small. This though made it in no way any more formidable. How could I be so stupid? It was a full moon; I should have put up more wards. Dark quickly made ready for battle, stringing her bow and unsheathing her small elven sword. She swiftly ran downstairs to alert Aeron. He was awake, garbed in similar battle wear and smiling grimly at Dark as he realized that she too noticed the intruder. Dark extinguished the fire to cold embers with a few select words. Aeron moved to inside of the door, motioning for Dark to follow in preparation for a sneak attack. They both knew that the werewolf was aware of their presence, but it didn't know where they were, allowing them the advantage.
Dark and Aeron both stiffened, weapons in hand when they heard amplified sniffing and a scratching at the door. The left door on Aeron's side opened a crack. They both stayed in the shadows, very still. Without notice, the door all of a sudden flew open, and the beast pounced into the room, haunches raised. Aeron jumped after it, swinging his sword with astonishing speed. But to his surprise, the creature jumped to the side just a swiftly, missing the blow. Dark fired a volley of arrows towards its flank, with only one finding its target. The werewolf fell to the ground with a very wolf-like yelp, licking its wound. Aeron stood over it, sword raised, ready to deliver the fatal blow.
Suddenly, a flash of light filled the room, blinding Dark and Aeron. Aeron fell backwards, caught off balance by the sudden light, and Dark fell to the ground with a yelp due to its intensity. The light faded, and Dark and Aeron slowly stood up with lights dancing before their eyes. When their eyes adjusted once again adjusted to the darkness, what lay in the beast's place was no longer a feral wolf being, but a boy. More specifically, a human-like, naked boy with an arrow stuck in his thigh.
"Dammit! Why the bloody hell did you have to go and shoot me?" he said through his teeth. Upon closer inspection, he appeared to be about Dark's age, with dark ear-length hair that put his pale skin in sharp contrast. He had chiseled features, with a sharp nose and wolfishly-pointed ears. Overall, he was rather handsome. With a few more colorful phrases, the boy pulled out the arrow with a silent grimace, much to Dark and Aeron's surprise.
"Well, why the hell did you come out of the woods in the middle of the night to disrupt our evening?" replied Dark. Aeron rolled his eyes. His sister could certainly be overbearing, if not foolhardy.
"I was looking for food, you highness," the boy replied, words dripping with sarcasm. "Zaros, all you elves are alike. You believe the whole flippin' world revolves around you. Everything and everyone has to cater to your every whim, and if it isn't, you magic it up and create a mess of things."
"Well, what would you do if a WEREWOLF was walking towards you in the middle of the night? Did you expect us to throw you a tea party with our heads on platters for dessert?" Dark said, confusion and fear subsiding into rage.
"I was shot at! Hello! I have a hole in my leg!"
"You miserable, mor-."
"HEY! Both of you shut it," said Aeron, finally wanting to stop the pointless bickering. He dug through his bags until he found a blanket, trousers, and a tunic. Tossing them to the boy, he said, "It was a misunderstanding, albeit a foolish one. Good sir," the boy rolling his eyes. "Let me apologize on behalf of me and my sister for needlessly attacking you. I am sorry for causing you unnecessary harm. Allow me the honor to heal that for you."
"Good sir, allow me the honor of declining your offer. I am a werewolf, and not only would magic not work on me, but I would prefer for fate and nature to take their course. I will though accept bandaging," the boy replied.
"That I can do," said Aeron with a smile. Digging again through his bags, he called to the boy,—who was occupied with a staring match with Dark—"So what may I call you?"
"My name is Cyrus. And yours?"
"I am called Aeron, and this is my sister Dark, who is usually much more polite," to which Dark replied to with a hiss.
Applying the bandage, Cyrus said, "So what might two elves have to do, hundreds of leagues from their home in a desolate wasteland? Certainly it's not for a midnight stroll."
Dark replied, "We are here to heal and to help, more than any disgusting looter like you would want to do."
"Still smarting about our little tussle? My, I was taught that the elves were much more forgiving. Let me then make the first gesture in an apology. I, Cyrus of Camelot, hereby host my apology to Dark the Elf, and forever extend my gratitude towards your hospitality."
"The apology is accepted out of politeness, though I will watch you," Dark said grudgingly.
"Thank you. You are after all carrying out your mission by helping me. And Aeron, thank you for the clothes. The elven weavers are the finest in the world, and no doubt I shall make sure I do not wear these, next cycle." After stowing their weapons, Aeron and Dark sat down around the coals of the fire. Restarting it with a few words, Dark had the fire roaring again. Aeron set a few strips of pawny meat on a spit, and threw a few handfuls of salt over them.
"We'll not devoid you of the dinner you did not have the opportunity to have. So tell us Cyrus, what brings you to Camelot Castle?" said Aeron.
"I am a traveler of the lands of Runescape, and it has been long since I have had a permanent home. I find what I can, and live off of it; though in my travels I search for literature, or any tales of history from before the incident. I was one of the lucky ones in my clan to have been taught to read. Being changed at a young age, it was all I was good for. That, and the chores that the human women did. No Dark, they weren't slaves," he said to her furious glare. "They were relatives or lovers of the older men in our clan. Anyways, all we have now of our history is merely oral, or those few tomes I find or are in the Varrock Library. People are too busy rebuilding everything to write anything down anyways. I fear my work may never be done," Cyrus said with a mournful sigh. Dark's respect suddenly increased for him. He was no beggar, nor looter. Here was a boy—a man even, that not only was of true character, but could help them.
"Cyrus, let me complete your apology with one of my own. I am sincerely sorry for my behavior tonight. You are no looter, nor beggar, nor creature that I have reason to fear. My head for all these years have been full of superstitious, false beliefs of werewolves, though in my short time with you I have known them all to be different now. Let me say again, I am sorry and I have dishonored myself. And let me also extend an invitation. We are going to Varrock to help the survivors, and as you surely know it has the biggest library in the world. We would be delighted to have your company with us as we travel," said Dark. Aeron listened with wide eyes, but made no objection.
"Dark, Aeron, thank you for the hospitality. I believe, if it's fine with both of you, that I shall accompany you to Varrock. I don't have much, but I'll bring what I do and I shall do my share of the work."
Aeron replied, "We would be honored. Having a scholar travel with us would be extremely interesting. Make sure you bring you manuscripts."
"That I shall, and hopefully they will be valuable additions to the library in Varrock," Cyrus said. "Well, I should be off. I shall collect my things, and meet you in the morning in the courtyard."
"We shall see you then. Take the meat before you go, though," said Aeron.
Grabbing the spit, Cyrus bowed, said goodnight, and then vanished back into the woods. There was a flash of bright light and then a wolf could be seen with a stick in its mouth, slightly limping. Dark and Aeron hung at the door of the castle, watching him take off, as a werewolf is always quite an interesting site. Saying silent goodbyes to each other, they each when back to their bed rolls. Dark fell asleep easily, dreaming of a wolf with silver in its fur.