Legend:
Thought-o0o- Page break, obviously enough.
Warning(s): Some violence and cursing.
Thanks to Aki For reviewing. I hope others join u!
Chapter 4: That's Not A Wolf!
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"Maker's breath, father could have told me where this Clearing is!"
The Cousland muttered underneath his breath, trying to walk through the woods without disturbing its denizens. He had woken up an hour before dawn and had found that everything was packed for him the night before. His horse was nickering at him when he arrived at the stables and small saddlebags tucked neatly in the saddles. With his parents and sibling seeing him off, he had hoped to do this quickly and get it over with. However, the Maker had other plans for him and one of them was to make it very challenging for him to even get to the Clearing. The first couple of hours passed uneventfully and Hadrian started to think that maybe someone had told the animals ahead of time of his coming.
He was so immersed in his thoughts that he almost missed out on hearing a low snarl ahead. Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks and stooped even lower in the grass. He brought out the dagger his father gave him for his last year's birthday and realized that maybe he should have brought that sword with him instead of the 9-in blade. Up ahead was a large black bear and it appeared to be fighting with another creature, a smaller one. He crawled closer, as quietly as he could, and discovered that the creature fighting the bear was a wolf. But this wolf looked quite odd. It had a coat of shorthair instead of the usually longhaired mane that wolves had around this area. The body was too bulky, to big for it to be a wolf, even for a large one that he would occasionally see on hunting trips. On closer inspection, Hadrian found the coat to be matted in blood and severe claw marks dotted the animal's skin. The bear, to his discovery, was even worse off, bearing a deep gash in its side and it seemed to have a limp as it stumbled awkwardly to the side to dodge a lunge from its opponent. Normally, he would have tried to avoid the situation, but a voice inside him urged him on. The smaller creature looked like it needed help…Bears are a nuisance in this area and are too many…
The black bear let out a loud bellow and Hadrian saw one of the creature's legs fall into a deep pothole, thus trapping him in place and being in the way of the bear's charge. Quickly, he made up his mind and intervened by charging in there and piercing the bear's back from behind. The large creature roared in pain and it back kicked the sudden stranger. Hadrian deftly dodged the foot and used the momentum to slash the bear on the side, blood pooling out of the wound and bone shone through it. He almost felt sorry for the bear and he truly didn't want to kill it. Apparently, the bear disagreed and it shoved the third-party fighter to the side, its force pushing Hadrian into a thick trunk. Stars glimmered in front of him and he just barely had time to bring up dagger, the business end sticking towards the bear that lumbered towards him, its intent to kill him clear in its black eyes. Shards of agony lanced his torso and his eyes scrunched closed, knowing that his intervention in this stupid fight just cost his life.
When the final blow didn't come and with a heavy weight collapsing on him, he let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and saw that the bear landed on him, at least its head did. His torso was bloody and it decorated the dead animal's muzzle. Am I dead? Maybe the bear started eating me and I'm just having an outer-body experience…
After a few moments of silence, the black bear didn't budge and he attempted to move it, only to collapse back into the trunk with a low moan. The animal was too heavy and it was lying right on top of his bloody torso. The young man struggled to move again but found his arms too numb, too heavy to lift. Maker curse me…first thing I do is get myself injured in this rite…I wonder…if Fergus had a hard time like me… That was Hadrian's last thought before blackness swallowed him whole.
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Movement nearby was what finally woke Hadrian from his dreamless stupor and his eyes blearily cracked opened. Standing over him was that creature again, the one that was fighting the bear. It whined at him, pawing gently at his leg.
"I…I'm…trying to move…" Hadrian muttered, groaning as even talking hurt him. He clutched at the source of pain and found that the bear no long laid on top of him. Instead, its dead body was set to the side of him and part of its body was torn open, its organs glistening in the sunlight or at least, what's left of them. Like the bear, the creature's snout was also covered in blood and bits of flesh hung off the sharp teeth. This one must have been very hungry…hope it doesn't eat me…
The creature pawed at him again and then started to pace to and fro in front of him, its head constantly reaching up, sniffing the air for other predators that could be looming in the vicinity. From what Hadrian could observe and then remember with his fuzzy mind, he recalled that this creature was not a wolf or a dog. The coat was too coarse and its body seemed much too large to hold such a small head. Also, it was twice as big as a normal dog and the legs held more muscle than even a dog at its best peak would have. What was the name? He read it in a book somewhere. Yes, a Mabari.But what was a Mabari doing out in the woods? Where was its Master?
The Mabari's head turned to him but kept pacing, whining softly. Hadrian noticed that the sun had shifted to a low point in the sky, indicating that it was very late in the afternoon, almost reaching the evening hours. Curse it; I'm going to miss dinner! He slowly took a deep breath, not wanting to overdo his body and feel the pain. When the agony hadn't hit him yet, he attempted to rise up and stood shakily, his arm resting against the tree for support. The Mabari and the bear wavered, as did the trees that surrounded him. He shut his eyes to ward off the dizzy sensation. The forest stopped moving around him and his eyes peered open. The Mabari, this time, stood closer to him, its face nuzzling his leg. He hadn't realized how large the animal was until his hand brushed against the coat, its back and shoulders placed near mid-thigh.
"…yes…what do you want mutt?" Hadrian still had a quest to do and he was running out of time to do it.
How much time had he lost? Five hours? Six? When he entered the forests, the sun had barely peeked out of the horizon. Now, it was edging closer and closer to that same horizon it had left nine hours before. His family would be gathering around the fireplace now, waiting on a meal cooked by elven servants. His father would be sitting in his wooden chair, hand-made by one of the elves while his mother would sit in hers, knitting a piece of clothing in a leisurely manner. His brother, Fergus, would have probably just finished his training sessions with the Quartermaster, Stefanus and he may have showered (or not) before meeting up with the parents. Would they worry about him? His father mentioned that if he didn't come back in time, he would send out a search party. He really needed to get a move on.
He waited for the forest to come to a standstill before slowly stumbling through the aperture that he had stumbled upon before. His hand still clutched at his torso. The scratch marks weren't terribly deep, from what he could see. They stung fiercely though and it hurt worse than the ache in his ribs. The last time he felt this way was when Fergus was a little too rough in one of their sparring session and had unintentionally shoved his shield too hard into his chest. The result of that session was a set of cracked ribs, which had to be reset and then healed over the next few weeks. It was unfortunate that a mage was unavailable at that time and Hadrian at that time sorely wished that he himself were a mage so he could heal himself.
The Mabari followed closely beside him, still making those annoying whiney noises. However, the Cousland was intrinsically grateful that he wasn't alone in this forest, which seemed to get darker and darker as he progressed to his destination. Between bouts of delirium, he saw that the Mabari would sometimes leave him for a few minutes and then return, carrying some fresh kill in its huge mouth. Hadrian refused the 'gifts' from his new companion. The sun had drifted inexorably down and the whole forest, once blooming in sunshine, truly darkened as night beckoned. The animals themselves seemed to have quieted as they all settled for the night, at least the diurnal types. It was fortunate for the pair to not have any run-ins with other predators that prowled the woods, predators like the bear they had just fought and giant cats such as Polaes, the feline cousins to wolves.
Hadrian's legs started to feel like jelly and he stumbled a couple of times. The Mabari often caught him at times like this and he was now extremely grateful that he had such a companion. Hadrian finally saw something ahead, the moonlight now reflecting off of it. He and the Mabari walked closer to it and there was a relieved sigh coming from the Cousland. Finally…
He somehow managed to get to the body of water without falling fall flat on his face out of sheer exhaustion and pain. His hands scooped some water out of the pond and he hastily drank it, like a starving man. His Mabari friend, oddly enough, did not join him. It stared at him and then at something else, to his left. He very slowly turned, knowing that any sudden movements on his part would send jolts of pain through his body. There, sitting across from them, was another animal that Hadrian did not wish to see. He had enough of fighting off carnivores for today and he still had yet to find that flower, the sole purpose of this whole journey.
A feeling of lethargy struck him and he sat back down. His dagger was already brought out, although Hadrian didn't know how. His body was acting out of instinct it seems. The creature stood on its haunches and it started to walk towards him. It got closer and hazier as well, Hadrian observed tiredly. Then, its pace changed from that of a timely one to a sudden rush that had him panicking. He tried to run away but his body was too numb, too stubborn to move. Maker curse it, I'm really going to do die this time! His last thought before being overwhelmed by the abyss that had hovered on the edges of his consciousness was that this was a wolf and he could see through it. Am I seeing things?…
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Hadrian startled awake, only to find himself lying in a familiar bed. He took in the white stones with dazed confusion and there was a sense of heaviness on his arm. His eyes strayed towards the source of that heaviness and the Cousland youngster was very shocked to see a large head lying across his forearm. If he weren't so exhausted and groggy, the Cousland would have yanked his arm out of shock.
"Hey, you're awake!"
A familiar voice called out to him as if from a distance and he attempted to turn his head. It wasn't the person he was expecting to see.
"Nate? What? What are you doing here?" His voice sounded scratchy and hoarse; the named visitor brought up a cup of water to him and he slowly drank it, savoring the coolness and sweetness of the liquid.
"You don't remember?"
Hadrian's thoughts were jumbled together, too mixed in for him to recall what happened. The last thing he could remember was seeing that huge wolf rushing towards him.
"You collapsed outside the gates. The guards your father posted called for help and brought you in, along with this…"
Nate paused to look at the Mabari with wary eyes. Mabaris were well known for not making good pets. In fact, they make atrocious pets for they had a bad habit in destroying everything in sight, including expensive clothes and eating all the food that was not closely guarded. Additionally, unless the person was its direct master, the Mabaris take orders from no one, thus, making it hard to be disciplined. As if the Mabari knew it was being inspected, it opened its eyes and growled softly at the Howe, who shifted more to the left, away from the hound. If Hadrian wasn't so tired, he would have laughed at the infamous stoic Howe shying away from an animal. The Mabari and the Howe stared at each other until the Hound seemingly gave up, laying its head on the forearm again.
Howe, satisfied that the Mabari wouldn't make a move on him, cautiously turned to the convalescing Cousland. Nate had always liked the youngest Cousland and when he first arrived with his family to see the birthday boy, he was terribly dismayed to find a patient in bed, rather than a smiling Cousland. On the way to the Cousland Castle, he experienced a horrible sensation, as if someone had gutted him and then left him to die with his entrails hanging out. Apparently, that was happened to the other teenager. He didn't know the exact details, but from what he gathered from the Cousland Head, Bryce, he knew two things: that Hadrian had indeed found the rare flower, and he somehow stumbled upon a Mabari along the way. Bryce didn't exactly go into details on how Hadrian managed to get home, wounded as he was, and there was no clear explanation on how the even most severe wounds were healed. Perhaps he could ask Hadrian himself.
He was about to ask the young Cousland, but Hadrian's eyes were closed and the Howe decided that he could ask that question later. He brought up the blankets to the boy's chin and, ignoring another set of growls from the Mabari, left Hadrian to rest.
A/N: Don't be shy now! Please review! In fact, there's a vote going on. Since we all know that Fergus loses his family in that horrible night, who would be the perfect person paired with him? Leliana? Zevran? Maybe Riordan? He will make an earlier appearance in this story than in the actual game, maybe in Redcliffe, which will change things for our lovely Grey Wardens and their companions.