Chapter 1
I miss having thumbs.
A somewhat weird thing to miss considering I didn't even have hands anymore, but not being able to hold something really sucks. Tearing chunks of meat from a carcass would surely be easier and more convenient with fingers and hands rather than teeth and jaws.
The scent of fresh blood and delicious meat rushes to my nose as I dive in to tear another chunk of meat from my prey's hind leg. Any guilt I might have felt at killing the poor thing is swiftly washed away by the lovely taste of its flesh as I swallow the thing slowly, savoring my first meal in days.
The forest is silent after my hunt, any bystanders having left as I chased the deer through the snow covered forest. The deers own herd had dispersed and left me to hunt their unluckiest member. The only sound anyone would hear is the sickening squelch of muscle being torn off of bone by my sharp teeth and my delighted consumption of the innocent creature.
Even with the snow covering the ground it's still somewhat warm, though I was probably still running hot from my chase. My thick coat of fur did not let me cool easily either, but that was kind of the point so won't complain about it. Especially as the nights prove to be not at all merciful.
Ah, that hit the spot nicely.
And still about half of the thing is left, that is cause for a celebration. Specifically in the form of stretching out on the soft snow for a lazy afternoon of doing absolutely nothing. Well aside from thinking that is.
I'm probably not making much sense right now, but I feel like my pointless rambling can be excused in this case. Because I think I might be a dog now. Or maybe a wolf, considering that I'm alone in a massive forest with little signs of civilization.
What I am sure of is that I was a dude. I had a mom and dad, a sister, a little baby cousin and just about my whole life ahead of me.
I also think that I died, but I also don't really remember it very well, or at all really. It's kind of weird actually, almost like it's at the tip of my tongue. Just out of reach for me to grasp onto but still frustratingly there. Like it's mocking me with it's existence.
Now that I think about it, that made little sense. Which is coincidentally the same amount of sense that me being a wolf-dog makes. Which is zero, nada, no sense whatsoever.
Oh god, have I been talking to myself in my own head this entire time? That can't be a good sign. I thought it would take more than a single week for loneliness to start eating away at my mental stability.
Although considering that I can't really communicate, and there is a notable lack of people around, it's probably better to talk to myself than the absolute silence I would have to resign myself to.
Yeah that doesn't sound fun at all.
At least it's not all terrible. A lot of this wolf stuff just comes down to instinct, which is apparently stored in the balls. Ha ha…
Or more likely in the wolf brain in my head. Unless this is a weird and fucked up science experiment, giving more credence to the balls theory. I don't know which is worse to be honest.
Honestly the experiment thing isn't that unlikely. I'm pretty sure that deer are supposed to be larger than wolves. So I either got a young and small one or I'm pretty fucking bug for a wolf. Standing normally I assume that I'd be about the same height as an adult stag, antlers not included.
Well whatever the case, you gotta play the hand that you're dealt in life. I'll just have to figure out what the actual fuck is going on and keep on going… Yeah, no problem at all…
The wind carried the scent of salt with it, right to my nose then. A handy feature and straight upgrade from when I was human.
I didn't think this forest was close to the sea at all, maybe the deer led me farther than I thought. Well I might as well go and take a look. It's been ages since I went to visit anywhere, even near the sea, and I kind of miss the sea breeze and the salty air.
I looked back to the half eaten deer that I spent a week full of effort and increasing panic trying to get…
Yeah, I'll get to it tomorrow. After I've had my fill. No use letting some scavenger take half the reward for all of my effort.
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The next morning came quickly, or what I took as morning. It was still probably around 4 or 5 o'clock, and the sun wasn't even out yet, but I was bored to hell just sitting around and guarding a carcass in an empty forest.
So after I gorged myself on my success (mmmm, meat) I made my way to what I hoped was the shoreline. Sadly it was not very close, and I had to trek quite a long while though the woods before the smell got stronger.
Hmm, there is also another smell around. Something lingering, something's territory maybe? As I peeked over a small hill I saw the first signs of humanity in days. A small dirt path, no wider than two feet placed together but unmistakably there. Then this is probably a regularly used path too. Maybe I'm in some kind of national park. Though none that are close to a coast come to mind. Well, this leaves me in a bit of a pickle. Do I go to the nice beach or do I follow the dirt track in hopes of civilization?
Hmm, I took a few whiffs of the air. Upwind doesn't seem to be anything, at least not close by. That leaves going left down the path or the shore.
Come on, what am I doing? The sand isn't going anywhere and I kind of miss seeing actual people. I'm probably not going to receive a warm welcome but taking a look can't hurt right?
I started my relatively slow walk downwind. Not directly on the path, the last thing I want is to be shot by a scared hunter or something. Still within a few dozen meters of the track, so I can keep an eye, ear and nose out for people.
Honestly it was nice, I liked going on walks when I still used to have only two feet and the woods made for a wonderful backdrop. Using the many roots and three knots as steps to crest over a hill and then rushing down full speed was surprisingly fun.
Suspiciously so in fact. I was most certainly not the running type while human. Could this be a side effect of the wolf body (or brain) that I'm using? That would kind of be really bad, do I even want to know what a horny wolf feels like…
Eww, would I be able to smell it? Fucking gross man.
Happy thoughts wolfboy, happy thoughts. Oh! I smell something delicious, and more importantly, familiar. Cooked meat, mmm. And that means civilization, yippee.
A little further ahead I could start to see more recent signs of human activity. Markings on trees, boot tracks, stumps that the woodcutters left, and even what I assume to be tire tracks. Though they look really weird, thin and deep. Whatever it was, it was heavy. And after a quick sniff I was even more confused. Why in the world does it smell like wood, who uses wooden wheels in this day and age.
I looked around again, the stumps looked roughly cut. Even the thinner and younger trees that could have easily been cut with a chainsaw were felled with an axe. At closer inspection of the snow I saw hoofprints. As my nose slid over the marks in the snow I knew that this could not be some prank on local authorities. Someone used actual horses to pull a cart along here.
I searched underneath the snow with my snout taking long whiffs along the way. No sawdust either. Maybe an Amish community?
I can't really see any other reason for using horses, carts and hand tools over the more convenient vehicles around.
But as I went further along and the scent of people and food grew stronger and the woods thinned out I was met with a far larger dweling than I expected.
Large, stone walls circled a city that stretched beyond my enhanced vision and into the afternoon mist. From my position atop the highest hill I could see the many houses packed within the city walls. Old timey houses, straight out of the middle ages greeted me over the walls. Smoke thundered out of their chimneys and filtered into the steel grey sky above, staving off the cold and keeping their homes nice and toasty. And I could see people milling about in the city Square, where some form of large statue was standing proudly. I can't make out what it actually depicts but when compared with the inhabitants, it's about three times their size at least. And I can't even see all of it! I'm sure that the distant fog is hiding a lot more buildings, and probably the docks if they use the sea that I can smell is incredibly close by.
Outside of the walls is almost the same, except way poorer. Dilapidated shacks, tents, firepits, muddy roads and all manner of makeshift shelter surrounds the walls. Almost like slums when compared to the stony paths within the city itself.
Where the fuck am I?! This isn't a fucking Amish community. This is larger than my goddamn hometown!
Am I delirious, or is this the actual fucking middle ages. What is a knight gonna come out of the bushes and slay me next?
And as if to taunt me, something did in fact come out of the bushes to kill.
An arrow flew out of the woods from downwind. Its whistle as it flew in the air was the only warning I received before it slammed right into my left shoulder. In my shell-shocked mind I couldn't really process what happened until a leather and fur clad man stepped out of the forest. Seven others and a pack of dogs followed suit, all with bows aimed squarely at me.
I didn't even think to try and beg in any way that they might understand, I booked it then and there. I sprinted back into the forest with all the speed that I could muster and did not look back. I heard a man's whistle and lots of shouting, I did not stop. Over fallen tree trunks and overturned roots pushed myself farther and farther away and then to the left, hoping the wind would not carry my bloody scent to their dogs anymore.
The steel arrowhead bit into my flesh and cut me up from the inside with every step that I made. Yet with death chasing me I swallowed the pain and kept going. In the back of my mind I noted that is was running towards the shoreline now, if nothing else I could probably wash of the blood and it would keep the dogs off my trail enough to get the fuck out of here. Even if the salt in the water would hurt like a bitch. I took a particularly nasty fall when my paw was caught in a stubborn tree root while going downhill. The tumbling I took brought a whole new wave of pain to my poor shoulder and I had to catch my breath for a second.
When that second turned into two and then ten I took a cautious sniff of the air to see if I was followed. Nothing. While I would like nothing more than to jump in joy at escaping certain death I didn't believe it. They had to still be hunting me right? More distance couldn't hurt.
So I continued on with my plan of washing the blood off, if nothing else to keep any bears off of my back until I healed. How I was supposed to do that with an arrow I couldn't pull out I didn't know. But that was a problem for the future and wiser me to deal with.
I continued on at a more sedate pace, trying not to agitate my wound any more than my mad dash of panic already did. It left me with enough time to calm down and think for a bit.
They probably wanted to scare me off, otherwise the other hunters would have shot their own arrows when they had the chance. I was a predator after all, and they couldn't have me attack their home and any livestock they kept. So I'm safe, I'm fine. Just have to deal with the arrow and the wound and I'm set. Still no ideas on that front. Well, I mean what can I actually do? I'll just pull it out with my teeth and hope for the best.
This plan did not leave me feeling confident in my survival at all but I chose to distract myself. Like how I also apparently traveled through time. That was supposed to be fiction! Fiction! Good god what the fuck is even going on anymore. I turn into a goddamn freakishly large dog, I almost get killed and I travel through time. Could this get even more insane.
Well, at least I made it to the beach like I originally planned. Though my mood is almost as salty as the water itself. I really don't wanna go in there right now. The night is gonna suck with no shelter and wet fur.
My hesitation rewards me at least, as I spot a smallish fishing boat being carried to shore by the waves. The thing looks rough. Torn sails, with algae clinging to the mast and probably on the deck too. A nasty storm probably. Very weird that I can't see any people on it though. Did they fall off and drown?
I get my answer as the boat makes landfall and I'm git with the scent of people. Multiple. Though by the size of the boat probably no more than three at most.
I still see no movement. Maybe they are dead? But I'd smell their shit for sure at this point. I should go and check, It'd really suck to have people's lives on my conscience, and maybe one would even pull the shitty arrow out of me.
I stalked closer to the boat, waiting for any sign of life from the people on it. Nothing. I put my forelegs on the edge of the thing and peer inside.
Two shivering, and soaking wet figures are lying on the wooden floor. A man and woman. Or rather, on closer inspection, a boy and a girl. They couldn't have been out of their teens yet. At least they seemed to be alive.
I pulled myself carefully onto the boat, unsuccessfully trying to keep my injury from flaring up again. I let out a grunt that has the teens start to move somewhere nearer to consciousness. And then they settle again.
Well we can't have that can we. I start licking away at the girls face and making the kind of high pitched sound that would leave a dog lover in tears.
The girls slowly opens her eyes and I try to keep my tongue and saliva out of her face and move onto her hands. Yes, I'm friendly, please don't pull a knife on me.
When she fully wakes up however my friendliness must have been offset by my huge size. She gasps and freezes in place. Terrified. Fucking great I sacred a traumatised little girl.
Well what's done is done, and at least she's still alive. I move on to the boy next, still feeling her horrified gaze on me. She must think that I'm going to eat them.
Would it be cannibalism if I did? I'm not really a human now am I. Or is cannibalism more about the human mind acknowledging devouring another human?
You know what less thinking and more licking. Come on boy, wake up. And while you're at it stop your girl from sobbing at me! This might just be worse than the arrow!
A gasp. And then the fluttering of eyes as they open to see the world again.
In stark contrast to the girl, the lad looks at me as he fully comes into consciousness and then keeps it up. No fear in his eyes or panic in his movements. Only the shivers from the cold water.
He then pulls off one of his leather gloves as cautiously places his fist in front of my face. I assume he did the fist in case I decide to take a bit of fingers as payment for waking him up. I am a merciful doggo though so I just take a sniff.
Smells of the salty sea, steel and wood.
I give his fist few links so he knows I won't eat him and move over so he sees the girl.
She seems far from comfortable in my presence but at least she isn't having a panic attack. She even manages to speak.
"We… we should be close to White Harbour now, Lord Stark." She choked out in a shaken tone.
Lord what now.