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Adventures In Living With The Mythical |
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A military veteran is adopted by a werewolf and brought into his pack. Insanity ensues. About "Life With A Werewolf" Life with a werewolf is a dramatic blog. As such the characters in this blog are not real but maybe loosely based on real people. The situations represented are not real but maybe loosely based on real things that have happened in my life. There are a multitude of ways to view life, this is simply one of the ways I have chosen to view mine. Updated Every Friday unless I can't or don't want to. If this is your first time reading this...start here: https://www.writing.com/main/books/entry_id/1040400-Welcome-To-The-Pack The first year is available as a compilation in print and on Amazon Kindle: https://a.co/d/gBLLL7E The first year is currently available on audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/B0G3SMJGFN/?source_code=AUDFPWS0223189MWT-BK-ACX0-482... My book, "Dreamers of The Sea" is available now on Amazon: https://a.co/d/0uz7xa3 |
| It should have been Jason who saw Valyur off. It should have been Jason to say goodbye. Jason spent many evenings talking to Valyur in the front yard. Many times the two of them had shared so much together. Valyur and I never said two words to each other. He'd been there. I said hello once I think. He must have said hey back, but I didn't register it. Not the way Jason always did. But, instead, it was me. The guy who was furthest from him, the guy who had the least to say to him or do with him. It was me. I'll never understand why I got chosen to say goodbye to him instead of the person who deserved to. Instead of the person who was closest. But, I guess I'm not in charge of that sort of thing. After Valyur went to dust, I didn't know what else to do. I'd never witnessed a friend dying before. I knelt before him, demanding that he wait until Jason. He had to wait until Jason came home. In my mind, Jason was the one closest to Valyur. It should have been him to see Valyur off. But Valyur had said he was "stuck". And that he wasn't coming. Which meant he wasn't coming home. It was that thought that struck hardest when I was standing at the doorway, watching Auburn mourn the loss of her love. Then I was dialing, getting more frantic on the phone by the second. I don't remember who I talked to over there, but I remember talking to Elouise next. She came right over, her hair a mess, a shirt thrown on haphazardly. I'd been still standing outside next to the door, my phone in my hand. I guess I was waiting for Crash or Jason to come home. I kept muttering, wondering when they'd be there. A half prayer of desperation. There's a level of friendship reached with people. A level where you know their kitchen almost better than they do. Elouise had reached that point with Crash and us a long time ago. Heck, they're practically dating at this point. It didn't take long for her to get coffee brewing, and before I knew it we were sitting at the kitchen table. I stared down at the mug in my hand and watched the steam rise up. My mind went to an old Anime where souls drifted off the bodies of the dead and got sucked into adventures. Part of me wondered briefly if that was what Jason was going through right then. Elouise sat across from me, stirring creamer into her coffee. She looked up at me, watching me closely as she did. "Honey, you should have called me first. You know Crash's history with them." "Crash is probably already out of his head," I said. "Jason being dead and all..." She dropped the spoon she was using to stir her coffee and gaped at me for several seconds. "What?! No, he's not...I mean...what happened?!" I must have forgot to say that part. I had know idea what I told her over the phone. Elouise would later admit to me that all she had heard was crying gibberish when I called her, then she looked outside and saw me standing on the lawn. You can call it shock if you like. I'll call it broken. I got broken for a while. I shrugged at Elouise, still thinking of Jason, and held my cup tight. "I don't know. Valyur just said that Jason wasn't coming home. That he was stuck." She stood and paced the kitchen a bit. "What the hell does that mean, 'stuck'?" A hot tear rolled down my cheek and fell into the coffee. A balm for a lost soul? Oh Jason, please don't be lost! "I don't know. I'm scared to think..." Rougarou can hug very tight. The embrace was hard and fast. Unexpected, but needed. I admit to weeping a little. I felt her weep some, too. "Okay," she said, wiping her face. "That's enough of that. We're going to need every ounce of clarity we can muster if we're to get through whatever is coming." "Still wish you had called me, first. We could have used Mitch right now." She called him. Nothing. I tried calling him. Nothing. Both messages went straight to voice mail. A chill ran through us both. Two werewolves attacked here? Valyur was killed in the attack? Jason, who had went to work, is gone? Crash still out there somewhere trying to do a dangerous job that has only gotten worse? Everything was sliding down hill. It was about to get a boost, like grabbing a mushroom in Mario Kart. Rodriguez Wrangler arrived first. Roam, still looking like "Indiana Jones," as Jason had called him, with his hat, dark hair and piercing eyes jumped out first. Tanika was out of the vehicle immediately after, both coming up to the house. "You hear from Crash yet?" "I haven't," I said. Eleanor was right behind them, holding a laptop in one hand and typing on it with the other. "Jason is still alive. He's been taken down to the regional hospital. He has several bruises, lacerations. Some swelling of the brain." I looked at Eleanor. Her red hair was a blaze of orange in the porch light. I guess I was grimacing or something cause she almost dropped her laptop when she saw me. "What. The fuck. Happened." I half said, half growled. She stared for a moment, as if weighing what to tell me in her mind. Then she spoke. "Nobility set up an ambush at their office. Jason is the only survivor." Roam clapped me hard on the shoulder. "But he's still alive. Your friend is too stubborn to die, you know that." "The office? No one is dumb enough to attack the office! Why, that's an act of war, that's..." "That's the Nobility," Tanika said. "They're fighting a war now on all fronts. We must move quickly if we are to counteract them." "But, why," I asked. "Cause they'll tell you it's because they were chosen by God himself for this role of protector. But it's really for power, status and money. That's what this stems from. They feel superior to you because you're human and not a werewolf." Donte stepped through the door, all smiles of course. "Sophia and Killian are already on patrol. They're trying to calm some families down. I tell you, that troll couple down the street? They know how to talk, poor guys. Got terrorized for existing. It took almost an hour for me to convince them they don't have to move." They threatened Charles. They had.... Thundering feet echoed through the house. Kris and Shawn both at that time were racing downstairs. Panicked running. It was then that I realized I hadn't told either one of them what happened. The look of panic on their faces as me and Elouise tried to explain it to them hurt. But what hurt more was when Kris went into Jason's room and grabbed his back up pistol. It was loaded with silver, of course. "I'm going to kill every one of those mother fuckers," Kris said, tears streaming down his face. "I'm going to..." Shawn wrapped him up in a tight hug then. A hug that turned his threats into muffled cries. It was about then that Crash came through the door. "Mitch is missing. Two more of their werewolves are dead and the last two are missing." He turned to Roam. "What the fuck are you doing here?" "We came cause we were called. We can help." He looked directly at me then. I felt two feet tall from the glare he gave me. "Jason is alive." Everyone stopped and turned to him. "You're certain." "Yes. Bastards tried to kill him. They came close. But he's alive. Donte, take the pack up to the hospital. Then meet me by the ruined office. Roam, get your pack up to the office, have them meet me there. You both are going to meet me there as well." He turned to Eleanor. "You. Find me everything you can on The Nobilities actions in this county. Go back as far as you like. I'll give you my username and password for government sites to help. It should still be valid for a few hours." "Few hours," Tanika asked. "The Nobility has official control of this county as of 9 A.M. tomorrow morning," Crash said. "I've been fired. My pension revoked and they're working on charges to authorize an execution on me." He turned to Roam. "Your pack takes orders from me. Sophia included. I don't want any pissing matches." "Sophia will be a hard sell," Roam said. "I don't care. Make it work." Crash said. He turned to me and gave me a smile. It was all ears and teeth, that smile only a shifted werewolf can give you. "We're about to show these bastards how we do things here." |
| One moment, I was standing at the cork board. The map of the county on it had a colorful trail of thumbtacks outlining the line of attacks from The Nobility werewolves. The entire office had crowded around me. It had all been so simple, yet brilliant. The entire thing was a feint. It had to have been. All three groups pushing in, moving forward making as much noise as they possibly can to get us running towards something. Which meant we'd be running away from something else. The people in that room would know. They would help me figure everything out. It would be so simple. And then...Boom. I was surrounded by ghosts. The building, everything gone, swallowed in inky darkness. The cork board was on the ground, the desk had several holes in it, blood stains from those who had died and those about to die. A light as if from a dying spotlight illuminated the board and the desk. Those who had died hugged tight in a group hug. One that I was reluctantly pulled into. Messages were passed on to each other, messages of love and camaraderie that only the doomed and dead could posses. Then, they proceeded almost hand in hand towards a distant light. A distant light that I at that moment shunned. Paradise would have to wait. I had friends to help. The answer was on the ground, illuminated by the thinly sick white light of whatever was shining on it. It was right there, if only it could be remembered. I had to have that answer. Crash needed me. Kris, Zack, Shawn, they all needed me. Hell, the entire county and our area needed me, if I could only remember! Valyur hadn't arrived so much as he had appeared. He winked into existence standing on the desk, looking better than the day he arrived at the house to help with Kheid. He stared down at the map for a bit as if he was trying to see what I was looking at. Then he looked up at me. "Personally, I don't see the appeal." "You don't like the maps color," I asked. Valyur jumped down off the desk, and landed next to the cork board on the ground. "Not enough to throw eternity away over." Taking a step away from the cork board, I looked over at him. "I'm not dying, I'm going back. I got to figure this out. Crash will need me. He will need my help when I wake up. Everyone will." Valyur shrugged. Around him the scenery changed. Crash was standing over my body, almost inconsolable as the EMS tried to work on my body. Their arms pumping hard. The machine beeping loudly. "Saving your friends is a noble cause," Valyur said. "But what's the use of being a hero if you get yourself stuck. You're in between. If you don't choose, you could be stuck in between for a very long time." "I am choosing! I'm choosing my friends. They need this information. I can't just go back without this. People will die." "Ay, that they will, and they do. With or without you," Valyur said. "If you crossed over now, you'd understand and wouldn't mourn a simple thing like that. You'd see good people get rewarded." I snorted. "I don't deserve any of that. I've done bad things, Valyur." "Ey, that's putting it mildly." He crossed his arms in front of him. Crash, the ambulance, the EMS workers, it all drifted back as if fading into fog. Crumbling concrete walls emerged around them. Walls with holes blown through. Gunfire erupted. I witnessed myself knelt next to one soldier working as fast as he could while covered in blood. I was watching a shade of the past from a few feet away. A stranger that used to be me working as hard as he could to save a life. "Stay with me," he shouted. Well, I shouted. This other version of me, the younger version witnessing the last few moments of his friend. "Fuck you," I snarled and stepped through the fog. Valyur cursed, chasing after me. "I'm just trying to show you...damn it meatie, wait up." The image vanished. Darkness surrounded us. I stopped and glared down at him. I could still somehow see him as if it was noonday, though we walked through inky darkness. "You can't go that way." He looked up at me, fear in his eyes for a moment. "Why not," I snapped, spinning around on him. "I'm doomed either fucking way!" "You don't have to be Jason! You don't have to choose that!" His fear was palpable. He felt fear for me. But at that moment, none of it, not his fear, not his demonstration meant anything. His presence meant something far darker to me. "What does it even fucking matter? You're here which means my friends are already dead. Which means everything I'm doing is in vain. No purpose to any of this anymore." "Hey! I'll have you know that they were alive and well when I went to dust," Valyur snapped. "Well, thank you, Valyur. I thank you for your sacrifice." I looked around. "But that means they're going to be in trouble if I don't tell them this one thing. If only I could remember it." "My every ability on this side of the veil says they're okay for now, Jason." I didn't know what his every ability was. Either he was lying to get me to cross, or he was telling the truth to get me back to the land of the living. Either way, there was only one choice I could make. I had to get back. To give them that piece of information. To remember that, I needed my map. I stepped over to where it should have been, to where it and the desk was and... It was gone. Everything was gone. Panic began to rise up in my soul. I looked down, and began walking towards where I thought it was. It was right here. I was on the verge of it. I knew I was on the verge, it was here somewhere. "What are you looking for?" "My map! My map, I need my map. I need to figure out what they're going to do, I need to..." "It's gone, Jason." Valyur said. I looked down at the ground. "Then where?" "It got blown up. Most of the building was blown out. Everything shredded by silver thorns and explosives." "Silver thorns," I asked, looking at him. "Ay. Silver melted into a three pointed star. It sticks in and hard to get out. For everyone in your office, it's a long, painful death." I shivered thinking about it. "They didn't deserve that." It was my fault. My stupid fault again. My brain just worked too slow when others distracted me. When I was being pulled nine ways to Sunday. There should be some setting in the human brain that lets us block the world out and think for five freaking seconds. Perhaps the revelation would have come. Everyone would have been fine. Maybe I'd have figured out that the head in the basket was a trap. A trojan horse. Beware of assholes from The Nobility bearing 'gifts'. I began to pace. "If I had only been able to.." "STOP THAT!" I stopped and turned to Valyur. "The only one responsible is Alexandre. You hold no blame for this." "I should have seen it coming! I should have been able to prevent it. Instead I carried the fucking thing right in! It's my fault! I have to make this right! I can't leave yet, I must make up for this!" I had no idea I'd started shouting. Or gasping. Damn, my chest was hurting. My face. What was going on. I sat down next to Valyur. "Why couldn't have I seen this one? Why couldn't I..." "Be perfect?" Valyur asked. I looked down at my feet. My chest was hurting a lot now. I began to gasp, as if trying to get my breath. "You're not perfect, Jason. You're only one person. You wanted to do the noble thing. That bastard used your nobility against you." He patted me on the shoulder. I could hear distant voices. It sounded medical. One person talking about a pulse. Another talking about oxygen levels or something. It was all so strange. "It's his fault and he has to pay for it on this side. Not you." "I need to protect them," I gasped. Sensations were returning now. Numbness. Tingling. "Just be there for your friends, Jason. You do more than enough with that." Valyur touched me on the shoulder. My entire being felt pain. He was doing it. I could see in his eyes, he was sending me back. "Did you have to make it hurt," I groaned, looking up at him. "Hey, I'm a lawn gnome! I'm doing what I can. If you wanted a pain free transition to the world of the living, you should have called an angel!" I looked up at Valyur. "You did your family proud." The last thing I saw as the world started fading into white was another familiar lawn gnome who stepped into the picture. Only, he wasn't shaved this time. He asked Valyur "You ready to go, dad?" "Yes, let's leave the meaties in peace now..." Then the world faded into white. And a familiar large black muzzle was staring down at me. "Jason! Oh thank God," Thick, furry arms wrapped around me and almost squeezed the life out of me. I gasped, trying to force air into my lungs. I began smacking his arm repeatedly. "Oh, right," he muttered, releasing me from his grip. I laid back, gasping. "Trying to finish the job?" His ears folded back and he got a sheepish grin on his muzzle. "You know, in some cultures its considered a badge of honor to die in the arms of a werewolf." "Uh, huh. Some cultures, as portrayed by one of your cheesy rubber monster movies?" He laughed. "Yes. They have the right kind of cheese." I laughed too, though not coming near the relief he felt. The building fire was almost out. There was several bodies on the sidewalk in body bags. I was on a gurney of some kind. Two EMTs who were working on me, looked relieved and determined to get me to the hospital. They brought me to the doors of the ambulance. I looked at Crash who was standing beside the gurney, walking with it the entire way to the ambulance. He had the face of a canine who had just watched his human nearly die. "I had it figured out. The entire plan that Alexandre was doing. But, I can't remember any of it now." Crash snarled at the werewolf's name. "Don't worry about him. Worry about getting better." I looked back at the building fire as they got ready to load me in. A firefighter was dragging a hose to a fire in the back of the building. Another was carrying someone out. Someone I knew. But at least that person was alive, walking on two legs, with her arm over the fire fighter's shoulders. It felt like hell had visited Earth. Which was fitting that it started out with a good intention. I could see why they said the road to hell was paved with them. "It's the worst thing in the world to have your friends die for your mistake." He squeezed my shoulder. "No, it was his mistake. And I'll make damn sure he pays for it, don't worry." I nodded. "Your doggie breath would be more than enough for that." Crash laughed and stuck his tongue out at me. It was still strange to see him do that after all this time. His ears pinned back, his eyes half closed in the pleasure of the movement. His tongue halfway out his mouth. I, of course, returned the favor. But I couldn't help but wonder if this would be the last of it. The last time either of us would see the other smile. Each of us faking happiness for the sake of the other. If I can't ever remember that damn thing I'd forgotten, it may very well be. |
| Valyur didn't hear the battle between Crash and the other werewolves. The interlopers who seemed to want his territory, to want Crash himself and his clan dead. But he could sense it. When the explosion went off, it was far enough that they couldn't hear it at their property. But it certainly was felt. The entire energy of the house and the meaties inside it had turned. Energy just wasn't something that the meaties understood much. To them, it was so one dimensional. They could use the energy that flowed through their walls from the giant buildings and things they made far away. But they couldn't see or manipulate the energy around them. All living things contained it and in truth, was made up of it. Using it, communicating it, manipulating it was how a lawn gnome got his power. It was how they protected their chosen clan of meaties. It was how Valyur was going to redeem his own clan and repay the debt owed. The dark energy inside the home made Valyur take his eyes off the skies that evening as he pushed downward with his own energy, toward the flow, deep into the Earth. It usually thrummed, pulsing with its own power. But that night, the energy was different. Someone was lost there, locked out of the energy, stuck in a void between light and darkness. He pulled back from the power. There was something wrong. Something powerfully wrong. He looked upon his wife's face, gently touching her chin. Then the soft crack at the top of her head. The spot where the old meaties in her old home had done so much harm to her. Had been so wrong. "This may be the night, dearie. Something is a foot. The energies, they don't feel right." Auburn grabbed his hands, and pulled them down. She could hear the fear in his voice. Valyur had never been afraid of anything as long as she had known him. "Please, don't do anything crazy," Auburn whispered back. "I..." The tears in her eyes burned Valyur to his soul. "I will try to be careful dearie," Valyur said. "But I made a solemn vow to those folks. I'll fulfill it. To the death if need be. You know why." She nodded. "I know. Falkirk's debt." She tried to hide it, but a tear fell from her face. Neither gnome could see the golden eyes watching them from the tree tops. As if stalking them. He touched her chin gently. "I won't ask you to make any such sacrifices. If things begin to go badly, make for the woods like we planned." He didn't look at the crack in her head. She was still self-conscious of it, even though to him it made her more beautiful. It had been healing nicely, but it would always be there. Humans got scars, lawn gnomes got cracks. It was a visible reminder of how cruel humanity can be to creatures and things who don't fight back. He needed to see more of the wrongness in the energy. To read it clearly. There was nothing in the road. And the lawn itself seemed safe. The sky above them had been clear all night, no sign of the deadly dragons that was so vicious to lawn gnomes. Perhaps it was safe. Auburn turned to look into the woods as Val scanned the highways. Her eyes locked with the golden ones in the trees. Her breath caught in her throat. For a moment, she couldn't move as she stared at the creature. Was it a dragon? It was so high up, it had to be. But no stone dragon ever came that close, did they? "Valyur?" Valyur reached out into the energies of the Earth, energies that humans forgott were even there. As he did so, the golden eyes behind them looked skyward, and the creature in the trees jumped, flapping great wings once to gain quick altitude as quietly as possible. "Val?" "Yes," He looked towards Auburn who pointed nervously towards the woods. "There's eyes of...." there was nothing there. Only trees, leaves and darkness. And the distant sound of a slowly chattering brook. "What did you see," Valyur asked, as he stepped cautiously towards the tree line. He disconnected from the ancient deep power as he did. Auburn was no liar. If she said she saw something, then she saw it. His tiny feet moved swiftly and silently through the grass, stalking towards the tall trees. A grim determination in his eyes. He never saw Auburn turn away and looked upward, as if scanning for something. He never saw the glint in the air that almost twinkled like a star before it dove down in an attack. Valyur peered into the dark, pushing gently with energy, trying to get a sense of the forms out there. Trees. Leaves. And then fur and fangs and... Auburn's panicked scream made him stop. "Dragon!" "What?!" He turned towards her, eyes wide, mouth open. Not a dragon, not now! Two large furry forms exploded out of the woods and blew past Valyur as they sprinted impossibly fast towards the door. His command to his wife was given in a single glance. Get to the trees. Follow the plan. His hands glowed as he stuck them into the ground. They were within two paces of the back door. The creatures leaped into the air, claws out, fangs dripping with saliva as if in preparation to drip with blood. With a low grunt of effort, Valyur pushed energy into the Earth. Grabbing it, controlling it as best as he could. That energy slammed back into him powerfully, pulsing inside of his form, pushing outwards on it, threatening to crack him. Thick roots exploded out of the ground. The two wolves had come close enough to the door to leave scratch marks on it before the roots wrapped around them, and slammed them down hard onto the yard. The werewolves writhed and bit, surprised at the roots grabbing them. Their claws ripped into the thick limbs from the Earth, trying to drag them down. Valyur pushed harder than pulled, the energy crackling in his ears. He could feel the tendrils of power pulsing inside him, pushing outwards harder, causing his very body to swell in pain. A lawn gnome could only manipulate so much energy. The power twisted within him as he felt someone join their energy to his to help him control it. The form felt familiar. He could feel their hands on his shoulders. Human hands. It was the being trapped between light and dark, the one torn between worlds. He knew him. "Jason?" Valyur whispered. The roots almost faltered. Werewolves scrambled, almost getting out of the roots, claws digging into the ground, snarls and growls of effort and anger rising up. The lawn gnome shook his head and pulled as much power as he could. He gritted his teeth hard enough to crack them. His arms hurt. His legs hurt. He felt the hands on his shoulder as if they were actually there, giving them their own power. Their own control. "You'll not get through, meaties," he grunted. More roots exploded from the Earth, and shot towards the werewolves. While Valyur was fighting off the werewolves, Auburn was watching the dragon. It had dove over the lawn, forcing her to duck. Then the creature swooped upwards, in preparation for an attack. It seemed to smirk as it paused in mid air. Then it dived downward, claws out, mouth open in a snarl. To her, it looked like an eagle trying to snatch a fish out of a pound. Only that fish was her husband. "No," she moaned, trying to pull energy to give him some protection, but it was no use. The dragon was just too quick. She could only watch in horror as the dragon swooped down. Soon, there would be the sound of shattered ceramic. The horrible sound of a dragon gorging on gnome. And then she'd be alone again. Or she'd be next. She held her breath, pulling as much as fast as she could. A black and blue blur slammed into the gold and green blur, knocking it off course. The dragon slammed into the ground next to Valyur. The black and blue dragon stopped for a moment and winked at Auburn, then commenced the attack on the first dragon. Darting this way and that in the air. They occasionally belched fire and roared threats. It was the strangest thing a lawn gnome had ever seen. No lawn gnome she had ever known or heard of had ever been saved by a stone dragon. Valyur paid the dragon no attention. His energy was pouring into the attack, and most of that energy had pushed past hurt and traveled well into agony. He cried out in pain and rage. Cracks formed in his legs. The energy wanted to force it's way outward, to push his very atoms apart and throw them in a million directions. The only thing holding him together was the hands gripping his shoulders. He was giving it everything he had and the werewolves were still getting free. They slashed and clawed at the roots, ripping and gnawing at them. Green sap splattered over them like blood. For every root they had ripped apart a second and third appeared. But those roots that appeared were weaker. Thinner. "I said, no." Valyur gasped, pushing his arms further into the dirt. Lines of energy traced up his arms and legs like cracks. Paint cracked and peeled off of his ceramic body. His eyes glowed bluish white with power. "You'll. Not. Get. Through!" A thicker root sprouted. It was the thickest one that Valyur could conjure up. His vision swam as the root punched through a werewolf. With as much strength as he could muster, he forced the roots to sprout and grow into the creatures body. It growled at first, ears pinned, muzzle curled up in vicious pain, but soon it began a strange keening whining sound. Valyur was almost there. He had almost killed the first one. The second werewolf wrenched free from the roots and hobbled towards the lawn gnome. Blood trailing behind him from the holes the roots had punched through its torso, it's leg, one arm. "We must kill them," he whimpered. "We got to kill them. No survivors. No survivors." *** Auburn raced towards the trees. She had watched the first werewolf break free and didn't stick around to see the rest. She had to get to the creek. The plan was always for her to slip back into the trees, go to Crash's work and get help. To do that, she had to follow the creek into the larger city, and slip up towards his office. She was never to attack, never to risk her own neck. But Auburn always had a different plan. She had been forced to watch as those cruel humans cracked her and smashed her clan. I'll be damned if I stand by and watch that happen again. Taking the accumulated energy she stored, she fired a single bolt into the woods. Three forms made from mud, twigs and sticks rose from the ground with a thick, deep growl. She looked up in time to see the werewolf kick Valyur. A loud crack could be heard ringing through the rural neighborhood. The sound of someone breaking a most precious and valuable ceramic pot. A vase that was worth more than the miserable soul who had smashed it. The energy pouring forth from his body stopped all at once. Valyur, armless, legless, flew through the air and landed on a bed of leaves by the tree line in front of Auburn. Thick roots collapsed to the ground. The werewolf that had kicked Valyur panted, staring at the ground. "Never trust a dragon," it muttered. It wasn't limping anymore. It's dark fur was streaked with blood. The first werewolf was still pulling roots out of it's body, whimpering and whining with each one. "When you're ready," growled the other werewolf as the first one pulled the last of the root out of it's abdomen. "We're supposed to be quick." "Yeah," his associate grumbled, panting in pain. "But Generale Alexandre had said the lawn gnome would be taken care of." His muzzle wrinkled back in disgust. He hated killing humans. It always felt wrong. But orders were orders. In The Nobility, you didn't argue your orders, you just followed them. He turned towards the door, and prepared to kick it in. He paid no attention to what was rising up behind them. The first werewolf turned to see what was casting a shadow over their forms. He gave a single whine of terror, and grabbed his associate with one paw. His ears folded back, he pointed a single, shaky claw at the shape with the other. "What is it," the second grunted and turned to look up into the enraged eyes of Auburn. Behind them stood the three largest golems they had ever seen. Auburn stood on the shoulder of one, her eyes glowing with malice and power. The wall of mud collapsed upon them before either had a chance to move. Using the golems, she dragged them both towards the woods filling in the torn ground and forcing up grass growing back in their wake. No evidence of their fight would be seen. As they neared the creek, she pulled the two werewolves down into the dirt, burying them deep inside. A single loud, pained whine rose up from the crack in the Earth before it filled in. They would be seen no more. Auburn walked slowly out of the tree line as the human named Zack ran out the back door, holding a pistol. "Crash?!" He called out. "Crash! You okay?" There was nothing. No response from Crash, no growl or bark or whatever of triumph from something else. Zack walked around, as if scanning for threats. Then he saw her. She didn't care. The woods felt colder. The yard felt darker. She watched as he stalked around the yard, the weapon held downward in the manner that Jason and Crash had been teaching him. "Crash?" "Down here," Valyur groaned. Auburn knelt to him, and pulled his head into her lap. She touched and held him close. He was cracking from the inside. She could feel it. It was too much energy, just too much. Her eyes teared up as she held him close. Zack knelt down and gasped at his shape. "Val!" He laughed. "You should see the other guy, meatie." Dust trickled out of the holes that were his arms and legs. Paint had peeled off of most of his form. "I guess I fulfilled my mission." Zack wiped his eyes. "You can't die. You can't. Jason will be here this morning! You're supposed to die for him, not us! That's the deal, you're supposed to," "Jason ain't coming," Valyur whispered. Auburn's jaw dropped open for a moment. Zack's breath caught. It was as if his lungs has forgotten their purpose for a moment. Then with strained breath he said "What do you mean?" Valyur could read the accusation on Zack's face. He shook his head. "No. They tried. They tried their best, meatie. But your friend is too damn stubborn to die. But that means he's stuck. I'll get him unstuck." Auburn watched as Zack stood. He wiped his eyes and walked towards the house, cell phone in his hand. With a shaky hand he found a single contact and dialed. Auburn leaned down and gently kissed her husband on the head. "You can't even go into the after life quietly can you?" She gave him a pained smile. "My family has done so much to his," Valyur said to her. She nodded. "I understand." She held him close as cracks began to form all over his body. "Go to your family. Say hello to Falkirk for me." It wasn't long before she was holding nothing but sand. Auburn's cries started soft, but soon grew louder and more gentle as the night went on. A single dragon swooped down. The one that had saved her earlier. She looked up at it, no longer afraid. She was prepared to join her husband if that was its plan. Instead, the stone creature knelt in front of her, bowed it's head a single time. "A sign of respect from my kind to yours." It said. "I had watched Valyur for a long time. He was an honorable gnome." It stood, then leaped into the air. With two great beat of its wings, the dragon was gone. Zack stood on the back step, cellphone clutched in his hand. "I don't give a damn what Crash told you," he said. "Get your asses down here." |
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