His nose woke him. Darkness had left the vision of his optics, replaced with the pale light of the morning sky. He’d eaten and rested that night. When the moon had healed his wounds, he’d wasted no time in replenishing the lost energy. Now, he was fit and strong. No scars lined his body from the wounds he encountered, yet plenty others from even further pasts raked over his body. Yet he was proudly standing with tail raised to flag the air. He looked more like an alpha then a wandering loner. He was lean, fit, strong, and healthy. Nothing could bring down the beast.
Without know it – and as he tested the strange scent that had aroused him out of his sleep – his mind wandered to the previous events before he’d slept.
It had been a chilly night. As soon as he could fully move and use his bodice as a weapon once more, he made a trip to the forest to find some food. There he’d found it. After sniffing amongst some collection of feces left by a sick prey and several blotches of blood, probably from an uncontrollable excretion from the nostrils and respiratory tract, he followed the scent to a lonely, ill buck. It grunted in discomfort, a rather hideous lump upon its side. It was cancerous, but there would be nothing wrong with ingesting the lump.
He had killed the creature all-too easily. Using his fangs to strangle the jugular, the buck had gone down without a fight. It had surely tried to struggle, but there’s a difference between struggle and fighting. One is willingly; the other is an uncontrollable jerk or two. When a creature faces death, has death’s fangs in its throat, it gives up all hope of life and embraces Death’s kiss. The deer knew it had no chance and if this wolf did not kill it, it would eventually die of the sickness it carried.
Dining upon the hot meat had been a pure joy. He had not eaten in weeks it seemed. His fangs greedily duck into the steaming carcass, taking each bite as if it were his last. He swallowed it down his esophagus so fast one would think he’d choke. Snarls rose to warn no one to stay away. Not even the shadows would dare come near the wolf guarding his kill. A crow nearby had made the mistake to get too close, and was slaughtered by the fangs of the higher predator.
With a blood-covered muzzle, a full stomach, and a new skip in his step, he journeyed from the kill to a quiet spot in the snow. There, he washed all blood from his jowels and coat. It gleamed in the moonlight and left him with a satisfied grunt. He stayed close to his kill, making sure no other creature came near it. All wolves were greedy, they could never deny it. If they did, they were liars.
But this scent… It had gotten his attention so closely that he found himself unable to ignore it. It was the smell of blood. Yet, it belonged to no helpless animal. It smelt of his own blood. A wolf somewhere was bleeding. As much as he would fight it, he had a soft side for his own kind. They may have been the cause of some of his pain and sorrow, but he realized long ago that all wolves needed to join together. If they didn’t, there was no hope for any of them in the face of the nobles they despised.
Leaving the stringy skeleton of the buck behind, he followed his nose to the scent of the wolf that bled so. He traveled at a trot; yet unconsciously fell to a quicker gate. A canter soon followed as he raced over the tundric wasteland. The snow whipped in his face, beating against his eyes and snapping at the ebonite flesh on his muzzle. He managed to endure all this, moving through the world as if he were a shadow. Nothing could hold him back. For even as light strikes a shadow, it is still there. Unseen, but still in existence.
It didn’t take him long to find the source of the blood. Yet, the scene he found was surprising. He had heard the snarls and the roar before, but had never expected to see such a hopeless attempt at a fight. This was suicide, truly and utterly pathetic. However, he could not deny that this fae was about to die fighting than die in an even greater pathetic death of letting her wounds consume her.
As the bear snarled, he lunged forward. The claws nearly reached the vix’s flesh, but the sudden assault from the hermit caught the beast off-guard. He bared his fangs at the bear, plumage bristling as he jumped back and stood in front of the she-wolf. His spine stood rigid and ready, lips curling over his ivory fangs. His beautiful golden iris’s blazed in a flash of hatred and threat. A snarl viciously rose from his vocals, daring the bear to make the next move.
The monster stood upon its hind legs, raised a powerful arm, and sent the razor-sharp digits flinging towards the warrior that opposed it. He bolted to the side, energy rippling through his hardened muscles. He propelled himself towards the bear, a fury of snarls and growls emitting from the darkness of the cavern. He snatched the muzzle of the bear in his jaws and crushed his jowels together in a quick snap. The bear let out a roar of what seemed to be best described as agony. He couldn’t sustain a yelp as it smacked his side. His fangs unintentionally let go. He was flung to the side of the cave, yet regained his balance with years of experience.
He knew he wouldn’t win this fight. With that thought in mind, he turned to the female and flung himself towards her. Grabbing her by the scruff of her neck, he threw her forcefully from the cave. Below them was a hill. Even the most enraged bear knew that its legs would not carry it down the slope. He shoved the unfamiliar wolven down, tumbling with her into the snow. The bear roared from her cavern, suddenly drained of energy and will to chase the beasts now that they had left her, and turned to her hibernation.
Falling over the female, he growled in distaste and pushed himself to his feet. He looked down at the wounded femme, suddenly having more pity then anger with her. He shook his pelt, jumping off of her with a beautiful grace. He stared at her through his emerald optics, locks of blonde hair flowing into his eyes. In human form, he didn’t shiver in the cold. He was used to these conditions. Draping his coat over her, his fingers quickly went to work studying the worst of her wounds. They weren’t deep, but she could die if not treated soon. He snorted, sitting on his heels and staring at her.
“You’re pathetic. Taking on a bear in your present condition? You certainly would have been a nice snack for her.”
Despite his cold words, there was a glimmer of warmth in his eyes. Involuntarily appearing or not, it was still there. He slowly took off his shirt, ripping it into several shreds with his teeth and using it to soak up the blood that flowed from her worse wounds. He used the poorly made tourniquet to clot the bleeding. At least then she may have a chance. As he did so, his touch was gentle, almost caring. He would deny this, of course, yet the proof was still there.