A wet nose nudged my cheek softly while I scrunched up my face. My hands were restricted by the fur roll around my body. The fire was no longer a flame as the cold dark cave filled my vision. Infront of my fuzzy vision was a large silhouette with glowing eyes. I shut my eyes harshly as a bright light filled the room before a soothing hand brushed against my head.
"You can go back to sleep, I'm sorry if I woke you up." Corwin whispered as his thumb brushed my forehead. I yawned while looking at his humanoid form as the light from the night sky trailed in softly behind him.
"What are you doing then? Are you going somewhere?"
Corwin lifted me up carefully while I lifted my head up from my burrito bundled self.
"We are leaving to the village. But we are traveling by foot not paw." I started to worm around in my bundle while trying to wake up. My groggy head started to clear as the early morning stared back at us. It was slightly bright due to the lively night sky but it only allowed for me to make out silhouettes. Two tall standing figures waited a couple of paces away, fashioning what looked like bags on their front and back.
"Why did your cycle start now of all times?" I hear Liam grumble as Corwin carried me closer.
With my half asleep brain I allowed for my snarky comments to bleed through.
"It's not my fault. I have no control over it, unlike you and your personality."
Corwin let out a small surprised laugh while Liam closed his mouth, trying to figure out what out of the millions of things to say.
"Enough. We need to travel quietly. We don't want to cause any unnecessary attention to us as we cross the brambles." Milori silenced all of us with a grim calmness.
"..."
There were many questions I wanted to ask as my heart started to beat faster. But I could not find the courage to utter a word. The brambles where the ominous boarder I haven't even bothered to look back at during my time with the wolves. Honestly I don't know what was with that area but it was creepy. As we got closer to it a heavy feeling engulfed my stomach.
"Corwin...I don't think we should cross the brambles." I managed to whisper. Corwins head snapped to me as worry paled my face.
"We don't have a choice. This is the closest path to the village. If we don't we would have to go around and it would waste too much time." His grip tightened as he carefully stepped over the brambles with me in arm and the knot in my stomach seemed to grow worse.
Corwin patted my head reassuringly as the group traveled in silence as I stepped in my own worry. It was as if my instincts where screaming not to go any further with each tree we passed. All I could do was curl into Corwin in my burrito self and close my eyes as I listened to his heartbeat.
'It's going to be alright.' I reasoned. 'You are just overthinking again. But this is like a classic horror movie set up!' Taking calming breaths I settled my head against Corwins arm and drifted off to a semi-sleeping state.
The forest remained quiet as we traveled, eerily so. It was as if the trees where holding their breath. But there was one thing that caught Liam and Corwins ears, clicking. It fallowed after every few paces past the distant trees. Milori was now aware of the soft clicks echoing about and was put on edge. Milori slowed to a stop before turning to silently signal to the other two males and half asleep girl.
Stay still
That is what his eyes told them as the clicking sounded closer. The group was hiding in the shadows of a large boulder and tall trees, the only one sticking out like a sore thumb being Milori and his stark white hair and pale skin. The males held their ground as the sounds of shaking tree branches drew nearer while the clicking was surrounding them on all sides.
Avery stirred awake due to the lack of rocking motion and found herself drowning in tension. Her neck hairs stood on edge as she bobbed her head up only to be pushed back down by Corwin. He motioned her to remain still and quiet with a finger pressed against his lips and a pair of stern eyes she had never seen from the male before.
'I knew it. We are gonna die.'
I glared up at Corwin with an 'I told you so' face which he only rolled his eyes at. The world fell into a disturbing quiet around us as a familiar creeping feeling fell over my spine.
We were being watched.
The others must have felt it as well for they all tensed up and started looking all around and dropping all of the items they where carrying off their person. I curled into Corwin as my eyes darted around as well, trying to take in the dim light of the forest.
"What are you doing in our forest?"
A voice boomed from one of the tall trees as I felt more eyes land on us. Milori looked rigid at the sound of the voice and carefully gave a response.
"We are traveling to the village," His words were carefully crafted as he grew long black nails from his hand and Liam started doing the same. "The path we where traveling on had been damaged by a landslide. We had no choice but to travel through here."
"If that where true then why where you found wandering in our territory days prior?" The voice spat while I could feel murderous intent in the air. Milori shot an annoyed glare at Corwin before it softened as his eyes landed on me.
"The boar we where hunting ran into the brambles and we had no choice but to fallow."
"Are you sure it wasn't because of the female?" The voice taunted. "I'll have you know she is apart of our colony."
Liam growled at me and pounced while Corwin blocked the attack. Milori held Liam back as he started to foam at the mouth in rage. "I KNEW WE COULDN'T TRUST YOU, YOU LIER!"
I quivered at how dark his eyes glazed over and how sharp his teeth had gotten. But rage and sorrow soon blended with my trembling fear. "He's lying! I'm not apart of their colony! I swear by it! If I was, why would I be alone in the forest-"
"BITE YOUR Tongue! I knew we shouldn't have trusted you!" He voice seemed to waver in the end as the dim light glittered small tears pricking his eyes.
"I'm honest! The lier here is that-that creep!" I stuttered while Corwin held me firm against him. His eyes board into mine as his belief and trust in me burned brightly.
"So, I'm a creep?" The voice cooly spoke as his voice rang out from on top of the boulder. It was deep and rich like the earth as its cold words where wrapped in sweet venom. Glowing violet eyes illuminated in the dark shadow that hunched over in a tall broad shape. I didn't even hear him move let alone see him suddenly appear until it was too late. My breath caught in my throat as I made eyes contact with the violet eyes and watched as the hue darkened for a moment.
"Got nothing to say? I thought females where braver than that, guess not."
His voice sounded sarcastic as he suddenly descended down and attacked Milori. Two other shadows jumped out and attacked Liam as Corwin dodged something that came from his peripheral.
"Run Corwin. Keep Avery safe!"
Was all Milori said as his head transformed into a white wolf and took a large bite into the fuzzy body as leathery wings where outstretched. The large figure grunted and used his own set of claws to aim for Milori's shoulder. Corwin took off running with me in arm while I was still tightly wrapped in the fur.
Liam had also transformed and was biting and hissing at the two other attackers as they descended up on him. Large spider-like eyes watched my figure before his wolf jaw opened wide to bite at the attackers with needle-like teeth and large canines. Liam looked freaky, in a cool badass kind of way, as Corwin ran farther and farther from the conflict. My head was now firmly pressed against Corwins chest as he held my body tightly against him. His bare feet ran across the forest floor while his eyes darted around defensively.
The silhouette of Corwin was casted on top of the tall standing trees as the wild winds whipped against his bare skin. The moon watched painfully as the couple traversed through the woods with haste while a shadow trailed them. A clicking sounded off somewhere behind them while Avery let out a whimper.
"Hey-" he breathed out with a smile as he took notice of Avery's trembling. "It's okay. We are almost safe. We'll be fine." His eyes landed on the long winding snake in the the distance. Luckily they didn't travel too far from the boarder, just enough to move around the landslide. The hills and rocks gave way while Corwins focus gaze remained solely on his goal while his ears kept track of the sounds behind him.
"Look we are almost there-"
Then a loud thud sounded out as claws dug into his shoulder. He cried as the stinging pain tore at his flesh while the cool voice rang out above him. Avery was thrown a ways away while the beast stood on top of Corwin.
"You where never going to make it, pup." Corwin curled in on himself as claws started to pick as his vulnerabilities.
"WAIT-! STOP!" Avery cried as she tumbled and rolled out of the fur wrapping before crawling over to the large mass before her. Her hands where trembling as she froze in place at the sight of violet eyes.
"Who are you to order me?" The voice humorously question as the sound of a smirk formed his words. He did pause in his actions however as he waited to see what the young girl was going to do. The sweet smell of the evening clouds filled his nose as his raged breaths drank in the scent.
The girl with tear stricken cheeks puffed up her chest while rooted in place as she herself took in shallow huffs. Her eyes reflected fear as a panic attack strangled her neck.
"They did nothing wrong! He did nothing wrong! I'm not apart of your colony, I was..." the words stuck to the roof of her mouth as her voice sounded horse. "I was left in the woods to fend for myself...if I was apart of your colony why didn't anyone come for me in that time?"
The foreboding male remained on top of his prey while his mind tumbled thoughts together through the haze.
"..."
Avery stood trembling in the face of danger as the predator before her kept his iron grip on Corwin as he stared directly into her soul.
"Then how about this, come with us to the colony, willingly, and we will let the males go."
"Avery you don't have to agree to anything-!" Corwin choked out before the mass on top of him applied more pressure to his already snapping bones.
"I would think carefully, little Avery." The name slid across his tongue like a silver thread as its taunting tone made a shiver run down Avery's spine.
'Like you would actually keep to your word.' Her thoughts snorted at how ridiculous the request was. 'Its not like you'll just force me if I refuse. Oh wait-'
"I have little patience Avery. Decide now whether this will be the easy way or the hard way for everyone."
"You human!" Corwin hissed as he clawed at the figures body with little damage being done, as if the being before Avery was in invincible.
Avery's gut twisted strangely at how Corwin spat so much venom out on the word human but her focus was quickly brought back to the life of death situation as she saw the figure get ready to slice Corwin open.
"WAIT-! Fine, okay I'll go don't hurt them please. Just please-" her eyes locked with Corwin as sorrow filled his eyes. She could tell just by looking at him what he was thinking, that this wasn't fair. It wasn't fair to him nor her, not anyone really. But this was the only thing that could be done. "Let me send them off, so I know they are safe."
The figure begrudgingly accepted and lifted his weight off of Corwin whom quickly sat up and gasped for air before trying to swing at the large leathery wing before him. That attempt only lead him to being socked in the face.
"You're lucky I am a beastmen of my word. If it wasn't for Avery's request-" again the name sat on his tongue strangely as the smell around them increasingly gotten sweeter. The smell of fear rich as the iron of blood. Too prominent to be left unnoticed. "I would have killed you and everyone else who dared to enter despite the act of mercy we spared."
The tall being turned to Avery this time as she swallowed her nerves with effort. She was trying not to cry, not to ball herself into a fetal position and break down into a panic attack.
"You, say your goodbyes to him. I'll bring the others to the boarder so you can bid goodbye to them as well."
The figure turned away from me and climbed up a tree before hanging upside down against the light of the moon. It was at that point I could see the full shape of what he was supposed to be, a large bat. He made a few shy clicks from where he hung but never moved out of our line of sight as we stayed in his. I rushed over to Corwins side as he coughed and hugged his ribcage while I inspected the deep gashes that decorated his skin.
"I'm sorry." I whimpered as I felt Corwin jolt at my soft touches.
"You're fine, it's not your fault," Corwin hushed while carefully pulling me into a hug as to not enrage his injuries. "But I wish you didn't do that, even if it was for my sake."
"I didn't have a choice. I... didn't want to watch you die or know Milori and Liam where going to." I rubbed circles into his skin as a way to steady myself and comfort Corwin. Panic settled into me as the reality of what I agreed to settled in. "I'm scared.....but we both get to, no all four of us gets to live if he's honest."
Corwins chest warmed at her words of concern as he felt like the luckiest male in the world. "I wanted to show you every beautiful thing on Gaia. I wanted to make us a den of our own...have a litter...." his body trembled at the thought of someone stealing that away after yesterday happened. It wasn't fair. They didn't even have a moment to act like he was courting her, properly. "I'm coming back for you. I will. I love you, I want to be with you forever and ever."
Avery began to cry. "That- why? Why can't I just be happy with one thing!?" She harshly spat between tears. "You are so so sweet Corwin. You are wonderful and I wish I spent more time with you as a couple. It's not fair!"
Something warm and soft pressed against her teary face. She flushed as a honey glow seemed to radiate from Corwins eyes. He leaned in again to press his lips against Avery's slowly and unsure. It wasn't until she hesitantly kissed him back did he deepen the kiss. It was loving and warm, like everything around them was being left behind. Though a cold bark brought them away from one another.
"Really? You two are doing this now?"
Liam spat while his black eye ached and bruises formed around his stomach. He rolled his eyes as his right swollen socket ached. Milori on the other hand looked worse for wear, bleeding out due to deep gashes into his flesh while he held a dislocated shoulder.
"Milori? Liam?" Her voice trembled at the harsh sight.
Avery watched as the two approached while she held Corwin.
"Well at least you two are courting, though I wish you've started sooner." Milori sighed as he pushed his arm back into the socket with a pop and his head reeled at the pain. His face remained stoic as he eyed the leader of the bat beastmen that attacked them. The said figure glided down from his perched sitting arrangement and landed infront of the group.
"I guess you freaks still exist," Liam sneered as he clenched his fist. "I thought you where all killed. Now you are living off of the name of dragons, huh?"
"That is quite a statement coming from a freak of nature such as yourself. Unlike you my kind happened naturally, you where born a mistake." A shadow emerged from behind the young hybrid as it nudged him to show more respect to their leader. "Know your place, freak."
"What a lovely personality. I see why the female wanted you to live." The large bat with violet eyes muttered sarcastically while he watched the girls reaction. Her eyes seemed to question her own self in why she wanted him to live as well.
"Well, time to go. Say goodbye and all that, we are needed elsewhere." Liam nelt and helped Corwin stand by allowing him to lean against his body. Milori rested a hand on Avery's shoulder as he walked with her. The damned wall stared at them as the four stared back.
"Where did the time go? I am your guardian and you are guarding the rest of us. I failed." Milori mumbled to Avery as he took her hand and secretly placed something on her palm. "I hope you hold onto every good moment we had together."
She held whatever was in her hand tightly. It was rock she quickly realized and could feel the groves carved into it. The salamander stone buzzed as Milori gave her a smile.
"Don't be sad Avery. They will take care of you, I'm sure. Just remember you are a female, stay confident. They can't hurt you."
The buzzing feeling started to dull as the Milori crossed the boarder fallowed by Liam and Corwin. A sinking feeling settled in her stomach as she watched them leave while the bat with violet eyes watched them suspiciously. That was too easy, he was expecting them to fight back despite what the female requested.
They are up to something.
"Ash." Cadaver, the man with violet eyes chirped. "Follow them. They are to not make it to that village, is that clear?"