The werewolf suddenly dropped on the knee Grayell had kicked, it didn't hurt but the hunter had kicked a nerve that forced the werewolf to kneel for a moment.
Petting the clump of hair, Serenity began to wonder something. The werewolf was trying to tear Grayell's face off, yet it didn't do a thing to her yet. It had several opportunities to do so, even just now before Grayell showed up.
It could have easily bit her, killed her, whatever it wanted to do to her but it just stood there growling at her. The color of the fur patch in her hand is what bothered her most.
She looked up when the beast roared again at Grayell, her mind racing with so many confused thoughts at once, uncertain as to what to do. An 'if' and fuzzy memory gave her a conclusion she didn't want to believe. Her mouth was gaped a little, in disbelief as Serenity looked at the wolf once more.
Down on one knee for the moment, the wolf became puzzled as to what just happened. Did the man do something? Was it that kick? It didn't hurt so that couldn't have been it. Scrambling back to action another immediate swipe of the arm closest to Grayell took place, the wolf wanting to slam the hunter like a fly far away from him.
Grayell knew he'd set it off and attempted to act accordingly. He had moved again, his feet always positioned so that he could change direction in an instant. His lead foot had planted on the rocks and he leaped, his sword looking to stop that renewed attack once more as he carried himself by the wolf.
That blade had anger in it's edge, struck the correct way a limb would be severed. But the wolf was indeed fast and Grayell did not have the precise openings he needed.
Fighting a werewolf was like fighting a nightmare. The better part of the battle was spent playing catch up and the remnants were left for improvisation. But Grayell's sword was practiced, perfected - and was as much for defense as slaughter.
His leap should clear him of the attack and his right foot thrust out as he passed - seeking a very delicate point where shoulder met neck.
Last Edit: Aug 10, 2011 13:38:28 GMT -5 by Grayell
The arm didn't hit anything, for being an old fart Grayell was quite fast with his thinking.
It all happened in slow motion, his leap, the furry arm missing, the kick going for the nerve between the shoulder and neck. The other arm was bring brought around to take down Grayell, slow but strong all the same, but it wouldn't reach him in time before the hunter's kick connected.
And it did, the kick made contact and the effect of the impact would have immobilized the monster. Yet it didn't, right on impact the wolf turned its head quickly and grabbed Grayell's leg with its mouth and tossed him to the ground.
It scrambled to get on its feet again, teeth bared and ready to rip more of Grayell's flesh apart. It would play with him, bleeding him out bit by bit, breaking bones, making him scream. It pleasured in its own thoughts of torture, its mouth wet with anticipation.
Suddenly a great gust of wind hit the monster and knocked it to the ground. Serenity stood away from her guard, arms stretched and breathing heavily.
The wolf got back on its feet immediately, roared at Serenity and charged at her once more. Right before the moment of its leap, Serenity began to sing,
Me..Mesiku na nebi hlubokem Svelto...tve daleko vidi...
It wasn't like when she sang moments before, the sound was weaker and timid. Yet the tune seemed familiar, enough to the werewolf for it stopped in its tracks.
The rage seemed to escape its expression, its ears were down, the growls replaced with panting, and it just stared into space, stared at Serenity.
She continued her song, more courageous now, the quality of her art returning.
The wolf got down on all four legs and laid on the ground, just listening to her sing.
Grayell groaned as he rolled to his stomach and pushed himself up and off the ground. His leg hurt - hurt a great deal in fact and it was beyond what Grayell could normally ignore. But there was more.
Something savage in Grayell snapped, barked in the back of his mind and slammed inside his head to draw blood. He didn't give, but his demeanor changed instantly. His hand found his sword, grabbed it tentatively, dragging it with fingers into his palm. There. Locked onto the handle, he stood, a little shaky; but defiant as before. He looked down, his leg torn badly. The blood fell to the ground, pooled at his feet. But it whispered to him.
Grayell lowered his sword, the point lazily pointed at his very blood and his hand trembled. There were no words, but a gutteral, inhuman growl that rumbled in his throat. A sliver of blood, a thin stream of it pulled and rippled from the ground to his sword and then ran it's edge. It writhed across the steel, seeped into miniscule pores and turned the blade a crimson hue.
His fist step was shaky, as was his second. His wounded leg dragged behind him - it had been a long, long time since Grayell had the means to regenerate such a wound. But his eyes were locked onto his opponent. His teeth damn near snapped with the rage that welled within him.
But there. There was that voice. His heart welled in his chest and snapped control of his mind from that dark something that consumed him. Tears welled in his eyes, enough that it forced him to blink and so with that blink, forcing him back to the here and now, the bigger picture.
Grayell walked upon the wolf, stood at it's shoulder and raised his sword.
Serenity just kept singing for a moment, tears starting to well up in her own eyes. She knew it deep down what this meant, why the wolf had stopped. It was his favorite song.
Her eyes looked over to Grayell as she sang, her hand motioning to not strike the monster.
When she finished a verse, and the sound stopped, the lady moved carefully up to the giant werewolf who only looked up at her, no aggression in its eyes. It began whining again, as if to apologize for earlier. The creature didn't even give much attention to Grayell.
"James..." tears began to fall from her eyes, "James...its you isn't it?"
As if to join her, the whining became louder and the wolf raised its big head and cried out into the night with a howl. A painful cry whose note could be felt in Serenity's heart. She bent down and wrapped her arms around the wolf's head, and it let her. Motionless it continued to whine for a few moments longer.
Memories of a young man with short, messy, dark brown hair filled her heart. His laugh, the way he played his violin, his stupid sense of humor, and how he showed her a world beyond royal banquets and arrogant formalities.
The blade shined in the light of the moon and reflected the light in the eye of the wolf. James' primal nature returned and it pushed Serenity away.
Backing away quickly, it growled, then roared at Grayell. For a moment its eyes were stern on the hunter, then they turned to a knocked down Serenity, then back at Grayell again. She still had tears on her dirt stained face.
The werewolf clamped its head with both claws, tormented by its rational nature. With a final roar it ran off into the trees, leaving the pair along once and for all.
Grayell fell to a knee and air rushed out of his mouth, only to be gasped back in. His leg was severely torn and the act of standing alone had drained him. Blood dripped slowly from his blade and it returned to it's natural color entirely.
He stumbled forward, toward Serenity but fell, his blade dropped in order for his hand to keep him from crashing to the earth. He spat. He hissed back the pain and shook his head.
She was almost a statue, motionless, just staring off into the direction James ran in. Her mind was cloudy with emotion and her heart felt something she couldn't describe. Her face was covered in dirt and tears, a crying statue of woe and guilt.
Grayell's words were heard, and she knew them to be true. The thing is however,
"I never intended too..."
She finally turned slowly to see Grayell for the first time, after realizing James was the monster who kidnapped her. Her expression took a while to register the damage Grayell suffered.
"Grayell, you're hurt..."
She finally moved her body, stressed from all the trauma she endured. Nearly taking a tumble herself, she dropped on her knees next to Grayell to look at the damage.
"I don't have any bandages with me...but I can make an earthen cast for your leg."
Serenity felt helpless again, but not like before where fear had overcome her. Even then, that was no excuse, she allowed James to hurt Grayell this way while she played around with memories in her mind.
"I'm so sorry, Grayell, I shouldn't have pointed you in my direction..."
Grayell laughed. It was perhaps a little cruel in it's tone but he shook his head. It was obvious he was preoccupied with the damage to his leg. He shuffled, tried to drag himself to his feet.
Nonsense. I have every reason to hate his kind. You couldn't have stopped me following. You barely stopped me killing him or dying in the effort.
Don't worry about the cast, it'll lead to infection. I need to stop the bleeding and get the blazes back to town.
Grayell focused on his wound and desperately willed the blood to stop, to clot, to stay in his damn body. He was not a healer and his blood magic was base instinct, awakenings at best. Nothing he could do outside of that would help a great deal.
See that? The plant there with the strange stem, the little buds on it? Pull it up and bring it here. I need two branches - strong branches as well. Please.
Serenity looked to the direction that Grayell pointed and rushed on over. She uprooted the plant with a little help from her earth magic, not wanting to damage any part that Grayell might of needed.
She commanded the wind to gather around her now, and she formed a dense blade of wind which she threw up into the trees, causing several branches to fall.
Actually a lot of branches. They all fell on her, but she didn't care. Looking around the debris she made, Serenity grabbed about five strong looking branches and moved back over to Grayell.
"Will these be enough?"
This was one of those times she wished again that more attention was given to her curative magic studies or at least that Zane was around. He could of easily fixed up Grayell by now in the blink of an eye.
Grayell hissed through the pain but managed a smile. He took the plant firstly.
Yeah, that will do nicely. Been through worse eh?
Grayell snapped the leaves from the plant and then shoved them into his mouth. He chewed them thoroughly and then spat the mulch into his hand. He then took the flower buds and ground them into the mixture. His pained face was filled with disgust and he spat on the ground. Obviously the plant tasted like crap.
He took the poultice and smeared it over the wound, holding it in place. His eyes were closed and his head nodding, his teeth clamped on his bottom lip. He reigned in the pain of application with a low growl and then looked to Serenity.
Alright. I need a cloth, something to wrap this with. And I need the two straightest branches you have there.
The lady couldn't help but cringe as she watched Grayell make the patch. She knew of outdoors men would used what they could find in the wilderness in order to survive, but never actually see it in practice. Although she couldn't but admire this knowledge Grayell had, to be able to mend a wound out here far from civilization.
If you could call Wistvale that.
"Worse... I don't want to know what terrors you've faced then." she attempted a small smile at least.
She handed over two of the straightest branches she gathered, figuring that Grayell was going to make a brace. As for the cloth, she had none around other than her own clothing. Not really thinking twice about it she unlatched the lower button of her white blouse and ripped out a section.
Her symmetrical thinking came to play and she ripped it carefully all around. When she was done her naval was visible as well as the small of her back.
Using her magic, she gathered all the bits and pieces of earth that covered the section she ripped, easily wiping most of it off with a sway of her hand.
Blushing she handed it over to Grayell, "I hope..that will be enough. Its not proper to make a lady blush like this. Red is not my color."
Last Edit: Aug 10, 2011 16:42:31 GMT -5 by Serenity
Grayell takes the cloth and chuckles. He begins to wrap the wound first, compressing the poultice in place. He wraps once, then twice and cinches it together with a knot. He then takes up the branches but pauses to look up at her.
Nonsense. You won't find me complaining...
He shot her a wink and a raised eyebrow. Down but not out, his humor would be the last to go.
Placing the branches on either side of his leg, he unties the sash from his waist and biting, tears it in half. He then follows through by tying both a hand-span above and below his knee.... fixing the branches in place. He tests his splint by lifting, his leg remaining straight.
He sighs, a sign of relief. He then looks back to the mess of branches she had cut down. He then points.
Looking over the little bundle she brought over, picked up the inclined branch and handed it over to Grayell.
"Will you be ok? I mean, this wound is obviously far worse than your cut from that night."
Her mind went back to James for a moment, confused feelings still swirling inside her like a whirlpool in a storm. She was done crying about it though, and despite how she may feel right now or later, she didn't forget that fateful day long ago, and what she promised him in his final hour.
She already consulted a doctor anyway, and there's no way to fix his curse. James was trapped in the body of a beast now, and Serenity would show him mercy. Grayell had the killing blow, but it should have been her to do the deed.
And yet, even with her hands around his neck, she hesitated, because a little of his humanity showed through. A hope had taken root within her heart, yet the seed would sprout nothing but disappointment.
Finally accepting the circumstances, at least slightly, she smiled weakly and tried to make a joke about it, "I had no idea my ex husband was such a jealous man."
Grayell had the branch in hand but stopped what he was doing and looked up at Serenity. His face was somewhat blank - he was processing what she had just said.
I'm... a..... I'm sorry. That is.... unfortunate.
Grayell shook his head. This wasn't the time or place to swap families destroyed by werewolves stories. His was different. His wife didn't live to be changed. That had to be a god thing knowing the hell he had been through becoming anything that resembled human.
Nope, he wouldn't say anything on the matter. She needed to be left with her thoughts. James. The unfortunate bastard was lucky in that Serenity obviously very much cared for him. Grayell wondered what was worse though... being made into such a beast or being without love. He knew both and refused to decide.
He chopped a section of the wood with his blade and snapped off a couple of extra leaves. He then folded his vest down, baring his chest and back. Grayell's body was not that of a twenty-something athlete. He had seen hard years, hard battles and paid his dues. He was no slouch, but he was built like an oak these days; solid, thick mass. Slower. Stronger perhaps.
The scars though... well they were another matter. They were prevalent enough to shatter the tattoos he had adoring his shoulders, chest and spine. Half their meaning was obscured by knotted skin, poorly healed wounds from years ago. His right shoulder though... it was hard not to notice the bite there. The creature that caused that great a scare was massive. It could not be told at first looking, but the dragged claw marks down his chest and across his spine accompanied it.
He said nothing else but instead bunched up his vest and shabbily wrapped it about the branch which would now act as a crutch.
Groaning, he struggled to his feet but once there, managed to bend at the waist and retrieve his sword. Eyes set on the way they came, he shambled forward.
Come. Time I get to a healer. I'd have you stay with me for just now.... if that's to your satisfaction.
Perhaps it was the wound, perhaps he was tired, or perhaps he was somewhat solemn now at the mention of her marriage. The man himself wasn't sure but knew this much... something in his gut made him sick and his throat felt tight.
Serenity jumped up to her feet to help Grayell balance himself, looping her arm around his.
"It's going to be a long walk back to town, of course I'll stay you silly man. After coming all this way to save me even, how could you think I'd just leave? Hopefully Dr. Zane is on call at all times."
She helped start to walk, the journey would be long at their pace, but at least the wolves had gone, the younger ones belonged to James and left with him. For the moment anyhow.
Serenity struggled a little bit with Grayell, she wasn't very strong to begin with and her endurance lacked some but she would try just for him.
"I owe you more than dinner now for this,"
Blushing a little on what she just said, she stammered trying to make herself more clear,
"A..discount I mean, at my shop, or two dinners...I..oh never mind I don't know why I get so fuddled around you sometimes."