Thread: Big Bad, Little Red, and the Hunters. (Fates.Gamble and Gunner)

The night air held a sense of unease as the members of their pack stood in the circle, The night of the New Moon brought tension every month, as unlike the Full Moon a cause for celebration, these gatherings were more so a forum to express woes and concerns. And lately, thered been plenty of reason for concern. At one point their pack had been 15 strong. Now they were down to eight, and as the days wore on the threat of losing more was becoming all too real. Everyone was on edge with the realization they could be next to fall to their most cunning and organized enemies. Their alpha stood above the others perched upon the ancient stone formation hed addressed them from so many times before. The cliffs just outside of the city had been their gathering spot for decades. Looming above the trees, the gnarled rocks stretched for the sky the closest one could get to the moon in this territory. Of course tonight, their deity was absent. Without the silver light to bathe them, they appeared nervous shadows in the night. Times are changing, he addressed his kin. If the hunters havent found us yet, they will soon. His strong voice fell silent as he let them drink in the reality of that moment. This has been our home for generations, but now it is no longer safe. Now is the time to return to our ancestral home the lands from whence we came. This sent a murmur of uncertainty through the pack. One member decided to speak up, stepping forward to break the circle. You cant be serious father. Aeric, the Alphas son, was young still in the prime of his manhood. But he held an air of impressive authority. He was strong of body and mind with a chiseled chest, an iron jaw and penetrating eyes of the deepest emerald beneath a mane of ebony locks. Hed proven himself a powerful member of their pack on several occasions, though was often prone to butt heads when it came to various beliefs they carried. What are we supposed to do exactly? he continued on, Run off to Norway and become sheep herders? Play 21st century Viking? Plenty of the elders loved to drone on about the days of their ancestors before they settled in these lands centuries ago. It went far beyond a homesick fondness for their birth lands though many of his pack spouted the nonsense that they were the descendants of Fenrir himself Mighty king of wolves betrayed by the other gods and bound until his wrath brings the end of days. Aeric however, grew up in the modern world. He accepted the things that made sense, not the fairytales and longings of old wolves past their prime. Are we cowards? He demanded, the shadow of a snarl crossing his face as his eyes narrowed, Or are we wolves? I say we fight this threat. We find them and rip their hearts out! Stay your tongue, Aeric! commanded the Alpha. This rash temper would see us all killed. We are but eight wolves, boy! Do you understand the gravity of what were up against? Even if our pack was at full strength we could not hope to stand for long. Our only chance of survival is to leave this place to get beyond their reach. Sounds of agreement resonated throughout the group, but his son remained unconvinced. Stepping down to his level, Aerics father placed a hand on his shoulder in consolation. I know this is the only life you understand. But that doesnt mean its the only life you shall ever know. One day you shall take my place as Alpha and you will come to see reason in these most difficult of decisions. Aeric wasnt so content to agree, but before he could argue further the attention of all eight lycans were snagged by a peculiar scent. Their heads swiveled, silence blanketing the air as they peered into the inky obscurity like animals whod heard a peculiar sound. What is it? Aeric asked quietly, sniffing the air. His answer came in a sudden whistling sound as a crossbow bolt sliced through the air and sunk right into his fathers chest. Angry shouts followed an instant later as a group of men burst out of the darkness. But Aeric could scarcely comprehend the sudden ambush. Hed reached out to grab his father, crumbling to the ground as the alphas legs gave out on him. Dad! He shouted, trying to keep him alert as his eyes rolled into the back of his head. Panicking, he looked over his shoulder towards the source of the shouting and saw the man whod fired the weapon. Dressed in dark black garb and a wide brimmed hat, he couldnt make out the mans face before noticing the crossbow he was reloading. The other lycans had already scattered, most shifting to their bestial forms as they dashed to engage the sudden enemies. But Aerics attention was solely on the one whod taken down their leader. Snarling, he leapt away from his wounded father, making a mad sprint for the Hunter. With his weapon primed, he took aim at Aeric and fired. Before his finger could squeeze the trigger however, the young lycan shifted. Dropping to the form of a massive, shaggy black wolf with ivory jaws and hellish green eyes, the bolt went zipping right past where his head used to be. His clothes were left in a jumble on the ground, carelessly discarded as he leapt at his prey. His wicked jaws closed around the hand closing the crossbow, snapping and gnawing and looking to inflict as much damage as possible. His foe screamed a terrible sound mixed between anger and pain. Aeric was too busy to notice him reaching with his free hand going for the hilt of a narrow sword sheathed at his hip. He drew the weapon and struck in the same fluid motion, and a piercing howl of pain cut through the night as the wolf felt cold metal slice through his chest and stomach. Aeric hit the ground hard, whimpering as he tried to scamper away from his assailant. Lycans were superiorly fast healers and more than capable of taking their fair share of pain but something was wrong here. His wound burned like molten fire and he could feel blood pooling out of him at an alarming rate. Wide, fear-stricken eyes viewed the sword in his enemys hand. He quickly came to realize the blade was not steel, but silver. An incantation in a strange language was etched into the face of the weapon, looking especially foreboding when laced with his blood. Aeric snarled as he tried to inch further away, barely able to stand on all fours. The Hunter snarled right back at him, drops of scarlet dripping from his hand as well as his blade. At a loss, all the black wolf could do was retreat, his panicked eyes wildly surveying the scene. The other members of his pack were fairing no better. Two hunters were down bloody on the ground, but all of the other 7 were quickly overcome. Whod been killed and whod only been wounded was impossible to tell. Before he could even formulate a plan, he suddenly felt himself at the cliffs edge. With his enemy approaching, there was no other choice. He ignored the pain adrenaline helping him to lunge in a last ditch effort. But the hunter was ready for him. He didnt even bother to lift his blade the lycan being so sluggish now that one well-timed kick was all it took. Aeric found himself thrown back from the hit, sending him right over the cliffside. The world was a painful blender of blunt objects as he hit the rocks several feet below and rolled down the hillside. By the time he finally crashed through the trees below he could scarcely recall what just happened, let alone stand up. He was conscious of the shape of the Hunter high up above, staring down upon his broken body. When the wolf wasnt moving, he left the cliffside, moving on to the rest of the pack. It took a while after that, but Aeric found the strength to move again. The prospect of survival looked grim, but he knew to remain here would mean certain death. With slow effort he was able to get to his feet too battered to shift back into his human form. All he could do was put as much distance between him and the hunters as he could. The anguished howls of his kins suffering haunted him the whole way. When he finally broke free of the tree line, he struggled up the dip that led to the old quiet road. Few people traveled on it, especially this time of night, but maybe just maybe he could find help. Of course his senses were so skewed he could barely process the fact hed made it this far. His legs gave out by the time he made it to the asphalt, the loss of blood driving him to the point of unconsciousness. He was barely aware of the blinding headlights as he collapsed, his vibrant green eyes fluttering closed as darkness enveloped him. Luckily he was still breathing, albeit it shallowly by the time his happenstance rescuer appeared. He was already well out of it upon her arrival, completely unaware of the transpiring events Out of the darkness of his mind, a massive figure materialized. Suddenly, hed taken the form of a mighty wolf bigger than the Earth itself, with a thick coat of flawless silver fur. His eyes were wild and untamed like the very forces of nature as they burned furious and red. Throwing his head back, he howled a sound so powerful it shook the universe to its very core. The planets, the stars and everything inbetween trembled as they heard his fearsome name Fenrir. God of Wolves and herald of the end times. Yet something wasnt right. Despite his immense power, huge chains shot out of the gloom, snaring themselves around his massive paws and strong back and bringing him to the ground. He roared in protest, his jaws opening wide to swallow the world in revenge. But a sword appeared narrow and silver with a strange inscription. It formed between his jaws, wedging them wide open and unable to snap closed. Tears filled the eyes of the once mighty wolf as he realized hed been beaten. And in the acceptance of his defeat, the hand of a hunter appeared. It reached out, taking grip of the sword and pulling it free of his jaws. Then without word, the giant raised his sword, and brought it crashing down upon the wolfs neck. Aerics eyes snapped open upon the Gods death, coming to a startling realization he was still alive. Confusion clouded his mind as he tried to remember what happened and where the hell hed ended up. Instinctively he tried to jump to his feet, unaware he was tethered by an IV. As soon as he felt the resistance and the painful tug of the needle however, everything came back to him. He sagged under the agony of his wounds, collapsing back to the ground as quickly as he got up. His mind ran wild as he realized there were stitches where the sword cut through bandages around one of his legs and not to mention the IV drip. Anxiety coursed through him, coming to assume the hunters must have caught him. There was no hesitation complete intelligence in the way the wolf appraised the needle stuck in his arm and closed his jowls around it. In one swift pull he yanked it right out and attempted to get back to his feet. Hed heard more than enough stories of what happened to things like him if they caught and taken to facilities. The hell if he was going to be a guinea pig or locked in some cage for the rest of his life. But as soon as he took a step forward on wobbly paws, the stark reality of his location settled in. The homey studio apartment certainly didnt seem like a testing facility. All too slowly did he finally turn to notice the fiery little red head coming at him. Aeric rebounded at once, lunging away from her despite his battered body. He put as much distance between him and the woman as he could, fur going on end as he snarled at her with impressive, pearly white teeth. This was quite the curious situation. Given her carefree attired and tiny little home looking more than a little lived in, it would have been a damn good effort if someone was trying to trick him. But everything was muddled right now, clouding his senses. One of his stitches had popped open, leaving a sprinkling of fresh blood on her floor, but he ignored that, keeping ready to rip this girls throat out if he had to. Despite his defensive nature however, his intense green eyes watched her like a curio. Just who was this girl? In his beaten down state he wouldnt be shifting into a man to ask her anytime soon. He just had to play this safe, waiting to see what she would do. Last edited Oct 16, 2018