FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Alrighty, after months of idleness, the next two chapters of the Wolf and the Rose story series are finally ready to submit. I hope you enjoy them.

As always, comments are apprecaited and requested.

---

Continued from 'On the dark horizon...'

I breathed in a deep breath, all the scents of the deep wilderness coming to my wolfish nose and I smiled a smile that stemmed from both sides of myself, human and wolf. The wild and free wolf spirit that lived within me hated cities, hated the confining stone of the castle where Julianna had grown up. And, I had to admit, after so many years spent out in the wilderness, in the wild places where the demons and hunters like me fought, out of sight of the world, I did too. I had felt so...agitated and uneasy within the castle town. And, though I had once grown up in such a place as well, now it held no attraction. Such comfort had become nothing more than a memory of a life that I had left behind years ago. I could visit there, even find pleasure there, but they would never again be my home. I felt so much more at ease out here, where I could see my enemy coming. Of course, I still didn't feel wholly at peace at the moment. And the reason for that was simple. Turning back, I looked once more upon my traveling companions, a slight brush of irritation stirring my thoughts. The dozen or so Slayers in my brother's party sat around the cooking fire, talking loudly and joyfully of the victory we had won in Gulnia, their laughter shattering the peace and quiet of nature. They had been very jovial in the days since we had left the castle city where the King of Gulnia lived, singing and laughing while they walked, and it was starting to grate upon my nerves.

"You feel it too, don't you?" Aldric asked, speaking from where he stood beside me. We were standing together on the edge of a cliff where we had made camp, looking out over the wild country down below, stretching out to the horizon. The northern branch of the King's road was a hundred yards behind us, and though we knew that it was dangerous to travel the wide, cobblestone road, it was the fastest way to the Slayerhold, and besides, we would only be following it a little ways further. The remainder of the journey would be through the wilderness, and I looked forward to that part above all. It was like coming home after a long absence. But my brother's question brought me up short.

"What do you mean?" I replied, looking over at him. "Feel what?"

"You feel the difference between us." He explained, still looking out on the vast empty land below us. "There is a vast gulf between the young Slayers we were when we were their age, and the men we are now. All that they see now, in the company of the others their age, is the victory, the triumph of good over evil. But we, we who have seen so much of this endless fight, we who have witnessed so many of our brothers die, see only the endless struggle we face. Every victory is simply a bright moment in a long, dark night. It is the first sign of a true leader, and a good teacher, that we see it. To us, their exuberance and elation is annoying because we know that it is never going to be a true victory."

"I suppose." I said, returning to looking out with him. It was most unlike my brother to speak like this, even though he and I both had decades of fighting under our belts. It was more than likely that every Slayer that we had known while in training was dead now, that and many more, and that sort of loss tended to dull the enthusiasm of even the stoutest warrior. It was only the knowledge that our continued service was essential that kept Slayers with our experience going. Still, Aldric had never been one for such morose thoughts, his ever confident spirit seeming above that sort of thinking. "Where are you going with this, Aldric?"

"You really should consider accepting Master Hunter rank, Galen." He said, and I rolled my eyes, shaking my head. "No Slayer alive has more experience than you, not even the entire ruling council. You know things that no others know, things that can keep our young Slayers alive longer. You have done what we once thought impossible twice over, and you deserve the honor of the rank at the least."

"I told you once brother," I replied, sweeping my hand towards the distant green haze upon the horizon, "My place is out there, fighting the demons, not shut up in the Slayerhold, training initiates."

"If it really bothers you that much, I won't mention it again." Aldric said, turning back towards the fire. "But consider this before you decide. Where is Julianna's place? Where does she truly belong?"

With that, my brother left me, walking back to his young Slayers, joining in with their discussion, his false enthusiasm standing out clearly in my ears. I turned back, shaking my head, looking out on the endless hills once more, my mind whirling. The question had caught me off guard. It was true that my love had chosen to accompany me, that she had chosen to share in the life I led, and yet...The question remained. Did I have the right to ask that of her? The wolf in me had its own answer in an instant. To it, if she chose to be with us, than that was the end of the matter. But my human side wasn't so sure. I had lived a life of near constant pain and torment, spending day after day alone in the wilds, fighting our enemies, living on the land with only my other side for company. It was a hard life, a life I would never have been able to live without my wolf half. It was also a life I would never wish upon another person, much less my mate. I might have felt that my place was out there, in the deep wilds, but was it really? I couldn't answer. Shaking my head, I turned at a quiet sound that only my wolfish ears would have caught; not back towards camp, but to the south, uphill from the clearing, my eyes seeking the familiar form I knew I would find there.

And there, beneath the trees on my right, uphill from the camp, a familiar pair of eyes gazed at my own before vanishing behind a curtain of green pine needles. Smiling slightly, I turned and walked out of the camp, headed in that direction. I had not gone more than a few steps out of sight of the fire when the beautiful white werewolf I loved stepped out from a thicket. She was clad still in the hooded green robe that preserved her modesty among humans, but to my werewolf eyes, only enhanced her beauty. She wore a smile that made my heart flutter in my chest, and I sped my pace as I approached. When we were near enough, she fairly flew into my arms, our muzzles meeting in a warm kiss.

"You seem troubled, my love." She whispered when we broke off our affectionate greeting. "What is it?"

"Aldric asked a question that caught me off guard, that is all." I replied, reluctant to allow her to know my thoughts. But, as we walked together further up the hill towards the clearing on top, arm in arm, one look told me that she wasn't going to let it go. I sighed; might as well come out with it. "Julianna, am I being selfish, asking you to come with me as I return to the hunt?"

"Is that what is bothering you?" She asked, easy laughter in her voice. "Galen, you know that answer already. You are not asking it of me, nor would you ever have to. I will go where you go, even if your journeys take you back into Hell."

"I know, beloved," I replied, ducking a hanging branch as we came out into the clearing at the top of the hill. "I never questioned that. It is just...you deserve to live a better life than I have. It has always been said that we Slayers are called to this life, called upon by something deep in our soul to sacrifice the whole of our existence to the cause of fighting the demons. We choose it knowing full well that the war will never end. And, part of being a Hunter like me is knowing that even if we live to old age, we will never stop fighting. Someday, I will die in battle upon the blade of a demon, whether it be tomorrow or many years hence. I accepted that many years ago, but I don't want you to have to live that way, to live with that knowledge."

"I love you Galen." My princess said, stopping beside a rock and guiding my head around so I was facing her. She had been with me long enough to recognize the black, sorrowful mood that had crept up on me out of nowhere. And, in her eyes was something that halted the dark feelings in their tracks. It was a conviction of such strength and love that my doubts were shredded in its wake. "And I will hunt at your side for all the rest of my days, no matter the hardships I may have to endure. I want nothing else, and you deserve nothing less. "

Smiling, I drew her close once more and we stood beneath the failing sunlight on the hilltop, our arms around one another. Her words had made me feel so warm inside, laying all my doubts to rest, banishing the black mood like a ray of brilliant sunshine. Words kept coming to my mind, words that might express what her vow meant to me, but I stayed silent, the words seeming meaningless as my wolf half surged to the fore once more to express its own affection for her, hugging her tightly, nuzzling her neck. I smiled, my hands sliding beneath the robe to caress the fur that covered her back. I knew of no one else who would have made such a choice for me.

And, with my eyes closed, every sense filled with my mate, I thought once more how lucky I was to have her. Inside and out, she was beautiful, warm and wonderful, and yet she had a strength within her, a rare strength that we demon hunters valued above all else. That strength was what allowed the demon hunters to heed the call to the endless war we fought, what made us stand willingly against the most terrible creatures that ever existed and fight them to the death.

And then, as I nuzzled her, drawing a breath of her scent once more, I realized that something had changed in her. It was subtle, hardly to be noticed, but I caught it anyway. It was a slight shift in her scent, an earthy tinge that I did not recognize. And more, all of a sudden, her fur seemed so very soft and warm, more so than it had ever felt before. Pondering this sudden change, I pulled back from our close embrace, looking my lover over carefully. Outwardly, nothing seemed to have changed, so perhaps it was simply my perceptions that had changed but still, it could not be denied.

"Now, love, let us sit for a few minutes as we used to, before we mated for the first time, before all of this happened." Julianna said, giving no sign that she had noticed my examination and I smiled, taking a seat on the rock, putting the change out of my mind. Julianna sat beside me, nestling in close to my side and as the warmth of the memories we had shared came back to me, my worries about the future, the concerns that had haunted me since we left the Gulnian capitol faded away. Thinking back, I chuckled slightly, and Julianna looked over at me with a smile. "What is so funny?"

"How can it be only a month since then?" I asked quietly, and her smile broadened in reply. "It seems like a lifetime."

"I know what you mean." She said, shifting her position to one of greater comfort on the rough stone. "We have done quite a lot since then, you and I. Still, I almost can't wait to get to the Slayerhold. It will be nice not to have to be on watch for once."

"Mhmm." I agreed, adjusting my sword's position against my back so its point wasn't propped on the stones. Since we werewolves didn't need to sleep as humans did, Julianna and I had taken the watch over the camp every night since leaving Gulnia's capitol, and we had learned early on to use the few short hours between making camp and standing guard well. It was the one time we could be together without making the rest of the party uncomfortable. Even though the Slayers had accepted us, it still clearly made them uncomfortable to watch us being affectionate.

Both of us understood the logic behind having the werewolves on watch, since we would not impede the march the next day from lack of sleep, but still, nothing beat waking up to Julianna lying beside me. And, of course, being on watch gave one plenty of time to think, which was troublesome in itself. When we were sitting together, watching over the camp of sleeping Slayers, I couldn't help but wonder what the demons were up to. They had brought so much force and so many minions to bear on these lands in recent days, it was odd to not see so much as a single mujina for so long. The fact that we had yet to be attacked was starting to make we worried. For most of my life, I had never had more than a week without some sort of demonic incursion, and now, three weeks had passed without a single demon appearing.

Taking a deep breath, I forced those troubling thoughts to fade into the ether of my subconscious. I had spent far too much time dwelling on them in the past weeks. Instead, I sat side by side with my mate, watching the sun set behind the distant hills. In a few more minutes we would have go down to take up our vigil over our sleeping companions, but it was enough for me at the moment to just sit here with her in silence, the beauty of the scene before me enough to make me smile. But, even before the moonrise, my mate shifted apart from me, gently releasing my hand and I looked over at her, wondering what she was doing. She had a somewhat distant look in her eyes, as if her mind was far away, and I was about to ask what she was thinking about when she beat me to it.

"Galen, can I ask you something?" She asked, still staring off into the distance.

"Of course you can." I replied, surprised. "What is it?"

"Do the Slayers know of any instance of knowledge being passed with the bite of a werewolf?" She asked, one hand absently rubbing her shoulder where my fangs had pierced her. The marks were long gone, healed by the wolf spirit that now shared her body, but I knew that it would take much longer for the memory to fade, if it did at all. I still sometimes felt a faint echo of the pain where Redamarc's favored servant had bitten me all those years ago.

"How do you mean?" I asked, not understanding the question.

"It is hard to explain." Juliana replied, rising to her feet and beginning to pace back and forth, the subject obviously making her agitated. "Whenever I am idle, not really thinking of anything, I keep seeing these images, scenes in my mind of people and things I have never seen. And I keep feeling odd things in my muscles, urges almost, like... the remnant of a motion repeated so often that it becomes thoughtless. It feels almost like my body is remembering some sort of training." She suddenly stopped before me, her eyes losing their distance and held out a hand towards me. "Will you lend me your sword for a moment?"

"Alright." I replied, drawing the longsword from its sheath across my back. The silver blade caught the red rays of the sunlight, bathing the sword in blood as I reversed it, handing it carefully to her, its silver edge deadly if it pierced either one of us.

Julianna took the weapon in hand, and then, to my surprise, the princess took a few steps back, closing her eyes. Then, taking a deep breath, she relaxed her body for a moment, standing in an easy stance. Without warning, she began to weave the sword back and forth in figure eights, the startlingly quick motion the very same one I used to warm up before practicing. And then, she launched into an array of strikes and blocks, one after the other in an endless dance of advance and retreat, strike and counter and I felt my jaw going slack. It was unmistakably the solo version of Tolon's Dance, every motion executed with perfect placement and precision, with the same ease and flow as someone who had been doing it all the years of their life. And finally, after a few minutes, she brought the sword back up into ready position with the same flourish I had picked up in my training, the red rays of the sun turning the blade the color of blood. Every swordsman, even those trained by the same teacher, eventually picked up little personal touches over years and years of fighting that distinguished them from other fighters. But that particular nuance was a distinctive motion that only I added to the finishing position. Julianna stood for a moment, perfectly still, then her eyes opened and her posture relaxed.

"Julianna, that was amazing." I stated, rising to my feet and walking over to her. As I approached, she lowered the sword once more, holding the weapon as if she had never held a sword before, the graceful precision gone. "How did you do that?"

"That is just it, I don't have any idea." She replied, holding out the sword to me once more. "I close my eyes, and just let my muscles do things on their own and that is what happens. To be honest, it is scaring me a little."

"It is like you have gained my skills," I commented. "But how could that be possible?"

"So...I take it the answer to my question is no," Julianna said, a slight smile on her lips. "You have never heard of this sort of thing before."

"No, I haven't." I said, homing the blade and looking back up at the distant horizon, the moon beginning to peak its alabaster edge over the hills. "Come on, we have to get back," Putting an arm around her as we turned to walk down the hill towards the camp, I fell in step beside her. "In the morning, we should talk to Aldric. Maybe he will have heard of it."

***

Ducking under a hanging aspen bough bright with green leaves just starting to show faint tracery of yellow, I felt a shiver pass through me that had nothing to do with the warm breeze flitting through my twilight grey pelt. We had just left the King's road earlier that morning, and as the party walked on through the eerily demon-free wilderness, I couldn't help but feel a touch unsettled. And it wasn't just the lack of foes to fight that worried me. The day after Julianna had demonstrated her odd ability to fight as I did, we had discussed the phenomena with Aldric but he had been as surprised as I was. If a Master Hunter, a teacher ostensibly well trained in lore and history, hadn't heard of such a thing, there was like as not no one in the world who would have. But even though this odd happening coursed through my mind with every idle moment I had, there was something else as well, something that I had had no basis to compare it too. Looking over to find Julianna watching me with an easy smile on her face, I managed one in reply, though dark clouds were already filling my mind once more.

Something was happening to my love, something that I didn't know how to react to. As the days and nights had crawled by, she had become more and more affectionate, and while I certainly didn't mind, and although something similar had happened when we were first getting to know each other, I still didn't know how to react to it. She always seemed to be in an increasingly odd mood, spending every moment we had to ourselves in contact with me, everything from holding my paw to snuggling up to me as we sat watching over the camp. It wasn't the sort of thing that was arousing per se, just affectionate, and while I appreciated it, and certainly enjoyed it, it was starting to make me feel a little unsettled, as if I was missing something important that I should have recognized. And more, that earthy tinge to her scent hadn't gone away, nor had it gotten any more intense. It was simply there, distracting every time I scented it, like a faint wisp of song, half remembered. And, oddest of all, though she was being more and more affectionate, she also seemed to be getting more and more moody as time went by.

One moment she would be happy, like she was now, then she would be withdrawn, introspective almost, and then, she would seem to get depressed, which would make her even more cuddly, which seemed to make her happy again. Looking back at the green wilderness around me once more, I shook my head, marveling at myself. Hunting in the wild places was an easy thing for me; I faced down legions of horrible demons without flinching and this was what made me feel unsettled and out of sorts. Trying to steer my thoughts in a more constructive direction, I sought about for something to take my mind off of it. Unfortunately, the sunlit woodlands and cloudless sky were also empty of anything interesting enough for me to ponder.

Something that probably didn't help was the fact that Julianna and I were both tired of being on watch all the time and the one thing we both wanted more than anything was to fall asleep together as we used to. And every time we were idle, the urge to forgo the watch and just curl up together was like a constant itch, unable to be scratched. And then, as we crested a hill, I finally spotted something that kindled a small flame of hope for some alone time with my mate. Just over the crest, a pile of simple grey stones, about waist high to an average human, had been stacked almost haphazardly, looking as though they might tumble and fall at any moment. It would have been almost natural looking, had not the topmost stone been carved with a curious symbol. Seeing it, I paused, looking back and waiting for the rest of the Slayers to join us. The symbol was of a towering aspen tree enclosed within a diamond, the mark of Alarand, the goddess of Nature. Completing the triumvirate of good gods along with Auré and Arnath, Alarand was the patron deity of the wild, and the small pile of stones marked the edge of a land under her protection. The land beyond the hill, stretching almost to the far horizon, was filled with aspen trees, the goddess' favorite, an endless forest dotted here and there with clearings and meadows. Even as I waited, breeze carried a breath of the forest's air to my lungs, an oddly wholesome feel filling it, easing worry and soothing troubled minds. When Aldric reached the top of the hill beside me, he looked down at the stones and smiled in surprise.

"I must be out of my reckoning," He commented, shielding his eyes with a hand and peering into the aspen clad hill country out beyond the foot of the hill where we stood as if trying to spy something that would break the unending sea of light green leaves. "We must be near Aspenhald."

I felt a brief flash of wonder when I heard the name too, though I had never been there. Aspenhald was a strange place, a large collection of hills in the middle of a mountain range, stretching for many miles, and absolutely covered in aspen trees. It was considered by the priesthood of Alarand to be even more holy than all of their other temples, though no buildings had been built within its boundaries. Even in the depths of winter, the priests and all the visitors to the sanctuary were housed beneath canopies of green and brown cloth instead, with as little interference to the natural world as possible. Aspenhald was also a major outpost for Alarand's Chosen, the nature-worshiping counterpart of the Slayers of Auré. They were equally as well trained as the Slayers, though not nearly as numerous.

"Though I don't doubt that they will have heard of our battles by now, we should stop in for a night or two anyway." Aldric stated, a faint look of eager anticipation attempting to force its way onto his face. The other Slayers, to a man young and inexperienced enough that spending unending days traveling in the wild made them long for the comforts of a settlement, murmured their agreement and I sensed a golden opportunity hovering in front of me.

"I am not sure that is such a good idea," I began, causing the Slayers to look over at me in surprise. "At least for Julianna and I. The Chosen are renowned for being able to sense magic about a person. Even in our human forms, we would be discovered if we even came close to one of them, and I don't know if they would react well to finding two werewolves on their sacred lands."

"That is a good point." Aldric commented, stroking his chin while he considered it. Mentally, I crossed my fingers, hoping that my brother would make the choice I hoped he would. "I think you are right. Though the aspen forest is wide enough you should be able to stay close enough to us without being spotted."

"I agree." I said and caught Julianna's eye. The smaller white werewolf winked at me, and I smiled in reply. She knew very well what I had intended by my objection. "And we should probably split up sooner rather than later."

"Right." Aldric replied, nodding to me. "Why don't you meet us on the other side of Aspenhald in three days?"

"See you there." I replied, my heart soaring so high in my chest that I thought it might try and escape from my body altogether. With that, the small party of Slayers followed my brother down the hill to the east, picking out the faint trail leading towards the heart of Aspenhald, marked out by Alarand's crest carved on the small stones that dotted the slopes leading down, standing out from the sweet green grass. As the last Slayer passed us, my hand found Julianna's once more and we turned to the north as one, away from the path, sprinting joyfully into the aspen groves in that direction with a speed only lycans could manage...