chapter 12
#12 of Wolves' Legacy Saga
Chapter 12
They spent the next day gathering supplies and waiting for the carriage to be repaired, because the next place would be very far and there were few carriage stations. Lilac was tasked to buy some supplies for the journey while Albreich and Ifrit went to the market to find anyone willing to have any deliveries, and also to replenish their long distance supplies as to trade them for the borderline journey, as, by Albreich's maps, they were nearing the border of Tragoria region.
While picking up some of the flour they were supposed to take, Albreich turned his head to Ifrit and said, "Does that thing I told you make you uncomfortable, Ifrit?"
"I don't feel anything strange, but why are you uncomfortable?"
"I just want to tell you sorry about last night, Ifrit. I suddenly jumped on you with no apparent reason," he said while taking the money. "Let's talk along the way, shall we?"
The flour sacks weren't as heavy as how Albreich carried them, so Ifrit took all four of them on his back while the rest of them were being carried by Albreich (which were the lighter ones). While walking past a black horse, Albreich started to talk, "Ifrit...let me tell you something about love. Love is...a kind of feeling that's like a storm, but a limitless storm. It won't stop until a strong force stops it, but stopping it bears another danger, as unlike normal storms, some depends on it. I'm telling you this, Ifrit, that not only does the storm limitless, it can destroy any kind of limits, including interracial limits. What's more, females depend more on this storm than males do."
"But, that's not good, then."
"I don't know if you understand me or not. Plain human love, whether it's interracial or not, is a normal thing. For Lycans, it's also normal to love humans, but I don't know why Lilac seems to love you more than any other Lycans in her life. Are you manipulating her? As a demon, that's a sort of thing your kind always do, isn't it?"
Ifrit immediately understood the word, having found the meaning already. He just exclaimed, "No! You get it all wrong!"
"Really? You seem to be panicked by it."
"That's not what I meant! Al, trust me, I was just trying to calm her."
"By what? Kissing her?"
"I was just touching her and gave my warmth to her. Is that even a problem?"
Albreich then set down the flour sack and said, "You sure are not like a real demon to me, Ifrit. I would have thought you're a disguised Lycan if not for that fire power and black sclera of yours. Now, Ifrit, can you do me a favor?"
"Yes?"
"The carriage station is just down this road, so you won't miss it. Load these flour sacks and wait for Lilac and I to return. Oh, and don't try anything stupid out of curiosity. I don't want you make us lose more money because of spilling some things."
Those beans from three days ago were still fresh in Ifrit's mind, so knowing that it was something very important to them, he carefully took the rest of the flour sacks and walked down the road towards his current home. The horses whinnied on Ifrit's presence, somehow happy on how one of their owners were there with them. Knowing very well on animal's language, Ifrit replied to them in his own language, which seem to reach their ears and they became happier as the result.
"(Hey, it's alright, boys. We're not going for a trip yet)," he said while patting a paint horse. "(You bunch sure are okay around hellhounds, do ya?)"
When one of them started to make a gesture, Ifrit said, "(You're excited, do you? Well, it will be a very long journey. We'll set off soon)."
Just after he put the last sack of flour did Lilac's sudden arrival startled the hellhound to the point he tripped. The surprise also jumped his tail out, which almost got found by the humans if not for his body covering the slender tail. This reaction caused Lilac to be puzzled herself.
While putting the fresh and preserved goods into the carriage, Lilac kneeled beside Ifrit and said, "Is there something wrong with my face? You talked something with your language just now."
"(Damn, she came in the wrong time)," thought Ifrit with a sigh. He glanced on the things the woman brought and said, "Say, uh, what are you buying?"
"I bought some dried meat layers for us, some bread, and much other fresh meat of all kinds. Do you like beef roast?"
"Maybe..."
"Great. Now, after Albreich is done with his job we can set off to the border town. I can't wait to see the Adaline region. In fact, this is the first time I travel this far from my home, and..."
That statement, in many ways, did bring some bad memories for both of them, but especially for Ifrit, his newfound feeling found it painful to be rejected by a friend. Without talking much, Ifrit just changed his view elsewhere, but Lilac saw his expression and said, "Did I bring up bad memories?"
"No, it's alright.... This new feeling overwhelms me for a moment, but I'm alright."
"Ifrit...."
"Please, just...let me alone for a while."
Ifrit didn't think much about Lilac and went inside the carriage. He suddenly realized what the human trader said about love. His attraction and Lilac's closeness was slowly getting into him, as he felt nervous all around her and got some loss of words. He realized that he suddenly liked her, unlike many previous times where he only regarded as a friend. This time and like the last night's dream, he kept thinking about Lilac, and this caused him to be depressed.
"(Fuck this mortal feeling.... I'm a hellhound, goddamn it. Why am I thinking like she's a something to me? This feeling doesn't even have a Hordo meaning either! Goddamn....)"
"Is there something wrong, Ifrit?"
"I said it's nothing, Lilac. I don't want you to bother me right now."
"But..."
"Lily, let me take care of this. Just help me talk with the caretaker that we're leaving."
Ifrit heard footsteps coming into the carriage, and of course from the previous conversation, it was Albreich. Sitting beside the distraught hellhound, Albreich removed his shoes while saying, "See? It's like a storm. The first time you got it, it's going to give you a hard time."
"I don't know why I am so depressed."
Albreich then turned his head towards a wardrobe. He was staring at it while saying, "I have a lover once, when I was your age. We wish to be together for eternity, but that's until I knew she is engaged to a man. I was a fool that day, for releasing her from me, all because of anger. I still love her until these days and wondered where she is now."
"Aren't you depressed?"
"All good men know that a love that can make a man depressed is that they have something to say, but they are not ready. This include you too, Ifrit. As a nice hellhound, I'm sure Lilac and you are the best couple, but you're not ready to accept her love, all mainly because of her being a human."
He put his hand on the hellhound's furry shoulder. "Look, I won't stop you from trying to express your feeling to her. I see you not as a hellhound, but as a man with matured feelings. Maybe someday, she will open up to you."
Ifrit didn't reply. His thoughts were divided between having to hold his feelings toward Lilac or to just talk about it with the fair young woman. He shook his canine head and went out to the front side of the carriage, thinking about the decision.
That evening, they set off to the next town, a border town and borderline trading town Arbal (from Albreich's map). As Ifrit was distraught over the feeling, he was in company with Albreich, and the journey felt heavy to the three. Ifrit didn't care much about how he felt, yet he failed to understand how others felt about it, which also made Lilac felt guilty and Albreich to be sorry on the hellhound, especially on how he told him about the forbidden love concept. Seeing on how depressed the hellhound was, Albreich was thinking on how to talk sense with him, only to found that Ifrit was trying to reject the feeling he got with Lilac.
Again, Albreich turned to the hellhound and said, "Ifrit...maybe you should, you know...talk about what's wrong with you?"
"I can't, Al. I just can't. I kept thinking about her more than I should be. Since you told me about that love...she's in my dream and my thoughts. I can't forget about her and I want to talk to her about this feeling. But I just...it's too much, Al. If it's forbidden for me I can't."
"If I say it's forbidden, why are you so depressed? Just let it go and leave you. If you know that's not something you should do, why should you do it?"
"The feelings are too much for me to handle, Al. I don't know if this is a joke or not, but Lilac is different with many other humans I met in the journey. My instinct tells me that she's not even a human at all, and this attracted me. Her scent is like an animal, and my feelings give me that she's almost similar to me."
"What are you talking about, Ifrit?"
"It's like she's one of my kind, Al. Lilac is like a (hound), I mean, a hellhound."
Albreich when silent for a moment, and he turned his head back into the carriage to make sure Lilac didn't hear him. She was still too busy reading a book of topography. Then, the man beckoned Ifrit to come closer, but he suddenly said, "Hey, why is your tail out like that? Tuck it in!"
"O...Oh! Sorry."
After putting in the whip-like tail, Albreich whispered to Ifrit's canine ears.
"Ifrit, don't ever let Lilac knows I'm telling you this, or she'll shred me to pieces. Have you read my book about a wolfman?"
After the hellhound nodded, Albreich then slowly said, "Don't be surprised, Ifrit, but she's a real werewolf."
"Wait, does that mean she'll hunt all of us?"
"Never believe what you see in stories, Ifrit. What you know in real life is different than what you know in the stories. I believe you've met many of the wolfmen, right?"
"But they are different from the books."
"Lycans these days are not a monster anymore, yet they are still resented by the humans over what they had done many centuries ago. Lilac felt the same, and she wants to travel to spend out her frustration with how they treated Lycans. But then, I slowly know that the reason that you and her are forbidden to be together is because of you being a hellhound, as she's in her human form. When you're walking to the carriage, I did something so you two can have a moment of peace together."
Albreich then produced the lunar indicator, which shone brightly, indicating that it was full moon that night. True, just as they reached a carriage station just some ride away from the town, they sun had already set, and from the Ifrit suddenly realized what he meant.
"But, many don't accept her. She won't be happy by this."
"Trust me. Before that, though, I'm sorry if I misdirected your love."
Albreich then ran back to Lilac and exclaimed, "Lilac, what the hell are you doing? The sun is setting and today is a full moon!"
"What?! Where do you know it?"
"That's what you get for neglecting this particular scroll..., and maybe you're too late."
As Ifrit went in, he saw something that both awed him and awakened something that's too much for his own feelings to get.
Lilac made a very painful transformation, beginning with how her feet started to change from a human's to a canine's, a lot like Ifrit's. Her long black hair slowly receded, to be replaced with the hair growing all over her body. Seeing her in pain made him unconsciously lick his own hands like a dog, as her face's structure slowly morphed into that of a wolf, complete with canine ears and sharp teeth. Her nails slowly became black and getting sharper. What made her more beautiful in Ifrit's eyes were how her blue wolf eyes were appealing to all of her body.
Just only minutes, Lilac became a slender humanoid wolf with blue lilac-colored animalistic eyes, all in front of Ifrit.
"Oh no..., why is the moon so unpredictable these days and...Ifrit? W...what did you see?"
"Lilac...I never knew you would be this...this good-looking," said Ifrit slowly. "You really are a (hound), just like me."
"Alright...I'll rent a room for stay. It's going to be cold out here. Lilac, maybe you want a little time alone...."
"No, Albreich. I want to talk with Ifrit, now that he knows my secret. Will you mind?"
"If that what's you want."
Ifrit saw how Lilac looked, and by her expression, he saw that the Lycan was very much surprised on Ifrit's reaction. When they rented two rooms, Albreich bought a double-bed room for both of them, much to Lilac's annoyance. When they were alone in the room, Lilac closed the door, locked in, and took a deep breath. Seeing her in her wolf form was awkward for Ifrit, but then Lilac sat beside him and said, "Ifrit, this is something I'm trying to tell you since the first time we met. As you see, I'm a Lycan, a werewolf, and this...curse caused me many things, including that I can't love someone without hurting them."
Ifrit looked surprised. "Why? You're not as bad as I thought."
"My brother is trying to find a cure by daring the sea, but...but I don't know if he ever comes back. I don't want people to see me as a monster I am. I want to be a human."
That night was the night when the hellhound saw Lilac cried, shedding tears on her misery. This awakened a kind of sympathy inside Ifrit, where he also felt her pain. He knew this was it. He knew it was the time to tell her what his heart content is, and with the sympathy, he gave a nice warm embrace on her, circling her in a hug. The smaller Lycan gasped and in reflex drew her claw, but she slowly calmed down while watching Ifrit's innocent lizard eyes that were unlike all demons. That night, she saw him as equally handsome as he saw her as beautiful, as she never saw him in her canine eyes.
"Don't cry, Lilac," said Ifrit slowly. "I'm not going to hurt you or make you sad. No matter what happens, I will always there with you."
"I'm a Lycan, Ifrit. The next morning I will be human, and you won't like me like tonight...."
"It's alright. I can still sense the (hound) in you. Whatever your form is, you're still beautiful."
With a slow shy voice, Ifrit said, "I don't know what to say. I like you more than a friend...."
"And I love you more than a hellhound."
They locked their eyes for a moment, before slowly but sure, touching their snouts together. Lilac opened her maws first while Ifrit, in reflex opened him, and he extended his tongue more than he usually was, and it locked inside Lilac's mouth like a snake. The long gum-like tongue was too long for locking with Lilac's, and it went out from the maw's side, where Lilac saw for the first time the true length of Ifrit's tongue.
"Well, look at you," said Lilac passionately after breaking the kiss. "That's one long tongue you have. I never felt another man inside me, but...I never thought I would love a hellhound."
"(And I to you)." Somehow in a wild feeling, Ifrit forgot some of the English words and talked back in Hordo instead, but Lilac didn't care.
Ifrit and Lilac then lay on the bed, looking each other compassionately, before Lilac slowly lowered her skirt and produced her bushy wolf tail from beneath. She made a wolfish smile to him, and while embracing him, she said, "I want to feel you inside me...."
The hellhound just smiled back and made a thought, "(Man, this is something very weird for a hellhound, but I gotta say it to myself. Having this sensation is different from being a cold-hearted bastard)."