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The Blood Moon

Written By: Skabaard

Lily awoke slowly, but without grogginess, feeling well-rested for the first time since she could remember. She peered curiously for a time at the green sky before she realized it was the thick thatch of leaves that carpeted nearly the entirety of the ancient forest. It must have been close to noon on a bright, cloudless day. The canopy practically glowed with light and life.

As well as she had slept, her pack made for a lumpy pillow, and she noisily popped her neck as she sat up. Adrenaline shot lines of ice through her veins when her eyes lit on the huge, golden-haired, tawny-furred wolf-beast that sat placidly on a rock near her, her sparkling, blue eyes sweeping the forest attentively. And then she realized who it was and relaxed slowly as her heart gradually dropped to its proper location in her chest. "Gods' Blood, Seven, you've got to stop nearly scaring the shit out of me. My poor heart can't take all these acrobatics."

The werewolf's ear cocked toward her, and she turned her head to fix Lily with a happy smile across her lupine features. "Good morning to yourself, Lily. We were beginning to wonder if you would ever get up." Her cheerful voice was just as deep and powerful as it was when Lily had gone to sleep, metallic and resonant, as if she was speaking with two sets of vocal chords.

Lily looked around curiously. "Where's Mr. Overcompensation? Did you throw a stick or something?"

The wolf giggled and showed Lily an unsettling number of teeth as her grin broadened. "No. He's just out looking around." She got up and strolled over, dropping to her rump next to Lily. "You were asleep for a long time, and you snore like an old man. Ulric was surprised you didn't wake yourself up."

Lily raised her hands defensively. "Hey," she deflected, "I was tired. It's not my fault that I was finally able to enjoy a night's sleep, even with you two weirdoes staring at me all night."

"Not all night!" the wolf barked, " An hour here and there, maybe. But we stayed busy. We caught some more fish, walked around, took turns napping. I cooked you some breakfast, too, presuming you're hungry."

If Lily had ears like the wolf they would have stood straight up. "If you feed me right now, I will love you forever, Seven. I'll admit, I'm not the biggest fan of fish, but it's so much better than leaves and dirt."

"I couldn't agree more." replied the wolf, "I miss venison. I feel like I haven't eaten anything big and substantial in ages, something with blood, and bones. Fish will work though." She waved a muscular arm behind her at Lily's campfire, where a good-sized fish was skewered over the firepit. "It's been a while since I've had to cook anything, but it's not like fish is hard. I didn't have any salt or seasonings, but I did quite well, I think, given the circumstances."

It did look quite good, and Lily scooted forward excitedly. She winced when her sprained ankle reminded her of its presence, but that was hardly going to stop her. She felt the wolf's strong, clawed hand on her back, helping her to her feet as she made a grab for the makeshift crutch she had fashioned the day before. Now that the situation had changed, her injury seemed worse than she had originally thought it had been. Maybe it was because she now cared whether or not she died at the end of this. She spared the wolf a thankful glance and fell onto the fish with ravenous gusto.

Lighthearted jealousy ignited in her gut. She had certainly never cooked anything this good. "Tell me, Seven." she mused through a mouthful of flavorful fish, "How is it fair that someone who doesn't even cook their food can cook better than me?"

The wolf gestured widely to her powerful, voluptuous body. "I wasn't always like this. I lived alone longer than you probably did. When I wasn't working or sleeping I was cooking. I could never afford any expensive ingredients, and I liked the challenge of making a meal fit for a king on a servant's salary. I guess it was one of the only things I did for fun."

"So you weren't born with fur and fangs? Damn, how much gold did you have to spend to get like this?"

"What do you think I am?" the wolf jabbed, "I'm hardly some wolf morph who got lost in the woods. We're something far older than that. I paid for this body with my humanity. It hurt more than you can possibly imagine. It... was the best thing that ever happened to me. But no, I had skin and plain, old teeth, just like you. It was only a few months ago that I was a seamstress. I hated it with a burning passion." She smiled. "Not only do I not cook food. I don't even wear clothes anymore. So much for my old life, right?"

Lily punched Venata playfully in the ribs. "If there's something wrong with moving on to new things, then we're all fucked. I can't believe that. I won't. I can't let them... they wouldn't want me to... I... damnit, Seven. You can't keep doing this to me!" The wolf reached over and wiped a tear from her cheek before she bundled her up in strong arms and held her to a shoulder. "It's not fair." she sobbed, "Every time I say that I'm done crying I find more tears."

"I'm hardly an expert," The wolf holding her whispered into her ear, "but I think tears are a fairly natural reaction to what you've been through, as long as you don't let them wash you away." Lily cried, making the wolf's shoulder damp with her tears. She didn't know what to do with the emptiness she felt, with the hollow cavern that had been gouged out of her chest. "Cry as much as you want." intimated her furry friend, "I'll hold you. I won't let you get carried away; I promise."

"I know." Lily returned, pulling away after a moment and rubbing her eyes with the edge of her dark grey cloak, "Thanks, Seven. I just... I just need some time; that's all. I don't know how much time, but you'll be the first to know I've had enough." The wolf smiled gently when Lily bounced up and quickly kissed her cheek. "I think they would have liked you, Seven, even if you're a terrifying night-beast from everyone's nightmares. You're alright."

Lily was pushed toward the fish as the wolf rose back to her feet. "Eat. Eat. We've got a lot to do before we enact our horrible vengeance on the creature that started all of this."

Lily's lips parted in a grin. "The sooner, the better." She ate quickly, saving a good portion of the fish and tying it up in a bundle to stick in her pack for later. The wolf returned to her perch, watching her curiously as she busied herself, hobbling around with her crutch and poking around in her meager possessions. She nearly jumped out of skin when the other one stalked into the small clearing through the trees. "Gods damn you two! Would it absolutely kill you to say something before you wandered in? Fucking Ichor!"

"Sorry, sorry!" he whined. He was like Venata, but was clearly an entirely different beast. He was huge, close to nine feet, and was likely the most muscular creature Lily had ever seen. He shrugged his massive shoulders and plodded over. He was certainly looking much better than he had the day before, and his jet black fur was unmarred by any scars or reminders of his injuries. He spoke. "I haven't seen any signs of anyone else near here, but I saw tracks leading south. The fact that they left tracks makes me feel like they weren't others like us."

Lily blinked numbly. It really was difficult to focus on what he was saying. His voice was so tremendously deep it rattled her skull, and its metallic timbre vibrated in her ears. "So... what does that tell us? Are they going south because they're hunting the not-crazy ones? Or are they just wandering? Should we go further into the forest? Should we go after them, stop them from hurting anyone? What do we do?"

Ulric sighed and shrugged again. "I don't really know. We haven't really made any effort to find out how they hunt. Any of us that are left are likely deeper in the forest, to the northwest, but I can't be sure."

Venata straightened and hopped to her feet, padding closer. "How old were the tracks and how far out were they?"

"Two days. A couple hour's walk east. Two of them, and it didn't really look like they were in a hurry."

"How long would it take to catch up with them?"

"If we ran? Half a day at most, assuming that they kept up the same pace. Do you think we should go after them?"

Venata nodded fiercely. "Either they're our own, and they need our help, or they're the tainted ones, and they should be freed. It's been too long since we've gone hunting, don't you think?"

Lily couldn't help but smile at Venata's sudden resolve. "Now that's what I'm talking about! Let's go kick some ass!" She bounded to her foot and snuffed out the fire before she slung her pack up onto her shoulders. The familiar weight of her father's crossbow was comforting in her arms, but she tugged uselessly as she tried to pull her sword from the tree where Venata had left it the day before. "Can a girl get some help, Seven? I can't leave without it." Venata rolled her eyes and sauntered over, wrapping a heavy hand around the blade's hilt. The muscle lining her powerful arm bunched and she grunted with the effort of jerking the sword free from its woody prison. "Thanks." Lily said as she checked the length of fine steel for damage before she slid it home. "Alright. Let's go hunting!"

The wolves looked at her for a silent few seconds and she dully realized the flaw in her plan. Panic welled up in her gut. She'd never be able to keep up with her new friends. "Okay, I changed my mind. Don't leave me. Please don't leave me here. I don't-"

Venata cut off her pleading with a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Relax Lily. We're not going to leave you. We're going to carry you. Now climb up; we've got a ways to go."

Lily blinked slowly. That was unexpected. Venata knelt next to her and offered her a hand. "Uh. O-okay. I-um... S-sure." She pulled the crossbow's strap across her chest and threw it onto her back with her pack, and then she grabbed Venata's fingers and crawled awkwardly onto the wolf's back, throwing her arms over Venata's shoulders and legs around her waist. The wolf straightened as if she were weightless. "This feels silly." Lily whined.

Ulric grinned as Venata rolled her shoulders under Lily's arms and bounced on her feet, adjusting the tiny woman's weight as she took a few experimental steps. "I don't know about that." Venata mused with a sly smile over her shoulder, "I think you feel rather nice back there. Just watch where you put your hands, hmm? Unless, of course, you like where you have them now."

Lily jabbed a knee into the wolf's ribs. "You relentless flirt!" She turned toward Ulric. "Is she always like this?"

The huge wolf chuckled and nodded. "Oh yes. Either flirting or teasing, not that I mind terribly."

Venata pouted, but perked up when Lily pushed aside her hair to kiss the back of her neck. "I'm hardly complaining." she murmured, "And I'd love to let you know where else I'd like to put my hands after we kill some lust-crazed beasts and help your friends, but for now I think I'd like you to just not shake me around too much. It hurts when I move my foot."

"Don't worry." said Venata, "I'll be very gentle. You won't even know we're moving. I promise." Lily grumbled dubiously, but as they left their campsite, breaking into a steady lope through the trees, Venata was true to her word. Bent low to the ground, her long strides carried the two of them weightlessly, gliding over the ground with impossible grace. Lily was impressed. They barely made a sound, dodging around trunks and undergrowth as they set an effortlessly rapid pace.

Perhaps only a half-hour later they found the trail of which Ulric had spoken. Or at least the wolves said they had. Lily couldn't see any indications of anything living having passed through the area, but both Venata and Ulric were confident, and Lily wasn't about to question their expertise. She was certainly no tracker. They turned and continued southward following the tracks that they both insisted were there. The two wolves ran for hours, slowing occasionally to search around, but never really stopping. She suspected that they would pause so Ulric could shoulder her weight, but Venata never showed any signs of strain, so they kept going.

The sun hung low in the sky when they suddenly halted. The wolves panted, catching their breath after running for hour after hour on end, but rather than seem tired, Venata and Ulric just appeared invigorated. Her part-time mount tapped her legs and Lily slid off of Venata's back. She, on the other hand, was horridly stiff and she stretched to work the knots out of her tense muscles. "We're close." Venata said in a hushed whisper.

Lily nodded and pulled her crossbow off of her back. She had to put her entire body into the effort of stringing it. She braced it with her good foot and hauled back the string, sliding a barbed quarrel into its groove. Her father had been a strong man, and it took everything she had to wield the powerful weapon. After another short nod to Ulric and Venata, they started ahead slowly, Ulric in front and Venata behind, with Lily limping between them.

The sun was falling quickly, and the shadows were growing increasingly oppressive. Her eyes couldn't hope to compete with those of the wolves around her, and her ears likely couldn't either, but they were more useful in the falling night, and she kept an ear on the forest around her, listening carefully for anything. Ulric and Venata were undoubtedly better suited for combat, especially in her current state, but she had killed more of them than the two combined, and she knew what she was doing.

The black-furred wall of muscle in front of her stopped abruptly, and she froze with him. Ulric lifted his head, sniffing at the air, and Lily peered around into the gloom. She had been unable to shake the feeling that she was being watched since she had fist entered the forest, but right then, it certainly peaked in intensity. With a soft click, she disengaged the safety on the weapon in her hands. She had a sneaking feeling all hell was going to break loose in a few seconds. She wasn't the only one who sensed impending doom, and Venata stepped close behind her, shadowing her protectively.

Her heart jumped up into her throat when she heard rustling in the undergrowth immediately to her right. She spun toward it, unable to comprehend how he had gotten so close without them hearing or seeing him. Time slowed down. He was there, in midair, a ravenous gleam in his eyes. He was huge, almost as tall as Ulric, but thinner and wirier, with dark grey fur that was matted with gods knew what. She didn't have the time to sight down the length of the weapon, but he was close enough for it not to matter.

She squeezed the release lever. The shock of the recoil shook her arm. His expression grew confused when the barbed steel tip of the bolt practically flew down the beast's throat and came out the other side, perforating his spine along the way. He faltered a step away from Lily, lifting clawed hands to the quarrel protruding between his teeth, apparently unaware that he was already dead. He whined and toppled forward at Lily's feet. She let out a heavy breath and lowered the crossbow as Venata shouldered past her.

The second mindless animal that they had been chasing had jumped on Ulric, and was faring little better. This one was smaller, and looked like he had shoved his throat into Ulric's face. Ulric's fangs held his aggressor's neck, and his hand held the shaggy wolf's arms to his sides. He held it until it had stopped struggling and then dropped it, where it gurgled weakly before Venata strolled over and casually finished tearing out its throat.

There was blood everywhere. "Holy shit..." Lily breathed, "You guys know how to make a mess, don't you?"

Ulric grimaced and spat dark, almost black blood onto the corpse before him. "It seems so." He wiped the gore from around his mouth and inspected the bodies. "I'm not familiar with these two." Lily was in the middle of cautiously reloading when another one stepped between the trees. She squeaked in terror, backpedaling into Venata's chest, who caught her and patted her on the shoulder. "Kannic!" Ulric cried, "You're alive!" The stranger carefully stepped forward, keeping a wary eye on the two bodies as he walked slowly over to Ulric.

A silent, tense moment passed as the wolf the two corpses were apparently chasing sniffed the air around Ulric. His fur was short, less shaggy than Ulric's but less smooth than Venata's, and it was a pallid, almost whitish grey. He was short, shorter than Venata, perhaps only seven feet tall. "Ulric." he growled, "Venata. I've never been happier to see anyone in all my years." His voices were raspy, like he had spent a year gargling iron filings.

"Same to you, Kannic." Venata replied as she sauntered over and hugged the shorter wolf, "What are you doing going south? It's not safe!"

"I would ask you the same question, but I think I already know the answer. Thank you. I don't think I could have taken them both. In fact, I was fairly certain I was going to die. I was just trying to find something to eat. I was with others to the east, near the river. We haven't been able to find anything to eat in days."

"Try the river." Lily interjected, "I hadn't seen anything else either, but yesterday, a huge school of fish flooded upstream. I don't know what made it happen, but there should be plenty."

His eyes slid to Lily, and he grinned. "Ah. That is a breath of fresh air. And who might you be, little marksman?" Lily told him, and Venata gave him a brief explanation of everything that had happened in the past few days. Kannic smiled the entire time Venata spoke, and he laughed and joyously returned her embrace when she told him of her plan. "I've spent days trying to convince the others to stay away from them." he said with a touch of shame, "And here you are, making me look like a fool." He looked around them at the bodies, prodding the one whose throat they had torn out with a foot. "Do they all die this easily?" Venata nodded. "Then you should come with me. The others have wanted to do what you're doing, but I wanted to keep them safe. Come, come. The pack will want to see you."

Lily swallowed heavily. "Pack? How many of you are there?"

"Nearly a dozen when I left them to hunt."

A dozen. Lily forced herself to breathe slowly as she bent over the one she had killed and retrieved her quarrel. It wasn't damaged, so she wiped it clean and stuck it back in its case. "Awesome. I'm certainly not going to turn down any help, although I don't know who you're calling little, shorty." He laughed at that, and she limped over to them to lean heavily on Venata's thigh. "Let's get out of here."

Kannic nodded and trotted away to the west, followed closely by Ulric's bulk. Lily barely had time to unstring and stow her crossbow before Venata grabbed her and threw Lily up onto her back like a toy. She couldn't wait for her ankle to heal. Getting carried everywhere was going to get frustrating very quickly. Although even with an uninjured leg, there was no way she could keep up with the wolves if they wanted to outrun her. But it was the principal of the thing.

They jogged at an easier pace this time, but still didn't stop. Lily didn't even realize she had fallen asleep until the gentle rocking of Venata's body underneath her stopped and woke her groggily. She wasn't sure what time it was, but it was pitch black under the trees, save for the gentle, pale glow of what had to be the moon breaking through the canopy here and there. She was jolted awake as she was lowered to the ground by the sight of ten-or-so pairs of bright, lupine eyes peering at her. "Okay..." she said with a sardonic roll of her eyes, "That's not unnerving at all."

They ran the gamut of shapes and colors, short, tall, thick, thin, with furs of red, brown, grey, and black. There was even a lady-wolf with fur the color of fresh snow. Lily and the others walked over slowly, Lily hanging back while the wolves all exchanged greetings. It involved a lot of nearly-comical sniffing. Lily felt like she was in an alien land, cold and alone, and she did little but stand awkwardly to the side as they all spoke in hushed whispers to each other. Lily sighed and meandered over to a nearby tree. She could hear the sounds of a river nearby, which would hopefully feed her new friends.

She slid down the trunk and lifted her ankle, resting it on her crossbow as she reclined against the bark behind her. She hadn't eaten since breakfast, and she dug around in her pack for the rest of the morning's fish. She froze as she heard the bushes rustling to her right. Her hand drifted to the hilt of her sword as she let out a slow quiet breath. Surely they wouldn't be attacked here, with so many others around.

What she saw surprised her even more. Bent low to the ground, curiosity overcoming her unease, what had to be a child crept toward Lily from the shadows. She was short and skinny, with a lanky build that spoke of a body she had yet to grow into, and she eased closer, gingerly sniffing the air as she approached. "Good Gods, you have got to be the most adorable thing I've ever seen." Lily admitted quietly. She raised a hand, and the little wolf stopped, eyes wide. "Come on. Give it a sniff. As if you're the one who has to worry about getting bit, squirt." It was clear the child took after her mother, because she had the same wintry fur and chilly blue eyes. She reached her lupine muzzle out enough to smell Lily's fingers, and she seemed to relax a bit. "Much better. Shorty said you haven't eaten much in a while." She brandished the parcel of fish to her dinner guest, who scooted closer and plopped herself down next to Lily, her snowy tail wagging excitedly. "I'll take that as a yes, then."

Lily wasn't sure if the young wolf could even understand her, and she didn't really mind the silence as she shared what was left of her fish with the pup. She nearly lost a finger or two as the little wolf ate ravenously, and she surrendered most of her protein, chewing on the nearly the last of her dried fruit. Her fluffy new friend seemed to appreciate it, however, and Lily soon found herself being used as a pillow as the little bundle of white fur curled up next to her and rested a heavy head on her lap. "Not a bad idea, squirt. I think I might just join you." She scratched the child behind her ears, to her vocal joy. "Do you think the grown-ups will let us know when they've decided our fate? I hope they give us a chance to rest. They may have done all the running, but I'm still tired, you know? Just really, really tired, and sore, and stiff. Gods' Blood am I stiff. Have you ever been so tired that even the most ridiculous things don't even seem odd when you think about them? Could be that I'm just jaded as hell... that's probably it, to be honest." The little one twitched, shaking Lily out of her reverie. "Alright, alright. I'll shut up. Good night, tiny. It's their turn to catch us a few dozen fish while we sleep."

She must have been as tired as she said, because she had no sooner closed her eyes than she grumpily opened them. The sun was once more burning through the trees. At some point in the night she must have slid off of her tree, and now the little fuzz-ball was using her more as a mattress, with her head and both spindly arms thrown over Lily's torso. She just sat there for a while, breathing slowly and trying to choke back sudden, unbidden tears. She rarely had vivid dreams, but sometimes she had trouble shaking the images from her mind.

Fluffy must have sensed her unease, because she lazily lifted her head and peered at Lily with an interrogative whine. "Relax, tiny." mumbled Lily with a hand on her furry back. Her eyes crossed and she sneezed sharply, misting Lily in puppy snot. "Oh come on!" she yelped, ducking her head into her cloak to scrub her face clean. "That's so gross!" The little wolf looked at her with a huge smile. "You... you did that on purpose you butthead! That is not funny!"

Despite her assertions to the contrary, the wolf pup let out a short, barking laugh and hugged her tightly with lanky arms that still packed a surprising amount of strength. "Easy there, squirt." she wheezed, "Watch the ribs. I've only got so many of them, and they don't heal as fast as a sprain." Her soft friend released her and she slowly sat up, her stiff joints popping noisily as she stretched. "So, tiny, what's on your agenda for today?" She got another hug in answer as the little ball of fluff pushed up under her arm and leaned against her, tail flicking happily. "I can deal with that."

Lily wondered where everyone had gone. The small clearing she had been deposited in was empty, save for her and the child. That was, at least, until Venata coolly walked up next to her from behind and took a seat on her other side. "Where'd everyone go?" Lily asked.

Venata scooted closer, until Lily was bordered on both sides by walls of soft, warm fur. "Well... you were right, the fish returned to the river, so they spent a good, long time fishing. But right now they're out in pairs looking for more of us to bring here. We'll want as many as we can get before we do what we're planning on doing. Ulric went with Kannic after I offered to stay here and look after you two."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Seven."

"Oh shut up. You're hurt, and you know what I mean."

"Yeah, yeah... and thanks, really. Not that I don't resent the notion that I need as much care as a kid. But thanks anyway."

"You're quite welcome. And besides, who do you think my partner is? As far as everyone else is concerned, you proved yourself when you shot that one through the neck yesterday. You moved fast enough to surprise me."

"Blind terror tends to make one jumpy, Seven. That was more lucky than impressive. But I am a good shot. Pop taught me to shoot when I was little. He had to pull it back for me. Give me a chance to line up a shot and I'll really surprise you. I used to bag these little birds that flocked around the farm. Blew my older brother's mind when I'd come back after a day out in the fields with a sack full of them. There wasn't much meat on them, but they were tasty, and a couple dozen could feed a few people."

Venata wrapped a thick arm around her shoulders. "Alright, if you're so good a shot, why didn't you kill me when you found me next to that creek? You could have hit my spine as easily as my shoulder."

"W-well..." Lily stammered, "My ankle was feeling a lot worse then, and I wasn't too stable on my feet. Like I said, I was angry and confused, and I just shot at you. Would you rather I had hit your neck?"

"Not really. I was just curious. I'm not really sure if it would have killed me, anyway. But I would have certainly been a bit upset."

"More upset than being shot twice? I shudder to think of it." Lily squeaked when Venata poked her in the ribs. She slapped the probing claw away and hauled herself gingerly to her feet. Her ankle really was feeling better after a few more days, but she was hungry, and the two wolves tailed her as she hobbled over to the river, intent on getting herself something more substantial to eat than the crumbs left in her pack. Using the hooks and line she had brought with her, she quickly caught a couple fish. She gave the larger one to the kid, telling Venata she could fend for herself.

A small, concealed fire later and the fish was roasting on a makeshift spit over the crackling flames. Fluffy was entranced by the dancing tongues of fire, and after she had finished her own fish she sat and stared while Lily cooked hers. The next few days passed with agonizing slowness, but each night's sleep left her more confident on her progressively healing foot. Occasionally, groups of wolves would wander in and speak to Venata in hushed whispers before they split up and left again. Lily couldn't be sure, but she suspected that, by the number of unfamiliar, lupine faces, they were successful in finding others. The puppy, whose name she learned was Henna, rarely, if ever, left her side, eventually accompanying her on short, meandering walks as her ability to move gradually returned to her.

Nearly two weeks had passed when Venata came and found her by the river, where she had been teaching Henna how to fish with something other than her hands. She was failing miserably, and both of them were soaked for her efforts. "Howdy, Seven!" she chirped, "Long time, no see, what with your sudden popularity and all. What brings you to our humble neck of the woods?" Her friendly grin slackened. Venata looked tense and serious. "I see." she said with a touch less joviality, "Is it that time already? This place was just getting homey."

The golden-haired wolf visibly relaxed, and plodded over to Lily and flopping down on the bank of the river, sticking her paws in the water. Henna splashed over and hugged Lily, smiling manically as she continued the process of making Lily drip. The wolf pup had grown visibly in the weeks Lily had known her, and she was soon going to be as tall as her. Venata reached over and ran a dainty claw down Henna's spine, making the puppy shiver and lean back as Venata scratched. "Yes." Venata finally answered, "That time is quickly approaching, perhaps another day. Are you... ready? For what's going to happen?"

Lily punched her arm. "Are you kidding? I've been ready forever. If it wasn't for your charm and good looks, I would have left to do it myself a long time ago. The constant nudity doesn't hurt, either, just so you know. In case you were thinking about putting on a shirt some time."

"It hadn't even crossed my mind." the wolf said with a winning grin, "I'd never even think of depriving you or Ulric of such a lovely view."

Venata was beautiful... in a terrifying, powerfully savage kind of way. "Thank the gods for that. I don't know what I'd do without you shoving your fuzzy tits into my face all the time, maybe do something productive instead of withering away."

Venata chuckled and pinched her arm, and she squeaked in protest. "You don't look withered away to me. In fact, you look healthier than I've seen you."

"It must be all this exercise I'm getting. Tiny here has been running me ragged. I don't remember having so much energy when I was little, do you? I must be getting old. She hasn't talked much. When does that normally happen?"

With a chuckle, Venata ruffled Henna's fur. "She's been able to speak for a while now. She just hasn't come across anything she needed words to communicate yet. Some of the wolves, especially the ones who live much further into the forest, aren't as sociable as Ulric and I. Isn't that right, cutie?" A vigorous tail wag was her only answer. "Some of them hardly ever speak at all. This one's mother only spoke to me long enough to tell me her and Henna's names."

"That sounds horribly lonely."

"Does Henna look lonely to you? We're still social creatures. Besides, if it's important, she'll tell you."

Henna let out a sharp, happy yip and leapt into the water, splashing both of them mercilessly. Lily growled and jumped after her, tackling her into the shallows as she yelped with satisfying surprise. It was crucial that Lily take Henna unsuspecting, otherwise any attempt was futile. The young wolf was at least as strong as she was, but with surprise, Lily could take her. Henna's fine, white fur was slick with water, but Lily managed to get an arm around her shoulders and proceeded to haul her backwards. Henna snarled and wriggled under her, but Lily kept her hold. The wolf switched tactics and staggered to her feet, taking Lily with her, but as soon as she got her feet, Lily snaked her other hand under Henna's arm and behind her neck and jerked forward. The wolf yelped as Lily made her lose her balance and fall backward onto the sand. Henna flailed her free arm until Lily managed to trap it under a leg. The wolf thrashed her own legs through the water as she growled and struggled, but after a few moments, Henna went limp in Lily's arms.

Lily let out a sigh of relief and let Henna up. Both she and the wolf panted. Venata watched with a bemused smile as the two sat up. "Tomorrow." she reminded as she stood yawned explosively, "A few days' walk, and then we'll put a stop to this madness."

"I can't wait." Lily returned, standing herself to wrap Venata in a hug, "I'll be right there with you. Just don't leave me behind."

"I wouldn't dream of it." Lily waved as Venata trotted off back to the clearing upon hearing Ulric call her name. Lily watched her go. She certainly had a particular sway about her, and she couldn't help but stare at her receding back. She was interrupted, however, by a pair of strong hands clamping around her shoulders. She only had time to hiss a short curse before Henna dragged her back into the water.

Lily shivered. The sun had gone down hours ago and it was unseasonably cold. Despite the chill, Lily was sweating. It was something in the air. It was thick, and wherever it touched Lily's skin, she felt slimy and unpleasantly warm. The uneasy feeling had only grown as they had traveled over the past couple days, and Ulric and Venata had mirrored her concerns. The two wolves were the only ones she could see, but she knew that there were many more, spread out through the trees around them. Somehow, they all knew where they were going, and Lily was just following their lead. The wolves in front of her were impossibly silent, and Lily could see the tension in their shoulders. They were close, Lily knew, and she didn't really know what awaited her at the end of her walk.

Venata stopped, and Lily froze behind her. A vague hand signal had Lily bent over, loading her crossbow as quietly as she could. Venata crouched low next to her after she was done and pulled both her and Ulric into a warm hug. "Be careful, both of you." she whispered.

This must be where they were going to split up further. "Just give me a shot." Lily replied, "We'll have this over with in no time. Then I can scratch your ears and rub your bellies as much as you want."

Venata gave her a suitably wolfish grin. "You've got yourself a deal." She rose smoothly and strode over to one of the girthy trunks that surrounded them. She jumped up into the tree's lower branches and climbed into the canopy above them, eventually fading into the shadows.

Lily was impressed, and hefted her crossbow as she scooted closer to Ulric. "Alright Furball, lead the way. I promise I won't let some big, scary monster hurt you." The bulky wolf chuckled quietly and dragged her into a hug of his own, which brought her face unnervingly close to his crotch and thick, animalistic sheath. "Easy there, big guy." she wheezed into the fur of his abdomen, "I'd love to get acquainted with your not-so-little friend here, but maybe we could do it after we kill some demon-tainted horror from the void."

He huffed. "It's not my fault you're too short, but I suppose we could hug some more after this is all over."

"Sure." said Lily dubiously, "Hug. I think you just like looming over people."

"So... everyone?"

"Oh, shush, you. Let's get going, or Seven's going to have both our skins. I'd hate to miss out on any of the fun."

Ulric smiled and nodded his agreement before jogging away deeper into the trees. Lily tried to keep up, only putting her feet where Ulric's paws had been to minimize the noise she was going to make. They went on for only a few minutes before both she and Ulric were slowed by the sound of a long, low howl that echoed through the trees. Ulric growled and sped up. Lily guessed that the howl wasn't a good sign. She wasn't even sure that it was one of them, but she ran to keep up.

The trees started to thin a bit, and Lily caught a glimpse of light filtering through the undergrowth in front of her. Ulric stopped and crouched low behind a tree and peered wordlessly at Lily. He gently squeezed her shoulder before he heaved himself back to his feet and tore off to the left, leaving Lily relatively alone. The forest had come alive with the sounds of fighting to both her left and right, and Lily fell to her stomach as she started crawling forward under the bushes. Only a few dozen feet separated her from the clearing Venata had described.

When it came into view through the leaves, Lily could do nothing but gape as her heart sank into her gut. The clearing was open and spacious, and there was a curiously circular hole in the forest canopy. Dim moonlight filtered through it, illuminating a creature from Lily's nightmares. It was huge; it must have been fifteen feet tall, with a musculature that put even Ulric's to shame. Glowing, violet eyes lighted on Lily, and she felt the weight of its glare like a physical pressure on her shoulders. She rose shakily to her feet, her cover blown anyway.

At first glance, it looked like the wolves she had been surrounded by for the past couple weeks. Its thick fur was black and greasy, and its roughly lupine muzzle was full of sharp, curved fangs as it cast an unsettling smile at Lily. Unlike the wolves, it had a pair of rough, black horns that curved back over its head, and its tail was thick and muscular, long enough to drag the ground as it took an intrigued step forward. It looked almost surprised at Lily's presence. What shook Lily the most, however, was the presence of an absurdly long erection jutting from its loins, pointing directly at Lily, at odds with the full, distinctly feminine breasts hanging from its chest.

It took another earth-shaking step towards Lily, and she raised her weapon. It stopped, cocking its head curiously to the side before it growled threateningly. "Yeah, yeah!" Lily shouted angrily, "Real scary! Now listen, you walking prick! Why don't you just sit right there and let me put a few holes in you? It would save both of us a lot of time and energy!" It didn't look like the creature was too keen on surrendering, and Lily continued to yell at it, "Good! It wouldn't have been any fun otherwise! I just hope you're still sane enough to feel pain, you bitch!" For some reason that seemed to get its attention, and lips pulled away from fangs in a vicious snarl as it charged at her. Step one, done. Now Ulric just had to be where he needed to be.

Just as planned, the big wolf flew from the trees, taking the beast by surprise. Before it had the chance to turn toward this new threat, Ulric roared and threw his weight behind his foot as he collided with its leg. The creature's knee folded sideways with a tremendous crack of breaking bone. It grunted and fell to its knees, slapping Ulric with a thick arm and sending the wolf flying back into trees. Lily winced, but took aim anyway. Ulric would be fine. It lifted eyes to Lily just in time for her to pull the release lever. The creature reeled and howled as Lily's bolt buried itself into the beast's eye.

It screamed as Lily hurried to reload. Ulric reappeared, shaking his head when he was immediately jumped from behind by one of them leaping onto his back. He growled and peeled it off of him, tearing out its throat as more materialized between the trees. "What's wrong?" Lily growled at it, "Little, tiny me too much for you? Had to call in some reinforcements? Well two can play at that game!" She brought her hand up to her mouth and let out a shrill whistle, praying that the others would hear the signal through the dense foliage outside of the open glade.

One shouldered through the brush to her right and she casually shot it in the chest. It shuddered and hissed, but as it tried desperately to tear the bolt out of itself, the barbs cut deeper and nicked an artery, and Lily was suddenly sprayed with blood as it whined weakly and fell over. She felt bad for it, now that she had seen what had caused all of this.

She bent and reloaded again. She had... eight shot left. The beast in the center of the glade growled and ripped the quarrel out of its eye, leaving a grotesque, bleeding socket. It staggered unsteadily to its feet, leaning heavily on its good leg, but hardly seemed cowed. One slipped out of the forest to her right, and she leveled her crossbow at it as it started at her. He covered the distance at a sprint, and she aimed at his throat. Just before she shot it, a white blur crashed out of the forest and slammed into it, bearing it to the ground. "About damn time!" she cried at Henna's mother, "I was beginning to think I'd have to take all of them!"

The floodgates opened, and dozens of wolves poured into the glade, following the tainted ones, and the open spaces was soon cramped with snarling wolves as they fought each other. Lily returned her weapon to the monolith of corruption that stood before her. It eyed her carefully, hunching low to the ground as it assessed an unexpected threat. Lily eyed it right back, waiting for it to leave itself open.

Ulric was suddenly next to her, covered in blood that, for the most part, wasn't his. His deep chest heaved with heavy breaths, and his lips were likewise pulled back in a combative snarl. Lily forced herself to laugh as she leaned heavily on his thigh. "Things aren't going your way anymore?" she called casually to the object of her ire, "I couldn't help but notice that you've gone a bit... droopy. Not as exciting as you imagined dying would be?"

"You won't kill me." it growled deeply, shocking Lily into stunned silence. She hadn't expected it to talk back. "You can't. I can smell it on you, through all this blood. You won't kill me, not yet. You want to know. You want to know how I came to be, why they died. Your look tells me." It took a thunderous step forward, idly throwing combatants on both sides away with bone-crushing force. "They died because they weren't strong enough to accept my gift, because they were too weak."

Lily's knuckles were white on the grip of her crossbow. Ulric was growling, but he hadn't reacted to the speech yet. "They died because they were mauled to death, you greasy whore!" She shouted.

It just forlornly shook his head, seemingly sorry for Lily's loss. "No, they couldn't accept what I had to give them. If I were more experienced, it may have worked on your sister, but I, too, was young when they died." It picked up one of the tainted wolves casually and squeezed it until its spine shattered in its fingers. It tossed the limp body aside. "They are strong, but also frail and unfit for my gifts. They are useful, but worthless in the end. I need someone stronger. I need you. I can smell it on you. You would survive. I could take you. I could make you like me. It would be glorious, to have a partner."

Lily shuddered. "You are fucking kidding me! After what you did to them?! You... you have the balls to talk to me like that?!"

It laughed, a harsh, throaty sound. "I fought it too. I had this forced on me. I was made strong enough to take this power. I was tortured for weeks and fed things to warp my body just to make me into a suitable template. You could have it now. It would be effortless, and you could join me. It feels... gratifying... to have the strength to make of others what you want. They can't do for you what I can. They would have you be like them, small and fragile."

Lily screamed and fired her crossbow. The bolt plunged into its good knee mid-step, and it crumpled as it took the creature's weight. "No." she hissed, "The answer is no! I'm sorry this happened at all, but now it's time to fuck off and die, you drooling cunt!"

The beast roared at her and forced itself hesitantly back to its feet. It took unsteady steps toward Lily. She reloaded. It may have been crippled, but if it got claws around her, she was dead. She once more leveled her weapon at it as Ulric snarled and stepped forward protectively, A few more immense footfalls and it was in position.

Ulric rolled his massive shoulders and ran at it with an angry cry. The beast grinned and raised its arm to intercept him. He easily dodged the lumbering blow and once more threw himself teeth-first back into its broken leg. Ulric's momentum carried him a step further, throwing the creature off balance as he dragged its leg out behind it. The position would have put Ulric in danger of being crushed had it not been carefully planned.

Off balance as it was, It couldn't correct for the additional weight of Venata careening out of the branches above, landing solidly on its shoulders and sinking her teeth down on the back of its neck. It grunted with the impact as it was thrown face-first into the dirt. Ulric kept it from getting back to its feet and Venata pulled its head back and clawed at its throat, gouging bloody ruts into its flesh.

Lily's job was done, but that was hardly going to stop her. The beast reached back behind it, trying to get a grip on Venata as she tore into its neck. It may have been immensely strong, but leverage still counted for a lot, and it seemed incapable of twining its arms far enough behind itself. Lily took careful aim, not wanting to hit Venata if she missed. She fired, supremely satisfied as she struck it in its other eye, rendering it blind. It thrashed wildly, but the two wolves on top of it wouldn't let up, and Lily coolly reloaded.

She fired again and again, approaching step-by-step as she hit whatever she could sight in on, joints and veins, until she ran out of quarrels in her case. Bone was visible through the rents torn in its neck, but it still wouldn't die, and gurgling screams accompanied its struggling. Lily grimaced when, in a display of unusual, but not out of place savagery, Venata wrapped her arms around its head and hauled backwards with a defiant cry of her own. Muscle and tendons tore, and eventually bones cracked and splintered as Venata crudely decapitated it, tearing its head off with brute force alone.

That seemed to finally silence it, and its headless body went limp, and with it, as one, the rest of the tainted wolves who were still fighting stopped and fell dead where they stood. It became suddenly, absolutely quiet, quiet enough to be deafening. Venata tossed the head to the side and slid to the ground, letting the corpse twitch nervelessly as she sagged into the arms of Ulric, who was instantly there to catch her.

Mind-numbing relief crashed into her, and Lily dropped her crossbow as she fell tiredly to her knees. It was over. It was finally over. She finished dropping as she sat heavily down in the grass. She didn't really know what else to do, so she laughed. She giggled manically until she couldn't breathe, but she just couldn't get control over herself. It certainly wasn't funny, but she couldn't think of any other way to express her exhausted elation.

It seemed as though Ulric and Venata felt the same way, although their chosen method of expressing their victory were a pair of long, haunting howls, their heads lifted to the moon above as it filtered through the hole in the canopy. Lily idly wondered as she managed to suppress her laughter if there was any other kind of howl. It seemed like there was always something unnerving about a wolf howling at the moon. A shudder worked its way up her spine as, one by one, the rest of the wolves that had followed them added their voices to Ulric's and Venata's.

It was as deafening as the silence before it. But what made Lily blink in surprise was the sight of the pool of light in the center of the glade. It looked as if it was writhing, and slowly, thin, creeping tendrils of pale, silvery light crept out from the ring toward the body of the creature. As they stretched outward, the entire body of light shifted in color, steadily taking on an angry, red hue as the first of the creeping lances of light contacted the body.

The light flared in intensity and it viciously attacked the corpse of the beast, steadily blanketing it in a furious crimson blanket. Lily had to shield her eyes as the glow spread to the bodies of the other wolves that had been corrupted, until it looked like the clearing was pockmarked with violent, red suns. A release of some power made the hairs on the back of Lily's neck jump to attention and the light began to gradually fade. As the howls of the wolves gathered around her drifted away into silence, so too did the light, leaving nothing in its wake, without so much as depressions in the grass where the bodies had laid.

As the moon took on its familiar, pale radiance, Venata and Ulric lowered their head and looked at Lily with confusion. "Wh-what..." whispered Venata, "What happened to... I feel... weird. What happened?"

Lily opened and closed her mouth a few times as she tried to find her voice. "Hell if I know, Seven." she squeaked, still blinking in disbelief, "But I have a feeling that whatever answer I could give you wouldn't actually answer your question."

Venata appeared unsatisfied, but Ulric just nodded knowingly. "You sound like Ulric" Venata grumbled, "but I guess it's over..." She smiled slowly. "It really is over, isn't it?" She plodded over and took a seat next to Lily, staring, unseeing, into the moonlit sky. Ulric followed her and seated himself on Venata's other side, throwing an arm over Venata's shoulders.

Lily mirrored his motion, snaking an arm around Venata's waist and leaning into her. "It certainly seems that way, doesn't it?" The wolf was wonderfully warm against her, and she scooted closer, tucking up under Venata's arm, ignoring the blood that soaked all three of them. "Now, I believe I owe you a vigorous belly rub, but I'm really very tired. Do you mind if I take that nap first? We've got all the time in the world right?"