Chapter 4
In a small clearing in the coniferous woods of the Dartlis Forest, a young man stood surrounded by what looked to be a normal pack of black wolves, except these wolves were twice his size. He looked to be in his late teens with a mop of red hair that sat messily on his head, but what stood out the most about him were the yellow, almost reptilian eyes that seemed to hold a hidden savagery within them. He was wearing a hardened leather breastplate over a cotton shirt and held a pair of double-sided battle-axes with leather gauntlets. The pack of wolves circled the boy slowly, but they seemed wary of the boy, despite the fact they greatly outnumbered him.
Without warning, two of the wolves launched themselves at the boy. The boy embedded his axe in the head of one of the wolves. He then immediately ducked under the other wolf’s charge and sliced its belly open as it flew over him. The boy had no time to breathe as three more wolves were already on him. The boy threw both of his axes at the wolves, catching two of them in the head. The third one managed to pin him to the ground and it seemed that the boy was in trouble. But the boy gave the wolf a grin and then he opened his mouth and an inferno of flame burst out, burning the wolf to a charred corpse.
The young boy pushed the wolf’s corpse off of him and walked over to retrieve his axes. He put the axes on his back and took one of the dead wolves by the paw and began dragging the enormous thing. After a couple minutes of walking, the boy reached a clearing with a small campfire in the middle and a leather rucksack lying beside it. The boy took out a knife and set about skinning and gutting the wolf with practiced precision. He then proceeded to light the fire with a breath of flame and place the haunches on a stake to roast above the fire. The boy then sat back and watched the flame flicker under the setting sun. He felt his eyelids grow heavy as sleep threatened to overtake him, but then his reptilian eyes flew open. Something was approaching. The boy grabbed his axes and stood up. He saw the bushes rustle and readied his axes, but to his surprise instead of seeing a monster, he saw a silver-haired boy in leather armor and a bow and a rucksack on his back, stumbling towards him. “Please… need… food…”, the boy moaned as he slowly made his way closer. Then, he proceeded to fall face first into the ground in front of the man.
“Oh you have got be kidding me”, the red-haired boy said incredulously as he looked down at the boy lying in front of him. The red-haired boy looked around and sighed as he put his axes on his back. He walked over to the fire and took the cooked wolf meat off the fire. He turned around to walk back to the boy, but to his surprise, the boy was already up and snatched one of the haunches out of his hands with surprising speed.
“You know it’s polite to ask someone before you just take their food”, the red-haired boy said. The silver-haired ignored him and continued to ferociously tear into the meat. The red-haired boy felt a slight twinge of annoyance. “Will you at least tell me your name?”, the red-haired boy asked. The silver-haired boy continued ignoring him. “Ok, that’s it”, the red-haired boy said as he tore the haunch away from the silver-haired boy. “Hey! Give that back!”, the silver-haired boy whined. He’s like a frigging toddler, the red-haired boy thought as he dodged the silver-haired boy’s lunge for the haunch. “If you want to eat, first tell me your name”, the red-haired said firmly. “My name…”, the silver-haired boy murmured. A look of sadness flashed across his face, though it passed so quickly that it easily could’ve been a trick of the light. “My name is Weyn”, the silver-haired boy said. “Well Weyn, the name’s Varin and since you’ve already started, I guess you can stay for dinner”, the red-haired boy said as he handed the haunch back to Weyn. Weyn took it and began eating, though it appears in a much more calmer manner than before.
“So, there a reason you were out here looking like you haven’t eaten in days?”, Varin asked casually. “Well, I managed to kill a couple boars, but I didn’t know how to get a fire going”, Weyn said sheepishly. “You came this deep into the Dartlis Forest, not knowing how to create a fire, one of the most essential skills for survival in the wilderness”, Varin said as he shook his head, “It’s a miracle you managed to make this far into the forest. Actually, why are you all the way out here alone? You don’t seem that equipped for it and not many people would come out this far by themselves, especially with that strange noise that came from the mountains a couple days ago.”
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That look of sadness flashed across his face again. “I’d rather… not talk about it”, Weyn said quietly. “Well, that’s fine. I guess we all have things we’d like to keep secret”, Varin said as he took a big bite out of his haunch with gleaming white canines that seemed almost too big to be human. An awkward silence filled the air and the only sound that could be heard was that of chewing meat and crickets. “Hey Varin, why are you all the way out here alone?”, Weyn asked, breaking the silence. “Oh, I’m heading to Chrona, but I came from the other side of the mountains, so going through here was the fastest way there”, Varin explained, “And as for why I am alone… well, shouldn’t that be obvious?”
Varin saw Weyn’s look of confusion and laughed. “Did my eyes not give me away? Well, that explains why you haven’t run away or attacked me yet. How about this?”, Varin said as he pulled off a gauntlet to reveal blood-red scales running up to his forearm. “Woah!”, exclaimed Weyn as he stared at the red scales that gleamed in the moonlight.
“Varin the werebeast, at your service. A terrifying creature likely to lose control at any moment and attack you. A monster better off dead”, Varin said as he stood up and bowed with a sarcastic flourish. Weyn’s sky-blue eyes turned cold, calculating, scanning Varin’s entire body, before fading just as quickly as it came, too fast for Varin to notice anything.
“You sure about that? You don’t really seem like a monster to me”, Weyn said as he crossed his arms. A look of surprise appeared on Varin’s face. “Well, that’s a first. Usually, people would start running or attacking me by now”, Varin said.
“Why would I do that? You gave me food and you know the way to Chrona. Also, you can cook. Seriously, whatever meat that was, it tasted delicious”, Weyn said. “Umm… did you not hear me? I said I’m a werebeast. You sure you aren’t feeling at least a little bit wary of me right now?”, Varin said with a hint of disbelief in his voice.
“I know what werebeasts are. The Professor told me about your kind before. ‘Humans that are born with a soul that is part human and part some other creature. Identified by the development of physical characteristics that are not normal for regular humans. They usually have exceptionally keen senses and above average strength. They are also known to harbor some feral instincts, but most are able to keep them under control unless they are under extreme emotional stress.’”, Weyn said, quoting the Professor’s lecture word for word, “And you don’t exactly seem to be ‘under extreme emotional stress’, so I think I’ll be fine.”
“You… seem to know a lot more about us than most people”, Varin said. “Really? The Professor said that that was common knowledge”, Weyn said. Varin released a bitter laugh. “If only that were true... Most people don’t know what we are. All they know is that we aren't normal. That we’re stronger, faster, and more perceptive than normal. That we look part monster. They’re afraid of us. They’re too afraid to see that we are not the monsters they think we are”, Varin said with a mixture of hopelessness and frustration. “Well if it means anything, I’m not afraid of you. You seem like a nice person, after all, you saved me from starving to death”, Weyn said cheerfully. “Heh. Thanks for the thought”, Varin said. Varin stretched his arms and let out a sigh. Then he shook his head. “Man, what the hell am I doing, telling the troubles of my life to a stranger? Sorry about that. Hope my rambling wasn’t too annoying”, Varin said.
“It was really no trouble, but I got something important to ask you if that’s ok”, Weyn said. “Shoot”, Varin said. “Well you see…, I don’t exactly know how to read a map or how to cook a meal. So I was hoping you could take me with you to Chrona?”, Weyn asked somewhat nervously as he began to fiddle with his hair.
Varin was about to say no, but then he stopped himself. Sure they had just met. Sure the boy was strange. Sure Varin couldn’t really be sure that this guy wouldn’t rob or kill him in his sleep. But having someone to talk to on the road was just too tempting of an offer. After all, it’s been a long time since he’s had that luxury. “Fine. Just make sure you can pull your own weight and no funny business. If I catch you stealing my stuff, I won’t hesitate to cut you down”, warned Varin. “Of course. I won’t let you down! Also, if you need help hunting, I’m a pretty good shot”, Weyn said excitedly. “If you're so eager to help, you can start by gathering some more fuel for the fire. We’re gonna need the fire to last the night”, Varin ordered as he sat back down. “Got it”, Weyn said as he stood up. As Varin watched Weyn pick up sticks and pinecones off the ground, he held back a smile. Got a feeling that life is gonna be a little bit more interesting with this guy around, Varin thought as he took out a small piece of wood and a small carving knife from his bag. “Hey, Varin! You think the fire’s big enough yet?”, shouted Weyn. “What?”, Varin said as he looked up to find a huge blaze that was already spreading outwards to the rest of the clearing. Yeah, exciting may have been a bit of an understatement.