Andrew

The number of wolves that tailed him had thinned dramatically. With two targets to chase, they could not get all of them, not without splitting the pack. At first, Andrew worried when he saw no sign of their pursuit. Fearing that his hunch was wrong, he stole a look over his shoulder. It was a pleasant surprise to see that not only did over half the wolves follow him, but they all still kept a wary distance from him. Despite being alone with the pack, they still did not take full advantage of their numbers. He counted sixteen of them. Most of them had the running gait that betrayed recent injuries. No doubt he had afflicted most of them. His inflicted wounds were his leverage over them. This, along with the matured night, the moon at full bloom, coupled with not having to worry about striking down his allies, made Andrew confident that he could survive long enough for Natalie, Sophie, and Flynn to make it to someplace safe.

With nobody to hold him back, Andrew flew towards a vast spread of rocky crags barely discernible in the moon’s faint light. Wolves ran alongside him, bounding from rock to rock. The vortex of air that surrounded him had returned, but it was far weaker than before. Much easier to see, though. This further proved that the pack chasing him was not only smaller, but also growing tired.

As Andrew leaped over a rock to slide down its steep face, a wolf tackled him from behind. Using ‘Lone Shadow’ in mid-air, Andrew faded into the darkness, righted himself before reappearing, landing back on his feet, and counter-striking his still-falling attacker. The wolf’s protective shroud absorbed most of the blow, but not enough to escape unscathed.

Avoiding the gale slashes from another wolf, Andrew skipped off a rock as four more gale slashes rained down from above. Rock turned to rubble as it shattered under the power of the wolves’ strike. The wolves that threw them descended with wide, glowing teeth, their throats rumbling deeply with guttural growls.

Scurrying back, Andrew swerved clear of bites at his leg, neck, and wrist before skidding to a halt along the slope against a large rock. Andrew anticipated the attack thanks to Flynn’s struggle against such an assault. Throughout most of the chase, Andrew avoided and deflected attacks. He just needed to buy time and conserve energy. But even then, even under his element, with nobody to hinder him, the effort tired him. The only consolation was that as he grew more sloppy, so did the wolves. The vortex they shrouded him with grew even weaker, reminding him again that this plan was working. Getting a good grasp of things, he simply concentrated on buying the others more time. As long as storm clouds did not bloom and plunge them into total darkness, Andrew held on to the belief that Natalie, Flynn, and Sophie were still okay. With how things were going here, maybe he wouldn’t have to lead the wolves on much longer. He had something in mind, an escape route at hand that he was confident he could use to get the slip-on of the wolves for at least long enough to escape freely. Maybe in another minute, he will—

The pressure in the atmosphere had shifted. The now panting wolves howled once again. Andrew hoped the wolves were too occupied with their howling as he picked up his pace under their deafening cries. They should have little strength now. The lack of ambushes was proof of it. And yet the surrounding vortex redoubled its ferocity. It grew as strong as when he was with the others, only to surpass that in a blink. As the tips of his cloak flapped against the twirling gale, Andrew fought to keep from being swept off his feet. Opting not to push his luck in this chase any further, Andrew turned back down in the direction Natalie had fled. If they had reached this shelter Natalie saw then…

A colossal figure landed before him, causing the swirling leaves to scatter away from him like an explosion. A wolf, perhaps three meters tall, loomed over him. Its large, predatory eyes glowed with a golden hue. White fur, patched with red on one side, danced among its own powerful gale vortex, the evidence of which practically illuminated its body. There was no doubt this one was in charge.

Andrew fought with all he had just to hold himself steady against the roaring winds. Lowering his center of gravity, Andrew turned his back on the giant wolf and made a mad dash toward the direction of the shelter. Before he made it even twenty feet, the giant wolf blew right past him as if the winds themselves, before skidding gracefully in front of his escape route. Although Andrew sensed it crossed past him, his body could barely respond to it before it surpassed him.

The giant wolf could have easily attacked him as it passed him, but it did not. It chose not to. One of the other wolves beside it tried to leap at Andrew, but to his shock, the giant wolf knocked it back with a tackle. Sent tumbling, the smaller wolf skidded to a halt before bounding back to its feet as if to get back at the giant wolf, only to stop its charge when the giant wolf did not flinch. With low growls, the small wolf carefully backed away until the larger one snarled back. The smaller wolf froze a moment before sitting on its haunches, and as if on command, all the other wolves Andrew saw sat down as well.

Andrew carefully watched the whole thing unfold. Baffled by what was happening, Andrew watched carefully as he tried to wrap his head around what to do next.

He could just about see the golden eyes of the other wolves floating around just beyond the darkness. The magnificent wolf regarded him as they lay off to one side. That gave Andrew enough time to gain his bearings, to recall what had led him to push the others into this mess.

“If you’re going to eat me, then get on with it,” Andrew mumbled. He felt shaken by what was happening, but frustration bubbled from his core. The giant wolf stooped its head down to his level, still observing him. There was a tingle in the air, a slight shift in the immense torrent of wind that buffeted him. Andrew felt a connection to something, like something was-

“—What are you doing?” Andrew tried to shake the feeling off, but like a stream, it persisted. This wolf could somehow mess with his head. He didn’t need this crap, not today. He needed to reach his mother. They were already miles away from their destination, and now they were being delayed further by a bunch of wolves. His mother was out there, likely in danger, and he had no intention of dying before he’d made sure that she was safe. With these thoughts surging through him, Andrew channeled all the dark energy he could muster, focusing it all on his blade. Andrew jumped in with an overhead swing. As frustration turned to anger, he roared, unleashing Night Slash, unlike anything he’d ever seen. That just meant that anything between him and his goal simply became an obstacle to be cut down.

With a roar, Andrew set the blade down upon the giant wolf. The sheer amount of energy that he pulled into his blade burst outward like a tidal wave of raw power, focused on a thin point. He was a dark knight in his element of power. He attacked the alpha wolf with such force that it staggered back, but it quickly recovered. As the power of his strike vanished, the wolf just stood there for a moment, shaking itself off as if a soaked pup stepping out of a river. Its immense energy enhanced its fur. The alpha wolf’s fur was tougher than steel. That strike was his strongest attack. Besides countering a powerful blow with his clockwise counter, he had nothing in his arsenal to surpass it.

Before Andrew knew it, a giant paw flashed before him. Seeing sky and land, he spun in a blinding blur. With the wind taken out of him, Andrew came crashing to a halt against a large bolder. As the rim of the rock crumbled from the impact, Andrew forced himself to get back onto his feet. Staggering forward, he sees the giant wolf rushing towards him. Andrew jumped clear as he used Lone Shadow melding into his own silhouette.

The boulder exploded into fragments as the alpha wolf smashed through it with snapping jaws. Andrew understood then that it was suicide for him to face it. And now that he revealed his card of escape, he needed to get out of there. One of the flying pebbles from the boulder struck the spot of rock that his silhouette ran across, sending a numbing pain running down his left ankle. Too keen on escaping to assess the damage, Andrew continued to run.

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He could sense the wolves searching for him as he made it over a lopsided tree nearby. Andrew flinched as a booming howl erupted from directly behind him. A violent gust of sharp wind exploded from up high, surrounding the alpha wolf. It was so strong that it pulverized the rocky grasslands around it, turning them into a cloud of mushy dust and rubble. Coming out of a Lone Shadow for a moment behind a rock just out of sight, Andrew took in controlled breaths. He clenched onto his numbing ankle with a wince. As exhausted as he was, Andrew was sure he couldn’t have withstood that level of power, even at full strength. Had he tried his luck as a defenseless shadow when it happened, he would have become a bloody puddle of mush by now.

Shaking those thoughts out of his head, Andrew used Lone Shadow and continued to sneak further away from the wolves. If there was a way out of this mess, then it would be upwind to mask his scent. Using Lone Shadow in the darkness among trees and rocks meant that any shadow he cast was almost impossible to spot on the already night-covered ground. He gave off no scent when he became a shadow. It was only when he resurfaced to catch his breath that the wolves would sniff him out. There were several instances where Andrew had to revert to normal to catch his breath. Each time he did so, it became harder and harder to remain submerged. The more he used his power and held his breath back to back, the less time he could keep holding it. He was already tired. Now that he entered the edge of a forest, Andrew concentrated on keeping ahead of the searching wolves. The tall trees permitted little moonlight here. The pain in his ankle began flaring up. He did his best to ignore the pain. Right now, he needed his other senses fully focused on the task at hand. If he could just keep patient and not fall flat on his face, then perhaps he could make it. Andrew could still hear the wolves padding around, but now that he was in the patch of forest by the mountain, he could not see much of them.

He felt a steady updraft of wind pass over him as the wolves passed on by. Every time he’d hear them howl, the wolves quickly gathered in that area. Each encounter was a close one as wolves came from almost every direction. As they prodded the land with snouts to the ground to find him, Andrew sensed another shift in the wolves. They all fanned out once again to continue their search. Luckily, he’d made good progress in the first three uses of Lone Shadow. He snuck right under the gaze of one searching wolf. It stopped a moment to take a sniff of the ground below them.

Andrew, still submerged in Lone Shadow, was now desperate for air. Struggling to keep from breathing too hard, he hid behind a tree opposite and waited for the wolf to move on. The sniffing wolf’s ears perked up before it vanished down a beaten path, allowing Andrew a moment of reprieve. He didn’t see the giant wolf, but Andrew could sense it out there somehow. It was not taking part in the hunt, opting to observe. Fortunate, still… It ticked Andrew off.

A short while after moving from the spot where he had waited for the wolf to pass, Andrew heard howls coming from that location. This confirmed that they were following his scent. That was good. So long as they remained downwind, they would be a step behind. These wolves were skilled hunters. They prevented him from reaching the shelter by blocking his path back. But if he could give them a breadcrumb trail, lead them towards fake checkpoints…

As he conjured up these thoughts, the soft shift of the winds pulled Andrew to full alert. It was slight, hardly worth any note in any other situation, but… yes, the updraft of breeze that was his key to buying some time was now blowing the opposite way. He would have chalked it up to bad luck if he too were not sensitive to the winds, but even then he doubted himself. Had he not seen the distinct skill these wolves had over gale affinity firsthand, he would have ignored this thought. The wind had the same sensations as what he had felt when he confronted the Alpha wolf.

He’s controlling the winds to find my scent. If he could feel this draft blowing against him, then… He was already running before they showed up. His ankle throbbed with pain. Before he knew it, Andrew saw them rushing towards him from all sides. They knew where he was. And they already covered all exits. Using Lone Shadow wouldn’t have helped much. He was too tired to go too far. Out of options, Andrew backed himself against a branch as he pointed his father’s blade in a defensive stance. The wolves huddled in as he tried to eye all of them at once. Most of them just stood there a few meters away, snarling, golden eyes glowing with instinctive disdain. That hatred vanished when the giant wolf stepped in between them. As the alpha entered the circle, the other wolves sat down.

Their snarls pattered out as they watched their leader approach in silence. That odd sensation in his head returned once again as the giant wolf stirred the winds around Andrew. It felt like an imprint, an impression, some recognizable pattern of incomprehension at the edge of understanding. That surreal sensation made him feel sick. Like he’d eaten something that his body could not keep down. The giant wolf growled at him, rage like a blizzard cut through the winds. He could sense the alpha king’s rage as the giant wolf growled at him. He was going to get killed apparently because he could not… what? Andrew ignored the sensations in his head for a moment and looked beneath the legs of the giant wolves towards the light of the distant village below. From this distance, it looked as if it stood side by side with the village itself. Its snow-capped tip glimmered under the moonlit sky. Given that he could still see the distant mountain told Andrew that Natalie still had yet to need a reason to use her powers. He was growing more certain than ever that they were safe. That thought confirmed him… still.

Why did everything fall to pieces now? If things had not been so irregular, if he’d thought before he acted, then perhaps he would not be in such a predicament. He blinked at the thought. No, this was not something that only just started happening now. Ever since this journey began, they had their odd encounters in their search for the Stars of Halo. Some of these complications seemed random and unrelated at first until they grew into more significant issues. But looking back on everything, he noticed that no matter what happened, every time he recalled an incident happening, he soon found that it was connected back to ‘them’ somehow. Andrew recalled the days of intense travel to Lucas village, the conversation he and Natalie had by the campfire. She’d strung together past events as evidence. She said that the Stars of Halo orchestrated the demon invasion that got her kidnapped.

‘I know because that’s how they got me,’ she’d said. Andrew tried to reason her point with logic. Still... she was right. Andrew could have settled for it simply being a pattern or coincidence, but now he could not help but wonder.

Why am I thinking of them now, of all times? Pulling himself out of his thoughts, he realised that the alpha wolf was much more placid than before. The winds blew calmer around them. And though there was still that sense of the wolf trying to mess with his mind, there was a level of clarity. Something had changed between then and now, an intangible connection formed that he could not explain. He dared not move a muscle, his mind only running over all the oddities that they’d run into before confronting the Stars of Halo.

Oddities, Andrew swallowed. His sword arm lowered as a profound silence enveloped him.

“Why did you pick now to move down from the mountain?” he asked. The alpha wolf regarded him in silence. The sense of swirling winds had halted at the question. Taking a careful step forward, Andrew saw the fur on its left side, truly saw it this time. It was not simply a patch of red as he’d first assumed; it was blood. A deep gash on its side. The mighty wolf had a deep gash on its side. Andrew was not fool enough to think that he had caused it. The wound was there before he’d ever laid eyes on the creature. Someone or something with enough power to wound this creature... Whatever managed that was no average achievement.

Could it be looking for the one that gave it this wound? Another sensation of wind tousled Andrew’s cloak and deadlocked hair. A response? Something timed all too well for it to be anything else. Some animals made deep connections with a person of their choosing; that animal could send an impression of their innermost thoughts. To someone who’d trained their minds to interpret them, with that connection, both man and beast could communicate and coordinate at a level rarely seen anywhere else. Andrew frowned. As enlightening as this experience was, this situation was far from being anything close to a partnership. This entire ordeal still left him with questions.

“What are you trying to tell me?” Just as he asked, the giant wolf’s ears cocked back, as if catching some sounds worth its attention beyond them. A second later, most of the wolves that sat around him looked back in alert to the direction Natalie and the others ran towards before standing up and moving past Andrew. With casual strides and yawning, they faded deeper into the forest towards the mountain. As the last of the pack vanished, Andrew shared one last moment with the giant wolf as it looked back at him before it too left to join the pack. In seconds, all signs of the wolves had vanished, replaced with the sound of someone running up the slope towards him. Only the wisp of the wind remained as a sign the pack of wolves was even there. Andrew tried to dissect what that last wisp of wind meant from the giant wolf. Exhausted and stuck with his racing thoughts, Andrew collapsed onto against a tree to catch his breath.