Riccardo didn't decide to rejoin Leon's side after having joined the other nobles at the front of their party. Leon stared at the back of the prince's head where it bobbed with every step of his gryphon and noted the tension in the prince's shoulders. After knowing the vampire prince for less than 2 days, he couldn't say they were close enough for him to care about the well-being aspect of the prince's tension, but he found himself worrying whether it meant anything about him. He'd heard the comments about Riccardo not having bitten him and knew that didn't mean good things for his future.
The mystery of why Riccardo wouldn't bite him remained in the air, though. Who'd ever heard of a vampire refusing to feed on people? Was it just something about him being a fae? Could a vampire be allergic to fae blood? Was it an actual moral issue- however unlikely that seemed?
Leon didn't know, but he supposed he should just be grateful he'd been gifted to a vampire with some self-control. There were more pressing things to consider, anyway: like how miserably hopeless it was that he'd ever have his freedom again. His horse trudged through the snow, walking automatically with the rest of the group, not tied to anything and meanwhile, his limbs were not tied, either. He was just as he had been walking with Mahvash and her people; theoretically, he looked like he was a free man traveling with his companions.
The perceived freedom was somehow worse than if they had him tied and dangling over the back of a horse. He'd become some sort of willing accomplice to his own enslavement. It disgusted him, and yet he just kept sitting like a lump as his horse carried him to his doom.
He couldn't forget that no matter if Riccardo refused to bite him, the prince held the key to his shackles, now. He was just a blood bag to these leeches and the prince was his enemy.
For hours the small group continued to ride through the frozen forest and Leon felt like a dark cloud must have been visible above his head for all the quiet brooding he was doing. If anyone noticed it, they didn't say anything to him. All the while, the forest got thicker, the path less and less noticeable. The trees started to feel suffocatingly close, and they were all soon walking single-file through them. By now, it had been nightfall for hours, and whatever warmth the sun had left on the land was gone, and Leon shivered against the increasingly freezing temperatures.
He missed sunlight, he thought with a pang, throwing a glance out into the pitch-black of the woods. He couldn't see a thing, barely able to discern one tree from another for how dark and how closely together they grew. The darkness was unnerving and he had a sudden, inexplicable feeling like he was being watched by something out in the woods. It made him hold tighter to the reins of his horse, and squint into the blackness of the forest, feeling suddenly exposed to the trees where he sat.
There was at least one vampire riding behind him and several ahead, but he knew better than to think he would be their priority if some creature barreled out of the darkness at them. He almost wished he were riding atop the prince's fierce gryphon. He bet nothing messed with that beast.
Leon's attention was still so intent on the forest around him and that feeling of being watched that his horse coming to a stop beneath him came so suddenly he lurched forward in his saddle just a little. He looked forward to see what had made the animal stop only to see the entire procession had come to a standstill. The vampires all seemed tense, sitting up straight, and utterly silent. He saw a few arms reach for weapons, but he couldn't fucking see or hear why.
"What's -"
"Shh," someone behind him hushed him sharply before he could even finish his question.
And that was when he heard it, a long howl echoing from somewhere beyond his limited field of sight. It was a long and mournful sound but drawn out longer and louder than any ordinary wolf's.
Aaaaaawoooooooooooooooooooooooo!
Leon could recognize a werewolf's howl when he heard one. Back home, it was a friendly sound for his family, a sound that announced the presence of friends coming for a visit. In these unknown woods and surrounded by vampires, Leon felt a chill go up his spine at the noise. These were not wolves who would recognize him, and clearly, the vampires here were not friendly with their local werewolf packs.
Leon's horse snorted and picked its head up, skittish as could be, and Leon saw most of Mahvash's horses reacted to the noise of the howl, ears pricked up and hooves suddenly not so content to stay still. The large, antlered mounts and gryphons of their new traveling companions were as unphased as their riders.
"They followed us here," he heard someone up front hiss.
"It seems they want to lose more of their brethren," said another, and then they called louder into the forest. "You want a piece of us, you mongrels? Come get it!"
"I am not here to be part of your war, Demetri Tenepri," Mahvash's voice cut through the air from the front.
"The wolves won't care if you are or aren't." Leon could pinpoint this voice as belonging to the king. "They -"
He heard steel suddenly drawn from all around him, and his eyes widened as his horse paced suddenly, feeling ready to bolt at the commotion. His hands tightened up his reins, again, holding the animal back, and looking wildly about himself, realizing he was well and truly trapped by trees and the rest of this traveling party.
"They're here!"
Someone yelled just as Leon finally heard the labored sounds of heavy panting as several large animals barrelled toward them. He could hear tree branches snapping and leaves rustling, and then they exploded out of the forest. Werewolves were as tall as horses, with teeth proportionate to their extraordinary size. He'd never known to be afraid of a werewolf, but as one launched itself at him and his horse, he screamed and heard his horse bellow with pain and fear as well.
Leon was in the snow before he could register what had happened. Everything was a blur, but he registered his horse was on his leg, and there was fighting around him, snarls and growls and steel tearing through flesh. His head felt like it was spinning, but he realized he was still alive, and when he looked straight up he realized the wolf that had tackled him and his horse was still hovering above him. It was still so dark, and hard to see anything at all, but as Leon stared back up at the dark eyes of the wolf, there was something familiar in its gaze, and he swore he saw it looking back at him with the same familiarity in its eyes.
There was no time to reflect on this, however, as it suddenly looked up with a snarl pulling its lips back over its fangs. Above his head, there was a flash of feathers, and the wolf was forced to retreat as something even bigger engaged with it.
Leon had the sense he needed to move lest he be crushed under a horse, a wolf, or any of the other giant beasts fighting each other on the narrow, forest path. He tried to turn on his belly but cried out as the pain in his leg finally made itself known, and the fact he was still trapped under his horse's weight would keep him from getting away.
"Hold still," someone finally said above him, and he looked dizzily up at the figure now crouching by his seemingly dead horse. "I'll get you free. Just - Eeeuugh," the figure groaned as if in pain as he got his hands under the horse and lifted its dead weight. "Move!"
Leon cried out when even that hurt, but he listened to the command to crawl out from under the horse and did so with his arms.
As soon as he was freed, he looked back for the figure just in time to see Riccardo grabbing his sword again and rushing to the side of his gryphon. The giant beast seemed to be struggling to maneuver between the tight growth of the trees and the narrowness of the path. Leon watched as it slashed its giant talons at one wolf, only for another to lung in and grab its wing. The gryphon cried out with a shrill shriek.
"Taizong," Leon heard Riccardo yell as he lunged himself at the wolf with its teeth on his gryphon.
The sound of hooves falling heavily suddenly filled Leon's ears, and he turned in time to see the king galloping his antlered beast towards the scene with the gryphon... and Leon.
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Leon barely managed to scurry himself back in time to avoid being trampled and watched as the king descended on the madness. Riccardo had managed to get the wolf off his gryphon's wing and was now dancing with it, avoiding its massive jaws seemingly by a hair's width. The other wolf attempted to join in, but the gryphon still had fight in it left and used its massive body and giant talons to keep that wolf at bay.
The king's mount lowered its head as they arrived on the scene, and the wolf dancing with Riccardo barely managed to dodge the sharp antlers.
Another wolf came crashing out of the trees behind the king, however, and Leon felt glued to where his back was against a tree. There was fighting all around him still, but he tucked himself against the tree, somehow finding he was safe there while everything was happening.
The king and Riccardo had three wolves with Taizong and the antlered mount as allies, and Leon peeled his eyes away enough to see Mahvash had her people around her as the king's men fought off two wolves. The wolves seemed to place themselves between the vampires there and the scene taking place with the king. Looking back down the line, Leon thought he could make out the same was going on in the back, the wolves isolating the king and his son in the middle of it all.
And the wolves fought ferociously around the gryphon and the antlered mount. One finally jumped at the gryphon's neck, but Riccardo moved in a flash with his sword and the wolf had to dodge him going for its neck. Meanwhile, another wolf was feinting around the king's lunges while the third suddenly seemed to see an opening to tackle the king's antlered mount.
The antlered mount went down baying woundedly as its sharp, cloven hooves kicked and tail thumped against the snow in vain. The wolf got its neck in its mouth, though, and Leon heard the crunch from where he sat before the beast finally went still.
And just like that, the wolf stood up and rounded on the king again.
It was at this moment, that another gryphon suddenly landed with a thump into the fray and blocked Leon's view of the whole rest of the scene. And from overhead, Leon heard the shrill bird-like calls of others. He looked up in time to see several more gryphons now coming down from the sky to join the fight.
But just like that, it was over. The wolves didn't seem willing to continue this battle, and Leon watched as they began fleeing into the forest where they had more advantage running through the trees with their sleeker bodies than the bulky mounts and their riders.
Leon finally used the tree to get up to his feet, not wanting to be so isolated anymore. He hissed in pain as he put weight on his hurt leg. He would have toppled down, but suddenly, there was an arm around him and a hand steadying him. He looked up and met eyes with Riccardo beside him.
"Careful," Riccardo said, gently.
"What were you thinking," a voice suddenly growled out and Leon looked up in time to see the king approaching them, ears flatly back and eyes blazing anger as he glowered at Riccardo. "Do you have a death wish? What reason did you have for breaking away from the front?"
"I retreated back here to save Leon," Riccardo admitted to the furiously angry king.
Leon glanced back at Riccardo in surprise.
"I gave you orders to stay at the front," Demetri said with a low growl directed at his son. He glanced at Leon and Leon saw his mouth twitch as if in disgust before he looked back at Riccardo again. "There will be consequences for your insubordination and the overall lack of intelligence you've shown the last few nights."
Leon saw a muscle in Riccardo's jaw jump, but the prince merely nodded.
The king turned away at this point, and Leon saw him go walk back towards one of the gryphon riders who'd descended down to end the whole fight just in the knick of time. He saw just enough of the rider to know it was another vampire, but he didn't feel the need to learn more information about that for the moment. His attention was on Riccardo at his side.
"You really defied him for me," Leon asked in disbelief.
"Of course I did," Riccardo answered. "Can you walk, by the way? I should get you up on Taizong."
"I... can try," Leon admitted, wincing when he tried to take a step forward.
"Lean on me," Riccardo instructed.
Leon did so and took a hopping step forward. "How'd you do any of that," he asked as they moved back towards the owl gryphon who was now lying down in the snow, already worrying about his hurt wing. "You were hurt, but you -"
"It's easy to ignore pain in situations like these," Riccardo answered. "It's always been easier when I've been protecting others: our soldiers, Taizong, my brother... you."
Leon nodded at that. He didn't really understand it as he grimaced against the shockwaves of pain that went up his hurt leg as he hobbled with Riccardo's support through the snow. "Guess I'm lucky you think I'm worth protecting."
"Mmhm," Riccardo hummed his agreement, softly.
They reached Taizong, and Riccardo helped Leon climb onto the gryphon's back. There, he looked at the bloody, injured wing of the beast and grimaced in sympathy for it.
"He'll be alright," Riccardo said and reached out to pet over the gryphon's soft feathers. "He may not be able to fly for a little while, but he'll be taken care of." He looked up at Leon. "You, too. I'll ask Dr. Seavers to look at your leg."
"He a good doctor, then," Leon asked, dubiously.
Riccardo climbed up onto the owl gryphon in front of Leon. "The best, actually."
"We have only a few hours' ride left to home," the king called from the front of the party. "Stay sharp, and stay together! We don't know that we won't be attacked again. Forward, now!"
Leon saw Riccardo's heels tap Taizong's sides and the gryphon got up with a grunt before slowly making its way forward as the rest of the party started, along with their new gryphon saviors.
"I'm guessing you all know the guys who came down with their gryphons," Leon asked.
"Ruben took off for their aid as soon as we realized we were being followed," Riccardo said. "They're always scouting further out from home for reasons like this."
"So why're werewolves attacking you, anyways," Leon asked. It wasn't that he thought they really needed a stronger reason than vampires were monstrous, but the attack had seemed bigger than simply a justified hatred of vampires. "Where I come from, they're friendly. My family's always traded from our garden for meat from them." He couldn't help but think again about the familiarity in the eyes of the wolf who'd pounced on him. They had to be hundreds of miles away from his home, though, so what were the chances that the wolf actually did know him? And had that wolf gotten out of the fight alive? He wished he knew, but the chaos had been too much to tell.
"Well this isn't your home country, boy," came a voice from behind them. Leon looked back at a red-haired vampire atop a black gryphon, staring forward at them. "We've been fighting werewolves off our people up here for longer than I reckon you've been alive. Filthy beasts would see us all dead if we let them. We've been trying to fight them back, but they don't take the hint."
"Must be some kinda reason they can't leave," Leon muttered, looking forward again and at the back of Riccardo's head. The prince's ears were back, and he was silent now as he stared forward.
"More like they refuse to," the redhead behind them said.
"Don't see why they have to, anyways," Leon said, turning around again and narrowing his eyes at the redhead. "Maybe you lot are just trying to kill them off like you did to my kind."
"Your kind was hunted down for good reason, fae," the redhead shot back. "Don't forget it wasn't just us who did it, either. Humans were even tired of the chaos your people constantly unleashed on their cities."
"Chaos unleashed," Riccardo asked and Leon turned to glare at the prince who was looking back over his shoulder now.
"Us fae got blamed for every bad fucking storm and every plague that ever fell on anyone. No one ever wanted to give us credit for good shit, though. Humans were real superstitious about us, but it was definitely you vampires who hunted every one of us down, especially when you all got tastes of our blood," he narrowed his eyes at the prince. Riccardo hadn't gotten a taste yet, but surely once he did he would become as crazed for it as the stories all said a vampire would get.
Leon held his gaze as Riccardo's eyes bounced between his, and it was Riccardo who turned away first, facing forward once more.
"Better learn to get control of this one, my young prince," the redhead behind them said. "He'll keep backtalking if you let him."
Leon felt Riccardo sigh more than heard it. "That's enough out of you, Leon," Riccardo said in response to the redhead's words.
"We can always make you walk the rest of the way," the redhead behind them said.
Leon didn't feel like pushing his luck on that promise. His leg hurt just from the gentle rocking of the gryphon's smooth gait.
A tense silence settled over them at this point, but it didn't seem like they were the only ones riding in tension. From what Leon could see of the people in front of them, the large ears of every vampire seemed to swivel and turn at sounds in the forest he couldn't hear. He didn't agree with the ridiculousness of their war, but he was glad they were on such high alert. It felt like a fluke that he'd come out of the last struggle with only a hurt leg; he wasn't sure he would be so lucky if it happened again.
Leon wasn't sure how much time ultimately passed after that. It was overcast, so the moon and stars were not tools to use to gauge the passage of time. Leon only felt a lot of time had passed because suddenly he was struggling to keep his eyes open. He blamed his exhaustion on all the traveling he'd done in the last few weeks. Even though his leg throbbed and he currently sat atop a monstrous gryphon, behind a vampire prince, he felt like he could fall asleep right there. He put in a valiant effort to fight the urge to pass out, but suddenly his eyes were closing and he started to slump forward.
"Leon," Riccardo suddenly said just before Leon's body crashed into the back of his. He sat up straighter immediately, blinking and looking about for why Riccardo had broken their silence.
Against the dark sky was a massive building that Leon couldn't decide if it was darker than the sky or some sort of lighting effect was making it seem so. It was three or four stories tall, with two wings that jutted out towards their traveling party from a main part in a U shape. All around it, the trees had been cleared for a flat expanse of snow, but Leon could make out other, small buildings that were easily dwarfed by the behemoth in the middle of the grounds. He had no idea how far back this massive building - which could only be described as some sort of fortress or palace - went or what the back looked like. In the darkness of night, he could barely tell what the front looked like other than it being gigantic.
"We're here," Riccardo let him know.