Tiny hands reach for the night sky as if to pluck one of its innumerable stars from the void, soft grass slick with dew pressing against the nape of a thin neck as he lays there on his back.
“Hey S-----, if you could make just one wish, what would it be?” The boy asks his companion, eyes wide in wonder as he gazes into the darkness of the beyond. The woman he’s lying beside opens her eyes to look at him, before also turning to look up at the sky.
“If I were to have a singular wish…” She pauses, seemingly in thought. “I suppose I’d wish for you to have a peaceful life, little one.” She finishes, and the boy gives a laugh.
“I should’ve figured it would be something like that.” He giggles, scrunching one eye shut and pretending to crush one of the stars from existence. “Why not wish for something you could have yourself? Like all of the lotus paste cakes you could ever want?”
The woman smiles gently and sits up, bringing the boys’ head into her lap and slowly stroking his hair. He pauses his quest in star-vanquishing to gaze into her eyes as she looks down at him.
“And what of you, little one? What would be your one wish?” She asks, and he hums for a few moments, pursing his lips.
Then, with eyes alight, he pushes a finger onto her forehead. “I’d wish for us to be together forever!” He exclaims, quite proud of himself for coming up with that. The woman smiles once more, but this time with an expression he cannot read.
“Forever is quite a long time. Are you sure that’s what you would want?” She asks, continuing to comb his hair, and he nods seriously.
“Oh yes. Then, maybe you wouldn’t have to stay out here all the time! You could meet my other friends, and my pa… maybe my sister…? No, she’s mean. You wouldn’t get along.” He frowns, mumbling some and such about his sister being the worst ever, before exclaiming out and pointing up. “S-----, look! A falling angel!”
The woman cranes her neck to look upwards, as a bright light streaks across the sky, observable for just a few moments before disappearing in the distance. She looks back down at him and sees his eyes closed, lips moving soundlessly, hands clasped to his chest. After a few breaths of time, his eyes flutter open, shining and pure.
“I claimed that one!” He says, smiling happily. “Now we really will be friends forever!” Then, with a sudden look of despair, he slaps his hands to his forehead. “Oh bother, I’ve told you what it was! Now it won’t come true!”
The woman laughs softly, cupping his cheeks with her palms. “Oh little one, if you truly wish for us to be acquainted for eternity, then it shall be so.”
The boy peeks up at her from between his fingers, seemingly doubtful. “Truly?” He asks quietly, and she chuckles with mirth.
“Just so. Now it’s time for you to go, little one. It is far too late, and I fear your family will come looking for you.”
The boy sighs and stands up, dusting the grass from his back with his companions' help. Then with a wave and promise to visit once more the next day, he sets off down the slope, entering the woods towards his home. The woman watches him from afar for quite a while, eyes piercing the vale and tracking his form until satisfied he will make it back.
---
“Good morning dearie! An early riser, are you?” Camilla greeted Raikos from behind the counter as he walked down the stairs, yawning heavily. His leather armor and cloak were nowhere to be seen, instead outfitted in a loose cloth tunic and pants, both completely black. His long hair was free of the braid it had been in the day prior, tousled and wild from a seemingly good night’s rest.
He grunted in response, looking around as he walked to a table and sat down roughly on a chair. “Tavern’s pretty empty this time of day eh?”
Camilla nodded, taking inventory of the supplies behind her counter. “Most of the business we get is in the evening, though occasionally we get some lads coming in for breakfast. Speaking of,” she paused her inventory checking to look up at him, “we’ve got some leftover pork from last night, and I can whip up some eggs for you if you’d like.”
Raikos seemed to mull it over, then shook his head. “Just some warm cider, if you wouldn’t mind.”
Camilla raised an eyebrow, but pulled a tankard and started filling it. “Suit yourself. Just so you’re aware, not eating won’t lower the price of the room.” She warned.
Raikos smiled at that. “I wouldn’t dream of it.” He said in good nature, accepting the mug when she brought it over and taking a long sip.
It wasn't much longer before he saw Rennis, once lively eyes now darkened by morning fatigue, shamble out of a room near the back of the tavern. He looked around blearily, before spotting Raikos at a table.
Immediately his eyes widened, an innocent smile growing on his face as he practically skipped over to the table. "Good morning!" He said cheerily, his small hands grabbing the edge as he peered up at the courier.
"Good morning." Raikos responded with a smile of his own, eyeing Camilla across the room. She was glancing between her son and himself, her mouth beginning to part before he gently shook his head. She gave him a grateful nod, and went back to taking inventory for the day.
Rennis pushed himself up onto the chair across from the courier, his feet swinging in open air as he gave the man a toothy grin. "Are you going to deliver your letter today?" He asked, and Raikos nodded.
"Aye, indeed I will." He said, taking another sip from his mug. "And then, most likely, I'll be on my way back to Karthas."
Rennis pouted, but seemed to take it in stride. "But you're not leaving yet, are you? You'll come back?" He asked, trying not to seem too eager, which caused Raikos to chuckle.
"I'll be back. Why, did you have more questions about the exciting life of a courier?" He questioned, to which the boy nodded. "Well, perhaps I can answer a few of them before I leave."
Rennis' eyes widened a bit at the prospect, before he hurriedly nodded once again. "How long have you been a courier?"
Raikos hummed for a few moments, tilting his head. "Nearly five years now." He finally answered, tapping his finger on the table.
"And what made you want to do it?"
The courier paused his tapping, as he gazed into the innocently questioning green eyes of the boy. He glanced over to Camilla, before leaning towards Rennis conspiratorially. Rennis seemed to notice the need for secrecy, as he too leaned in.
"Well, it wasn't my first choice you see." Raikos whispered, and Rennis nodded expectantly. "But I'm looking for someone, and this seemed a good way to do so while paying for my travels."
"Oh!" The boy exclaimed, then immediately clasped a hand over his mouth before glancing back at his mother. If Camilla noticed their hushed whispers, she gave no obvious hint to it. He turned back to look at Raikos, his eyes aglow with curiosity. "Maybe I could help you! We don't get many strangers, but I remember every new person's face!"
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Raikos smiled, leaning back as he drained the last of his drink. "I doubt that she came out this way, but…" He pointed at Rennis' hair. "Have you ever seen a woman with hair as red as yours? But with blue eyes, like mine."
Rennis frowned, his brow scrunching as he seemed to think it over for a long while, before shaking his head. "No, I don't think so." He said apologetically, and Raikos shrugged his shoulders.
"Well, no harm in asking." He said, before standing up with his mug in hand. Rennis looked disappointed at the fact that he was leaving so soon, but hopped off the chair to run to his mother. Raikos followed after the boy, and though he was conversing at a whisper, he was still able pick out Rennis asking his mother about the woman he was looking for.
He saw Camilla shake her head, and the boy sighed as Raikos posited his cup on the counter where she was working. She took it, cocking an eyebrow as Rennis ran to the back of the tavern before she turned to look back at him.
"Looking for a woman are you?" She asked, and Raikos chuckled.
"I am, but I had no illusions that she'd be here. Your boy is a helpful one though." He said, and she smiled.
"He tries to be, bless his heart. You're off for delivery then?" She hummed, her eyes leaving him as she settled the mug beside her to be cleared away later.
"Aye, I figure I better start the day right." He confirmed, and she pointed her finger out of the tavern door without looking.
"Jerrick told me you were looking for Malendra." She began, setting her quill down and shuffling her letters. "She's about a half hour's ride out of town that way. You'll see a fork in the road, take the left one. It'll be the blue house."
Raikos nodded his thanks and turned to the stairs to grab his things. "Best of luck dearie!" She called, and he grinned to himself.
The people of Noster were, at the very least, a friendly bunch.
-
Raikos approached the stables outside of the tavern, an apple Rennis had practically shoved into his hand before he left held aloft in supplication. Nora was eyeing him as he approached her, her tail swishing in clear displeasure.
"I know girl, I know. Here, don't be too mad." He cooed, and she snorted before taking it from him. She crunched away at it as he grabbed his saddle and strapped it to her back, pulling the leather tight. She abhorred stables, but was quick to forgive him as he scratched her flank.
Pulling the hood of his cloak up, he jumped lightly onto the saddle, bunching the reins as he gently patted her neck. She trotted out of the stables, and as he rode out into the small road that led out of Noster, took in the warmth of the morning sun. A little too bright for his liking, but it clearly put the town in better spirits than they'd been the night before.
He passed by a man laying face down on the side of the road, a couple of the townsfolk gathered around him and laughing amongst themselves as one of them brought out a pail of water and splashed it onto him. Shaking his head but licking his lips, he rode past the small group as the man sputtered and gasped awake.
The ride was a pleasant one, buildings giving way to rolling farmland and fields ripe for the harvest. He could see a few folk working their land, giving him friendly waves as he passed. He waved back to them, whistling a small tune as he and Nora continued on.
Just as Camilla had said, he eventually reached a fork in the road, and noted the vast expanse of forest that was visible on the right path. The Wildwood, a rich source of folk stories and tall tales to the people of Katou.
He'd heard quite a few stories himself. Firsthand accounts of the creatures spotted within. To some, it was a place to be feared. To others? Just another facet of their home, a place to be cautious of while in its borders, and to be treated with a healthy amount of respect.
To him?
He flapped open his cloak, his fingers brushing along the reassuring vials of blood strapped to his thigh and waist.
For some reason, as he first spotted the blue house surrounded by a golden field of wheat, he felt he'd be needing them soon. It was a kick of instinct, a faint tingle that traveled up his spine to register in some sixth sense he'd developed in his travels.
And as he peeled off the road he'd been traveling on to traverse the long dirt path that led to the house, that sixth sense was ringing heavily in his mind.
Nora sensed it as well, her ears flicking and swiveling around as she whinnied nervously.
"Shhh girl. It's alright." He hushed quietly, patting her neck. It seemed to soothe her nerves a little, but she still made her unease known to him through various signals. Squinting against the daylight, he realized that they'd both been right to be nervous.
The front door was broken. Hanging off of its hinges.
He sniffed the air, the heavy overtones of ripe wheat covering two far more ominous scents. Blood, and an odious musk that pervaded the area. One he'd smelled before, and one that made him recall the conversation he'd heard in the tavern the night prior.
Werewolf.
He gently tugged at the reins, and Nora readily came to a stop a few yard lengths away from the house. He swung his leg over the saddle, landing silently on the dirt pathway. Nora snorted once more, her tail swishing as her neck craned to look around the area. Patting her flank, he approached the house, drawing his rapier as he opened his mouth to taste the scents in the air.
The blood was old, by quite a few hours. The werewolf musk, though, was fresher. Whatever had been here had returned a short time ago.
He climbed the steps to the house silently, pausing at the doorway before hesitantly sticking a hand through it, fully expecting the sting in his mind that appeared when crossing thresholds into a home.
When it didn't come, he frowned. That fact was concerning. Even Spawn Broken had trouble passing thresholds.
Fully stepping into the house, the musk and blood scent grew stronger. So much so that he had to close his mouth, a headache beginning to form from the werewolf's odor. His grip on the rapier tightened as his eyes passed over the interior of Malendra's home.
To his left was what looked like a kitchen, and to the right was a living room with a hearth that had long since burned to ash. A small hallway led to two other rooms from the main living room.
There were clear claw marks gouged into the wooden floors. A table lay broken in the center of the kitchen, ceramic plates shattered and silverware scattered along the floor. Blood was splattered along the walls, and a small pool of it had coagulated around a dropped tea kettle.
His eyes traveled to the living room, the furniture crashed into and splintered. Whoever had resided here had clearly put up a fight, as he saw another splatter of black blood with flecks of starlight that glittered within it, the signature of werewolf blood. He sniffed the air again, the scent of death curling in his nostrils, his eyes lingering on a trail of blood that led to the hallway.
Sheathing his rapier, his boots fell silently along the floor as he followed the trail. It split to the right door, and he could see that the wood there was mangled and warped, the door itself broken irreparably. Stepping inside, he noticed a large bed, a broken window, and a small portrait of a man and a child hanging on the far wall.
And a corpse laying with their back against the edge of the bedframe.
He strode forward and crouched beside the man, studying him. His resemblance to the portrait was unmistakable, even if his greying hairs and bushy beard made it clear he was far older than when the portrait was made. There were deep lacerations along his chest, arms, and ribcage. But the killing blow had been dealt to his throat, his windpipe ripped out and his neck broken at an angle.
There was a broken wooden shaft clutched in his hand that had likely been either a spear or pitchfork, the man's grasp on it firm even in death. And hanging around his neck was a silver locket.
Raikos gingerly reached for it, his fingertips brushing along the precious metal as his nails found the seam to open the necklace. It opened easily, the hinges well maintained, revealing a picture on either side. The first was of a plain looking young woman, though her smile was dazzling. The second was of a far prettier woman, just as young, but with that same radiant smile. He glanced upwards from the locket to the portrait by the bed, and closed his eyes.
Focusing on the lingering scents within the house, he counted three. The werewolf, the corpse in front of him, and a far more faded womanly scent. One that could be traced over to the window.
Sighing lightly, Raikos' eyes opened as he closed the locket. Reaching around the man's neck, he unclasped the necklace and took it into his palm, stroking it with his thumb for a few moments. He put it into a pocket on the inside of his cloak, before his eyes traveled to the broken window.
The frame had been shattered outwards, fragments of glass littering the floor, though the majority of them would likely be found outside. He saw another splotch of starlit black blood coating the frame, and as he walked over to the window and peered outside of it, found a pool of it soaked into the earth outside, along with clumps of dried dirt that revealed another trail of blood. Human blood.
Clicking his tongue, he reached into his pouch and brushed his hand along the roll of parchment meant to be delivered.
It would seem that the Courier would not be leaving so soon after all.