Using the wind and the moon behind him he was able to find his way back to Nicolas. The man had smartly shifted into werewolf form and lay next to a shrub, sheltering from the wind, as he bathed in the white moonlight.
William sat down next to him and broke the plant he carried in half. He gave the flowered end to the injured man.
“What the fuck is this crap?” Nicolas said taking the thing offered to him.
William grunted. He wished that the other man knew just how lucky it was that he had come upon this particular plant. But then, he had given him the injuries that made him move so painfully now. William hadn’t expected such venom from Nicolas, but he should have.
“It’s called an Our Lord’s Candle. Remember Efraim told us about it. We can eat every part of it.” William paused, “We should probably shift back to human form before we eat it though. I’m not sure how plants would treat our werewolf digestive system.” He tried to smile at that last little joke.
Nicolas gave him no support, “Great…yeah just shift back...sure ok…my ribs are definitely bruised if not broken from your little outburst back there and you want me to change back so I can eat a lousy bush!” he threw the flowered top of the plant away. William watched it disappear into the darkness behind some shrubs. “I want meat, Setford! I want to be back home. I want to be anywhere where I don’t have to see or smell you for a year! GET AWAY FROM ME!” Nicolas howled into the cold night, to be carried away and lost by the wind.
William stayed where he was, frozen, and stinging from the other man’s words. Slowly, feeling his body fighting against him, he began to unseat himself and move away from the injured werewolf. He crept back the way he had come, still holding his half of the Our Lords Candle.
The moonlight was no comfort to him as he walked through the desert. He was ashamed of what he had done, what he had almost done, and what he allowed himself to think about doing. He had mercifully been without his other’s influence for a long time. He had begun to hope that it was gone. But tonight proved that part of him was still there, it had just been sleeping, waiting for the opportunity to make itself known. Would he never be fully in control again?
What right did Nicolas have to challenge him? He threw the first punch. William was familiar with his type; all big and in charge until someone slapped them down and then they played the hurt, put upon victim pointing the finger at everyone else for their misfortunes or injuries. Yeah, his ribs may be broken, but they would heal by daylight in werewolf form. Nicolas was just being an asshole. Maybe William should slap him around a little more often, might even learn some decorum and manners…or not, his type rarely did.
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William stopped to look at the night sky. The moon was already well past her zenith. It would be daylight in a couple of hours. He would need to find shelter for both of them before the sun rose. He could make out mountains in the distance. If they were going to find water, that would be their best bet. However, Nicolas wouldn’t be in any kind of shape to walk until tomorrow. For now, he was going to have to settle for some simple shade from the sun.
The good news was that there were plenty of low bushes and dry shrubbery lining the desert floor. He picked a spot that was on a small rise in the hard dirt and sand and gently started to dig out the earth from under a solid patch of twisting brambles and shrubs.
The work wasn’t hard and soon William had a nice trench dug, it was about three feet deep, four feet wide, and eight feet long. The trench sat right in between two patches of shrubs and their branches did a decent job of hanging over the opening. If William had a tarp, it would be better, but he was just going to have to settle for more shrubs and branches placed over the top of the trench when he and his pack mate were inside. It would also make great camouflage and would keep them hidden from any searching eyes, should helicopters come looking for them.
His mind turned back the City under the Mountain. He could feel Charles and Aceso and Katherine in the back of his mind but their presence was still very far away and it didn’t feel like they were getting any closer. Were they ever going to come looking for them? Just how long until someone decided that they had been gone too long and decided to come and help? It was discouraging but at the same time he understood the logic of their situation. This wasn’t the first time he had been on his own and he had done just fine back then. Now he just needed to survive. Eventually his pack mates would come for them, he hoped.
Looking at his dinner he sat down and immediately stood back up again. While he was in werewolf form, he needed to do one more thing. He walked away from the dugout trench and began ripping up the ground hugging shrubs and bushes, only one every few feet. He didn’t want to draw attention to their location and a bare patch of desert surrounding a very dense section of bushes would look very suspicious.
William walked out about a mile or so and gently looped his way back around in a rough oval shape to the north of their shelter. He had to make a few trips back to drop off what he had ripped from the ground but pretty soon he was satisfied with what he had gathered.
William finally sat down and shifted back into human form, his clothes reconstituting themselves just the way they had been before he shifted. He grabbed his half of the Our Lord’s Candle and started to peel off strips from the stem and ate them slowly. The bush was full of moisture and was quite tasty, of course that may be because he was so hungry. He was grateful for the meal. It was gone far too quickly though. He wished that he had more, but food in the desert was scarce and he had been lucky to find the one, he doubted he would find anything else tonight.
He looked up to see the night sky was already fading into a deep grey. He looked to the east and the early oranges and some reds of the dawn were lashing out from the horizon. It was time to get Nicolas and get themselves hidden before unwanted eyes started looking for them.