Completed The Wolf and the Horseman

[Hisoka]

71st of Fall, 512 AV

Wandering through the tall grass in her wolf form, Hisoka pants heavily, having not
eaten for days since she ran off. She sways wearily, finally collapsing in a heap,
exhausted. She had not been able to hunt, this being her first time out of
confinement, and having no experience.

[Crypt]

Crypt had only finished his exercises in the warm light of Syna. It had been a fruitful evening, and Crypt was pleased to note that he could use the Flux a little faster in his left arm. He wiped some sweat off his forehead, and placed the large log he was carrying for his exercises (As depicted in the bodybuilding book he had bought weeks ago) on the ground carefully. Using his shirt to dry himself, he threw it over his bare shoulders and whistled for Maras to come. The Strider promptly trotted towards Crypt, neighing. He had just had a delicious meal of wild clover, and was rather full. Crypt smiled and patted him on the head, between the ears, picking up his leather backpack as he did so. “Yes, isn't today wonderful? Time to get back to the room and have a quick shower, hope the bucket's still full of warm water...” Crypt trailed off having spotted something odd. He walked closer, and froze. It was a wolf. Not a particularly large one, but it appeared to be rather weak. Still, Crypt had... bad experiences with wolves in the past, and thus was wary of them, but this... It wouldn't hurt him, it was too weak and exhausted. And it needed help. Crypt walked cautiously towards the collapsed Wolf, bending his knee and crouching towards it. Taking out his waterskin and a strip of slightly salted beef, he dripped some water onto the wolf's snout, and allowed them to go inside its mouth. He then placed the beef near its mouth.

[Hisoka]

Hisoka lifted her eyelids weekly, scenting the musky smell of meat,
cautiously raises her head slightly to nibble the beef. She tips her head back
slowly, to allow the food to go down her throat. Finished, she sighs softly, and
gazes up at Crypt, head, still low, tilted slightly to the right, and moves her tail gently.

[Crypt]

OOCOh goodness me. LOL. I've just realised that you spelt 'horseman' wrongly in the title. Crypt smiled almost tenderly as the weakened wolf nibbled on the beef. No, it would not hurt him, for it was too weak. Besides, he had established some kind of tenuous relationship with it, having given it food and, by extension, Life. Crypt slowly reached out his hand, and started to stroke the fur on the wolf's back, marvelling at how soft it felt. Watching the wolf's tail move slightly, his smile grew a touch wider. Crypt dug around in his backpack, pulling out a wooden bowl that he had found while walking in the Bronze Woods. Filling it with some water, he placed it on the ground and nudged it towards the canid. Taking a step back, he cast an observant eye on the poor animal, searching for any injuries.

[Hisoka]

Hisoka sniffed the wooden bowl, then proceeded to lap the water, the cool liquid
running down her throat, and quenching her thirst. Her stomach pains eased,
though her ribs still shown faintly underneath her black coat. The white tip of her
tail waves slightly as she crouches, shaking herself, not yet ready to stand. Dried
blood visible on her paws, unused to the pace at which she had been traveling.

Yawning, Hisoka nudges a bag to her side, filled with her possesions, then
rests her snout on her front paws, closing her eyes, content.
A breeze picks up a leaf and it floats on to her nose. Hisoka sneezes briefly,
ending with a high pitched, but soft whining note, pawing her noes.

[Crypt]

Crypt saw the bloodstained paws, and it didn't look good. He had to do something about them. Taking his waterskin, he poured out some water into the now-empty wooden bowl and used it to wash the blood off her paws, humming a soothing tune softly to calm her, as it would hurt. After making sure that her wounds were cleaned, Crypt took out a small jar of ointment, applying it to the paws that were bloodstained carefully and gently, for fear of causing more pain that the wolf could endure. Still, it would help numb the pain and help her paws recover much faster. The Drykas had only just spotted a small, light backpack, with teeth marks on one side. Apparently, the wolf had been carrying it for quite a while. But why? Crypt decided not to pursue that line of thought further. There was a life in need of help, and that was enough for Crypt. He had been taught to revere life and nature in most of its forms, being a follower of Goddess Caihya, and it was his duty to help this wolf. Crypt chuckled as the wolf sneezed. It was so adorable! The way she pawed her snout as the leaf irritated her nose, the sound she made. Crypt had found out her gender while tending to her wounds. He continued to stroke her back slowly, as the brilliant light in the sky slowly approached the horizon; it would be perhaps an hour before Syna would depart from sight and let her lover, Leth, rule over the night sky.

[Hisoka]

Hisoka kept still as Crypt treated her paws, however, she could not stop herself
from a small yelp.
She watched him as he worked, taking in his appearance,
and on an instinctual level, keeping watch in case his intentions changed.
She notices when he hesitates, and slows her breath, anticipating anything.

After he had finished, she lay down beside him, deciding he posed no immediate
threat, enjoying the sensation as he stroked her back. Hisoka nuzzled his leg,
closed her eyes, and drifts slowly into a healing sleep.

[Crypt]

It was always nice to care for an animal, though it could be troublesome at times. Crypt smiled gently as he continued to stroke the wolf, eventually lulling it to sleep. The melody that emerged from between his lips eventually faded away, as the peace and calm of the Bronze Woods washed over them. Sleep, little one... Sleep, and recuperate. Crypt pulled out his flute and began to play a slow, simple lullaby his mother had sung to him many a time at night. The deep notes flowed through the forest almost wearily, softly caressing the ears of any in hearing range. Though some notes were uncertain, and occasionally a sharp burst of dissonant sound emerged from the flute as Crypt used the incorrect fingering, the melody and its mood was adequately conveyed. Crypt finished with a long, drawn-out series of notes that faded away into the autumn air. He looked at the young wolf. What should I do with you, little one? I don't think you can survive the night out here, and I don't know if the gate guards will prevent you from going inside Syliras... My backpack may be large enough though, if you don't mind the bottles.

[Hisoka]

Lulled into sleep, she dreamed of the music her mother had sung, her haunting,
howling notes echoing through the night. Then, her dream began to change,
remembering the times when she was beaten into learning "human values", and
was forced to create music that was pale compared to her mother's.

Hisoka, having woken because of the misplayed note, shakes herself.
Hearing his words, and having gained enough energy, she shifts into her human
form, shivering slightly from the cool, autumn night air on her newly bare skin.

[Crypt]

Crypt was gazing off into the air, daydreaming about building a house one day in a nice green meadow, when he suddenly felt the fur beneath his hand change into smooth skin. Bemused, Crypt turned his head around to look at the wolf and met the eyes of a young lady. A nude female. His eyes traveled to where his hand was, and found out that it was rather uncomfortably close to the wolf-turned-human's... private parts. Giving a girly shriek of terror (Though he would always swear that it was a manly shout of alarm when asked about this incident), he backpedalled away from the shapeshifter at an amazing speed, finally backing into a tree and stopping there. Words failed him as he attempted to think of a rational explanation for everything he had just seen in front of him and well... felt with his hand. Minutes passed, and he regained the capacity of speech. “Who... Who, or what, are you? How can you transform yourself?”