It wasn't customary for a Swiftclaw to bring a pureblood into town. That much was made sure by the response of LoHawk and some of his little gang when Gage had brought Lacey to the town under the Elder's instructions. Then Elizabeth was invited to help care for Lacey's baby. Now, here was Marlow, bringing with him a girl from Scotland. He was really unsure how it would go down. The Elder had no knowledge of it, and yet Marlow felt in a daze. Like a teenager in love. Erin had said she wanted to see a shifter town, and Marlow made it so.
Swiftclaw was not currently reachable by road. At its rear large and looming mountains stretched up to the sky, and around it the deep forest of Wild Cove hid it from the rest of the world. But Erin was used to a hike or two back in Scotland. A rugged landscape which was not too dissimilar from that of Swiftclaw. She jumped at the chance, and after parking her car next to the remnants of an old log cabin, one which once housed Swiftclaw's greatest ever Tournament fighter, they walked through the forest, Marlow leading the way.
Erin had a smile on her face.
Marlow couldn't help but notice as they moved. "You look… At home here…"
"I grew up in the Highlands, while many of the forests there have been felled, there was one I used to visit as a child. It always seemed magical to me. I used to imagine that it was filled with all sorts of strange and wonderful creatures. Now I know, it kind of is. Filled with amazing things like you…"
Marlow laughed. "Well, I don't know that there is anything magical about being a shifter. I'm sure it's quite a biological mechanism. Indeed, there is doctor, a pureblood, in town at the moment who is studying this. Her name's Elizabeth, she's nice. There's also Lacey, another pureblood like yourself. She lives in the town, she's actually my sister-in-law. I'm sure there'll both be happy to see you. Can't be easy being away from your own kind all of the time."
But Marlow was not convinced that the Elder would be happy to see them. He was probably breaking rules by bringing Erin with him unannounced, but there was something about her, and the opportunity to walk around his hometown holding her hand, and being around that infectious smile, made him feel that rules are there to be broken.
After stopping for a bite to eat under a shaded tree in a clearing, they moved on once more. Several hours later Marlow was grinning from ear to ear. Looking at a collection of large rocks which jutted out of the ground between a few trees.
"Now you're the one smiling. What's made you so happy?" Erin asked.
"This place. I used to play here. My brother Gage would bring me. I had a friend as well who'd watch me here in case I got into any trouble. His name was Lorne, he was a few years older than me so he would look after me when Gage wasn't around. He'd sit up on that big rock over there, the biggest bear you've ever seen. He was always so caring."
"I look forward to meeting him."
Marlow turned to Erin, sadness emanating from his face. "Lorne is dead.… He died a few months ago. I wish I'd been here to stop it…"
Erin instinctively put her arms around Marlow and hugged him. She touched him on the cheek and caressed his face with her hand. "I'm really sorry. How did he die?"
Marlow had went from smiling, to grief, and now he appeared more serious than ever before. He held Erin's hand tightly. "Listen, Erin, there are a few things about the Cabal that you need to know… But…"
Suddenly Marlow stopped. He raised his head and looked to his left. He then held Erin close and whispered in her ear. "We should make a move."
They continued walking on, but Marlow did not say anything to Erin about the ghostly pale eyes he saw staring at them from between two trees. They were unmistakable. They were the same eyes of the boar shifters who had run him off the road the last time he was on his way to Swiftclaw.
He heard their feet moving towards them. They were trying to be as quiet as possible, but Marlow had excellent hearing, and these were not their woods, they were his. He knew every tree, every branch, every leaf, and he knew every noise. He also knew when something unwelcome walked in the shadows.
As he held Erin's hand and walked through the trees. He heard another set of footsteps coming around from the left and then another around to the right. They were trying to catch Marlow and Erin in a pincer movement. They would be ambushed!
Marlow leaned over and whispered calmly in Erin's ear. "Erin, do you trust me?"
She stopped. She hugged him and looked into his golden eyes. "Yes, of course I trust you, Marlow."
"Then I need you to run as fast as you can towards Swiftclaw, it's straight ahead!"
Growling, a low reverberation now came from inside the forest. "Run, Erin, and don't look back! Look for the Elder and get help!"
With a giant roar Marlow turned into his beast form, a magnificent bear, smaller than some of his brethren, but clearly larger than any other bear Erin had ever seen. She was afraid. Afraid of the giant beast she saw in front of, and afraid of the three enormous boars which suddenly charged out of the forest.
She ran.
Marlow deftly evaded one of the boars. As he dived out of its way, its large tusks missing him by only inches, he swiped with his paw, the claws outstretched. His nails landed on top of the boar's head, slicing through its skin. It let out wild yelp of pain.
There was a lull. Marlow now had their attention. The charges had stopped. He stepped up onto his hind legs and roared again. They were sizing him up, waiting. Could they take him? Probably. After all there were three of them, but not without a damn good fight. Marlow was always smarter than most, and he knew when he was facing insurmountable odds. More than this, his deep-rooted affection for Erin meant just one thing: He could have charged out through the forest and into the tree line, and into Swiftclaw, but no, he had to get the boars as far away from Erin as possible. He began to gallop into the woods in the opposite direction of his hometown. Hoping that the boars would follow him.
* * *
Erin had been running for at least 20 minutes. Tears were pouring down her eyes and her chest felt as though it was on fire. The forest no longer felt as friendly a place as he'd thought. Yes there was wonder in it, but there was danger to.
I'm off the edge of the map. Here there be monsters...
She'd always wanted to be near shifters, but now that she was, she doubted that aspiration. What she did not doubt was her deep affection for Marlow, however. It was growing by the minute, spiraling out of control almost, consuming her. She worried for him as if she had known him her entire life. That was a dangerous thing, considering. She also knew that her best shot at helping him was to warn others in the Swiftclaw clan.
Finally she reached the tree line, coming out of it to wide sprawling open space. In front of her was a bridge which passed over a fast flowing river. Then, beyond that, the idyllic town of Swiftclaw, nestled beneath a sprawling mountain range.
She was struggling for a breath, she had to catch it before she continued on.
"My dear, you appear to be out of breath. May I assist?" A deep yet sharpened voice said.
Erin turned around to see at a tall wide-shouldered man with jet black hair and beard, and golden eyes. But then those eyes, she sensed something ominous in them. They seemed darker than Marlow's. No room for kindness.
"I'm… I'm with Marlow… He's in the woods fighting off some big animals, they looked like giant boars… Please... He needs help from his clan…"
"Well, if he needs help… My name is LoHawk,, please come with me," he said stepping closer.
Bran had just come back from a three day stint in the woods. He was training for his next fight, just a few weeks away. He didn't know who his challenger would be, but after defeating Braagh, he knew that the Cabal and other enemies of the Swiftclaw clan would do anything to remove him as champion of the Tournament. Why they seemed so intent on this, he and the Elder still did not know.
For now, though, he was thinking of other things. He was standing in the main street. He had just picked up a bottle of red wine and some food that he was going to cook. A romantic night with his fiancee, Elizabeth, was exactly what he needed. He was going to set up some candles, play some relaxing music, and hopefully one thing would lead to the next. It usually did with those two.
What he didn't expect to see, was Gage's brother, Marlow, tearing down the street in bear form. This was the second time Marlow had entered the Swiftclaw town unannounced and in such a panicked way in recent weeks. He was beginning to make a habit of it.
"Bran!" Marlow screamed as he turned to his human form. "Where's Erin?"
Clutching at the bottle of wine and food under his arm, and experiencing a sinking feeling which told him his quiet night was not going to be so quiet, Brian responded: "Who the hell is Erin? Aren't you supposed to be working with the Cabal?"
"Erin is a pureblood I had with me. She's in danger, we were attacked in the woods by another shifter clan, but I managed to double back on them."
"What!? We better get Gage and the Elder, and get back out there," Bran said, dropping his romantic night to the ground.
The Elder soon arrived and so did Gage after Bran put out the word, but neither of them had heard anything of someone called Erin. The Elder looked at Marlow suspiciously, but any issues would have to be resolved later on. For now they had to find her, and protect the town against a possible attack.
They headed out back towards the forest.
"What… What do you want?" Erin said nervously.
LoHawk was now towering above her touching her arm with his hand, his golden, dark eyes glistening in the evening sun. "My dear, I simply want my clan to be clean. That's not too much to ask, is it? You purebloods, you have a way of corrupting things. It has seeped into my people, and I will not have that!"
"Please, we have to help Marlow! He could be injured or worse!" Erin screamed.
"I'd be far less worried about Marlow, and much more about yourself. I'm afraid you might never see him again, one way or the other." LoHawk laughed to himself. "How does that human fairytale go, aren't you supposed to say 'my what big teeth you have'?"
LoHawk now began to shift into his bear form, but before he could complete his transformation and act on his threats, the sound of pounding feet and claws against the ground echoed out across the clearing. He turned, and saw the Elder, Marlow, Gage, and Bran hurtling towards him, all in bear form.
"Leave that pure blood alone!" shouted the Elder.
LoHawk almost hissed at Erin as he disappeared back into the forest without a trace.
Marlow quickly changed back into his human form and ran up to Erin. "You okay, did he harm you!?"
Erin was stunned, and not for the reasons Marlow might've expected. "Marlow… You're naked…"
Marlow looked down, embarrassed, covering his shame with his hands. "Yes, sorry about that. The clothes don't tend to survive this shifting process."