"I need you to understand that this is the fastest way to get us back to the town," she took in a deep breath and continued, "I am going to take the form of a large wolf and I need you to get everyone to climb onto my back."
"Wait what? A wolf?"
"Yes."
Lycster did not understand what was going on, but his gut told him to put his faith in Vy.
"I trust you. I will ensure the rest know what to do."
Vy nodded and took a couple of steps back away from the children. Within seconds, she was in her wolf form once more, her fur coat glistening under the glow of the moon. Some of the children were shocked but Lycster assured that Vy would not harm them. Vy had realised that while she was not able to speak the common language in her current form, she was able to speak telepathically.
Using telepathy, she told the children to get on her back as she laid down on the ground. One by one, the children climbed on to her back and held on tight to her fur. She could hear their pounding hearts and smell the fear in their sweat.
-Do not worry, just hold on tight.-
Vy slowly stood back up on all fours and moved swiftly in the direction of the town. The forest was quiet in the night and her movements were as silent as she could be. With her enhanced hearing, she could even hear the breathing of the animals and creatures that lurked in the cover of the forest.
As they were approaching their destination, Vy sensed a threat coming towards were at top speed from the bushes. She stopped in her tracks at once and barred her teeth in the direction of the threat. She could not see them in the cover of the darkness, but she knew they were there.
-All of you, get down now.-
She leaned down once more and got all the children off her back, the darkness that surrounded them were scaring them even more. Even Lycster was quaking in fear.
-Lycster.-
"Yes," he replied, his voice shaking.
-The town is just up ahead, the rest should be looking for us by now. I need you to take the rest and make a run for it. I will deal with what is here.-
"Miss Vyrena…"
-We don't have time! Go, now!-
There was no time to hesitate, Lycster did as he was told and instructed all the children to run together with him. The lamps at the entrance of the town were just a little further ahead but they could see the soft light emanating from the lamps.
-Lycster,- Vy called out in her mind. -No matter what you do, do not look back. Do not come back for me. I will be alright.-
Lycster nodded in agreement and ran ahead to catch up with the rest of the kids, leaving Vy behind to deal with the threat. Once again, she bared her teeth and let out a guttural growl. But the threat was not ready to back off. Vy stood her ground and lifted her head into the sky, letting out a howl that echoed through the entire forest.
Lycster was and the other children were running towards the town. Carole and the other stall keepers felt something was wrong and had already started to form search parties to search through the town and in the outskirts. As the children approached the entrance of the town, they saw a small search party holding lamps in their hands.
As soon as they caught sight of the children, the search party waved them over. While the other children were hesitant to go over, they seemed to trust Lycster. He squinted his eyes and realised that Gonzo was among the search party and informed the other children that it was safe for them to go over.
It was at that moment, that they heard the howl echoing in the dead of night. All the search parties could hear it too and it sent a shiver down their spines.
Lycster and the children caught up to the search party.
"Lycster? Oh my gosh you're here! Where have you been? Have you seen Vyrena? She went.."
Before Gonzo could finish his sentence, Lycster stopped him and spoke, "She came to rescue us. There were kidnappers! Masked men, who took me away. And all these children too! Gonzo, you have to help them, those were bad people!"
Gonzo tried his best to calm Lycster down while the search party with him dispersed to inform the rest that the boy had been found. But now their attention was turned to Vyrena. Where was she? Gonzo could not quite understand the flustered words Lycster was saying and he tried his best to get him to catch his breath before continuing to speak.
It was at this point that Carole had been informed about Lycster's whereabouts and came to see him. As soon as Carole saw him she threw her arms around him and checked for injuries.
"Lycster! Thank the gods you are alright, do you know how worried we all were? And Vyrena, she went after you, looking for you," noticing her absence, she asked, "wait, where's Vyrena?"
The threat did not retreat. Instead, it revealed itself under the moonlight.
It was not just a single threat, but a pack of black hounds, shrouded in the black miasma. The stench that emanated from their fur coats stung Vyrena's nose. It was a combination of rotting odour and foul smells. The hounds had dark red soulless eyes and green mucus-like slime pouring out between their sharp teeth.
But Vy was not afraid, in fact, she was powered by adrenaline.
Vy recalled that she was able to use magic and wondered if she could combine her magic abilities with her physical attacks. From the way her opponents moved and looked, they seemed to have an actual physical body. However, she suspected that the miasma contained poisonous gases. She manifests a spell of fire in her mouth, coating her teeth with a blaze that would wound her enemies and protect her.
Her claws were also covered in flames, lighting up the immediate areas around her. Without a warning, two of the hounds lunged forward and Vy received their attack. She raised her front paws and crushed one of the hounds with the weight of her body. Her claws tore into the hound's body and ripped it to shreds.
With the other hound in her sight, she unhinged her jaw and decapitated the hound, she threw out its carcass to the side as the flames burned its flesh into a crisp. Vy stood her ground and bared her teeth once more.
-LEAVE!-