In the center of a field is a massive military camp. In the middle of the camp is a large commander's tent.
In the center of this tent is a bed. And on that bed is a mangy wolf with a smell only the devil could overcome.
Beside him sat the devil.
She spoke lightly, "Gerrod Thom Dradir, a stray with a will as powerful as yours is... not something seen often."
Gerrod, who was actually awake and bidding his time smiled in his mind at her compliment. But he was not deceived and stayed silent.
"Do you know what a stray is?" She said mildly. Her chin leaned on her hand and the other hand petting his mangy fur she spoke, "A stray is a being born with special powers but no home, no clan, no family, I am one too, but I am a 'Noble', the difference between you and I is the background and how we acquire our powers."
His eyes flew open threatening to kill her if they could. He did not take kindly to her petting him but she didn't care. He couldn't move to stop her even if he wanted too.
He also couldn't transform. The cloaked figures put a formation on him to force him to stay in his wolf form until otherwise allowed.
He felt helpless. But not hopeless.
"I knew you were awake." Her smile lit up the room like a flame in the dark.
Yet, Gerrod wondered, if she lits up a room with her smile, why does it feel like the temperature has dropped?
"You've made me very angry you know?" She grabbed his mange tightly causing a terrible wave of red hot pain to shoot through his body.
But he made no noise. He simply continued staring at her.
He refused to let her win.
She laughed and let go. Back to petting.
"Did you know? I am the Princess Avisazi Ci Shoka, acting ruler of Shokan." She smiled gently yet once again it felt in no way gentle, "I am called the 'Tiny Terror' did you know? Do you know how much I hate that nickname? I've killed or conquered everyone whos ever called me it."
Gerrod rolled his eyes and stopped looking at her. He couldn't care about her personal story.
'They say people talk to animals, but I really don't care and I'm guessing other animals don't either.' He laid his head back comfortably.
A vein popped on Avisazi's hand as she grabbed his chopped up tail. His eyes twitched but he didn't make a noise.
"So, you're ignoring me after I saved you?" She said coldly, "You know, everyone wanted me to make an example of you. But I saved you from that fate."
'An example?' Gerrod opened one eye, 'What's the catch? She couldn't have done it for free.'
She smiled seeing his interest, "You weren't very well-liked back where you were, I saw it in your eyes when you nearly killed me, I saw all of your grievances, I saw your anger, I felt your pain, and I saved you with no strings attached."
This time, he felt her words. He knew she was being genuine.
"You've had it rough... haven't you." She pet his side, "In your other form I saw them, those scars that criss-cross your body like grass in a field."
He huffed, 'Those scars are a monument to my achievements.'
He felt pride. Because those scars proved that he was alive. They proved that he had survived. And they proved to him most of all that he would continue surviving.
He would not be bend nor break even if it killed him.
She took her hand back and stood, "Once you're healed, you may leave. The doctors say it should only be a few weeks as long as you don't struggle too much."
He watched her leave and a feeling, new and fresh crept its way into his heart. He didn't know what it was. Nor from whence it came. He simply knew that in her leaving back he saw a piece of himself. He saw a silent cry.
As the one who holds the name 'Thom', he knew he couldn't leave her alone.
'Besides, where am I going to go? I don't know anything about this land. Hell, I don't even know what it's called.' He smiled inside, 'I guess I'll stick around for a while.'
Comfort overtook him and he fell asleep atop the bed.
Six days later he was able to walk around. And that he did.
His body had gotten a large amount of nutrients and so he had gotten a little bigger.
His mang was the same as ever. The only difference was that, unlike an empty cup, he now had a little water inside.
He went to the most discreet place he could find just outside the camp and took a leak. When nature calls one does not simply turn the other way.
One lifts his leg.
Gerrod felt the urge to laugh but settled for an uncomfortable smile. Uncomfortable for others that is.
His necklace was quite thoroughly hidden in his mange which had gotten better according to what he overheard the doctors saying.
The mites which were plaguing him had been killed off but the damage still remained.
He had a sinking suspicion that his necklace had something to do with the death of those mites since the doctors were not the ones who did it.
They said so themselves, though when speaking to Avisazi they didn't dare to admit they didn't know.
He took a moment to feel out his aura. It was still weak and barely noticeable but it was there.
Had it not been he would have likely died of his injuries right after the cloaked figures struck him.
Naturally, he hadn't seen the princess again since the day he woke up. From what he'd seen the soldiers were very busy as well preparing for the next battle.
From what he'd heard from the soldiers Shokan is currently at war with Tenli, a country which surrounds Shokan, calling the mountains ranges home.
They declared war against Shokan after Avisazi declared that they would no longer trade food for metals with the mountains people.
'Avisazi wants to take over the range so she can get the metals for free and Tenli wants to take over the plains so they can farm without a problem.' Gerrod summed it up in a single thought and didn't think much of it again.
According to his count there approximately one thousand soldiers fully armed and ready for combat.
In the last battle, both sides had to retreat due to the increasingly mounting losses though Shokan got a small victory by feinting a full retreat and sending an elite force to chase the routed enemy afterword which devasted their rear guard.
That is the thousand or more dead that he awoke in the middle of.
After that, no more battles had occurred.
Gerrod thought he knew why, 'If they just hole up in mountain fortress' she won't be able to take them out, just by looking at the number disparity it's clear, they have more soldiers and better armor while she has better-trained soldiers and more refined tactics, but that will only be so long as they fight in the plains.'
Indeed it was so.
Avisazi and her army of elites are only so elite because they have the home-field advantage, she can hold out here in the plains for as long as she pleases but cannot strike a decisive blow due to their larger numbers.
That raises the question, why don't the Tenli simply retreat to the mountains to avoid more losses.
'They can't. Their food supply is cut off and with a large population that can sustain their massive number of soldiers it would be a disaster to retreat from the plains.' Gerrod sighed, 'Shokan cannot advance and Tenli cannot retreat, it's the set up for a blood bath.'
'Something has to give.' Gerrod looked at the mountains in the distance with a strange gaze, '...It couldn't hurt to take a look.'
Just like that, he took off at a leisurely pace.
While he couldn't run, he also couldn't get tired. Not while walking.
He also couldn't get lost. The smell of the camp was much too prevalent and besides that, he was walking mostly in a straight line.
The further he got the more other smells reached him. Shokan camps scent didn't disappear, but new ones appeared.
He found that he could differentiate the smells. He could tell which were human as well.
'Cooked food.' He froze in the darkness of a large oak tree and stared ahead.
He'd been walking for five hours and it was a little past midday.
His eyes were powerful like those of wolf and he could see the smallest movement even a mile away.
A wooden fence. The smell of sweat. Fire. Smoke. War.
He could feel the intention of war and battle from them clearly. He knew what he was looking at.
Immediately he turned back. 'No point sticking around.'
He ran off in a light trot, the pads on his paws keeping him silent along the forest floor.
By the time he arrived back at the camp, it was already nearing night time. He didn't head to sleep however.
No. He took a deep breath. His entire body felt like a cool wave had passed through it and his eyes sharpened.
He vanished into the darkness of the camp towards a tent near the center but not the center.
He saw several shadows inside but didn't enter. Instead, he looked around and pawed at the ground.
His claws made a very light, almost unnoticeable sound. Almost.
A cloaked figure appeared right beside him with eyes of silver thunder.
It looked to him. And he looked back.
Gerrod could see the suspicion in the figure's eyes.
But it could also see the urgency in Gerrod's.
He stood up and glanced back at the figure making sure he was following.
Once he was sure the figure would follow he took off.
The two went through the night silent as a pair of ghosts. Even Gerrod who had super sensitive hearing as a wolf couldn't hear him as he moved around him.
By the time midnight arrived the two had reached the outskirts of the Tenli camp.
The figure bent down behind a tree, releasing his aura for only a fraction of a second, sending it up in the night sky.
He picked up Gerrod and vanished in a fearsome sprint.
Gerrod's eyes swiveled and he caught sight of several shadows chasing hard from the campsite.
He growled and engaged his aura but the figure locked him down. He realized that if he activated his aura now and started fighting it would throw him off balance and get them both killed.
He wasn't used to working with others nor fighting against groups.
Though he didn't like it, he stayed motionless like a dead man. The figure gradually managed to pull away from them but he wasn't heading back to the camp.
Gerrod knew this because the scent of the camp was getting weaker and weaker.
It was then that he realized, 'He threw up the aura because we'd been discovered and for Avisazi to find it, now he's going to use himself as a decoy... and me!'
He felt aggrieved just thinking about, 'Why did I have to be a good person? Why? If I survive this I'm never butting into something like this again!'