Treading on the dry black dirt, the sound of my silver fangs anklet jingles as I walk straight ahead in such an oddly quiet piece of land. There are only withered, deformed trees and countless thorn bushes as far as the eye could see.
Bellow—
I pause. It was the low sound of a wounded beast bellowing in pain. It was so low that it I could have thought it to be the wind whistling. Was it perhaps bellowing for help? But as far as my domain can reach, there no other living creature. As for what type of beast was bellowing...
My eyes follow the fiery red fur that peeks out behind a bare tree, and squint at the strangely familiar hind leg and tail.
To actually encounter the thing I hate most—fate must be playing a joke on me.
I decidedly ignore and continue my journey.
The biggest mercy I can give you is not killing you.
Unfortunately, things did not go as plan; Aovialutre's necklace kept pulling me towards the direction of the incapacitated auburn wolf, like some stupid broken compass—
"Uck—", I nearly choke when the necklace tugged violently at my neck, as if it heard my insult.
Reluctantly, I submit and walk nearer. The necklace settles back down on my chest, making a mess of the coat's collar. I don't bother fixing it, nor hiding my exposed face.
It's not like anyone will recognize me. Hm, how long has it been? I wonder if their Alpha is still searching for me...
Crunch—
The many fallen dried leaves turn to crumbled bits as my feet step on them.
Pointy fluffy ears stood erect as I walk nearer, going around the tree that hid it, and stopping a few feet in front of it.
It growls in warning—'Stranger, do not come close'.
I doubt it could even bite me at this point, with a bite wound on its stomach and a deep silver spearhead broke and embedded on one of its hind legs.
I don't feel any pity for such a thing. In my eyes, all Lycan-kind deserves such torment. And so I turn to leave, but the necklace keeps pulling me back. I clench my teeth.
If you don't want me to leave it behind, then I might as well carry a carcass with me!
Annoyed at the blue tear-drop necklace, I raise a hand to control a shadow vine to pierce its neck, but I form a statue instead, unable to move. My shadow vine doesn't respond to me.
Give me a chance and I will dump you in the deepest well I can find!
I eye the necklace coldly as the chain suddenly shortens and nearly chokes me—a clear act of not wanting to part with me. With me frozen like this, the wolf finally looks up, strugglingly. I am aware that I look like an idiot offering it something with my palm upturned in midair. It may have thought of me offering help, but with one cold glance from me, I don't think it will assume so any longer.
I relax by body, completely eradicating my killing intent. The necklace also eases its hold on me, no longer reading any malicious intents in the air around me. How it reads my thoughts is beyond me.
The necklace does not allow me to leave, but it also does not allow me kill the wolf. Does the wolf have anything the necklace instinctively wants? I put down my hand as I contemplate.
Before I know it, a pair of gold and green orb-like eyes meet my now black ones. It's safe to say I've seen those eyes before, just that the arrangement of color is in the opposite order.
Upon realizing what the necklace wanted me to realize, I turn to head a different direction testingly. I'm satisfied to know the blue-tear does not stop me. However, another thing does.
The end of my coat is tugged. Twisting my head, the sight of a stubborn wolf biting the edges just to stop me from leaving, overwhelms me. Don't get me wrong—it overwhelms me with anger and irritation like nothing else. Maybe I should be thankful. I have failed to feel anything until now, so even though it's just anger, it's still quite a novelty. I suppose there will always be exemptions like this. Sure enough, the wolf is one too—an exemption to the ones I am free to kill because the necklace is protecting that vile creature.
Be thankful I can't end you right now.
I sullenly stare straight ahead, trying to ignore reality while I calm my thoughts to regain my mobility. The audacious wolf, on the other hand, seems to have deemed me as someone who won't harm it, and so my present predicament—
"…"
Tug, tug—
I stoke the fire I have managed to build as I sit where I previously stood before that dam—Aovialutre's necklace—turned me into a statue.
"…"
Tuuug—!
I tugged my coat away forcefully, and the wolf stumbles forward with a soft yelp. It can bite its tongue but I won't care—I will not let it bite holes into the coat I have painstakingly traded!
I glare at the growingly daring red wolf that was staring at the fruit in my hand. It was already nighttime by now; the withered forest colder than any forest I have stayed in before, hence, the fire. Usually, I would have foregone the fire and simply slept on a branch or at the tree roots if necessary, but there wasn't any of those at present. I glance at the brittle branches of the nearest tree.
Tug—
A vein nearly pops into appearance on my throbbing forehead. I grab my coat once more for the nth time and give it a tug.
Yelp! Whine...
"..."
Whine~
"..."
Whi~iiine~ Whine~!
I glare at it and it shuts up, looking at me with those upturned eyes as it cutely laid its head on its front paws.
"..." Shameless.
I wonder where that growling cornered beast I met earlier had gone to. When was it swapped with this shameless thing that kept eyeing other people's food?
Defeated, I toss an untouched fruit I stored inside my shadow at the wolf, after a few more intolerably loud whining.
I give an inaudible sigh of relief when it finally shuts up, even if it's just temporary. Finishing up a fruit of my own, I throw the core away into the fire and stand up. Since the necklace restrains me from leaving too far, I take my place on the other side of the tree.
Resting my back on it, I close my eyes to rest, going so much as pulling the hood and collar up and hiding my extremities within the coat. It may have been my imagination but the coat is quite toasty. Perhaps it was imbued with a magic that dispels the too cold and the too hot weather? If so, then I definitely must thank that man named Felix.
I wonder if that man went ahead and sold those slaves for his own? If he can trade me another set of enchanted coat and perhaps a pair of boots to match, I might gladly clean his blacklist.
Whine—
I take a peek to see what happened. The wolf's whine was different from its earlier cries. With a bloody snout, it pulled out broken spearhead out of its wound, and spat it out.
With a silver coated spearhead like that, I wonder if it's going to get poisoned, after all, silver is just as bad as wolfsbane to a Lycan-kind.
The wolf trembles as its head collapses to the ground, devoid of any energy. I close my eyes in response and before I know it, it's already the morning of the next day.