CHPT 254: Away from Humanity and Back to the Mountains...

When Claude returned to the cave, the pack was thoroughly rattled and on the verge of exploding from the cage in search of him and whatever was causing him to growl and snap through the night.

He was happy to return, happy to alleviate them and check on Ursula. Unfortunately, his appearance didn't have that affect.

Maybe due to his further disheveled Lupine appearance. Or maybe, just maybe, it was due to the leashed hound covered in scales and a mohawk of steaming quills that regarded them with a scowl as it entered with him.

Whatever it was, the pack was rattled even further-- stuck halfway between wanting to sniff the Hound and clamp their jaws around it's throat. Although Claude imagined biting the Hound would only break their teeth.

All in all, watching them interact with Gil only pushed the notion of them sharing uncanny similarities even further.

The Hound was socially awkward to a fault, moving through each interaction like a fish out of water-- but, in time the Hound found his place. He was perceptive despite his lack of eyes. He watched and learned in other ways and found his place within the pack.

Maybe he didn't yet fit like a puzzle piece as the rest did. Maybe the Phantom Wolves guarding Ursula wouldn't even let the Hound look at her, but Gil fit.

His subdivision within the pack was with Frosty and Ashe. Claude's very own search and attack duo, was now a trio. While the others guarded directly, Frosty and Ashe were the first line of defense and reconnaissance. They understood Gil's power and welcomed him in their own Wolven way.

It was a work in progress, but he'd gained more numbers. Maybe only by one, but he'd made the cave and his friend that much safer. A simple fact that allowed him to relax for a mere seconds. And a mere seconds was all it took for his tired limbs to surrender and be carried away by the enticing pull of sleep.

***

Claude hated sleep. An obvious and justifiable fact. And when he realized he was in it, he fought like hell to escape. But it was often too late. Too late to escape the sight of Dolion and Jack standing over his Father's corpse while HellBreeder's, Demons and Reborn Raiders murdered his friends under a sky filled with flying Vampires singing songs of terror and unquenchable thirst.

He and Ursula had killed a HellBreeder days ago-- and they could kill more, but that would do nothing to remove the Hell he experienced within his own mind on a nightly basis. It was inescapable, and it twisted his mind inch by inch. He could feel it. After every nightmare survived, he'd awaken angry-- volatile, and every morning; That feeling would last longer and longer.....

How many times could an old wound be forcibly reopened before the option of healing was no more, and infection was all that was left?

A simple question that would be answered in time.

***

"UWAHH!!" Claude roared as he surged upright, winning his endless battle against sleep for the first time in a long time.

He half expected to hear Arne reprimand him about the importance of sleep and restoration, but only silence remained, along with the rich scents of night air.

He sniffed again, taking in the scents of grass and moisture. When he went to sleep it was barely morning and his current home smelled nothing like grass and moisture. Caves usually didn't smell like grass at all.

His eyes opened in search of the terrain he occupied that brought a beautiful array of nightly forest scents and biting cold winds. Biting like the jaws of a wolf.

Cold that bit like the jaws of a wolf....an accurate comparison considering where he was.

"Long time no see, Fenrir." Claude thought.

Following his words, a howl reverberated through the chilling forest, followed by bolts of lightning and heavy winds that caused the clouds above him to twist and churn before ultimately revealing the waxing bright moon above him. It sat in the sky overhead like a ominous torchlight-- reminding him, the next full moon was close. Very close.

By the time the howl ended, Claude's fur stood on end and his bones felt like jelly. The familiar feelings one gets in the presence of a God. Fear and weakness.

He snarled as the Wolf closed in, feeling his dominance washing over him like water dense enough to outweigh the world and drown his senses in a sea of panic.

In a matter of seconds, he was back on one knee. His usual position in the presence of Fenrir.

Snarls escaped his jaws as frothy saliva dripped into the grass below like white raindrops. The only sound to fill the silence before abruptly being overpowered by the rhythmic sounds of breaths. Deep and cavernous breaths, like the sounds came from a mouth wide enough to swallow a small house.

The sounds spun. Sometimes gusts of heated breaths ripped through the cold and hit his back, other times they hit his face, bringing the smells of death and rage with them in overwhelming amounts.

Fenrir was stalking. A Wolf as big as a house, yet able to soundlessly move through the forest as a blur. He aspired to have that level of stealth.

"cLLllllaauuDE...HAHA! YouR PoWeR....rrrr....It GrOWsss...a NeW FiRE BuRNS WiTHiN YouuuUU...bUt!.....yOu ArE StiLL a RUNT!" Fenrir spoke, from seemingly all around him in his unnaturally monstrous voice.

"...Nice to see you too." Claude replied sarcastically, "...And yea, Ive been...busy."

The Wolf cackled and let out a thunderous bark, "BuSyyyyY....WhAT! aN UndERStateMENT!...You'Ve bEEn WORKING, BOY! FiGHTiNG....SlAYInG...DisEMBoWLinG....and MY FavORiteeee.....BITING!"

Claude stiffened, ".....Don't."

".....OOOouuu...BuT I MusT!" Fenrir spat before speeding up his run around Claude in the distance, ".....BoY. YouR HumANiTY. It IS WiLTinG...rrrr....lIkE A FlOWeR....iN tHe PresEnCe of fALL....."

"Stop it..."

Fenrir moved closer, shifting the trees and bushes with his gigantic paws, "...FiRst...yOu Rip AwAY ThaT FilTHy WomANs HEART!....thEN YoU FeeD ThE ReST to YouRrrr....rrrr...Wolves LiKe the PrEy thEY ArE.....AnD Now. NoW You HaVe TakEN the HumaNiTy of AnOTher.....yOU HaVe MaDE HeR Like YoU. YoU HavE MaDe HeR a MOnSTER!"

"Stop it, dammit!" Claude snarled.

"...hehe. CoNTinuE.....rrrrr....CoNTInuE to ColLecT youR BeAstS...aND ChaNgE YouR HumAnS....UNtIL YoU BeCOmE a MONSTROUsss KiNG...I shALL WaTCh oVeR you All aS yoUR JoTUnn AllFATHER!...I CoUlD BE LiKE ThAT BaStaRd...ODIN! rrrrr BuT BetTer!...haha! IT'LL Be fuN....aND MoRrrre TheAtRical WhEn I DescENd UpOn EaRTh TO KiLl YoU All....."

Claude no longer felt like speaking, arguing with the person that could make him stronger wasn't wise. Even if he wanted to roar at the giant Wolf at the top of his lungs.

"...YoU CaN'T DeNY FaCtS.....YoUR HuManITy fADes.....It'S GoOD....LooK At YoU. YOu Haven"t AssUmEd ThE SkiN of MaN iN DaYs....."

Claude froze momentarily. Fenrir was right and he never considered it. He'd been fully transformed for almost a week.

"....It"s GoOD...AllLL of tHisSSss...rrrr.....is GoOd. ThIS JouRney You'VE TAken, ThE BeiNGS YoU'LL MeET....thE HoOpS oF MorallLLitY you'LL AtTempt To JuMp ThRough AnD FaIL. It's IS AlL GooD. IT WiLl ChANGe YoU...."

Following his ominous words, he emerged. Leaves and bushes brushed against the wiry grey and black fur on his legs and gigantic chest that was studded with shaggy yet dense fur. It took him a moment to realize he was looking at Fenrir's chest. His power truly had grown.

A thought that was burned from his mind as Fenrir's superheated breaths fell on his neck.

"FaIL...aS A MaN...tO SuCCeeD aS a BEaSt...."

Claude growled with discomfort as Fenrir loomed closer, threatening to flatten him with the ambient pressure of his power. It climbed and climbed....and then, he was off, trotting through the forest towards the mountains behind him.

"FoLlOW. YoU SAiD YoU NeED PoWeR NoW MoRe ThAN EveR. LEt'S SeE iF...rrr...You'Re ReADY FoR IT. ThE BoULdEr WaItS to TeSt YoUr StRengtHhh.....aND The TroLLs WaIt tO TaStE yOuR FleSsshhhh..."

Claude exploded to his feet following the fade of Fenrir's presence just in time to question his words.

".....Did he just say Trolls?"