31.3: Friends

Lycer's POV

"Can we go hunting?" It had been a beautiful spring day when she asked. I had been sitting up on a small boulder with her sitting on the ground below me. I was at the end of the process of untangling her unruly long hair. It took me weeks to convince her to let me give her a trim, the dead ends of her hair always making this a rather troublesome task. When she had agreed, I took time to find a pair of scissors in a nearby town, swiping them off an office desk at yet another shelter. Without the dead ends, it was easier to comb through her locks with my fingers, before twisting it into a braid.

"I don't know," I said in a teasing voice, "are you sure you're ready for that?" She gave a huff and I laughed, pushing myself out of my sitting position. "I would be happy to teach you how to hunt, Celestial."

Her eyes went wide. "Wait, really?"

I gave her a skeptical look. "Of course." I held out a hand, helping her to her feet. She brushed the dirt and leaves off from her too big pants held up with a belt that had some clearly stabbed holes in them. I often wanted to bring her better clothes but her group didn't know about me and I knew they would be suspicious of where newer, better fitting clothes came from. If they didn't get them as a group, even in smaller numbers, then that meant a potential withholding; perhaps a betrayal to their dynamic. "I'm surprised you don't already know how."

"Mom tried to teach me once but she kept worrying I was going to hurt myself or push myself too hard. And the other teens don't let me join them for most anything these days. Not unless one of the pack elders makes them." She looked down, rubbing her arm. I gave her a nudge with my shoulder.

"Well I believe every wolf should know how to hunt. It's one of our places and rights in nature." I gave her a bright smile until she smiled back. "Now," I clap my hands together, "your wolf should always be your best friend, you go-to, if you will. Sure, you can hunt in your human form. Your senses are good enough for that, but your wolf form is going to be faster. More easily able to dodge in and out of trees. We tend to also be able to be more stealthy in wolf form." She nods. "Evolution gave us the luck of being predator creatures. That's why we hunt over foraging. However," I give her a pointed look to make sure I have her attention, "our prey evolved to have a sense of safety and danger. They are on high alert for something, for us, to be out for them. If they feel they are in danger, if they sense we are near, they will run. Luckily, we can be faster."

"I can be fast," she assures me.

"I know you can." I give her a soft smile, ruffling the top of her hair. She pushes my hand away with a pout on her lips. "Go shift, I'll be here waiting for you." It became clear to me that Celestial, unlike most wolves, was not comfortable shifting in front of others. More so, she wasn't comfortable taking her clothes off in front of others; and unlike a wolf in a normal pack, she didn't have clothes to spare so she couldn't just let her clothes rip mid shift. After my second time of seeing her wolf form, I wondered if such a thing would even happen. Unlike most wolves, her form was smaller rather than bigger than her human form. I lift my shirt over my head and kick off my pants, throwing them on top of the small boulder I was sitting on moments ago. The shift comes over me naturally, my bones cracking and reshaping into the form of my large wolf. At one point it was painful, but now it's like I'm cracking my knuckles; putting them back into a more comfortable place in one satisfying move. Unlike most every other wolf out there, I don't have an inner wolf to connect to. No secondary voice pushing me to make decisions or to fight over control of my form with. At one point, I thought I was lucky to be this way, but years ago I decided that it was just another way to be incredibly alone. A small yip comes to my right and I turn to see Celestial's small form. A wolfish grin takes over my large face. Celestial. With her, I'm no longer alone. With her, I have a friend. She trots over to me, weaving herself through my legs and nipping at my paws.

'Let's go, Lycer! Let's go!'

I give an inner chuckle, 'Okay, okay!' I give her head a nudge, my nose being the same size as her cheek. 'We're going.' She stops weaving herself around my feet and I take off, tuning into my sense of smell and hearing. There's what smells like a group of deer not far from us but I know she wouldn't be ready for that. While typically easier to catch due to their size and their inability to easily hide, Celestial's size would work against her in such a case. Instead, I focus on the smell of a rabbit a bit out of the way. 'Follow me.'

Celestial's excitement is obvious in our journey. Her mouth hangs open with her tongue sticking out as her head whips in one direction or another every few minutes. I let her pause a few times when her focus gets caught on a bird or lizard. 'Come along, Celestial,' I urge her once the smell of the rabbit is closer. I nudge her again with my nose. 'Can you smell it?' She sticks her nose higher in the air and takes a few sniffs before giving a confirming bark. 'You'll want to stay quieter than that, Celestial,' I say with a chuckle. 'I want you to lead me to the rabbit, stay quiet. Be slow.'

'Right,' she says, sounding unsure. It takes her a moment before she takes a confident direction. I let her lead, following close behind her. She stops, her nose twitching, before taking a turn and walking with her nose close to the ground. 'There,' she says as she confidently stops, raising her head and glancing back at me. I look ahead and, sure enough, a small black and brown rabbit sits in the middle of a small clearing. It eats some foliage, it's ears twitching every here and there. 'What do I do now?' Her voice sounds unsure, all her confidence from a moment ago lost to the world.

'You've got this, Celestial,' I encourage her. 'You're going to lower yourself to the ground, quietly. All of this must be as quiet as possible. You'll get closer, staying on your belly if you can.' I lower myself, both to show her and also to get my much larger form out of the potential line of sight of our prey. She studies me for a moment before following suit. 'You'll get closer, let there be a few feet between you and your prey.' Her eyes widened. I can see her head starting to swim and I give her a nudge. 'Then, when you feel confident, you'll pounce. Hopefully you'll get your prey in one go but a chase may ensue. You are a predator,' I say to the tiny wolf beside me, 'and you are capable of being successful in the chase.' I look at the rabbit. It's paused its eating, likely sensing something amiss in the air. Celestial begins her crawl forward, looking back at me once. I give her a nod of encouragement and she continues. 'You're close enough now, go for it.' Her form is stiff and I worry she won't be able to successfully pounce on the small creature. Nonetheless, she leaps. The small rabbit turns but is unsuccessful in its escape as Celestial manages to stop it with her paws. 'Now you'll bite it, don't ever toy with your food.' She freezes completely. 'Go on, Celestial. You're scaring the poor thing.' She stops, jumping away from the rabbit. The little creature takes no hesitancy in hopping away. I walk over to Celestial. 'What happened?'

'I-' As I get closer, I see her eyes wide. Tears brim her fur lined rims. 'I couldn't-' I nudge her with my nose again.

'It's okay,' I encourage. 'Hunting for sport isn't much fun anyways.' She takes a big gulp, tears beginning to track down her furry small face. 'It's okay,' I assure again, wrapping my form around hers as she begins to shake with tears.

I had been having a great day, a great week actually. I continued to keep close to Celestial's group, not ever wanting to lose track of her. I knew a group of rogues could go a great distance if they decided to. I knew many woods like the back of my hand at this point in my life so when they passed through a particular passage between forested mountains, or rather large hills, I knew there were several waterfalls nearby. I showed Celestial two of the smaller ones. She was in awe, confused as to where the water originated from. The water was anything but warm, but nonetheless, she splashed around in the shallow waters, sticking her hand under the small falls. I had gathered some berries the morning of and we ate them with our feet in the pool of one of the two small falls. She laughed merrily, more care free than I had ever seen her. She told me the group was planning on leaving their spot in several days, as they regularly did to avoid drawing any attention to themselves as well as keeping hunting game in good numbers. I told her I would meet her and show her the bigger of the falls in the area before we all moved on to wherever her group took to next.

I waited in a tree not far from her group, reading a book I had snagged a town or two back. Celestial and I never had a set time for meeting but I didn't mind. As long as I could see her at some point, I was more than happy to maintain our odd dynamic. As the chapters went on and on and the sky got darker, a furrow found its way to my brows. Maybe she got caught up in something, likely for her mom. I occasionally wanted to take Celestial away from her group, for good. I didn't like the exclusion I knew they thrust upon her. I knew that, as a runt, she was likely looked down upon even by the kindest of people in her group. I often worried that they withheld food from her in comparison to the others. I had seen the others from my place in the trees. There was more weight on them than on Celestial, with perhaps the exception of her mom. I worried that her mom gave Celestial a portion of her food and that that's perhaps all they got. I knew though, that her mom likely found safety in their numbers, even as unkind as they seem to be towards her daughter, and that Celestial would never leave her mom. I gave a huff and continued on reading.

The sun was setting when I heard it, a scream came from her group. I immediately sat up from my previously relaxed position amongst the branches. Another smaller scream and then I heard her, "Please!" Celestial. The book flew from my hands, falling somewhere onto the forest floor below. I jumped down, landing with a 'thud' and taking off at a bolt. Another scream and a sharp cry rang out into the otherwise still air. Part of her group, the other teenagers, stood in a half circle while the older members of the group sat off to the side, cringing as occasional cries and screams rang out from the center of the circle but otherwise doing nothing. Before I could even process it, I had shifted; my clothes tearing and falling to the ground. A large growl left my lips and the semi-circle parted. At the center of the chaos stood that boy with the dirty blond hair, Christopher. There was an intense anger in him, his shoulders wide and tense, as he pulled his fist back and aimed toward the figure on the ground. Celestial. His fist struck her again before I pounced. Another growl left my lips as my teeth sunk into his shoulder, ripping him away from Celestial. From the only person who meant a damn thing to me anymore. Christopher thudded to the forest floor, quickly pushing himself up. His eyes were ablaze with furry as he shifted. His wolf was smaller than mine and I could tell his group didn't know what to think of that. Of their disbanded pack, this was their Alpha. The one left with the bloodline of the Alpha of their good times. His cowardice friends pulled back from the two of us while the older of the members of the pack finally got up off their asses, coming to see who this strange wolf was. Not to check on the young girl who was hurt beside us. Fucking cowards. Christopher sized me up. I growled. A strangled cry followed by a gasp for air came from beside us. Both of us glanced toward Celestial. His paw moved in her direction and I leaped on him yet again. We rolled on the forest floor before I shoved him in the direction of a tree. He hit it with a 'thud' and stood back up, shaking himself out.

"Christopher," one of the older pack members said. His eyes snapped toward her. "Enough." The woman's eyes studied me, a clear weariness in them. You could see a suspicion in her eyes. "This is not a fight you will win." I growled, it echoed in the trees around us. Damn right he wouldn't. Christopher gave a huff and walked away. The woman tried to come closer to me and I gave another growl, backing away. A dreadful cough followed by a sharp cry of pain came from a little ways away from me. I turned back towards Celestial, growling at anyone who dared be close to me. No one had gone to her, the group of teens having dispersed; their entertainment was gone.

Celestial laid on the ground, curled slightly in on herself. There was a cut on her cheekbone as well as her lip. She was grasping her stomach, gasping for air still and letting out occasional coughs. I nudged her with my nose, her eyes darting around before landing on me. "L-Lycer," she sputtered out. She reached her hand out, though I could see it pained her to do so, and rested it on my snout. A sad cry leaves my lips as I see my best and only friend in pain. Everything in me longs to take her far away from here. Away from these awful people. Where's her mother? I look around, not spotting the woman I've only seen from the tree tops. I nudge my nose against her cheek again, giving her reassurance that she's okay now. I curl my body around hers, laying my head down on the ground near hers.

Nightfall hits when a small group of women enter the camp. Their eyes instantly land on us, likely due to my size and light fur. One of them lets out a gasp, "Celeste!" She drops the game that she had been carrying and runs towards us, stopping short of me. Celestial, who had previously been asleep, opens her eyes. The woman hesitates briefly before closing the distance between us, kneeling on the ground.

"Mom," Celestial croaks.

The woman drops to her knees, her hands finding Celestial's face. "My baby girl." A cry leaves her lips, "Who did this to you?"

"C-Christo-pher," she says with a broken voice. I growl at the name. Her mom's attention goes briefly to me. She seems to study my large form for a moment, questions seemingly forming in her head.

"Who is this?"

Celestial tries to turn but winces in pain. I whine at her, internally begging her to stay still. "A fr-friend." She lets out a gasp, still struggling to breathe properly.

Her mom looks me in the eye, "Thank you." Her eyes are watery as I hold our gaze. I give a huff of air out of my nose, laying my head back down. "Oh, Celeste," her mom cries. "Look at what they did to you." She looks towards her group, a look of heartbreak and betrayal on her face. Her hands never leave Celestial's face. I hear Celestial sniffle, her cries joining her mothers into the night air.

By the time the morning comes, bruises have formed along Celestial's face and I'm sure there's more along her abdomen. I stay by her side, causing discomfort and uncertainty in her group. They deserve more than that. They let this happen to her, doing nothing to stop it.

I stayed for several days, never shifting back. Her mom brought me a change of clothes so I could shift but I knew this form intimidates the others. Intimidates Christopher. Christopher regularly eyes me with clear disdain but doesn't dare come near me and Celestial. Her mom also regularly brings us both food. At first Celestial struggled to eat but gradually her strength came back. The bruises looked worse before they began to look better as the days continued to go on. Eventually, her mom encourages her to get up and walk around. She does so slowly and with clear pain in her face. I walk with her, always right next to her, my fur brushing her side. She stumbles a lot, leaning onto me or grasping at my form to keep her balance.

My head had been swimming for the days I stayed with her. I knew I couldn't stay. Her group was uncomfortable in my presence. They stayed far away from us, from me. Celestial hadn't had the warmth of a fire in nearly a week now nor conversation with anyone besides her mother. I saw, two or three times now, one of the other women talking to her mom while watching us, while watching me. Those of the older generations left in their pack had their suspicions on me. I was also sure her group would want to move on to a new place sometime sooner or later. I also knew I couldn't get her to go with me. It was clear that her mom had a community here, as broken as it was; a safety blanket. And Celestial would never leave her mom.

One night, as I slept, the ancient texts that I hated studying as a child swam across my dream. I remembered reading about markings in a book that I was surprised didn't crumble in my hands every time I was told to open it. While the most common of markings was maintained in werewolf society, there was more than just the mate bond in existence. Some marks were brought on by the Goddess, to mark a werewolf into a certain status or state of being. Some alternate markings, though, could be given. The words 'Protection Bond' floated into my head. I had woken with a start as I desperately clung to the remnants of my dream and equally tried to recall the details of the bond from the notes I had once taken long ago. If I could do it, then I would be able to access her feelings. If I recall correctly, I wouldn't have access to her thoughts nor would I be able to mind-link her as if in a pack together, but accessing her feelings would allow me to know when she was in danger, or even just feeling weary.

The next morning, Celestial and I went for her walk. She was getting more steady but still clutched to her ribs as slightly shuddered breaths passed her lips. I took the clothes her mom had left for me in my mouth. Once we were a distance away from her group, I gave her a nudge. Understanding, she leaned against a tree and turned her back to me as I shifted back and pulled on the slightly too big pants and acceptable size shirt.

"Celestial," I called to her. She turned to me and I wrapped my arms around her in a hug, a tightness in my shoulders for remaining in my wolf form for days on end. Her hands clung to my shirt as I ran one hand through her hair. "I can't stay with you anymore, Celestial."

She nodded against my chest. "I know," her voice came out mumbled. She pulled back, sniffling as she wiped her knuckles under her nose. "I know," she said with downcast eyes, "but I also don't know what to do without you there." She drifted her eyes up to mine. "I'm scared, Lycer."

"I know." I gave her a false small smile, trying to give any semblance of reassurance. "I have a plan." I gesture my head for her to continue walking alongside me. She takes my arm, keeping one of her arms wrapped around her middle. "I'm sure you've heard of the mate bond before," she nods, a confused look on her face, "but did you know there's other types of bonds?"

"No?" Her statement, turned question has me giving a little chuckle.

"Well there are. The one I have in mind is called a 'Protection Bond.' It allows the person who places it to feel the emotions of the person it's placed on." I stop walking, turning to look her in the eyes. "If it's okay, I'd like to place one on you. That way, I can know anytime you're feeling uneasy or unsafe and come to you before anything bad can happen."

"What about you?"

"Me?"

"Yeah," she says unsure. "If you placed some kind of bond on me, shouldn't I place some kind on you?"

I think of the years I've been through. I think of the good and the bad; mostly the bad comes to mind. I think of the peculiar people I've seen in the woods and occasionally in the human towns. I think of that man I've seen several times throughout my years in the woods and his growing anger and grief on his face every time I've crossed his path. I think of my fear, my panic, from when I heard Celestial scream. . "No," I concluded with a shake of my head. "No. It's not meant to be a two way bond, though I suppose it ultimately could be."

"Then shouldn't I also place one on you?"

"No," I give her a gentle smile. "Sometimes my life gets to be a little much," I explain gently, "and you need to be able to look out for yourself before you begin looking out for someone else." She nods but her brows stay furrowed. "So what do you say, Celestial? Will you let me?"

"Is it going to hurt?"

I sigh. "It might. But only for a few moments, I promise."

"Where - How?"

I study her form, my eyes trailing to her wrist. I gently grab her hand, turning it over. "I was thinking right here," I trail my finger over the inside of her wrist. "Is that okay?"

She nods, "I think so. ."

"I need you to more than think it's okay, Celestial. I want your full consent. I won't do this otherwise." I move back to holding her hand. "I promise to protect you regardless, Celestial. This will just allow me to look out for you when I'm not necessarily with you." Her big eyes look at me with wonder. Her bottom lip trembles but she doesn't seem sad. And she nods. "Let's sit, I think that will be easiest." I look around and find a patch of ground that looks decently even. The earth is cool beneath my legs.

Celestial winced as she found a comfortable way of sitting, her ribs clearly aching. I studied her. Her lip was still busted, her cheek yellow with a cut along her cheekbone still prominent. My skin prickled with anger. I took a deep breath. She laid her head on my shoulder. "What now?" I took her hand, turning her wrist upwards.

"Now we call on the Goddess." I cast my eyes towards her best I could. She seemed so relaxed, so at ease. She exhaled through her nose as I took a trembling breath in through my lips. "Goddess of werewolves, Lycans, and all in between and entwined," I started, staring up at the sky that was neither dark nor light, "we call upon you at this moment of need. We seek your ever loving guidance." I could feel Celestial's eyes on me. "May you bring protection upon Celestial as your child, keep ill and harm from her path. So should it come, we accept but let me be there in your place. I ask to protect her in times of need and unsurety. I ask to be a light in a dark night. I ask to be a light in a dark night." I took another shaky breath. "I ask to be a protector to Celestial, for all her days or mine." I brought Celestial's wrist up, turning my head to look in her eyes. "Are you ready?" She nods, not a doubt in her. I take her other hand in mine, giving it a squeeze. I feel my canines extend ever so slightly as I open my mouth and bring her wrist to it. My teeth sink too easily into her small wrist. She tenses, her hand in mine clenching back tightly as a squeal leaves her lips. A cool feeling washes over me and I bask in it for a moment. When it's gone, I pull my teeth from her wrist. Ever so briefly, my name flashes in a white shimmer on her wrist in the circle of bloodied flesh before vanishing. A worried unsurety that does not belong to me runs through my head.

"Did it work?" Her voice is small.

I give her a bright smile. "Yes, yes it did." Her relief hits me as soon as I see it on her shoulders relaxing.

"Good, because that hurt."

A laugh escapes me, "Sorry about that."

"Sorry about what?" My brows furrow. Her lips had moved but the words. . . The voice.

"Celestial?"

Her lips move again, "I think he's lost it again." The voice was that of a man, familiar and haunting.

"He's no good to us when he's not present." I don't know where this voice comes from. My eyes dart around the forest. It's dark now. When did it get so dark? My eyes go back to Celestial, only she's no longer there. Her hand that was in mine just moments ago is gone. I can still feel her warmth beneath my finger tips.

"Should we sedate him?" My eyes dart around. I'm no longer in the woods. The ground beneath my legs is colder than it was before. Harder. There were trees moments ago, I could hear crickets and the occasional bird. Now, nothing but these in and out voices and a dripping somewhere. What's dripping?

"I don't think that's necessary. The boss doesn't want to see him until the morning anyways."

I let my hand fall to the ground beneath me, trying to make a semblance of sense. The ground was hard and cold. My legs ached. My whole body ached, pain racing across me. Across my back. I brought my hands up to my eyes, rubbing vigorously. When I blinked my vision clearer I saw a slab of stone in front of me. I turned to look around. More stones.

"I don't know what help another session will do. I don't know why we even try any more with him." My eyes dart towards the voice. There's two people, beyond a set of bars.

"I just do what I'm told." One of the. . people. . They both look odd. Warped and odd coloring. Dents mar one of their arms while the other has visible veins on their neck and arms. The one with the dents holds a clipboard in their hands, writing something down as I blink slowly at them.

"Lycer?" The dented one with the clipboard calls out. I don't respond. "No fucking use, I told you." It scoffs.

"Tell Malum he's awake but unresponsive."