CHPT 250: A Beast In the Wild, A Pack In It's Wake.....

He did it....

Claude Grey, The Last Lupine of Romulus. The antagonist in a poorly done School drama at the University of the Phoenix back in SkyHaven. The Glorified Janitor-- NightRunner of the SkyLight Guild. He'd done it.

He'd done what Samuel and his shadow, Tai, assumed he lived. He'd committed-- arguably, the most despicable act someone like him could commit. An act Det. Cyrene was sure he had committed years ago. And one the psycho WereWolf, Aeron, predicted right before his throat was snapped like a wet twig.

Spreading the curse....

Ripping and clawing away one's humanity...

Transforming another....

He'd spread what made him different from humans on almost every level, to another. His closest friend. His first friend. Ursula Legrand. Only daughter of Rory Legrand-- High Ranking Member of The Nine.

The amount of red flags that simple fact brought up could easily fill the entirety of the forest surrounding his fathers home back in SkyHaven. Turning it from a vibrant green to a bright red.

And despite this, he'd do it again.

It was too soon, to lose someone else would result in an assault on his psyche that he possibly couldn't recover from. But, that isn't to say he didn't expect to lose people in his bloody quest for revenge and ultimately fighting off a god level threat. All he knew was, he had a chance to save. Arne reminded him of that-- forcing him to live the words he spouted often about being a "Hero" and saving people.

Now, all that was left was to brave the untamed world with little more than his brother, Frosty, and his Phantom Wolven family.

On that Sunday morning-- that felt like years ago, he took the first steps in possibly growing the Lupine of Romulus population from one, to two. He'd taken the first steps in becoming the third Progenitor of the Lupines. Walking a path their first, Romulus, once had ages ago. But one word still remained strong within his mind....

Possibly. A successful change wasn't guaranteed.

A simple fact he was reminded of on their journey. Nothing was guaranteed. Nothing but the fact that blood fell where violence rose.

***

Wednesday Morning, Nov 21st, 2240

Blades cut. Winds flow. Raiders Raid. And Wolves run. Simple constants in a world of dangerous variety....

Claude and his pack did as Wolves do. They ran. They traveled East-- down the HellBreeder's path of murky blackness, moving like a flock of migrating birds in a rush to reach safety.

In a way, he was a lot like a bird.

As he carried Ursula, driven onward by the urge to protect the newly changed, his rational mind faded. He simply moved on instinct. Running for days, carried on by Wild Magic like a Hawk riding the strongest current ever seen.

He'd moved during the night. Only ever stopping to lick Ursula's wounds and re-wrap them in thick green leaves. The action probably looked horrifying through human eyes. A 8ft tall monstrosity and his pack of Wolves surrounding and licking a young human girl. Sure, not the prettiest sight or most morally pleasing, but he didn't have many options. But, through Arne's teaching, he'd learned that Lupine saliva-- much like Wolves, Dogs and even Humans, has healing properties. Not completely, but Lupines even more so than the rest. It wasn't the best, but it was better than nothing. Anything was better than nothing.

Other than that, he didn't stop much. He didn't want to. Burning his stamina to absolutely ashen embers stopped his mind from hovering over the fact that he'd changed his friend, he'd brought his friend into a life even worse off than the one they lived without the curse.

A realization that was enough to make him go mad. One of the only reasons he didn't was due to the remaining voice of reason within his mind during his travels.

A voice of reason that faded recently. He was lucid again. No longer a simple cog in the machine of his Magically-- and Instinctually, functioning body.

He could feel.

Feel the burn in his fully transformed legs, from running for countless miles while he carried his own bulk and the added weight of his 170lb friend.

He could smell.

Smell the lack of moisture, in the air-- threatening to give him a nosebleed if he sniffed to hard.

And most importantly, he could see.

He could see the different lands he now roamed. No more endless lush forests and rolling valleys that looked almost dream-like under the light of the Moon. No more ponds and lakes everywhere that broke the steady stretch of green floors beneath his paws.

The new norm his eyes scanned over now were the endless beige blankets of desert, flanked by mountainous canyons and small patches of forest with trees so tall they looked like they were stabbing into the clouds. The sight would've been nice if not for the hazy outline of Monsters that roamed in the distance like mindless drones. They cluttered the rocky sands like bugs, hunched over eating things, chasing down prey or fighting amongst themselves like apes.

No humans roamed here for a reason. There were no human foot prints, or campfires for a reason. Whoever came in here risked being chewed up and spit out to dry under the sun in a heartbeat. Deserts were home to the Monsters. He kept that fact in mind for the rest of his travel.

The constant openness made him feel exposed and the absence of Nature made him feel like a warrior without their sword. But, he kept moving.

He could feel the pull of true Nature, in the distance. He heard it's call like the howl of a Wolf. And he followed it. Forcing his tired body to pull them all just a bit farther.

A few hours later, his pawed hybrid feet were blistered and bleeding and the urge to simply fall over was almost overwhelming.

"We rest here...." He thought with a huff.

For the first time in miles, they'd found a forest. Full of the sky-scraping tree's he'd seen earlier that cluttered around them at the base of a mountain. Better yet, he could smell water. Water brings prey.

Him and the pack trudged through the forest, listening to the distant creatures within fleeing in a hurry. He was looking for somewhere to finally rest, but everything still felt too open.

With a snarl, he continued walking painfully in search of an adequate place to rest. They passed tree after tree and bush after bush until Arne was sure he'd walk them all to death.

"[Claude, you have to rest eventually. All of you--...Well, speak of the devil.]" Arne announced, just as Claude's eyes panned up to exactly what they had and hadn't been looking for.

The best and worst option.

Cutting deep into the base of the mountain above a collection of fallen rocks, a dark cave awaited them like a heavenly mirage.

Caves were one of those things that would always be dangerous to man. Another home to Monsters. Within their black cavernous depths, you could find just about anything. A Coven of BloodStarved Vampires, Night-Elves, a sleeping DireBear, a Basilisk...hell, even Drakes liked caves. They were a wild-card and anyone who walked in unprepared was playing a losing game with death. Claude had no interest in any games like that.

His snout raised to the sky, glowing irises scanning the cloudy blue sky in search of one thing. Birds.

The search didn't take long. Animals tended to follow Beast Tamers-- him even more so because they knew a meal would be left in his wake. Much like how Ravens followed Wolves, all manner of Birds followed him and his growing pack.

Today, his sky-riding allies came in the form of a creature he'd fought beside before. A Bird once extinct, brought back by the Tangents, known for feeding on Zombies and Ghouls within Undead Tangents.

A Bird that once resembled a Vulture and know usually held its own category of avian intensity.

Claude kept his eyes on the circling volt of Griffon's, as one suddenly dive-bombed toward him in response to the call of a Beast Tamer using, (Beastial Assistance).

He calmly raised his free arm just in time to for the Bird to have an adequate place to land. Talons as thick as knives closed around his forearms and wings wider than he was tall beat the wind behind his ears a few times before closing beside the heavy chested body of the prehistoric Vulture. A fierce yellow iris circled by an Undead hue of blue eyed him calmly.

It's spiked beak that looked like it was trying its best to imitate predatory jaws opened as it let out an otherworldy squawk lined with the scent of rotting flesh.

Frosty sneezed the scent out of his nose in response following the Birds ascent from Claude's arm.

No words said, only an innate understanding and a connection. And the Bird was off towards the cave.

Claude was only able to watch the Bird for a few seconds before his vision left his body.

In a flash, he went from eyeballing the trees and the fleeing Vulture to looking down at the forest floor he once stood on through eyes that honed in on even the smallest details like two telescopes.

They continued rising until the tops of the tall tree's shuddered under the gusts of wind the Vulture's massive wings generated.

The sight of the cave looked giant through the eyes of a Vulture, and it only became bigger as they approached, like the mouth of a great stone beast opening to consume them.

In a matter of seconds, they entered the mouth of the cave, the sound of the Griffon's talons on the smooth rock floor echoed through the darkness for a few seconds, speaking volumes of how desolate the cave looked to be. Perfect.

With it's assistance no longer needed, the Griffon let out a farewell screech and rejoined its group of avian allies while Claude's sight returned to his body and he began scaling the mountain to enter what would function as their place of solace...for now.

The climb was painful. His legs shook with fatigue and blood leaked from his paws down the sandy rocky face. There were a couple times where he felt like falling. Right when he was about Arne's words snapped him back into his purpose. Or Ashe and Frosty hopped up on their hindlegs and push him onward.

Their help-- despite their own fatigue, was the reason he now stood at the mouth of the cave.

Just as he saw through the eyes of the Griffon, darkness touched nearly every corner of the cave. Shadows made darker by the light that spilled in from above deeper inside. From a hole in the ceiling of some sort, creating a halo of light that spread out across the cave creating a scarce source of light within. A faint light that highlighted the outlines of small rock formations littering the floor like obscured furniture and sharp stalactites hanging from the tree like demented chandeliers.

Ashe and the Phantom Wolves wagged their tails happily at the sight of darkness. There seemed to be no danger here.

"Home sweet home.....well not exactly." He thought before stepping in.

Before he could fully enter, the pack rushed ahead, snouts to the floor as they sniffed the place out, working as his own canine security detail. Maybe not his at all actually...

A thought that crept into his mind after he laid Ursula down near the right wall of the cave beside a rock that would hide her from any eyes peeking into the cave. As soon as she left his arms, Ashe barked an order at the others causing them to trot over to her and sit-- forming a makeshift circle around her while Ashe and Frosty continued searching every inch of the cave.

Everyone was on the same page, everyone was secured. All facts that allowed him to complete his last task. Marking his territory.

A few minutes later and he plopped down on the rock beside Ursula and the Wolves, the cave was now property of the Lupines of Romulus.

Ashe and Frosty returned soon after and all but fell to the floor next to him. Tiredness swept over them all like a calm breeze, lulling the Wolves into a light slumber around the hibernating Berserker.

Claude fought against the tiredness, he didn't want to sleep. He knew what came with sleep. It was inescapable, but that didn't mean he couldn't try.

"[Come on, Claude. You need to sleep, and then you need to hunt. You all burned an extrodinary amount of calories and being in your fully transformed state means you need even more calories than usual.]" Arne reminded him.

Claude hunched over on the rock, letting his long arms rest on his knees while his head hung with exaustion. Sleep sounded tempting, even with the nightmares.

"I'm aware....but I think we both know there's something I need to check."

Arne sighed, "[I suppose you're right. Have you decided yet?]"

"More or less....." Claude replied before pulling up his System screen.

It looked different than before. Not it's usual green embroidered frame with animal insignias dancing around the edges. The System screen he'd grown used to. The System screen of the Beast Tamers. Currently, it was dark. Like a diluted shade of red, made hard and flat-- like stone. As if to solidify that notion, cracks ran across the screens surface, glowing red and crackling with energy that he could feel the heat of. Right now, his System screen wasn't one belonging to a Beast Tamer.

DING!

[You are now Level 21!]

[5 Stat Points Available!]

DING!

[Unique Power Requirement Met!]

[You have participated in killing a HellBreeder Demon and a Number of it's spawn!]

[Power of the HellSlayer is now yours to claim!]

DING!

[Choose your HellSlayer Power!]

"[So, the Books were true....]"

"....Yea."