Curing the Wolves

 Lucell was finally starting to stir from his slumber. As he opened his eyes he found himself back in his room at the inn. He looked around but did not see Mia anywhere. He could hear all the commotion going on down stairs, so he decided to investigate to see if Mia was down there. As he descended the stairs he searched the room. He still did not see Mia anywhere. Finally he spotted Karl drinking with his friend. "Karl, have you seen Miss Mia by chance?" Lucell asked. Karl just sat there with a solemn look on his face, refusing to make eye contact with Lucell. "Please tell me if you have seen her, I am beginning to worry." Lucell pleaded.

 An awkward silence filled the moment until finally Jeff spoke up. "She's gone man." He said. "She was taken by the wolf."

 Lucell's face contorted in horror. "We must save her at once!" Lucell demanded.

 "It's not that easy." Karl finally spoke up. "She was bitten, so she is cursed as well. Doomed to be a monster. The girl you once knew is gone, there's nothing you can do to save her!" Karl began to tear up.

 "There has to be something I can do!" Lucell demanded. "If you all have given up, that is fine. I will go find her though, there is nothing you can say or do to stop me."

 "Listen here red man." Karl replied. "You know I was once just like you. The love of my life, my fiancée, my sweet Pricilla, was cursed and taken away by the wolves. I tracked them for days before I finally came across their camp. Night was just falling and I saw my love there, she was in tears. I called out to her but then night fell. I could see her wince in agony as she became a beast. I watched my own love transform into a monster. A monster that then attacked me. It was like she was not there at all. I called out to her multiple times during our battle but alas I could never reach her. The girl I loved was gone. So I retreated the first chance I got and made a new life for myself without her. I have been devoting myself to try and prevent what happened to me from ever happening to anyone else. Last night I failed, and you experienced what I did. For that I am truly sorry." Karl bowed to Lucell while asking for his forgiveness.

 "I am sorry for your loss Karl." Lucell replied back. "Miss Mia however, is not one to be defeated by a curse. So you can try and stop me all you want, but I will go and find her. Thank you for nursing my wounds, now I must be off. Could you point me in the direction that the wolf took her please?"

 "Even after all I just said, you still believe you can rescue your Mia?" Karl asked. Karl takes another big swig of his drink. "You know what red man. I want to see if you're right. I am coming with you. I will help you track down the wolves and find your Mia. Just be prepared for the biggest I told you so ever." With that Karl and Lucell leave the inn and start on their journey to the wolf cave.

 Meanwhile back at the wolf cave, Mia was about to explain her plan to the cursed ones. "Okay, so from what I have gathered this world is covered in some sort of corruption." She explained. "I don't know if this is related to the curse or not, however; it does appear that the corruption is affecting my ability to use magic. If I can cleanse an area I may be able to use some of my magic. Water would probably be the best bet. Can you tell me if there is a spring or a pond anywhere near here?"

 "There is actually one within this very cave!" Lars announced. "Would you like us to take you to it?" He asked.

 "Yes, that would be most helpful." Mia answered. The cursed ones guided Mia through the cave until they reached a large underground lake. "This should work perfectly." Mia said with a smile. "I am going to enter the water and try to cleanse it. If I am successful, I would ask that you all join me in the water."

 "How will we know if you are successful?" Lars asked.

 "Oh you'll know." Mia answered as she took off her dress and got in the water. She was still wearing her bikini from earlier and thought it would be better to wear that than to get her new dress all wet. She sat in the water with her eyes closed focusing on the water around her. Finally she made it into her inner self. "Aquir, do you think you can cleanse the water?" Mia asked.

 "Volunteering me for quite a bit, are you human?" Aquir responded. "Could have asked earlier before you said you could do it. I don't feel like doing it now."

 "I am sorry!" Mia responded back. "I just thought that the great all powerful Aquir would relish this opportunity to show off their might power. I will just go tell the poor wolf people that it was too much for you. I am sorry I placed too much faith in you."

 "Hey now!" Aquir snapped back. "I never said I couldn't do it, just that I didn't want to do it! I could cleanse this whole lake like it was nothing!"

 "Prove it." Mia teased. "Otherwise I am just going to have to say you couldn't do it." Mia stated as she was now crouched down playing with the puppy in her head.

 "Fine!" Aquir yelled out. "You just watch I will cleanse this lake so fast you will regret doubting me!"

 Outside in the real world Mia's body began to glow and that glow began to expand until the water itself was a beacon of light. After a few moments of being engulfed in light the glow subsided and the water became crystal clear. The cursed ones look on in amazement as they had never seen anything quite like it before. Nor had they ever seen water so clear. "She appears to have done it!" Lars shouted out. "Lets all get in the water!" They all rushed into the Lake, and followed Mia's example by stripping their clothes off before they got in.

 "See!" Aquir shouted. "I told you I could cleanse this water, it is now the most pure water you would ever find!"

 "So did it work?" Mia asked Aquir.

 "Did what work?" Aquir asked.

 "Can you use your power now, in the cleansed area?" Mia replied.

 With that Aquir attempted to control the waters around him and was able to. "Why yes! I have my magic back!"

 "Fantastic!" Mia said as she smiled and faded out of her inner self. When she reawakened in the real world she found herself surrounded by half naked and naked people. "Okay…" She said aloud. "Something I should know about?" She asked.

 "We all got in the water just as you asked." Lars answered.

 "I didn't say you had to get in naked though." Mia answered.

 "Well we saw you strip so we decided that it was the best course of action." Lars responded.

 "But I have a bikini on… Never mind that. Lets all join hands and I will attempt to ease your curse." Mia stated. With that everyone joined hands and Mia closed her eyes to focus once more. "I just need to feel the corruption within them." Mia said to herself trying to break down what she needed to do. "Now I need to isolate the curse and confine it like Aquir did for me."

 "You're doing it wrong." Aquir sighed. "Here let me help you." He said as he started to cleanse the curse as he did with Mia. "Hmm, I don't seem to able to lift the curse, just having one pure lake is not enough. I can however do for them what I did for you. They will change, but at least they won't lose themselves anymore."

 "Thanks Aquir, I mean it." Mia said with a smile.

 All of the cursed ones began to glow one by one. Slowly they became just as Mia. They grew wolf ears, a tail, and their eyes became yellow. When the light subsided they looked at each other with amazement. "We all have ears and tails, just like you!" Lars announced.

 "I am sorry, this is the best I can do for you at the moment." Mia explained. "You won't change because of the moon anymore, and you won't lose control of yourself."

 "Truly?" Lars said with tears running down his cheeks. "This is the greatest gift anyone could have ever given us. Thank you so much!"

 "Thank the water elemental Aquir, he was the one that did it." Mia smiled.

 "Thank you Aquir!" The entire room erupted.

 "Yes! Worship my awesomeness!" Aquir said as he laughed with joy.

 "So, now that you are semi cured, do you think we could go back to the village now?" Mia asked.