1.| Of Ivory And Bone

[Song For Scene: James Author - Train Wreck]

Over the sound of thunderous rain, angry shouts from the villagers filled the air around their too small cottage.

In the darkness their torches reflected off the glass windows as the Governor of Ironedge stood with his arms folded, wheat colored hair matted to his sharp features.

"Yuè, you have been summoned by the community to be judged beneath the light of the moon. I shall expose your sins. If you do not come out, we have no choice but to kick down your door and drag you out."

They had been friends since they were children. Shared scraps when there were just crumbs, bled together during hunts, and even cried together when Yuè had lost his mother from a mysterious plague that swept through the village. And now, risen to power, Edgar had turned against him.

Yuè's father stood close to the rickety door, frail and shivering even with a thin blanket wrapped around his shoulders.

There were tears in his dark eyes, and he looked at Yuè with the weight of worry no father should hold upon his shoulders. "Yuè, what did you do?" He asked, voice quivering along with his constantly shaking hands.

Yuè swallowed thickly, heart thundering hard in his chest. Hurt and betrayal warred within him as he heard the words through the door.

Taking his father's hands in his own, he gave them a gentle squeeze, mismatched silver and gold eyes staring at him with regret. "I have done nothing bàba. Edgar wished to bed me, I rejected him and now he has come for me in his anger."

He had known that the rejection would cause his friends upsetness, but for him to go to such length left Yuè feeling hollow. "I will go to them, please, stay here." A braid of long silver hair, the color of the moon he was named after, fell down his back as he moved to gather his shoes.

"No!" His father cried out and took hold of Yuè's arm.

"I've lost your mother. I will not lose you too. I- I'll tell them I forced you to do it for personal gain. I've lived my life. One filled with regrets, but the one regret I don't have is having you for a son. Let me not have another by watching you walk out that door and not knowing whether I'll see you again."

Yuè's heart broke. "No bàba. I doubt he will listen or believe you. This…this is my fault. If only I had seen Edgar's interest in me, perhaps I would have been able to stop this from happening." He pressed a loving kiss to his father's forehead.

"Sleep bàba. Everything will be okay." He whispered, shimmery wisps circling them before vanishing. He held his father up as he went limp in his arms, then carried him over to the small cot that had been their shared bed for as long as he could remember. "Forgive me."

Tears glittered in his eyes, trailing down his cheek before he wiped them away, standing. With a deep breath, he made his way to the door, opening it with a shaky hand.

"There is no need for violence Edgar. I will go with you. I have done no wrong and you know it." His words were sad as he gazed at his once friend with all the hurt he was feeling. "Just, just leave my father alone please. That's all I ask."

"Your father hasn't broken the law. You have." Edgar waved a hand around at the villagers who'd left their homes to witness what they called judgment hour. Beneath the moon, their crimes were laid bare.

It was said the town had been blessed by Sybil Blair, the woman who cursed the beasts that lurked inside the Azar forest that surrounded Ironedge and beyond. Because her life was taken beneath the moon to protect this village to condemn the wrong-doing, it was an official judgment that happened at night.

"These people will hear of your crimes. You know the law. As much as we are friends, and I am the Governor, I cannot bend to favoritism. Nor can I condemn you of my own judgment. We work together. I shall say the prayers for mercy on his soul if convicted."

The familiar faces of those Yuè had worked with, played with, and adored, nodded their heads in agreement. Even their gazes were swallowed with worry as they awaited to hear his crimes.

He stepped toward Yuè. "Let me have you and I will let this go." Edgar offered one last time. So close no one else could hear.

Yuè shook head, lips pressed thin. "No." He whispered.

"Wrong choice." Edgar pulled away then. The second rejection was clearly a blade to the heart. "Yuè came to my house in the middle of the night to offer his body, mind, and soul. For more rations. To take food out of the mouths of the elderly, the sick, and the young. Your family would have suffered had I fell prey to his temptations."

Sharp gasps arose all around.

"He tried to use his beauty, his majestic features to bring me to sin. But I remained strong, for I have been blessed by Sybil herself. Cast your votes. Set your personal feelings aside and see him for what he truly is. A sinner."

"Sinner!" Everyone else chanted. Not a single person objected.

Yuè's eyes closed in trepidation. "I have done nothing wrong." He said, a whispered thing amongst the shouts and acquisitions. He knew nothing he said would win the people over.

He had already heard whispers of him behind his back. How they judged him for not having a wife yet. How they suspected his love for his own gender. Edgar's words had only cemented their distrust.

"So," Edgar gave a frown that would've seemed genuine had it not been for the familiar burning rage inside his muddy brown eyes. "You have been judged. You will be banished into the forest. Outside of the paths marked with our protection talismans."

The gathered crowd grew silent. Everyone knew the strings filled with paper marked by the old women of the village who were blessed by Sybil herself, kept the beasts away.

Anyone who strayed from its paths were torn to shreds should the moon be risen in the sky. Yuè was yanked to his feet, and fifteen dogs tied to a wooden pole barked and snapped in the air.

They purposely starved them in moments like these.

Their hunger evident in the way their maws dripped with drool, eager to tear flesh from bone to fill their empty stomachs. Edgar lifted his foot and slammed it down onto Yuè's arm and a loud snap resonated through the air.

The men who had grabbed him pushed him forward.

"Go!" Edgar yelled. "Never come back, that is if the hungry dogs or the beasts don't get you first."

Yuè stumbled forward, a sob on his lips as he cradled his mangled arm, pain and adrenaline the only thing keeping him upright.

He looked over his shoulder, eyes going to the home he and his father had made one last time before they found Edgar's hate filled eyes one last time. He turned, moving towards the forest that would no doubt be his grave. Without the use of his arm, he had no chance to survive. Edgar would rather him dead than not with him.

Loud barking filled the forest, making Yuè move faster. Branches gnashed at his clothing and cut into his skin. There was only a matter of time before they'd catch up with him.

He dipped beneath the line filled with talismans, only for a different kind of howl to send his blood to ice. Only one thing made that sound. The beasts.

From the corner of his eyes, large wolves prowled from the shadows, their gold, jade, and silver eyes watching Yuè with a primal intensity.

One of them lurched forward, sinking their canines into Yuè's calf and dragging him to the ground. Another bite, this time in his broken arm. The pain was so fierce he couldn't even scream if he wanted to. It lodged in his throat. And when he saw the third wolf hovering above him, he thought it was the end. His throat lay exposed. All beasts went for the kill.

The moonlight glinted off yellowed canines, but before they sunk into his flesh, a ferocious growl left the wolves all freezing. They stopped their biting and stared straight ahead toward a massive sized wolf with crimson eyes. It had patches of fur missing along its side and back and neck, claw marks from other close called battles. Even one above it's right brow.

Yuè sank into unconsciousness.

***

When Yuè woke, he was surprised. Mismatched eyes blinking hazily as he stared up at an unfamiliar ceiling. His last memory had been of the large looming wolves and a cold acceptance that he would die, yet, from the pain he could feel in his stiff body, he was not.

His throat felt bone dry, but the searing pain from before had died down significantly. Turning his head, he noted the bandages wrapped around his naked chest and arm, a frown drawing at his lips.

Had someone from the Village saved him?

He could not fathom who would even risk it. Not for a sinner. That left only the possibility that the beast had decided to keep him alive for a reason he could not imagine. Perhaps as rations for later.

He wanted his father. The thought of his bába's kind smile caused his eyes to water. Yuè had left his father there all alone. He would wake to find that Yuè was cast away into the beasts Forest and to his death. His father would have to grieve another one of his precious people.

A sob escaped him before he could stop it, hot tears slipping down his cheek and onto the pillow below him as he allowed himself to cry finally. To think Edgar could be so cruel.

They had grown together. Edgar had been the one he confided in outside of his father when he found his taste to be more interested in men and his friend had accepted him. Swore to never tell a soul of it. Who knew he carried such bitterness inside his heart.

The sound of clinking glass drew Yuè's attention over to a figure that sat across the room in a chair holding gold along the arm rests. He had dark skin and crimson eyes with a scar marking his right brow. It was the wolf.

The man who had saved him when the others closed in to share him as though he were a meal for the taking. "You're finally awake," His voice held a deep rumble. A leg lifting to cross over the other at an angle where his foot hung over his thigh and bounced. "What brought you into my forest?"

His head tilted to the side and his mouth curled upwards, midnight hair coiffed in dreadlocks that hung around his broad shoulders.

Yuè gasped at the sight of the man, pushing himself up with his good arm, silver hair draping over his shoulder like a curtain of moonlight. He cursed himself for being so unaware of his surroundings, hastily wiping the tears from his cheeks with an embarrassed flush.

"I-" His voice cracked and he winced, clearing his throat before he continued. "I assure you it was not willingly. I mean no harm to you and your brethren."

He swallowed, unable to continue looking into those intense red eyes, instead opting to stare down at the bedding where his finger picked at the cloth nervously. "I was banished here. To my death no doubt." He added quietly.

"Humans," The man scoffed. "And they call us cruel." The drawl of his voice sounded bitter sweet. "What crime did you commit?"

Yuè's lips trembled, hand fisting into the blanket. "I would not give him my body, so he decided to dispose of me. He lied and told them I tried to seduce him for more food and they cast me away as a sinner."

It hurt even more saying it out loud. The painful lump in his throat was back and he swallowed hard to keep himself from choking. He could not cry in here. Not so deep within beast territory.

The beast hummed. "I see."

After a moment, the man spoke once more. "I'll let you stay here until your wounds are healed. The punishment for crossing my borders usually results in death. My wolves will find out more, and if what you say is true, I'll let you free." The chair creaked, the sound of someone standing.

Yuè tensed, eyes darting up to stare at the man, mouth slightly agape. He was tall, taller than he seemed sitting down as his figure took up the space he stood in, with broad shoulders and muscled arms. A beast most definitely.

Yet, he was going to let him stay? That was unheard of. Tales labeled the beast as ruthless killers who let no prey escape alive. Yet here was this man, clearly the leader, offering him shelter.

"I-I thank you. You are too kind. Thank you for saving me. I will never forget what you have done for me, but…" His words trailed off, eyes shining with his sincerity. "But why let me live?" He asked softly.

"There is no kindness here." The beast said as he turned toward the door, his shadow casting on the wall. "I let you live because even monsters have mercy on those abandoned by their people. No prize in killing something no one wants."

He opened the door and stepped through. "There's clothes on the dresser. Dinner awaits downstairs."

Then the door closed.