Wolfborne (closed)

Shaeem was freezing cold, walking in the heavy crunchy snow. There was so much of it that her knees were covered by it at every single step. She sniffed the air. It was night, probably around midnight. The temperature had dropped drastically for several hours now, so the sun wasn’t there to warm her up anymore. She had her heavy red winter cape to protect her from the stabbing cold, but still, it was so terrible…

Poor Shaeem had to walk from Boston to New York by foot, to be sure she wouldn’t catch the eye. Anyways, it was barely impossible for her to ride a horse without getting herself and the animal injured. She still had problems to control a high-speed way of transport with no eyes. She sighed to feel the warm air floating in front of her for a moment. Those woods were scary at night. All the night sounds were coming to her fine ears, making her turn the head at every moment. Getting in front of a bear wouldn’t be a good thing…

After a moment, the walk was just impossible. She knew the way, that wasn’t a problem. The problem was she couldn’t make what was left of the walk without falling asleep. Without any fear of getting killed by the low temperature, Shaeem sat near a tree and waited for the silence to come. After a moment, the only thing she heard were the tall trees roaring in the wind, like moaning after a long battle and several wounds. She shivered. She had to come to a conclusion: alone in that wood, she sure was now part of those roaring trees. She softly started singing, so softly her voice got lost in the sound of silence. The night was going to be long. Shaeem hid herself in the heavy cloak, which was a long-time present from her Mentor. Warm and comfortable, just as she felt when she first entered the Assassin Guild. She closed her blind eyes on the nothing just as the moon was getting in the middle of the starless sky.

Something within the trees had noticed Shaeem's struggles. It had been following her closely, though stuck to the shadows of night and allowed the swirling snow to hide it. When she stopped, it stopped, hidden in the darkness of the forest. A hand rested upon the trunk of a tree, the shape of a wolf's head lined by the faint glow of the moon and eyes peered out from the shadows created by the hood. A dreamcatcher rested under the left ear of the hood, feathers dangling and swaying as the creature moved.

Joel tilted his head to the side for a moment, the feathers swaying as he studied the girl ahead of him. He'd never seen another person under the trees, especially in this cold weather and at night. It was dangerous for anyone who wasn't familiar with the land, like the White-men who had come to his land. Joel shook his head to clear his head. He was no lover of the White-men and had good reason not to love them. They'd destroyed his home and taken his mother from him at a young age. They would have taken him too, had his mother not told him to run.

Strapped to his back was a quiver full of arrows and a bow while a coiled up whip sat at his hip. A bracer adorned his arm and housed a deadly weapon, one he'd been trained to use. But now, he was faced with a dilemma. By the stench of her, this young woman was from across the seas, as the other White-men had smelt when he had first encountered them. He could easily leave her here and allow the elements to kill her, or he could offer her shelter in his camp. Either of those were unpleasant to him, but his Mentor had taught him manners.

With a sigh, his breath billowing out into a warm cloud in front of him, Joel rose to his full height, his dark clothes reflecting that of the Native Americans that roamed every single land that the White-men had settled and destroyed. Cautiously, as a wolf would, Joel stepped out of the shadows, snow crunching under his black leather boots as he walked forward. He halted a few feet in front of her, in case she launched an attack. "Hau," he greeted in his way, dipping his head slightly in greeting. "It is too cold tonight. Come. I have fire and warmth." He was offering shelter to her.

Shaeem quickly turned to the voice that had came out of nowhere. As she got up, ready to attack, her long black plait fell off her hood and moved with her, just as she was trying to dance in the snow.

“Who is this?” she quickly asked, trying to hide her scared voice with a rough attitude.

She thought her earing good enough not to get in those situations. Her hands were shaking, not only because of the cold, but also because of the fear she had at the moment she heard the human voice talking at her. A silence followed her question and she feared having mixed up the sound of the wind with a human voice. But to be sure, she had to smell his aura, to feel it. Slowly, really slowly, just as she was walking on thin ice, Shaeem moved to where the voice came from. She looked like a little frightened animal, ready to bite at every moment, but too curious to run away. Each step of hers was quiet, like if she just wasn’t there. She slowly took off her hood and her eyes, like the ones of a blind owl shinned in the moonlight, like two tears from the stars. It was terrifying, but also weirdly calming to see her blind eyes staring at the nothing, searching for the one who talked to her.

When she got close to him enough for her to feel his aura, Shaeem silently started sniffing the air, which seemed weird. She frowned her fine eyebrows under her nightdark hair and sniffed again. After a moment, her hand got out of her red cape and slowly went just like she was goin to touch the man’s cheek before she nervously moved back, her hand getting squeezed to her own chest. She walked three steps backwards, really quickly compared of how long it took her to approach the wolfman. She stayed like that a moment, like frozen in time, before she asked again:

“Who is this?”

Joel couldn't believe this one, nor did he question it. His mother had taught him that the world was full of strange things and that he should respect it. Whatever she'd done sniffing the air next to him, he felt it was one of those things that should be respected. At her question he tilted his head slightly once again and studied her more closely. She was obviously very cold, whereas he was used to these temperatures. But there was one thing that drew his attention: her eyes.

They weren't the calculating, harsh gaze of the White-men. They were too clear and obviously unseeing, though he felt that she could see him, despite her handicap. Joel remained where he was and motioned toward the trees he'd come from. "Someone who doesn't wish to see one freeze," he said, his voice crystal clear with a hint of wisdom beyond his young age. "Come. Fire will warm you and food will sustain you." He'd hunted prior to finding the girl and in this cold, it would still be fresh when he got around to cooking it.

Still like freezed in time, Shaeem stared at Joel a moment before she nodded. His voice sounded sincere, just as the smell of his aura. Still, she looked fearful as she started walking to him, putting back her red hood. Her steps where silent and light, just as if she was going to fall on the snow head first, but she never did. She came at him and stayed there, waiting for him to move, before she kindly said with a light reverence:

“They call me Shaeem Crystaleye”

She then raised back and waited for him to do something. Her long red cape was floating around her. Red. It was a weird color to choose if she wanted to be discrete in the winter woods. But if no one would have seen her, the girl’s light way of walking would have made her invisible to human ear. Maybe that was what she was counting on. Being heard to the eye but unseen to the ear. What a weird way of traveling. A young woman alone in the woods seemed to be a good pray. But something about her was telling everyone who would meet her blind eye that she wasn’t one easy traveler.

"Dragonheart," he answered, referring to the nickname his people had given him. He would disclose his true name when he felt more comfortable, but for now his nickname would have to do. "Come." He offered a hand out to her before motioning forward with it. If she truly could see him, like he thought she could, she would see his motion before he set off into the trees, keeping close enough for her to unseeably see him but far enough away that he didn't trip her.

It wasn't long before the sounds of a fire crackling rose into the howling wind. Joel patted his arms and dislodged clumps of snow from his shoulders before taking a seat on a bare log next to the fire. "Sit. Get warm. I cook food." He definitely sounded like a Native, unlike the White-men who had settled these lands with the way that he spoke. Though, if someone were to know him more, they would find that this was only a front to hide what he was truly like.

Within moments, Joel was beginning to boil water and stir in herbs and some form of meat. If there was rustling in the bushes, he didn't seem to mind it, possibly because he knew what it was that was making the noise.

Dragonheart? She raised eyebrows. It sounded just like her name: not a true name. Some sort of an encoded nickname. Shaeem followed the man through the forest, hearing where he was going and following his path. Sometimes she had to put a hand or two on the trees to walk as easily as him. She always was landing her blind eyes on him, questioning herself: he didn’t had in mind to harm her, neither to kill her, the smell of his aura was clear about that. Then why was he helping her? It was just like he felt that she was going to have trouble with the temperature along her journey. Just as he knew that the cold whispers of the wind in her ears could have stabbed her right in the heart during the night. But it would have been easier to let her die there. Then why? Why was he helping? The question was burning on her fine cold lips. But she said no word, walking behind him and respectfully keeping silence.

She finally heard the sound of the fire ahead of her. Dragonheart went to sit and offered her food, but she stayed there, a step away from the warmth of the fire. Just as a ghost would have stood there in fear to be seen in the fire light. She finally stepped in the dancing red light, slowly walked around the fire and sat next to him, but leaving place between them for a man or two. She wanted to ask question, she wanted to know why he was trying to keep her alive. Was there a reason? Was he going to ask her something as she would leave in the morning? But instead, she stayed under her cape. The only thing that could be seen of her face was the point of her nose and her lips. She wasn’t totally white looking, but in the fire light, it was difficult to tell. After a moment, Shaeem moved, like moving out of ice, and muttered:

“Thank you for offering me your fire, Dragonheart”. She was playing, but with no condescendence, with his name and the fact he had made a fire, probably out of nothing more than a few branches and a lot of work.

He gave a stiff nod, his own nose and lips the only thing visible under the hood of the wolf he wore. The sound of a wooden spoon stirring against metal rising in the air together with the crackling of the fire. "Fire good to keep warm in deep snow as this," he stated, a dark color flashing against his already dark skin. It looked like warpaint, but it was hard to tell. "Without warmth, body shut down and die, especially if been in cold water. Person get hypothermia and die quickly without warmth."

Dragonheart remained silent for a moment, the stirring of the spoon in the pot on the fire echoing in the silence before the sound of his legs shifting in the crunching snow rose up. "Why out here, anyway? Too dangerous travelling woods at night, especially in deep snow. Dangers lurk in shadows; make quick meal out of skinny girl like you." The last thing he added seemed to be his attempt at a joke, though it was very poor and the way his English kept breaking definitely did seem to make him more of a local Native than one of the Whitefaced men who settled these lands. The dark tone of his skin glowing in the fire's light confirmed as much: he was Native American; Savageborn, as the Whitefaces called his kind.

The girl was surprised about the information he gave her. He surely knew a lot about dying in the cold… his voice was pleasing to the ear. His way to talk was too. She wanted to smile at his but her cheeks where too cold for her to move them. His charming voice then asked why she was there. A skinny girl? That’s how he saw her? She couldn’t help but laugh a little. He was right about the dangers of the forest. How could she even explain that to him? She stayed silent a moment before she answered:

“See, I have no fear of the dangers of the woods. My ears are guiding me. The only thing that took me by surprise for years was you, Dragonheart, walking to me. I won’t get into trouble because of beasts. Maybe, as you said, cold would have killed me. I owe you my life.”

She hid under her cape, breathing a ghostly tinny cloud of vapor. But how to explain was she was doing here? She decided on telling the truth after a moment.

“I’m on a journey to New York. My family sent me there. I guess I’m the only one that can travel alone like that. You know, I’m not of great use, for whoever I might serve. But I try my best to be as useful as I can. I trained hard to be what I am today, and what I will be tomorrow.”

She then turned back to the fire. She had a weird accent, just as it was made up from a British accent and a colonial one. It wasn.t really easy to tell where she was from. Those long black hair could as well be Asian than native. As a silence went upon them, she simply added, a slight sad smile on her lips:

“My family might as well be trying to kill me to get rid of me or to test my limits. So far, I haven’t found death, and I’m not planning on finding it.”

Shaeem then turned to Dragonheart, from where she knew his voice was from.

“And you, what are you doing here? Are you alone?

At being asked why he was here, he faltered. The spoon stirring in the pot ceased for a time and he sat stiffly on the log, as though he were a statue or made of stone. From what he could hear, she'd told him the truth of what she was doing out here. From what he could hear, she sounded like a Whiteface, one of the settlers in his people's lands. Perhaps he should do the same and tell her the truth.

"Born to these lands," he began slowly, stirring the pot once more before he lifted it to his lips and took a taste. It was still watery to him, so he dropped in a few more herbs and set to stirring again. "Once had tribe." Dragonheart stopped after this. The way he'd halted abruptly suggested that this was too sore a subject to speak of just yet. So he avoided his past and remained silent for a time until he was certain the stew was finished.

He grabbed a wooden bowl and poured some of the stew into it before he handed it to the girl. "Eat. Food sustain you." For him to stop talking about himself seemed to confirm that something was wrong. Strangely enough, he kept his eyes focused on the snow below the log. He seemed to be thinking about his own past and shook his head soon after, as a wolf would. He didn't want to think about that now. He was no longer living in his past. He was looking for his future.

Once had a tribe.

Shaeem remained silent for a moment. His voice was strange, she didn’t felt his look upon her anymore. When he asked her to eat, she mimicked to look up at him and reached for the bowl with her fine hands. But as she did, she slightly touched the man’s hands. She wanted to make him feel he wasn’t left alone. Poor Dragonheart… he seemed so lonely. She took the bowl and nodded at him:

“Thank you, Dragonheart.”

She approached the bowl to her lips and tasted what he had handed her. He was so kind to offer her life. Literally life. He just saved her from the cold and the loneliness. She suddenly thought of staying with him instead of going to New York. His voice had… something that made her really sad. It was almost like he had been alone for longer that what she could tell. Just like her: left behind by life itself by leaving her blind. Her whole childhood was a lone space in her heart and in what she could remember, or what she wanted to remember. She was the little ghost, Shame for what she could say. If she could, she would have helped him not to be as lonesome as she once was. After a moment, she asked what was burning her lips:

“Dear Dragonheart, what were you doing here when I came in? Am I bothering you in any way? It is my duty to be a good guest to you. I know you won’t harm me, so let me at least help you to whatever you need help for.”

Dragonheart grinned upon feeling her touch. It was a gentle grin that soon vanished from his face as he straightened and filled a second bowl. He raised the fashioned wood to his lips and sipped at the stew, the taste of rabbit stinging his tongue and giving him life. His eyes closed from beneath the wolf hood and he seemed to be sending up a silent prayer of thanks for the life of the rabbit that was giving them strength. When Shaeem's voice reached his ears, he lowered the bowl and swallowed what he could, chewing on chunks of meat that remained whole in his mouth.

"Not bothered by your presence," he answered, raising the bowl to his lips once more and taking another drink of it. As he began to speak once more, rustling continued in the bushes surrounding the camp. "Like wolf pack, I move. Their movements are known to me and I follow. I am part of pack, though do my own thing as lone wolf would. Mother once said I had wolfblood in me, as often played with wolf pups with their mother close by, watching over me. Once was told that, when I was babe, I fell into rushing river. Black wolf saved me, brought me back to tribe."

Shaeem was listening to him when she heard sounds around the camp. She turned to hear them better, before she turned to him. Wolves that had saved him… the whole story was incredible. Again, she turned to the sound before she mimic to look up at Dragonheart. She stayed like that a moment before she softly smiled. She was still nervous about the sound, but he still was there next to her, and that was reassuring.

“Then you are more than powerful” she muttered at the hearing of him telling her about his wolf blood. She stayed like that a moment before she drank again, turning to the fire. Shaeem was ready to any attack that could occur. She wasn’t scared about Dragonheart, because he was trustable. But the sounds made her move closer to him. Her hands were close to not trembling anymore.

“I’m happy to hear that you have not drowned. A wolf saving you is quite surprising but… I believe in what your mother told you”

Her mouth voice was sincere. He could hear it clearly. She wasn’t sarcastic, nor making fun of him. She was sincere and that was all.

“You sound like that kind of person we encounter only once in a lifetime, Dragonheart. I’m glad we met”

Again, she was sincere.

Dragonheart gave a small dip of his head in acknowledgement to her words and took another drink from the stew in his bowl. He said nothing for a moment as the rustling settled and the creature beyond the fire of the camp seemed to have disappeared. He knew better, though. He was never truly alone. He had the pack. They taught him their songs, made him stronger and faster. He protected them and their pups when they had them and they came to his aid when he called.

They were a second family to him and he knew his soul was forever bound to theirs. Joel lifted his head to the sky above, the stars twinkling and dancing alongside the moon's ever watchful gaze. With his eyes closed, he took a deep breath and let off a sound that resembled very strongly the howl of a wolf, though to his ears and theirs, it was a song. In answer to his wolf-song, other howls from all around the camp joined in. When he ceased his portion of the song, the bushes rustled and a winter-coated wolf stepped forward, his head down and eyes staring straight at Dragonheart.


"Dakota," he breathed, dipping his head toward the male wolf as he continued to approach. The gray-and-white wolf slid silently across the snow and sat silently alongside Dragonheart, his pink tongue flickering over his jowls and his canine teeth flashed in the light of the fire. A wolf. Wilderness's most majestic creature, greeting Dragonheart as though he were truly one of them.

Dragonheart definitely was quite different from other people. He interacted with this dangerous predator as though one would with a domesticated dog. If one didn't know any better, they would probably think that Joel and this wolf whom he'd called Dakota had been raised together. It proved that his mother's words had truth to them: he was of the wolfblood.

He was Wolfborne.

Shaeem felt herself moving away when something came near to both them and the man. Without even noticing it, her hidden blade was out, just like as she was fearing a beast or a bad traveler. But as soon as she smelled the aura, her heart stopped beating. Was that… again, she felt her fine hands shaking of fear. A wolf. It was a wolf. She said no word, but she could hear herself breathing nervously, like if she had tears to her crystal eyes. Was it big? Was it a small one? For a second, she pictured herself the pain of being teared apart by knife-teeth and she felt like fainting. She had been told not to stay near wolves. She had been told to avoid creatures of the woods. But its aura had nothing like violence in it. It was calm and clear as Dragonheart’s. In fact, at some point, the auras felt the same one. Shaeem felt her breath stopping a moment.

Dragonheart’s and the creature’s were almost the same. Just as if they were twins, or at least part of the same family. She moved her wrist and the blade came back in non-offensive positions, moving back into the bracer. But instead of that, she didn’t move. Her chest was slowly moving up then down, proving that she was breathing as calmly as she could. She tried on calling the man’s name but found herself unable to say a word. She had to do something not to faint. What did they creature looked like? Without turning to Dragonheart, Shaeem whispered, her lips being the only thing moving about her expect her chest:

“What… does he looks like?”

She took a breath. She was asking just as she was talking about a human being. She needed to hear Dragonheart’s voice again, just to be sure he still was there. The smell of his aura was mixed with the one of the creature. He could have been long gone and she would still think he was there.

"Thick, gray-white fur," Dragonheart said, his hands running through the wolf's fur. Dakota blinked his gorgeous yellow eyes in response to the attention he was gaining from the man. "Intelligent yellow eyes. Full grown." He halted his petting of the wolf to drink in more of the stew. The wet black nose of the animal nudged Joel's wrist for a moment, sloshing the stew within the bowl. This wild animal was truly not acting like one. Instead, he acted like a dog, but Joel knew better. He respected this animal and Dakota, in turn, respected him as well.

Their bond was so strong one could swear they acted almost as one. "He is Dakota." Joel said, speaking the same name he had earlier, proving that he had indeed given this fearsome animal a name. He'd probably had a name for the entire pack that had proven were close by. "Knows me by scent, as I know him. That is how pack recognizes members." It sounded as though he were teaching Shaeem the ways of the pack, despite her not being one of his.

Dragonheart seemed to be really at ease with the creature. She stayed as she was for a minute or two, her heart beating in her ears, before she felt her shoulders relax. She still was scared about the presence of the beast near the man and her, but she wasn’t the kind that would have gone screaming and crying. He mimicked to look up that him while he was telling her the way to be part of the pack. She knew animals would often see each other by scent, just as she did. That was her way to know who she was in front of: those invisible presence called the auras, that she could smell. As soon as she knew the sent, she could feel with her hands: she knew many members’ faces from the guild she was from. But it was too much of telling him such thing. And even if she did, she wasn’t sure how he would have taken that information.

Shaeem softly smiled after a moment, her fears of being attacked slowly vanishing. She stayed where she was, sitting more calmly, before she nodded. “Dakota”, she echoed after a moment of silence. She joined both of her hands under her cape. “That’s a wonderful name."

And, even more softly:

"I would love to see those intelligent yellow eyes... I feel sorry I can't tell how lovely they look"

Dakota's head lifted toward the girl at hearing her say his name, the name that, up until now, only Dragonheart would say. The wolf moved from his packmate toward the girl and pressed his nose against her hand, as though inviting her to lay her hands upon him. It was as though this intelligent, wild animal knew she was blind. But at the same time, he seemed to know that she had her own way of seeing and had heard the want in her voice. He wanted to help her to see him.

Dragonheart remained where he was, his eyes following the wolf's movements in silence. He knew that wolves had a way of telling things from people; had a way of reading them. Dakota was doing just that. He was reading her and taking in her scent so that he knew her just as he knew Joel.

Shaeem raised eyebrows when she felt something wet and cold on her hand, jumping a little. She realized, after a moment, that it was Dakota’s nose. She stayed immobile a moment before she slowly reached for him with her other fine hand. Trembling a little, she started passing her fingers through his fur. It was so soft and warm… she softly smiled after a moment as her hands totally stopped shaking. The shape of the wolf’s head was wonderfully noble, like a silent way to be proud of his whole people. She laughed a little, a little tiny and clear laugh of pure joy. Not only her eyes were made of crystal, but her whole self: she sounded like it, her fine hands looked like just carved into it, her smile was just like a bright piece of it in the light.

She turned to the man. Her smile made her look way younger, but it wasn’t awful to see: just heartwarming. She turned back to Dakota and again, smelled the air, just as she had done with Dragonheart.

“Noble and proud Dakota, you are a pure being, purer even compared to many humans I’ve encountered in my life. I’m glad we met too”

She was talking to the wolf, just as she could understand her, and smiled softly for him. She was telling the complete truth, again. There hasn’t been a moment yet where she had lied in front of Dragonheart. She was completely happy and proud. What an honor to find yourself being friends, or at least accepted to a being of the woods… and that he permit her to see him with her hands that weirdly, didn’t felt cold anymore. They were now warmed by the animal’s fur.

Dakota gave a soft whine, tilting his head into her touch as a dog would do, his thick tail thumping against the frozen earth. Dragonheart smiled faintly as Dakota allowed the girl's hands to be in his fur. "He is fine animal," he said softly with a dip of his head, watching Dakota as the wolf interacted with the girl. "Sees something in you he finds worthy."

Shaeem felt the blood coming back to her cheeks. She mimicked to look back at Joel before she slightly laughed. She turned back to Dakota and ran her hand through his fur. Something worthy… what was it? This man probably never knew about the Assassins… so it couldn’t be that. So what was it? She finally nodded at the wolf, just to be sure he knew she now was aware of what he was looking like. Again, she turned to Joel and nodded at him too.

“You are both incredible” she muttered. “I’m happy you’re the one who found me”


It could have been anyone, but he was the one who saved her. She was really glad it had been that way...

Upon seeing her nod, Dakota gave a small huff and rose to his paws, making his way back through the snow to sit at Joel's feet. Joel gave a soft grin and sipped again at his stew before he looked over at her, his deep blue eyes sparkling from underneath the wolf hood he wore. "Would you like some more?" He asked, referring to the stew that sat in the pot that still rested over the fire.

He couldn't be sure if she was like him; fighting against the Evil Men who had come bearing a Cross. He wouldn't disclose that he was part of those people and certainly didn't wish to tell her. Instead, he let his question remain in the air and looked down at the wolf at his feet. Dakota's yellow eyes looked back at him. His friend had definitely sensed something inside of this girl, otherwise Dakota wouldn't have gone to her.

“No, thank you so much” she softly answered as her head went down, a soft smile on her lips.

She was about to tell him something when she heard noise behind them. It wasn’t the sound of wolves, or similar a walk to Dragonheart’s. It was a rough, difficult walk. Shaeem’s blood ran away from her cheeks. Oh, no! She turned to the man, then back to the sound. They had been able to follow her… her hands slowly turned into fist on her knees as she slowly got up.

“Dragonheart” she whispered to him. “Stay where you are and wait for me. I’ll be right back. Whatever I do, don’t move from here, I beg you… Don’t let them see you”

Redcoats. When she went away from Boston, they went to her. She tried to get rid of them until she had to kill two of them in order to run away. But she wasn’t aware of the fact they were able to follow her… she took her red rood and pulled it back on her head, slowly moving out of the circle of light. They were still far, but she could hear them. Taking out her blade, Shaeem hid behind a tree and waited a moment. They were three. Maybe four. Yes, four. If they found out about Dragonheart, they would kill him… she approached the tracking men, as they were approaching her without seeing her at all. When they came close enough, she took a deep breath before she ran to them. Shaeem stabbed the first right in the neck before she got hit by behind. Turning to the one who hit her, she punched him and jumped on him. One of the others took her by the shoulder and made her fly to hit a tree. She was so light it was easy as cake. She heard them scream “Kill the ghost! Kill the demon girl!” before she got hit in the face, falling on the snow. She bit her lips and quickly got up to take her blade and stab another opponent right in the chest. But as she was about to turn to the other one, he took her neck in his hands and slowly took her out of the ground. She tried to get rid of him. “I’ll kill you, monster”. Shaeem tried her best to stab him. But she was way too small to do a thing. The man laughed as she started chocking. Panicking, she stabbed him in the wrist and he let her fall on the ground. She quickly ran away. She had to take the two remaining redcoats far from Dragonheart as quick as she could…

When she left the camp, Joel had risen silently to his feet and looked to his wolf companion, jerking his head toward the treeline. Together, wolf and man raced into the woods, creating a wide arch around where Shaeem had disappeared to. Joel crouched down, moving as silently as a wolf would and, on occasion, he'd drop to all fours and walked as they did. Anyone who would see him would think of him as a wolf, thanks to the hood he wore.

Joel could hear the pack whisk past him on all sides, joining him in the hunt as often they did, just as he would join them in the hunt. The sounds of battle rose to his ears and he swerved to get a better view, Dakota at his side while the pack milled around behind them, anxious to draw blood. Joel watched from the shadows for a moment until one of the Redcoats was stabbed in the wrist by the girl. Now was his chance to act. He took a deep breath and let out a howl. The Redcoats, beginning to chase after Shaeem, now stopped dead in their tracks at the sound of a wolf's howl.

Before either of them could react, Dakota sprang from the darkness, his jaws snapping at the nearest Redcoat's arm. Upon the cry of pain from the man, Joel sprang from where he was, the soft schklink of his hidden blade exiting its sheath filling the cold, crisp air. The man he'd landed on fell and Joel thrust his arm forward, blade meeting flesh and glancing off bone. Joel sprang off the man as blood stained the snow. Upon the scent, the pack exploded from the undergrowth and Joel sprinted after the man who hadn't stopped to check out the wolf's howl and instead went after the girl.

He didn't have to fear about being followed. His pack would take care of the others. Joel ran swiftly, swifter than any other human, using the forest to his advantage. He'd sprang up onto the treetops and continued along until he was right above the Redcoat. With a cry of success, much like the victory howl of the pack after a successful kill, Joel leapt from the tree he'd been in and crashed down on top of the man, his hidden blade sinking deep into his neck, blood fountaining up around and pooling in the snow, turning it dark with blood.

Joel straightened up, pulling his arm free, the bracer stained with fresh blood. The silver light of a blade gleamed from beneath the gore and the soft, wet schklink of it retreating into its sheath filled the air while Joel breathed out a soft sigh, his breath billowing out in a warm cloud.

Shaeem was running when she heard the cry of a wolf somewhere in the woods. Was it Dakota? She felt totally scared for him. What if those men got guns? What if they would hurt him? She heard way behind her one of the two man scream to death. The other one was after her as she was running. God make sure she wouldn’t fall down a cliff…

But suddenly, the man stopped running, so she stopped too. She turned to him and her blind eyes went to search for him. Was it over? That’s when she heard a sound she clearly knew. The wet, yet clear sound of a hidden blade going back to a bracer. She stayed silent and sniffed the air. Above the rusty smell of blood painting the snow in red, there was the smell of… Dragonheart. He was the one with the blade? She said no word, surprised, before she slowly walked to him.

“You… you’ve got one too?”

Her hand tried to reach his for a moment before she stepped back, surprised by her own self. He had a blade too. Was he… was he an Assassin too? She mimicked to look up at him a moment before she felt like crying. Gosh, what had she done?

“Dragonheart, I... am so sorry for having gotten you involved into this. I am so sorry for you and Dakota...” she started, just as her stress made her not feel the rest of the pack. “They were after me, you shouldn’t… you could have get hurt, just as Dakota could have… please, let me feel if at least you are still fine...”. Shaeem walked to him, like looking at him, before she shook her head a little. “I am so sorry, Dragonheart…”