Amir rose and bounced in a random direction, just in time to see a second shape hurtle at him, just as massive as what he'd though he would be facing initially. Two wolves? How had he missed the second one?
A sense of dread came over him. One were was tough enough; he'd never been attacked by two before. The first wolf split the night with an eerie howl. Was it calling to kin? Amir had no idea. It occurred to him that he should run, but the wolves had other ideas.
The first one, all black with fiery golden eyes, sprang at him. Lithe and slippery as an eel, Amir ducked beneath it. The second one, a tawny golden color with blue eyes, was waiting. He felt the heat of its breath as it just missed his neck.
Digging his feet into the dirt, Amir was forced to stop short as the black wolf made an incredibly tiny circle, heading off any frontal escape route he may have attempted to take. Cutting sideways he ducked to his shoulder and rolled. The gold wolf's teeth grazed his flank and it pounced on top of him, pinning him to the ground.
Massive jaws snapped at him; Amir ducked from side to side as best he could, daring in and grabbing a mouthful of the thick fur at the wolf's neck. His teeth weren't much use against the woolly ruff of fur there, but he clung tenaciously and hiked his back legs up. Kicking like a rabbit he dug his hind claws into the gold wolf's stomach, tearing it to ribbons with a series of deep cuts. Blood spewed forth; the wolf cried out. Amir didn't stop; couldn't give the wolf a chance to recuperate.
It was too strong for him though; it shook hard and Amir went flying. Cracking his skull against a fallen log, he once again saw stars. This time he rolled over of his own accord, knowing the black wolf would be on top of him in a second. He saw its shadow, yelped in surprise as it grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and flung him.
Working on concert, the two wolves barred every opening, darting in and out, snapping, driving. Amir, frustrated, dodged every which way but couldn't manage to escape. He was bleeding in several places, a macabre sight as his wounds closed and were re-opened, again and again.
...And Influencing People. (private)
Amir loved this part. This was where he got to play the innocent.
He sniffed unobtrusively at a pile of leaves, then glanced up at the full moon. Playtime.
In the weeks he'd been in Nachton, he had rightly determined that the park and preserve would be an irresistable hangout for the local weres, at least some of them. He'd been catching scents for a while. Now, the first full moon he'd experienced since getting here, it was time to make his presence known.
For centuries he'd been doing similar things when it was required, but weres were not easy opponents. He didn't expect it to be easy, but he did expect to come out on top.
The scent he'd found recently was fresh. There was, indeed, someone in a furry coat running around the preserve. Madness struck during the full moon and they became crazed, bloodthirsty. Liable to attack unprovoked, liable to make mistakes - Amir was counting on that.
Trotting a few steps, Amir left the open beach area and moved further into the woods. He was close now. Someone had recently come by. Moonlight filtered through the trees; a breeze overhead made the branches rustle.
Behind him - an incongruous note. A breaking twig that shouldn't have broken.
Amir whirled and crouched. His eyes darted this way and that. There, a glint in the moonlight.
He could feel his hackles go up. There was the one he sought. It was huge; a beast of a wolf larger than any natural wolf. Muscle upon muscle, it was guarding a recent kill. Some kind of small game. Amir was better game.
The air tensed around them; the wolf growled low in its throat. Amir ducked his head down between his shoulderblades, preparing to spring...
...and saw his won set of stars as something as heavy as a brick wall crashed into him from the side and bowled him over and over, through the leaves, to fetch up against the trunk of a tree, scrabbling for a foothold.
Amir
15 years ago
Amir
15 years ago
Amir finally charged the gold wolf, who was looking pretty feeble. As it curled its lips back and took a shot at him, he twisted away just enough to turn his own head. A massive chewing fight ensued as they gnawed at each other. Amir almost cried out as the enormous jaws shredded his skin and grated against the bones in his left shoulder and arm. It was doing anything it could to get him to drop off but he persevered, his own sharp teeth finally cutting through skin and loosing a flood of blood themselves.
He was the winner. He knew that even as the gold wolf raked its teeth against his shoulder again. He got his own muzzle under the hole in the wolf's skin and grabbed a hold of anything, everything soft. He tried not to breathe in as blood flooded his mouth, his nose, but it was impossible to keep it from running down his throat, something he knew he'd pay for very soon.
The gold wolf released him and collapsed. Amir was buried under it, and a good thing too, as the black wolf crushed them both in its renewed frenzy. Unable to move away enough, Amir flinched as the black wolf's teeth split the skin of his forehead, over his eyes. His own blood began to pour down his face, the wounds not nearly as quick to close over. In fact, they were taking an alarmingly long time, probably owing to the injury to his shoulder.
Amir was built tough though. He wormed his way out from beneath the gold wolf, who was still alive but likely not long for this world. The black one was immediately upon him.
It might have been the world's fastest transformation, and ti took a lot out of him, but Amir was going to need his hands. Raising his injured left arm, he protected his neck, which was exactly where the black wolf came at him. His right he balled into a fist, putting as much vampiric strength as he could into it. Smashing it into the side of the black wolf's face, he rolled with it over and over. Grappling was not what he wanted to do right now, but he didn't have a choice for the moment.
The black wolf did exactly as he'd done to the gold one earlier, hind claws raking into flesh that didn't have the protection of fur that it had had a few moments ago. Amir curled as best he could, taking the cuts deep in the muscle of his thighs. Two or three good ones got through to his abdomen, slashes of liquid fire.
Their momentum slowing, Amir gained his feet and let the black wolf rush him. Twisting painfully, he grabbed the wolf and heaved it over his hip. Driving forward, it was his turn to be the aggressor. Before the wolf could rise, he savagely slammed his heel into the point of its neck and jaw. There was a crack.
Amir kicked again, bringing the full force of his weight onto the joining of neck and skull with, this time, a satisfying pop. The black wolf remained still. Amir sagged against the closest tree and slid down it, leaving a slick of blood, bone and bark.
He was the winner. He knew that even as the gold wolf raked its teeth against his shoulder again. He got his own muzzle under the hole in the wolf's skin and grabbed a hold of anything, everything soft. He tried not to breathe in as blood flooded his mouth, his nose, but it was impossible to keep it from running down his throat, something he knew he'd pay for very soon.
The gold wolf released him and collapsed. Amir was buried under it, and a good thing too, as the black wolf crushed them both in its renewed frenzy. Unable to move away enough, Amir flinched as the black wolf's teeth split the skin of his forehead, over his eyes. His own blood began to pour down his face, the wounds not nearly as quick to close over. In fact, they were taking an alarmingly long time, probably owing to the injury to his shoulder.
Amir was built tough though. He wormed his way out from beneath the gold wolf, who was still alive but likely not long for this world. The black one was immediately upon him.
It might have been the world's fastest transformation, and ti took a lot out of him, but Amir was going to need his hands. Raising his injured left arm, he protected his neck, which was exactly where the black wolf came at him. His right he balled into a fist, putting as much vampiric strength as he could into it. Smashing it into the side of the black wolf's face, he rolled with it over and over. Grappling was not what he wanted to do right now, but he didn't have a choice for the moment.
The black wolf did exactly as he'd done to the gold one earlier, hind claws raking into flesh that didn't have the protection of fur that it had had a few moments ago. Amir curled as best he could, taking the cuts deep in the muscle of his thighs. Two or three good ones got through to his abdomen, slashes of liquid fire.
Their momentum slowing, Amir gained his feet and let the black wolf rush him. Twisting painfully, he grabbed the wolf and heaved it over his hip. Driving forward, it was his turn to be the aggressor. Before the wolf could rise, he savagely slammed his heel into the point of its neck and jaw. There was a crack.
Amir kicked again, bringing the full force of his weight onto the joining of neck and skull with, this time, a satisfying pop. The black wolf remained still. Amir sagged against the closest tree and slid down it, leaving a slick of blood, bone and bark.
Amir
15 years ago
When no one else moved and no one else showed up in a few minutes, Amir finally roused himself. His first gesture was to use his right hand to smear the blood out of his eyes. It was drying, sticky on his skin and no longer flowing as his body used it limited reserves to repair the damage that had been done.
His left arm was holding his stomach closed, and the rents in his stomach were holding his left arm immobile. How convenient. He waited for the inevitable and was dubiously rewarded when, within a few more minutes, the blood he'd inadvertently ingested came retching back out upon the wooded ground, staining leaves and dirt alike.
Waiting for the cramps to subside in a world of violent discomfort, Amir watched in a daze as the wolves' corpses turned human again. He wrinkled his nose. Human, wolf. Neither one had any right existing, much less melding into one. The gold one was a male, the black one a woman. He dragged himself upright and covered them haphazardly; best they not be found immediately. The smell of blood would draw anyone else nearby though, if not tonight then tomorrow night. Hiding the bodies would do no good. He wanted them discovered.
When he'd staggered through that task, he weaved his way back toward the beach and his clothing, covering his human tracks behind him. It was slow work made slower by his injuries, but he'd suffered nothing that wouldn't repair in a day or two with a sufficient quantity of blood.
Ignoring the squelch as he gripped something slippery to keep it from falling out of his abdominal cavity he covered himself enough for the drive back to the Manor, where he actually did his best not to leave a trail of blood for the appalled servants to clean up. Stumbling toward his suite, he didn't bother to suppress a surge of pride at having taken on two of them tonight. One was a difficult enough challenge but two? He hadn't lost his edge, apparently. Subira would be proud.
And someone - well, someone was going to be very, very angry.
His left arm was holding his stomach closed, and the rents in his stomach were holding his left arm immobile. How convenient. He waited for the inevitable and was dubiously rewarded when, within a few more minutes, the blood he'd inadvertently ingested came retching back out upon the wooded ground, staining leaves and dirt alike.
Waiting for the cramps to subside in a world of violent discomfort, Amir watched in a daze as the wolves' corpses turned human again. He wrinkled his nose. Human, wolf. Neither one had any right existing, much less melding into one. The gold one was a male, the black one a woman. He dragged himself upright and covered them haphazardly; best they not be found immediately. The smell of blood would draw anyone else nearby though, if not tonight then tomorrow night. Hiding the bodies would do no good. He wanted them discovered.
When he'd staggered through that task, he weaved his way back toward the beach and his clothing, covering his human tracks behind him. It was slow work made slower by his injuries, but he'd suffered nothing that wouldn't repair in a day or two with a sufficient quantity of blood.
Ignoring the squelch as he gripped something slippery to keep it from falling out of his abdominal cavity he covered himself enough for the drive back to the Manor, where he actually did his best not to leave a trail of blood for the appalled servants to clean up. Stumbling toward his suite, he didn't bother to suppress a surge of pride at having taken on two of them tonight. One was a difficult enough challenge but two? He hadn't lost his edge, apparently. Subira would be proud.
And someone - well, someone was going to be very, very angry.