RP:A Wolf in Rogue's Clothing

Location: Rynvale, Pine Forest

Summary: Leo's long time friend and former Beta, Mahri, assists him in making peace with the wolf inside.

Mahri made it past the dragons to find an open space for this meeting with her alpha. To say the woman is nervous would be an understatement. Even her wolf was picking up on Mahri’s mood while she paced through the saplings. Feelings of reassurance washed over her, courtesy of the black. Taking a deep breath, the lycan closed her eyes and forced her shoulders to relax. She opened her senses, taking in the scents and sounds surrounding her. The way the air felt on her face and fingering through pitch black hair. That’s how Leo will find her when he arrives.

Leoxander could have tracked down his Beta blind and deaf, so it wasn’t long before he had suddenly arrived. No footsteps, downwind of the annoyance of large winged reptiles (which he still more or less had nothing but contempt for), the rogue stepped out of the thick wilderness and into the clearing with a glance to safeguard the area around before he settled his gaze on Mahri, approaching. He could sense her misgivings as easily as she might feel his own. Lacking much in the way of clothing, let alone armor, there were only two twin blades and a third in his boot on his person, a shirt, pants and boots that he was willing to risk the tears to. But he intended to probably remove what he could before long when their experiment began. Noticing her moment of meditation, it wasn’t until she opened her silver eyes that he spoke. “Y’know I wouldn’t put you in this situation if I had any other choice.”

Mahri heard those so-light foot steps before she caught that scent that had become so familiar to the woman it was a comfort now more than something to be concerned about. Years of having each other’s backs created that sort of bond. Feeling much more calm and hoping that sense reached beyond her being, Mahri gives Leo a small smile. “You know if you asked anyone else I’d have been offended. You’re not putting me in any situation I don’t want to be in.” Sweeping her eyes over the minimal attire, she nodded approval and stepped closer, putting on a couple feet between them. “We can fix this.” She’s so sure about it. “I know you trust me, but you need to also trust yourself and your wolf. Every time you shift, what happens?” She needed the back ground information to solidify her plan.

Leoxander paused within arms reach of the she-wolf, gaze averted for a moment for a slow nod. Trusting himself was probably one of the most difficult things he had to overcome. A hand reached up to idly rub the side of his neck where the weave of a web tattoo spanned that part of his throat. “It was always painful. In the tournament, it kinda jolted me into form out of desperation, but actually calling on it? I think it’s safe to say he liked to see me suffer when I put him away too long.” Back to referring to that other half as just that. He couldn’t quite blame the Dal’ken. Leo would want to see his jailors in agony, too, if they threw him in a cage and left him there. “I black out. I can hear what’s happening. See some of what goes on. But it’s like a paralysis potion. I don’ have any control.” Returning a frustrated gaze back at her, he added, “The rune Eleanor put on me was binding. I knew who I was, we worked together. I wasn’t seein’ bloody red every moment. But… I guess whatever magic she did is fading. I haven’t seen or felt her around for several turns of the moon full, now.”

Mahri took in the information, analyzed and filed it away. “Magic can’t fix everything.” Though, Mahri thought perhaps there were other reasons for Eleanor to use binding magic and it didn’t sit well with her. “You feel like Dal’ken is angry with you? That might be closer to the truth than you think.” It made sense. Her own wolf got antsy if they didn’t run for a while. But never had the black taken total control. Whether that was because of her natural gifts as a druid or because she simply accepted that part of herself, Mahri wasn’t sure. “Has it always been like that?” Mahri didn’t remember Leo and his wolf being that volatile when they had hunted together. However, things seem to have changed since then. Already a plan is coming together. Like Meri, Leo is at odds with the wolf but she didn’t think the meditative solution she used with the woman was going to work here. They were far enough from civilization that they could let off some steam running if needed, or even fighting if that’s what it took to get the aggression worked out of the wolf. It all boiled down to basically the same thing. The captain and Dal’ken needed to make peace and become of one mind to co-exist. It was the getting there that was going to be the problem.

Leoxander reluctantly nodded to her second question on how frequently he’d experienced that dilemma. “The whole time, Mahri. I feel like… the way it happened, I took that rage with me. I was sick. Fug’n dyin’ to a fever. Found out later the doctor Tenebrae had been sendin’ in had more than medicine on his checklist. I had no chance fighting him off. I had no choice becomin’... this.” So it was safe to say he’d probably not ever fully accepted his partial immortality and the problems that came with it. “I’m sure you remember the times I went haywire out here on the island. The reason there was bolted shackles in my quarters on the ship. The rune Eleanor slapped on me had me stuck mid form a while, I guess until we came to terms to work together. But it also… it wasn’t so painful. It was easier. And I could see through his eyes and know what I was… who I was.” Leo finally ended his short speech to move toward a mossy fallen log in the clearing and slouched over to start untying the military style laces of his heavy tread boots, intending to remove them since they were a keepsake Donovan had given him so many years ago.

Mahri listened, silently as usual, all the while grinding her teeth with an impotent anger that she is quite sure anyone with a fifty mile radius would be able to sense. All those people in Leo’s life who claimed to have loved him had done more damage to him than their hate could have. If he happened to look up from unlacing the boots, he might see that feral shine of the wolf peering through silver eyes. “You don’t need the rune to do that.” Stepping to that log, the she-wolf crouched down to eye level with a man significantly taller than her for once. “What you did, coming to an agreeable term with Dal’ken, you didn’t need a rune to do that.” And the more she thought about this, the angrier she became and the more worked up her beast became. It did no good, there wasn’t anyone to punish for what had been done, which only fueled that deep anger. “Did you ever…” she hesitated because the next words weren’t quite right but it felt like what she and her wolf did, “talk to him when you shifted?” If Leo shifted and she couldn’t reach him or the wolf.. she didn’t want to think about the consequences just then.

Leoxander would have been grateful not to be able to read into her body language, or her mind for that matter, considering the thought that was making her anger pulsate within that clearing. Their beta and alpha bond made it easier for him to sense more about Mahri than most, plus a good number of years tacked onto that as each other’s comrade, friend, and eventually family. Although he’d been trying to avoid the glint in her eyes he could feel glaring, albeit not at him, as he removed his boots one at a time and set them aside near that log he’d use for a marker to hopefully retrieve his belongings, her crouch brought his still blue stare to hers. His expression was solemn as he listened to her words, his own jaw clenching before he answered, honestly. “Only warnings. Fighting. This last one? It was damn near a mental war. An’ I coulda She said my eyes were goin’ yellow. Apparently I was screamin’ and snarlin’ out loud. It’s a bloody blur. Granted, I was high off my arse but I managed not to shift. If she hadn’t been wearin’ those robes the flock would’a had reason to think I’d lost my temper with -her-.” No change, no biting, just a tragic end to a nice weekend that left her stuck rolling around doubt and fear, again. That made him throw down his shirt a little hard out of frustration and that ever present outrage he had with himself. How was he ever going to control the wolf’s anger if he could barely control his own?

Mahri has an idea now of what she’s dealing with now and the sharp toss of the shirt only made her snatch out her hand to rest on a forearm, an offer of calm and understanding if not shaken off. Did she think he’d have hurt her? Maybe. She could handle it though if he struck out by instinct. Either way she’ll offer two options. “We can let them out and run, or, “ here her other hand reaches up, index finger just brushing his temple, “you can let me in here with you and the wolf. I’ve done this before, to help Meri. She was, quite frankly, easy. This won’t be easy with you.” Was anything? “Your wolf needs freedom. You need to trust yourself and him and you both need to come to terms that you’re stuck with each other. How you were made wasn’t right nor fair. Neither of you had a choice and fighting your nature is only making it worse. One day you will lose control and do something you aren’t going to be able to live with.”

Leoxander did in fact take a deeper breath when her hand rested over the nautical star inked on his forearm, one of the few that hadn’t endured some bite, cut or puncture mark to scar the fading tattoo. Her next words, her call for options, made his heart feel like it stopped a few seconds, knots of uneasy twisting in his gut. Mahri may know some of his secrets given their past, their relationship, but she also knew he was very guarded about his thoughts and what memories hadn’t been knocked to the back of his skull from a head injury that left him back on Lithrydel’s shores, without a shop that hadn’t lived up to her namesake. His lycanthrope blood had spared him significant brain damage, but the blank space and random dreams and nightmares were still infuriating. But if there was anyone he trusted to guard his privacy and protect him, it was his Beta. “...Let’s try the… not easy way, first. If you can’t get through I’ll let ‘em out. The run might wear ‘im out, but I’d guess you t’be hard pressed to get that close if he-... I… don’t cooperate.” Just in case something went wrong and he abruptly broke into fur, Leo lifted his hips and undressed to ‘boxer’ like undershorts, not that they had much modesty or hadn’t seen a pre-transformation strip show in the past. All that was left on his person beside that was the silver chain where a rogue’s key and a crow sculpted ring hung on the chain he used to build up a mild tolerance to the weakness of it.

Did it surprise Mahri he would choose that route? Not entirely. Giving the muscle under the nautical star a squeeze, Mahri stood and stepped back to look for a clear space while Leo got down to his skivvies. She wouldn’t bother at this time to undress but when she found space enough, the she-wolf settles on the ground, legs crossed pretzel style and gestured towards the clear space across from her. “Might want to bring your shirt to sit on. It’s not the most comfortable but it’ll do.” Once settled, Mahri holds her hands out, palms up with the expectation Leo rests his atop her own. “I won’t mess with anything in there. I want you to close your eyes and think of a place you feel safest and settle it into your mind. As clear a picture of it as you can. It doesn’t have to be perfect just familiar. Nod when you’re ready.” No matter how long this takes, Mahri waits for that nod before closing her own eyes. “Think only of this place and an unlocked door. I’m waiting on the other side for you to let me in.” Leo might feel a tingle in his palms when the wolf pushes part of her own life-force from her core to connect with his. He, however, has to give that energy permission, through the imagery of a door, to enter.

Leoxander had slept in gravel and sand more times to count in his life. A bed was once a rare luxury, and still fairly new to the rogue in recent days. So shirt, pants, boots and blades were all tucked in against the log and some leafy debris was carelessly tossed onto them to partly camouflage, even if that part of the island was more or less deserted. Dragons and ogres would have no want for such obscure things. Settling on the ground across from Mahri, one knee bent rested on the ground, foot tucked just behind the ankle of the other leg that bent upward to rest his arm across. His other hand scratched roughly through his already messy hair, the humidity and some nervous perspiration dampening it just a bit to make it worse, sticking out in different directions, recently trimmed but not by much and as uneven as ever. Mimicking her, Leo closed his eyes. His mind traveled through memories of places… icy arenas, dust covered green, fiery surroundings, a black river where souls were shipped. The obsidian pool, the streets of Kelay where he’d collapsed for what was expected a final time, skin charred and loaded with poi-...

Leoxander‘s brow furrowed. Happy place. The ship, as the sun set. Jack beside him with paws on the railing and Leo slouched against it, taking that moment of quiet to listen to the waves and watch the treasure of gold and diamond sparkles reflecting against the dark depth. Now some of the tension seemed to relax. The door was there, heading into a large space he knew to be the galley, where his friends, pack and crew enjoyed food, card games, drinking games, a casual relaxing period after a day of working hard for him, for the sake a well manned ship and respect to its captain. His mind had sunk even deeper into the moment and he felt himself turn with anticipation of seeing familiar faces as he opened the door. But there was Mahri, alone, no tables, just the Beta sitting cross legged on the ground with her eyes possibly still closed in the center of that mess hall.

Mahri opened her eyes and found herself in the galley of a familiar ship. It figured but this was the best possible place he could have chosen. When she stood, the ground beneath turned into smoothed planks, the table manifested with benches to accommodate the crew and pack at any given time. The scene is as solid as it gets and even the appearance of Jack pulled at her heart like no other. “This is a good place, Leo. Do you remember why we’re here?” She had to make sure he was aware in here, of their purpose. Here she had limited control. This was the Captain’s own mind, his battle either metaphorical or quite literal; she could facilitate and guide, but that was the extent of it. Somewhere, outside the scene, the she-wolf felt the presence of Dal’ken. She could sense the animal and his anger – frustration – and something else? Mahri glances behind herself half expecting to see a wolf there waiting for the moment to attack. On the Illoria she had a special room built in the farthest corner of this deck. One that she used on the nights she couldn’t deny the shift from woman to animal and the beast had full control. Perhaps she expected to see something of the same here since Leo kept his wolf locked away – something to symbolize the prison he kept half of himself locked away in.

Leoxander watched Jack trot by in his youthful, mischief-making state toward Mahri as she filled in the blanks of the memory. It was not the new reconstructed slave ship that he hadn’t entirely bonded with, it was Eternity. His ship that had been properly pirated from Castellian, along with his fiance. It had been through war and adventure. It had sailed him back to life, somehow. His mistress Ocean was cradling the vessel and captain with love, again. His voice answered, out loud in the middle of the wilds clearing and echoed slightly through the vision. “Because it felt like home…” Something he could not remember experiencing, even if he had taken residence here or… elsewhere. Sometimes he looked at his hands remembering the feel of sawdust and the smell of fresh redwood, but that only accredited to the warstocked ship with missing puzzle pieces still absent in his mind. Sails could be heard unbound and fluttering with the clicking of a rig, invisible ghosts of his past causing the galleon to speed up, biting through the choppy waves. No storm on the horizon, or so he continued to tell himself. This was his happy place and more details started filling in as he turned from Mahri when she stood, seeing the barrels and kegs and crates tied to the middle mast. A red bandana appeared wrapped around his right hand out of nowhere, and when he looked back toward Mahri, Jack was gone. The frustration and confusion started to come back, and Leo took a step out of the galley to the main deck, but when he looked for the black mutt all he spotted were two bronze-gold eyes glowing from the darkness of the doorway that led downstairs to the underbelly.

Mahri watched Jack trot right on by before seeming to dissipate into vapor. The Eternity became more solid with each passing second. She could smell the ocean, tar and wood. The snap of sails in the strong winds echoed like a whip-crack. “It was..” she assures while following the captain. “This is where you felt safe, where you are safe.” Peering past Leoxander, Mahri saw those eyes as well. “He needs freedom. You need peace, such as it is, as much as you can have. Dal’Ken is part of you and you him.” It seems she had said this once before, a long time ago. Silver met bronze-gold for a moment before sliding away. Was the wolf down there even real? He absolutely was if just as an avatar. Physically Leo couldn’t be hurt. This would be a confrontation between the two now.

Leoxander kept his mental gaze on those eyes, the growl of unpleasant agreement coming from that dark silhouette to agree with the silver eyed wolf. Dal’ken wasn’t a forgiving piece of Leo’s soul, but her words reminded him he could no longer deny that the creature was a part of his soul. How could the beast not loathe him? Not only had it saved the pirate from death on numerous occasions, helped him best opponents for his sin of greed, all the while Leo kept that side of him in restraints or leashed. Every word she spoke or thought to him rang true. He glanced back over his shoulder at her while the wind started to pick up and toy with his hair, jaw tight. A glance back at that red bandana in his grip and he studied the no-quarter color thoughtfully for a moment before he pushed his left hand on the door frame to approach those glowing eyes a step at a time, which caused the growls of warning to sound louder. Leo could smell the lack of trust as easily as he could see the transparent wall built to surround him, and after a few steps, there seemed to be an ice like crack in the strange shield that made him pause while the wolf’s noise turned into a threatening bark and snap of sharp teeth.

Mahri will be right behind Leo. Dal’ken would know the beta’s wolf so Mahri let the wolf rise just to the surface. Not enough to start a shift, but enough both males could sense her presence even here. When Leo looks behind, she nods encouragement. “Talk to him Leo,” she suggests softly and if those feral eyes turned her way she wouldn’t look away this time, not with her wolf staring from those same eyes. The beta would protect both from themselves if she had to. It was, after all, her job. Even she could sense the distrust between man and animal. “Neither of you had a choice in what you are, remember that.” Mahri’ll take a step or two back, the cracking of the shield that had been built drew the corners of her eyes in with a slight flinch. The barrier was weakening it seemed.

Leoxander almost wanted to throw back some dry humor about how they didn’t ‘talk’. They argued. But it wasn’t going to be easy, as she warned, putting his pride and even some fear aside to conquer this. All he had to do was trust her… and eventually, trust himself. And finally, the wolf. So he risked another bold step or two and although the eyes were several feet off the ground, he slightly crouched enough to meet the stare and hold onto it, letting the lycanthrope get the snaps and snarls out of his system, the crack split further and pieces seemed to melt into mist as the wall gradually began to crumble. “I shouldn’t’ve denied you.” He started in a low tone, but he was horrible with apologies and the ‘sorry’ itself would probably not leave his lips. “We never had much choice with all this, but we’re stuc-... we’re part of each other.” He wasn’t trying to just say what the wolf wanted to hear, he was taking Mahri’s advice and opening more than his mind to her, and to the detached piece of him that finally quieted its growling. The glare in gold eyes was tainted with uncertainty, then some confusion. Sometimes the deeper, rougher, less pronounced speech was returned from the other entity, but the language was entirely animalistic, and more reason why would be revealed when the creature took first steps out of the darkness to reveal the tawny, four-legged ‘true wolf’ that was not split between man and beast. Larger than any wolf should rightly be, lynx tufted ears still pinned back, his black brown leathern snout flaring at the scents, the thick hackles creating something of a wolfish ‘mane’ around his throat spiking up as the sky flickered in the distance with lightning and loud thunder to follow. The waves beneath them were becoming more rugged.

Mahri wouldn’t do much more than just be there. But when she saw the true wolf step forward, she almost lost her breath. Not just because it had been so long since she’d seen him, but the unexpected crack of thunder and flash of lightening was so unexpected. The sudden, rougher roll of the ship had her reach a hand out to brace herself – sea legs or not she needed a moment to steady herself and adjust to the knew rhythm of the Eternity. In her own head, the black whined with anxiety, the mental image of the wolf pacing causes Mahri to press her lips together and remind the both of them that this is Leoxander’s world they are in. Physically they are as safe as could be, mentally is another story. Wherever this attempt takes them, Mahri needs to remain calm; trusting Leo to have the control he needs here to finally bond with the wolf that stepped past the quickly fading barrier. Leoxander had extended the olive branch in some small sense. He’d crossed the halfway mark between the wolf and himself to let the animal he considered and called a curse to tentatively approach his human half. There was no good or bad verified between the two - they were both. They had protected and they had killed. He… -was- the wolf. That acceptance and realization seemed to trigger the breast to continue toward the battle scarred pirate after one last clap of skyfire and thunder and the closer they got to each other, the calmer the waters once again redeemed itself to. The invisible wall began to deteriorate and drift into fog more steadily now, spreading across the main deck and spilling over the sides like dry ice being drenched in warm water around his person. They were almost in arm or bite reach when the rune on Leo’s chest broke into a fluorescent blue light, so brightly that it caused gold glowing eyes to wince away and the wolf’s hackles raised again. As if the last of his doubt was being triggered and used as a warning rather than a spellforged binding. Even Leo winced against the burn of the light created and he tried to grab his chest. It was almost uncertain whether he was clasping for it to keep or holding it with some mental anguish and annoyance until he spoke out loud to no one in particular, or maybe that mark. “I don’t need you, anymore…”

Mahri appreciated how hard it is for Leo to open himself in this way. Aside from any other way, being inside another’s mind had to be the most intimate two people could be. There really was no hiding anything from the other person except from some extremely strong mental barriers. Mahri would not abuse that trust, now or ever. Watching the man and wolf, Mahri held her breath this time until they were close to touching. That same breath was released on a gasp, her free hand raising fast to shield her own eyes against that blue flair of bright blue light. “Leo..?” she questioned quietly, blinking away the after images of that light rapidly. Was he talking to her, the wolf or something else? Confused, all the beta could do was stand there while the seas calmed and the storm passed. She hoped it meant that whatever had been holding Leoxander back was over, that the barrier had been removed for good. So, she did what she did best. She prepared for the worst, hoped for the best, and watched quietly.

It was only a mental projection and his nails, still blunted but digging enough to cause scratches of blood across the rune on his sternum. Which in turn seemed to rouse several angry strikes of light from the clouds, further and further away. The wolf growled in annoyance, blinding by the light show, but the dire broke forward, rather than away, as if to protect his original body from the arcane repercussions and the storm dissipating quickly over the sea. The boat settled. Everything was still and night had fallen. So as the clouds drifted away, too, there was an indigo dome of diamonds surrounding them, reflecting on the smoother surface of the ocean. His hand moved from his chest and gripped into a handful of fur at the side of the animal’s thick coat. Leo drew the silver chain they had both built strength against and the wolf remained still as it was placed over his thicker throat, not the length where the rogue could hide it under his shirt, half concealed by bronzed chest fur. Standing on the steady boards of the large craft, he looked back toward Mahri, locked his eyes on hers as the gold started to bleed in and thread with blue. Saying nothing, but the stare spoke volumes. Appreciation, trust, reassurance that he was okay. The rune was gone. And the wolf and rogue just turned to head downstairs into the dark as the scene around them faded behind closed eyes.

Mahri knew something momentous was about to happen, something major and still she nearly reached to stop Leo from clawing at his chest, until she was momentarily blinded by the lightning strikes. Then she understood what was happening. Breaking that rune would break the binding and free him in more ways than one, very likely. Blinking away the over abundance of light from her eyes, she caught the gold-blue mix with her own eyes, a ring of yellow circling the silver to indicate her own was there, witness to the true bonding that had needed to happen all along. That stare, returned with her own, and a slight nod of her head preceded her following until the scene faded around them. With the feel of Eternity beneath her feet fading, the sound and scent of the ocean is replaced with the cool air within the clearing and the feeling of ground and not planks beneath her behind, Mahri drew in a deep steadying breath, slowly pulling her life-force back into herself and disconnecting from Leo. She waited a second, centering herself and calming the black wolf prowling her psyche, before blinking open her eyes. Another moment and they’re focused.

Leoxander had been… not replaced. He’d transformed sometime in that moment without the cracks and aching sounds so apparent, maybe overcast by the fading thunder that had finally cleared from his head. There stood Leo's true wolf form, which hadn’t occurred in years. That form he’d run with the pack in, taking a plunge into the role of alpha and reveling in the rush of the wild. The ‘skivvies’ he’d had left intact were ripped and ruined and he swiveled his large skull to grasp and rip the fabric from the indent of waist below a broad rib cage, but most of his body was too thick with blonde and light brown mark fur, almost mimicking the pattern of tattoos from his jaw, down, though the tufts of his large ears were in that slightly darker russet color, too. When he turned his muzzle to aim back toward the silver eyed beta, there was a very faint clacking of pendant and ring that needed separating; the man had been wearing it when they slipped into that mental trance, proof that it was the same body and a shared mindset. One of those ears flickered, shifting from a backward slant to forward at attention, as if waiting impatiently for the black beast to come out.

Mahri couldn’t stop the wide grin from coming when she saw the wolf there. She wouldn’t have even if she wanted to. She hadn’t heard the transformation take place. Which meant that the two were working together now. Watching him struggle with those boxers, Mahri reached past the wolf’s head to finish their destruction and pull them off. “Well,” she mused quietly but he would hear her, “if I had known sooner this was a sure way to get you out of those…” she let it trail off because in sitting back where she’d been, that look gets her attention. “Oh, so you want to go for a run now, eh? What ‘bout that necklace? Keep it on or no?” Regardless what sort of answer was given, the beta’s already kicking off her boots and shucking her clothes, putting them safe next to Leo’s. Rolling her shoulders and neck, it's a few minutes while her own body makes those changes – the black wolf arrives with patches of fur mimicking her own scars – most notably what looks like chain links criss-crossing her back and torso. The wolf sneezed with a shake of her head, sending fur shaking down her spine and ending at the tip of her tail before pivoting to face the blonde and russet wolf with a curious tilt of her head. An ear twitches while the other remains forward, alert for the alpha’s cue.

Leoxander typically couldn’t ‘speak’ beyond feral sounds in that form, and often just relied on his body language as he immersed himself into the wild. But after a dip of his head and a similar sneeze at the dirt from her witty joke and the powerful aroma of the nature surrounding them, she might hear the rogue’s distant voice from… somewhere. “Leave it...” He had his reasons. Not everyone would recognize the pirate like this but that necklace was something he never took off. Without shame or feeling intrusive, his gold bled eyes followed and watch Mahri reveal the scars of silver, and although he remembered that moment and her agony, a more reasonable side, namely the lycanthrope side of him, chased the unforgiving memory away because… it was time to run with his old packmate and remember that freedom. The acceptance wasn’t perfect, yet. There would still be some arguments with himself from time to time, but one didn’t have to be a werewolf to have that dilemma. Most importantly, which Mahri could easily pick up on or sense between body language and a newly forged mental bond, he seemed eager and upbeat in the situation, anxious to put his speed and dexterity to the test. Recognizing the beta was awaiting his decision and feeling a selfish swell of pride, he gave the black wolf a nip at the side of her face and turned to lope toward the northeast. He wasn’t quite in tune with that shape, however, and there might be a stumble or trip or two over the rough terrain and fallen branches as he headed into the thicket and toward the scent of water over rocks and bittersweet pine. But eventually, he started to find that rhythm to pick up the pace.

Mahri ’s ears were both perked forward now and if a wolf could look surprised, she did. It was soon replaced by excitement, the playful nip met by an equally playful growl. She’d lope along behind him, letting him find his feet and set the pace. Their paws landing softly even through the saplings and underbrush pushed the pair forward, the pace picking up when Leo/Dal’ken got the hang of working together. “Just enjoy the ride…” she advised, following that mental link they now shared. Let the wolf do the work of controlling the body, like instinct. The scent of water, the sound of it bubbling over rocks and stones, wasn’t too far away. Once the wolf had his rhythm, the black tucked her hind end in and sprung forward, shooting past the alpha with a brush of tail across his snout in an unspoken invitation to race to the source of water. Dirt flies from beneath her paws and if some of it managed to land on the male, well he’d just have to try and catch up. In the Pines, Mahri slid through the shadows of boughs and branches as if she was one with them. From light to dark, she was a shadow here leaving an obvious trail for the alpha to follow.

Leoxander did as she told him to the best of his ability. There was no alpha and beta right then. Although not a mated pair, Mahri had definitely earned the respect of leadership from the lycan, and instinctively when she darted passed him his head lowered and he pushed at leaves and soil hard with back legs, catching light on front paws, the large form becoming an arrow zipping close to the ground, racing the black wolf at her side. Across the stream, over rocks, a convenient spray of the geyser dodged, but left him to catch up again. Mahri would be the one to break the border of the pine forest first. He whipped through low branches and tall weeds at a close second, panting, and paused to give a corkscrew shake from nose to tail tip to spray her courtesy dirt off his form, tail balanced and ears raised, swiveling to pick up noise radar, her scent was prominent against the pine. He looked up toward the sky through the canopy of leaves. Night had nearly fallen, just as it had in that state of meditation that had felt so real. Technically, part of it was, as the four-legged lupine was there, prowling on paws and moving slower through the weave of pine trees to track his fellow alpha down, taking deep breaths of the smell of the forest in a very human like way for an animal on the move. Enjoy the ride, she had said. It was a strange thing, that sense of peace that came with transforming into what some, including himself until now, considered a monster.

Mahri felt a change in… something. She wasn’t going to analyze it now though. No, the wolf was loose and she wanted to run, stretch her legs and chase rabbits, jump at birds flushed from cover and track down bigger game like deer – leave them dragons and bears alone thank you. She didn’t need to look over her shoulder to know that Leo was on her heels even as they went through the water and dodged the geyser, both of them now wet and in various states of having nature clinging to their fur. Twigs and leaves tangled themselves in ebon fur making her skin itch beneath so when he does track her down, Mahri is sort of twisted and gnawing at the hitchhikers to get them free. All she had to do was shift and they’d fall rigiht off, but this was better – somehow. Tilting her muzzle towards that same sky, a howl of pure joy bubbles up in the wolf’s throat, echoing through the trees and calling to others, natural and were, to join in on that freedom of running and hunting. Letting the last note die naturally, Mahri stretches out on the ground, forepaws crossed to make a rest for her chin while the wolf’s eyes close on a content sigh. Answering howls are caught by ever moving ears.

Leoxander felt another similar swell of pride as she called to the sky, letting her howl resonate and only joining in as a baritone beneath hers at the end. Once again, Mahri had saved him. Another tally to a long list throughout their shared existence. As she settled on the terrain layered in blankets of pine needles and old leaves thawed from the recent winter cold, the damp, tawny male moved over to her spot and as undomesticated as the effort may be, he lowered his head to chew at her haunchest and shoulders, mild tugs of fur pulling in his rougher way of trying to help those burrs free. He circled around her back half and did one of those inching forward of paws steps to stretch out and lay on his stomach beside her, and in his own unspoken thanks, bullied for a spot to rest his head on the side of a crossed foreleg, whiskers bristling and relaxing nearly brushing hers as the adrenaline was already starting to wear down. Beyond the physical ferry ride and hike onto the island and the burst of run they had just done, he shouldn’t have even thought to be tired in the waking hour of nocturnal predators, but mentally his brain had been through enough and it was a relief to feel the ‘now’ of the moment again.

Mahri isn’t keeping score on who saves who; she’d have done it all over again with no question. Cracking an eye open, the black grunts once or twice as those tugs of burrs occasionally hit a sensitive spot but she’s not complaining at all. With a huff of breath, she moves, giving him room to settle. He’d not need to bully for long as she’d raise her chin and just rest her own across his snout. And, if he did fall asleep after such a rough experience, Mahri’ll stay awake through the night and keep watch over him, letting man and wolf rest. This was right, home. Sort of. As close to home as possible. But it still felt right to be here with the only family she claimed any more.

Leoxander seemed to be on the long stretch of road that would eventually have him succumb to sleep. Particularly as her placement of chin on his snout felt… different, appropriate. An alpha in her own right, Leo felt safe. Protected. A timid voice echoed in his mind, which was still linked to Mahri’s in some way, but she may not have heard a tone other than her own whisper ‘You’re okay…’ from a recent memory. Truly proof that Leo had bonded with the inner beast, at last. Had she attempted this sooner, the outcome would not likely be the same. But his world had already changed dramatically since his return from one of those occasional bouts of solitude and hiding the rogue went into. He had a ship, if not one that felt like his, yet. They hadn’t had that first sail into deeper waters. The gathering the night before, which he could remember clearly, was full of people to lead and protect. It was and would be to his last breath -his- island that he knew like the lines and brand of his hands, reclaimed somehow officially by the were-pair.

Mahri gave Leo the privacy of his own mind, not venturing to listen into his inner thoughts while he drifted into a healing sleep. Whether he realized it or not, this was a healing for him, and perhaps for herself as well. Since her own return, she had cut herself off from caring for or about anyone else. But then she’d met Quintessa. Something about the changeling had caused a crack to appear in that shell she’d erected around her own heart and she took the younger woman under her wing, protected her like she would have a pack-mate. Then, encountering old friends like Shishi and Orange had widened it. It wasn’t until she once more connected with the pirate that that shell crumbled away. Occasionally a sound would catch her attention and Mahri raised her head until the sound was determined to not be a danger to her or Leo. Once something came a touch too close and the tawny wolf might have caught a warning growl rumble and fade when whatever it was moved away. Mahri made herself a promise as the sky turned the velvet blue-black of deepest night to never again abandon those she cared about, not for anything or anyone. Leo, Mouse, Meri, Ace – all of them she would give her dying breath to keep safe. Once again resting her chin on Leo, the now alpha she-wolf closed her eyes and let herself drift in a state of not quite asleep but not awake either and yet aware of everything.

Leoxander didn’t accept help a lot, voluntarily. He had plenty of scars that had been mended by healing hands but Mahri seemed to be the only one he was willing to approach to ask for it. But no owls in the trees or scavengers of the night need die for his healing, this time. It was because of how relieved, calm, and secure under her guard he felt that he so easily drifted into a deep, much needed wolf nap, ears still occasionally flickering with hers in a semi-aware state of the noises of the forest. Damp fur would not measure up to the increased body heat of the wolves side by side, and no nightmares would trouble his mind in its tired state. As usual, he’d be up before the sun just as the twilight of a new dawn started to filter some light in from beyond the horizon of rock cliffs and thick foliage, maintaining the large four-legged form throughout the night and into the next day.