[IC] To Claim a Starting World

[Cyrania]

Gwendolyn followed behind, dipping a cloth within what trickle of water was still in the stream bed. "Easy there..." She said towards the man. "Easy...Allow us to help, and the leg will get better." The herbs were ready and now she could better see what she was dealing with.

The bleeding needed to be stemmed and the wound cleaned so infection didn't set in. The leg would need a splint to set it properly. And she would have to hope that it wasn't too different from a normal human leg. First though was the bleeding...

"What's your name?"

[LadyRunic]

Arn found the creature easy to subdue, but as he gripped the being the hunter found more than he expected. The furs were that of a wolf and they felt like they were melded with the skin, however, the body beneath was human. Taught and lean with the demands of survival but human nonetheless. The savage growls as the beast-man sought to twist free was a mix of panic, pain and rage. This attack, this entrapment was anything but welcome no matter the reason.

The reason though was to help this man. For as Gwendolyn examined the leg, she too would find the bones were very much the same as a human's. Though she would see various scars and scratches from old wounds and new ones that could be accounted with falling, scrapping against trees and the general assortment you would pick up from crashing through a forest in a blind, staggering panic. The puncture wound from the arrow was painful looking and she would see the head of the arrow still within the man's leg. Any prodding of it would make the legs kick and struggle and Arn would be hard-pressed to hold a man, though not as tall as him, had the same brutish muscle beneath a lean body.

[Omni5876]

The big hunter gritted his teeth as the smaller frame of the man wolf betrayed its actual strength. It was taking all his skill and strength to keep it in check. Fighting an actual wolf or a human was much different that dealing with this creature. If you held a wolf by the back and prevented them from turning around, then their main weapons, which is their jaws, were nullified. Also, in this manner, you could prevent the harsh paw nails from tearing you up.

If fighting a human, then you analyze the way they fight and discern the weakness to exploit it. Arn had not been in many fights but he had been able to win because the prospect of injury is often a driving concern. The only way humans overcame this fear was through intoxication. Which then was another hinderance.

The creature however, was a challenge because it did not behave fully like a wolf. Wrestling it to the ground and keeping it there while avoiding bites and getting clawed was difficult. Despite not having teeth or claws as dangerous as an animal, the scratches he was suffering could turn deadly if infection set it.

The man wolf was fighting with all its might. There was not reasoning with him. In the wild, the only reason bodies are this close is either mating or a fight to the death. No doubt the creature thought it was the latter. Arn came to a conclusion that was risky.

Using a technique he had learned from a fur trader that had watched the big man get into a fight, he secure his own strong legs around the waist of the man wolf while mounted on him. He the rolled so that his own back was to the ground and the creature was looking up at the sky. Then, grasping the only thing he could, the very life like ears, he tugged backward.

The aim was to use his bigger frame to secure the man wolf and eventually slide his arm under the throat of the creature. Applying enough pressure, hopefully would make the creature loose consciousness. This would hopefully allow the young healer enough time to treat the wound and Arn enough time to secure the creature once it woke.

[Cyrania]

Gwendolyn bit her lip. Before she should do anything else, she'd have to get that arrowhead out. Arn did seem to be holding him for now, but with how everything was, the man could lash out and escape while she was doing that.

She frowned, then looked through her pouch. Come on, she must have some here somewhere...Ah ha! There it was. She took out some of the belladonna extract. Good as a sedative, though too much could be fatal...The real trouble would be figuring out what the right dosage would be. But if successful, he could at least be knocked out. She made a rough glance of his figure, making the estimates.

"Hold him steady." She then went towards his head. "Can you hold his mouth open?"

[Omni5876]

Arn couldn’t do more than grunt at the young healer’s request. The strength of the creature was frightening out of place for the small frame. This only meant that it had survived through strength and will. The creature had something that Arn had not really experienced in a long time, the need to survive.

It it’s eyes, the man wolf was in mortal danger. It was wounded and suddenly accosted by two people. One of which, the one that was probably the most threatening, now held it. Arn wished that they could have approached the problem differently but the mixture of human and animal was making it difficult to approach the issue in a simple matter.

The big man was not sure how intelligent the creature was so he tried his best to talk between gritted teeth. “Be calm….grunt….we mean…grunt you …grunt no harm.” Of course, he felt hypocritical saying those words as his hands worked to find themselves around his neck and try to make the creature pass out.

Arn directed his attention to the healer. “Whatever you are going to do….grunt do it quick…” His muscles strained as he tried desperately to keep the wolf man from moving and trying to force the mouth open while trying to avoid getting bitten.

[LadyRunic]

The wolf-man finally went still. Struggling had gotten him no further to freedom and only caused more pain. Now, panting heavily the slimmer man was still, limp in Arn's hold. It was an old trick that was common among any smaller animal. Pretend to give up then fight all the more viciously when the guard of your attacker was dropped. Yet, that was not the case here. The two would find that the wolf-man truly had gone limp, not to deceive but rather from weakness. He had lost too much blood and fought too hard.

Brow eyes looked pleadingly at Gwendolyn as Arn tried to pry the man's mouth open. The jaw, that of a man's, refusing to budge as he twisted his head this way and that to avoid the larger man. His whines twisting almost to words of denial. "Nrrrr!" The wolf ears pinned back and the tail tucked as the wolf-man tried to look utterly pathetic. It was a very good picture to pull the heartstrings to be sure, but his leg was streaked with blood. The skin about his jaw pale as he whined hopelessly.

[Cyrania]

Gwendolyn winced. Poor man. What sort of fate had wrought this life upon him? Yet if they were to save his life, they needed to act. There was far too much bloodloss.

"Its alright..." She tried to sound soothing, a lyrical quality coming to her words. "We only want to help you. That arrowhead is buried deep within and needs to be taken out." She came closer. "What is your name?"

[Omni5876]

As if a switch had been toggled, the creature felt limp in the hunter’s grip. However, Arn was much too experienced to release him immediately. Prey always tried to trick predator’s into relaxing. Speed or cunning were required to survive in the wild and from the looks of it, this man wolf would do anything to survive.

The big man only loosened his grip enough to communicate that he did not mean any harm but kept enough positive control that he could easily detain the creature if he felt any sudden movement. Through his connection with the creature, Arn could feel the shallow rise and fall of the chest.

He knew that the bleeding probably had been aggravated from the struggle. He turned his attention to the young healer. Still trying to catch his breath he told her. “Can you treat him like this? I…am not sure…if putting him to sleep would be good. Too much ….blood lost.”

What he meant was that the hear was already having a hard time pumping the small amount of remaining blood. If the creature was given anything that would make the heart slow down, death could be a very real possibility.

Still catching his breath Arn now addressed the man wolf. “She is a healer. She can help. We will not hurt you.” His tone was soft, as if he was speaking to small hurt animal. Few knew that he cared very deeply about them.

Even as a hunter, he would only hunt out of need to survive and never in excess. He was so good with the bow as a way to prevent the prey from suffering. Unlike some other trappers who would let the animals die of hunger and exhaustion being left on the traps for days or longer.

The big man even went as far as to pat the ears. His curiosity was also in determining how it was possible for the creature to control the ears. Where man and best truly fused together? Being able to analyze now through his hands, the fur felt tough and bristly as if it was still alive unlike the softer quality it took on after it received no further nutrients from a living body.

“sh sh. It its ok. She will help” Arn told the creature comfortingly while shifting his body enough for the leg to be easily accessible to Gwendolyn while still having the creature semi immobilized.

[LadyRunic]

Old memories were unfaithful things that bound the strongest will. For all it had been years the man-wolf could hardly recall who he had been. It hardly seemed important when the hunt and the passing of days were so idyllic and there was only the now. The current time and needs and dangers that existed in the norther forest and through the high peaks of the mountains. The ears that Arn petted were flicking forward and backwards. Though despite their bristled appearance, Arn would feel the give of real ears at first but it would pass soon the feel of giving ears replaced by stiff ears. Wood covered with fur. The entire outfit though seeming alive slowly yielded its nature to Arn. It was not living fur, but the furs of dead wolves on the body of a man. One who possessed some powerful connection to the Green to meld so with the beasts who skins he wore.

Rasping, the man-wolf whined and rasped. "Nrrrr! Nrrrrrgghh!" His growls something torn between a 'no' and the growl of the wolf. His eyes showing white all around his iris as his eyes rolled up into the back of his head. His body going limp as the creature fell unconscious due to the lack of blood. The wound was only growing worse and whatever power possessed him drained him further. The furs in Arn's arms seemed to shift as if they had given up their anchoring to the man's skin. Gwydolyn would see the shift of the man's face, as though he was wearing a partial mask that had dislodged slightly and if they tried to peal it back they would see it for a giant wooden replica of a wolf's skull. Covered with fur and fitted too the man's head. Blood and sweat caking to otherwise relatively clean fur. Or as clean as a wolf could be.

[Cyrania]

Gwendolyn blinked for a moment, taking it all then, then was on the move. She crouched down by the arrowhead and crafted from the herbs in her bag a poultice to help stem the bleeding. As soon as it was done, she pulled out the arrowhead along with the now wolf hide and applied the poultice, wrapping a bandage around to keep it there and help stem more bleeding before she went on to check and take care of other wounds throughout the body.

As she went, she ran her fingers along him, subtly encouraging the blood to stop flowing and the broken skin to reknit itself together. This was going to be close, but she had to do what she could to help him live!

[Omni5876]

Arn felt the sudden change in the pelt he was petting. He had felt all along a sort of discrepancy between the man wolf and the natural world. As a person with a miniscule connection to the spirits of animals, he felt a sort of lasting tinge on the pelts. This could not be if the furs were linked to their still living bodies.

However, the tinge felt repressed, as if trapped or being overpowered by someone or something. After the initial concern of subduing the creature had passed. The experience hunter was able to focus on the actual animal thing against him. The animal ears though able to move, did not seem to have the same yield and consistency of the wolves they mimicked. They were much to rigid as if they were merely covering for a frame underneath.

Rasping, the man-wolf whined and rasped. "Nrrrr! Nrrrrrgghh!"

When the man wolf went limp, so did the furs. The dead weight of the person started to slide off Arn as one does off a bed. The more the big man tried to grab the furs the more the furs seemed to come loose. Soon, the hunter was putting more effort in keeping the creature on him thatn preventing the creature from getting off him.

Finding it ever difficult to grab hold of the unconscious creature, Arn shifted his body and settled it on the ground. He watched over the young healer as she worked her magic. Unknown to the hunter, she actually did work some magic into the wolf man. The only evidence of this was a slight prickling on the back of the hunter’s neck.

Yet as he watched, he noticed something strange. A wolf’s head would often fall to one side or the other as the muzzle was too heavy. The top of the wolf attempted to do this but he human jaws remained straight forward producing a strange contortion of the head.

Trying to correct this weird visage, the hunter grabbed hold of the head and felt it dislodge even further. Curiosity trumped caution and soon he found himself peeling the wolf skull free enough to notice that it was not permanently attached to the man below.

He turned towards Gwendolyn with a look of confusion and concern. Arn looked down at the creature with a small amount of distrust. However, the same dilemma assailed him. As animal or human, it still needed healing. Though the hunter did not doubt the young woman’s skill, he felt that a more experienced healer might increase the chances of survival of the creature.

“We must take it…him.. to your father.”

[Cyrania]

She hummed as she considered Arn's words, finishing off the bindings. "That would be wise..." She stood to her feet, steadying herself as quickly as possible. Healing always took a bit out of her. "We'd have to be careful though. Any movement could cause him to bleed out more, and that leg still needs to be set. We could bring my father here..." But that carried its own risks. These were still the woods after all, still filled with wild beasts that could decide to attack. But if they carried him back, he'd need to be as flat as they could get him and lower any chance of jostling. Something easier to do with four strong men with a rug between them than for one strong man and one woman to do alone...

She looked closer at the, now more man than beast before her. Maybe she could stabilize him more before they started on their way. She would have even less energy to help with carrying him, but he would be less at risk from being improperly carried back.

[Omni5876]

Arn had not know the young healer for long. After all, he was at least 11 years older than her and had only dealt with her father a few times when natural healing was not possible. He had seen her around the village during his winter stays. She was a natural born healer not only in skill but also in bed side manner. Add that to the fact that she was young and pretty and it was no wonder that many a boy and man sought her out.

The big hunter knew that softness of voice and manner did not mean she was weak. Her being young did not mean she was inexperienced. Her sharp emerald eyes were appraising the situation as easily and analytically as any healer twice her age.

He listened to her but she seemed to be having a hard time making up her mind. She had the right idea in trying to find out the best possible outcome but the big man knew that in the wild not making a decision was just as deadly as making the wrong one.

Not that they owed the wounded man beast anything but the hunter did not fancy the idea of letting the man die. He looked down at the would be wolf. Lack of food and a harsh life had made him hardy. Wounded he might be. In danger he might be but Arn felt that he could be resilient enough.

He looked at the young lady again and said. “I will carry him. He will die if we wait too much.” He could she was concerned about the wound. “ We can rinse it a bit with the water from the creek. It should be good enough for now.”

[Cyrania]

"...That would be best." Quickly, she finished with preparing the wound. "Hold him carefully. He needs to be as still as possible."

She knew Arn was strong, and could be careful. But, would he be careful enough? Nope, can't over worry here. Have to just go.

And so she helped Arn to get the man onto his back.

[LadyRunic]

The two would find the man heavier than he appeared for one living in the wilds. Arn would know it for the muscles one built from having to fight every day. The hunter and the villager healer had been very lucky to come across the wolf-man so wounded and already weakened. Had he meant to attack them, then there would have been a serious fight. As it was, whatever had caused him to flee must have been a terrifying force. Gwendolyn would understand the wounds Lutter had suffered. If this was what had attacked the lay about then it would explain much. Though his face, as Arn had pulled the mask away, was lean. Showing harsh survival and the near-starvation that had chiseled lines into his brow and the corners of his eyes. Dark black hair spilled over his back in a tangle and there was oddly no sign of a beard. Odd as the man looked to be of the age to have one. His nose looked like it had been broken before and his teeth were perfect, strong and white. But all that was covered with dirt, blood and sweat.

As the two of them weaved through the forest, the sun would have risen in the sky. The warmth of the day seeping through a canopy of green. Birds fluttering about and warning of the two blundering humans that marched through the forest. The village was in their sight as they neared the edge of the forest, the sun shining closer to the highest point than it had been this morning. The villagers were moving about the fields tending to the crop and meager herds that sustained them. The ringing call of Hod's hammer as the smith banged out some tool or the other. Most likely something large from the noise that was being caused.

"Gwendolyn, what-" There was a rustle near them as Oskar, Dallen and Yvenna's oldest son, stepped from the trees with a pair of hares in one hand and a bow in another. "The beast-!" The lad yelped, tumbling back and fetching up against a tree as he stared at the unconscious stranger. "Wh- How?!" Curiosity warred with wariness and fright in the young lad. Though Gwendolyn would also see his shuffling feet and tucked chin. A boy growing into a man, yes. But one who harbored some guilty knowledge.

[Omni5876]

Arn felt the strain of the dead weight as he lifted the man as carefully as he could. His brow furrowed at the inconsistency between weight and the way the man looked. This could mean that the man had not suddenly taken to living in the wild. This sort of weathering and muscle mass could only be the product of living in the wild for many years.

The hunter looked down at his catch. The man did not appear to be young. It might very well be that it was older than him. However, the face was eerily smooth. No north man that he know was clean of hair unless they shaved. Even then, a stubborn stubble was hard to get rid of and most men did not have the time to shave daily.

The big man’s eyes eyed the woods warily. A man who has lived so long in the wild would have very few predators. Even the wound seemed a shot of opportunity. It did not seemed to have been aimed to kill. The chest or neck were better targets. The stomach would cause much pain and would be hard to treat and eventually the target would die.

That meant that the fear the creature expressed was not directed at him or Gwendolyn. Arn remembered the forewarning of danger. The forest had warned him. Even if the spirits had meant the man currently in his arms, a sense of unease did not go away. Could there be something more dangerous than the man wolf?

The big hunter could not imagine anything more dangerous than a man who thought himself an animal but had the reasoning of a human. As it was, Arn had been hard pressed to subdue the man wolf and would have hated to encounter it at full strength. However, something told him that at full strength it would have not been so easily found in the day light.

His muscles strained as he carried the deceptively heavy man. The hunter followed the young healer saying nothing. Even holding the man wolf, the pelts shifting under his arms as he had to fix his hold every now and then, felt strange. This was not normal. It seemed as if the man had fully integrated with the spirits of the dead animals. Dark magic was often rumored to exist but many believed them to be just myths.

No matter how unintelligent the hunter seemed to the villagers, Arn was anything but. First the report from the young guard Bauld about dangerous animals. Then the appearance of the woman who seemed to be the human version of ravens. Now this man who dressed and behaved like a wolf. The big hunter did not like these omens at all. It was seldom coincidence when more than one even happened like this.

Thankfully, the village came into view as his arms were beginning to burn from the strain. Though he would have taken a break, he did not want to appear weak in front of the young healer. The fight hat taken some energy out of him and having to carry a man across forest floor was not an easy task.

The sudden appearance of the young lad made Arn hold the man almost protectively. His suspicions grew as the young man appeared to recognize the man wolf in his arms. “Have you seen this person before lad?” Arn asked in a gruff voice. Both from the strain of carrying said man wolf and because he was a bit annoyed that perhaps the arrow that had cause the wound could be this lads.

[Cyrania]

Gwendolyn looked over Oskar carefully. "Did he try to attack you?" Clearly, he knew what was going on here. And she had recognized the arrows...But what had happened between them. Had the man been minding his own business, or threatening Oskar? "How about you come with us and see, Oskar." She frankly stared. "I am sure that my father would love to hear the whole story of what transpired in the woods."

She prepared to grab him if he tried to leave. Whether the man was the beast, or if what had hurt Lutter was something else, she wanted to give him a chance to be seen by her father first. He had the most level head in the village. He would know how to go about what had happened.

[LadyRunic]

Oskar looked guilty as he shook his head. His knuckles were white as he gripped his bow. "No, not at first." He mumbled and gave Arn and Gwendolyn a pleading expression. "It wasn't me! I swear I've not seen him- that- before! It was Wersk and Skal, they decided to go hunting and were going to a rabbit's warren." The boy swallowed hard. Betraying his cousins would earn their wrath, but someone had gotten seriously hurt and it was not the creature as Wersk had thought, or was it? Shrugging helplessly, Oskar continued to spill his tale hoping Gwendolyn would let him disappear and concoct some story that did not involve him.

"Well, they saw him. The creature and Wersk decided to ambush him-it? It was Wersk who shot him. Skal had a spear he took from Kettil's hearth and, well, chased him off." The man on Arn's shoulder shifted and groaned weakly. "Please, please, don't tell Wersk? He went after Durin when Durin screamed Wersk had killed someone. Broke his finger." The boy was sweating and realizing he spoke far too freely Oskar clammed up. Looking pleadingly at Gwendolyn as he considered if slipping into the brush and disappearing would be of any use.

[Omni5876]

The big man shifted the dead weight of the man wolf as the young lad spoke. A grumble proceeded from deep in the hunter’s chest as he listened and the names of the two delinquents was brought up. He caught himself and stopped the disapproving sound that would have been very natural in any dog.

Oskar fully explained what the hunter had theorized. The man wolf had been the victim of young stupidity. A hunter would have been much more merciful in their arrow work and a guard would have already delivered the dead body of a suspected monster to the elders of the village.

No this episode reeked of the need for entertainment and the cruelty that some humans took very easily too. Unlike animals, humans tended to play with wounded things. They rejoiced in the feeling of power it gave them. Animals hunted for food, never for sport. Even the playful kitten is not doing that out of evilness but out of a desire to prolong the hunt and try out more skills.

Arn gave a big sigh. “Come boy, you must tell this story to the Elders. This may not be your doing. But only a coward would hide the truth.” Arn motioned his head towards the wounded man. It was still unclear if the person would survive. “We need to take him to the healer.” He reminded the young woman next to him and again turned his blue eyes to the would be hunter lad. “Come” was all he said and started walking towards the village again.

[Cyrania]

Gwendolyn sighed, taking Oskar by the arm. "I won't tell Wersk, if you tell my father what you told me." Then followed after Arn, dragging Oskar behind her despite any protest. Of course it was them...Had they even been allowed to hunt on their own with a potentially dangerous beast about? Surely not, not when they were still young and inexperienced. Though, given who their mother was, they may have had no one to tell them not to. Not that they would have likely listened even if they had.

She glanced back at Oskar. "Any idea where Durin ended up?" She could at least help him with his finger after getting the man safely to her father. Then she or someone would need to do something about Wersk. His behavior was going far too far.