The sound of thundering hooves shattered the still air, startling several birds from their nest and scattering several snow hares. Xilscor slowed his head long run, panting heavily from the exertion of the day as his legs slowly stopped pumping and he stood before his simple, log home. His breath billowed from his nostrils in giant streams of white, pluming into the air before his muzzle and around rising away from his head. He always went out running, every day. He had is own trails he ran for two or three hours each day, to stay strong and fit. He also did it to help himself get faster. He slowly was getting faster and faster. He guessed he could run continuously for an hour or more at what he approximated to be forty or fifty miles and hour.
He pushed the door open, grunting as he pushed the five inch thick door wide and stepped in. He shook his white fur, shaking snow of his fur in the entry way. His white horns curved around his head, curving outwards then inwards again, straightening out and pointing directly ahead of him for the last six inches where they turned jet black, looking almost as if they had been stained. He shut the heavy door firmly and pushed a giant wooden bolt reinforced with some metal. Not many people would come so far out into the Russian tundra to bother him, but he had been bothered by three polar bears. Two had refused to leave, and their furry pelts now lined his mound of pillows and blankets that he slept upon.
He strode into his home, settling in a giant chair before a roaring fire. He smiled contently. Although his mass of fur kept his warm in the bitter cold outside, nothing beat a roaring fire after a long run. Steam rose from his fur as the last remains of snow melted and evaporated. He glanced around his small, simple home. Just the fire place before him, a nest like bed in the corner, and his chair. His armor hung upon the wall to his left, and his two double bladed axes hung crossed at the handles above the fire place. His giant claymore hung next to the door, ready to be grabbed if he needed it.
He closed his eyes, relaxing back into his chair. How many years had he been up here? Ten, eleven? Did it matter anymore? This was one of the safest places he could live, nobody bothering him because he was different. He had not seen anybody in four years since he had to go have his armor fixed after a run in with a extremely agitated moose. It hard charged him, it's antlers denting the heavy steel plates before Xilscor had managed to push the beast away and discourage it from attacking again with a tremendous punch to the haunch. But other then that, he had not seen anybody. It was better this way. Besides, what more did he need then his life, his weapons, and his god.
Post by Locutus Ferox on Aug 9, 2011 0:42:21 GMT -5
The eyes of a Northern Timber wolf scanned the inside of the log cabin. The spartan quarters and the various pelts were a source of curiosity to the large furry creatures. It was interesting really, people often thought of wolves as large creatures, large being the size of their Labrador or Golden Retriever. The truth was large was more the size of a Great Dane, damn near a small miniature pony. Out here in the frozen Siberian Tundra wolves weren't all that uncommon. Usually it was the Eurasian wolves that inhabited these frozen lands, but it was not unheard of to have seen a pack of Timber wolves roaming about.
This wolf, however, was a bit different. It had a usual, if not dark coat of greys, whites, and browns, bordering on black. The difference was this wolf was slightly larger than most. It also had a feature unlike any other wolf anyone would likely have ever seen. Instead of the normal amber, coppery, brown eyes of your usual wolf, this wolf had red eyes. These eyes were a literally glowing deep red sort of an untold intelligence. As if the eyes of the very earth itself were gazing upon you.
Locutus sat quietly behind that chair. He could have used the door, pawing at it to gain the man's attention, but he decided against it in this case. The desperate cold lonely wolf trick might work in some cases, but given the pelts in the corner, he doubted it would work in this one. His eyes wandered over the armor, the axes, the pelts, the sword, and then the Minotaur before him. A soft wave of almost depression swept over him as he silently watched the large man. He was reminded both of a time these beings had been more prominent in society, even forming entire cities of the great creatures, and he was also reminded of the last encounter he had with one of these wonderful beings and how it ended.
While she was out on a task for him she had met an untimely end. Locutus arrived too late to do anything about it, and unfortunately had to make the call whether to interrupt the course of nature or to let it flow its course. In the end he had let her go. It wasn't an easy choice. She had been such a wonderful person to talk with. She was always full of ideas and ways to help nature. Her friends, family, and boyfriend took it hard too. Her boyfriend was so infuriated with Locutus's choice that he actually challenged the deity. Locutus didn't want to fight the man, but he had to set an example. The fight was truly over before it ever began. A bolt of lightning from Locutus's fingertip left a smoking crater where he had stood.
He never quite forgot that moment, and was reminded of it as he gazed upon Xilscor quietly. The sound of the fire crackling and rumbling filled the air as what would normally be a peaceful lull settled in over the pair.
Post by Evangeline Blazer on Aug 9, 2011 9:21:48 GMT -5
"Shit. Shit. Shit."
Cursing. Not very becoming on a lady. She stormed through the woods, her boots, soaked through from the snow. Her jacket not doing the best at keeping her warm, but she was protected from the wind at least. Long black hair, was covered with snow as he heaved her bag onto her shoulder and kept walking. She hit a patch of.snow and sank up to her waist. She cursed a few more times crawling her way out, the black leather riding gloves her only semi protection from the cold on her hands. She broke through a clearing, not even looking around when the familiar ache started in her chest. She coughed, and dropped to her knees coughing loudly and continually her hands covering her mouth, as blood came out with each cough. She lowered her hands and looked at the dark liquid that was in her hands, and the red splotches that spotted the white snow. She pulled the bag out and pulled a red strip of fabric out wiping her hands and her mouth on the cloth. She put it back in the bag, before pushing herself up. She looked up and came face to face with a lit cabin, smoke rising out of the chimney.
"Double shit."
She moaned before moving towards the door. Knocking on it loudly.
"please don't be a serial killer....please don't be a serial killer."
She begged as she waited for a response to the door.
A deep guttural noise rumbled up from the Ungrith’tar's large chest, spilling past his vocal cords and out his lips, creating words upon the still air.
"You smell like a wolf, sir. However, since I am certain you could not of opened that door with out my hearing it, you came in by a different way, which marks you as somebody important. So come closer by the fire and make yourself at home." He gently pushed himself out of his chair, turned around to look at the wolf before him.
Wolves where not uncommon out here. In fact they where extremely common. Probably the most common predator he saw around actually. Though this kind of wolf was not. He didn't recognize the exact species, but assumed it was that kind from the western continent. He had seen a couple of those running around, hunting rabbits as well. He assumed they had come across some bridge of ice or something to get here, but in the end it didn't matter.
He moved gracefully for a being so large, stepping carefully around him and opening a extremely small cupboard. He pulled out several giant slivers of dried, salted venison and a jar of freshly squeezed juices from some red berry that grew wild in a thicket nearby. He didn't know what those where either, and really didn't care. He picked them, squeezed them, and drank the juice. It was slightly bitter, but it was better then water all the time. Though he found if he drank to much, it gave him terrible stomach craps and bowel movements. So he had learned to be careful with them. He closed the door and went back to the fire.
He pushed the massive chair out of the way with one hoofed foot and settled his weight upon the floor instead, leaving room for the wolf to join him by the fire. He placed the meat out before them and opened the jar of juice. He didn't have cups, as he was the only one who lived here so they would have to drink from the jar itself. He hoped the visitor didn't mind to much.
With out further ado, he picked up one slab of meat and bit into the end of it, ripping a chunk out and chewing slowly, the tough meat annoying but that was ok with him as he was use to it. He like the simplicity of it after all. And this way he didn't have to kill as many plants to season it. He turned his gaze upon the wolf as he chewed, looking him over.
"So what brings you so far out to my humble abode, visitor? You are obviously somebody of great power, since you came in silence. And you apparently mean me no harm. For if you did, you would have slain me while my back was turned. So how can I be of service to you?" He fell silent, having decided he had spoke enough, if not to much already and continued chewing in silence, awaiting an answer if anywhere forth coming at all as he bit a second chunk off the salted meat.
Hearing a knock upon the door, he blinked slowly. He slowly climbed to his feet and moved towards the door. He pressed the side of his head against it and listened. There was no scuffling, no snuffling or any other sounds of an animal. Just the rapid breathing and then....words!! It was a person out side his door. Muttering something about a serial killer or another. He frowned deeply. What sane being would be out in that kind of weather. He threw the bolt back away from the door and jerked it open.
He stood, staring at the female for about a split second. Then with out a single word, his giant hand shoot out, grasping her by the shoulder and pulling her into the house. He swept her up into his arms, closing the door behind them and throwing the bolt back across and then heading to the fire. He deposited her upon the floor gently, and then got a one of the huge pelts from one of the polar bears and wrapped it tightly around her shoulders and body to keep her warm. He nudged her slightly closer to the fire and sat back down.
He ripped a piece of the meat off the slab he had been eating and held it out to the female, offering it to her while picking up the jar of berry juice in his other hand and doing the same.
Post by Locutus Ferox on Aug 9, 2011 15:35:12 GMT -5
The wolf's ears twitched even before the woman approached the door. Someone was coming. The Minotaur then spoke to him, and the wolf grinned inwardly. So they still had their sense of smell. That was a good thing. The large man shifted about the cabin, moving over to the cupboard where he stored meat and berry juice. He didn't need to open it before Locutus knew that much. The smell of it was quite present in the air. At least, to ones such as the two of them who could likely smell it miles away. The wolf considered getting up and accepting the invite, or staying put. After all, it wouldn't be long before-- ah there it was.
The door banged as the woman knocked loudly on it. Locutus's ears twitched as he heard the bone on wood. It was bone on wood. The visitor had somewhat delicate hands. Female. He could only imagine the woman's hands were either numb or she was getting to the point of being desperate to be knocking that loud. Otherwise he could imagine it would hurt like hell.
He turned his gaze towards the door at that knock and chuckled as he heard her muttering. Afraid of something? Locutus was highly tempted to say "A shame that you picked the one house that had a serial killer in it," but he imagined that Xilscor would not approve of it. So for the moment the wolf stayed silent as the Minotaur walked over to the door, opening it and drawing the woman inside. Well there went his idea of a solo chat between a seemingly strong believer and his deity, but the new change was not unwelcome by any means.
It did however put off his plans of opening his mouth to speak, at least for the moment. He wondered what the girl would think of a Minotaur and "his wolf." He had to admit she was pretty cute. Though she wasn't from around here, which did arouse his curiosity. What in the world was she doing here?
Last Edit: Aug 9, 2011 15:37:42 GMT -5 by Locutus Ferox
Post by Evangeline Blazer on Aug 9, 2011 16:17:50 GMT -5
A squeal of surprise and fright blew past her lips, as the door opened as she was grabbed by the shoulder and yanked in,swept up like a princess. Her arms flailed to claim her bag as it slid off her shoulder, catching it with her frozen fingertips. She swung it up, the bag slamming into her chest, which resulted in a cough. She covered her mouth looking about, her eyes widened at the wolf. Light brown hues stole another glance at the wolf before she was planted infront of the fire. She opened her mouth to talk before she was barried under furs. Her bag hitting the floor with a thud. She shifted and poked her head out from under the furs, her hair now frazzled and sticking out very unattractively. The furs were wrapped tightly around her and she was pushed closer to the fire. It seemed the woman had gone into shock, or was frozen. She was handed some meat and juice, but remained silent for a minute. Suddenly her body jerked as she fought back the cough, and she slapped her hand across her mouth. After another minute she actually looked to her helper.
"I am sorry, I got horrible directions from a cabby...my bike, I got into a riff with a moose it chased me into the woods."
Her breathing was fast, only a few words got out before she had to suck in a large breath. She looked at him taking in his appearance. She took a sip of juice, her eyes falling to the wolf once more, her cheeks full of juice, she swallowed hard. She is never one to judge, but she was afraid she was about to be a meal.
Grunting at her words, the large Ungrith’tar sat back down upon the floor beside her, leaving room for the wolf to join if he so choose. He glanced over the female, his blue eyes intent upon her as he lowered his head to inspect her closer. His horns wrapped around the sides of her head, almost like a cage as he did so, their ivory hue bright in the fire light, and the black tips seeming to almost have a reddish tint from the crackling fire.
He moved back and pushed her hand towards her lips with the meat in it and shook his large head. "Eat, little one. You are cold and weak from your travels. I understand the dangers of the wild life around these parts. The moose in particular seem to be aggressive this year. Perhaps the bears are pushing their boundaries farther south." He sighed and shook his head, forgetting the girls closeness and almost removing her head with a horn before he caught himself and stopped the movement. He caught her glance at the wolf, a primitive fear in her eyes that was plain for any to see.
"I do not truly understand what it is. But you do not need to fear anything in this house. Nobody here would harm you." He smiled, though to a human who had never seen it before, it was probably a ghastly sight, his lips pulling back over his muzzle and revealing several razor sharp teeth followed by molars that looked capable, and where, of cracking bones with ease.
"To sooth your worries, you are not interrupting anything at all. Life is as it should, and destiny apparently brought you upon this place. My home is by no mean feat easily found. So eat, rest, drink, and regain your strength. From the sounds of that cough, you will need to find medical help as soon as you can also."
Post by Locutus Ferox on Aug 9, 2011 17:12:12 GMT -5
Locutus chuckled inwardly. A frightened little thing was she. She had gotten lost and wandered through cold. Dressed as she was it was surprising she wasn't apparently going to lose and fingers or toes. The weather out here was unforgiving. It was easy for people to just disappear into the icy maw of the Siberian "desert" and never be heard from again.
That was why the Russians sent their unwanted out here. They could calmly sit back and say they didn't kill the person, no harm no foul. But, everyone knew being sentenced to exile in the Siberian was a death sentence. Some lucky few survived, but the average man eventually succumbed to the bitter cold.
Now there was a woman who by all means should have fallen into the snow some time ago and become another victim of "Old Man Winter." The wolf got up from his spot and padded over to the pair by the fire. However instead of plopping down between them, the wolf snuggled itself up against the woman, providing a bit of extra heat for her. He kept his silence for the moment, content to just listen to the two of them talk.
It was nice. Much like a painting of some peaceful scene. A man, a woman, and a wolf. Usually it was a dog, but wolves worked too didn't they? They could certainly be "cute".
Post by Evangeline Blazer on Aug 9, 2011 18:10:54 GMT -5
Her eyes widened as he leaned into look at her. Her eyes went from one horn to the next, which she swallowed hard looking into his eyes. After a moment she lifted her head up high, a bit of her strength shining through her shivering body. He pushed her hand to her mouth and she took a bite chewing it and swallowing it. She moved her head as he went to turn, but he caught himself, much to her relief, before she was decapitated. Grandma....What big teeth you have... floated through her mind as he...smiled? She took it as a smile and smiled back albeit weakly but she smiled. She felt movement next to her, and then more body heat. Her hair fluttered as she turned to head to the wolf, her look of fear softening as she removed her gloves under the fur and reached out towards the wolf. Pausing, wondering if she had permission, she gazed back to the man next to her before entwining her fingers in the thick coarse fur of the wolf. She would have been dead if she spent any longer out in the cold, she had blocked the wind from her, her power helped her with that, if she couldn't, she would probably be dead. She took a sip of juice as the man spoke again, though he began to choke when he mentioned medical attention. She slapped her chest as the choke turned to coughing, she dug for her bag pulling out a white cloth. In an act the could look like she was being polite, she placed the cloth against her mouth, coughing into it. She folded the cloth when she was done so the blood couldn't have been seen. She scrunched up the cloth in her fist, before taking a sip to wash the metallic taste out of her mouth.
"I am a lost cause, no medicine will cure this cough."
She said finally, after she had caught her breath.
"There is no such thing as a lost cause, little one." His deep voice rumbled out. His large nares flared, catching the scent of metallic blood and he reached out and grabbed her wrist and pulled it towards him. His large fingers dug beneath her own, prying the bit of cloth out of her hand and letting it fall open, revealing the blood splattered upon it. He glanced at the blood, then the female, and finally to the wolf. He stared at the wolf a long moment, having made an assumption as to who he was, but not being one hundred percent sure. He held the cloth out to the wolf, making certain the canine could see the blood upon the cloth.
The bull man turned back to the female and leveled stern but obviously caring eyes upon her. "What is wrong? Why do you cough up your life's essence upon this cloth?" He head reached out, settling on her shoulder, the weight kindly and sympathetic, not pushy and demanding. His eyes flicked back towards the wolf, wondering if there was anything he could do for the poor female.
"Are you sure there is nothing I can do to make you more comfortable at least then, Madame?" He rumbled to her, his eyes filled with worry and sorrow for the extremely sick female. He hated seeing anybody, sentient or not, sick and in pain.
Post by Locutus Ferox on Aug 9, 2011 23:21:47 GMT -5
The wolf didn't need to see the cloth to know there was blood on it. He could smell it. Locutus looked up to the woman. Like Xilscor he hated seeing any creature, four legged... or two, suffer. He slowly closed his eyes, feeling out with his senses. There it was. He could see that her lungs were deteriorating. It made him wince. Nothing like slowly losing your ability to breathe to make you wish for death.
The humans called it cancer. It was labeled a disease of the body. It was a condition where the cells of a certain part of the body grew out of control. Sometimes it had other effects, eating up the good cells or impeding their functions. It seemed her condition was in one of the worst stages. It meant that she didn't have much longer to live.
The wolf finally opened his eyes, looking up at the girl sympathetically. He was sure she didn't need his sympathy, but he knew she must have been suffering on some level. He finally gave an audible sigh."I suppose the jig is up. Seems I am loosing my touch at staying mostly unsuspecting. Though I gather the fact that I didn't use the door to come in certainly didn't help my case. At any rate, the name is Locutus. As for that Lung cancer... You have a pretty nasty case of it."He heaved a breath. It was certainly a difficult decision. Nature always balanced itself out in the end. Still, such a sight was hard to not feel anything for.
The deity thought for a moment, playing with the strings of fate was always risky. One never knew how it might play out if the cards were shifted. He tried to see if giving her more time would perhaps be for the better or not. At length he spoke once more."I do believe I can help, however."
Post by Evangeline Blazer on Aug 10, 2011 7:35:07 GMT -5
"Unfortunately, in my case there is."
She replied, closing her fist around the cloth. No sooner had she close it did the man grab her hand and pry the cloth from her fingers. She scowled as he looked at the cloth then showed it to the wolf, like he could do something about it. Her shivering, slowed to a stop, as the heat from the fire, fur and two bodies warmed her. She reached out and pulled the cloth from his hand as he asked her what it was. She stared down at the cloth as she spoke.
"It's funny actually, I-I've never smoked anything a single day in my life."
She choked on her words. She's never told anyone, the fact she kept moving, she didn't want sympathy, she wanted life, she wanted to dance.
"The doctors, they call it Stage Four Lung Cancer. Two months ago I was given three to six months left to my life."
Her eyes looked to the fire, watching it dance about. When he asked her what he could, she shook her head slightly.
"It is nature, I must accept my fate."
Oh boy, was that a lie the minute it left her mouth. On the inside she seethed, not for a minute did she think it was nature, not at. She had never heard of one of natures magnificent beasts getting cancer, no she truly blamed humans. Their natural ability to jack shit up for everyone. It could have been anything, a juice she drank as a child, the powder makeup she used as a teen, Hell it could have been the carpet refresher her mother used before vacuuming. Her jaw set tight as she stared at the flames.
That was until the wolf spoke. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped, her fingers that had entwined themselves in his fur froze. The wolf spoke. She looked to the man, who seemed unfased by it. Then again he spoke of her Cancer. She barely nodded in agreement with the statement that it was a nasty case.
"Help? How can you help? I refused Chemotherapy, it would have mad me sick and weak, I wouldn't have been able to dance again. I would rather die, being able to dance, then live and never dance again. I gather my strength from the wind, I hope it will allow me to walk this earth longer."
The large minotaur smiled brilliantly, and stood to his feet before going face down, prostrating himself before his patron deity. He then rose and stood beside him.
"Hello, sir. I deduced it was you after the first couple minutes. And can you really heal this young lady?!" He looked astounded. He knew nothing about human anatomy or sickness. But he knew that if other minotaurs began coughing blood, they where either cast out with out food or water and expected to die, or they died quickly with in the conclave if they where well loved and respected. No matter what, it was a death sentence upon whoever it was.
So if his liege was seriously able to heal this girl, it would be amazing. He shook his head at the words the female spoke and sighed softly. "You not correct. What ails your is not natural condition of the planet. Not a simple sickness of a normal life. It is a filth brought upon this place by human pollution and their refusal to live at peace with the nature. However,"
He smiled and went silent as Locutus told her he could heal her and she gasped out that she had refused human help. His giant hand wrapped gently around hers, a smile crossing his face again. He squeezed her hand gently, shaking his head.
"Refusing human help is a good thing. It in the end usually only makes things worse as you just said. There are other ways of healing though, more natural ways. Locutus can help you. He is probably one of the few who could." His shoulders rose in a shrug, causing his white fur to rippling with movement along his body. His eyes turned to his god and he asked softly.
"Do you wish for me to leave while you do it, Lord?"
Post by Locutus Ferox on Aug 10, 2011 23:07:17 GMT -5
"Am I that transparent?"The wolf chuckled at Xilscor's words."Seems that I don't have to even open my mouth before people seem to know who I am. That's the curse of being who I am I suppose."The wolf avoided claiming to be a deity for many reasons. For one he didn't need to, and he was the type to avoid that if it wasn't necessary. He was a god yes, but he was also a person. People tended to act differently when they heard what he was. For some it was that mocking disbelief. For others it was a feigned ass kissing. They figured if they sucked up to the deity they would score. But they either forgot that they were talking to a god, or underestimated that deity to expect him not to see through them. For others still it was an unnecessary fear. They nervously tried to appease the deity for fear of what he would do. No he was happier sometimes when they didn't know who he was.
"No, it won't take but a minute, but I'm afraid it's the woman's choice if she wants herself to be whole again. I will not force such a change on someone who readily accepts their fate. One such event can be life changing. I find that if a person's reason to do something drastic, like leaving home,"The wolf paused as he looked up at the woman, as if knowing what she had done."The tend to regret their decision later on."
"Either way dear, the choice is on your shoulders. You are in a lucky position that you get to decide your fate. Door one you walk away from this encounter at the end of the day completely cured of your lung cancer. It will not only be removed, but the damage it has done to your body will be repaired. It will be painless, though perhaps a little uncomfortable, but you will not have to fear dying from it. It will also never go into remission. The other door is you continue to live as you are now, accepting whatever befalls you for it. No one will think of you any less whichever decision you choose. But, for your own sake, I beg of you to consider it carefully. If healing would rob of you your purpose for living to the fullest, then perhaps it is not the decision for you. But, if it has opened your heart to the world, than perhaps, that is not the case."The wolf looked to Evangeline, waiting for her response.
Post by Evangeline Blazer on Aug 11, 2011 10:36:13 GMT -5
Many emotions were running through her head as the two spoke. She had acceptes that she was going to die. It didn't mean she wanted to die. She chewed her bottom lip as she thought. The wolf could heal her, take away all the pain. She wouldn't have to die. Would there be a backlash? She looked up towards the wolf, then to the man. She could go home....No, she could never go home, doctors would want to inspect her, wonder why she was suddenly healed. She would still be alone, but she would be alive, she would be able to have a life somewhere, she could still dance, at least better then she did now without having to breaks to breathe. Was she just being selfish? There was nothing wrong with life, but did it come with a price?
" What will I have to do? Balance nature I mean?"
Nothing came without a price, An eye for an eye right? Nothing was that simple, even if the wolf could heal her, wouldn't it tip the scales, one of those 'it will make you better, but the side effects include nausea, vomiting, headache, IBS, kidney failure, stroke and heart attack.' Kind of things. What then would she give to be able to live? It definitely wouldn't be her dancing, but what about her powers, most likely not.
