Lycanthropy Ch.2-3 for those who missed them

I'm posting this for the people who didn't know the people who liked to read on in my story, but thought that the others were still Ch 1. Sorry about that. If you read this be warned; they'll be very longed and take you awhile, so set a lot of time aside to read this without interruption.

Chapter 2

“Wake up,” said a distant voice, “wake up.” Then I felt a slap on the face. “Wake up, damn Lethero, wake up.” I open my eyes and everything was blurry, but in a few seconds my vision came back.

I had a few other Lycans around me, I guessed the sun came up, two of them I knew, Geedo and Kado. The other two were new to me. “Wah, happen,” I said weakly.

“Don’t you remember the full moon?” said Geedo. “The moon, and us, must have scared the humans off. I few human corpses, but we can eat those, but the Lycans we’ll find the Lycans close to them and ask them if they want the Ritual or just bury them.”

“What about Scado, where is he?”

“I’m sorry the shot went too deep and there was nothing I could do,” said Geedo. “Would you like to do the Ritual?”

“The Ritual,” I choked out, “it will honor his memory as a Lycan. I just can’t believe he is gone.”

“Ok I’ll leave him where he is and let you begin when you are ready,” said Kado, “Now you seem to need new clothes, don’t worry everyone else had their clothes on during the attack. But what I’m wondering why they came.”

“That bastard, Skado,” my mind was burning when I said that, “killed some people from their village and they followed him here.”

“Damn, I always knew he was too reckless,” said Kado. “You two were always reckless as pups but you grew out of it, he never did.

“I know, first Nicarga and now Scado, you lost all those that loved you,” said Kado.

“It must be very hard on you.”

Nicarga, the she-wolf who mine and Scado’s parents gave us to, protect us. I remember our first three years with her . . .

“Scado, Letharo, don’t go near that village of humans!” yelled Nicarga. It was a moon filled night, the moon was waning, and I, Scado, and Nicarga were out hunting in a forest near a village. I and Scado were just play fighting as all pups do, but we were veering towards the village.

“Why mommy?” asked Scado, we still did not know of our real parents.

“Because if they catch you, they’ll kill you on the sight,” said Nicarga.

“But don’t we just look like cute little puppies like you said?” I asked

“Yes, but the humans will look beyond that and then kill you,” she said and me and Scado sat obediently waiting to hear more. “They’ll call you demons and treat you the same.”

“How do you know mommy?” inquired Scado.

“Because son I went into one and I wouldn’t have made it out if it wasn’t for my mother,” told Nicarga. “I wasn’t bitten to become a Werewolf, I was born this way, it wasn’t my choice”

“Were me and Scado born Werewolves mommy,” I asked.

She looked at me hesitant, “Yes.” Now I knew she was just trying to protect us from the truth.

The day came and went, and everyone changed into Werewolves, even Scado’s dead body changed. The Lycanism is a physical change, and they’ll always change even after death, as long as there is flesh the body changes. And that is the Ritual, in the moon the person closes to the dead Lycan has to eat the flesh and organs while the body is in Lycan form and the bones will stay as a Lycan.

In the moon filled night I went into the house Scado died in and made sure he was as he died. Tears welled up in my wolf eyes and memories came flooding back into me like a tsunami. But the one that hit the worst was when we were ten and we learned Nicarga wasn’t our mother. It was a new moon, the only nights we stay human, when she told us the truth . . .

“Skado, Lethero,” yelled Nicarga, “come inside I need to,” she choked, “tell you something.”

“Yes mommy,” I asked in a tired voice because me and Scado been outside wrestling.

“Is Scado here,” she asked, “good come inside and close the door.”

She sat us down on the floor, we had no sitting furniture, we had no furniture really. “Scado, Lethero, there has been something I haven’t been telling you since you were two years old,” she said and started to cry.

“I thought we were always with you, you’re our mommy,” said Scado in a worried voice.

“That’s the point you aren’t my sons and you are not brothers,” she said in a chocked cry.

“Mommy, it’s not true you’re our mommy and we’re your sons,” I said.

“I’m sorry but you’re not my pups, your not even full Lycans, you were bitten at two!” she screamed out. “Your true mothers trusted me with you when you were bitten, I didn’t know what to say but I took, I cared for like the pups I never had and I’m sorry I haven’t told you sooner!” And she broke down crying.

“I hate you,” whispered Scado, “I hate you!” He ran out of the house and I sat there comforting Nicarga. I know now that she hadn’t told the truth to protect us, but she is my true mother and not that human who gave us to her, I was glad those humans gave us to Nicarga she is the best mother there was.

We found Scado later in Geedo’s house, Geedo said he’d deal with Scado and help him calm down and send him back. He came back but he never looked at Nicarga the same way again, and he only spoke to her when she spoke to him.

Dawn was struggling against the night as I finished the Ritual, all that was left of Scado were his bones. As dawn burst over the hill side I changed back into human, but Scado’s bone stayed in Lycan form never shifting and never changing.

I gathered his bones still, teary eyed, in a blanket and took him outside. I saw that about five others doing the same and we all massed toward the Burning Pit, the last place for Werewolves. We burn their bones and spread their ashes through the village, as a sign they will always be remembered.

We all laid the bones of or friends or family in the pit and threw bundles of wood in. Geedo and Kado came in wearing dark cloaks, hiding their faces, carrying torches. And then they threw the torches into the Pit.

The wood took time to finally catch and I watched the last physical remains of Scado disappear like Nicarga’s bones on her death. It was a dark night, and it was almost a new moon. It was two years ago when she was, murdered . . .

I looked outside and it was raining hard. Scado and Nicarga just got done with an argument, Lycan arguments almost always lead to bloodshed but I broke it up quick. Nicarga was sitting in the corner breaking down and I went over there to comfort her.

“Nicarga,” I said in my wolfish voice, “don’t listen to that damn bastard. He’s just so damn mad because he’s still upset about you telling us you’re not our mother, but you’ll always be my mother.”

She let out a wolfish cry and said, “He just always seems to be picking these fights,” and she broke down.

“Scado you damn happy now,” I yelled, “if it wasn’t for her I would rip your damn throat out for what you did to her.”

“Oh wah,” Scado shouted back, “she is to damn soft . . . ”

He didn’t get a chance to finish what he said because I jumped up and grabbed his throat with my Werewolf paw. “Don’t you dare mock her Scado..” I stopped early in my threat because I saw Scado’s eyes give a pulse of blood, bloodlust.

“Scado calm down now you’re going to lose to the bloodlust.”

“Well let it come, I don’t give a damn now and why would you!”

And once he finished that we heard the sound of chains hitting the ground. We didn’t know what it was, but Nicarga sure did. “Lethero, Scado, hide, He is here,” she whispered urgently.

“And now who the hell is, He!” Scado roared.

“Shut the hell up He’ll hear you,” she whispered even more urgently. “And He is the Mercenary, a Vampire, he is paid to bring back as many Lycan heads as he can. Now hide somewhere.” But it was to late he heard us.

The chains slowly came toward our door, and then they stopped right in front of our door. And then the door was kicked down. In the doorway was the silhouette of a man with a black coat, a sword stained with, what I guessed, the blood of many other Lycans, and the eyes, the red, bloodshot, piercing eyes scanning the room stopping on me, Nicarga, Scado. “Ah, how nice three wolves at once, my luck is good tonight,” he said and his voice was like listening to nails to a chalkboard. “Now let’s make this easy and don’t fight back,” and as he said that he prepared his sword.

But I knew Scado wasn’t going without a fight. He dropped into a Lycan fighting stance, commonly all four paws, and he started a deep threatening growl which might have scared weak Lycans and many humans but this guy was unaffected.

“You stupid wolf (Scado let out a Lycan bark which sounds a lot more scary than the deadliest wolf’s bark), you think you can take me alone.”

“He won’t be,” I barked out. “He has me, I got your back, Scado.

And we both lunged at the Vampires neck, but he just lifted his hand and swatted us away like annoying flies.

“Do you two think you can defeat me?” he asked. “Then you two must be damn fools.” And he let out his horrible laugh.

He took a swing of his blade at me while I was on the floor, but I rolled out of the way. Part of my tail wasn’t lucky, though no contact was made with my tail but it took off some of the ragged fur at the end. Whoa, that was close.

And as he was distracted by me, Scado made another attack at his neck and bit hard.

“Oo amn olf, et off o’ e!”the Vampire gurgled out, but Scado bit harder and I smelled blood as it leaked from the Vampire’s wound.

While the Vampire was dealing with Scado I ran up and bit the sword handle and tore it out of the Vampire’s grip and brought it to the other side of the room and dropped it.

I looked outside and to my horror, on the horizon the sun was rising, and I, Scado, and Nicarga began shifting to human form. The Vampire also saw the sun and I saw something on his face you would never expect to see, terror, pure, undeniable, terror.

Scado’s bite loosened as changing was taking place and the Vampire took the advantage of this and tore him off. Then he ran across the room and grabbed his sword and ran toward the door, but before he ran out he reached inside his boot and threw a dagger at me. The strange thing is the dagger never hit.

My eyes were closed when he threw the dagger in fear of death, but when I opened them I saw the only thing more worse, Nicarga, stood in the way with the dagger deep into her chest.

“No, you bastard, I’ll kill you,” but my words were never heard because the Vampire was quickly running toward the forest.

I dropped to my knees in front of Nicarga, crying. “She can’t be gone,” I sobbed. “Why did she have to save me?”

And soon I got my answer, Nicarga took in a gasp of air. “Don’t worry Lethero, I would rather die for you or Scado than any other way, but please just don’t be mad at me. I don’t think you want to leave me on bad terms do you.” She gave a painful laugh, drew in her last breath and was gone.

I looked up a Scado, he had a scared Werewolf puppy stare. He backed toward the door and ran away.

He was gone for several days, but came back for the Ritual. Me and him both did the Ritual to Nicarga, but after that Scado kept disappearing for days at a time, I hope he isn’t looking for the Vampire.

The Burning Pit’s fire was finally dying down, in the last few hours of light. I sat there the entire time not moving, watching the remains of my last Lycan family. Everyone else left doing there own things, but started coming back as soon as the fire was dying down.

When the fire finally died down, me and the other Lycans grabbed buckets and filled them equally with the ashes of our dead brethren. I mournfully filled me a bucket sand headed off to where Scado died. I put some of the ashes in front of the door.

I continued going around town pouring the ashes in places like at his other friends houses and near the forest. My bucket was finally empty.

I was walking back teary eyed when there were the chains hitting the ground.

“How sad, you pathetic wolf.”

Chapter 3

I looked around and saw a man with a black cloak, and I knew him by those red bloodshot eyes, the Vampire. “Ah, you remember me, and I remember your brother.” Then I saw his neck which had a big scar allover the front throat.

“If you came looking to kill Scado you are too late!” I yelled. “But I suppose you came here to kill me too though. If so, I dare you to try.” I picked up a knife on a nearby barrel and ran at him with all the anger I had toward him, which anger was dangerous for a Lycan to have because they might plunge into a bloodlust.

As I got close, he lifted his hand, there was no way I could dodge it now. He grabbed my throat and threw me to the ground.

“I have not come here to kill you or hurt you or any other pathetic wolf in anyway,” he said calmly. “But I would like just a few minutes of trust.”

“Why should I trust you, you damn Vampire, you killed my Nicarga and I’ll kill you!” I yelled and ran at him again, but he just stepped out of the way. “Hold still!”

“Would you just shut the hell up and listen!” he shouted. I ceased my attacks but keep the knife at ready. I looked at his back and saw the blade that had killed Nicarga.

“Look if this will get you to listen to me, take my blade you seemed to have noticed.” He removed his blade set it on the ground and kicked it toward me, was this a trick. “Now I have news you and your pathetic wolves might want to know,” he said coldly. “The humans have made an army to destroy any race that isn’t fully human. That includes you,” he said pointing to me, “and me.”

“But are you not their damn mercenary, who they pay to kill us?”

He laughed, I hated that laugh. “Paid me, you must be joking. If they were going to pay me in anyway it was to let me live, and what more in a cell in their towns prison. As long as I kill you guys I get to live, but I finally escaped.”

“But couldn’t you just escape when you hunted us?”

“Ha, they wouldn’t even let me pee in peace without a dozen guards watching, let alone hunt you alone. I had to snap a few necks to escape. But, now I have come here for peace.”

“Peace, peace with you, Lycans would rather one another than work with you.”

“Well they’ll die if they don’t at least try to listen,” he explained. “I’ll explain it in short simple words for your wolf ears, the humans are amassing an army of Werewolf and Vampire slayers and sending them to known places to where we live and have us all killed.”

“And why should I believe you. You’re a Vampire, and Vampires don’t give a damn about Werewolves.”

“I don’t expect you to believe me, but I know that if we don’t at least put an effort against humans they’ll wipe us off Earth, if we don’t work together.” I was shocked at this information, Werewolves and Vampires working together, I mouthed a simple phrase. “Yes wolf, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. We, Vampires and Werewolves, share a common enemy, humans.”

I straightened up and dropped the knife at my feet. “You know you’ll have to gain the trust of other Werewolves for us to join you.”

“I have gained yours, have I not.” He was right, I realized if we didn’t stop human threats, with their army or without they would eventually kill us all.

“You better get ready,” the Vampire said, “the moon is rising.” And when he said that the my bones began to ache, and in seconds I was a wolf.

“So, Vampire, what do you suggest we do with this human threat?” I asked in my coldest voice.

“We, have to first gain the trusts of our fellow races to trust each other.”

“I guess were not going to get friendly enough to sit around a fire and sing the damn religious songs of those cursed humans.”

“No, but I think we can manage a mutual friendship. Oh, if you Werewolves don’t know what mu . . . ”

“We know what mutual means, and I still think you’re a damned Vampire.”

“And you are still a pathetic wolf to me, and for future reference my name is Kalian” I grinned a wolfish smile, shows the teeth but a can still looks like a smile.

A snarl came from behind me. “Lethero, you talking to a cursed Vampire, you traitor!” It was Kado, with his body full of his white wolfish hair.

“Don’t you dare call traitor!” I snarled back as I turned around. Kado growled aggressively. “He gave me information on human movement and says they are amassing an army against us.”

“You are a fool to believe him, he’ll just kill you as soon as you back is turned.”

I picked up Kalian’s blade and showed it to Kado. “See Kado, he has come here on good terms and wishes mutual friendship between our two races.”

“Mutual friendship, you might as well feed me their dung, I’ll never show them mercy!” he roared back. “And don’t you remember, he is the reason Nicarga is dead.”

“Shut the hell up!” I snarled.

“Besides,” Kado laughed out, “how do you know he doesn’t have another weapon under that cloak of his?”

“Here,” shouted Kalian, “I’ll remove my cloak for you!” He threw off his cloak and underneath was black leather clothes, and no weapons.“Now do you believe I have no weapons?”

“Your fangs!” shouted Kado.

“Don’t worry your furry ass, I despise the taste the that hellish blood of yours.”

“But why should we believe you? You are the reason many of us are dead!”

“All you wolves are damn idiots, I wasn’t doing it out my own free will!” Kalian shouted. “If I had a damn choice, I would be at my home village! But I was captured by Vampire slayers, I wished they killed me now!”

And now everything was silent until the sound of padded paws broke the silence. Werewolves started forming a circle around us, shouting and cursing at Kalian.

“What is that damn Vampire doing here?” shouted a Werewolf.

“He is talking to the traitor, Lethero!” shouted Kado.

“I said, don’t you dare call me a traitor!” I yelled back. “And the Vampire is here to warn us of an elimination of all Vampires and us Lycans, by humans.”

I sat there listening to their taunts and remarks, but they all agreed one thing; is it possible to believe the Vampire? Some seemed to believe his answers, others were not sure if it was the truth or a lie, and others thought it to be a down right lie.

“We don’t have to have a friendship,” I explained, “but just mutual agreement. And if this human army is real and we’re unprepared for it we’ll be killed. Isn’t it better to listen to advice from someone we share a common enemy with, even if he is a Vampire?”

I saw few Lycan heads nod in agreement, but others weren’t convinced. I had one more strategy left and I planned to use it: “If we destroy this human army the humans will fear us and won’t want to take the risk and attacking us again. We could beat them down and we could take their lands and treat them like animals like they have been treating us. If you don’t wish to find at least a mutual agreement between Vampires and Lycans, then I suggest you leave, because I swear we’ll be seeing more Vampires in the future.”

Every Lycan sat there for a moment, but after awhile some got up and left and others stayed waiting to hear more. Then to my dismay, Kado got up and started to walk away. As he stalked off he said over his shoulder, “You may have been swayed by this filth’s words but I’m not. Go ahead and form this army, but I’ll tell you this: those Vampires will stab you in the back and you’ll never see it coming. Lycans and Vampires will always be enemies you’ll never stop that,” and with that he disappeared into the woods.

A lot more Lycans stayed than I thought would, but I say some were unsure if they were doing that right thing. “I thank you for staying, fellow Lycans,” I called into the crowd. “We shall need all the help we can get. I know this, as well as you do, this army might not be real, but if there is one it never hurts to be ready.”

Then some murmur started, softly and then gradually got louder. I heard some of it like: “How will we convince other villages?” “Can we really join with the Vampires?”

“I know how you feel,” Kalian said for the first time in awhile, “if I had not seen them amassing the army myself, I would have been the first ones to pick up and leave, but I assure, this human army is real. I (and if Lethero here wants to join) will go around to other Lycan villages and my fellow Vampire villages and try to convince that the time has come to make a stand against humans.”

“Now we need our best smiths to make swords that we can use at night or during the day, and anyone who is a tanner to make the hardest leather armor that can fit a Lycan and human form body, and head.”

One Lycan stepped up and said, “I’ll make my swords the sharpest there’s ever been.” and another said, “And I’ll make my leather as hard as steel and as flexible as the hairs on our back.”

“Thanks again my brethren, I know it is hard going against long hatreds against Vampires, but I assure, it’ll be worth it,” and with that I dismissed them and turned my attention to Kalian. “And yes, I’ll join you on your fool’s mission. Now let’s get some rest and prepare for tomorrow’s journey.”

“I’m glad you’re coming, my enemy, and I also assure you: this is no fool’s mission.”