closed starter for @dvngeondudes
Traveling in wolf form was advantageous, and Ezra took full advantage of it. His senses were keener than ever—he could smell the slightest scent on the wind, hear the crack of a twig from miles away, and feel even the lightest breeze tickle his fur as he sped by. As if in a dream, the sounds of Ezra’s environment seemed to become a tempestuous howl that rang out in his ears. But with any form of magic, there was always a price—a trade-off that had to be made. The wolf allowed him to get away, but it also threatened to take him away from himself. To make I’m as much prey as predator.
Ezra felt the fur along his back gradually recede, replaced by unfamiliar skin. His jaw unhinged and his muzzle contorted, the bones in his face rearranging and reshaping as he shifted from beast to man. His claws retracted, then curled into blunt nails and his tail fused with his spine, the fur melting away to reveal a pair of strong legs. The arrow wound remained, a wooden shaft protruding from his flesh, and his wounds seemed to ache more when he assumed human form.
“Time to move,” he muttered, feeling the urge to run. He could feel his wolf form still inside him, urging him forward. But pain speared his side, and he knew that it would be foolish to continue with his wound. He had lost enough of his blood, and the hunters weren’t far behind him.
Wolves this far south? Gared was not convinced. He knew these wilds like a sister, a twin that grew in the womb with him. Wolves were rare, and if they were present they were usually driven there by fire or some sort of affliction, and Gared knew there had been no fires. Afflicted wolves were dangerous. They could infect the other wild life or streams that the creatures of the wood. However, Gared was beginning to think this was no ordinary wolf. The way it moved felt less wild and more intelligent.
Gare leapt between trees, footing never slipping. He was too used the the forest, knew how to balance himself on wet morning leaves. He was agile as he moved, following the thin trail of blood through the forest. It was starting to become heavier. The beast he’d shot was scared, heart pumping, desperate. Tracks alongside it also carried him forward, but his brow furrowed when he noticed a change in them. Less animal, more human? A werewolf? A shifter?
He crossed a creek, leaping from one bank to another, using the underbrush to cushion the sound of his feet as much as possible. He worked his way up a hill, bow in hand, cresting the top of it and climbing up a massive fallen tree. Atop it he paused, looking down. Where he expected to see a wolf was a man. Wounded, bloody, naked. Gared took a breath in.
“I knew it was no ordinary beast,” he spoke out loud before he jumped off the tree. “I am sorry. I took you for a sick animal. Would you allow me to tend to you?”