Stormfeather Ch. 06

There was a loud new sound in the arroyo. It sounded like a large piece of flannel being ripped in two. The flash which accompanied that noise blinded the pack and they pulled back. They should have clustered tightly together until their retinas recovered and their vision returned to normal. But that wasn't what happened. Instead, all hell broke loose, and their snarls were replaced by shocked yelps and shrieks of surprised pain as they found him among them dealing death.

Amy waded forward, making the most of her chance to pick up her Colt. She stepped back again, holding the black powder weapon well above the water and hoping for a clear shot. She understood his request now. If she'd kept her gaze on the pack, she'd have been blinded now as well. But she wondered what good she might do, if any. He seemed to be in the middle of a gray tornado.

It didn't take long for Stormfeather to begin to pare down the odds against him. Temporarily blinded as they were, they were doing more damage to each other than to him as they snapped at the slightest touch against them in their fear, though he was far from unscathed.

Stormfeather's vision narrowed down as the wildness in him surged within his breast. Something deep inside of him wanted to make the point that if they'd lacked the heart for this fight, they should have remained in whatever dens they'd crawled from. He swung his claws and connected solidly against the large leader. Besides the damage from the strike, the wolf landed hard against a boulder and lay winded for a moment.

Facing three wolves now, Stormfeather rode the pain of their bites as they tried to lock on and pull him down. He bellowed and one of them fell away with a dislocated jaw. The others hesitated and he took full advantage of it to clamp his left claws around the muzzle of the second male. Grabbing what he could of the breast fur, he lifted him so that his front feet were off the ground and flailing in the air. The wolf hung in pain and confusion for only half a second before he was released.

With one of his carotid arteries opened and spraying, the second male was already on his way out and turned to run. Stormfeather grabbed one hind leg to swing him against the rock wall and then threw the carcass over the heads of the pair of females. It bought him the time to close the distance that they'd begun to open as they'd tried to back away. He also hoped that the leader would see the threat to whichever one was the lead female and respond to it, since he couldn't reach the male quickly from where he now stood blocked.

The leader lay on his side stunned with his bruised shoulder and ribs feeling as though they were on fire, but as his vision cleared and he could regain some focus, he was looking right at the small red wolf there across the pool from him where she'd hidden herself. It answered a question that he'd had in his mind since he now saw the last of the ones they'd killed, but she was insignificant in this fight. He'd be back to finish her later -- if they survived this. He'd never been up against anything like this beast before.

He rolled upright and began to stand, but was knocked almost flat by the impact of something loud creasing up the front of his skull. His vision was jarred and the painful flashes which he saw just goaded him now. He looked away from the small wolf and sought the cause of his new pain. The human in the pool was wreathed in some stinking fumes which made him want to choke. He shook his head and looked again, thinking that if this human in the water were a threat as well, then he'd welcome the chance at winning something from this mess and drew back his lips.

Amy knew that the .44 caliber Colt was almost a lightweight here, but she was still so very thankful to have it and at this distance it was formidable. But what she faced possessed a much stronger skull than any wolf that she'd ever seen. The shallow angle had deflected her first bullet between his eyes. She cocked the hammer and used her free hand to brace her hold as she aimed at a more upright surface on him.

The leader was distracted by the painful cry that he heard from his mate and looked back for a second to see her dying as her last breaths gurgled past her torn windpipe from where she'd been thrown. It hurt him to see, but before he could feel sorrow, the sight fuelled his fury. The two-footed thing would die for this. He cared for nothing else now.

The creature he now hated more than anything stood dripping with his female's blood from his snout to his chest and his raging bellow sent a misty red spray of her blood from his teeth as he turned to seek his next victim. The pack leader needed only a few seconds to regain control over his legs and wobbly footing and then he'd deal with the large dark one from behind and then the human.

Remembering her as a threat for the moment, he turned to look ahead and again there was a cloud of the foul smoke and that sound. He tensed to spring, but his limbs lacked the power to obey his brain. There was a dull emptiness deep in his chest. Another clap like nearby thunder and he was losing breath. He sank to his belly and twitched in the blackness around him.

With three shots left, Amy looked for a way to help Stormfeather, but saw that it was an impossibility from this angle and began to wade closer, hoping for some kind of shot to present itself. She wondered what kind of wolves these were. She'd never seen anything like them in her life. Her experience with Gray Wolves told her they were usually far too shrewd and savvy to ever allow themselves to get caught like this -- not unless they were insane with hunger. Whatever these were, they didn't look malnourished in the least.

She got about as close as she could get. To close the distance further would mean that she'd have to backtrack to a shallower spot and step out. The water where she stood was almost four feet deep with no toehold or step visible. She groaned in frustration. Even if she had a clear shot, she doubted her ability to pull it off now because of the way that she shuddered from the cold water. The last wolf was desperately trying to break off the fight to run, but Stormfeather's blood was up and he wouldn't allow it. It took only a few seconds more and there was silence but for the thin babble of the shallow parts of the stream.

He stood still as Amy set the Colt down on the bank and listened to his breathing. He held his breath to listen for a few seconds, and alternated the periods of stillness with several careful sniffs and sharp, heavy exhalations. Her own breath had almost a staccato sound to it from her shivering. There was a thin whine of pain from one of them, and he sprang to finish the butchery. Amy wondered if he was still aware of her or whether it might be better if she just kept still. She had her answer a few moments later when he turned to grab the leg of the leader to drag him away.

Though at the very threshold of death, the large brute tried to turn his head in a last attempt at defiance. Stormfeather felt the motion and nearly took the great head off with a blow meant to break the neck. After so many years of solitude and now finding someone who'd befriended him, the thought of how this could have ended kept his adrenal gland open wide and he bellowed again to dump some of the tension.

He looked beyond the body into Amy's shocked face and wondered how he could possibly explain what she'd just seen. He decided that he couldn't and turned away, grabbing the other male's foot to drag them both out of the arroyo with some difficulty because of the slippery footing. It wasn't lost on her that he was dragging over a quarter ton of dead weight.

Amy was speechless as she stood stock still. She'd assumed that in this shape, there might be a more visceral sort of violence underneath. She just hadn't been prepared for the astonishing ferocity and power of it. After a moment, she was fine and more than grateful for what he'd done. It was just that moment where she'd seen into those eyes that had shaken her for just an instant.

That split second told her the meaning of the warning about looking into the eyes of one of his kind, but then she remembered that she'd also seen him there looking back -- and it was him - not some crazed beast. She still felt the same about him. Her feelings only grew stronger as she thought of what he'd just done to protect her.

When he returned for the other bodies, she could see that he was shaking slightly. Whether it was from fatigue, or the adrenaline, she couldn't tell, but after another second she had a thought that it might be that he'd been injured himself and it could then be from pain. This was something that she wasn't prepared to accept and so she called to him after he'd left her view for a few seconds.

His head appeared over the slight rise after a moment to peer at her. She called to him again and beckoned, but he looked as though he was about to turn away and walk off.

She called once more, but there was no response until at last, - in desperation now - Amy balled her fists at her sides and howled out the name which his father had given him. It echoed around the little place and then died away.

He froze and turned toward her in shock and wonder, his yellow eyes wide.

Amy was surprised as well. Up until the sound of it was on her lips she didn't think that she knew it with certainty. She exhaled heavily. She wanted more than anything to sound soothing to him now.

"Arn? Come here. I'm afraid right now that you've been hurt. I want to make sure that you're alright."

He looked as though he was considering it, but she thought there was still a better than even chance that she wouldn't be able to turn aside whatever made him want to keep his distance right then. Whether he didn't trust himself to be near her or whether it would be some sort of undesirable admission on his part for her to see his injuries, she didn't know. But she needed to touch him and be certain that he was well, or at least not too badly hurt.

"Come here, Arn... please?" Amy hated the little whine that she'd unintentionally added, but it was the way that she felt and it had cost her some of her control to hold back her worried tears.

He looked down for a moment and drew a breath, but then he began to walk to her. His voice was still rasping, but quieter now as he grumbled about the blood all around as he approached. Amy thought he sounded like a larger version of one of her pupils at the school. "What about the blood?" she asked him.

He shook his huge head, "It should not be here. All of the animals come here for water. Many will not come to this place now out of fear."

"Then we can try to wash it in a minute, Arn. Please let me look at you. I can see blood on you everywhere, but I can't tell if any of it is yours."

He stepped into the pool and looked at her after washing his face in the water quickly, "I will heal, Sheena."

She watched a bloody strip of saliva drool down into the now-red water around them.

He leaned down to fill his mouth with water and spat out what blood and fur remained from the fight with obvious distaste. His voice had quieted and lost its raspiness, "This is what you wanted to see, I think. Are you pleased now that you have seen me as I really am?"

Chuckling once bitterly, he added, "Have a good look for as long as you think that you can bear it." He exhaled the last of his tension and his face showed his sadness as he said, "You can believe whatever you choose to, but I will not hurt you. I will understand it if you leave now. I know how I look." She could see that his own words hurt him now.

"This is what I am."

The sorrow in his words took Amy completely by surprise and she stared at him. Stormfeather misinterpreted her look and began to turn away to leave. He thought to return to the cave where he'd spent the weeks before their meeting. He didn't feel much like watching as she left to ride away.

Her hand on his shoulder stopped him. She had to stretch to reach it, but found enough purchase there to pull him so that he had to turn a little. Her voice sounded shaky and small to his ears.

"Arn? Are you angry with me?"

He shook his head as he turned around, "No, I did not want you to see me like this yet. I don't know when I would have felt that you could stand to look at me, but I had no choice in it just now."

Amy was stunned and shaken to hear his voice as he strained to hold back a sob. "I am sad to lose a friend. I am sorry for the way that I look, I ..."

He looked down in surprise at her there hanging onto him. She was holding on to him with everything she had, as tightly as she could and the pressure caused him some pain due to his injuries.

There was a moment of silence as he stood in confusion, and during that moment, Amy thrilled to listen to the quiet might that lay hidden there within him. He didn't notice a thing, other than the pure emotion that her embrace brought to him, but she heard a heartbeat like the deep, well-spaced strokes and rebounds of a hammer at a forge and a fraction of a second after each one, she heard the hiss of his blood through the arteries in his chest. His breaths were calm and steady, but in the quiet this close to him with her ear against his deep chest, each one sounded like a steam locomotive's driving pistons.

She looked up, "Don't ever be sorry for how you look. I love the way that you look like this, or as a man. Don't feel badly about what you are. You haven't lost your friend, Arn. I'm very thankful for what you did for me and I'm happy to see you like this."

His eyes widened again, and she nodded, "Very happy. You're beautiful."

He doubted his ears. Beautiful?

He thought that he must have misunderstood, but she was smiling up at him, this lovely red-haired dream-walker who just accepted him, no matter what happened. With her warm smile before him, he now felt relief flooding through him and wondered why he had doubted her. He told himself that she had proven herself to be better than even he had estimated and resolved not to doubt her word again. She seemed to believe in him, or in some quality about him. She deserved no less from him, he decided.

She nodded as she let go of him, but as she stepped back to reach up to him, she felt the sticky wetness of the blood on her skin and looked down at herself. She had the presence of mind not to show the way that she felt. There was quite a lot of blood on her now and she was worried for him.

She shook her head and said what was in her heart, "No matter which way you are, you're so beautiful to me. But as much as I love to look at you like this, please change back so that this lovely fur is gone. I need to see for myself where you're hurt."

It took a few seconds and he began to blush as she smiled for a moment, "Don't even begin to feel ashamed because I can see all of you now." He stared at her for what she'd said and her warm smile felt like sunshine to his heart. She scooped up a double-handfuls of water to begin to wash the remnants of blood from his throat and front

Amy came to a realization in that instant. With him like this, she knew that she'd have to guide him toward where her dreams had told her that they needed to be, at least to some extent. She wanted to minimize his discomfort and selected a slightly playful demeanor to set the tone for her examination. "You're embarrassed, aren't you?" she asked with an understanding smile, "I've been up to my neck in this water and I can't feel much of my legs. How would you like to be slapped by a frozen-cold naked woman right now?"

She walked around behind him as he chuckled quietly. She was right and he knew it. He was being asinine and she was calling him on it. Her good humor evaporated as she surveyed the wounds on him. There were flaps of skin torn and loose, great rips in him, and teeth marks everywhere. She scooped more water and began to gently wash the spots. The first one to close after she'd washed it surprised her, but then she put her arm around him and pulled herself near to kiss the place as the line of it disappeared.

She'd done this in several places before he was even aware of what she was doing. As Amy worked her way around to the front of him in her search, she began to feel a little foolish but then discarded the notion. She had nothing to feel foolish about. It was what she felt like doing at the moment, and it made her feel better. She only hoped that it helped him as well.

"Why, Sheena?" he stopped her to ask it.

He noted her earnest expression and the small tears there in her eyes which she was trying to blink away, "Because I care. You're hurt and I have no magic stick to wave at you to make you better in the blink of an eye. All that I can do is try to wash the dirt and goo out of them and kiss them as they close because I want to. I see that you close the wounds yourself. I know it's not much, but it makes me feel better to do it." She gasped at two deep wounds and gave a small cry of concern.

Her fingers went to the edges of one tear on his side. She could see his exposed ribs between the torn muscle groups, "Can you close this one too?"

He nodded stiffly and her hand was on his cheek, "It hurts, doesn't it? All of this, it hurts you every time that you're injured, you feel it all just the same." She exhaled as the rest of it came to her, "Wounds that should kill you only heal. You don't die, but you feel all of the pain from the healing as well. It must hurt even more because you heal yourself so quickly." She wanted to cry for him and how this must feel to him.

He nodded again and she shook her head in wonder as she returned to keep washing the slowly-closing tear. She asked him to lift his heavy arm and ducked underneath to get at the place better, "Why didn't you just burn those things up or something? I don't understand it." He grunted as she touched a very sore spot and she apologized.

"Because they were animals, Sheena, and they were already too close to you. If a man tried to hurt me and I have the need of it, I would burn him, but not an animal. Not unless it has to be." He flinched from one of her kisses, and she knew it wasn't from pain, "I'm sorry, I forgot that you're a bit ticklish. This one is looking better already."

There was one more and Amy was a bit hesitant about it, but decided that she had no intention of letting him retreat into any bashfulness that he felt. Her reasoning was that if he couldn't feel comfortable here alone with her while they were both naked, then he needed to get past that.

She thought about how he normally ran around and almost laughed out loud at the notion. How much of a difference could a breechcloth possibly make to him?

She pushed him backward gently to get him on a slightly higher footing and squatted down to rinse the deep gashes on his inner thigh for a few minutes without a word.

"Move your leg out a little," she instructed,"I can't get at the whole thing like this."

"Sheena," he began in an uncomfortable tone. He'd been able to stand the feel of her body against him up to this point. He'd enjoyed her touch so much, but there was little that he could do to prevent some of his body's reactions to her touch.

"Ssh," Amy wasn't going to put up with any nonsense and her face told the story when he looked down at her.

"You just shush and be happy that you didn't get bit in a couple of other places that I can think of," she grinned as she finished her washing and leaned in to kiss the place softly.

Amy was a little confused when he groaned quietly a second later. She looked up and then saw the problem when she looked back down. With a smirk to herself, she put her forearm in the way of that part of him which now began to strain to make its presence known as she felt the seam of the closing wound.