Lychaon's Curse Ch. 02

Her entire body went rigid as the wound started to drain and a muffled groan escaped from behind the gag. Marrok looked up to see her arched up over the table, straining against the rope. As the wound drained he picked the thread out of her skin, letting it open back up. After the wound finished draining he grabbed the knife and pressed it into the wound.

Natalie wailed as the sickly sweet smell of rot was overwhelmed by that of burning flesh. Then she collapsed back against the table, unconscious. Marrok worked quickly then, burning out the other wounds before applying an ointment he had gotten from the pack healer. Finally, he bound her wounds in clean bandages.

Marrok leaned back in his chair, hands on his knees. He had expected her to be injured, but the infection had spread far faster than was normal, and he wasn't expecting to have had to do as much as was required. Looking at the human- Natalie- lying on the table, flushed with sweat, hair plastered to her forehead- he realized that he couldn't just leave her here. Sighing, he stood and began to untie her.

As he worked he marveled at how small she was- his younger sister was but a child and seemed larger than her. He lifted her arm and wrapped his finger and thumb around her wrist, shaking his head. He pulled the ropes away from her and lifted her into his arms again, lightly testing her weight in his arms. She seemed far heavier than she looked. Is it the clothes? He wondered. She came to then, blinking up at him.

"Is it over?" She mumbled. He nodded and she closed her eyes, laying her head against his chest. "Where are you taking me?" She asked. He carried her out of the kitchen and to the stairs.

"To where you sleep." She nodded and went silent. Slowly he ascended the stairs and entered her room. He placed her on the strange nest she used and she immediately nestled against the cushions, nodding again as she yawned. Within moments a soft snore began and he smirked. The words she had said earlier replayed in his head; You know, I wanna like you, but you keep injuring me. He reached down and brushed her hair out of her face, drawing a curl through his fingers, enjoying the airy texture and tight coil. Then he straightened and left, heading back downstairs and into the main part of the house.

Morning came and Natalie opened her eyes to birdsong and sun pouring through the window. She lay there for a moment, disoriented. I don't remember going to bed... slowly she sat up as the events of the previous night filtered in. She gave herself a once over, noting that she was still in the clothes from yesterday, which were stained and smelled like sickness, but her leg was wrapped in bandages made from a soft black cloth.

Carefully she slid her feet to the floor, testing their weight while hanging on to her bedframe. The leg didn't want to support her yet, but it wasn't sending waves of heat and nausea throughout her body so she took it as a win. Slowly she made her way around her room, gathering supplies for her hair and a new dress; deciding that nothing sounded better at the moment than a bath to scrub the illness and sand from her.

As she limped from her room and to the stairs it occurred to her that Marrok must have left in the night after she passed out. I wish I could have thanked him for his help at least. She thought. Natalie gripped the rail of the stairs as she took her first step, hoping it would be enough to steady her. What she did not think about was the edge of her clean dress as she stepped on it.

With a yelp Natalie felt her good leg shoot out from under her as she fell, bouncing her rear on every step she clawed at the railing, trying to slow her descent. As she neared the bottom her situation became even worse when her landing zone was replaced by a wall of person.

"Natalie?" Marrok made eye contact with her as she crashed into his legs with a squawk, taking them both to the floor. Natalie felt all the air in her body rush out of her in a giant Oof as his bulk landed on him. They lay there a moment, a pile of tangled limbs before Marrok pushed himself up with his arms, shaking his head and blinking down at her. Natalie stared up at him, confused.

"You're still here?" She groaned. He looked down at her, a sour expression on his face.

"Yes. Why would I leave you when you can't walk?" He pushed himself to his feet with the same fluid motion he had used the day prior before reaching down and pulling her to her feet.

"I didn't think you would care to be honest," she said half to herself as she gathered the clothes that had spilled to the floor. So much for feeling better, She groused internally as she felt what had to be a legendary bruise spreading across her backside. He was looking around while he responded, eyes scanning the corners of the room.

"There would be no point in helping you if I left you to make it worse." His eyes met hers, " Do you have anything to help you walk?"

" I don't think we do." She gestured to the armful of clothes, "I'm going to get clean, I appreciate you staying to help, but please don't go in the bathroom." She said. He made an odd face at the last part.

"I know about privacy," he said, heading towards the front door. Natalie flushed with embarrassment as she stared after him. There was just enough different about him that she had no idea what to expect anymore. With a sigh, she turned and limped to the bathroom. As she worked the pump that drew well water into the basin she reflected on her captor turned companion.

The difference between their first meeting and now was enough to make her head spin. Natalie didn't know whether to be suspicious or relieved. She couldn't deny that she felt grateful for the help- but he had also caused the problem in the first place. And she still didn't know why he had come back. Despite what he had said so far she doubted that helping her was his only purpose here.

She didn't bother to heat the water before stripping and sinking into the basin, letting her bandaged leg hang over the side. The cool water soothed her aches as she lay there, and she let her mind drift as she considered everything she had to do. Injured or not she couldn't let the ranch go untended until her uncle came back. As she scrubbed she made a mental list of everything she couldn't get away with, and the things she could ignore. As she washed her hair she felt the beginning of hunger pangs and decided that food was the first order of the day.

After dressing she opened the door and saw a length of wood leaning against the wall. Picking it up she noticed a natural curve on one side that lent itself to a grip, while the other side was rough, as though it had been broken on that end. A cane she thought, testing her weight on it. The cane was a major success, and within moments Natalie was almost up to full speed.

When she limped into the main foyer she found Marrok sitting cross-legged on the floor. At first, she thought he may have been asleep; what with his eyes being closed and the way his head was leaning against the wall. He's a lot less intimidating when his eyes are closed, she thought. Natalie was debating whether or not to wake him when he opened his eyes and smiled.

Marrok looked at the human as she studied him, noting she looked a lot better for the bath. His gaze lingered on the hand resting at her throat before her voice drew his eyes to meet hers.

"Did I wake you?" She asked, an uncertain look on her face.

"I was not sleeping, and watching me would not be enough to wake me," he responded, pushing himself to his feet.

"Then what were you doing?" She had her head tilted to the side, the towel and hair piled on her head dragging it comically to the side. He debated telling her as he stretched, before deciding that there was little harm. It's not like she wasn't already aware of his kind.

"I was talking with my pack. I was expected home before now and with everything going on...," his voice trailed off as he remembered why he was here, " I still need to speak with you."

Natalie nodded and turned away from him, "we can talk while I cook. I'm famished." She said as she walked towards the kitchen.

"I don't know what that word means," he told her disappearing form as she continued to the pantry. She glanced over her shoulder at him.

"Famished? It means very hungry," she stopped suddenly and turned to look at him, "wait, how were you talking to your pack if they aren't here?" She asked. Marrok tapped his temple. It was hard not to laugh at the shocked look on her face.

"With your mind? How does that work? Do you hear things in your head or do you see hand signs?"

"It is... seeing and feeling. What the other person wishes you to," He explained, wincing at his clumsy use of words. However, she seemed satisfied because she turned around and headed for the room that held the food. He trailed after her, still not trusting her to stay on her feet as she bustled about. As she studied the shelves of supplies he leaned against the door frame, causally filling the space. A small furrow appeared in her brow as she leaned forward and poked through the stores.

"So if your folks can talk like that what's the point in using hand signs?" She asked. He frowned, trying to think of how to say it.

" I am not like my pack. Most can only touch minds as the wolf." She straightened, holding a hard lump of dried meat.

"Aw, I was hoping we had something that wasn't dried into a block." Her face was pulled into a pout as she looked up at him, "So what makes you so unique?" His shoulders slumped at yet another word he didn't know.

"Unique?"

"Different, special. Not like them. I'm sorry I don't mean to keep using words you don't know. I should be trying to help you."

He tilted his head, "You would help me learn?" He asked. She pivoted and began to study the shelf behind her while pointing at her bad leg.

"The way I see it I owe you," she said simply. Then the pout reappeared as she spotted what she had been searching for on the top shelf. Putting the dried meat down she reached for what appeared to be a sack of grain. Marrok watched her until he saw her try to go on tiptoe. Before she could injure herself further he leaned forward and plucked the bag from the shelf.

He could only grin as she spun around to look at him. To his surprise as she looked him up and down the skin on her face went from its regular tawny tone to a bright red. That's... different. He thought. After a moment he decided he quite liked the effect.

"Um. You didn't answer my question," she said after clearing her throat.

"What was that?"

"Why can you do the mind touch thing in this form but other members of your kind cant?" She clarified. Marrok ran a hand through his mohawk before answering.

"I am closer to the wolf than is normal. I don't have the words to explain it. I am not... trained? In these things," He shrugged, then decided to change the subject, "You don't need the dried meat, I hunted in the night. There's plenty left."

Her eyes went wide again as she hesitantly put the dried meat back, "Oh. Well, that works out lovely then." she glanced up at the top shelf, "Could you grab the egg basket?" She asked, walking to the kitchen table after he nodded. He set the eggs on the table as he passed her and went outside, where the antelope was still draining its fluids and quickly sliced off a decent hunk of meat before heading back inside.

Natalie was mixing the ingredients for the cornbread when Marrok returned with the meat he had mentioned. She pointed to the dishrack with her spoon, "could you put that on a plate for now?" The meat went on a plate and he lowered himself into a chair at the table.

"Now we talk?" He asked. Natalie poured the batter into a baking pan.

"What else do you need to know?" She said after a moment. He leaned back and crossed his arms.

"You said you had told us all you knew, but maybe if you know how many there were, or what they were wearing," he said after a moment. A flash of confusion crossed her face as she turned to place the pan in the oven.

"I didn't get the best look, seeing that it was dark," she said as she sat at the table next to him, placing a pot on the floor between them and pulling a sack of potatoes close, "They were wearing dark clothes, black or possibly a dark blue or green. They also wore masks. I think there were more than 5, but how many more I'm not sure. They left in a cart with the beast," she stopped, her head snapping up. Marrok watched her closely as she thought.

"Wait here," she said, grabbing the cane and pushing herself to her feet. He considered following her but she had already disappeared so instead he pulled a knife from his belt and grabbed a potato. As he waited he stretched his legs out, straddling the pot and the other chair. In his mind, the wolf continued its restless stirring; which had not stopped since that night. He had been successful so far in maintaining control but it was far more exhausting than he wanted to admit. Hunting your prey is far less satisfying when it involves peeling potatoes. He mused.

By the time she came back half the potatoes in the bag had been peeled, "I'm sorry that took so long, I was trying to be careful on the stairs-" As she entered the room her eyes went to his hands and she froze. At first, he thought it was the knife he was holding, but then she said, "I only needed 10 or so of those," she covered her mouth for a moment before shrugging, " ah well, I suppose extra food isn't a bad thing,"

"Trust me there won't be extra. I eat constantly," he said, placing the knife next to the pile of potatoes on the table. Natalie leaned down to grab the pot of skins but marrok was already grabbing it and handing it to her, causing the odd color change again, though she only turned pink at that time. As she emptied the pot into a bin he watched her, noting the way she let her hair fall into her face and the way she turned her head slightly away. Odd. He thought.

"The other reason I'm here, the main reason is to invite you to Aani's funeral rites," the pot slipped out of Natalie's hands as she turned to look at him. It hit the floor with a loud metallic crash, causing them both to jump. Natalie scooped the pot up again and clutched it to her frame as she answered.

"What? Why?" Her voice came out in a stammer. Marrok winced, reminded that despite their easy conversation he was responsible for terrorizing her in the last week. He held his hands up in a calming gesture.

"There is a part where we will tell the story of her life, starting from the beginning to the end, each person telling a part," his voice broke off as he struggled to keep the bitter edge out of his voice, "Since I was not awake when she died I cannot tell the last story." He looked at the floor, trying to remain calm as a surge of grief rose. After a moment he felt a small hand, hesitantly rest on his shoulder.

"It's not your fault you know," There was a different tone to her voice, a softness she hadn't heard before. He lifted his head to look at her, not wanting to believe it.

"How could you know?" He asked hotly. A look of pain flashed across her face as the hand retreated. She grabbed the plate of meat and a knife and began to cut it into small chunks.

"I watched, remember?" She said after a moment. He felt the tension leave his body as he nodded.

"Yes. I am... sorry. I have not been handling this well. I actually came to apologize for our first meeting as well."

"Second meeting," she said. He tilted his head.

"When did we meet before then?"

"You woke up for a second as I was bringing you home. When I put the suncream on you and you grabbed me by the neck?" He winced again, then realized she had a small smile on her face.

"Ah," he said after a moment. She pulled a skillet down and placed it on the table before transferring the meat to it.

Then as she started chopping potatoes she told him, "I don't really need an apology. I already figured you weren't thinking right after everything that happened," she shrugged, "And since I didn't think we'd ever have anything nice to say to one another I just decided to accept that and forgive you." Chopped potatoes went into the skillet with the meat. She glanced at him as she chopped more, "honestly I'm glad this has turned out like it has, I'm wickedly curious about you lot."

"So you will come?" He hadn't expected her to be this willing. More potatoes hit the skillet.

"As long as no one else tries to eat me," she said after a moment. He looked up, noticing the smile had grown into a large grin. He returned the smile.

" As long as you don't shoot anyone else," her eyes met his and for a moment he felt stuck before she turned and set the skillet onto the stovetop, adding some oil and spices. There was a moment of comfortable silence as she cooked, the air becoming filled with the smells of good food. Marrok was considering going outside and eating the antelope when Natalie asked another question.

"So when is the funeral?" As she spoke she grabbed two plates and some cutlery. He responded as she pushed the food out of the skillet and onto the plates.

"Tomorrow," She sat one of the plates next to him before grabbing a hand towel and pulling the bread from the oven.

"And It'll be over when?" He waited until she was sitting next to him before responding.

"The next morning," she nodded.

"That should be plenty of time to get back here before sundown. I love my horse but he's not fast," her shoulders slumped, " Ah I forgot all about him, he still hasn't been fed!" She started to rise again but he leaned forward and pushed her back into her seat.

"I did that before you were awake. And I was planning on carrying you. Wolves run faster than horses with fake legs." Her eyebrows arched as she considered the concept.

"Wouldn't that be tiring to carry an entire person?" She asked after a moment. Marrok chuckled.

"I carry multiple members of my pack all the time. And you're tiny compared to them." He laughed again at the look of offense she gained.

"I am not tiny! I'll have you know I am above average height and strong," She said. He grinned at her and stretched his legs out more, one to each side of her chair. Her eyes followed the movement, widening as she saw herself surrounded. Pushing further he leaned forward and grabbed her hands, enveloping both of them in one of his. Their eyes met as he repeated, "Tiny. Tiny hands," he nudged her leg, "tiny legs. I have siblings younger than you that could carry you," he noticed the red had come back as she stared at him, mouth slightly open, "why do you change colors?" He asked. She pulled her hands from his and tucked her hair behind an ear.

"I-I don't turn colors," she stammered. Marrok touched her cheek with a long finger.

"Yes, you do. You're bright red," much to his delight the color grew more intense, and she buried her face in her hands with a small squeak.

"It- it's something that happens when humans get embarrassed or flustered," she said behind her hands. He nodded and went back to his food, noting that she was ignoring her food to study him from behind her fingers. For a moment he considered asking her what 'embarrassed' and 'flustered' meant- but he decided to let it go.

When he was done Marrok rose and stretched, "I must go," he said simply. Natalie nodded and stood as well.

"Before you do," she said, rummaging in her pocket, "here. You should have these," into his hand she placed two small objects. Marrok recognized the bead from his sister's hair. Forgetting the other object he picked it up between his fingers and held it to the light before it was enveloped in a fist and stored in a pouch at his waist. The other object was a small tube that was pointed on one end and feathered on the other.