Stray Werewolf

Teagan took a deep breath, then she cupped her hands around her mouth and howled as loud as she could. "Aaawwooooooo!" The sound was melodic and mournful as she held it as long as she could.

When she finally ran out of air, Teagan was grinning. It was plain fun to be loud out in the wild. From her vantage point up in the hills, she had an excellent view of the setting sun as it illuminated the valley in shades of deep orange. She crouched down and used a stick to poke at her campfire, where several skewers of food were slowly grilling.

Teagan then turned around to the tent she'd set up, reached into a triangular case, and took out her violin—a small, humble musical instrument made of wood, accompanied by a simple bow. She plucked at the steel strings and hummed softly to herself, then with a smooth motion she placed the violin against her shoulder and started drawing the bow back and forth.

Standing beside the campfire, alone out in the wild, Teagan played her violin. The music had a quivering, haunting nature as the woody harmonics of the instrument filled the forest clearing. There was a deep flow to the music, and Teagan let herself get swept up in the melody as she played a smooth, elegant tune from memory.

Minutes later, the song was done but she wasn't. Teagan lowered her violin and bow, then she raised her head to the sky and howled again. "Ooowwwwooo!!"

She paused for a long while to listen for any response, but there was nothing but a faint chirp from a bird and the rustle of the wind in the trees. With a shrug, Teagan raised her violin and played again. This time she made it almost halfway through the song before there was a crack of a twig being stepped on. Teagan's gaze snapped to a series of large bushes at one side of the clearing, but she kept up the smooth motions of her arm as she played her violin.

Five more seconds of music, then ten, and then finally the new arrival showed. Stepping carefully between the bushes came a young man, skinny with a dishevelled appearance. He had sharp, dark brown eyes and a striking face that could have been handsome were it not for the thin, undernourished look he had, and the short but unkempt beard that clung to his cheeks and chin. His hair was a deep brown, almost black, but it was overlong and untrimmed, and just as messy as his clothing. He stood about a half head taller than Teagan, and wore a simple tunic and pants under a grey outdoors coat which looked dirty and torn in a few places.

All that dirt slightly hindered a guess at age, but he looked around mid-twenties. He didn't have a backpack or hiking staff, just empty hands as he stopped at the edge of the clearing and stared at Teagan with a disbelieving expression.

Teagan had been managing to keep in the flow of the music, but the shocked look on the young man's face made her laugh and lose the tune. "Haha. Oh, dang it." She strummed a few more discordant notes, but then she let her bow go still. "No, that's the wrong stanza."

There was a nervous, uncertain energy around the young man, as if he were about to bolt back into the woods, but then he spoke. "Are you... are you a witch?"

That made Teagan laugh again, and for longer this time. "Hahahaha. Me? A witch? Why would you think that?"

The man blinked. He raised a hand and gestured at her. "Because... you're... you're a young woman all alone out in the forest, playing a violin around a campfire as night falls. And were you howling earlier?"

Teagan grinned. "When you put it that way, it does sound like something a witch would do." She put her violin down into its case, then she stepped over and extended her hand. "I'm Teagan. And who are you?"

"Oliver." Oliver hesitantly took her hand and shook it. He had a firm grip, but Teagan could see that his arm was thin and lean, just like the rest of him. His speech was easily understandable but had a subtle regional accent to it—some sounds pronounced differently, with an even cadence to the words. In contrast, Teagan's speech was snappy, clipped, and quick, bearing the impatient tonal intonations of someone coming from the urbanized central regions of the Marlander Empire.

"So you... are a witch?" Oliver asked.

"That depends on your definition." Teagan sat down on a fallen log, and she again used a branch to poke at the campfire. Satisfied that her meat was done cooking, she lifted the skewers off the fire. Several small potatoes were also wrapped in foil and had been baking, and now she rolled them out from the heat. She gestured beside her. "I have some spare food. Care to join a stranger for dinner?"

Oliver's eyes lit up, though after a split second he tried not to look quite as desperately hungry as he evidently was. "I don't have any coin to pay you."

"Then it's charity." Teagan passed over one of the meat skewers.

"Thank you. You're most kind." Oliver took the food, and then he immediately took several ravenous bites, pulling chunks of meat from the wooden skewer. He immediately winced from the heat and was more cautious as he ate, but he was clearly hungry. "Mhhm... Thank you. Thanks..." He sat down on the log, not right beside her, but with a decent distance between them.

"No problem." Teagan cautiously ate some of the food too, but she watched Oliver closely. "What brings you out here? Do you live on one of the nearby farms?" she casually asked, with a friendly smile.

Oliver froze mid-bite, and it took him a few seconds too long to respond to such a simple question. "It's complicated. My family runs the farm on the north side of the valley, but I've been staying in town. Or I was staying in town until... well, things are complicated." He nodded towards Teagan. "The town of Ridgewood is barely half a league to the southeast. If you were a normal traveller, I imagine you would rest the night in the inn there, not stay out into the forest and set up camp?"

Teagan's smile became genuine. She offered a couple more skewers of meat to Oliver, which he took with a thankful nod. "Very deductive. Or perhaps I have other reasons for being out here in the wild?"

"What reason would that be?" Oliver's gaze darted up and down her form. "Are you a witch? But your cloak doesn't have the Magician's Guild logo. And you're not wearing a wand holster."

"I'm not a witch, not in that sense. But I am a traveller, yes. I was travelling through the valley and passing through Ridgewood when I heard some interesting news." Teagan reached down to her violin case—which had space for the instrument itself, the bow that came with it, and also several other compartments—and she tried to remove something, but it was hard to do while still holding onto her skewer of grilled meat. Teagan pushed her long, tawny hair behind her ears, then she put the skewer sideway into her mouth and held it with her teeth. Using both hands now, she opened the compartment of her violin case and pulled out a folded, crumpled piece of paper.

Teagan unfolded and smoothed out the paper, which was a leaflet with a simple message. "A wolf has been spotted lurking near the town at night, rummaging through garbage bins for scraps and prowling around the outskirts. There's a reward of twenty gold coins offered by the town guard for hunting down the beast. Now that the wild creature has shown itself willing to enter the town, they worry it'll be eating children or livestock next."

Oliver didn't visibly react to this information, but again he took a bit too long to think it through. His eyes were sharp, and thoughts were running quickly through his head, yet he stayed quiet. Finally he glanced at Teagan again, looking a tad more wary of her. "So you're a hunter looking to collect a bounty? Or an adventurer on a quest?"

Teagan grinned again. "Something like that. Or maybe I am just a witch?" She gestured with a finger, as if jabbing something through the air. "Pew, pew. Spells, magic. Poof, you're now a toad. Haha."

Oliver chuckled too, but slightly nervously. "Heh. I... don't know what to make of this. If you were a magician, you ought to be wearing the guild insignia and have a wand or a staff. But if you were a hunter or adventurer, then you should have a sword or a spear or even a bow."

Teagan waved her violin bow. "I do have a bow." Abruptly she stood up and dropped her bow back into the violin case, before snapping off the last bits of meat and tossing the wooden skewer into the campfire. Then she closed the distance towards Oliver.

Oliver tensed up as he approached—he put a hand down on the log and leaned forward, as if about to leap to his feet and flee, but he held his nerve as Teagan approached. "What are you doing...?"

Teagan put her hand on his shoulder and leaned slightly closer, then she stepped back and folded her arms. "Hmm. Look at you. What's a boy like you doing out here in the woods?"

"I... boy like me? What's that mean?" Oliver shook his head, but he remained stiff, like a wild animal about to bolt. "What are you doing out here in the woods?" he countered.

Teagan let out a chuckle. "Hah! I told you already. I'm a traveller passing through the valley, taking a little detour to try hunting for a wolf. You can drop the act. I know what you are."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Oliver instantly replied, but he wouldn't meet her eyes.

Teagan folded her arms again. The awkwardness was contagious, and now it made her doubt her own assumptions. "Hmm. Well I... I just thought you... I assumed... but... fine." She sat back down on the log with her arms still crossed. "But you... hmfh."

After some thought, she took out her canteen. Teagan removed the cup that covered the metal bottle and poured water into it. She took a long swig to quench her thirst, then she reached into her violin case and took out a tea bag, which she tossed into the cup before leaving it beside the fire for some warmth.

Then she picked up a baked potato. Peeling back the foil, she blew at the steaming hot food to cool it down before taking a bite. She picked up a second baked potato and offered it towards Oliver—he raised his hand, then caught the potato deftly when she tossed it towards him.

For a moment both of them ate in silence, watching each other with a mutual sense of suspicious curiosity. Oliver had an intensity to his gaze, which made Teagan grin faintly, and that appeared to make him even more suspicious.

After another few minutes had passed, Teagan took her cup from the fire and sniffed at it—she could smell the fresh, herbal scent of the tea as it quickly infused from the teabag. She raised the cup to her mouth and pretended to drink, but the liquid never touched her lips. Then she offered the cup to the young man sitting on the log beside her. "Want a drink? It's tea."

Oliver took the cup. "Oh, sure. Thanks. Tea from Teagan. Haha."

Teagan tried and failed to hold back a laugh. "Hah. You silly... Just drink it."

Oliver cautiously took a sip, then held back a cough. "Ahk. Huh. Spicy. What sort of tea is this?"

"Just a blend of some things. Dried leaves of pepper, mango, parsley. You know...?"

"Unusual. I've never tried a peppery tea." Oliver shrugged and took another gulp, but the taste didn't agree with him. He swallowed to be polite, then he passed the cup back to her. Teagan put the tea down without drinking.

A few seconds later, Oliver coughed again. "Ahkk." He thumped his fist against his chest, then coughed again. "Ahk, ahem."

Teagan watched curiously. This time she was the one leaning forward, ready to jump to a stand. "You alright, Oliver?"

Oliver coughed again. "Your tea really leaves an aftertaste. Feels like it's burning in my..." He tried to stand, but then a strong bout of coughs made him bend over and drop down to the grass. He immediately tried to get back up, however a shudder went through his body and he stumbled back down to the ground. "No, wait...!"

"I knew it. I knew it!" Teagan leapt to her feet. Right before her eyes, a shimmer ran over Oliver and he changed. Underneath his clothing, his body twisted and shifted as his limbs altered in length, and hair started sprouting on every inch of exposed skin that was visible, quickly thickening into dark grey fur. Even his face changed—first with thick hair that became fur covering his skin, then with his mouth and nose stretching out into a canine snout, while his ears became large, triangular, and moving to the top of his head.

Teagan had been expecting it, yet she still found herself frozen as curiosity got the better of her. Where before had been a young man, now there was a wild animal—a wolf—still tangled up in the shirt, pants, and coat he had been wearing before. Down on four limbs, the beast flailed about, trying to run but with limbs caught in the clothing. The wolf tried to struggle out of the shirt, but thick fur meant that clothes didn't fit well, and those big ears didn't make it any easier. In a wild blind panic, the wolf crashed into Teagan's tent and took down the simple structure, ending up tangled up in the tent sheets.

"Hey! That's my tent!" Teagan exclaimed. As one of the stakes came free from the ground, she grabbed onto the rope to yank it back. By luck, pulling on the rope made a loop tighten around the wolf's neck.

Teagan held the rope firmly with both hands as the wolf continued to flail about in panic. Each movement just made the rope loop tighten, not enough to choke, but enough to restrain. Still entrapped in clothing and tent sheeting, the wolf attempted to stand up on all fours and run away, yet the creature couldn't get free from the rope loop that Teagan was holding onto, and not to mention still being entangled by clothes. The beast was large—the size of a huge dog, with head coming up to around Teagan's waist, but she held firm even as the wolf struggled and flailed, trying to get free.

Finally the wolf stropped and went limp. The beast slumped down sideways amongst the collapsed remnants of Teagan's tent, with limbs, body, and tail all still trapped by clothing. "Ahhh... Hahh..." After a few pants, wide, dark eyes fixed on Teagan and he struggled back to a shaky four-legged stand. "Please don't kill me!" Oliver said, in much the same voice as before.

"So you can talk," Teagan replied sharply. She made a few tugs of the rope for emphasis. "Yeah. Yeah! What's the hell is your problem?!"

"Don't hurt me. It's me. I'm... I'm Oliver. I'm a... a werewolf," stammered the wolf.

"Yeah, I know you're a werewolf. Obviously!" Teagan snapped. "Well done. You've demolished my tent."

Oliver shook his head, a very human looking gesture for a wolf. His hackles were raised, and his ears were folded flat against his head. He tried again to pull free, but Teagan held firm. "Let me... let me go! You're surprisingly strong. Let me go or... or I'll bite you!" He bared his teeth, but looked more terrified than threatening.

Teagan was unintimidated. "You'll bite me?"

"I'll bite you! There would be blood and it would be painful and scary! And I'm a werewolf, so you might end up a werewolf too! How horrible."

Teagan was completely unintimidated. "Oh, horrible, you say?"

"Please let me go," he begged.

Teagan frowned. "Ok, relax. I'm going to untangle you from my tent. Just hold still." She strolled closer and then started pulling on the tent poles and sheets, eventually managing to find the part that kept the rope looped around Oliver's neck. The werewolf's eyes darted about as he watched her every move, but he kept completely still as she gradually loosened the rope loop until she could lift it off his neck. Teagan took a step back. "There. See? Better?"

Oliver stayed frozen even though he was now free. Wolves were supposed to be powerful apex predators, but there was nervous panic visible in his eyes. Then he spun around and bolted. Oliver got barely two steps before getting tripped up in his clothing again and falling to the ground, yet he frantically scrambled back to his four feet and half-ran, half-shuffled his way out of the clearing and back into the forest again.

Now it was Teagan's turn to stand frozen, not from panic but confusion. "I just don't understand people sometimes... was that my fault? Maybe that was my fault." She dropped the tentpole she was holding and tossed more firewood into her campfire, then she crossed her arms and sighed at the sight of her tent.

It took a good half hour for Teagan to partially dismantle, then reassemble her tent, checking all the parts for any damage. Her tent was just a small, simple thing made for light camping, enough to withstand wind and some rain, but certainly it hadn't been made to survive a panicked charge by a wolf.

By the time she was done, the sun was getting low on the horizon and Teagan wiped sweat from her brow. "I should have just stayed in Ridgewood and rented a room from the inn," she muttered to herself.

As she sat down on the fallen log again, her gaze drifted over to the leaflet from earlier. "Wolf Spotted near Town Outskirts! Do not leave elderly or children alone outdoors. Twenty Gold for Kill or Capture", read the paper. So much for that—she'd found the wolf, but he wasn't just a wolf, and she strongly doubted she was going to see him again.

Teagan crumpled the leaflet into a ball and tossed it at her campfire. She missed. The paper ball merely landed in the grass. Ignoring it, Teagan picked up her violin again and calmed her mind. The wolf—that boy, Oliver—had just been a distraction anyway. Yet if only she had approached things in a different way, said something different, done things differently... but it wasn't worth worrying about.

Humming softly to herself, Teagan resumed playing. With quick, light movements of her bow over the violin, she played a fast, chippy tune that flowed over and over, building up until it filled the forest clearing with lively energy. Her fingers danced over the strings without any thought, using musical muscle memory acquired through years of practice.

Teagan took a deep breath as the music filled her, melodious and grand.

In that moment it was just her and the music, but then movement. Teagan nearly lost her melody, but she forced herself to concentrate. Don't look, she tried to tell herself, unsuccessfully. She watched, still playing her violin, as Oliver cautiously peeked around from behind a bush. The werewolf was mostly free of his shabby, poorly fitting clothing, and was now only wearing his cloak loosely draped over his back as his stood on four legs, watching her play. Teagan opened her mouth to say something to him, but then she decided to keep the music going instead.

As she let the quick paced song repeat, Oliver slowly approached the campfire again, drawn by curiosity that overruled fear. He cocked his head to the side, and one ear twitched as Teagan played a flourish of particularly high-pitched notes.

"What song is that? That sounds familiar. I've heard that before." Unexpectedly, pleasingly, Oliver joined in the music. It started off with a soft whine from his throat, but then he started humming along with the song. Wolves could howl tremendously loud, but instead he softly harmonized. "Hmmm, hmmmm..."

Teagan hummed along too, and just in that moment it felt like a connection was formed between them. Softly she murmured the lyrics to herself. "Mano kukar kar-koureouma, rano... Mano kukar kar-koureouma..."

"Meno, what? Is that some sort of spell?" Oliver looked less worried now, and instead openly intrigued, as if the ability to play good music proved Teagan was to be trusted. Or perhaps he simply enjoyed the music, just as she did. The wolf bounced about between his paws and his ears perked up. "Are those words of power? No, that's ocari!"