Numair, Daine and the wolf/man
"Stop!" Cried the tall black haired man thrashing around in bed. "No! No! Leave her
alone! DAINE!"
"Numair, Numair?" Daine was awake and at his side hovering like a hen over it's
chicks. She rested a gentle hand on his shoulder and murmured comforting words to her
love.
He quieted slowly and was sleeping peacefully when there was a knock at the door,
"Who is it?" Daine asked opening the door a crack, "Oh, Tkaa hello."
"How is he?" Asked the tall lizard walking into the room.
"Still no good, I don't know what to do. The healers can't do anything for him. I've
tried all the natural things. It's like when he was a hawk, there's nothing I can do." Her
tear filled eyes met the immortals, "He's going to die. I don't want him to but he is.
Even Alanna couldn't bring him back,"
"Can you tell me what happened?" Tkaa asked. "I know it's a strange tale, but I may be
able to help."
The young woman sighed and went back in time:
They were in their room having a quite dinner, Numair was speaking, "Well can I go
with you?"
She smiled. "Of course love, the rabbit's not far let's walk."
Later that night after she had found and healed the rabbit, a terror stricken fox almost ran
into Daine's legs.
{What's wrong?} Daine asked trying to use her magic to calm the creature down.
{There's hunters! A creature! There running around the forest, no one knows what it
is!} The fox was in panic. It passed out at her feet. Cloud and picked up the
unconscious fox.
"Daine? What is-"
There was a crash in the woods, "Numair, I'm scared. I feel something, but..."
It appeared from the trees, a half human half wolf. A wolf that walked upright, it's legs,
arms and chest were human, it was seven feet tall. A human with a wolf's long snout
and tail. It's body covered in thick black and brown hair. There was no mistaking that it
was male.
"What on earth?" Numair asked shocked as the creature looked at them. It's amber eyes
intelligent.
"Heiriop mifre." It said in a thick accented voice. The words muffled and strange in an
animal that did not know how to speak.
"Preleus!"
"What's it saying, Numair?"
"It-He's saying help me, please."
Daine handed Numair the fox and walked up to the creature, Numair tried to stop her but
she was focused on the frightened thing. "I won't hurt you." She said when she was a
foot away from it.
He looked down at her, amazed. His powerful nose caught the scent of all the animals
the young woman had visited that day. From across the clearing the creature could see
the tall man and could smell the dusty books the man had been buried in for most of his
day. He could also smell the fear in both of them.
"Hunters." He said looking over his shoulder.
There was the blow of a horn and the barking of hound dogs from deep in the forest.
"He's being hunted," Daine said, "We can't let him get caught."
"Daine, you don't know why he's being hunted. He could have killed someone."
But already Daine had called to the dogs and asked them to lead the hunters away.
She took the creatures hand, the wolf/man flinched. "Now tell us what happened, who's
chasing you, and why?"
He sighed and looked back:
Hungry, cold and wet the wolf/man stumbled into the village. He could smell the food in
the market, and his stomach growled. He went into an ally and crouched near a garbage
bin.
There was a crash and bang the wolf/man looked over. There was a large muscled man
standing over a frightened young girl with a ripped blouse. The wolf/man's keen ears
caught their words.
"You better give me what I want," The man was saying.
"No, I will not dishonor myself!" Said the young pale faced girl with dark black hair and
blue eyes who looked about sixteen.
"You will do what I say. No one cares for you, you are a commoner. A nothing. I am a
squire and am owed obedience." He covered her mouth with one hand and grabbed for
her breasts with the other. The girl scratched and kicked to no avail, the man was much
larger and stronger.
His hand was just going under her skirt when the man/wolf realized that he had to do
something. With a roar he jumped from his hiding spot and lept on the man.
"What?!" The man screamed and ran a large claw scratch bleeding heavily on his left
leg.
The wolf/man looked at the girl. She looked at him her eyes filled with graditude and
fear. She re-buttoned her blouse and put her skirt over her legs.
"Um, um, t-thank you," She said weakly, her eyes red and puffy with tears.
The wolf/man only stared at her. His chest rising and falling. The girl saw that she could
see his ribs through his skin. She could even count them.
"Are you hungry? Do you need food?" She picked up a basket of food she had dropped
and got a loaf of bread. She held it out to him. He looked at it, his long snout came a
little closer, but he pulled it away and shook his head. "Would you rather have meat?"
The girl asked.
The wolf/man shook his head again. He took a step back when the girl got to her feet.
"You aren't afraid of me are you?" The girl asked amused. "You shouldn't be. I
couldn't hurt you." She offered the bread again, "Please take this. You saved my honor,
it's the least I can do."
He reached out a clawed, furred hand and took the bread. He tore into it with hunger and
savored every bite. The girl's looked into his amber eyes.
"Can you speak?" She asked him.
"Yires." He said quietly.
"Not well though," She said, he nodded. "Do you have a name?"
"Breieaeist." he said looking at her. "Crearutar."
"Beast? Creature?" He nodded. "Those aren't names. Well they are names but they're
not your name."
He looked at her, "Yoreur narme?"
"My name? Tanya."
"Tarnyar?"
"No, Tanya. Tan-ya"
"Tanya?"
She smiled, "Yes. Very good. So what should I call you? How about Markus? That
was my daddy's name."
"Was?"
"He was killed in the immortals war." He looked at her clearly confused, "Three years
ago immortals helped our enemies, and some helped us in a war. My father was at Pirate
Swoop when he was killed in a fight with a killer centaur."
"Suorrie." Said Markus.
"It's okay. I missed him but soon I had other things to worry about. There was no one to
help me so I had to become a servant at an old woman's house. It's not bad. It's not
much and she doesn't give me a place to sleep, but I've found a place to live. It's not far,
you want to come? You could hide there. You don't look like you can walk out in the
open."
Markus nodded and followed her through another network of allies into one that had a
hidden niche where Tanya had put some blankets and other things. "You can stay here."
Markus sat on the blanket. Tanya sighed, "I'll see you later, I have to go back to work..."
While Tanya was away Markus feel asleep. It was just getting dark when he was woke
up. There was a warm body next to him. He sat up startled. Tanya was sleeping next to
him, he looked down at her sleeping figure. Her soft lips were parted a little to let her
sweet breath into her lungs and out again. A whisp of her hair was in her face. He was
brushing it away when she opened her eyes.
He moved away, ashamed.
The girl yawned and looked over at him. She sat up stretching. "Markus, it's okay. You
didn't do anything wrong." She held out her hand, he took it. She pulled him closer.
His hair rose all over his body. She looked into his eyes, they were inches away from
each other, and saw the fear.
"What are you afraid of?" She asked.
"Everyone." He said clearly.
She blinked at him. "You shouldn't be. There are good people out there. There are.
You have to believe me."
"But, preople heurt. They heurt me."
"Do I?"
"No." He admitted looking away.
Tanya was about to say something when the barking began. Markus's ears went up.
"Thuerue lueooking fer mifre."
"Looking for you? Who?" Then she remembered. "The squire, he must have said
something."
"I herf to gro."
"No, they can't find you here, just hide here." She pleaded.
Markus got up and had to duck a little so he didn't knock himself out. He shook his head
down at her. "Theire'll firnd mifre. Kill mifre."
"Let me go with you. Please."
"Whery?"
"I think I love you." She said blushing. She packed a bag with some food, blankets and
clothing then strapped it to her back.
He stared at her, amber eyes were wide. He licked a cut on his paw thinking if she could
really love him. But the dog barks brought him back, he had no time for those thoughts.
"Crome." He took her hand and they ran out of the niche through the sleeping streets and
into the outlying forest. Markus was surprised at how fast Tanya could run she was right
beside him, jumping over fallen trees and running through streams and brambles.
After many hours they were safe. They had lost the hunters. "We can't go back. It's not
safe for both of us." Tanya said.
"I'm soerie." He said looking down at her.
"that's okay. I think we should stay in these woods. It's safe. I know how to camp. It
will just be a longer trip."
They searched the woods till they found a clearing and old wolf den. Markus worked on
the den for hours till it was large enough for both of them. They settled in, Markus and
Tanya got leaves put them on the floor making a nice soft layer. Tanya got the blanket
out of her bag and put it in one corner, a bed.
A year later:
Tanya was sleeping when Markus woke her up. "Hunters. There nearby there going to
come soon, we have to run." His speech was much better with a year of coaching from
Tanya.
Tanya got up heaving her body. Her stomach was bulging with pregnancy. She placed a
hand on her stomach. "Should I pack a bag?"
He put his thumb/claw in his mouth, "Yes, do that. I don't know if we'll get back."
She did that and they ran into the woods again. They ran a little slower this time because
of Tanya's load.
The stopped in a clearing between the middle of a little pond in a . There was a rock
where Tanya sat. They stopped to think, they could hear the hounds behind them gaining
ground. There was a thicket to the side that looked like it could hide a bear, Markus
looked down at the sweat soaked, dirt covered girl. "Tanya. Hide, over there."
"Hide, but Markus I don't want you to..."
"Go!" He growled.
She looked up to him her eyes filled with tears. She reached up and pulled his face close
to hers. "Please, don't get yourself get killed." She kissed his nose and ran to hide.
He looked where she had gone into the thickets and ran back the way he had come.
He ran so that the dogs would hear him again and follow him. And not find her.
That's when he stumbled into Daine and Numair.
"Tanya." He said, "I have to go back. She's with child."
Numair was looking at Markus in the strangest way. "Where you always like this?"
"What?"
"Were you always a wolf/man?" Numair studied Markus.
"No."
"What were you?"
"A man."
"Did you have a name?"
"Jamal."
"Jamal Kinntyu?"
"Yes, how do you?"
"Don't you remember me? Numair Salmalin?" Jamal shook his head, "Arram Draper?"
"Arram! You look different, your hair."
"What happened?" Numair asked.
He shrugged "A spell went wrong. I was shapshifting and got stuck."
"But how are you in Tortall I saw you in Carthak before I fled."
"I want to go back to Tanya, she needs me."
"Yes Numair, he said she's pregnant we should see if she's all right." Daine spoke up
finally.
They walked into the woods until they found Tanya. She was laying in the thicket
hiding.
******************************
So why is Numair sick? What will happen? Stay tunned...
"Stop!" Cried the tall black haired man thrashing around in bed. "No! No! Leave her
alone! DAINE!"
"Numair, Numair?" Daine was awake and at his side hovering like a hen over it's
chicks. She rested a gentle hand on his shoulder and murmured comforting words to her
love.
He quieted slowly and was sleeping peacefully when there was a knock at the door,
"Who is it?" Daine asked opening the door a crack, "Oh, Tkaa hello."
"How is he?" Asked the tall lizard walking into the room.
"Still no good, I don't know what to do. The healers can't do anything for him. I've
tried all the natural things. It's like when he was a hawk, there's nothing I can do." Her
tear filled eyes met the immortals, "He's going to die. I don't want him to but he is.
Even Alanna couldn't bring him back,"
"Can you tell me what happened?" Tkaa asked. "I know it's a strange tale, but I may be
able to help."
The young woman sighed and went back in time:
They were in their room having a quite dinner, Numair was speaking, "Well can I go
with you?"
She smiled. "Of course love, the rabbit's not far let's walk."
Later that night after she had found and healed the rabbit, a terror stricken fox almost ran
into Daine's legs.
{What's wrong?} Daine asked trying to use her magic to calm the creature down.
{There's hunters! A creature! There running around the forest, no one knows what it
is!} The fox was in panic. It passed out at her feet. Cloud and picked up the
unconscious fox.
"Daine? What is-"
There was a crash in the woods, "Numair, I'm scared. I feel something, but..."
It appeared from the trees, a half human half wolf. A wolf that walked upright, it's legs,
arms and chest were human, it was seven feet tall. A human with a wolf's long snout
and tail. It's body covered in thick black and brown hair. There was no mistaking that it
was male.
"What on earth?" Numair asked shocked as the creature looked at them. It's amber eyes
intelligent.
"Heiriop mifre." It said in a thick accented voice. The words muffled and strange in an
animal that did not know how to speak.
"Preleus!"
"What's it saying, Numair?"
"It-He's saying help me, please."
Daine handed Numair the fox and walked up to the creature, Numair tried to stop her but
she was focused on the frightened thing. "I won't hurt you." She said when she was a
foot away from it.
He looked down at her, amazed. His powerful nose caught the scent of all the animals
the young woman had visited that day. From across the clearing the creature could see
the tall man and could smell the dusty books the man had been buried in for most of his
day. He could also smell the fear in both of them.
"Hunters." He said looking over his shoulder.
There was the blow of a horn and the barking of hound dogs from deep in the forest.
"He's being hunted," Daine said, "We can't let him get caught."
"Daine, you don't know why he's being hunted. He could have killed someone."
But already Daine had called to the dogs and asked them to lead the hunters away.
She took the creatures hand, the wolf/man flinched. "Now tell us what happened, who's
chasing you, and why?"
He sighed and looked back:
Hungry, cold and wet the wolf/man stumbled into the village. He could smell the food in
the market, and his stomach growled. He went into an ally and crouched near a garbage
bin.
There was a crash and bang the wolf/man looked over. There was a large muscled man
standing over a frightened young girl with a ripped blouse. The wolf/man's keen ears
caught their words.
"You better give me what I want," The man was saying.
"No, I will not dishonor myself!" Said the young pale faced girl with dark black hair and
blue eyes who looked about sixteen.
"You will do what I say. No one cares for you, you are a commoner. A nothing. I am a
squire and am owed obedience." He covered her mouth with one hand and grabbed for
her breasts with the other. The girl scratched and kicked to no avail, the man was much
larger and stronger.
His hand was just going under her skirt when the man/wolf realized that he had to do
something. With a roar he jumped from his hiding spot and lept on the man.
"What?!" The man screamed and ran a large claw scratch bleeding heavily on his left
leg.
The wolf/man looked at the girl. She looked at him her eyes filled with graditude and
fear. She re-buttoned her blouse and put her skirt over her legs.
"Um, um, t-thank you," She said weakly, her eyes red and puffy with tears.
The wolf/man only stared at her. His chest rising and falling. The girl saw that she could
see his ribs through his skin. She could even count them.
"Are you hungry? Do you need food?" She picked up a basket of food she had dropped
and got a loaf of bread. She held it out to him. He looked at it, his long snout came a
little closer, but he pulled it away and shook his head. "Would you rather have meat?"
The girl asked.
The wolf/man shook his head again. He took a step back when the girl got to her feet.
"You aren't afraid of me are you?" The girl asked amused. "You shouldn't be. I
couldn't hurt you." She offered the bread again, "Please take this. You saved my honor,
it's the least I can do."
He reached out a clawed, furred hand and took the bread. He tore into it with hunger and
savored every bite. The girl's looked into his amber eyes.
"Can you speak?" She asked him.
"Yires." He said quietly.
"Not well though," She said, he nodded. "Do you have a name?"
"Breieaeist." he said looking at her. "Crearutar."
"Beast? Creature?" He nodded. "Those aren't names. Well they are names but they're
not your name."
He looked at her, "Yoreur narme?"
"My name? Tanya."
"Tarnyar?"
"No, Tanya. Tan-ya"
"Tanya?"
She smiled, "Yes. Very good. So what should I call you? How about Markus? That
was my daddy's name."
"Was?"
"He was killed in the immortals war." He looked at her clearly confused, "Three years
ago immortals helped our enemies, and some helped us in a war. My father was at Pirate
Swoop when he was killed in a fight with a killer centaur."
"Suorrie." Said Markus.
"It's okay. I missed him but soon I had other things to worry about. There was no one to
help me so I had to become a servant at an old woman's house. It's not bad. It's not
much and she doesn't give me a place to sleep, but I've found a place to live. It's not far,
you want to come? You could hide there. You don't look like you can walk out in the
open."
Markus nodded and followed her through another network of allies into one that had a
hidden niche where Tanya had put some blankets and other things. "You can stay here."
Markus sat on the blanket. Tanya sighed, "I'll see you later, I have to go back to work..."
While Tanya was away Markus feel asleep. It was just getting dark when he was woke
up. There was a warm body next to him. He sat up startled. Tanya was sleeping next to
him, he looked down at her sleeping figure. Her soft lips were parted a little to let her
sweet breath into her lungs and out again. A whisp of her hair was in her face. He was
brushing it away when she opened her eyes.
He moved away, ashamed.
The girl yawned and looked over at him. She sat up stretching. "Markus, it's okay. You
didn't do anything wrong." She held out her hand, he took it. She pulled him closer.
His hair rose all over his body. She looked into his eyes, they were inches away from
each other, and saw the fear.
"What are you afraid of?" She asked.
"Everyone." He said clearly.
She blinked at him. "You shouldn't be. There are good people out there. There are.
You have to believe me."
"But, preople heurt. They heurt me."
"Do I?"
"No." He admitted looking away.
Tanya was about to say something when the barking began. Markus's ears went up.
"Thuerue lueooking fer mifre."
"Looking for you? Who?" Then she remembered. "The squire, he must have said
something."
"I herf to gro."
"No, they can't find you here, just hide here." She pleaded.
Markus got up and had to duck a little so he didn't knock himself out. He shook his head
down at her. "Theire'll firnd mifre. Kill mifre."
"Let me go with you. Please."
"Whery?"
"I think I love you." She said blushing. She packed a bag with some food, blankets and
clothing then strapped it to her back.
He stared at her, amber eyes were wide. He licked a cut on his paw thinking if she could
really love him. But the dog barks brought him back, he had no time for those thoughts.
"Crome." He took her hand and they ran out of the niche through the sleeping streets and
into the outlying forest. Markus was surprised at how fast Tanya could run she was right
beside him, jumping over fallen trees and running through streams and brambles.
After many hours they were safe. They had lost the hunters. "We can't go back. It's not
safe for both of us." Tanya said.
"I'm soerie." He said looking down at her.
"that's okay. I think we should stay in these woods. It's safe. I know how to camp. It
will just be a longer trip."
They searched the woods till they found a clearing and old wolf den. Markus worked on
the den for hours till it was large enough for both of them. They settled in, Markus and
Tanya got leaves put them on the floor making a nice soft layer. Tanya got the blanket
out of her bag and put it in one corner, a bed.
A year later:
Tanya was sleeping when Markus woke her up. "Hunters. There nearby there going to
come soon, we have to run." His speech was much better with a year of coaching from
Tanya.
Tanya got up heaving her body. Her stomach was bulging with pregnancy. She placed a
hand on her stomach. "Should I pack a bag?"
He put his thumb/claw in his mouth, "Yes, do that. I don't know if we'll get back."
She did that and they ran into the woods again. They ran a little slower this time because
of Tanya's load.
The stopped in a clearing between the middle of a little pond in a . There was a rock
where Tanya sat. They stopped to think, they could hear the hounds behind them gaining
ground. There was a thicket to the side that looked like it could hide a bear, Markus
looked down at the sweat soaked, dirt covered girl. "Tanya. Hide, over there."
"Hide, but Markus I don't want you to..."
"Go!" He growled.
She looked up to him her eyes filled with tears. She reached up and pulled his face close
to hers. "Please, don't get yourself get killed." She kissed his nose and ran to hide.
He looked where she had gone into the thickets and ran back the way he had come.
He ran so that the dogs would hear him again and follow him. And not find her.
That's when he stumbled into Daine and Numair.
"Tanya." He said, "I have to go back. She's with child."
Numair was looking at Markus in the strangest way. "Where you always like this?"
"What?"
"Were you always a wolf/man?" Numair studied Markus.
"No."
"What were you?"
"A man."
"Did you have a name?"
"Jamal."
"Jamal Kinntyu?"
"Yes, how do you?"
"Don't you remember me? Numair Salmalin?" Jamal shook his head, "Arram Draper?"
"Arram! You look different, your hair."
"What happened?" Numair asked.
He shrugged "A spell went wrong. I was shapshifting and got stuck."
"But how are you in Tortall I saw you in Carthak before I fled."
"I want to go back to Tanya, she needs me."
"Yes Numair, he said she's pregnant we should see if she's all right." Daine spoke up
finally.
They walked into the woods until they found Tanya. She was laying in the thicket
hiding.
******************************
So why is Numair sick? What will happen? Stay tunned...