Chapter Four: Barren Wastes of the Desert

Eyes widening with the realization, Lo nods once and starts to rise but barely has time to shift her feet under her when she's in the air again. Opening her mouth in protest...her legs are fine, it's just her arm that's a problem...Lo winces at the slightest jostle and closes her mouth again. Whether or not her legs function is besides the point; everything else hurts and right now she'll just slow him down.

Leaning into his soft fur, she listens to his worries. Jacquelyn...her brothers...probably Yavin as well...all in danger because of one crazed man. Whoever this person is, whatever his reasons for doing the things he does...he's too dangerous to let live. Nodding again, Lo thinks quickly. "If it's ok with you, I'd like to go back to the guest house, at the very least to let everyone know that i'm ok. But...do we need to continue the secrecy? I suppose secrecy is how Mother saved me...how I've lived this long, but if we're certain he knows now...I just don't see the point of all the secrets. Unless you think it's worthwhile to keep."

Looking up at the moonlight, Lo idly wonders if everyone is asleep already. Well they'll have to wake someone up, or hopefully someone is still awake. Looking up again, Lo grins. "Cirro can heal. I don't know how much yet, but I'm not worried...I'll be fine by morning. But...did you want to start hunting the earth for one crazed man tonight, or is sleep an acceptable alternative?"

Brynoff was already running through things in his head and almost didn't hear Lopiena when she asked about sleep. He finally chuckled embarrassedly and nodded. "Of course. I'm sorry. You must be exhausted." He nodded again. "Sleep is of course the first task. I will let you get some rest with your companions while I keep watch outside."

They reached the guest house in record time, Brynoff's strong legs carried them far quite quickly. He set her down and made sure she was steady before opening the door for her. "I will ensure this home is protected by my silencing charm. No one outside of it will be able to hear you. I will let you decide if you want to tell the secret or not. For... it is your secret to tell." He smiled at her. "I will be here if you should have need of me. We will speak on the morrow." He bowed his head to her before closing the door and leaving her alone in the lobby.

Cirro was fast asleep in a large arm chair near the door, having fallen asleep while waiting for her return. Jacquelyn was upstairs in one of the rooms, curled up with a Wolf Cyna as they slept.

Likewise, in another room, Ashwyn and Sigurd were still curled together, with Pip cuddling nearby. The whole house was silent.

Astounded at how fast they arrived at the guest house, Lo sways slightly at finally supporting her own weight again. Putting her unbroken arm on the door frame for balance, Lo grins up at Brynoff. "It has been quite a night, hasn't it? Thank you for...well, everything. I owe you my life many times over. And...don't you need sleep as well? The silencing charm is a great idea, but guarding the house...you will let us know if something happens outside, right?" Carefully settling her weight on her own two feet, she places her arm on Brynoff. "Please, take care. I haven't found my father again after all this time just to lose you now." Smiling her good night, Lo enters the silent house.

Looking around in the dim lighting, Lo considers for one brief moment that a bit of light would be remarkably helpful but decides against it. Carefully moving her feet in a circular pattern so she can find any obstructions before tripping over them, she first goes to her pack and staff. After searching around in the dark for a moment or three, Lo finally finds the pouch of leaves she was looking for. placing one under her tongue while locating a flask of water, Lo drinks long and deep...she felt like she'd lost all of the water in her body through her eyes!...before finally chewing and swallowing the leaf. Carefully picking her way to Cirro asleep in the chair, she hesitates. Waking up anyone in the dark in a strange house is usually not a good idea, especially since they've had to fight for their lives so often...maybe some light would have been useful after all. Still not wanting to blind anyone with a sudden light, Lo decides that the best place to go would be behind something so the light is reflected rather than direct...but while focusing on finding something to reflect light, Lo forgets to circle her feet and runs into a wall with her broken arm. Crying out in pain, jerking her body back only to trip on her feet and fall backwards, crying out in pain again as the force of the fall jostles her arm again...so much for not startling anyone awake! Curled up on herself, Lo tries to at least make some light...oh yeah, those glowing ropes prevented her spells from working for four hours...so no light, either. Well say something at least!
"It's just me...sorry for scaring you..."

There was a thud and a scream and the sent of blood, that was enough send Sigurd out of bed, as he rolled he shifted into his dire wolf form and stalked his way silently out of their room. There were three things he didn't like being interrupted, eating, sleeping and vigorous love making. As he made his way slowly down the halls in the pitch black he could smell Lopiena, she was home but that must have been her that screamed, now slightly filled with worry he hurried his pace until he found her curled up on the floor. Shifting back to his human form he knelt beside her "Gods sprouts, I nearly had your head.." he said softly. "Are you alright? you don't smell alright.."

The thud and shout woke more than just Sigurd. Cirro jumped a mile when Lo shouted and even fell out of the chair he'd been laying in. Ashwyn, started awake just after Sigurd and was on her feet instantly. She'd drawn her dagger and stalked after Sigurd.

"Wha? What?" He sat up and looked around in a panic. He found Lo on the floor and immediately jumped up. "Ohmigoodness." He hurried to her side and then jumped again as Sigurd and Ashwyn came into the room.

They all crowded around Lopiena, and Ashwyn knelt next to her. "Lo, what happened?" She asked, helping Lopiena to cradle her arm. "Cirro." She said looking up at the fairy.

He nodded, moving next to her and holding his hands over her wounded arm. His hands began to glow faintly as the healing began.

Completely embarrassed by her own clumsiness, Lo blushes and tries to stand up. Taking her hand off her arm, she realizes that her hand is wet and sticky with blood...apparently all of the jostling had shaken the leather binding off the dagger currently functioning as a splint and the naked blade had sliced her arm. Because of course it did...sigh. She hadn't even felt that with everything else. Surrounded by her companions is so comforting, but only adds to her embarrassment. "I'm ok...well mostly, anyway..." Feeling the warmth of healing moving across her arm, Lo smiles at Cirro and looks around at everyone else. "Thanks, I feel better already. Uhm. Let's just say it's been quite a night...and thanks for not taking off my head, I didn't mean to scare everyone. Stealth is not my strong suit." Laughing, Lo intentionally ignores the obvious question. She's not quite sure how much of everything she'd just learned she was ready to talk about yet, and anyway Jacquelyn should be here too...otherwise she'll just have to repeat everything in the morning. Plus...it's been a secret for decades. Lo isn't sure how to break that just yet, or even if she wants to.

Cirro finished healing her and then carefully unwrapped her arm. He looked down at the dagger a bit confused. "Is... this yours?" He asked, holding it up.

Ashwyn frowned, looking at it. "That's a Thunderknoll blade." She said, taking it from Cirro and looking it over. "Right?" She asked, handing it over to Sigurd.

She turned back to Lopiena. "I take it this little tumble isn't what broke your arm." She said, sitting down more comfortably on the ground.

Slowly flexing her arm after Cirro completes the healing, Lo bursts out laughing at the idea that the dagger was hers. Of course it is, it's longer than her arm and she'd managed to injure herself with it even while it was tied up in leather! Grinning to herself  while Ashwyn confers with Sigurd about the blade, Lo shakes her head. "Brynoff let me borrow it just for now. I can return it in the morning...he invited us all to breakfast tomorrow. Or later today, perhaps...what time is it?"  ...but when Ashwyn settled in for a long chat, Lo sighed. No avoiding awkward questions this time. Still flexing her arm, Lo tries to decide on the best place to start.

"No...the broken arm was from getting thrown from a height while my hands were bound by ropes that...uhh. That's not a good place to start. Uhm...ok..." Taking a deep breath, Lo tries to explain but it all comes out in a rush. "Brynoff and I walked to this place outside the village where my mother used to go, and some guy knocked us out because he wants to kill him and anyone who associates with him, so he took us prisoner and tied up Brynoff and bound my hands and I should have run but I didn't know what he was going to do but he didn't kill us because he wanted something from me...us, and he didn't get it but he didn’t know that at the time so he let us go, threw me away which is what broke my arm but he got away and he's probably going to attack Jacquelyn and the rest of the family and probably us just for being there, and Brynoff is going to accompany us while we travel until he can get rid of this guy and...and...that's not everything but that's probably the part that matters most to everyone except Jacquelyn but she's not here so she'll have to wait and Brynoff can explain it better anyway and....yeah."  

Finally pausing to breathe, Lo looks around at everyone staring at her and grins. "Short version, it's been a long night. And Brynoff invited us to breakfast tomorrow. Today. Wait, did I already say that? It's been a long night..." Closing her eyes, Lo wonders how much of everything else she should tell them. Well that long ramble is probably enough for now, give them a minute to process...except...hmm. Opening her eyes again, Lo looks at Sigurd. "Does the name 'Kakerot' mean anything to you? It shouldn't, this guy has apparently been in the desert for more than 20 years...but even if you've never heard of him, it's probably important for you to know about anyone who tries to kill werewolves and Spellwolves just for being who they are. Especially since we're probably going to be attacked by him soon. Oh, and Brynoff is watching this house now so we should be safe for now...he said he'd be right outside if you have any questions though."

Ashwyn blinked at the rapid fire information. She let Lo speak without interupting, letting her brain process the quick words. When she stopped, she blinked again.

"Okay so.... what I got from that was... you were attacked? By someone who is a big enough threat that Brynoff feels the need to guard the house?" She frowned. "I don't like that at all." She said, glancing at Sigurd.

Cirro frowned. "Someone who hates werewolves? That's who attacked you? But... why you? You're obviously not a werewolf."

"Was he after Brynoff?" Ashwyn asked. "Did he say anything about why he was attacking? Did Brynoff explain?" She was already going into threat assessment mode as she stood. "Maybe I should speak to Brynoff..." She said, glancing to the front door.

Looking up at Ashwyn, Lopiena nods. "Yeah. Some guy who has this thing against werewolves, he didn't explain why. And he's going after Brynoff specifically because he's the leader of this village, maybe he thinks if the leader is gone the rest will fall away? I don't know."

Pausing a moment before answering Cirro...there's no such thing as 'obvious' when it comes to werewolves, not without a full moon anyway...but Ashwyn is asking questions again. "He didn't specifically say he was attacking tonight, but considering tonight is when everything happened and he didn't get what he was going after...even though he said it wasn't any good to him, it was more something to hold against Brynoff...but anyway I don't really know if there's actually going to be an attack tonight but Brynoff wanted to guard the house just to be sure and...I'm repeating myself again, aren't I?" Shaking her head at herself, Lo starts to stand when Ashwyn glances at the front door. "Might be good to talk to him. There's...more...to the story, and...he knows more than I do, and...yeah."

Standing now, Lo looks more than a little off center even after being healed. "As for why he was attacking me...well, I might be closer to Brynoff than anyone knew. Except this Kakerot guy, which is why he's so dangerous...he knows stuff most other folks don't and...drat, I left my boots out there!" Heading towards the door, Lo slows her steps and looks back at everyone. "Uhm...a lot happened tonight, I'm still processing...but let's just say that I learned something that is...rather startling. So...uhm...yeah..."

Sigurd turned the blade in his hand, it was old steel but it was forged from home, he gave a simple nod to Ashwin and continued to listened to the deluge of information flowing from his companion.

Once he had taken it all in he took a step back and thought on the name Kakerot, nothing came to mind. As Lopiena moved to the door he stepped forward and placed his hand on her shoulder "like you said, you've had a long night. Get some sleep, I'll talk to Brynoff and get your boots" He said simply. "I'm sure this Ka-carrot guy won't risk attacking the village, but if he does two spellwolves are more than enough to handle him I'm sure." He moved behind her and pushed her towards the bedrooms "process and tell us more later, I'm happy you're safe and we'll deal with everything when the sun rises with clear heads and refreshed bodies" Sigurd smiled and headed for the door "Darling, if you would accompany me in talking to my elder?" His voice was disgustingly sweet with a subtle venom behind his words. He was not happy.

Once he was outside his eyes turned to daggers and he sidled up beside Brynoff "So. Busy evening." his voice was deadpanned "care to explain?"

Ashwyn nodded to Sigurd when he requested her presence. This was going to be an interesting conversation. She turned to Pip, who was at her heels.

"Watch over her. Stay close." She said to him. Pip yipped once and then moved to Lo's side. She turned to Cirro.

"She doesn't leave your sight." She said, her eyes shooting daggers at the fairy man.

Cirro swallowed nervously, then puffed his chest in an attempt at boosting his own confidence. "Of course." He moved to Lo's side and helped her to walk up the stairs towards a bedroom.

Ashwyn watched them go before turning and following Sigurd outside.

Brynoff didn't move as they exited, but when Sigurd spoke, he nodded gruffly. "You could say that." He agreed.

When he asked for an explanation, and his mate joined him outside, he nodded again. "I trust Lopiena is getting some rest?"

Ashwyn nodded. "She is." She was still holding her dagger, her bow still sitting upstairs. "What level of threat are we looking at exactly?"

Brynoff growled in frustration. His fur bristled as she shifted his stance. "Annoyance." He grumbled. He finally glanced at the two of them. "How much did Lopiena explain?"

---

Cirro helped Lo into a bedroom and down into a bed. Pip was yipping at her heels and urging her into the bed as well. Once she was there, he jumped up onto the bed and nuzzled into her until she lay down.

Cirro looked at her with concern. "Are you sure you're okay? Nothing else needs healing?" He asked, looking over her other extremedies as she moved.

More than a little surprised at the vehemence behind her companion's insistence that she go to bed, Lo doesn't protest overly much...she's more than overwhelmed and her emotions just won't get off the roller coaster. Almost at the point of hysterical laughter, she lets Pip and Cirro lead her to bed before even fully aware of what's happening. Once lying down, she starts picking at the binding holding her robes tight; they're starting to chaff, and she wants nothing more than freedom to sleep. Looking up at Cirro's question, she holds up her hands as if to show him that she's fine only to discover that they're shaking. Damn human body, won't behave itself when requested...sigh.

"I'm fine, really. I mean there was the initial shock after getting thrown the first time but I think it was just shock and I'm ok. Really. Thanks for healing my arm." Smiling again, Lo starts picking at the bindings again but her hands are shaking too much. "Uhm. Sorry for everything. I wasn't trying to startle you awake. Would you be willing to...help? I know it makes you uncomfortable but I need to get out of these clothes...haven't been washed in days, gods I stink..."

Cirro couldn't help but chuckle at her. She was so tired that she was obviously on the verge of flat passing out.

"Just relax." He reached down and began helping her untie the wraps. "I'm sorry I wasn't with you. I should have gone back to find you afterwards." He shook his head.

He carefully helped her pull the robes up and over her head. Then he pulled the blankets up over her body. "Get some rest. I'll be here."

Pip yipped and he laughed. "And Pip too."

Smiling at Cirro's chuckle...what's so funny?...Lo sighs contentedly when her robes are finally off and the blankets are covering her. Slowly starting to relax, she ponders his words for a moment...everything is taking longer to process, but didn't he say something about being somewhere?

"I don't think you would have found where we went, it was outside the village and it seemed to be a spur of the moment thing, we weren't planning to go there right away. Or maybe Brynoff was planning to go there but it seemed spur of the moment to me...I don't know..." Closing her eyes, Lo reached out to Pip and stroked his soft fur. So nice to have a ball of warmth right next to her...

The days events caught up quickly; between walking all morning, falling into a pit, pouring most of her healing energy into Zane, almost getting caught by Kobolds, then freed and riding hours on hours to arrive at the village and then go on a short walk only to be captured again and thrown around and then finding out that everything she knew was wrong and the update explained that not only did she have a father but he and now everyone he loved was in danger and...it was too much. Mind whirling in slower and slower circles, Lo finally relaxes enough to fall asleep.

Sigurd stared at Brynoff, "She told us enough to know that there's a vegetable man stalking you because he doesn't like werewolves and you for bringing them here. But rather than an all out attack which with enough force would be able to probably fold your village on any night other than a full moon he decides to be just a semi-regular thorn in your side. But to what end? what is his game plan? more importantly do you know where he lives so that I may have some gentle words with him?" instinct was willing him to shift into his own hybrid form to mirror Brynoff but Sigurd elected to stay in his base form.

He sighed and rested his back against the wall of the guest house "we have quite a lot on our plate as it is but crushing a bug like this Kakerot idiot seems like something pretty easy to our kind, never mind two of us. Is it your age slowing you down?" He was annoyed, Lopiena wasn't really crystal clear on the details of the night and Sigurd knew he was either missing information or she chose to omit it for the time being, either way he was once again thrown into a situation feeling unprepared for it and that bothered him greatly.

Sigurd waived his hand "No no, see, had this only concerned you and him I'd be fine leaving the two of you to battle for all eternity for all the fur off my tail. But he was the direct cause of injury to one of my companions who I've made my duty to protect, having failed in doing so because I decided to sleep has now made this personal for me and I'll floss my teeth with Kakerot's ligaments before we move on to our mission." he said simply.

Brynoff couldn't help the chuckle. "I'll admit... I was hoping you'd feel that way." he shifted slightly as he scanned thr horizon. He glanced back at Sigurd and Ashwyn. "It's good to know that Lopiena has you ti watch over her. That's more than I ever could havr hoped for." he nodded.

Ashwyn frowned. "No disrespect, sir, but why does that matter to you? You speak of Lopiena as though you know her. Yet she doesn't seem to know you."

He shook his head. "If she hasn't explained... I don't know that it's my place to." he said softly.

As exhausted as Lopiena was when she'd curled up under the covers, she'd been certain that her sleep would have been uninterrupted by dreams. Unfortunately that was not the case as her subconscious continued trying to make sense of everything that had happened...and while the resulting garbled dreams weren't true nightmares, they were certainly anything but relaxing. Her physical body was just too spent to shed blankets, but she twitched and moaned softly in her sleep as her dreaming self was chased by an army of Kobolds wearing Kakerot's face while her mother commanded a sea of wolves flowing down the mountainside to meet them, racing past and through her as if she had no substance...and each time a wolf passed through her she could feel its fur and paws as though it was her own, but then the sea of wolves moved on and she was just a weak human again facing the army alone...

Sigurd shook his head "It doesn't matter what heart to heart you two had, the important thing right now is to find Kakerot and rip his still beating heart from his chest. If you're feeling up to it, we can go right now. If he's only after you then the other shouldn't be in any danger." The gears were turning in his mind, finding this man and then going at him full force would be reckless but effective if up until this point Brynoff had never gone on the offensive.

Looking to Ashwyn he smiled "fancy a hunt?"

Ashwyn grined at Sigurd's question. "Always."

Brynoff shook his head. "Now hold on, you two." he held up his hands towards them. "Kaerot wants me gone, yes. But he learned long ago that coming at me doesn't acheive his goals. That's why he's started going after those important to me." he paused, then sighed. "I'd hoped ahe would tell you before we had this discussion.... But it's important you know if you're going to fight him. Lopiena is my child."

Ashwyn blinked. ".... What?!"

He nodded. "I can explain the details if you want, but it's true. And Kakerot went after her mother years ago because of her involvement with me. Long and the short of it, we decided to hide things to keep the rest of her family safe. But it seems he knows the truth now. And I wouldn't put it past him to attack them now before they know they're in danger. "

Sigurd's fists clenched, Brynoff had a point, and Sigurd already knew that may have been the case, but the next revelation stopped him cold. "She's what!?" there was a more important question. "You mean to tell me that Lopiena has been one of us this whole time? she can't even shift and didn't even know that spellwolves existed! how can that even be possible?" he huffed

Brynoff sighed. He knew that it wouldn't be a simple thing to just come out and say it. "Because we kept it from her!" He growled.

"Lorelei knew that once she gave birth to a SpellWolf EVERYONE would know it was my child. Including Kakerot. We didn't want to put Lopiena in danger at such an early age. Long before she could defend herself. And gods know Lorelei could defend herself but we didn't want to take any chances."

Ashwyn's mind was spinning. "Wait a minute.... you.... you kept her from it? How is that even possible?"

Brynoff turned to her. "It's not. Normally. It was a protection spell from Selune. We prayed for days for her to protect Lopiena and... well, that was her answer." He turned back to Sigurd. "It kills me to think that she's been blocked from her true nature. And maybe it was the worst mistake we could have made. But... well, maybe once you have your own pups you'll understand."

He sighed deeply and ran a clawed hand through his hair and down the back of his neck. "I've spent years wondering if we made the right choice. But... there's no changing the past now. Lopeina was allowed to grow up without being chased by a mad man, so I have to consider that a win."