It had been a week since the wolves had started following him.

 

Feeding the roaring blaze before him, even Anton Averdal's frantic industry couldn't hide the fact that he was bone tired. After parting ways with certain woman and taking to the road by himself in Tarabon, he'd begun to notice that he wasn't alone. Wolves, wherever he went they followed and had done so for over a week now.

 

That in itself was not cause for the trouble which Anton felt, his time in the Wolfkin Stedding had given him a chance to learn more about the wolves, and he knew he they wouldn't attack him. No, that wasn't what had led him to a small ravine in the hills north of Elmora. If he were simply prey that would be far easier.

 

Dark clouds rolling over windswept plains.

 

Wincing as he staggered forward back a step, Anton shook his head as if it would rid himself of what plagued him. They were touching his mind, whenever he thought he was alone they did it. Or he was going mad, he wasn't sure anymore. He would find himself thinking thoughts that were not his, feeling emotions that were someone else's. With it always came the presence, he knew it was the wolves that followed him. With his eyes opened in the Stedding so long ago it was impossible not to acknowledge what was happening.

 

That knowledge was proving little comfort though, not with the wolves sifting through his mind, picking out his thoughts and his memories at seeming random. With them putting their thoughts in his head, their feelings, their being it wa- Warmth running down jaws, last quiver as prey passes on, scrabbling on moss and lichen to water pool, wind whistling and leaves rustling amongst great oaks.

 

Collapsing to his knees as he clutched his head, a groan escaped him as he fought the surge of images and emotions that bombarded him. Mind racing with foreign thoughts, Anton clawed onto his sense of self as best he could, as if he were holding onto a log that was being swept down a mighty river. Sweat poured from his face and his forehead was furrowed with strain even as he attempted to weather the worst of it.

 

Paws that have known; snow, grass, sand, rock, stone, river and salt waters from many different ranges.

 

Farpaw.

 

Anton howled.

 

 

Anton Averdal

Howling

A bell chimed in the forest, lightly at first and far into the distance. The closer it came the more one realized it was not a single bell but many. A young wolf bounded through the underbrush, with a lolling tongue and many growls and barks at her imaginary prey (she was still a bit too young for true prey). She caught hold of a nearby bush, suddenly transformed into a fanged panther of gigantic proportion in her baby wolf mind. Savagely (despite her still soft baby teeth) she shook the bush to submission, panting with triumph as she left it leafless, its roots nearly pulled from the soil.

 

“Well, that’s one brindlebush that won’t be troubling anyone in the near future.†The bells chimed louder as the woman knelt, pushing the conquered plant firmly back into the soil, doing her best to mask the destruction done by her companion. Ruefully she shook her head and regarded the wolf, “A five year old child could follow the trail you leave in your wake, cub.â€

 

The wolf nuzzled against Janna, complete in her trust and assurance of an underlying amusement in the Tracker’s voice. Did you see me? I scented it out….brindlebush smells like fire…and then I pounced and used my jaws just like Randon told me and shook and shook and shook…if it had been a panther I bet it would be dead…I bet…

 

Janna tuned out the thoughts of the cub, sure they would continue indefinitely on the great battle with the brindlebrush…an epic to be sure.

 

She was still torn on whether or not she should have brought the cub. But then again she hadn’t really had a choice. Silver was as pigheaded (wolfheaded?) as Windracer had ever been, but with the exuberance of youth that was exhausting to try and reason with.

 

Janna Telenvar

Head Tracker

Woflkin Sister

Twisted Chime

Companion to Silver

 

OOC: When she first became a Tracker Janna stopped wearing the Arafellian silver bells in her hair for obvious reasons, now however they’ve become a strong symbol to her – you’ll be able to hear her approaching about 5 miles away ;).

 

I’m also using my new companion in this p/u double ;)

Bleak skies shrouded by dark clouds that weep, broken by screams that split the air with defeaning roars and blinding flashes. Furious howls sweep the land, flooding a ravine and piercing a solitary cave.

 

Half laughing, half crying, Anton threw more wood on the fire as he looked outside. His thoughts were no longer his, that much he knew now, what ran through his mind was far too alien. He also knew that he had little choice in the matter, either he was becoming a wolfkin, or he was going insane. As he'd already been to the stedding, and nothing had been said then, he was quite sure what his fate was now.

 

Crazy people saw things that weren't there, and most of them saw things they had seen before, heard before, felt before. He knew this was him now, and that there was little he could do about it. There was little point in the fire that he fed save it prolonged the inevitable, and ther-

 

Fear. A young pup flees the storm with another, even as they are lashed by the rain and wi-

 

Yelling in desperate frustration, Anton threw the piece of wood in his hands at the wall before sinking to the ground. Burying his face in his hands, his shuddered with every sob. His tenuous grip on reality was slipping. The feelings, the images, they'd come from outside, but no wolves would be out there in such foul weather.

 

A wolf and cu-

 

Violently pushing the image out of his head as he snarled, he scrabbled across the dirt and rock to where his stave lay. It was only a small comfort with the pressure on his mind, images trying to seep through his attempts to push them out. Realising what he was trying to do, he laughed, how could he defend himself from himself? Laughter quickly transformed to sobbing despair again, he wasn't going to be himself before long.

 

Part of him felt like just walking out into the storm, but instead he curled into a ball by the fire, hugging his stave to him. Emotions and images that weren't his ran through his mind, but instead of pushing at them like he did before, he simply looked at the flames as he rocked back and forth. They were all that existed for him, his one way of retaining his sanity. As long as he had them, he was him.

 

 

Anton Averdal

Howling

 

OOC: Sorry its taken me so long, been sick as a dog and then some.

 

First italics is Anton, second is the pup Silver, third is Janna trying to communicate with Anton.

 

With Anton zoned out, he won't realise you've arrived unless you actually go and tap him. He won't react well to that though. You could not tap him, but not sure how he'll react to that when he finally comes out of it, either violent or completely convinced he's flipped, or maybe he'll think he could be wolfkin. Knowing my own tendency to punish my own characters though, that last one probably isn't likely :)

 

I'm also going on the assumption that they know each other from the stedding while he was there, even though we never ended up RPing it out. Enough so that they recognise each other anyway.

The wolves finally led them through the storm to the cave, but refused to enter, prowling restlessly outside. They were nervous and unsure of themselves. They were only four in number, three males and a young female who oddly enough was the leader. Each was a misfit of sorts, driven from their original dens for one reason or another, except for the female. Shimmer had lost her entire pack to hunters and barely escaped herself, no more than a cub. She refused to go near the man even to escape the storm. If not for Silver’s cries of fright she would not have approached Janna either. Her mistrust of humans made no exception for those called the Wolfkin.

 

Now she regarded Janna coolly and sniffed before leading her pack away into the darkness and shelter far away from two-leggeds, especially ones as strange as these. The Tracker sent her a wave of gratitude that went unanswered.

 

Janna shivered in the cold wet rain, Silver cuddled tight under her cloak and peered into the cave, sniffing cautiously. They were right….despair and fear hung heavy in the air, and over it all a feral rage. Her heart lurched at the thought she might be too late. Kneeling she set Silver on the ground and slung off her backpack and crossbow. Unhooking her cloak she wrapped it around the shivering wolf, tucking her under a bush.

 

Stay here, she warned the pup sternly.

 

But I wanna see!

 

No! Stay right here or I’ll call back Shimmer and send you with them til this is over.

 

The wolf sighed and snuggled down into the cloak, golden eyes stubborn. Janna arched an eyebrow and turned toward the cave. Silently she crept in, narrowing her eyes slightly at the brightness of the fire and the smoke. It had been stoked high and hot and more wood waited. But the man huddled on the other side of it was oblivious to anything around him.

 

He rocked back and forth, his back to her, a stave clutched desperately to his chest. Janna paused, she had only the knife in her boot and she was much smaller than he. Not to mention crippled, she thought bitterly. She reached out again with her thoughts, prodding against his but he was beyond answering. She had to snap him out of it, if he were in the Dream in this state….

 

Holding herself ready, for a fight or flight she wasn’t sure, she reached out and touched his shoulder.

 

He reacted instantly, whirling and striking out with the staff. Janna cried out as it slammed into her side but she had a few tricks Owen had shown her. Man or beast one always worked. She kicked hard and caught him too high - in the stomach and it hardly seemed to faze him. He was on his feet and the staff whirled...Janna saw stars. She kicked again, blindly and desperately and hit her target. He fell to his knees groaning and clutching with both hands. She snatched the staff up and backed away, trying to focus and feeling the urgent need to vomit. She had no idea how to use the weapon but it was basically just a big stick you whacked at someone with. And for the pounding in her head she definitely felt like whacking him. The two men in front of her finally merged and she blinked….

 

“Anton?â€

 

 

Janna Telenvar

Head Tracker

Woflkin Sister

Twisted Chime

Companion to Silver

 

OOC: Dirty trick...feel free to whack back.

"Anton?"

 

Forcing himself to look up, even though what he wanted to do was curl up in an even smaller ball, Anton found himself looking at a familiar face. A face that sent a wave of shock followed by desperate hope through him. She had to be real, he had seen mad people lash out at imaginary foes, he hadn't seen a mad person put on their knees by one. And if she were here, that meant he wasn't going mad! He wasn't just hearing voices!

 

Not that such thoughts were helping him with the immediate problem of being incapacitated. She hadn't had to connect so completely. The pain was burning, in fact he wasn't sure if he set himself alight with the campfire it wouldn't be preferable, it certainly couldn't be any worse. Slumping onto one side rather than trying to force himself to his feet, he closed his eyes, then opened them because it seemed to hurt more with his eyes closed.

 

He wasn't sure how long it had taken, but the throb had managed to fall to a barely tolerable level, enough so that he felt that he could talk without crying. Janna in the meantime had sat herself by the fire, still watching him with his stave in hand. "Janna... If you're here I'm not mad, but why? I was at the stedding, why didn't anyone say anything? How do I keep them out of my head? I keep getting thoughts and feelings that aren't mine."

 

 

Anton Averdal

Howling

 

OOC: Its a bit hard to pretend the other person isn't real when they've kicked you in the nutsack, incontrevertible proof that Janna was indeed real :) So I went with the route I wasn't going to, I'm a sellout :)

Janna set the staff against the side of the cave wall, far out of Anton’s reach and approached him cautiously. She gasped as his tortured golden gaze met hers. Wanderer! No wonder he thought he was going mad. The Howling was unpredictable at best, shattering at worst.

 

“Your not mad, Anton. You’re going through the Howling.†She sent a thought to Silver and a moment later the cub came bounding into the cave, shaking herself vigorously and covering both Janna and Anton with wet wolf scent.

 

He hit you with that big stick! Should I bite him? Can I, Chime?

 

No, she told the little wolf as she forced back a grin, no biting. I need you to tell the other wolves around here to stop sending him their thoughts. And ask if they can help you protect him in the Dream when he sleeps.

 

Shimmer won’t do it, she hates two-legs, she wanted to come in here and bite him and claim the cave but he had that stick, did it hurt when he hit you? Are you sure I can’t bite him, just once?

 

No, biting Silver. Anton is the Wanderer we were sent to find. Just tell the wolves you can find and I’ll be right back.

 

“Anton, I’ve got to get my things outside. Silver will stay with you but she won’t talk to you, will you Silver?†Silver just blinked at her as Janna headed out of the cave to retrieve her belongings. Blood and ashes she hoped she had some silverleaf left, her head felt ready to split open.

 

The cub studied Anton skeptically and approached him with caution, sniffing and snuffling. She’d really been hoping she could bite him…but if Chime said no….instead the little wolf stretched out by the fire and sent her thoughts to the wolves in the surrounding woods.

 

Janna returned and spread her things out on the other side of the fire to dry. She did have some silverleaf thank the Light. “I hope you don’t mind us just moving in, Anton, but the storm was dreadfully fierce and Silver was frightened…â€

 

I was not! Thunder rumbled and the cub crept closer to the man, cringing a bit.

 

“I’m going to make some tea, my head is still spinning from that introduction to your staff.†She tested her skull gingerly, oh yeah quite the bump was forming. “Then we can talk about what to do next. If your able to travel we should head to the Stedding as soon as possible.â€

 

Janna Telenvar

Head Tracker

Wolf Sister

Twisted Chime

Companion to Silver

Nodding, Anton didn't have any words for the moment. All he had was relief, for the first time in over a week, his mind was actually his. Janna must have told them to leave him be, for which Anton was thankful. Daruun had told him much of the wolfkin while they traveled together and during his time at the stedding, allowing him to piece that much together.

 

The tea took time but soon Janna was settled down with a cup, she'd even been kind enough to spare him one which he blew on and sipped at slowly so as not to burn himself. Her question from earlier was an easy one to answer. It seemed like he had little choice in the matter anyway, that much Daruun had told him. Weighing his words carefully, Anton took a last sip of his tea before speaking.

 

"If you are well enough, we should leave as soon as we can when the storm lets up. The sooner we get there, the sooner I can get help with.... this." It had been much easier to deal with it when he himself hadn't been 'hearing' the wolves, Anton realised with a touch of guilt. "I know you are happy but.... There is no way to avoid this is there? I remember Daruun told me that those who resist don't make it."

 

 

Anton Averdal

Howling

 

OOC: Crap post I know, sorry I got nothing atm but want to push this forward all the same

“No, Anton, I’m sorry. There is no way to stop the Howling but you can learn to control your new abilities. The next few months will be very hard, and dangerous as well. It didn’t help that the wolves in this area are mistrustful, even of Wolfkin. They did not handle you gently.†Janna drained the last of her tea, thankful the pain in her head had subsided…a bit. Enough for her to notice the throbbing in her side, black and blue and lumpyheaded, she thought to herself wryly.

 

Silver had overcome her fear of the storm and was now nosing through Anton’s things, sniffing and snuffling with curiosity. Why doesn’t he want to be Wolfkin, Chime? Wolves are much better than two-legs, except for you of course… what’s this? The cub sneezed and backed away from the backpack. Smelly. She circled the new Wanderer, sat in front of him and tilted her head. Can I talk to him yet?

 

Not yet, Silver. Maybe tomorrow.

 

The wolf hunkered low and laid her head on her paws with a resigned sigh.

 

“I know you learned a lot about the Wolfkin when you visited the Stedding, Anton. But there are many things Owen didn’t reveal to you about us. The most important being you now must be very careful when you sleep, especially if you dream.â€

 

“When I dream?â€

 

Janna nodded, “Wolves exist in a separate world of dreams, one where some things are real. Wolfkin can walk this world of dreams as well and until you now how to control it you could hurt yourself. Silver and I will watch over your dreams until we reach the Stedding.†Janna reached out to scratch the wolf behind her ears and Silver sighed again, this time in contentment. “But she’s very young herself and can be….impulsive.†Silver rolled onto her back, wriggling playfully. “And the Dream can be….a very harsh place.†Janna blinked away tears and rising, crossed to the cave entrance. “It looks like it may blow over soon. We’ll head to the nearest village for supplies and horses.â€

 

Silver bounded across cave, Horses! Can I chase them, Chime? They run faster if you chase them. Janna laughed out loud and bent to cuddle the wolf. Yes, you can chase them, just don’t scare them too much.

 

 

Janna Telenvar

Head Tracker

Wolf Sister

Twisted Chime

Companion to Silver

 

 

OOC: Sending you a pm for an idea if you wanna use it ;)

Watching the pup go through his things, he smiled slightly as he watched the pup reel back and sneeze. It was most likely ash since the bag was open toward the fire, a nice breeze could have easily lofted some ash in there. It was then that Anton realised, it was the first time in a week that he had genuinely smiled. Light, but did it feel good to be able to do that again.

 

The mention of dreams concerned Anton, especially feeling as tired as he was. His question only led to something which confused him further. A world of dreams? Wolves could dream? His dreams were going to be watched over? How did that even work? It was becoming more and more confusing by the moment, and Anton was beginning to realise with a sinking feeling that he was akin to a lost sailor out at sea, clinging to a bit of driftwood and hoping to be brought to land with the tide. In this case, his driftwood was Janna.

 

The storm was lessening, but Anton felt it would be awhile yet, and there was time for rest either way. But there was something that Anton needed to say first before he tried to get any rest. Watching her for a moment as she played with the pup, he waited until she looked up, her golden eyes staring into his own orbs. Will my eyes be like that one day?

 

"Thank you Janna. Without you... I'm going to get some rest, we may as well grab some while we can." He couldn't say it, but she knew, and that was what mattered. Finishing the last of his tea, Anton laid back and rolled onto his side, still throbbing but at least it was manageable. Exhaustion could yet prove a mercy and rob him of the pain, at least for awhile.

 

 

Anton Averdal

Howling

 

OOC: I chickened out :D But its wrapped up at least.

Janna nodded as Anton settled down next to the fire. Sleep sounded wonderful, but her sleep would offer no rest. She cast a significant look at Silver who sighed again and then circled the new Wanderer until she found a comfortable spot. Nestling down close to Anton the cub closed her eyes and slipped into sleep effortlessly. Though she still had reservations about the cub’s strength she knew Silver would warn her instantly if Anton slipped into the Dream accidently.

 

Janna spread her still damp cloak near the fire and then settled herself as close as was bearable, hoping to dry the musty smell from herself. Sometimes she truly hated her acute sense of smell.

 

With a deep breath she slipped into the half doze Owen had taught her, not quite awake and neither fully in the Dream. Distance meant nothing here and she traveled as quickly as she could manage, towards the Mountains of Mist.

 

Anton was no ordinary Wanderer, he had a knowledge of the Woflkin that would aid in his….transition. Still, she fretted over his adverse reaction and the way the wolves here had treated him….hopefully she had comforted him somewhat and by blocking out Shimmer and her pack had eased his pain. She would not lose Anton to the Howling…she couldn’t let that happen. Not again.

 

She found Owen occupied with a new student and waited impatiently until the lesson was complete. Quickly she related the details of her newest Wanderer, her fears for him and the necessity of their arrival in the Stedding as soon as possible. Owen assured her arrangements would be made, a letter of credit in this city….a Sage immediately notified of the problem.

 

With gratitude she slipped away and returned to Anton and Silver, hovering protectively over both until dawn.

 

Janna Telenvar

Head Tracker

WolfSister

Twisted Chime

Companion to Silver

 

 

OOC: yep check this thread off your list of to do’s ;)