(M) A Curse Unbroken (Holeypaladin and Southernbelle7)

[SouthernBelle]

Rated M for possible mature content including sex, violence, language, graphic situations, and drug use.


The town was a buzz, not in a good way either. Women were wailing, men yelling, and children trying to understand what had happened.

"They put out a sacrafice!" A man yelled over the ever growing crowd around the small cabin on the outskirts of town. His stomach twisting at the sight of the mauled bodies strewn throughout the house. A whole family, slaughtered.

"We all put out sacrifices!" A woman belted back her face red with anger. "What is the point if it'll just help itself anyway!"

A silence washed over the crowd before murmurs rose up like a stream picking up speed. A small girl, no more than 12, walked into the town. Her leather skirt reached her moccasin clad feet. She had on a blue blouse that reached her wrists. She carried two baskets as she walked, her eyes not meeting those of anyone as she headed towards the market.

"It took a whole family of ours," a voice snapped.

"She's a child!" A woman gasped.

"She is a child of the beast!" A man growled back. "Let it come for her! We can set a trap, kill it once and for all."

The girl wasn't aware of the intentions of the townsfolk that were starting to follow her. She kept her eyes forward as to not make eye contact, to avoid confrontation. Today that would not be possible though.

Once she reached the marketplace she was on edge, fear coursing through her at the realization that nearly the whole town was following her. She could smell the remnants of the werewolf. Where he had ventured through the town.

"The pillory!" Someone shouted behind her before rough hands grabbed her arms causing her to drop the basket. If she was able to scream she would have.

Alpha!! she screeched in her head. Though she knew she was too far away to be heard. They dragged her to the pilloried locking in her arms and neck. Her wolf begged to get out. Begged to defend her, but she couldn't break the rules alpha laid out. She must not shift, not unless her life was threatened. And at the moment they were not wanting to kill her.

[Holeypaladin]

A certain knight, not from the village, but here on behalf of these villagers, stood and witnessed the scene before him. "Sometimes, humans can be worse than the monsters," he murmured to himself, sighing and shaking his head at the fact that they would lock a little girl up on the pillory. He could tell the girl was a lycanthrope... the villagers were quite aware of this as well, it seemed... but for some reason, she refused to shift into her beast form... or perhaps lacked the ability, for some reason.

He was tempted to rebuke the villagers and break the girl free himself, and should they attempt to turn her into a sort of sacrifice, he would have done exactly that... but so far, she was apparently unharmed. Though he was here to hunt the true threat to this village, these ignorant fools might easily turn against him, should he show excessive mercy towards the girl.

So instead, he watched and waited. Eventually, the crowd dispersed off to their houses, and he approached the little girl. "Hungry?" he asked her, though she seemed unable or unwilling to answer him with words, showing only suspicion to his intentions. Taking a bit of dried meat, he took a bite of it to show it was safe to eat, and handed the rest to the girl.

"I'm sorry you have to go through this..." he said to her. "Peasants are dumb, and these people are nothing if not peasants. Once the feral is dealt with, I'll make sure you're returned safely to your tribe," he said to her before walking off, still on watch for the true threat to this particular village... a feral werewolf, who had already murdered several of the villagers. Dumb and ignorant as these peasants may be, they didn't deserve to be ripped apart in such a way.

[SouthernBelle]

Hours ticked by as Sola paced in the court yard her whole body rigid. Laney should've been back by now. She should've been back hours ago. A simple trip to town, something that Laney or one of the other young ones from her pack would do every other week or so. They were always safe because they were children, no one in their right mind would harm a child.

"Settle down, she'll be back," Piper sighed from where she was sitting on the steps bringing another wave of anger from Sola who glared at her beta who looked completely unfazed. Black tattoos circled around Piper's neck and face hiding the beauty that she was once.

Sola's face bared tattoos just as Pipers, but hers were lines that wrapped halfway around her eyes with circles above them. It seemed the witch had wanted to get a little more creative with her. They were the only two that bore the tattoos, but they were also the only two that could speak. The rest of the pack could telepathically speak to each other, but that had been taken from Sola. She had no way to communicate with any of her pack except for Piper. They could understand her, but she could not understand them.

"She should've been back hours ago, she is never late!" Sola growled her skin rippling as she fought the urge to shift and run into the town tearing anyone to shreds that got between her and her pack mate. "I'm going to find her!"

"Do you think that is a wise idea?" Piper was immediately on her feet. "The town suspects the children as working with a werewolf but they have no proof. If you go in there all furious you will only solidify their beliefs."

"I won't shift! I won't give them any proof," Sola huffed as she looked towards the small path leading into the woods. The direction Laney had left that morning.

"I cannot see you waltzing in there, taking Laney, and leaving without either throwing someone against a wall or shifting," Piper's eyes narrowed as she crossed her arm.

"I rather them think she works with a witch then a werewolf," Sola had made up her mind. She was going and getting Laney. There would be no stopping her and that town better hope they didn't have a hand in keeping her from coming home. Before Piper could try and stop her Sola tore off towards the path at a full run. It wouldn't take her long to get to the town.

Just outside of the town she stopped and surveyed the area. Her senses were on high alert and her ears picked up little movement as the sun had started to set. She could smell the scent of a werewolf that had passed at least a day prior which made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. That did not bode well at all.

She pulled the hood to her cloak up over her head to try and hide the tattoos that adorened the side of her face hoping not to draw attention to herself, though knowing a newcomer like herself would be noticed quickly. She just needed to find Laney and leave. That was all.

She made it to the courtyard without being spotted and froze in her tracks. Laney was in a pillory her tiny feet struggling to keep her up, tears streaking down her face. Anger boiled through Sola like nothing she had ever felt. Her father had been right in hating humans. If they would do this to a child, a mere child, then what else were they capable of! She could sense the people watching the pillory from their homes, as if using Laney as bait in a trap.

"Don't move, werewolf!" A gruff voice said from behind her as something sharp touched her back. That was it, that was all it took for Sola to not care anymore. She flicked her wrist a little feeling wind rush past her as whoever it was was thrown against the wall of the building behind her. She didn't even both to pull her hood back on as it fell from her face.

"Despicable!" She growled as she stormed towards Laney only to be cut off by two men that smelled of soot. If she were to venture a guess she would say they were blacksmiths. The fact that they thought they could stop her nearly brought a smile to her face. "Get out of my way!"

"No, you will pay for what you did to our town!" One of the men snapped. Sola couldn't help the laugh that escaped her. They thought she had killed someone in their town? That she was the feral werewolf she had smelled earlier.

"You stupid, stupid beings," she snarled at them as she narrowed her eyes. "You take an innocent child and lock them in a pillory because you what? Think she works with the werewolf that is attacking your town? Did you ever stop to think that maybe, just maybe this werewolf lives amongst you? Is one of you? I can tell you with upmost certainty that child had nothing to do with whatever happened to your town. Now get out of my way before I decide I will reek more havoc on this town then the feral could ever imagine doing!"

[Holeypaladin]

The knight continued to investigate the village, searching for clues as to the identity of the werewolf. He knew enough about these creatures to understand that the murderer was, most likely, one of the villagers... a werewolf among them, who may not even be aware of his curse. It wasn't unusual for those afflicted with Lycanthropy to be ignorant to their curse... they would sleep, and have nightmares of being a killer... sometimes wake up somewhere far from where they had fallen asleep... yet by the time the fog of sleep cleared and the werewolf fully woke, he would not remember the savage murders he had committed the night before.

Unfortunately, there was no cure for Lycanthropy. Some could learn to control their transformations... while others simply needed to be put down like the monsters they were. The one behind the murders, the knight had realized, fell into the latter category, while the unfortunate young girl in the pillory fit under the former. As he thought of this, he heard a commotion coming from the direction of the town square where the poor girl was being held on display, and began making his way over.

He saw an exchange between a girl who one of the villagers was calling "werewolf" and a number of very, very angry looking villagers. It was clear the lycanthrope was angry, likely from whatever tribe the young girl was a member of, and by the way things were escalating, there would soon be bloodshed. He winced at the thought of what a true lycanthrope could do if she lost her temper, deciding to step in to see if he could help.

"Unless you guys are carrying silver weapons, you'd best leave the werewolf to me," he said to the blacksmiths confronting the woman. He drew forth a sword at his side that shone with a silvery gleam, and the blacksmiths took one look at it and then glanced at each other before stepping back. Everyone knew, after all, that only silver could kill a werewolf... and the amount of silver that had gone into construction of the sword could easily buy the village several times over.

Staring at the angry woman, however, he paused for several moments before throwing the weapon to the ground at the woman's feet. "They've taken one of yours. So take one of theirs in return. I volunteer myself as tribute." This, of course, caused the villagers to gasp. Many of them glanced at the silver sword at the lycanthrope's feet... the only weapon in the entire village capable of killing a werewolf, yet there was no way any of them could get to it, as she simply needed to bend her knees and pick it up first.

[SouthernBelle]

Sola looked at the man that had moved to where the blacksmiths were standing. There was something different about him. From what he wore he looked to be a knight, though she could smell silver on him. Her blood running cold. That very well could mean that he was a hunter, someone that slaughtered their kind for no reason other than they were different. She hadn't known of a hunter in these parts in a while.

When he brandished the sword, the source of the silver, she noticed how the blacksmiths seemed to be statisfied they were no longer needed. That the fight was over. They were sorely mistaken. Silver sword or not she would kill anyone that stood between her and one of her pack members. She didn't take being threatened very well. Never had.

But before she was able to react, the sword was laying at her feet, his offer surprising her. What would make a knight offer his life in exchange for that of the village people. She bent down and picked up the sword her eyes not leaving the knight in front of her as she heard murmurs of fear around her. Her eyes flickered to the craftsmanship of the sword and back to the knight. Even though it was made of silver, something that would posion her blood, that if enough of it got in her system she wouldn't be able to heal and would die, she had to admire the craftsmanship.

"I am intrigued by your offer," her eyes flickered to Laney as she moved around the knight and walked to the Pillories breaking the lock with ease before lifting up the top beam barely catching Laney as her legs gave way. She scooped Laney up onto her back feeling the girl's weak arms wrap around her neck. "Though I wonder if it's enough for what they did to this poor child. If this were one of their children if they would be satisfied with the blood of someone I do not think was involved in executing such a pathetic trap."

She moved so she was back in front of the knight finding herself curious about him. Why would he do this? Did he think she would not kill him? Or was protecting a whole town enough for him. The fact that he seemed to believe that she would not kill him and then slaughter the whole town made her ponder. He didn't see her as inheriantly evil, or he had a death wish.

"I expect that none of the children that come here will be harmed in the future, if they are one life will not be all that is taken," she looked around the town square her eyes moving to the sword in her hand. She didn't want the town to have something so deadly to her kind. She tossed the sword at the knights feet watching as rocks pulled from the ground lining the edge of the blade before it landed. He could have his sword, but it would not be capable of harming her or her kind. Not unles someone spent a lot of time to remove the stones. She looked at the knight trying to decide if she was making the right choice. "Follow me."

With that she turned and started towards the edge of the town.

[Holeypaladin]

The tension in the air was clear to everyone around... and the fact that he had essentially laid his weapon at the feet of what the villagers considered to be their enemy likely wasn't going to win the knight much favor in their eyes. However, he didn't particularly care much what the ignorant peasants thought of him... it seemed this was likely the only way to minimize the amount of bloodshed.

He watched as the woman went over to free the little girl... something he wanted to do himself, though it was better for her to be rescued by one of her own. "She should be fine... she hasn't gone hungry, at least." He had made sure to feed her earlier, after all, when it seemed like the rest of the villagers had no such intentions of doing so.

He realized that, to the lycanthrope, it seemed that he was now unarmed and unable to defend himself. The knight figured he might as well allow her to think this to be true... there was no need in revealing his hand, after all, as it was better if she didn't know the full extent of what he was capable of, even without the ornamental silver sword he had handed over to her. It would likely reveal the truth of her character more, to see how she would deal with her prisoner.

As she rendered the weapon essentially useless by coating it in rock, he saw no need to pick it up as she tossed it back to his feet. Instead, he kicked it over in the direction of the town blacksmith. "You'll want to fix that up, as it's obviously useless right now. Won't do me any good to take it with me, anyway. Give it to your town's best warrior to hold on to until I come back." Once it was repaired, the town at least wouldn't be completely defenseless while he was being held by the lycanthrope woman.

Giving a nod to the woman, he began to follow her as she made her way out of town with the little girl from her tribe. "So, do you have a name?" he asked her. "You can call me Visorn, Hostage, or Prisoner. Up to you." He was curious to see what exactly the woman had in store for him. Though he meant her tribe no particular harm, unless the feral werewolf was among them, there was a chance that she would have some desire to inflict the same sort of humiliation upon him that the peasants had to the girl on her back.

[SouthernBelle]

She was struggling to control the anger that was washing through her as she walked. She couldn't even make sure that Laney was truly okay until they got back to the pack house, back to Piper who would be able to communicate with the little girl. All she could do was get a yes or no and that wasn't sufficient in her mind. Not right now. She wanted to know what they had done to her. Know that she hadn't sustained any injuries that Sola couldn't see.

It was times like these that she felt like the witches curse backfired. She only hated humans more for what they did to her kind. Her father had every reason to despise them, though not kill them mercilessly as he had. Though, times like these, she sometimes understood the impulse. Humans called them beasts, saw them as the lesser beings. Though Sola couldn't see it any more different. Lycans took care of their own at all costs, but they also protected the weak. Something like what had just happened to Laney would never happen in a pack.

Yes, there were lobos and they were feral and the source of all things bad thought of the lycans, but there was no way to keep all the lobos from existing. She wasn't even sure how most of them existed, how they were made not knowing what they were. He pulled her from her train of thought as he asked her for her name. She pondered giving it to him. It wasn't like he could do anything with the knowledge, and it would be rude of her if she didn't. Even just hesitating to answer the question would have Piper in a rage. Her poor Beta had her work cut out keeping Sola's sociable, though that was due to Sola wanting nothing to do with the outside world. Not after all it had taken from her.

"Sola, Sola is my name," she said without looking towards him. They made it to the treeline and continued on towards what the local townfolk called the forbidden forest. She wasn't sure what made humans go missing when they wondered into the woods alone, but she wasn't upset that it happened. It kept her pack from being found out. "If you have a name, that is what I will call you, Visorn."

Her questions from before burned in her mind, curiosity getting the better of her. What would make someone who obviously knew more of her kind then the towns people did stick of for one of her own? Why would he risk his own life?

"Why did you do it?" she glanced towards him for the first time since they left the village. "Why did you give up your life for the town? They would not have done the same for you."

[Holeypaladin]

The knight could tell that the lycanthrope was still quite angry as he took a few steps forward so that he was walking next to her. He decided to give her time, not pressuring her for an immediate response as he waited for her approval, though he wondered somewhat was going through her head. Obviously, she was upset, and rightfully so... but a potential disaster had been averted, if at least temporarily, so he was confident that he had made the right choice.

Eventually he heard her say her name, though it didn't seem like she wanted to give him all that much attention as she did so. Noting that they were now interfering with the local forbidden forest, he showed none of the fear that most humans would show upon entering a place with such a name, simply giving a nod as she said she'd use his name. "Works for me, then," he remarked.

Hearing her finally ask him an important question, he paused for a moment, taking a bit of time to think over his answer. "No..." he said, "I imagine they wouldn't. Would you believe I did so as much for your sake as for theirs?" Given her anger, which still lingered somewhat, it seemed like something terrible might have happened if he hadn't intervened.

"Had you wolfed out back there, you could have done a lot of damage to that village. The people there are scared, and fear makes humans resort to desperate measures... but a direct attack on the scale you could have caused would provoke an armed response from the kingdom's army. And that's the sort of thing that could wipe out your tribe.... or at least lead to heavy casualties on both sides. Compared to that level of destruction, my own life is rather insignificant, don't you think?"

[SouthernBelle]

She didn't know how to respond. Anger and frustration flared as he said he had done what he did for her. She didn't need a human protecting her, she didn't need protecting at all. Though he made a valid point, one she couldn't argue with. This human was different. She had seen cocky knights come into the forest before, but he didn't have an air of cockiness. He acted as if they were anywhere else and she was just a normal person to talk to. He didn't even smell of the fear that normally wafted off the humans when they found out what she was.

She studied him as she walked curiosity overpowering the anger. She hadn't met a human that wasn't terrified once they found out what she was, or what she could do. Maybe it was survival instincts on their part, or just flat ignorance, but he wasn't like that. She felt Laney shift a little on her back in her sleep and she focused on the task at hand again. Getting Laney home to figure out what the hell had happened in her words, and then figure out what she was going to do with Visorn. Piper was going to have a fit that she 'kidnapped' a human.

"That town's stupidity will be the destruction of it one day, that is for sure," she muttered with a shake of her head. "We are getting closer to the pack house, and there are a few things you might should know. Everyone in the pack is mute, except for my Beta and I. If someone doesn't have markings like these," she motioned to the black lines that etched across her face. "Then they are not able to speak. If you need to speak with one of them find Piper as she is able to link with them, I am not."

She clenched her jaw again anger of her reality replacing the anger of what the town had done. She had a large pack, a strong pack, and yet she could not communicate with any of them. The curse her father brought to the pack prevented that. The pack could telepathically communicate with each other, but she was left in the dark with only Piper to speak with. It was maddening and she was starting to understand why her father had gone into the woods to never return. "Harm any member of my pack and I'm sure you know the consequences."

They broke through the treeline and the large stone pack house came into view. Vines crept up around the outside, the windows mostly open to let fresh air move through the house. Most of the pack lived there, though some lived out in their own houses running patrols and the likes. Piper was standing on the front steps watching them having been told they were coming back by one of the patrols.

[Holeypaladin]

Noting the rather angry expression of the lycanthrope, Visorn realized that he had made the right choice in diffusing the situation before it could have deteriorated any further. As much as it seemed to frustrate the girl that his choices had protected her an her tribe, it was always the innocent ones, such as the little girl on her back, who suffered most when those in charge of them acted rashly.

Shrugging at the words of the girl, he said, "Perhaps... or perhaps they'll be forced to wise up in order to prevent their own destruction. They fear what they do not understand... so they merely need to understand so that their fear doesn't lead to their destruction." He himself had studied lycanthropes, both feral and sane, so it was clear to him that the wolfish girl, proud as she was, was no friend of the monster that terrorized the village. If she could be convinced to help hunt down the feral... well, it would be a rather simple feat, as she could no doubt sniff out another lycanthrope with ease.

"I see..." he remarked, noting how she had referred to Piper as her beta, as well as the feminine pronoun in reference to her. "I take it there's no Alpha male currently?" he guessed, figuring her to be the alpha female based on how she carried herself, along with her capacity for speech. From what he knew about wolf packs, they were typically led by a male... so the absence of such indicated that he had likely been killed or exiled recently, and that the pack was facing no small amount of hardship as a result.

"You needn't warn or threaten me," he said in response to her last comment. "My life has been in your hands since I discarded my weapon, has it not?" he asked, a slight bit of humor in his tone. Precarious though his position seemed, the knight didn't act as if he were in any immediate danger of being torn apart by rabid werewolves, nor did he seem quite so powerless as he was allowing the woman to believe.

"I take it that's your Beta?" he asked, nodding in the direction of the girl standing on the front steps, quite obviously with the intention of greeting Sola and the mute girl upon their return. He gave the beta a brief, friendly wave in greeting, yet stood back and allowed Sola to approach her first.

[SouthernBelle]

Sola stopped before heading closer to the house. She turned to face the knight. Her face was blank as she regarded him. If he thought that her pack was weak without a male alpha then he would be sorely mistaken. She knew that was a common theory amongst those that knew of their species.

“No, there is not a male alpha. He is the reason that the pack is mute,” she couldn’t hold back the growl that laced her words. “It is his fault we are in the position that we are in. We do not need him, or any other male alpha. One alpha is more than enough for a pack. Piper is my Beta. She is my second, though I have a feeling you know what a beta is. So what she says goes, unless it directly contradicts something I say. She is also the only other one here that you will be able to communicate with.”

She turned and walked the rest of the way to Piper noticing that the knight held back. She respected the space that he gave them. Knowing she would need to fill Piper in on everything that had occurred. Along with the fact that they now had a human guest that she wasn’t quite sure what they were going to do with.

“I take it didn’t go well,” Piper nodded towards Visorn as she shifted Laney in her arms.

“They had her in the pillories,” Sola replied anger filling her again.

“Is anyone in that town still alive? I don’t smell death, so I’ll assume they are,” Piper glanced towards Visorn again.

“They’re alive, least the ones that survived the attack,” Sola shook her head. “He is going to be staying with us for a while. Least until I figure out what the hell to do with him. He volunteered as tribute for what they did to Laney.”

“Really?” Piper furrowed her eyebrows a little. “This is not the best time for there to be any strangers here. You know what will happen ….”

“I am well aware of how close it’s getting,” Sola snapped before stepping past her. “Get him settled in. I’m going to take Laney to her parents.”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Piper watched as Sola walked into the mansion before walking towards the knight.

“I don’t know if Sola said who I was or not, but my name is Piper, I’ll help get you settled in,” she motioned towards the door. “If you will follow me.

[Holeypaladin]

Despite the fact that he had allowed this woman to take him captive, the highly defensive response to his question about the male alpha told the knight that she still very much considered him to be a threat. Admittedly, it was quite wise of her to think so, as even without any visible weapons, the Arcane Knight was far more dangerous than he appeared. Perhaps the reputation of the Empire's knights proceeded him, as he needed no introduction to be considered a threat in the eyes of the alpha female.

"As you say," he responded, though he knew it to be true that despite her insistence... the woman's tribe was quite clearly weakened by the lack of alpha male... more so in that the previous alpha was apparently responsible for whatever curse it was that rendered the majority of the tribe mute. He watched as Sola approached the woman named Piper, observing the exchange between them. Judging by what he saw and heard, it seemed the beta was somewhat surprised that Sola hadn't gone homicidal on the human peasants. He took it to mean his efforts were not in vain.

He glanced at the rather shapely rear end of the alpha as she walked into the mansion, then shifted his gaze to the other lycanthrope as she approached. He gave the woman a nod, replying, "You're the second in command, yes," he remarked. "Sola calls my Visorn." As she directed him towards the door, he began to follow her as directed, showing no resistance.

He wasn't entirely sure what to make of this Piper girl. He had come with the intention of helping the Laney girl, but Sola had shown herself to be a proud woman, unwilling to ask for outside assistance, and tight-lipped about the curse afflicting her tribe. Perhaps the Beta would be a bit more... cordial. There was no harm in probing her a bit, at least.

"So, Piper," he said after this moment of silent thought. "What can you tell me about the curse that has afflicted your tribe? Perhaps I can be of some small assistance."