She isn’t sure if there was a taser or if a rosebush nearby has been struck by lightning, but the two discordant scents make her nose wrinkle. Beyond that one scent, everything hurts, and she can’t quite bring herself to open her eyes.
“Easy, little one.”
The voice booms like thunder, to the point where she’s not sure whether or not she’s actually hearing a voice, or just trying to sleep through a thunderstorm. A broad hand rests on the top of her head, just for a moment, and everything eases again, as she finds herself falling deeper into sleep, were it even possible.
“Things will be right again soon enough.”
- - - - - -
Chicago falls and Cora can’t find Alek.
She doesn’t have anyone else to find. Derek slipped through a rift, Sarah trapped in Asgard. All she has is Alek, and she pushes her way through the streets, searching out the one person she’s most tethered to as the world tears open around them. Someone this tall shouldn’t be difficult to find, and yet she’s been searching much too long to be anything of comfort.
She left him behind once before. She’s not going to do it again.
“Cora!”
Her head snaps towards the sound of her name, and she sees him, not far out from her. He looks like he’s wounded. Dashing towards him, she takes hold of his hand to pull him closer.
“Come on. We need to get out of the street.”
No sooner do the words leave her lips, before the world disintegrates around them and they’re both falling further and further into darkness.
- - - - - -
Cora jerks awake, the last vestiges of the dream fading from her memory as she tries to reorient herself in reality. It doesn’t take long to make out the shadows of her bedroom, dark corners slowly becoming more illuminated as dawn crests for the rest of the town around them. She feels an arm drape over her side, and she sighs slightly before curling back into him.
“It’s your turn to handle the cows.”
There’s an unintelligible grumble before Alek pokes his head over his shoulder. “Fine.” He pauses as he looks down at her. She feels his thumb brushing over the mark of the Stormlord on the inside of her wrist. “You alright?”
She shrugs, before turning and curling into his chest. “I had that dream again. The same one as before.”
He grumbles again, leaning closer to press a kiss to her forehead. “The one with the city falling?”
She nods. “I wish I knew what the Stormlord was trying to tell me.” Her voice is low, both for the early morning intimacy of their bedroom and so that the whisper of her allegiance won’t drift through the open windows. “These dreams are too specific to be concoctions of an addled mind.”
“Your mind isn’t addled,” He sighs as he pulls away from her to get dressed. His back is to her, and she sees the mark of the Everlight sitting between his shoulder blades, prominent, but easily hidden by his shirt. “And you’ll figure it out. Perhaps you’d like to take the calm, rhythmic action of milking the cows to mull it over some more.”
She laughs, reaching for the leather strap for her wrist that rests on the bedside table. “Nice try. Or would you rather trade to feed the pigs?”
The silence stretches out around him as he thinks it over, and she raises an eyebrow.
“Well?”
“I’m thinking.”
- - - - - -
Their farm isn’t the largest in Felderwind, but it’s big enough to suit their purposes. A vegetable garden stretches out on their small plot of land, knowing better than to compete with those who had more extensive stretches to grow grain for miles. After taking enough eggs, milk, and vegetables to keep themselves fed, they take the rest into town to sell or trade for the rest of their balanced diet. As the full moon inches closer, the meat becomes more and more of a requirement for them as of late, but for the most part, the butcher in town is happy to accommodate them.
As far as the rest of the city is concerned, Alek and Cora are a lovely couple who runs a cute little farm and are good neighbors, for better or worse. What they do on the full moons is none of their concern, so long as they don’t draw the attention of the Crownsguard. Which is fair, and honestly, Alek and Cora don’t want to do that either.
Still, Cora isn’t sure she could give up the freedom of running on a full moon, even if it would get her in trouble with the Empire. She’s followed Kord her entire life without heeding the religious restrictions, after all.
Most of their life is dictated by the loud noise of animals and constant business, but sometimes there’s stillness too. This particular evening is the one just after the full moon has passed. They built a fire in the pit just outside their front door and are staring up at the stars when Alek’s voice, soft and confused, floats down from above.
“Do you ever feel like there used to be more of us?”
“What do you mean?”
“Like a pack.” He glances down at her like he’s searching for something that she might have the answer to, somewhere in her mind. “Sometimes … I feel like we had a pack.”
“When?”
Before the question leaves her lips, she isn’t sure she wants an answer. As far as she’s concerned, her life began and ended with Alek. They found each other, took care of each other, and they were all they ever needed. She’d be lying if she didn’t say that the wolf in her didn’t ache for more, but she would have remembered if they had a pack.
“I don’t know,” he admits, his fingers trailing against her back. “It’s just … this feeling. That I’m forgetting something.”
She curls in closer, resting her head against his chest. “Yeah,” she admits softly, after wrestling with how to respond, but she can’t deny that she knows the feeling he’s explaining. “I think I know what you mean.”
- - - - - -
More cracks slip through, the longer things are silent around them. Alek sees wolves in the trees when he stares out into the woods for too long, or a flash of blond hair when he turns too quickly. One night, when dancing at the fall harvest celebration, Cora has a vision of a winged woman in armor, covered in a combination of blood and black sludge, but when she turns to draw Alek’s attention to it, she’s gone again. They conclude, separately, that somehow they must be losing their minds, but have yet to discuss anything together.
That is until the Cerberus Assembly comes to Felderwind.
Whoever the mages are clashing within the town square, they didn’t account for the Hales crossing through. They came into town to sell their wares, just as they usually did, when a wave of some spell crashes through the square, catching both of them around the middle.
The mage, whoever they are, is strong enough to dispel most things, but a god’s work is harder to break. Still, at that moment, it’s just enough to force one of the cracks wide open, and so many things come spilling into both their minds.
Chicago. Thraduzin. The Hales. Sarah. The war.
The crack reseals itself soon after, leaving the two werewolves with only the haunting images of the world they left behind, with no understanding of whether or not it’s authentic. Cora glances over at Alek, concern washing over her features as she does, before reaching out her hand to him.
“Did you?”
He nods slowly, worry coming over his face. “What was that?”
“I don’t know.”
She glances back to where the mages are subduing their opponent. Cora takes Alek’s arm, and they gather their things, practically running back to the safety of their own home. Once they reach the living room, neither of them seems to know where to start, and eventually, Alek buries his face in his hands and collapses against the couch.
“We must have been spelled somehow.”
“Spelled to what?” Cora frowns, leaning against the doorframe, her eyes fixed on the window to make sure none of the Assembly decided to follow their speedy escape. “Be plagued with these … visions?”
“I don’t know. But that mage’s counterspell seemed to have triggered something. Perhaps another mage can give us better answers.”
Cora glances briefly to him, not liking the idea of trusting someone else to do magic on them. Then, she looks back at the window. “Not the Assembly. We don’t know if we can trust them.”
“Then, who?”
She purses her lips. “I’ve heard of a powerful wizard in Nicodranas. Outside the Empire. He might be a better option.”
Alek nods slowly. “One of the neighbors will watch the farm. We should go as soon as we can make arrangements.”
“Are we sure we want to know?”
Somewhere, something in her knows that the things they’re looking to know aren’t going to be the most effortless secrets to uncover. Their life here may be simple, but they were happy. While she didn’t think her feelings for Alek would change, the visions have been enough to imply that other things weren’t so fortunate.
Alek watches Cora for a moment before getting to his feet and moving to press a kiss to her forehead. “Good or bad, nothing will change this. I promise you.”
That promise is all she needs. She hopes it will be enough.
that's when something wild calls you home ~ post-villagers (maybe) ~ 1,634
She isn’t sure if there was a taser or if a rosebush nearby has been struck by lightning, but the two discordant scents make her nose wrinkle. Beyond that one scent, everything hurts, and she can’t quite bring herself to open her eyes.
“Easy, little one.”
The voice booms like thunder, to the point where she’s not sure whether or not she’s actually hearing a voice, or just trying to sleep through a thunderstorm. A broad hand rests on the top of her head, just for a moment, and everything eases again, as she finds herself falling deeper into sleep, were it even possible.
“Things will be right again soon enough.”
Chicago falls and Cora can’t find Alek.
She doesn’t have anyone else to find. Derek slipped through a rift, Sarah trapped in Asgard. All she has is Alek, and she pushes her way through the streets, searching out the one person she’s most tethered to as the world tears open around them. Someone this tall shouldn’t be difficult to find, and yet she’s been searching much too long to be anything of comfort.
She left him behind once before. She’s not going to do it again.
“Cora!”
Her head snaps towards the sound of her name, and she sees him, not far out from her. He looks like he’s wounded. Dashing towards him, she takes hold of his hand to pull him closer.
“Come on. We need to get out of the street.”
No sooner do the words leave her lips, before the world disintegrates around them and they’re both falling further and further into darkness.
Cora jerks awake, the last vestiges of the dream fading from her memory as she tries to reorient herself in reality. It doesn’t take long to make out the shadows of her bedroom, dark corners slowly becoming more illuminated as dawn crests for the rest of the town around them. She feels an arm drape over her side, and she sighs slightly before curling back into him.
“It’s your turn to handle the cows.”
There’s an unintelligible grumble before Alek pokes his head over his shoulder. “Fine.” He pauses as he looks down at her. She feels his thumb brushing over the mark of the Stormlord on the inside of her wrist. “You alright?”
She shrugs, before turning and curling into his chest. “I had that dream again. The same one as before.”
He grumbles again, leaning closer to press a kiss to her forehead. “The one with the city falling?”
She nods. “I wish I knew what the Stormlord was trying to tell me.” Her voice is low, both for the early morning intimacy of their bedroom and so that the whisper of her allegiance won’t drift through the open windows. “These dreams are too specific to be concoctions of an addled mind.”
“Your mind isn’t addled,” He sighs as he pulls away from her to get dressed. His back is to her, and she sees the mark of the Everlight sitting between his shoulder blades, prominent, but easily hidden by his shirt. “And you’ll figure it out. Perhaps you’d like to take the calm, rhythmic action of milking the cows to mull it over some more.”
She laughs, reaching for the leather strap for her wrist that rests on the bedside table. “Nice try. Or would you rather trade to feed the pigs?”
The silence stretches out around him as he thinks it over, and she raises an eyebrow.
“Well?”
“I’m thinking.”
Their farm isn’t the largest in Felderwind, but it’s big enough to suit their purposes. A vegetable garden stretches out on their small plot of land, knowing better than to compete with those who had more extensive stretches to grow grain for miles. After taking enough eggs, milk, and vegetables to keep themselves fed, they take the rest into town to sell or trade for the rest of their balanced diet. As the full moon inches closer, the meat becomes more and more of a requirement for them as of late, but for the most part, the butcher in town is happy to accommodate them.
As far as the rest of the city is concerned, Alek and Cora are a lovely couple who runs a cute little farm and are good neighbors, for better or worse. What they do on the full moons is none of their concern, so long as they don’t draw the attention of the Crownsguard. Which is fair, and honestly, Alek and Cora don’t want to do that either.
Still, Cora isn’t sure she could give up the freedom of running on a full moon, even if it would get her in trouble with the Empire. She’s followed Kord her entire life without heeding the religious restrictions, after all.
Most of their life is dictated by the loud noise of animals and constant business, but sometimes there’s stillness too. This particular evening is the one just after the full moon has passed. They built a fire in the pit just outside their front door and are staring up at the stars when Alek’s voice, soft and confused, floats down from above.
“Do you ever feel like there used to be more of us?”
“What do you mean?”
“Like a pack.” He glances down at her like he’s searching for something that she might have the answer to, somewhere in her mind. “Sometimes … I feel like we had a pack.”
“When?”
Before the question leaves her lips, she isn’t sure she wants an answer. As far as she’s concerned, her life began and ended with Alek. They found each other, took care of each other, and they were all they ever needed. She’d be lying if she didn’t say that the wolf in her didn’t ache for more, but she would have remembered if they had a pack.
“I don’t know,” he admits, his fingers trailing against her back. “It’s just … this feeling. That I’m forgetting something.”
She curls in closer, resting her head against his chest. “Yeah,” she admits softly, after wrestling with how to respond, but she can’t deny that she knows the feeling he’s explaining. “I think I know what you mean.”
More cracks slip through, the longer things are silent around them. Alek sees wolves in the trees when he stares out into the woods for too long, or a flash of blond hair when he turns too quickly. One night, when dancing at the fall harvest celebration, Cora has a vision of a winged woman in armor, covered in a combination of blood and black sludge, but when she turns to draw Alek’s attention to it, she’s gone again. They conclude, separately, that somehow they must be losing their minds, but have yet to discuss anything together.
That is until the Cerberus Assembly comes to Felderwind.
Whoever the mages are clashing within the town square, they didn’t account for the Hales crossing through. They came into town to sell their wares, just as they usually did, when a wave of some spell crashes through the square, catching both of them around the middle.
The mage, whoever they are, is strong enough to dispel most things, but a god’s work is harder to break. Still, at that moment, it’s just enough to force one of the cracks wide open, and so many things come spilling into both their minds.
Chicago. Thraduzin. The Hales. Sarah. The war.
The crack reseals itself soon after, leaving the two werewolves with only the haunting images of the world they left behind, with no understanding of whether or not it’s authentic. Cora glances over at Alek, concern washing over her features as she does, before reaching out her hand to him.
“Did you?”
He nods slowly, worry coming over his face. “What was that?”
“I don’t know.”
She glances back to where the mages are subduing their opponent. Cora takes Alek’s arm, and they gather their things, practically running back to the safety of their own home. Once they reach the living room, neither of them seems to know where to start, and eventually, Alek buries his face in his hands and collapses against the couch.
“We must have been spelled somehow.”
“Spelled to what?” Cora frowns, leaning against the doorframe, her eyes fixed on the window to make sure none of the Assembly decided to follow their speedy escape. “Be plagued with these … visions?”
“I don’t know. But that mage’s counterspell seemed to have triggered something. Perhaps another mage can give us better answers.”
Cora glances briefly to him, not liking the idea of trusting someone else to do magic on them. Then, she looks back at the window. “Not the Assembly. We don’t know if we can trust them.”
“Then, who?”
She purses her lips. “I’ve heard of a powerful wizard in Nicodranas. Outside the Empire. He might be a better option.”
Alek nods slowly. “One of the neighbors will watch the farm. We should go as soon as we can make arrangements.”
“Are we sure we want to know?”
Somewhere, something in her knows that the things they’re looking to know aren’t going to be the most effortless secrets to uncover. Their life here may be simple, but they were happy. While she didn’t think her feelings for Alek would change, the visions have been enough to imply that other things weren’t so fortunate.
Alek watches Cora for a moment before getting to his feet and moving to press a kiss to her forehead. “Good or bad, nothing will change this. I promise you.”
That promise is all she needs. She hopes it will be enough.