Chapter 242: And We’re Back

Hills rolled before the sledge once more as Kat, Lucia, and Ann hauled it onward. A blessed sight, because it meant they were nearly back. Back to getting underground and unloading what they’d bought and traded for.

The trip back had been tense. Everyone was on alert for the mysterious Warped creature haunting them, but it had made no appearances. Even at night, no sounds were heard, no scents, and Lucia had checked for tracks. Nothing. Either it was just not around, or it was getting sneakier. Neither option was a comfort to Ann. If it was elsewhere, it was doing something, and that something probably meant getting stronger. If it was sneakier? Well, it’d probably have to fly or pick up a skill that lets it not leave footprints. Either option was a terrifying possibility.

“We’re grabbin’ a pack o’ wild elk next time,” Kat panted as they pushed. “Swear on Bryltia’s bow I’ll find an’ tame them. This is awful.”

“Not much… further… now,” Lucia grunted as she angled the sledge a bit more to the left.

Ann did her best to help, pulling on her side of the bar to make the turn easier.

“Gonna miss having… a… bed,” Ann gasped. She was drenched in sweat, her fur was matted down, and her tail had even stopped wagging. At least they could pass the fuck out when they got back. She wanted to be not dead and dying when she gave Abigail the doll.

“Me… too…” came Kat’s reply as she grit her teeth and kept up the pressure.

“Sorry we can’t help,” Rosalyn said for the umpteenth time this leg of the trip. “I just… I dunno if I could even push with the bar that high.”

Ann rolled her eyes and kept going. She knew her girlfriend meant well, but she was not in the mood after so much physical effort. Still, she knew better than to snap at Rosalyn, so just clenched her jaw tight and kept pushing.

By Voltid’s beard, was she happy to hear Alruna’s whistle and see the doors open in front of them. The pulling team didn’t even stop, and just got the sledge on the downward slope. Gravity took forward momentum from them, and now they just had to steer. Eyes was in the greeting party and jumped in to help.

“You three look exhausted. Take a break, just walk down. I’ve got this.”

Ann, Kat, and Lucia gratefully ducked out of the way and let their friends be guided further in while they collapsed against the cold stone wall. It felt amazing as they regained their breath.

Clopping hooves heralded Lorvin’s approach, the centaur lugging two buckets of water on his shoulders. They weren’t completely full, seeing as they had to be set down on the sloped floor, but the three women could not care less. Everyone drank their fill, then doused each other with the rest. It was invigorating and cold, and it brought to light how dead tired Ann was.

“You three look wrung out. Come on. Journey’s end isn’t far now. Y’all got some nice cots to sleep in now, ya hear? We’ve had Fur working on that stuff for two whole days.”

“Bless them,” Lucia sighed, accepting Lorvin’s assistance in standing.

Ann nearly cried. “A bed!”

Alruna was swarmed by people by the time they reached the landing at the bottom of the spiral tunnel, handing out food and other requested items. A few people gave them nods of recognition, but mostly left them alone. That was plenty for them. Bread, some meat, and more water were waiting for them in their tents. Lucia waved as she ducked inside her place, while Kat and Ann entered theirs.

Beds. They weren’t anything special, but they were solid, they were wooden, and they had enough cushion in the sacks acting as mattresses to get them through the night. Problem was, there were three of them. Each bed only fit one person.

“We can probably fit ‘em tagether,” Kat said around a mouthful of bread. “They don’t really ‘ave sideboard to ‘em.”

“Yeah, guess that’ll work. We’d be screwed if they did. Can you imagine? Rosalyn would demand she be in the middle so she could hold hands with us.” Ann sat heavily on one of the cots and dug into her own meal.

Not long after, she heard a soft thump from Kat’s direction. The woman had passed out with a piece of bread still in her mouth. Crumbs covered her chest, and she was snoring softly. Ann thanked the Gods she hadn’t been wearing her heavy armour as she stood.

Apparently, there was one last patch of scales that was coming in, just a little strip from her forehead down to the tip of her nose. They were small, almost delicate-looking. Ann kissed them gently before pulling the loaf from her lover’s mouth.

Kat started chewing in her sleep.

“Wow, she’s really out.” Rosalyn ducked into the tent. “Everyone’s all set outside. Alruna told me to get over here. Bren is with Lucia.”

Ann yawned wide, lips stretching over sharp teeth. Her tongue stretched out of her mouth, twisting itself up before whipping back into place. “I’m ‘bout to join her. I’m wiped, love. Help me out?”

“Duh.” Rosalyn moved in and finished cleaning up Kat’s chest while Ann got her boots off, then her socks. Both smelled terrible and needed a thorough wash in the morning. Hells, Kat needed a thorough washing in the morning, and so did Ann. The rinse wasn’t enough for the level of sweaty they’d gotten. Right now, she just wanted to sleep.

Rosalyn wrestled Kat out of her shirt while Ann held the woman’s shoulders up. It wasn’t until she was completely limp that they had an appreciation for just how heavy the princess was. No wonder Bren needed that piece of wood to haul her when she’d broken her leg months ago. A silent look later, the two agreed they’d deal with Kat’s hair later. The braids were getting frizzy, and needed it anyway.

Ann getting undressed wasn’t as complicated since she could do it all herself. She did the basics, clothes off, and got her brush out for her tail. It didn’t need it, really. Her hair was always perfectly untangled, but the habit was still calming. Long, slow strokes. Over and over.

“Ann, you’re drooping.”

Rosalyn’s hand gently took the brush, putting it on the ground next to the bed.

“Sorry. Eepy.”

“I know. You’re also really stinky. We’ll put the beds together tomorrow.”

“But snuggles!”

“I… Ann, you don’t know what that’ll do to me, and I don’t think you have the energy for that tonight.”

“Hm? Wha? Energy? Who’s she?”

“Exactly,” Rosalyn giggled. “Just sleep for tonight, and you can put me between two sweaty bodies tomorrow.”

“Love you…” All of Ann’s words were mumbled. Her eyes had closed, and somehow a pillow wound up under her head.

“Love you, too. I’ll be right over here.” Rosalyn’s voice retreated, then the sound of a cot squeaking came from across the room.

“Mkay. Gonna sleep.”

And she was gone. Sleep didn’t quite overtake her as much as it flicked the switch from barely conscious to completely dreaming.

She was back in the dark forest. Black pine trees blanketed with pure white snow beneath a black and starry sky. She was naked, again, but coming here wasn’t exactly as scary as it had been, nor was it as scary as when Orenous had popped in.

“Waheela, you in here?”

No response.

Shrugging, Ann set off in a random direction. It’d put her in reach of the ancient wolf spirit, but she mostly trusted Waheela at this point.

Proving her point, the ground shook as paws the size of her torso landed feet away. Ann wiped the snow Waheela kicked up off her. “Jesus! Scared the hell out of me!”

You should have heard me coming, pup. You still make for a poor hunter. We will work on that.

“My day’s been exhausting enough. Can we just chill tonight?”

It is already cold.

Ann chuckled. “I know you know my memories. You know what I mean.”

Yet it lightens your spirits. Playing the fool sometimes has its benefits. You should know.

“What, acting like a ditzy seducer getting me a solid contract with a blacksmith nearly sight unseen? Didn’t even need to sign anything, and she was champing at the bit.”

Your allure is more potent than you seem to realise, with how sparsely you use it. The Grrn would have made an exception if you had invited.

“Yeah, but the whole ‘being a guy’ thing. Still very solidly lesbian, thank you.”

Twas merely an observation. One such thing you need to work on. How long have I been holding your tail?

Ann jumped forward, twirling to find Waheela’s gigantic teeth gently closed around her tail. The massive creature let her go as soon as she moved, but the point was made. Her senses were dull.

“Well, being a ghost monster is cheating. I can’t hear your footsteps, pawsteps?”

I do not make sound when I move, and neither should you. With the small enchanter’s work, you make less of the noise than you did. Still, that is not the sense of observation you are found lacking in. You still do not feel. Your history binds your mind and soul, constricting you to what you are used to, even if you wield the power of the divine like a club.

Ann rankled at the scornful tone, but Waheela was getting at something. Her body was changing, yeah, but Waheela was in her soul as well. Was it just her body taking a new form? “Alright, so we doing wax on, wax off? You going to have me carry heavy rocks up stairs for months?”

No. You will be still. You will listen without your ears.

“Dunno how I can do…” Ann suddenly couldn’t hear her own voice. She felt the vibrations in her throat and her tongue moving to form the words, but she couldn’t even hear the sound through her own skull. Rapping against her forehead, she couldn’t even hear that.

Rumbling told her Waheela was probably saying something, but she couldn’t tell what, and cocked her head the way Kat teased her for being puppy-like.

The massive wolf huffed, warm air blasting Ann as her nostrils flared.

Fine, fine, she’d sit, and she’d try to listen. Crossing her legs, sitting up straight, she did the meditating thing. She controlled her breathing and let her mind slip through thoughts like water. Worries for Kat came and vanished. Curiosity about Rosalyn’s interactions with Xirali whirled through and fled like the wind. Bren and Lucia danced across her mind, but left no footprints. Even Orenous gave her a wink, but vanished in a puff of purple smoke.

She stayed like this for a while, searching for something. Anything. After what felt like an hour, she cracked an eye open. Waheela was in front of her, head resting on the snow, her eyes closed as well. One of them opened, baleful silver, and her lips pulled back in a growl.

Yup! Keep trying. Ann closed her eyes again and searched. She tried to find something like when she drew on her Mind to cast her smite. That well of power was still there, glowing purple in her mind’s eye, but it wasn’t what she was looking for. She passed her Libido and Desire, both hilariously symbolised as two women, perfect mirrors of herself, making out in different shades of red and pink. Ann’s libido was pretty high right now, so the red one was the taller of the two. Kat would get a kick out of that.

Still, she moved on. She felt the rough outlines of her soul. It was where Waheela lived, and since the first time she’d literally fallen into it, the feeling was always there. It wasn’t like it had a shape, really, but she could sense its mercurial form. Like the trees here, it was changing all the time. Her first nightmare of this place had metal trees, then ghost white when Waheela had first shown herself, now dense pines. Ann let the curiosity of why that was fade.

She just… sat there. No matter what she tried, she couldn’t sense anything outside herself. It was frustrating, and she was growing antsy. Her legs wanted to move. Her hands’ claws itched. Her paws wanted to flex and feel the snow and dirt between their claws.

Enough.

Suddenly hearing Waheela again made Ann jump out of her skin. Tail fluffed, ears back, and on all fours, she braced for an attack that wasn’t coming.

The ancient wolf’s lips split in a mocking laugh. Did I frighten you, wee babe?

“Yeah, you did! Thought my heart was gonna fall out,” Ann panted, standing properly and walking in circles to work off the sudden burst of energy. “Goddamn haunted house jumpscare type shit. On god.”

The wolf snickered like that old cartoon dog. What was his name? Wasn’t Snoopy. It was close, though. You tried, and you have failed. We will repeat this until you are able to sense beyond yourself.

“Yeah, got any pointers on that? I was trying, cause I figured this was some sort of Force-type thing, but I couldn’t. I just kept feeling inward, like my soul, all that.”

Only yours?

Ann stopped her pacing dead. That was it. That was what she was missing. “You’re in here, too. I should be able to sense you as well, right? Like, I get your feelings, but…”

Only because I push them onto you, yes, Waheela grinned. You are not truly feeling me. Sensing my presence and being. That is what we practice. With the creature hunting us, I fear you will need this skill soon. We are surrounded by others who might provide excellent training. I can think of no better place than sitting yourself in a nest of Chittering Crawlers, and I rather dislike that idea.

“You and me both, girlie pop.” Why the fuck was she using this slang?

You are nervous. Masking with humour.

“Reading my thoughts is cheating.”

Then read mine? Waheela cocked her head like Ann tended to do. Ok, she could see why Kat found it adorable. Maybe that’s where she got the habit.

“I’ll keep trying. I’m just getting antsy and frustrated right now. Can we do something else, or should I just get back to sleeping?”

You will be plenty rested. Fret not. Your exhaustion has let your body fall into a deeper slumber, allowing your time here to not influence your recovery.

“Oh neat! So what else should we do?”

I will not be changing form.

“Aww, I want to see what you’d look like as a hot wolf lady!” Ann pouted.

No.

She sounded pretty final about that, but Ann wasn’t going to give up. She’d make the two wolves joke real.

NO!

“Fine, you can keep thinking that.”

I am a primordial force of hunter and fear! I am the haunting part of your psyche that you shove into the deepest recesses so you don’t have to confront that you are but a simple beast!

“Oh, am I finally getting answers on that?” Ann teased.

You are choosing to be especially infuriating today.

“Yeah. You said I’m nervous as hell, and I’m masking. You’re right. Everything about that Warped hunting us freaks me out. We really need to give it a name, by the way. Names make things less scary. I mean, look at us! Much friendlier after you got your name.”

That was not the impetus, but it did initiate more… informal conversation.

“Oh, so it was watching me rail Kat and Rosalyn, making ooey gooey lovey dovey love? Being total sweethearts?”

Waheela’s muzzle opened, and her tongue fell out as she mock retched. It was a joke. Still, Ann couldn’t help but be fascinated by how long those fangs were.

“You think I’m ever gonna get teeth like those?”

I highly doubt you will grow to my size. Maybe then.

Ann plopped on her butt. If they were gonna keep talking, she could at least get comfortable. “Got it. Take all of the skills that let me get bigger. Heh, Rosalyn’d love that. Girl already trips over herself when she has to look up at me. I think Kat likes having someone taller than her, too. Not many ladies like that when you’re six foot.”

You have a commanding presence. Waheela nodded. Feh, now I grow restless. We train more.

“Train? But that meditating shit was super boring,” Ann groaned.

Who said we were doing the same training?

Waheela’s form collapsed in on itself. Like a black hole, she shrank down and down and even further down until it coalesced into the shape of a supernaturally black wolf. She was still huge, standing as tall as Ann at the top of her head, but no longer as big as a mountain. Glowing white teeth appeared from the void as shining silver eyes regarded Ann calmly. Ann had never seen Waheela’s tail before, but she could see that it was fluffy even if it was impossibly black.

Waheela barked. Run!

Ann felt her heart skip a beat. Before her mind told her to, her paws and hands were scrambling as she got up to run. Pine trees blurred past her as she bolted, but she couldn’t hear Waheela giving chase.

An ethereal howl wafted through the trees. A long, sonorous, mournful noise. Something inside Ann wanted to answer the call. She knew what it meant.

Waheela was on the hunt!