It was a while before Lian could drag himself to his feet.
Few people remained in the area, staring at his back in fear and awe. Many had fled the out of control scene.
“Lian?”
The voice wasn’t inside his head and it took Lian some time to realize someone else was speaking to him.
With blurry eyes he looked up.
He wasn’t expecting to see his teacher standing a few steps away, one hand outstretched in supplication.
Lian was confused for only a moment before the rumbling of the wolf’s growl finally penetrated through his numb limbs. He could feel the beast’s chest rumble in warning.
“Fenrir.” He said softly.
Instantly the wolf stopped, its head turning to look Lian in the eyes.
Lian felt a tug inside his chest, a connection he didn’t understand but didn’t want to examine. He was tired and weary, not to mention covered in ash and dirt, wet with the rain he’d brought down. Strangely he realized that his clothes, though dirty beyond repair, were not burnt or torn. Something had protected him from the flames that had originally burned down his small shack. Lian wasn’t sure he even cared about that anymore though.
“Lian, will you come with me?”
His teacher looked sincere enough. Her blonde hair was out of its usual bun, hanging in long waves over her shoulder making her face look far younger than Lian would have guessed.
“She means no harm cub. She is worried about the other villagers and what they will do after the events of tonight.”
Again the wolf’s voice echoed in his mind, but Lian wouldn’t question it now. He’d just lost everything from one moment to the next, so what if his sanity went too.
“Okay.” He choked out through a throat as dry as the desert.
He got to his feet slowly, using the body of the wolf for support.
When he tried to take a step he stumbled but the wolf was there beside him. Lian sank his fingers into the coarse fur at the back of Fenrir’s neck. The action grounding him in more ways than merely physical.
The muscles of the wolf’s back were strong under his hand as they walked. Lian felt something akin to embarrassment as he used his Familiar's body to keep upright.
“You are hardly to blame cub.” Fenrir chided him gently, his head swinging to the side to bump against Lian’s side. “There is much for you to think on. Much for you to decide and come to terms with. You will not feel so weak for long. For now, let yourself feel as you must. I will be here to protect you.”
It was the most the wolf had spoken so far but with every world, Lian found himself relaxing the iron grip he had on his volitional emotions.
He could no longer see the other villagers, he couldn’t even see his teachers back as she led him to wherever they were going. His focus was on the animal walking by his side.
Black as midnight, with eyes as blue as midday sky. Smaller than a full grown wolf but larger than one of the villager’s largest herding dogs. Fenrir’s shoulder came up to just below Lian’s hips while the top of his head reached Lian’s stomach.
Lian couldn’t stop himself from wondering about the creature. Surely Fenrir should be larger than a full grown wolf. His mother’s raven had been at least twice as large as a normal raven.
“It is because I am not fully grown.”
Once again Fenrir provided an answer to a question he did not ask out loud.
“Can you read my mind?” he asked in slight irritation. He wasn’t sure why, but the thought didn’t bother him as much as he thought it probably should. He was numb to surprise, still in a stilted state of shock it seemed.
Lian saw his teacher look back at him and the wolf, but she must have caught on that he was not speaking to her because she was quick to turn her head and continue picking their way through the village streets.
Lian tried not to see all of the eyes peeking out from windows and doors left ajar, but he felt them on him like a physical touch. He just wasn’t ready to deal with it now.
“No, but you are thinking them aloud to me.” Fenrir answered.
Confused, Lian shook his head. “No I am not.”
Fenrir swung his head again to gently bump it against Lian’s stomach. “You are, you just don’t know it. Don’t worry cub, I will teach you to control our link. I will not be in your head forever. For now, bear with it for a bit. You need food and rest. I can explain what I know later.”
Lian wanted to argue, but he realized the truth in the wolf’s statement. He was tired in a way he’d never been before. His training had always drained him mentally and physically, but this was more than that. It felt as if his very soul was struggling to remain standing.
“You wore yourself down with such a large display of magic. You were newly awakened and yet controlled storms and lighting.” Fenrir sounded awed yet proud. It made Lian’s stomach clench.
“I don’t understand.” Lian admitted quietly, afraid others would hear him.
“Neither do I.” Fenrir assured him with another nudge of his head.
They walked in silence for a while, until they came up to a small hut just behind the school building.
“Come in. You must be tired and hungry. I will bring you food.” The woman said as she let them into the hut and fussed around a small wood stove.
The hut was small as a rule, the teacher often being its only resident, but Lian was amazed at how clean and neat the place looked.
A bed was set to the far right next to an open window, a candle lit the inside of the hut from a small table carved of oak in the middle of the room while a small wood stove rested against the opposite wall to the entrance.
“Do you live here?” Lian found himself asking his teacher. He wasn’t sure he could even remember her name at this point. Something-moon perhaps?
“No.” She answered with a small shake of her head. Her voice didn’t carry with it the same edge it held in classes. Lian was grateful for it. Being barked at had never been something he enjoyed, and he felt just off kilter enough to take such an action as an attack in his current state. “The other teachers use this place to rest between classes. Younger students, older students, and the adults of the village are all taught in the same building at separate times. It is the King’s Rule for everyone to be aware of laws and history. So everyone must be taught properly.”
Lian nodded, accepting the answer for what it was.
She was messing with the woodstove, but Lian was past caring what happened to him. So he sunk to the floor beside the straw-filled mattress on a wooden frame. He was much too dirty to attempt to lay on top of it.
Without a word, Fenrir saddled up to Lian and laid at his side, curling around him as best the wolf could while laying his massive head on Lian’s lap.
Idly, as if he’d done it hundreds of times, Lian started to stroke the fur between Fenrir’s eyes, running his finger gently through the softness of the wolf’s massive ears.
“Have you met him before?”
His teacher’s voice drew Lian’s attention up, her words not sticking to his brain as he stared at her blankly.
Her eyes were soft as they gazed at him and Lian couldn’t bring himself to move more than his hand.
“You act as if you are old friends. He lays with you as if he knows he is welcome in your space and you accept it as if his presence is as natural as breathing. I have never seen a Mage interact with their Familiar before.” She explained with a small smile.
Lian was almost started. He’d never seen his teacher smile before.
“It’s…” He started but had to pause when he really thought about her words.
He allowed his gaze to fall to his hand that was still running through Fenrir’s fur. The wolf had his eyes closed, enjoying the contact like it was a gift. Lian was confused and a bit irritated, but still he could not stop his hand from moving. The motions gave him a sense of peace he wasn’t willing to examine too closely least it fade back into the dull pain and numb understanding that he’d just lost everything he ever loved.
“I’m not sure what it is.” He admitted to her, looking back up into her eyes. “I am comforted by the action. Soothed in a way I’ve only ever been while practicing the sword.”
His teacher nodded as if the answer was enough before she brought him a mug filled with herbal smelling liquid.
“I brewed you a tea for your nerves.” She explained when he looked at the cup blankly. “You’ve been through much today. Rest for now. We will talk later I’m sure.”
And with that she left the hut.
Lian stared after her, a mug held in one hand while the other stroked over Fenrir’s furry face.
“It is fine to drink.” Fenrir told him. “It smells like mint leaves and berries.”
Lian nodded absently as he brought the cup to his lips and sipped.
There was so much he wanted to ask his Familiar, but they all wared within him at once, not allowing him to decide which one would be most important in this moment.
Yet there was one thought that battled far more effectively than the others.
What now?
Comments (0)
See all