Setting
She chuckled softly. "I've tried working on getting rid of the accent, I guess it is good that it is gone..." She murmured. "Moved here and there when I was a kid. Moved to Lutetia from Wing City though. Was a detective there too, until.. Well.." She tapped the scar that marred her neck. "Had a case of a serial killer on the loose. I thought it was someone trying to frame werewolves, because some of the killings were too staged. So I got cocky. I found the guy, and I didn't expect him to be a werewolf.." She murmured. "People said I was lucky to be alive, yet I didn't feel so lucky after all that.."
"So I moved to Lutetia. Needed to start a new life." She sighed. "Way to start it, hm?" Her tone was dripping with sarcasm.
"He taught me and me brother what it means to be what we are. And 'is dad taught him, and so on. I think maybe I forgot that, 'til last night."
He glanced over at her again.
"You know you're gonna die if you keep on the way you are," he said with an arch of his brow. "An' I don't mean 'unters, or Baron, or anyone else. Your body can't keep takin' the abuse."
"I had no one in my life for seven years." She said quietly. "I was disowned and left to fend for myself once it was known I was a danger to my 'human friends'." She murmured. "And for the longest time, I didn't care if I got better.. But I guess I realized I was too much of a coward to just let myself fade away." She admitted.
"That's why I moved to Lutetia, in truth." She said. "I was hoping that maybe I could find the answer.. But all I'm finding is that I'm running out of time.."
Anticipating her likely abrupt objections, he hurried on.
"Hear me out on it, before you say anythin'," he added.
"Right now you're two parts of a whole. The wolf, an' the 'uman. The wolf is a creature of instinct, but the 'uman? That's a creature of emotion. We can balance our emotions wi' logic, but the wolf doesn't know logic, right?"
"Well you spend all that time fightin', an' all of that fear, that anger, that pain... it's all still in you when the wolf comes out. A wolf doesn't kill without reason, but it doesn't know what to do wi' all of those emotions runnin' through its body, an' all that adrenaline in its blood."
"You're afraid of the wolf, but maybe 'tis the 'uman in you that's taintin' the wolf."
She lowered her gaze silently, his words driving hard into her. It made sense, mostly at least. "I guess I can see where you're coming from with that.." She murmured. "I've never not fought when I shifted suddenly.. And all I can think of when I do is my own anger of not being able to stop it.."
She then thought of something else and added, "But why am I shifting the same time every night then..?" She asked quietly, flinching as she realized he wouldn't have known that. "I er.." She looked out of the window. "I guess you can guess how I knew I was going to shift last night.. It happens every night at the same time. Doesn't matter if I'm dead asleep or not.. And sometimes I remember, and sometimes.. Like the other day, I don't remember anything." She murmured quietly.
"I can't even willingly shift. I've tried a time or two.." She added sheepishly.
"I don't know why you shift every night, but until you find a balance between the 'uman and the wolf, I don't think you'll find that answer."
Eventually the trail became so overgrown that they couldn't proceed any further.
"Almost there," he said as he turned the engine off. "We'll 'ave to walk the rest of the way."
It wasn't a far walk, and the faint woodland game trail soon gave way to to a large grassy field, ringed by forest. She likely could see their destination in the distance. A ring of tall stones was situated at the heart of the field. It seemed a peculiar enough place to have brought her, made all the more peculiar as they neared the location. The stones had no markers, no symbols, nothing to suggest their purpose. They where simply stones, sitting in a wide circle.
"Remember 'ow I said this all used to be part of Iveria? An' 'ow you could find remnants of our 'istory if you knew where to look? Me an' me brother foun' this place about a year ago. I imagine you're wonderin' why we're 'ere though."
He sat down on one of the lower stones ringing the circle, facing her.
"Go on then, you can ask now."
As she neared the location, she gently brushed her hand against one of the stones, listening to Desmond in silent wonder.
She turned her attention back to Desmond when he finally gave her permission to ask the questions that had been eating at her for over an hour now.
"What is this place.? Why did you bring me here..?" She asked quietly.
He seemed rather cheery about this fact, given that she had tried to literally bite his head off twice now, and was probably about to figuratively do the same now that she knew why she was out here.
She bit her lip and sighed. "But I did make a deal.. If you want me to try to do this, then so be it.." She placed her hands on her hips. "What do you want me to do?"
"This isn't somethin' you can learn to do in a day. Today is about changin' 'ow you see yourself, an' how you see the wolf," he explained.
"If you're going to get a 'andle on this, you need a new perspective. You need to forget everythin' you think you know, an' start over again."
"An' we won't do anythin' you're not comfortable with," he reassured her.
"Then.. I'll look at this with an open mind then. Tell me how." She said quietly. Her brows knit. "And.. Thank you.. You didn't have to care.. Hell, you could have just killed me and not have to bother with this at all. Some others would have.." She shivered visibly at some memory she had.
"Okay.. Well.." She murmured. "I see this stone formation. You, me.. Empty field other than that.." She shrugged slightly.
She shook her head, looking up at Desmond. "I don't see anything else.. The field is empty around us, and beyond that is the woods.."
She shifted on the rock slightly as she thought, trying to understand what he meant by his question.
Desmond nodded. "Good. Now close your eyes and tell me what you see.Take your time before you answer."
He himself fell quiet, leaving Chloe to the sounds and smells of the surrounding field so as to not disturb her.
Chloe took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She was silent for the longest time, pondering upon his question. With her eyes closed, her other senses became more sensitive. At first, all she could hear was her own heart beat.
Her brows came close together when a bird broke the silence by fluttering away, and her normal reaction was to turn her head towards the sound of the bird. The leaves and the grass rustled with the slightest movement of the breeze. Bugs buzzed around, and that seemed to annoy her the most. She could smell the sun warmed earth around them and the hint of rain in the air. It wasn't much more than what she had seen around them before.
"I see much of the same.. But there are a bit more things around that I didn't realize were there." She murmured finally.
"Alright, keep your eyes closed," Desmond told her. He stood up from his rock, and took her hands in his gently, to guide her to stand up. "I want to try somethin' with you, that me dad did for me when I was a lad," he told her.
"Take a step forward, an' kneel down 'ere in the grass," he told her. "An' 'old onto those sounds and smells. Can you tell me about them?" he asked.
"Well.. There's a pretty upset bird that we've disturbed his nap.." She murmured. "There's a slight breeze.. I smell rain on it. The grass and trees seem to be aware of it too.. There are bees zooming around that I swear has enough balls to take on your lady friend in the pack.." She chuckled softly.
"Very good," he told her. "I'm gonna walk you through a meditative exercise, an' I want you to listen very carefully to me voice 'til we're done. Can you do that?" he asked her.
She nodded silently. "Sure." She answered.
"Alright, I want you to relax, an' slow your breathin'," he told her. "Forget I'm 'ere, and imagine you're sittin' out 'ere by yourself. Now I want you to imagine up everythin' you can 'ear an' see, an' picture it all in your mind. Imagine the smell of the flowers that the bees are buzzin' aroun', an' the bird in the trees. What color is the bird?" he asked.
She nodded and engulfed herself into the surrounding area."It's a black bird.. One of those noisy ones that like to pester people for shiny things.." She murmured. She took slow deep breaths, and almost became entranced after a bit. Someone watching could almost wonder if she were asleep.
They went on like that for some time, with his voice droning quietly in the background as he guided her along, helping her to envision up the field within her mind until it was as real as the ground beneath her knees.
With the calming of her breath and the trance like sensation settling over her, he could almost see the tension easing out of her body and he stood quietly, taking a step back.
"Imagine yourself standing up, an' taking a step forward," he told her.
"Feel the grass beneath your paws, 'nd the breeze ruffling through your fur. It's gonna rain soon."
He hadn't explicitly told her to envision herself as a wolf, and instead aimed to guide her to it subtly with the context of his words.
"Don't be afraid. In the days before the Qualayan's landed on these shores, men called our kind friend, an' we roamed these lands without fear."
"Go to the forest. Feel its 'eartbeat beneath your paws. It's callin' you, it wants you to run wi' it."
Desmond's eyes watched her face carefully for any telltale signs of distress, but the slack calm reassured him.
"The smells of the forest are all around you, the sounds of the animals rustle in the trees overhead. They know you. You are a child of the lan'. The earth is your mother, an' both man and beast are your brothers."
"The trail 'as come to an end an' you see the field from earlier. Look back. The wolf is standin' there watching you, but it does not follow you as you step into the field. You can feel the sun on your skin, an' you can see the stones from earlier. Walk to them. Remember them. Kneel in the grass, remember the feel of it under you, an' when you're ready, open your eyes."
By the time he had started telling her to imagine her journey, she was the wolf. At first she was uncertain, and Desmond could see it form a slight worry line between her brows. But soon in her mind's eye, she was running. She traveled between the trees as fast as her legs could take her, and he would see that any concern was gone completely.
The journey was a long one and even as Desmond began to end the journey for her, she could feel that she didn't want to. She wanted to continue to run through the forest, but eventually the trail did end and she was back at the top of the hill.
She turned around and noticed that she was no longer a wolf, and she stared into the eyes of her wolf self. A knot of emotions registered almost immediately, between anxiety and longing. She didn't want to leave. Desmond could see the distress on her face about the decision. So it was no surprise when Chloe finally opened her eyes, they were glowing bright neon. She groaned and grabbed her head, bending over to where her forehead nearly touched the ground.
"Easy," he told her. "Remember the forest, remember the sounds an' the smells. The wolf is still there, it's still a part of you. It will be there when you're ready to run again. Touch it if you need to, feel its fur. It's safe, you're safe. Just breathe until it passes."
Given what the woman had been through the past few day, the last thing her body needed was another transformation. Still, he wasn't a moron. He stripped his jacket off and draped it over the stone to kneel down in front of her, so as to be wearing fewer restrictive articles of clothing in the event that he needed to shift abruptly.
"Look at me eyes. Do you see it? Do you see the wolf?" he asked.
The rise of the wolf in her had turned his own eyes amber, and the energy filled them both.
"Let it go."
He would try to ride it down with her, letting the wolf fade from his eyes with her own, if she would let him.
She lifted her gaze up to his, trembling. She could feel his energy, his wolf just on the edge himself. "I-it's hard.." She whispered. She swallowed hard and took in some more deep breaths but it did not seem she was going to let go easily.
"You're doin' just fine," he told her.
He put his hands on her shoulders to steady her.
"Focus on your breathin', an' let the fear go. Just breathe. You're safe here. Everythin' 'il be fine."
Intense adrenaline could easily spike a transformation even among more experienced shifters, so he focused on keeping her calm, slowing her heart rate, and steadying her breathing.
She swallowed again, and her breathing began to slow down over time. He could feel the energy slowly leave her, and eventually her eyes began to dim as well.
She was left a trembling mess.
"Th-that.. Was quite a ride.." She laughed sheepishly.
"How do you feel?" he asked.
She slowly sat up straighter and held her hands out in front of her. She couldn't stop them from shaking. "Let's not do that again right now.. Alright..?"
"No, I think that was quite enough for one day," Desmond said with a light chuckle.
He stood up and offered her a hand.
"Let's get you back to the car," he said. "The walk 'ill do you good, an' you can get some sleep during the drive back."
She looked relieved at that and took his hand gently. It took her a moment, as her legs had fallen asleep for sitting for so long but eventually she was back on her feet.
"At least.. You still have your arm this time." She smiled.
"I do?" he asked. He did a quick pat down of himself, checking all his limbs. "I guess I do," he agreed with a wink.
He picked his coat up and shrugged it back on. As they made their way across the field he fished his cigarettes out of his pocket and lit one up for the walk back to the car.
"Tell me a bit about yourself Alek. Alek Constantine is it? Where are you from originally? How long have you graced Terra with your presence?"
Alek looked at Bowen in the middle mirror, his red eyes glowing still. "Fine." Alek said, his accent thick but spoke of a language of ancient Insunar. "I hale from the snowy plains of the north. Born to Amena and Aodh Constantine.. I joined the Church in mission to my Lord when I was but a boy and died when I was 37.. And since then, I have walked this forsaken place for six-hundred and fifty six years.."
Alek fell silent.
"I was bit at the age of twenty-two, lived in Insunar for nearly my whole life after that, and I have walked the world for five-hundred and eighty-two years." A heavy fog was falling upon the road and yet Bowen continued to drive. Trees passed at either side of the car as they continued on. "Why do you kill? Is it for pleasure Alek, Son of Aodh?"
"I never killed for pleasure.." He answered honestly, still speaking in the strange tongue. "My mother and father were killed by rogue werewolves on the way home from traveling.. I was orphaned, and since my father was the man of the church.. The church gracefully took me in." He said quietly. "I was taught their ways of dealing with the supernatural at the time.. By the time, I was seventeen, I had killed my first werewolf who had murdered a farmer and his daughter." Alek confessed.
"I fell in love once.. When I was near twenty full cycles of the sun.. Hair as gold as the the sun, the most beautiful blue eyes.. Her name was Abby.." He whispered. "And I was going to put up my weapons, retire.. Run away with her if I had to.. But I was going to marry her.."
He paused for a long time. "She was taken from me by a vampire.. A master vampire.." He murmured. "I took 17 years to find him.. And when I tried to kill him.. I was bitten.." His voice trembled in anger and sorrow.
"I kill for my lord.. I killed for revenge of those who could not fight for their life.. And I killed for my parents.." Alek murmured.
When Alek answered him Bowen looked at him hard in the rearview mirror. "Who then is imprisoned and hidden away? Where are they?"