So. Werewolves? A thing. Lyle even had one living in one of the old barns on his family's property. And she said somebody was missing. Somebody she knew. Beyond that, Lyle hadn't been able to get much more out of her but he assumed that the person was a werewolf, too. Maybe family, friend, maybe somebody close. To be honest, she wasn't that friendly towards him but he could sort of understand why. Humans hadn't been kind to her and they kind of had a shitty track record. Lyle was doing his best to change that, though.
How do I find somebody that I don't know? How did he even know what to look for? That was why he was up by Pebble Lake, in the hopes of finding something. Already he'd scoured the woods around his house and the farm but so far, no good. If his new werewolf friend ended up separated from this person, maybe they were farther away. Hence the lake.
Idly, Lyle traversed along the lake bed, occasionally picking up a stone, hefting it in his hand and then skipping it over the calm surface of the lake. Nothing really seemed to look out of place. The lake was quiet this time of day--an hour or so before dusk. It was already growing dark out. Winter seemed to bring the clouds and the moon much faster. If he stayed much longer, he was going to be be chewed out for not being home on time for dinner.
Lyle crouched down for another rock, but then remained where he was, the smooth rock cool against his palm. What was that? He heard the barest whisper of a sound close by. There was no wind so it wasn't the tall grass rustling in a breeze. Lyle squinted out into the grass around him, out beyond the grass and the bank and out where the trees lined the area. A strange sensation tickled his spine and he shivered, looking warily over his shoulder. Nothing. Slowly he stood, the stone still in hand. He held it tight, ready to throw as needed.
"Hello? Is somebody out there?"
Despite working during the day, after dark was when Nozomi fit right in. Literally and figuratively. His magic played well in the daytime with shadows cast upon the ground giving him plenty of places to hide and travel through, however, that was where his strength in the daytime ended. His magic was meant for the darkness, when the moon came out and most people hid away in the protection of their homes.
The darkness would still obey his call during the day, yes, however, it held a whole new level of power at night, when there was already a veil of gray cast over everything. He took even less effort to pull from it when he didn't have to create it, and instead manipulate what was readily available.
Spending time at his friend's cabin, he glanced outside her window at the sky. As usual, he liked to come here to watch the sunset. It was a beautiful and comforting sight, the sun setting as well as rising during the night and day.
Normally, he was alone when he traversed outside to the lake's edge or sat upon one of the benches, but today seemed different, oddly.
He'd appeared between the trees which surrounded the lake, walking through the eerie shadows as he normally did. Yet, he sensed there was someone there, and had to duck behind a tree to keep from being seen as soon as he appeared, catching a glimpse of the person's back.
Nozomi stepped around and passed the tree, as if the view of him was blocked briefly by it and he'd been walking there, rather than frozen in the shadows. He raised his brows quizzically and continued forward, shoulders back with his hands in his pockets to hide them from the chill, recovering from his surprise.
"Sorry, sorry, did I scare you?" he said apologetically.
Kids in this town, he swore...
(He's a befuddled old person. 'These kids? Why?? Do they all??? Go out??? Looking for trouble??? At the worst times???')
Cursing under his breath, Lyle let the rock slip from his hand. He felt like a right idiot, holding onto a rock for protection against something out here. Especially if there really was some kinda shifter gobbling monster out here. But... this was supposed to be where werewolves were, right? Lyle watched the man with wary eyes, not moving closer nor further from.
"Have you seen any wolves out here?" he asked.
Might as well go out on a limb and ask. Maybe this person could lead him in the right direction. If that was the case, it would make his self-imposed job a lot easier. (Well, it wasn't totally self imposed. He was looking for somebody's friends and family, after all.)
Seeing the kid's expression, Nozomi chose not to step any closer. He looked like a student, and considering it was dangerous for adults around here, a kid definitely shouldn't be hanging around the area by themselves. Considering he'd seem awful strange walking around by himself, too, he didn't mention that.
"Eh?" Wolves? Nozomi's brows furrowed. What was a kid doing looking for wolves?
After a moment, he slowly shook his head. "Sorry, I only just stepped outside now and haven't seen any." he scrutinized the kid, "Why are you looking for wolves? That's kind of dangerous, no?"
Was he a young hunter? Or... a curious kid as they were wont to be, especially with all that went on in this town?
"Maybe," he said. Most people weren't going around looking for wolves but it wasn't as if Lyle was going to share with a total stranger why he was looking for wolves. His best reason for it?
"I found an injured wolf that I've been taking care of and I thought maybe I could find her pack."
That was about as safe as it got without giving away too much. And it was mostly the truth. The girl he found was a wolf, and for now, she was safe. But she probably could do with finding more like herself.
"I heard there was a pack in this area."
"Oh, that's terrible." The poor animal must be frightened, alone and taken care of by a person, unable to defend itself in the different environment. Nozomi did have doubts about what the kid was telling him, but outright asking about magic was out of the question.
"It's impressive you're taking care of her."
He let his gaze roam over the trees, past the lake. "These are woods, so there's definitely a pack, but..." he quirked his head, considering how to continue,
"What can you do if you find it? A pack of wolves would likely attack, unless you could talk to animals or something." Even then, they may only communicate wanting to dig their teeth into his neck.
(Nozomi is highly doubting wolf whisperer over here, lol)
Being a naturalist, communicating with animals was actually sort of one of his gifts, too. It wasn't like talking to people, though. He couldn't make animal sounds but he could understand what they were communicating to him when they made their sounds. But... that sounded like crazy talk so Lyle only let out a soft laugh and half smiled as he wrapped his arms around himself.
"I doubt they'll attack me," he said. "And no, I can't talk to them, but I can see if there are wolves around here, see if it's safe to bring her here when she's ready."
By nature, animals were cautious around him, whether the most domesticated cat or a territorial wolf. He couldn't help it, and at this point, became accustomed to the reaction. His magic wasn't exactly what one would call 'good'. However, he thought animals tread carefully in any case, but maybe he was wrong.
"Ah, really?"
He thought the kid was leaving some pieces of information out, raising his brows and giving him a careful, quizzical Look, but he didn't push.
"... Well, if you really want to look for them, I can help you. I don't feel very good leaving someone alone here, so..." he smiled, letting his sentence trail off. Nozomi might have been tempted to say 'a kid', but to be perfectly fair, no one was out of risk of danger wandering around these parts. He could escape with a fair amount of ease, hence his lack of concern for himself.
"Well, yeah." Lyle shrugged. "They might not be the right pack, though. That might be a problem."
He didn't say that he could describe the pack to the girl--wolf--that he was taking care of. That just seemed like he was asking for trouble. Even in Hazleton, it wasn't always safe to discuss the nature of his abilities. His mother always cautioned himself and his brothers to be careful who they showed it to or talked about it with. She knew the people who were safe. But they couldn't know everybody was. And Lyle had never met this guy before.
"But sure, if you want to help." It was better than going it alone, unless this guy was luring him into a trap. Another thing his mother told him to stay wary of. He would keep his eyes and ears open. Do his best to stay safe. Not go too far into the forest.
"I'm Lyle," he said as he held out a hand, the way his father taught him to.
For now, he would wonder the missing details of the kid's story, and see if there were any more hints later on.
Yeah, Nozomi couldn't help but to offer his help. If he left the kid to wander around and find the wolves he was searching for on his own, there was no saying what could happen. Not every possibility was morbid, but... there was no way he would know.
Nozomi shook his hand, "Nozomi." For now, Lyle was stuck with him. He turned to survey the forest, glancing at him in the corner of his eye.
"Did you have an idea where the wolves might be?" Since animals were wary of Nozomi-- more so than with most kinds-- he never went out of his way to search out where the pack in this forest made their home, or if there were multiple packs.
"I have sort of an idea."
Lyle started walking alongside the riverbed, pointing downward as he did.
"Tracks."
There were definite wolf tracks near the river, where they would naturally come to drink water before going on a hunt. That didn't mean they were werewolves, though. They could just as easily be true wolves. But the tracks were there. Lyle was no special hunter or anything. Just a simple farm boy, but he knew what predator tracks looked like. They were all around their coops in the winter, when food in the forest became scarce.
"And then up that way." Lyle pointed up, further into the woods.
Nozomi raised a brow, gaze following where Lyle was pointing.
"Ah," he mused thoughtfully, catching on. Nozomi hadn't thought about tracking them, but never searched out wolves or any other animal. Dragons being predatory creatures didn't hold much meaning when living in a town, mostly in a human form... or when one was trying their best to steer clear of frightening anyone. Even larger animals who hunted because they needed to were feared.
"Good call." he flashed a small grin, noting the path the track led. and they were on their way.
Nozomi shifted his eyes up to the sky, attentive to the setting sun.
(I wasn't certain the pace you wanted to go with the wolves, so didn't run through to them finding anything. If you want me to, prod me or whatever.)
(It's all good, you can always throw stuff at me.)
Lyle followed the tracks mostly in silence, picking his way through the hills as they grew steeper and the trees grew thicker. Before he realized it, he was unable to follow anymore tracks... because the sun had set. Lyle stopped, looked back the way they'd come--and saw nothing but trees. Shit.
"Maybe we should go back--"
AWOOOOOOO!
The sound of the wolf's howl made his heart skip a beat and Lyle finally realized that he was truly putting himself into harm's way. He was halfway up the mountains and he'd found what he was looking for... in the dark and with no clear pathway back. Lyle patted himself down and found his phone. Of course, it couldn't connect... he expected that but still made a noise of disappointment.
But he could still use the flashlight function.
"I should've come earlier," he admitted to Nozomi. "Hopefully we don't run into any feral wolves out here..."
"... Probably." hesitatingly Nozomi agreed without adding more on what a risky play Lyle made. He didn't want to sound preach-y, but when it wasn't a safe place during the day, after dark certainly wasn't any better... Lyle probably figured out all of the issues with his plan now-- or at least he hoped.
When he offered to join, Nozomi's concern wasn't out of paranoia.
The howl sounded close enough to be concerning. He glanced in the direction where it came from, wondering if they would really have to deal with an angry pack of wolves. Behind them were trees shrouded in the grays of nighttime, illuminated only briefly when the light of the flashlight struck them, chasing away the dark.
I'm glad I came with him.
"If we do, we'll think of something." If it came to it, wolves wouldn't like his magic very much.
"Go," he heard the sound of rustling leaves nearby, and was starting to pick up the faint scent of a certain predatory animal, so Nozomi put his hand on Lyle's back and nudged slightly. There was no maybe-- they needed to leave, and leave immediately.
Not only because of the flashlight in his hand, but out of a (hopefully) subtle protectiveness, Nozomi lagged a little behind him, not just beside him. If something lunged at Lyle's back, he could try to block it.
They were losing the getaway attempt, and it was increasingly obvious. Loud growls came from the bushes around them in multiple locations.
One didn't sound so normal.
Something black lunged at them from the nearest spot of trees, and Nozomi halted abruptly, grabbing Lyle and pulling him back while cursing under his breath.
Large, black, and clearly frazzled, it growled at them, razor sharp canines glistening in the touch of light.
And its friends seemed to be near.
"Yeah... okay."
Lyle wasn't going to argue with the older man. He heard that sound, too, the rustling. Suddenly, he wished he hadn't gotten rid of that rock. His mind wound through the spells he knew. What could he do to help? Grow plants, like his mother?
"Shit."
Even Lyle could see they were in trouble. The wolves were surrounding them. And they.... were exactly what he was looking for. He could sense it in their uncannily intelligent gazes, in the way they moved, and the magic that came off them as magical beasts. It connected with his magic side. Werewolves. Lyle sucked in a breath. The light from his flashlight on the phone wasn't going to be enough.
With a quick chant, and then a movement upward, Lyle summoned a small ball of summer light up into the sky. It was bright enough that the wolves were startled enough to stop their advancement. But then the biggest one, the snarling, angry one--feral? Fuck!-- lunged at Nozomi, who was still in front of Lyle.
"Watch out!"
No escaping this easily now, that was blatant. There were wolves all around them, and Nozomi had a feeling they weren't the simple minded predators one might normally find. He was a sort of shifter himself, despite the difference in type. The difference was something he could feel himself.
He wasn't about to let them hurt the kid.
They needed to get through the wolves and get away, the quickest way possible. He looked back at Lyle in the corner of his eye when he started to speak. Magic? Yeah, that light was clearly a type of magic, and it helped somewhat, but that snarling one wasn't giving up so easily.
Nozomi steadied his footing, facing the furious wolf. He brought his arm up and in front of his face with swift fluidity, a cloud of dark grays following the motion as something black appeared in his hand. Sweeping towards the wolf, the sound of something hard making impact echoed through the air, and the wolf yelped, knocked back. With a flick of the wrist, the tessen opened with a loud snap!, vibrant red orange blended into the yellow at the base of the fabric, a contrast from the black iron ribs.
As the wolf was recovering-- and quickly at that-- another shook off the light Lyle summoned and bit into Nozomi's other wrist while he was focused. He winced, but shook it off, too attentive to watching the big one and keeping an eye on Lyle.
"We need an opening..." Or a longer moment with them all distracted-- including the feral-- so he could shift. He saw Lyle had magic, and they were in a desperate situation.
If they had to fight their way out against a pack, he'd rather do it in his true form, whether Lyle had more aggressive spells to help them or not.
Rin? Tsukiko Lawson?
"Wha--okay!"
It seemed as if they weren't completely boned out here, then. Nozomi had some kind of ability to summon a weapon and that at least seemed to keep the wolf coming for him at bay. Not for long, though. He had friends, and they weren't taking too kindly to the pair of them stepping into their territory.
"Yeah... yeah... we do."
Lyle looked Nozomi over, a little... worried. He'd been bitten. He hoped to hell they weren't werewolves now. Especially feral ones. Not that he had anything against werewolves or anything but... he had heard how bad it was for the feral population. And these guys weren't exactly friendly.
"We don't want any trouble!" Lyle tried, as if he could reason with them. If they were just normal wolves, well then. He looked like a frigging moron. But if they weren't... "We're just looking for a pack, that's all. Lawson? Do you know her? Tsukiko? Anyone?"
Crap.
Tsukiko followed the scent she had picked up, which had led her to Pebble Lake. As she had gotten closer she sensed she wasn't the only wolf. They were most likely members of a pack, and she was only one. Yet it was too late to turn back. She jumped in front of the two males, her teeth bared, snarling at the other wolves. They were the biggest threat to her at that moment.
One lunged for her. She swiftly dodged and bit them, hard enough to leave a mark. A warning. Whether or not they got the message and backed down had yet to be seen. Focused on the wolves, she had forgotten about Lyle and Nozomi.
He noticed Lyle looking at him-- probably because he was bit-- but didn't think much of it. Ferals weren't so likely to transfer their sickness to him... his kind. (If any of them were ferals, anyway.) Not only the fact that he was a dragon, but a youkai. Nozomi wouldn't know anyone to tell him whether he was correct or not, however, he'd hope the former, for everyone's sake.
These wolves really were out for blood. They didn't at all seem ready to back down, while normal wolves might have. Sometimes, simple minded animals were better. Shifters had that human side, the one where they could be swayed by an agenda more than staying alive, not always the benevolent side of humankind, who could empathize and be reasoned with.
They weren't willing to reason, clearly.
Ah. Another wolf leaped out and ended up blocking the others. Whether it was a wildling protecting them or not, those other wolves were distracted.
There was his opening.
"Sorry... if this freaks you out." he said warily to Lyle, apology in his soft tone, too.
Breathing slowly inward, more clouds of varying grays manifested around all of them, slinking rapidly toward Nozomi. Eventually he was engulfed, and the clouds began to form shapes where he once was. The figure of a dragon, molding out of darkness. With vibrant white eyes, large wings tucked away, and flesh and scales almost cloud-like to the touch through the dark shadows tightly veiling him, Nozomi was no longer recognizable as the human form once standing there.
He was large enough to peek out over the tops of the trees, despite crouching, but no one would really notice in this cover of night. A long tail curled around him and Lyle, ready to slash out if any of the wolves dared lunge. His head hung somewhat beside and above Lyle, eyeing every wolf.
The breath he'd taken in was exhaled out when he finished shifting, and the grass under them rustled, frazzled by the breeze created.
When a new wolf entered the fray, Lyle was immediately on edge--but then he recognized her under the light of his light-ball spell.
"Kiko!" he exclaimed, both happy to see her and worried that she had come for him... only to get into trouble. Damn it. He knew he shouldn't have made assumptions and gone looking on his own. Her person... might not even be related to werewolves for all he knew. They never had a chance to discuss it before Lyle's father called him in for dinner and they weren't able to pick up the topic again.
"Wait. What?" Lyle turned to look at Nozomi. Freak him out...? What was that supposed to mean? And then... he realized as he watched what he meant. "Oh."
Lyle was acquainted with the paranormal side of Hazleton but mostly just the witches. He knew there were others, like Kiko. But this was new to him. He thought Nozomi was just a witch with summoning abilities. It turned out he was something else entirely.
"Don't hurt Kiko!" He didn't know if Nozomi in that form could understand him or if he was wild like a feral werewolf. To be honest, he was out of his depth on this one.
That name and voice were familiar, but the vicious wolves in front of her were unpredictable. They didn't seem to be the type to listen. Thankfully the wolf and herself agreed it was a waste of time trying to talk to heads full of rocks.
She felt the air around them change, so she stole a glance. What had she just witnessed? A dragon?
She looked back at the wolves. They still seemed eager to fight. Appearances meant everything, so she let out a fierce growl. If they knew she was scared they could have used it against her. She crouched slightly, preparing to attack or counter-attack.
Three pounced at the dragon. Tsukiko pounced, knocking one over with all of her weight, and biting another. The rest of the wolves took it as their signal to charge.
Yeah, he was a dragon. Nozomi was a dragon. Even supernaturals didn't see those in this area very often. There were all sorts of dragons, and as far as he knew, they were all around despite quite hidden. Youkai weren't so much a part of this area... but that was demographic, so he especially wasn't surprised by the lack of dragons of his kind.
Since the new wolf was focused on the ones who had attacked them, Nozomi hadn't planned on attacking that one, anyway. However, he noted the concern in Lyle's tone. Was this the wolf he was taking care of, then? That would... make more sense. Focused, he nodded curtly to Lyle. He wouldn't attack her.
Still wanted to fight, did they? Fine. When the new arrival-- Kiko-- lunged at them, the rest seemed propelled by the adrenaline of fight in the air. The one Lyle's friend missed bit into his neck, teeth slipping through the layer of dark matter and puncturing through scales after some effort. Nozomi raised his tail, cutting through the air to flatten under his tail the one who came at Kiko.
He was focused on protecting them, leaving himself second.
Nozomi might still bleed in this form, but they wouldn't like the taste.
Lurching his back, he curled around Lyle in a position to better protect him. Twisting his neck, Nozomi glanced briefly down at the kid, black needle of a pupil moving amongst the bright light of the rest of his eyes. With an opened mouth, razor sharp teeth the same black as his figure glistened in the light of Lyle's magic-- catching light, unlike his body.
Rather than roar, a deep rumble erupted from his throat, some strange mixture of hissing and groaning. His chest rose and fell, violet peeking out from flesh on his stomach and chest transparent enough to faintly see the glow.
With no warning, he ripped open his wings-- as much as he could in the somewhat small area. Several of the wolves couldn't dodge, taken by surprise at the sudden lack of room, and tumbled over with whimpers and yelps. Others took the hits and bit at his wings.
Dark matter seeped up from the ground in certain spots, but he gave no commands yet. It had little flecks of color sprinkled into the darkness.
Still think they'll be reasoned with? His voice was in Lyle's head, but he didn't use a malicious tone-- maybe it was a half rhetorical question. Half of him wondered if Lyle thought there was any chance besides retreating the scene.
Wow. Bad idea. This whole thing had bad idea written all over it from the moment he thought about it. But here they were... Fighting wolves off in the forest.
Kiko must have followed him here. It didn't look like she knew any of these wolves. And the wolves... didn't seem to be werewolves because they weren't stopping and they definitely weren't being reasoned with. And to that question, Lyle sighed.
"No, I don't."
They were just wolves and they were now on the hunt, for both Kiko and Nozomi. Not to even mention himself--probably the weakest target out of the three. If it weren't for Nozomi's protection, he would have been mauled to dog meat by now.
"Kiko! We gotta retreat!" Lyle didn't know what else to do to help, so he did as his mother might have, and he called to the earth, coaxing the plant life around them to grow. The shrubs and grass grew wildly and he directed them to wrap like ropes around the wolves' feet. He could only do so much, though. Some of the wolves were running. Some snapped at the plants. And some weren't within his range of magic and remained unfettered.
"We have to go, now!"
ETA: It's been a month, so I'm going to say they did get out of there. Let me know if you want a continuation in a fresh thread later.