Rogue Moon

chapter 8

~hours later

After another two failed attempts at escape, I've come to realize that it won't be easy to get past this monster...

Sitting in the back of the cave all I can do is watch it sleep in front of the cave opening, keeping it guarded so I wouldn't run away. I've already attempted to try sneaking out while it slept, but apparently wolf beasts are light sleepers and a single crack of a twig, had the beast dragging me back inside...

Maybe dragging wasn't quite the word to describe it...despite the fact it had kidnapped me and is now holding me, prisoner, it has yet to do any harm, in fact from what I can recall, it has saved me twice...

The first time was when I was attacked by the wolf...

I can still remember the pain of its teeth sinking into my skin... Unconsciously my hand moved up to my injured shoulder. The second time was with the bear. It even acquired its own injuries in the process... But was it just trying to save me? Or was something else going on?

Questions swirled in my mind as I tried to come up with some explanation for the beasts actions, but nothing came to mind that really fit the scenario.

Looking over the beast I could see the wounds were still bloody and looked quite bad, they were worse than mine... I suppose it's unable to properly clean its own wounds considering they were on its back and side. I almost felt bad for the creature.

Wait I felt bad for it?! I can't forget this thing attacked my home! It killed people then proceeded to take me away by force! It was a monster, not some poor injured animal I should give pity to. Who knows how many people this thing has killed?

How could I be so naive as to think that it deserved pity after everything it's done?!

With a long huff, the mangy wolf beast finally got up from its former position of laying in front of the entrance. It looked up at me and then glanced outside. I could tell this thing was thinking... It was debating on something, I was right earlier when I thought this thing wasn't some mindless beast but just how intelligent was this creature...

Its eyes seemed to travel down from my face to my injured shoulder. It took a few steps forward, limping on its injured side.

I pressed myself against the back wall of the cave giving the creature a hard glare.

It stopped in its tracks when it noticed the look I was giving it. Its ears pressed back and it gave its look of annoyance before turning around and limping outside on all fours.

For some reason I doubted that this was the same creature that had attacked me when I was little, it wasn't as bloodthirsty as I remembered...

The monster that killed my father didn't hesitate before attacking... It's seemed feral almost...

So why was this one so different?

I continued to watch the wolf beast as he searched the surrounding area just outside the cave. Even if I tried to run now while he was distracted, he would catch me. I needed to wait until he was far enough away so that i have a head start...

It suddenly froze in place looking out into the forest and I could see the creature's ears twitch. I watched closely as it crouched down and within seconds it took off running into the tree-line.

"What..." I stood up and made my way over to the front of the cave and looked in the direction the creature left in, but it was already out of sight. Was this the chance I had been waiting for? Should I run? I stood there weighing my choices.

No, this was too sudden I wasn't prepared I needed to wait and see, they could come back any second and be on top of me before I knew it, If I knew why it left I could probably expect it to run off again, maybe even trick it into thinking that I wouldn't run away so it would be gone longer.

A rustling in the bushes confirmed my suspicions as the creature came out of the forest with a bloody dead rabbit in its jaws.

When it noticed me standing there it took a few careful steps forward before dropping the rabbit in front of me and stepping back.

I looked at the dead furball then back at the beast, confused. It only looked at me expectantly... Was it offering me food?

I knew I was hungry but I had no way to skin the rabbit much less cook it.

"Y-you can have it..." I spoke taking a step back away from the dead animal.

The creature looked at me with a slight tilt of its head and its ears back. I would have thought it was cute if I didn't know just how dangerous this monster really was...

I stepped back inside the cave and sat down.

It watched me for a moment longer before tearing the poor rabbit apart and eating it, itself.

Well, at least I knew it wasn't going to let me starve... If only I had a fire...

As I sat in the cave watching the creature my previous fears started to dwindle away. It hardly paid any attention towards me and simply laid around after enjoying it's fresh kill.

Curiosity started to get the better of me as I stood up from my spot. I noticed the creatures ears twitch and it glanced back at me from over it's shoulder. No doubt it was ready to catch me if I tried to run again.

This thing definitely wasn't some mindless animal, from what I could tell. I carefully approached it, as it moved to keep an eye on me. Once I got within three feet of the creature, it while demeanor seemed to change. It's body suddenly tensed up and it's ears laid back.

I could hear a slight growl coming from it as I stopped my approach. This thing had boundaries, and I knew it wouldn't be size to cross them.

Slowly but carefully I sat down on the ground just outside of it's limits.

Seeing the glare it was giving me I knew it didn't trust me. I looked over at the injuries on it's back. They were still decently fresh and I could see some blood was still coming from them.

Perhaps it still had its own basic instincts like any other animal. If any creature was wounded and they perceived something as a threat they would lash out and protect themselves.

As I sat there the creature continued to watch me skeptical. I noticed that despite the fact it was watching me intently, one of its ears continued to twitch and point towards the cave entrance, listening for any threats that might be outside.

I found it odd how it was always guarding the entrance. Was it afraid of predators possibly attacking? But that made no sense... This thing took down a bear almost bigger than it, without any help at all... What could it possibly be afraid of?

It seemed to relax after a while of me sitting there in silence, and it hesitantly laid its head down. I watched the rise and fall of it's massive body as it breathed. It was strange seeing such a creature like this, no one would have expected it to ever be so calm. Even in my nightmares each time I think of the monster it's always killing...always out for blood.

Seeing it like this was...different. It made you wonder about it more, and let's you see it in a different light.

Looking down I could see its eyes were closed, but its ears were still up listening to all the sounds around it.

Hesitantly I leaned forward with an outstretched hand. I barely managed to touch the creature before it shot up to its feet. Its teeth snapped at my hand and a snarl ripped from its throat. I gasped and fell back my heart now erratic.

It growled down at me and I didn't dare move. After a moment it's growl died down and it looked me over before moving away and laying back down.

I was finally able to relax and try to calm my heartbeat before I had a heart attack.

It clearly didn't want me touching it. my curiosity was deadly when it came to this situation. Well I guess they aren't wrong... Curiosity can kill the cat....

~Renard

"What..." I looked down at the three scouts I had sent out to track the beast that seemed to disappear during our little raid. They were all kneeling down before me keeping their eyes to the ground.

"We looked everywhere sir there was no body and no sign of the beast within the town or in the surrounding forest! We did see signs of it in the town from when it was killing but that's it..." The man's voice quieted as the last words came from my mouth.

I could feel my anger rising. "A monster such as that doesn't just disappear! Have you tried summoning it with the pendant?"

"N-no sir we didn't want to risk the townspeople seeing it anywhere near the camp..."

Turning away from the fools before me I glared at the empty cage within my tent, the silver chains now holding nothing but air. "Do you understand what this means... This is the second time we've lost one of 'them'! These aren't the kind of beasts that are easy to replace!"

"S-sir?" Another man stuttered. I turned and glared down at them.

"The town's leader has also come to speak with you..."

My eyes widened and I placed back at the empty cage. "Good we will deal with the escapee later... Make sure the rest are secured and hidden...we dont want any other mishaps to occur..."

I could see one of the scouts physically gulp while keeping his head down.

Walking past them, and left the tent.

I could see the town's chieftain standing by with a small group waiting for an audience.

I smiled before striding over to them. "Ah, to what do I owe this pleasant visit?"

The town's chief stepped forward, from the look on his face I could tell he was conflicted. "I'd like to make a trade...we will give you the information and supplies your requested in return for your help...and protection..."

"And why might be the reason? Did you have a change of heart?"

He grimaced before looking away, clearly in distress... Good... This is exactly how I wanted it to be... They now understood that the packs in this area couldn't be trusted... None of them could.

I watched as the man before me kneeled down. "We are in dire need of your help...as of last night our town was attacked by the forest beasts...many of our houses were damaged and a good number of people were killed..."

I feigned concern at the old man's request, none of this surprised me, I've heard it all before...but his next words caught me off guard.

"Not only did we take heavy losses but...one of those monsters took my granddaughter..."

"Oh?... Tell me more..."