Loyalty | Laurance x Reader | MCD Version | Aphmau fanfiction

An encounter

Edited 6/18/24

Avery POV

Aaron and I had a small base camp set up in the woods near the mountains. He decided it would be a good idea since there's been a sudden increase in the werewolf population in the area for an unknown reason, we usually get mistaken for siblings whenever travelers see us because of our similarities in attire and apparently, we act the same way too.

We were walking around to survey the area in silence, and even though most of my memories are blurred my memories of Aaron came back when we had a chance reunion. As we were walking I glanced over at him. "I don't get how you can be without a shirt in the snow." He smiled and scoffed at my comment before he pointed at my clothes. "Yeah, well it's not like you're winter attire either." It was essentially the same thing since it's easier to buy the other clothes if anything happens, the difference being I wearing a dark grey tube top.

"Fair point."

 I turned ahead again as we continued to walk in silence. "Avery, have any more of your memories returned?" I looked at him before I shook my head. "Not since we met on the outskirts of Falcon Claw." He hummed and nodded his head before he faced forward again.

Once I got the memories I have, for the sake of my safety and my sanity, I placed a bandanna over my eyes. Aaron did the same, though I'm not sure about his reason. I adjusted it a bit before I fixed my gloves. I glanced up at the moon before Aaron and I came to a sudden stop when we heard a voice.

"Oh, you poor little thing." Aaron and I glanced at each other before we quietly approached the source of the voice. As we did I glanced at Aaron and murmured, I made sure I was quiet but loud enough for him to hear. "Another merchant?" I pushed some of my hair back as my hand gripped onto my sword hilt.

'I knew that some merchants would go to extreme measures to sell their goods, but this is insane.' 

He shook his head. "In this type of environment, doubt it. Be on guard. It could be a trap." 

I hummed and nodded. As we walked closer I kept my right hand on the handle of my sword and my left on the sheath, ready to draw it if necessary. 

When we were close enough I saw a young woman with raven hair and amber eyes, she was being surrounded by a group of werewolves that hunted in the area. "Avery. Cover my left." Before I had a chance to respond Aaron ran forward, I huffed before I followed. Once Aaron had basically handled the problem on his own, I turned to the girl. I could tell she was stunned and confused due to the expression on her face, which is understandable.

"T-thank you." I was going to ask what she was doing here, but Aaron had his own questions for whoever this was. He looked at her as he held his sword in his hand. "You. Were you bitten?" I looked at him as I stayed quiet, I couldn't tell if he was concerned for this girl or annoyed that she wasn't paying attention to her surroundings. "I'm fine. Thanks." She nodded as a strained smile formed on her face.

"Are you sure?" 

He took a step closer to her.

"Yes, I'm positive." She held her hands up as she took a step back, I can't say I blame her. 

"Let me take a look at you." 

Before he had a chance to do anything rash I stepped between them and looked at him. "She's right. If she had been bit her clothing would've been torn in some places." Even with his bandanna on, I could tell he was looking between the two of us. After a tense moment, he loosened up a bit. "At least we don't have to sit and wait for her to turn like usual." I stepped to the side as I sheathed my sword, Aaron spoke to the girl as I stood off to the side.  "You should be more careful. The eastern wolf tribe has gone through a major population boom for an unknown reason." While they were talking I was glancing around the area to ensure nothing was able to sneak up on us. I felt myself perk up and my hand went to my sword hilt as my leg dragged back a bit while I tensed when a loud howle ran through the air. 

"You got to be kidding me, there can't be more..." I looked at Aaron and the girl in my preferal vision.

"They're calling to their tribe for backup...we must go now." He looked in my direction and tilted his head in a certain direction, signaling it was time to leave before we were found or caught. We both ran back into the forest as I heard the girl yelling questions at us before we were out of sight and earshot. 

We kept running for a while before we came to a stop. He looked behind us as I took a deep breath before I turned to him. "Do you think she'll last on her own?" He glanced at me before he looked in the direction we came from. 

"Who knows. She didn't look like she was from around her. She didn't look like a merchant either." I didn't put much thought into it until now but Aaron was right, she didn't look like a merchant and she was a bit unequipped to be a wandering traveler. "She was wearing armor, perhaps a guard? Maybe even a lord?" I could tell the last one put him on edge by the way his jaw locked and his shoulders tensed.

"If she is a lord....could she be the one that Zane is after?" He turned back to me before replying. "It doesn't matter. We have the werewolf population in this area to worry about right now." I hummed and nodded before I followed him back to our camp, not bothering to push further on the subject. 'How odd...if she is a Lord, what village does she come from? And what reason could she have for being all the way out here?' I shook off the thought as we walked back to camp.