In the Dark

Chapter 1

"Collect the fallen! Let's get them home!"

The words floated into Riccardo's head as if through a fog. It was always this way for him after battle, as the soldier had to be put to rest and his consciousness took back over. He blinked, turning in a daze to glance at where he could see figures picking through the bodies piled around him. The clink of their armor added for an eerie serenade on a wind that was already saturated with the scent of spilled blood - or maybe the smell was wafting up off his own clothes.

Knowing he should join his father at his side, he turned away from the sight of the soldiers picking through the bodies for their fallen comarades. He trudged forward, feeling as heavy as if the very air had suddenly thickened to impede his progress. It was too much to move, let alone breathe, and he had to let himself crumple into the snow and against the nearest tree to rest his back against.

On the cold ground, Riccardo put a hand to his chest and closed his eyes, trying to breathe the growing tightness away. It's over now. The battle is over, he thought to himself. We're done.

With those thoughts, he deepened his breath. He didn't know how long he was there for, somehow tuning the noises and smells out around him as he focused his attentions on just coming down from the battle. It was a low rumble that suddenly broke the moment of peace he was enjoying, and his eyes flashed open immediately at the sound, every muscle in his body tensing.

The second his eyes opened, teeth were in his face, and he shouted incomprehensibly as he reached out to try to deflect the furry muzzle gnashing fangs at him. His arm ended up right in the beast's mouth, and the teeth chomped down on his arm with a sickening crack in the air. He let out a cry, but with his other hand he reached for the knife on his hip. As his fingers found the hilt of it, the wolf shook its massive head, sending Riccardo's thin body ragdolling. He snarled back at the wolf, trying to claw at its mouth through the disorienting way the world shook around him. It was hard to tell if he hit anything, but suddenly a massive paw slammed him onto the ground.

A high pitched sound rang in his head, but he reached for his knife again, and grabbed it just as he saw massive teeth coming down on his face. He thrust the knife up at the wolf, piercing through the underside of its jaw. It yowled in pain, and took a step back from the pain of it. This gave Riccardo the opening he needed to get up to his feet. His dominant arm was too destroyed to grab for his sword, and his knife was buried in the wolf's flesh. In a split second decision, Riccardo turned to bolt, knowing he wasn't too far from help, and that they'd likely heard his struggles and were on their way to help him already.

Just as he turned, something collided with his back and pushed him to the ground so that the wind was knocked out of him. He tried to turn, but was properly pinned, and only managed to turn his head just enough to see the beast's giant fangs closing in on his head.

"Screeeeeee!"

The very loud screech of a bird was heard as a large mass collided with the werewolf, knocking it off of Riccardo. He turned, scrambling back as he watched the massive and familiar form of his gryphon squaring up with the werewolf. The wolf was already a giant creature, standing as tall as any man at the shoulder and thickly muscled under its shaggy fur. The gryphon was not a thick creature, and was lightweight thanks to slim bones for flight, but it still had the advantage in size.

The gryphon flared its wings wide and swiped with a clawed, bird-like foot at the werewolf. The wolf dodged it, and got on its hind legs to go for the gryphon's throat. Before the loyal beast could even counter the attack, an arrow whooshed into the fray and found its mark in the wolf's eye. The gryphon's claws landed on the wolf again to push it to the ground. His beak dove at its neck, and Riccardo heard the fleshy sounds of the beast's throat being ripped into despite not being able to see the surely grizzly sight around the massive body of the gryphon.