The Demon Deer

Chapter 10

          The days began to pass quickly without either Tinley or Galavin realizing that they were enjoying one another's company. It was a matter of necessity with one of them needing help and the other simply helping one in need or so they were happy to let themselves think. The truth was, every minute Tinley was away, there was a hole in both of them that couldn't be filled by anything  other than one another. Tinley, even surrounded by so many that loved him was just as alone as Galavin who had no one.

          Finally, Tinley decreed that the splint could come off as long as the wolf took it slow and easy, as to not tear open his stitches. They walked and talked of everything, and Tinley was delighted with the idea that a wolf pack could link their minds together and begged Galavin to try it with him.

          "It's not that simple deer child," Galavin said with a shake of his head. "Why don't you go try it with your herd."

          Tinley was quiet for a long while before speaking, softly, hard for even Galavin's superior hearing to pick up. "Because they could never understand what's inside of me."

          The way the boy sounded, or stood, or perhaps the way he frowned, balling his fists, and staring off into the distance, something swayed him, and he relented.

          "This is weird," Tinley said staring into Galavin's large golden eyes, and the wolf was inclined to agree. "Maybe it will come to us eventually."

          "It would help if you let me bite you," Galavin said, only half joking and Tinley would have except for the fact that just the thought of it excited him enough to make him uncomfortable. "Come on! Let's run some!"

          "No no no no no," Tinley shouted, chasing him. "Your stitches!"

          And so it went, with them stealing every moment they could together. Galavin healed well, the stitches finally coming out, only limping once he grew tired. Able to hunt for himself, he put on weight and muscle at an extraordinary rate, growing faster and stronger... More deadly with every passing day.

          Tinley was the one who started the wrestling, tired of the wolf looking down on him like he was fragile. He hopped on to Galavin's back in an attempt to choke him, which didn't go well and somehow this evolved into a game of hunt, them chasing one another and rolling around in the snow until they were both exhausted and half frozen, and like always, despite the laws of nature telling him to know his place he laughed a defiant laugh and excelled, growing much less deer and much more wolf every single day.

          Unable to help himself, he began to look down on the other members of his herd, hating the way they would freeze periodically, ears twitching for any signs of danger. Don't you know the danger is already here, he would think to himself. Five feet from you. The scariest thing in the forest... Is me!

          When the spikes drew a circle in the dirt and began to wrestle he stepped inside, eyeing them coolly. Why would we wrestle you? You don't even have  antlers! He was sure they were thinking but he didn't give them time to say it, taking two quick steps forward, leaping into the air, and planting both feet in the chest of a deer twice his size, knocking him to the ground without his breath. To the other's credit he didn't wait for the same, lashing out with a fist and following with a headbutt, though this only managed to get him wrapped up as Tinley spun away, taking his back and flipping him hard to the ground, twisting his neck much further than it was meant to turn until he screamed in pain. Tinley kicked him hard in the head as two of the elders pulled him away, all the other deer looking at him in a little bit of awe, and a lot of fear.

In knife training with his father, he was ruthless, always on the attack, refusing to back down. His laugh, though unknown to him was slightly mad, as he would spin away from his father's blade, or let it pass in front of his face close enough to mark the skin before trapping Doren's arm and twisting the knife free just as he delivered a killing blow.

          On the trails he became a god, his speed and endurance unmatched, even by Waton, the herds fastest deer. He grew to the point where he would disappear from sight only to reappear behind them, hunting them like the prey they were. He could see they were becoming frightened of him and he didn't care. None of this gave him what he wanted, what he needed. Nothing came close to being in the presence of a true killer, in the presence of Galavin.

          The werewolves came at dusk, just when everyone was finishing for the day, the older deer enjoying a cup of berry wine inside while the children tried to steal a few extra minutes of play. There were four of them, large and Savage, but as has been said before, Tinley's father taught him to see. While they would look big to any deer, Tinley could see that they lacked Galavin's muscle mass. They were starving. Their eyes were unfocused and he knew they were rogues, pushed from their pack for some transgression, regressing into nothing more than the animals they had evolved from, minds gone from their break with the pack link.

          The smell, sight, sound froze every deer in the camp, buck, doe, and fawn alike, every single one.. except for Tinley. He hadn't seen Galavin all day and he could feel the hole in his chest growing, growing, growing until it threatened to take him over entirely and he had nothing more than a moment to wonder if this was what they were going through. He wanted to tell them he understood. That he felt for them. But he couldn't. Without Galavin, the only thing that could make him feel whole again was blood. Theirs.

          The first wolf leapt at Milla, the daughter of Cassian, Doren's second. The whispers said that one day Tinley and her would be mated though Tinley was still young and she even younger.

        Tinley slammed into it while it was still in the air, driving his blade just where his father has shown him and it was dead before they hit the ground, a hole in it's heart almost as large as Tinley's. He rolled to his feet, leaving the corpse behind, directly into the path of the second, stabbing upwards through its jowls and using it's momentum to flip it over his hip, dispatching it quickly once on the ground. He could feel it... Could feel Galavin close to him. He was there... Almost. But then it was over and the last two broke and ran.

         "No," he screeched, sending the blade flipping through the air and into the third before taking off at a full Sprint. It couldn't end.. not yet. Somewhere in the back of his mind he could hear everyone shouting to stop but they were irrelevant to him. Nothing mattered but the hunt.

          Tinley caught it out past the trails, taking it to the ground in a gnashing and snapping of teeth, growls, yelps and scratches, not all coming from the wolf. He screamed more in anger than pain as claws raked his side, digging deep enough to hit bone and he twisted his body, locking his arms around it's neck just as Galavin had shown him, twisting until it popped with a nasty snap.

          Tinley stood, swaying with exhaustion in the sudden silence, the cold night air cooling his sweat soaked body. Looking up he saw them, two golden moons staring at him and he realized how close he was to the cave.

          "What am I?" He asked, suddenly overcome with emotions, more upset about what he didn't feel than what he did, and he began to sob, deep chest wracking cries that echoed in the darkness. Then Galavin was there, large, solid, and real. Tinley was wrapped up in his strong arms and held tight, squeezed so hard he could barely breathe... And it was exactly what he needed.

          When he reached camp, he found his father and the Vanguard in much the same position as last time, readying weapons and preparing to search for him but this time there was no yelling. He walked to the hut, smelling of wolf and blood, saying nothing as he passed his father. There was no need. They had seen what he was. Eighty four deer. Buck, doe, and fawn alike dropped their head as he passed and when Milla ran out of the crowd to wrap her arms around him in thanks for saving her, he felt nothing.