Non-Player Character

Chapter 5 - Jeryeline

How?

Jeryeline pressed her fingers against her clothes, twisting the fabric between her fingers. Every fiber, every bump, every imperfection in the stitching.

Yet the wolf, the beautiful creature was gone. It fell like ash into the earth. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

She squeezed her fist as she recalled the moment of impact, when the cold bite of bark nipped into her hand and scratched against her skin.

Saliva, bile, something rose in her throat that she swallowed back down. Like a nightmare, she thought the feeling would haunt the rest of her days, but human life meant more, right?

The wolf should've fled, should've ran away. Unless this was its territory, unless young pups were nearby. Her body flushed cold.

No, no pups. A rogue wolf. A scrawny and vicious wolf, soulless behind the eyes. Crazy with rabies. She rubbed her arms trying to bring the feeling back into them. He had latched on to Lonan's legs. She needed him. She needed Lonan alive.

Rabies.

Jeryeline sprinted over to Lonan and yanked up his pant leg.

"Woah," Lonan's words rippled off her. He jerked his leg back as if scared she'd cause more damage than the wolf.

"Let me see it," she demanded. She had to see it, had to take care of it now. She reached for him, falling as he pulled away.

"It's fine," he said. He looked more concerned for her than himself. But this time he didn't move away from her as she got close.

She pulled up the material, more gentle this time, to reveal... a bare leg.

Surely she wasn't losing it. Surely she didn't mistake which leg had been bitten. But when she pulled up the other pant leg, she found a left leg, hairy like the right, and unmarred like the right. The bite was gone.

Jeryeline's eyes traced up his body, past his thighs, taking in the leather belt with a plain buckle. Over his tunic, up up up to his neck, that was dotted with stubble. She met found his mouth, with an awkward smile. Confusion marred his brow.

She traced her fingers over the material, taking in the drying blood on the leather. His blood or the wolves?

The wolf's teeth had ripped the material, she was sure. She wouldn't have grabbed the branch if not for the sight of blood. She pulled at the leather, there were no bite marks now.

Lightheaded, she rolled onto the ground. The grass and rocks dug into her back. Her head was floating, but her senses screamed. She smelled the grass, the wet dirt, the moss and mold of being outside.

A fleeting thought of chiggers and ticks flicked across her mind. She casted them aside, what did it matter? A wolf can disintegrate, material can mend itself, and a man can heal in seconds.

"I don't understand," Jeryeline said. She looked up at Lonan, pleading, "What's going on?"

Lonan titled his head downward, his wide eyes watching her. He was still as though thinking, considering how much to share. Not even his chest rose and fell, like he was holding his breath. When he spoke, she almost didn't hear him for his voice was a whisper, "Honestly?"

Jeryeline nodded her head, her gaze trapped on his face.

"I don't know," he said. He shrugged his shoulders and let out a breath of air. His own eyes pleading back at her. "No one does."

He moved then. His body pushed into motion by some invisible force. She watched as he paced in front of her, his movements jerky. Were they dead? Was this the afterlife? She knew she was thinking crazy, knew she was losing her mind.