Lycanthrope

Chapter 7

                  

I stared at it; it stared back at me, muzzle to nose.

It is not a common occurrence for me to be shocked, but despite myself I could not comprehend how the words, even as unintelligible and unformed as they were, had slipped past its jowls. If I was correct in my assumption that this thing was a lycan - and therefore part of the werewolf family- then as a human I could not be its mate, the genes just didn't cross right. This creature was deluded, quite possibly insane.

I crawled off in an awkward backwards crab walk; it let me. It silently sat observing me like a statue. From my new position I could take in its hulking appearance. There was nothing elegant or quaint about this creature, it was- for lack of better words- a block of muscle carved into the odd offspring of man and wolf. The body was humanesque, following the anatomy of any other overbuilt man, albeit covered in black pelt. Its face was incredibly lupine, from the canines bulging from its maw to the tips of its twitching ears on the top of its head. It wasn't the ugliest thing I'd ever seen, in fact, it emitted an air of curious charm, but it was also exceedingly intimidating.

I lifted my chin, not particularly fond of having to crane my neck to meet its eyes.

"What are your intentions? Am I your hostage now?" I had to steady my voice, trying not to show that my throat burned with every word.

It blinked languidly, looking completely uninterested and placid.

I felt ignored so repeated myself, a little louder, in a much more authoritative tone.

This time it moved. I reached behind me, ready to grab the piece of ceramic from before only to find it missing- must've been washed away in the water.

Shuffling close to the floor it advanced slowly, nose twitching but eyes never meeting mine. It continued to creep forward until its great head awkwardly rested on my lap. Too stunned was I that I couldn't comprehend a way to react, my hands halted mid air, not sure if I would be able to push its gargantuan form away before its teeth could snap at me.

Its face nuzzled into my thigh as its arms came round to hug my waist; the oddity that was its tail thumped against the floor. In that moment it wasn't a Lycan but a dog pinning for attention.

Maybe I had succumbed to madness or the stress of the situation had finally fried all of my brain cells, nevertheless my hand somehow found itself combing through the fur behind its ear. Conjuring up images of the german shepherds we occasionally used in raids, who would always delight in a good scratch beneath the chin.

In my musing I had drifted into a disturbingly calm state and stopped my ministrations to its fur, it wriggled impatiently, letting out a small whine before nipping my leg.

The short but sharp pain made me flinch; before I could even stop myself, my hand descended and flicked its nose in quick reprimand.

It yelped. But pulled away, sneezing before it rubbed its nose. It stared at me with a look that could only be described as flabbergasted- as if it couldn't believe I had the audacity to flick it. Such a face wouldn't look out of place on spoiled child denied of its sweets. A hairy child albeit. A puppy perhaps.

Like twine pulled to tight, it seemed my sanity had snapped. The more I thought, the more my amusement grew, the laugh started as a chuckle then grew into a ferocious fit of guffawing and snorts; a grin stretching from ear to ear as I held my aching ribs in an unstoppable tide of humour.

Through my laughter I could hear its faint growl, and then I was on my back. The not so gentle motion jarring me and making the increasingly irritating pain in my side flare to life. I glared at the creature as it hovered above me.