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"Idiotic tactics." Ahani muttered to herself, dropping her longbow in the tall grass of the Northland plains and reaching back with a piece of twine to tie her brown hair out of her eyes. She remained crouched there among the tall grasses, watching the treeline to the north, at the edge of the Greywood. A dozen lupine forms had just burst out of the trees, breaking to the south, an almost direct line for the home of Cael, her draconic keeper. She watched them charge, the sun at her back, with little concern about being spotted. She was downwind, the rising sun at her back, and her brown furs and tanned skin mixed in readily with the yellowish grasses that covered the plains. Only the occasionall rise or fall in the sea of yellow gave hints at the contours of the land beneath. She watched the wolves until they were well past her position, following a white and red streak, some sort of albino that lead the pack. Ahani made bitter note of it as she stooped to pick up her bow again, still crouched as she moved off through the grasses, away from the path the wolves had taken.

The werewolf tactics had been idiotic, it was true. They were moving during dawn, which would have been clever if the sun rose in the north, but instead just meant they would be trapped out on the plains the entire day in broad daylight...with Cael on the wing. It was likely the work of Emasa, in the guise of Selan, the wolves' most accomplished scout. Why would she want them to make such a poor decision? Perhaps it was merely to lure out Cael, to mark his current location so that she could take him by surprise in some manner. Well, there was little chance of that now, wasn't there?

Ahani slid down the side of a ravine, her soft-soled leather boots sending up a spray of dirt and stones in her wake. She paused at the bottom, listening for evidence that she was followed. Nothing. She hadn't really expected any of the wolves to be that forward-thinking. Usually they survived on sheer strength and numbers rather than good sense. Though, given how the day was likely to turn out, Ahani would trade her stealth and good sense for some strength and numbers. Dashing across the narrow band of water in the bottom of the ravine, Ahani lands next to her only ally in the world.

How sad is that? She thinks, carefully walking around Cael's curled, dozing body. The dragon's ability to slip from vicious alertness to sleep near instantly was likely a comfort of his size and lethality. Barely taller than a warhorse, but considerably longer given his muscular, reptilian tail, even though the monster was curled into a ball he managed to be larger than her. Ahani walked from his backside to the front, following the curve of his muscular, hooked rear legs and more nimble, five-toed foreclaws. As far as allies went, she decided, this one wasn't bad. She nudged his long neck, hopping backwards quickly as the beast roused himself instantly, a spray of dust spreading in a ring as all four of his limbs snapped out and gripped the earth in preparation for flight or combat. He settled quickly as she stood in front of him, functionally unarmed, her arms folded in disapproving stoicism. In truth, the sight of all that strength in motion so quickly had set her heart racing, but damned if she would let him see it.

"They move, dragon. The wolves' path takes them towards your grotto. The witch is not among them." she said, trying not to be blinded by the reflection of the sun hitting his brassy scales at an annoying angle. Ahani stepped to one side to take her face out of the glare. "If you have a plan, I would hear it. We cannnot hold the grotto on the ground. You know my thoughts already." He knew that she wanted to retreat, of course, find purchase in the south with the dragon's kin. That's what she would do if she was alone. He had rebuked her, though, refusing. What would make him stay in the face of such danger? She can see the dragon thinking, his nostrils flaring as he stares straight ahead at her midriff. That sort of absent gaze was entirely benign, she had learned. When he was most still, he was least dangerous.

"I will not return south, elf." he said, mirroring their tradition of names. He never called her Ahani, and she refused to call him Cael. It had become more a game than an insult, as it was first perhaps intended. "I will break this black-scaled witch." he concluded after a moment's more thought.

"A fine idea. How?" Ahani said, not letting him stew in his anger a moment longer. She could see the way it rose in his shoulders and set his teeth on edge. He wanted to kill things. Or rape them, she thought with a snort. Dragons were bizzare like that. When did I start snorting? Ahani thought, her face screwing up in sudden confusion. It was a bizzare, draconic gesture. When did this beast's predations become funny? Ahani shoved her own strangeness to the back of her mind. The conflict they were racing towards was the more pressing issue. She stared him down again, waiting for an answer to her question.

Cael, for his part, stalled. He rose and walked in a neat circle, glancing upward at the lip of the ravine they were hiding in. Probably considering poking his head out. If this monster didn't shine like a beacon, Ahani thought, she would let him do his own scouting. As is, the only reason they hadn't been discovered is because they chose to abandon Cael's grotto in the night, having anticipated the wolves' movement for days.

"They move now, elf? It seems a poor choice. I could take any number of wolves from the sky. They have no recourse to fire and diving with claw." Cael finally decided.

Ahani sighed as he caught up to approximately her train of thought. Late, as usual. How was something so powerful so stupid? "They know this. I suspect they move in order to draw you into the open. Emasa will risk herself all day trying to bear you to the ground. It doesn't matter if you could beat her on wing or the ground, once she has drawn you down the wolves will ensure your death." Ahani decided not to mention that among their enemies there had been a great deal of talk of capturing Cael. Likely another of the witch's bizzare predelictions.

"So you will capture her." Cael said, rounding on Ahani. His damnable breath, hot and smelling of the remains of his first meal, hit her in the face. She could feel her hair, tight in its braid, tug to escape and explode into a messy tangle with the humidity. She kept calm. It was becoming harder, especially given the insanity of what he just said.

"Pardon?" was all she could manage. She suddenly felt weaker than usual in his presence, as though the dragon was discussing casually knocking over a mountain.

"Not her scaled body. She hides the other bodies she inhabits in her lair, in the center of the Greywood. You will find this wolf, this Selan, and capture that body. You will kill the elf body she uses as well. When you return, you can reveal her duplicity to the wolves. They will retreat when they realize they have been decieved." he said confidantly. Springing up on the tips of his claws, the dragon's mouth hung open a moment. It was an almost childish display of cheerfulness, especially coming from such a monster.

It wasn't a terrible idea, though. It kept her out of the fighting, if there was to be any, and ensured that they would have at least some bargaining chip if he were captured. Well damn him, if the dragon wanted to take the risk, then fine. Perhaps she would be rid of him. Perhaps...

Ahani threw her hands into the air in frustration, giving up on remaining calm. "Fine, yes. That will work. I will wander into the woods, having no idea of reserves they have made, if any. I will follow the river up the center of the woods, the most exposed position possible in the entire forest, and single-handedly enter a dragon's lair. What else do you expect from me, oh scaled keeper?" Ahani raved a moment, then dropped her hands, sighing again. It was a good plan. Retreating was a better one, but...

"Then I shall face these wolves, elf. I will see how many I kill before the witch takes to wing, and then we will see who is faster in the air." Cael said, suddenly brimming with confidence. His disposition was darkening, however, his foreclaws digging small furrows in the dry ground as his grin mutated into bared teeth and growling snort. Come to think of it, save for her capture, Ahani had never seen the dragon kill. He never invited her when he hunted, and never spoke of any conflict he had engaged in in his youth. She wondered, briefly, at where such confidence came from. As she mused, his head swung around to run his gaze up her body. Oh no, she had seen that look before. Always sex and violence with these monsters.

"The sooner we go, then, the faster we can gain this advantage. If you remain hidden, I may even be able to return without the need for conflict at all." she offered, trying to find some sort of moderation to his brooding violence. He only shook his head as she spoke, a gesture he had picked up from her.

"No." he said, "If I do not take wing, the witch will not be distracted. It must be done." He was right, of course. So stupid sometimes, and the dragon makes sense the one time it wanted to put itself in danger.

"Fine." Ahani said, "Then I will see you when I have a wolf to show for it." She turned quickly, shifting her bow over one shoulder as she began to scramble up the incline, back towards the Greywood. Returning to the forest that had once been her home now seemed like a miserable prospect.

"Do not die, elf." Cael boomed from behind her, the sentiment out too quickly to silence himself. She paused at the edge of the ravine, glancing back down. The dragon wasn't even looking at her, instead busying himself with glancing southward.

What an idiotic sentiment, she thought. "Nor you, dragon." she said, before even considering why.

Ahani, low to the ground, holding her bow and quiver against her body to silence them, ran quietly northward. She wasn't even aware that she was the last elf that had gone unchanged by the werewolves in the entire northland. It was not entirely clear that she would have cared, even if she knew. Despite the fear that built as she approached the treeline, Ahani felt a growing lightness as well. It was good to work with the dragon rather than against it. Why did that thought make her blush?

Minutes later, a brown smear slipped into the Greywood, rapidly losing itself among the trees.

---

Deep in that same forest, Emasa charged towards her home. In the fleet body of Selan, the grey-breasted black wolf whose will lay dormant beneath Emasa's own, she was making excellent time. As far as the Greywood tribe of werewolves knew, she was deep inside the plains, scouting out for any nasty surprises that the brass dragon may have left them. She wasn't particularly concerned even if there were any. After today, the loyalty of the tribe would be to Emasa's true, draconic form, not the wolf she had so often posessed. She glanced over one shoulder as she ran, aligthing on fallen trees and rocks only briefly to check for her follower. Emasa considered that she should really learn the name of the brainlessly loyal brown werewolf that stuck with her, even through her changes between bodies. He was on all fours trying to keep up with her, scrambling across the same rocks and logs that she handled so gracefully. It was a shame the animal was so stupid, otherwise it would be an ideal replacement for Rolan, the current alpha.

As she ran, Emasa considered the problem of Rolan. On one hand, he was practically submissive to her when she took the role of Selan. Whether he was merely in love with her or there was some manner of werewolf hierarchy that Emasa only half understood was unclear. His willingness to follow her orders was admirable, but his strength was clearly greater than Selan's, and he could reassert himself with one show of force. On the other hand, Rolan, whose white-furred body had no scars or even hint of failure, could be a powerful agent as she forced the tribe's expansion southward. He would never be as loyal to Emasa once he knew her true nature, though. Surely the white wolf would try to protect his people from the manipulation of yet another dragon.

Surely. Perhaps there was an easier way to gain control of the tribes? If there was, she was too deep in her current plan to consider it. No, she thought, as she skidded to a halt in front of the bubble of basalt and obsidian near the forest's center that was her home. If there was a better way to dominate these werewolves, to make them her army as she finally outgrew this forest, then she had long since passed on it. Emasa had left the large stone doors that marked the only entrance to her home closed when she last came through. She had great difficulty closing them alone, but the brown wolf with her didn't even need prompting to rush ahead and grip the frame of one in both paws, pulling with muted growls of effort. Rather than help, Emasa merely stood there, distracted, running through her plan. She stepped inside as soon as the gap would allow her. The brown wolf obediently sat outside, watching for others.

Now that she had arrived, the inside of the dome contained her three bodies. The werewolf, Selan, was perhaps the most useful. It had certainly helped her drive the elves to extinction in the forest, and was the lynchpin to her mastery of the werewolf tribe. She considered merely killing the sleeping elf body that lay curled in one of the three circular, ashen symbols that had been carved into the ground. Evalee, for all her use in infiltrating the elves, was completely useless now, merely another body to keep alive in this runic storage she had crafted. Her true form, however, filled Emasa with pride. She had plenty of time to meticulously shine the black scales and sharpen the claws of her draconic body. Certainly not so large as a male, but far more intimidating than the brassy Cael. Emasa strode towards the draconic bulk, grinning as she passed it by to retrieve one of the many rabbits in wooden cages that lined the back wall. Her obsidian sheen would surely bring terror to the south, if she could get there.

Emasa's clawed hand ripped the rabbit out of its woodeen cage. The creature was starved close to death, but that hardly mattered. The technique she had perfected called for blood to mark the target for transferrence...and only a token sacrifice to complete the cycle. She used rabbits. The humans she had learned the trick from preferred other humans. What a waste, Emasa thought, as one of her wolfen claws punctured the creature's neck. She smeared the blood from it on her own forehead, and then the draconic body as she walked past it. She felt breath leave her body as it left the rabbit's, their breathing in sync as the small creature's life ended...

Emasa hated this part. It felt like death. She briefly wondered if it was.

When blood surged into the powerful limbs of her dragon body, her wings unfolding with a snap, Emasa didn't care anymore. It was the power she missed most. To have claws harder than stone, to wear her armor at all times. Flight! Oh what a horrible life the werewolves lead. This is why she couldn't simply posess Selan and be done with it, she thought, dragging the now-unconscious female werewolf's body over into one of her circles of ash. She couldn't give up this power. Not for anything.

Well, maybe if she found a more magnificent specimen than herself, but Emasa truly doubted that.

Settling the wolf's body in its comatose sumbler, Emasa all but strutted towards the stone doors of her home, shoving them both open with the strength that had been denied her. Her loyal, brown-furred wolf scrambled backwards, a moment of panic. She nearly hissed at him for being so stupid, hadn't he figured out the pattern by now? No, she supposed. If he had, she would've eaten him.

"Stay here." she began, the growling wolfen language catching in her throat a moment, and sounding much louder than she had planned on. There were always tiny disconnects when she changed forms. "If anyone approaches this cave that is not me, even your alpha himself, you must kill them. Do not leave this spot until I return. You understand?" he was already nodding before she asked. She doubted he really understood why, but it was better than leaving her sleeping tools undefended. "Good." she said, not entirely sure why she felt the need to praise the stupid thing. It clearly didn't appreciate it.

Emasa, in her obsidian glory, rose from the forest with a few great beats of her wings. She was an inky shadow in the sky, an unmistakable monster blessed with a form of absolute darkness.

Or so she thought, somewhat romantically, as she turned a few lazy circles and flew southward.

---

Cael did not like to think himself a coward. His cousins in the south had given him countless stories of the draconic right to rule, citing their superior physical power, great longevity and the wings that they bore to rule both air and sky. On the ground, a dragon was a terror of scaled armor and brutal muscle, battering humans in their false, metal shells and ripping every other species to shreds with their teeth and claws. In the air, a dragon was a meteor waiting to happen, capable of striking foes on the ground with raw weight or carefully trainted rear claws, picking up and hurling or impaling individual foes. There was little for a dragon to be afraid of, even among enemies. Exhaustion, his cousins had said, was the great foe of dragons in war. Exhaustion and bloodlust. Cael did not fear exhaustion, his foes were not that numerous. Cael tried to tell himself that he feared his own bloodlust. That he was too vicious and terrible a monster in the throes of his frenzy to possibly be trusted to make good decisions.

He didn't have much success reassuring himself, though.

Cael clung low to the ground as he stalked slowly across the plain of the northlands. His brassy scale would make him unmistakable to his enemies. His expression was a flat one, of discontent and worry. Somewhere in his mind he knew he had issues with self-doubt. Perhaps living in the Northlands, with its plentiful food and moderate weather had made him soft. He didn't engage in the intrigue, war and near-constant wars for power that plagued the south. He had heard of dragons that lorded over entire regions, building fortresses of stone with slave labor, leading armies of lesser creatures to expand their territory in endless games against their kin. Surely all that stimulation must fill some part of the draconic mind, keep it active and razor sharp. Here in the north Cael had time for thinking about hunting...and Cael. He liked to think he had a good understanding of himself because of that. He sighed as he plodded over a rise in the ground, trying to pick out the grey and black smears of the wolves on the horizon, trying to distract himself.

Oh mighty lord of the plains, is the thought of war distracting you from your thinking about thinking about yourself? What a typical problem for a soft dragon. Perhaps later we'll seek out elf-flesh and some nights watching her sleep. He growled, mostly at himself. What an annoying mind he was cursed with. Why couldn't he take this whole affair seriously? 'Which affair?' the annoying mind gently asked. Cael busied himself with standing up back on his rear legs to survey the plains. Hadn't they spotted him by now? Ripping apart some of the hairy beasts would suit him well about now, before he drove himself into a frenzy from sheer introspection. Perhaps he would be the first dragon to do so, to become so self absorbed as to enter a killing frenzy against his own head. He would likely end up clawing at the holes of his own reptilian ears, to drag out the offending organ and interrogate it for its indiscretions.

Seeing nothing, Cael dropped back down and picked up his pace. He should be encountering the werewolves somewhere between the ravine he had met Ahani in and his grotto. If they got to his grotto first...he would likely find them touching his hoard. Even the thought sent him into a slightly faster charge. The wolves wouldn't eat his metal, but they would probably see at least some value in it. Did they barter? He had never bothered to learn. No matter. With exceptional luck, he could face them in the grotto long before Emasa arrived. That would be an ideal outcome. Just the two of them against the witch, and he had already beaten her once.

Cael continued his hustle across the plains.

---

Ahani lay low across the forest floor as the shadow of the dragon passed over her.

The possibility of being spotted would be a near apocalyptic one. Dragons were fast on foot, perhaps even as fast as an elf. It was more owing to their massive size and the way they barreled through obstruction, keeping their footing with sheer mass rather than any grace. Ahani had been chased by Cael once, when he had taken to the plains to retrieve her after an early escape attempt. The pounding on the ground that heralds a dragon gaining on her was not something that Ahani wanted to repeat. So she lay, face down, her tanned skin and brown furs blending in with the dead foliage. The leaves were just beginning to fall in the season, and she had shimmied expertly to half cover herself with them the moment she hit the ground.

So the shadow passed, not giving even a pause of suspicion.

Good, more time for her, though perhaps less for Cael. She was still fairly certain they did not mean to kill him, but Ahani was not terribly eager to learn why.

Using the soft soles of her boots to disguise her approach though the woodland, Ahani followed the river through the center of the Greywood, towards where it curled around Emasa's lair. She had always wondered how the basalt dome had come to be at the center of the forest. It was not natural. There was no other stone of its type in the area, and it did not bear the marks of a dragon's construction. Emasa, for what little Ahani knew of her, didn't seem the type to engage in manual labor simply for shelter. Far more likely to murder whoever lived there and take the dome for herself. Ahani briefly suspected that was exactly what happened.

Her slow pace, rife with checking and double-checking her flanks for the possibility of roaming werewolves, left Ahani with little time to think. Her work was far too important, and the necessity of avoiding an ambush constantly played on her mind. She had seen, now, firsthand, the ease at which the wolves defiled their captives, turning them into more beasts for their tribe. Some of the wolves, in theory, were her people. The ones that she had one known. Her family. Her father and siblings. Were they captive, now? Merely being held? Or had they joined the werewolf tribe willingly? Did the transformation that was so permenant also warp the minds of its victims? Do they simply give into despair once they see their body is gone?

Ahani shook the thought out of her head as she crouched against a tree, scanning up the river. If she kept thinking like that, she would end up giving in to despair herself. Though, that was probably healthier than the emotions she had felt when she saw the wolves at work. Ahani bit herself on the knuckle. A terrible habit she had picked up since the incident. She wouldn't be thinking of the wolves, or Cael, or any of the other countless monsters of this world that would probably be more than thrilled to take her and-...

The thought died instantly as she saw what she thought was perhaps dead foliage up the river suddenly shift and begin wandering up towards Emasa's basalt lair. Not dead foliage, though the brown coloration was similar, merely a seven foot werewolf, slightly hunched as they tended to be when walking upright. It sniffed the wind a bit, but seemed more bored than inquisitive. She didn't move, of course. If it should look her way suddenly, Ahani knew her chances on foot were not excellent. Though, the wolves are not traditionally great climbers. It wasn't until the monster half-turned to look downriver a moment that she recognized him. One of the two that had come with the witch to take Afara. For his size, she had originally thought this wolf to be an alpha of some sort. Clearly their politics were more complicated than that.

"Politics" was perhaps a generous term for what went on with these savages.

Ahani rolled one shoulder absently, judging the distances. What had the other hunters always said about the wolves? Ahani never had the courage to hunt them herself, and always turned down expeditions where making contact with them was likely, so hadn't paid much attention when they returned with the black pelts and stories of perfect arrows feathering canine skulls in the moonlight. There was something about silver, but that wouldn't be much use, her arrows were all steel. Poison, too. Alright. That was something Ahani could manage. Moving slowly, only when the creature's back was turned, she crouched in the shadows of the treeline, hands playing across her bandolier as she tugged out a small wooden vial between two fingers. She had always favored poison, truth be told. It seemed needlessly cruel to let a barbed arrow bleed out a deer or other game. The gasping respirations of a dying animal were not something she preferred to see, so Ahani had made a habit of merely putting a single, wooden arrow into her targets, laced with a sedative poison derived and purified from the flowers that grow on the plains. She had always had to be frugal, as collecting the flowers was dangerous when Cael was still an unknowable entity, but in the months that she had lived on his land...

Ahani dropped the vial on the ground after dripping her arrowhead in the sticky substance inside. Right. It was just a matter of getting close enough. The monster upstream glanced around and sniffed the air again. Ahani would only have to account for its smell, hearing, vision and the sun that was rapidly climbing in the sky, and which would soon enough bathe her current position in beautiful, golden light. Easy enough.

---

"Too Slow" was all that Cael could think when the shadow of Emasa passed over him. He hurled himself to one side and rolled on instinct, feeling the sharp rocks hidden in the grass scrape his glossy scales, leaving streaks of white on the metallic brass. His head whipped around as he came up, trying to track the smaller black dragon through the air. He wasn't sure, now, why he thought he had enough space or time to...

No matter. The dirt hit his nostrils as a rude awakening, reminding Cael that his life may be in danger. Why wasn't he worried? He had beaten her before. That was why. Finally picking out her streak of black in the sky, as she banked for a return pass at him, Cael lowered himself to the ground in a pouncing stance. She wanted to close the comfortable aerial gap she had? Fine. He would make her regret it. The obsidian female grew larger as she approached, her eyes carefully lidded against what was probably extraordinary wind from her rapid dive. Oh, she really was out of practice. Too used to having wolves do your fighting, witch? Cael thought, his powerful back legs sending him into the air at the last instant.

He felt her claws hook into his neck, nowhere near enough grip given her speed to rend or tear at the scale. He didn't need a grip either, something she didn't seem to remember from their last conflict. He merely crunched into her underbelly with his broad shoulders and knocked her out of the massive gust of air she had been riding in. He felt her rear claws crack the scale of his flank, but ignored the sharp, transient pain. It was likely her goal all along, but he was no deer or lesser creature to be carried of by a single swoop. Cael rolled onto his back and over again, coming up low expecting her to be bristling and furious at the impact when he managed to get himself upright.

Instead, she was hopping away, flapping and pushing herself to get airborne again. Cael could barely believe her cowardice. She had come from the sky to try and take him from wing like a common beast, and fled the moment she touched him? He snorted his displeasure at her retreating tail. Fine. She wanted to run? He would overtake her in the air. Cael, full of a simmering fury and growing displeasure, broke into a loping run and launched himself into the air, straining to catch even a piece of the female. She was smaller, more easily gaining height. He didn't care. With a long enough chase, she would tire and he would end her for attacking him in his own territory.

Cael didn't even bother to scan the air. She had no allies that would meet them up here. She clung low to the ground as she began her glide, failing to gain any of the speed she would otherwise have had from altitude. Such poor decision making. She had clearly never had cousins or kin to fight in her youth, or all these mistakes would have been beaten out of her by larger, more clever dragons. From above her, he tried to mark the trajectory that would bring him most satisfyingly into the spine of her back. She was not far off now, only a short dive would end it, if she would just stop turning...changing the path of her glide...

Cael grinned as Emasa pumped her wings one more time and strove for a bit of height, losing speed as her slow turn straightened out into an easily predicted path. She glanced up at him, her expression one of shock and uncertainty. Cael would have grinned if his jaw wasn't set with effort. He folded his wings, feeling the kick of speed as he traded altitude for one brutal impact.

---

For the last day of the brown wolf's life, it certainly ended peacefully. Somewhere in his loyal, simple mind, he was content. He obeyed the orders of his alpha and beta, he was doing the will of the beta's powerful friend, the massive dragon that she spoke with sometimes. The weather was calm. He was, at least in his last few thoughts, peaceful.

There was a moment, of course, a twinge of pain and shock when a wooden shaft with a steel head buried itself in his thigh. He had the presence of mind to swat at it, but it only caused more pain as the shaft broke off and twisted in his flesh. The pain wasn't getting worse, though. If anything, as he looked around for the source of the arrow, the brown wolf felt the pain getting lighter, replacing itself with an almost pleasant numbness. He could barely hold his jaw shut to growl as he saw someone move in the treeline, his tongue feeling puffy and numb in his muzzle. He tried to put one foot forward, to lope towards the intruder, to punish them for this...strange sensation? It wasn't pain anymore. Just a fluffy-headed lightness. The figure in the woods broke from cover to approach him. Some buried instinct brought his hands up to...stop them? Maybe claw them? Yes, that sounded like something he should be doing.

As the seven-foot, lupine monster put its claws out to catch Ahani on her approach, she merely shoved the pair of its paws out of the way, watching the whole creature go over like a piece of dead timber. The knife flashed from her belt to her hand as she stepped over its back, grabbing its mane of brown hair, its tongue hanging loosely out of its mouth. It was an almost perfect mimicry of Cael's stupid grin, she thought, as she brought the knife down and under its neck, drawing it across the monster's throat in one bloody gash. She stepped back quickly to avoid blood getting on her boot, wiping the knife on its back as she did so. The beast only managed a few more breaths before it lay still, a massive furry rug on the forest floor, its blood running to mix with the mud at the edge of the river and color the water with a pinkish tint.

It had been an extraordinarily strong dose of the numbing agent. The creature would likely simply have rolled around the river's edge harmlessly for half an hour or so, too lost in its own sensation of floating. Probably. Ahani had decided not to take the chance. She had done the deed as quickly as any of the animals she killed as a mere hunter, but couldn't bring herself to give the same reverence to the wolfen monster. Her hand shook as she replaced the now-clean knife in her belt. She clenched her hand a moment as she reached the ajar stone doors of Emasa's dome. No, she couldn't have let the creature live. She had seen what it had done to Afara. She had seen, yes, and what had you done with such an image of defilement? As Ahani pushed her way into the dimly lit dome, she tried to relax her hand, but her nails had dug painfully into her palm. So what, elf? She could practically hear Cael's voice in her ear. You are a monster for having lusts and killing your enemies? Such thoughts make monsters of us all.

Inside the dome she found the sleeping bodies of Selan and Evalee. She found other things, too, in the dim light that streamed through the partially open doors. She felt inclined to stay and study that diagrams that had gone unmentioned or perhaps unnoticed when Cael told her of this place. She did not, however. After only ten minutes outside to construct a stretcher, she was off. The much longer walk back to the plains, hopefully to find a happier ending to this day than the brown wolf got.

She hissed a little noise of disapproval. He had gotten what he deserved.

Right?

Right.

---

Crouched in the tall grasses of the northland plains, Rolan felt remarkably calm. He often did, of course. This was the serenity of someone self assured of their position. The comfort of a leader surrounded by allies. When he saw the black dragon make good on its promise to bring the beast to the ground, he was only further excited. It was a method that put her in great danger, surely an indicator she was willing to take risks for the pack. It was a bold move, and one he approved of. Selan had been right in choosing her as an ally. Rolan stood sharply, and the rest of his pack followed suit, as the brass dragon that was their foe rode the black that was their ally into the dirt a scant thirty feet from where they hid. She had let herself be taken from the sky simply to lure him into their midst. A clever ally, indeed.

So lost was he in his victory, the brass did not even see Rolan striding straight-backed towards him. Perhaps he did not see Rolan's white fur in the bright sun that had now risen completely. Perhaps the growling, sprinting pack was too much of a distraction. The brass, in sudden panic, released his victim, scrambling off her to face the pack. He did not move inefficiently, Rolan noted, beginning a slow circle of the dangerous dragon from about twenty feet out. He was not unaware of his flanks, using their size to lure in the pack as they tried to grip with teeth and paw, using his tail and sharp kicks from his rear claws to discourage them. Rolan watched an overeager convert from the elves' tribe take a dragon's claw to the chin, and heard the crack echo across the plain. Rolan did not even bother to watch if such a stupid creature roused itself. His foe was here, now.

The dragon, for his part, scrambled backwards away from the pack and Emasa as she slowly recovered. "I have never done anything but mark the edges of my territory, wolves." the brass spoke, his pronunciation of their language of growls and barks knocking Rolan out of his serene assessment of the situation "Yet, defeated time and again, you choose now to return. I will break you as I have broken you before."

"Flee, then." Rolan said, instantly, speaking for the pack. They knew better, or perhaps were too absorbed in being beaten on to possibly say anything useful. "We want only your land. Return to the south, dragon, our tribe has grown too large for the Greywood alone to contain us." Rolan's words only seemed to draw the creature's ire further as it snapped at another of his pack and turned on him, drawing in a sharp intake of breath, the unholy rattling that followed broadcasting the dragon's intention.

Somewhere in another life, Rolan had learned all this before. The rattling, the posturing. The breathing. It would catch on the dragon's teeth, so he would open his mouth completely before... The ball of gel shot out of the dragon's throat like a sparrow, and was approximately the same size as well. It burst into a sharp orange flame as soon as it touched air, the greasy ball hurtling towards Rolan's chest and finding him quite remarkably no longer there anymore. Rolan came up from his crouch sprinting towards the dragon, hoping to catch it off guard in the moments after it spat flame. Pointless, apparently, as the creature was not so stupid. It scrambled backwards, still trying to control the wolves at its flanks. Rolan's dormant training conitnued to surge to the fore. He had nearly forgotten.

Emasa, for her part, was stunned as she saw the white wolf slip so effortlessly out of the way of dragon flame. Most mortal creatures were so shocked that they tried to catch the sticky ball, finding themselves holding nothing more than a wad of flame and grease. Rolan's movements, however, reminded her of the dragonslayers of the south. Calm certainty, slowly walking forward, waiting for the tiny flickers of motion that came before a dragon's every move. He was using Cael's size against him. Such size and power was only useful if you let it touch you, and Rolan was an ivory blur whenever Cael moved, matching each tilt and snap of his head with busy footwork, bringing himself just out of the brass dragon's touch. Emasa had no idea that her allies had such a terror among them. Suddenly full of fear, she wondered what would happen if this wolf turned against her. She could only lay in the field panting at the moment, though, the breath still bashed out of her chest from being driven into the dirt. If so much wasn't riding on this, she would've been impressed by the maneuver. At the moment, she was merely furious, paralyzed with gasping breaths, watching Rolan do the impossible, forcing the brass terror of the plains backward.

Cael apparently had enough of Rolan's almost taunting dodges, and spun in place, bringing his tail up just high enough that the wolf couldn't duck under it. He felt none of the sickening impact he was hoping for, none of the tumbling bone and meat that would have told him the fight was over. Instead he finished his turn to see the wolf dropping neatly to the ground, then driving forward with three long strides directly at his face. Cael opened his jaws to catch the wolf's torso in them, hoping to crush him then and there, but only finding a paw at the edge of his teeth, pulling his face upward, away. Dull pain shot through his head as the wolf swung one bare leg onto his neck, letting his weight drop. Cael tried to bring his tail up like a scorpion, far enough forward to knock the wolf off of him. Impossible, he was simply not that flexible. The damn beast seemed to know it, too, bearing Cael's neck to the ground with not-inconsiderable weight. Cael repressed the building of another packet of flaming gel in his gullet. Not now. It wouldn't help.

"Yield." Rolan spoke, a single word. Rolan was hoping that the simple command would end their conflict. He held no ill will against a creature that had merely held its territory against all comers, but now was the time to rectify that. He would capture this dragon for his new ally, and capture this land for his new mate. It would all sort itself after that. What Rolan had not expected, though, was that his simple command would lead to complete madness in the creature. Cael thrashed beneath him, dragging the pair of them across the ground a dozen feet as he tried to pull his head out from the werewolf's grip. Rolan merely rotated his hold, threatening to turn the dragon's neck past the point where it would merely break. "Yield." he repeated, though there was an element of concern in his voice now, brought on by the frothing way the dragon pushed up against him. Cael couldn't manage the traction to push the monster off his neck though, and after only a few minutes of thrashing eventually grew still.

Rolan watched his pack, bruised and bloodied, fade out of the tall grasses somewhat sheepishly. He would have to instruct them on handling dragons. They only faded away again when their obsidian ally emerged, grinning at the pinned brass before her.

"I had not expected this to come so easily, Avengard." Emasa said smugly, though the strut in her posture was somewhat broken by the heavy way she breathed above him. "It seems like you would surrender yourself to me now, if you were any sort of real dragon." Emasa continued, her head swinging in low to stare into Cael's one eye that had a decent view of the sky...and her leering face. He tried to scowl, but could only taste dirt with half his maw. Rolan, for his part, did not understand their draconic speech, and stayed quiet, shifting only occasionally as Cael pushed against him.

"This is how you get your revenge, witch? You beg other creatures to serve you, to capture your kin? Is this your strength? Do the wolves try to mate me now, as they did all your work, or do you just slink in and take their seconds?" he growled into the dirt, kicking his back legs futilely. Emasa's face showed only momentary anger, then shifted back to calm smugness.

"I think you've made it clear enough that dragons are nothing you seek, Avengard." she said, grinning. She was more than a little entertained by the way he squirmed as she used his name. Feigning accident, she trod on his snout as she circled him, her claw lingering there as she spoke, "You are just the closest of my kind, and once you sire me a younger body as insurance, you'll find that this dragon has no need for you, either. Then you can go back to chasing mortals around like any of these other mindless beasts."

Cael, perhaps instinctually, though certainly his fury paid a significant part of it, didn't respond, merely gurgling beneath Emasa's foreclaw. What she thought to be merely incoherant rage, however, turned out to be something much more physical. A second glob of flaming gel spat out between the incapacitated dragon's teeth, and Emasa was sent scrambling across the plain looking for dry sand to put it out in. Dragonfire was a poor fuel, however, and he did not have it in him to produce a second true projectile this soon. It was more of a searing warning, and Emasa was not amused. "You should never stand near the mouth of a dragon, honored ally." Rolan offered somewhat too passively. Emasa merely glared at him a moment. What sort of werewolf talks like that? She said nothing to him, though, merely growling a moment in response.

"...you are not the only one with scouts." he finally manged, her claw free of his snout, "Nor the only one that seems to be surviving without the company of their kin. Yes, Selan?" Cael spoke the last word slowly and carefully, so there would be no confusion about its meaning. Rolan, previously serene as he held his clawed hands at Cael's neck, slowly tilted his head, looking from Cael to Emasa for translation. The black dragon was all sneering fury, her mouth snapping open to offer some bitter retort. The situation, however, resolved itself.

"Trade!" came the shouted voice of Ahani, across the plain. She had gotten remarkably close, Cael considered as he lay there. Some deeper part of his mind was perhaps surprised that she returned at all, but he supposed she was not above vengeance, and who wanted a private revenge as opposed to a public one? He was glad, he considered, that he taught her a few words of the wolfen language, though her inflection marked her as clearly not one of the werewolves herself. Her throat and lungs were too small. "Trade!" she repeated, and the wolves around Cael stood upright, all facing in the same direction to mark this new noise.

To her credit, Ahani took the hill standing despite her exhaustion. Dragging the nearly two hundred pound monster had been made easier by the barest of sleds she had fashioned, and the ride had doubtlessly not been pleasant for her passenger. She had strength enough, though, upon seeing Cael downed, to lift the head and grey-furred neck of Selan for all to see, gazing somewhat madly out from behind her own sweat-drenched hair, Ahani's chest heaved beneath her hot furs. She had considered shedding them as the day and her exertion had worked together against her, but didn't want to give Cael the satisfaction. Letcherous beast that he was. The pack of werewolves, for its part, looked to her, then one by one to Rolan, who was wise enough to not remove the pressure from Cael's neck. "Trade?" he finally said, in her language rather than his. "You come all this way to trade what we could easily take from you?"

Emasa grinned, glad the wolf needed no prompting. "What use have these wolves for one member of the tribe compared to the value of being rid of such a terrible enemy? If you came all this way to trade that useless meat for this dragon, you will find yourself disappointed." she almost sang at Ahani, full of preening confidence, suddenly. "You are Avengard's valued little mystery, aren't you, elf? His project and posession?" Her obsidian head tilted, sunlight shimmering across her scale as she smiled that open-mouthed smile down at Ahani. Ahani could only hate in silence as the dragon inspected her. "What a waste of elf-flesh you are, running errands for a failed Avengard."

"What, is that the dragon's name?" Ahani responded, her words ringing sharply in Cael's head. "If so, it never bothered to share such secrets with me. I think, however, that this thing is somewhat valuable to you..." Ahani's other hand reached briefly around to her own chest to draw out her short-bladed knife again "...something you can't afford to lose." the elf addressed Emasa directly, sweat drawing a line down one side of her face, locking eyes with the dragon. She had faced Cael frequently enough, this arrogant female was no different from the breed's norm, as far as Ahani could tell.

It was not Emasa that responded, however, though she made motions to. Instead, the white wolf that stood on Cael's neck tilted his head upward and spoke her language effortlessly despite his feral appearance. "You would be right, elf." he said, quietly, but loud enough that Emasa stopped in her tracks, instead turning on him in surprise.

"What are you thinking, wolf? That b-...Selan has been a trusted liason, but is not worth giving up this...prize." The black dragon said, her teeth gritted at Rolan. If he gave up Cael now, they likely wouldn't get another chance like this. He wouldn't make the same mistakes twice. Certainly not so readily.

The white wolf merely stared on ahead at Ahani, though, waiting for her offer. She had to lower Selan's head a moment to adjust her grip, but reasserted herself quickly. "The dragon for this wolf, then. If you have some claim to his territory, come and pursue it at another time." The knife didn't lower from her hand, or Selan's neck, however. Ahani played a long game. She knew if Emasa wanted to leap into this body, she likely could, but it would give up her game to the wolves. The moment she was out of public, however, the black dragon would likely take Selan and turn this entire situation to her advantage. As long as her two bodies were close together, they were safe...if the alpha would only take her offer.

Rolan glanced only momentarily at the pack, and not once at Emasa. She was not to be involved in this decision. "I accept. My beta for your alpha." he said at last, nodding his head only once, the grip of his claws on Cael's neck loosening slightly. It was a fair trade, and his claim could be pursued at any time. He was not angry with the elf. He would have done the same, after all. It was only sound strategy, and nobody was hurt per se. Well, nobody short Emasa's pride.

"No, wolf, I will not allow this!" she roared, her fury in the wolfen tongue apparent from the way her tail swept the grasses flat in an arc behind her. The pack bristled. She was not one of them yet, and she could only eye the wolves in disapproval. Not this many, not so close. They were battered, but Rolan was unharmed and arguably more dangerous than the pack of them to a dragon. She growled, lowering herself into a fighting stance. The alpha only looked at her blankly as if to say 'How will you stop it?'. Her growl died then and there. Backing down to this male! This male she had dominated in just...another body. She glanced at Selan's limply hanging head in the elf's grip. Perhaps not everything was completely lost to Emasa. Merely the first of all her plans. "...very well." she said, apparently in response to Rolan's gaze. "For my allies, then. I only suggest you do not let that dragon fly out of this affair, lest he give chase the moment he can take to wing."

"Fair." was all of Rolan's response, their use of the wolfen tongue leaving Ahani mystified until one of the pack surged forward and ripped a chunk out of Cael's wing membrane. He thrashed again as Rolan stepped away sharply, not moving his eyes from the furious dragon. Cael was not completely lost to the delicacy of the situation, however. He merely curled his neck back, preening at the wound as he inspected it. It would be weeks to regrow, the damn membrane took in blood from the rest of his body so slowly. Cael glared at Emasa, who only turned herself away, apparently bored of the whole proceeding, and pushed herself into the air, flaunting her own airborne supremacy a moment as she began to circle higher and higher, feigning aloofness to wash her claws of the entire business.

Rolan backed away from Cael, lowering his head and glancing to Ahani, who merely dropped Selan face-first into the dirt and stepped away , pacing around the pack to get closer to her own dragon. The pack responded instantly, surging towards Selan's unconscious form, a black-furred, remarkably unharmed female tossing the other werewolf over her back with a calm ease. The creatures were so damn strong, Ahani figured, how is it that Cael thought he had a chance? She gave them wide bearth as the pack surged back towards the treeline. She couldn't even register surprise at them being so eager to flee. She had to save that for when they were a healthy distance away, and she turned to see and hear Cael roar a warning, briefly before the black dragon's claws closed around her, ripping Ahani from the ground and upward into the sky.

Cael, loping a few strides in chase, fluttered his one ripped wing uselessly as he dwindled beneath her. Emasa's claws closed around Ahani's chest, squeezing the air out of the already exhausted elf. Ahani drew a few breaths of the thinning air as she struggled against the dragon's grip, up until she saw how long the fall had truly become. All the while cursing her stupidity and weakness, Ahani hung limply in the dragon's two-clawed grip, feeling the whip of the wind past her body. She continued to stare back south towards the plains, but couldn't pick anything out among the amber roll of the hills.

---

Emasa reached the wolfen camp with her captive in tow long before the pack did, overtaking them easily from the air. This stupid elf had nearly ruined everything. Crippling Cael, though, had been a stroke of genius as far as she was concerned. Without the ability to fly, he was much slower, much less dangerous. Emasa comforted herself with this as she tossed Ahani from a low height into the clearing that the wolves camped at. The elf tumbled as she hit the ground, recovering perhaps a bit too neatly, which put a sour edge on Emasa's budding contentment. She made herself feel somewhat better by whipping the elf to the ground with her tail, pressing the broad base of the tail across Ahani's back, enjoying the feel of the mortal struggling under her grip. She was silent, though, which was bothersome. Emasa wanted to interrogate the elf, better understand her relationship with Avengard, try to make some sense of why this squirming thing was working against her rather than fleeing for the southlands. The few members of the pack that had stayed behind in the camp were emerging from their deerskin tents and the surrounding forest. Emasa gazed down at them imperiously, apparently unconcerned with her captive.

"Save this one for the beta." she said, watching the wolves for signs of recognition. When one of the werewolves nodded assent slowly, Emasa deemed it enough. She needed to be in Selan's body before her plans could continue. Kicking the prone elf one time for good measure, and hearing a satisfying grunt for her effort, Emasa spread her (fully functional, she noted with a smug satisfaction) wings and rose into the air, to return to her own lair. This day would have a satisfying conclusion, even if she had to strip it from the elf's skin.

With the wind knocked out of her by being thrown to the ground and rather repeatedly trod on and kicked, Ahani didn't manage to muster much resistance to the few grey-black werewolves that padded over to inspect her. Nor could she manage to push away their grasping paws as they lifted her roughly to her knees and dragged her to one of the half dozen now vacant wooden cages that populated one corner of the clearing. They had been used to hold her people, hadn't they? Ahani tried to look around. Was there anyone left? She sagged as the wolves found a cage for her. It was wooden, with a dirt floor, and rather than really securing the door, they simply tied it closed with twine, attaching that to a cluster of bone chimes in the trees above. She wouldn't be able to open it without alerting the tribe. So secured, the two wolves that had dragged her wandered off with only momentary backwards glances. They were clearly used to this occurance. Ahani sighed, squatting in the center of her meager four square feet of packed dirt.

How could she have been so stupid to lose track of the black dragon? This counted the third time, twice by Cael and once now by this witch, that she had been caught again by dragons. Perhaps she was just naturally incompetent, worthy only of being captured again and again by the massive creatures, just a testament to her inferiority. Ahani tried to dislodge the thought with a shake of her head. She had to focus on the present. Learning to avoid this sort of captivity was a goal, yes, but it had to be a distant one. In the short term, she had to consider her resources. Slowly unknotting a spare band of twine she stored on her bandolier, Ahani tied back her brown hair, leaving it in one tail rather than lying ragged across her shoulders. She looked around the camp casually as she did so.

In the daytime, the wolves' clearing was not so nearly as intimidating as when she had made passes at it in the night. The wolves seemed to be in some sort of mid-day haze, padding around in pairs and refitting the countless skins they seemed to have collected from the animals of the forest. A hunter herself, Ahani was somewhat stunned by the waste. The sheer number of bones in a pile on the edge of the clearing seemed to indicate they waged more of a genocide than a hunt. If they continued at this pace, they would starve themselves out, especially come winter. She had heard the creatures were not adverse to cannibalism, but didn't really see the evidence for it. What would make them risk starving themselves, though? What could-

One thing at a time, Ahani reminded herself. She patted herself down, taking inventory. When had she lost her knife? It had been in her hand when she was picked up. Another failure on her part, a hunter that couldn't even keep a grip on her weapon. A graceless elf. Miserable, she ran her fingers along the bandolier over one shoulder. Two of the wooden vials of numbing agent remained. Not so useful, with so many wolves here, but perhaps valuable if the creatures did not understand its use. Her clothing was blessedly intact, perhaps a testament to the rugged design that she had made it with. With Cael ripping at her furs the moment he slipped into one of his rutting frenzies, she could hardly afford to wear her peoples' fine fabrics.

Looking around the camp, Ahani considered that her people didn't have much use for those fabrics either. Where were they? What changes took place when the wolves took new members? When they made that fatal bite that brought on such violent and miserable change? Did her people lose themselves in new instincts? Did they simply choose to submit to their new lives? Did their minds die along with their original bodies, trapped forever in their feral, wolfen visage? What happened?

Ahani nearly slapped herself when she realized she was getting lost in fears of the past and future. Tucking the vials of poison safely inside her fur vest, she stood sharply. A weapon would be nice, but nothing presented itself. Perhaps the twine, or this rope they lashed the cages together with? Ahani had to laugh at herself for that. The idea of the elf strangling a full grown werewolf with nothing but a short length of twine was absurd. Her chuckle brought other attention, though.

"You are not bothered with this cage, then?" came Rolan's voice, the white wolf apparently as noiseless in his approach as the phantom he resembled. She spun instantly, one hand across her chest defensively. He merely tilted his head. "I bargained in good faith, I did not expect my ally to bring you here." he said, almost conversationally. Ahani could only think about how the gaps in the cages' bars were enough to permit her fist, and how he was close enough to punch in the throat. In her defense, she was not in the best state of mind.

Rather than merely attacking the alpha wolf, she merely shrugged. "I do not wish to be here." she said simply. The wolf apparently spoke the elven language, why shouldn't she? She wondered briefly where he learned it, but she was trying very hard to live in the present, so she stared him down and made a simple demand: "Let me leave."

The look he gave her was strange, and she was no judge of the wolves and their behaviors, but perhaps something remained of the person he had been before, because he looked almost sadly at her. He seemed to be considering the request seriously, perhaps this monster had some honor left? It hardly redeemed his pack of savages, but if he released her here, perhaps Cael could be persuaded to negotiate instead of prolonging this idiotic conflict that they had brought to the plains. After perhaps a minute of silent exchange of stares, the white wolf shrugged slightly, reaching for the cage to open it...

"Alpha!" Selan's voice broke the calm of the moment, killing Ahani's hope in her chest. No, she couldn't have switched so quickly. Wasn't there some rule, or did she just jump from body to body without any restrictions? She strode across the sunny clearing, apparently careless. Ahani immediately regretted not slitting her throat when the opportunity presented itself in Emasa's lair. "I have recovered magnificently from whatever poison this creature dared to use on me."

Rolan merely watched Emasa parade in front of him, disguised as Selan. He clearly did not ignore her rough curves, or the way her breasts swung as she turned to face Ahani, nor the wild grin that she gave the elf. "You behave strangely, Selan. You slept nearly beyond death not a moment ago when you passed into this clearing." His voice was measured, hinting at something.

She shrugged him off. "I do not know the ways of elves any more than their motions through these woods. Save, of course for this one that is of no concern any longer. When she turns, we will have nothing to fear. Do you intend to change her, alpha, or shall I?" Emasa grinned down at Ahani, whose bewildered lack of understanding of their language had the elf nearly sweating so close to her enemy.

"I am considering not changing her, Selan. I do not know why she hunted you down, and you have not told me how. She did not kill you, so it was not merely revenge. Why did she trade for the dragon? I do not understand, and I wish to, so I may best lead the tribe." Rolan folded his arms as Selan turned on him, her furred paw sliding over his shoulder as she walked past, apparently unperturbed.

"As you say, alpha." she said, wholly nonchalant. "I wouldn't bother, but if you think there is something to be learned there then by all means, question one of the lying creatures." Selan swung her arms over Rolan's shoulders from behind, pressing her breasts flush to his back, her muzzle nestled in the crook of his neck. The white wolf breathed deeply as she touched him, grinning at both his reaction and Ahani's disbelieving glare. "I, after today, would rather spend time on other business. We are perhaps overdue for a hunt, aren't we?" Emasa said, though her eyes were locked on Ahani, who glared back with murder in her expression.

"Witch.", the elf growled, and for a moment she was quite proud of having asked Cael exactly how to deliver such an insult in the wolfen language. She was momentarily even more happy to see Emasa's expression contort with rage for a moment. The wolfen female merely burrowed her claws into Rolan's fur and turned him around, however, pulling the white wolf into a sudden, savage kiss. Rolan responded by running his own hands across Selan's back and down to her muscular ass, grabbing two handfuls and pulling her closer as the kiss dragged on. Ahani wasn't entirely sure she wanted these two to do this here...especially with the white wolf's shaft twitching in its sheath. Of course, the last time these monsters got to fucking in front of you, you couldn't help yourself, could you? Ahani was perhaps most upset by her inner voice taking Cael's rumbling voice.

Being only a few feet away from two monsters feeling each other up made her think of Cael. Great. It was only small consolation that most of her people were those same monsters, and likely couldn't call her corrupted without risking hypocricy. What a bitter victory that is. Her people were dead to her, and she was consoling herself with the fact they wouldn't have to know that she blushed at the thought of a monster taking her roughly.

Ahani broke herself out of her fantasy just as the wolves did. Emasa was leading the white wolf off now, likely to some sordid tryst in the woods, simply to deny Ahani her freedom. Good. The further away the better. It gave Ahani time to try and formulate a plan that didn't rely on Cael showing unprecedented loyalty, or the wolves unexpected stupidity.

No, Ahani thought solemnly. That sort of failure was reserved for her.

---

Emasa lead Rolan on the hunt. They had to range far, partially because of the scarcity of prey, and partially because Emasa sought to kill more time. Her body moved briskly, Rolan in her wake, shifting and throwing glances to keep his eyes on her. Elsewhere, her mind was racing. The elf knew her secret, and had to die. Even if she were to Change, there was the risk that in the future she may remember who she was before. It was a distant risk, but one worth considering. The wolves said the change brought a great gulf between the memories of their life before they were bitten. Strong memories may survive the process, but most simply washed away with the change. Emasa had cheated the whole system, however, having stolen a body rather than being changed herself. If the elf hated her enough, she may remember. It was not worth the risk. But how to kill her without raising Rolan's suspicion? The other pack members would tell their alpha if she merely dragged the elf out and killed it. He already looked at her strangely. She grinned back at the alpha as she paused in the forest, her raised claw pointing out an elderly-looking deer in the trees ahead. His expression was still one of mild discontent.

As they dropped to all fours together to begin the chase, Emasa turned her muzzle away from Rolan and scowled.

---

Elsewhere, Cael was losing himself to rage.

He had warned her, roared the black witch's presence, but the elf hadn't understood, didn't understand his signal. He had to train her better, control her better. She had been taken from him, and he was discontent. This was theft. That was his elf! Cael spent only a few minutes nursing his damaged wing, but far longer pacing on the plains, flattening a field of grasses with his restless rumination. If only he had more support. His cousins, perhaps, could they reach him in time? He broke away from the thought, traitorous as it was. He would not call upon his family for help, not now or ever. Sooner death, he reminded himself. It was an easy statement to make, especially given without a functional wing, Cael could never make it in any reasonable timeframe. He had no idea what the black witch had planned for his elf. The uncertainty only infuriated him further.

The wolf was a slayer! Perhaps not since its Change, but the movements were unmistakable, the grace and confidence unambiguous. That wolf, in this life or another, had fought dragons before. Cael had approached him all wrong, trying to use his predictable suite of tricks that had worked so well on the pack before. In the south, the slayers were far more prevalent, facing dragons in their lairs where there was no chance of taking flight, working in troupes with chains and harpoons. His kin had found ways of training the mortals of the south to kill their own slayers, but this one...it made sense. A dragonslayer, fleeing the south, is changed by a pack of werewolves, rising to lead them because of his training. It all made sense.

Unfortunately, it also ruined all of Cael's plans even as he thought of them. Charge into the forest and sniff out the wolves' campsite? Easily done, if not for a slayer. Cael paused in his restless pacing. That was actually the only plan he had considered. He wondered briefly if this is why the elf called him stupid so frequently under her breath when she thought he could not hear. Cael knew from his cousins tricks for handling slayers, and moreso the weight of the werewolf put him at a disadvantage. He would not be so quick as some of the mortals in the south. It was a matter of leverage, protecting his neck...Cael ran through the scenarios in his head time and time again. There was no way to face the white wolf on foot with the threat of Emasa looming from the air, and no way to take to the air with his ruined wing...

Unless the black witch was dead.

Finally a plan that was not mere banzai formed in his head. He had not been willing to kill his own kind before, but she had taken his elf.

He paced for another hour at the entrance to the Greywood, waiting for the sun to begin its descent. He would have waited until nightfall, preferring the advantage of surprise...

But she had taken his elf.

Cael charged headlong into the trees. If they saw him coming, so be it. It would give him something to chase.

---

Ahani tired quickly of standing. She was already exhausted from dragging Selan through the forest once. It had been downhill, yes, but the werewolves were not dainty creatures. Her bored mind wandered as she watched the werewolves pad around their campsite, leaving and returning in pairs, likely hunting packs owing to the way they dragged back carcasses. She saw a particularly large group of four bring in a bear. Hunting the hunters, now? Wonderful. Ahani considered taking the remaining two doses of her numbing poison and simply sleeping until she died or Cael came. It was a dark thought, but she nurtured it as a possibility anyway. Given the way they rotated through napping, hunting and their crude leatherwork, Ahani figured that there would never be a point where all the monsters were asleep. They'd be fools not to keep watch, too.

Adjusting her fur tunic's tug on her back as she sat against the wooden cage's bars, Ahani inspected the other cages in the area. Empty, all of them. She knew in theory that they had once held elves captured from her home village. The same village that she had wandered through not a week ago, searching the treetop buildings for any signs of survivors. If there were any, they hadn't stayed in the Greywood. They, at least, had sense. She folded her arms over her chest, drawing her legs up as she sat. It was there, staring down a tree on the far end of the encampment, contemplating poison and murder, that Emasa approached her.

Ahani barely looked up at the looming werewolf. "If I thought for one second that these savages would understand me, I would scream the truth of your nature to the sky." she said, squinting at the sun behind the witch as Ahani sat in her shadow. The elven language drew a few glances from the pack, but none of them seemed to be interested enough to try and watch the exchange.

"I know." Emasa grinned back, still sweating from her hunt, though perhaps the hottest part of the day had taken its toll on her. She seemed to have limitless energy for malice and domineering, Ahani considered. What a waste that such energy had to be in a monster. Emasa squatted at the edge of the cage, her claws hanging as she rests her wrists on her knees. If it weren't for all the fur, the werewolf would just be flashing Ahani. She probably didn't even consider it.

Ahani ran the back of one hand under her nose, trying to maintain eye contact with the larger wolf. "What do you want?"

"What is your name?" Emasa asks, tilting her head to the side. How easily she slipped into reasonable questions when she had something to gain.

"I will not share that with you, witch. Openness did not spare Afara, so why would it spare me?" Ahani asked, hoping the pointed question would catch her enemy off guard. It did not.

"So you are a more clever scout than Evalee? I suppose I wanted to be polite." The word 'polite' seemed almost traitorous being used by Emasa, "I know you well enough, Ahani. I saw you taken. It was I in Evalee's skin that reported your absence. Your people were upset, but their anger was so misguided. I told them the wolves were responsible. They believed me. I said that it was time to bring the monsters to heel, to finally end their predations in the Greywood." Ahani shied away from the witch's cruel, steady gaze. Her heart was kicking at her chest, though, as she considered Emasa's words. That would mean that the war that had destroyed her people, the pointless conflict with the feral werewolves...was carried out in her name, to avenge her. Emasa only grinned broader as the caged elf looked away, squirming under the weight of the implication.

"They wanted to find you among these wolves, and avenge your loss to them. They had plans to entreat with the men of the south, to bargain with alchemsists and wizards for some cure for your pain. It was all to reclaim you." the witch continued, watching Ahani wriggle further up against the wall of her cage.

"What do you want?" the elf finally gasped out. She had to stay in the present, she told herself. She couldn't bear to think that the empty village was her doing, her responsibility. If she wasn't so stupid as to get captured, just like now, then...

"I want to release you." Emasa said. Ahani's head shot up, and the wolf's face was nothing but calm concern. It had to be a lie. "I want you to leave this forest. Travel north. West. Any direction you wish, but never return. If I kill you, I must explain your death. If I Change you, you may yet remember my secret. If you leave...you are no risk to me. You can return south with terrifying tales of the dragon witch of the north, sending monsters on innocent elves and breaking their spirit with her dark visage. In exchange, you are free. The wolves will believe you escaped. None will give chase."

Ahani let the offer sink in. It sounded excellent. She would leave the wood entirely, abandon Cael, the wolves, her ruined village and all its memories. She would finally be free of this conflict she was quite literally dragged into. She wouldn't have to worry about the Greywood and its horrors anymore. It sounded excellent. "Why don't I believe you?" she finally asked, quietly. "

"I do not need you to believe me, elf. I will only offer this once." was her only response. Ahani desperately sought a downside to being let out of her cage and told to walk away. She could even go back to Cael and explain what had happened.

Ahani still hesitated, though, trying to articulate her lingering concern. "I...yes. I will. I will go. When? Now?"

"Of course. You must make it appear to be an escape. This cage is flimsy, breakable enough for a strong elf like yourself." Eamsa purred, standing. Ahani was more put off by the flattery than anything else. "Break it, and flee into the forest. I will lead the pack to hunt you, but lead them away from you. Flee straight south." Ahani felt somewhat patronized as the grey-breasted female pointed south to indicate it. "I will lead them around to the west, citing a faster route to the plains, which is true. Cut east and they will not catch you."

Ahani didn't dare let herself hope as she watched Emasa walk away, growling out instructions to a group of the werewolves and throwing brief glances at a nearby tent structure. She decided to give herself five minutes of waiting, but impatience made it probably only two. She was restless, impatient. If Cael hadn't arrived in the last hour, what made her think he, crippled as he was, would arrive at all?

Ahani's foot splintered the rope-bound wooden cage's bars, sending the bone chimes rattling their alarm. A half dozen of the pack members looked over, but she had already torn the scraps of the rope off the cage's side, pushing her way through the broken wood. Her boots found purchase on the abused grasses of the clearing, worn flat by months of milling werewolves. Ahani broke for the woods, face set with effort, taking deep breaths to prepare herself for what would likely be a miserable run ahead.

She didn't hear, and wouldn't have understood, Emasa giving the order to run Ahani down and kill her.

Not that she would've been surprised.

---

Among the werewolves, at least those that survived, the story of Cael's anger would lead to much of the respect the tribe showed him in the coming years. Though the wolves themselves were excitable, yes, rarely did they find cause to be truly, genuinely furious. When they did hear the splintering of wood and scattering of birds that indicated the approach of some great creature from the west, they responded mostly with curiosity, though a few were wary enough to give warning growls as Cael grew closer, charging along the straightest path towards the wolves' clearing, pausing only momentarily to dart around any tree too big to simply bowl over with his shoulders.

The pack responded magnificently. Perhaps with fewer numbers than they should have, given how many had joined the chase for Ahani, but with all the coordination that they would normally muster to bring down a creature of Cael's size. They circled, hunched over, as he ground to a halt among the deadfall of the forest floor. The dragon said nothing, momentarily beyond words. His shredded wing flapped neatly in the warm wind as he lowered his head, pausing as he tried to track the small pack that had surrounded him. Their behavior was not unexpected. Lost in his fury as he was, Cael had counted on it. Ancient instincts told him that these creatures were interlopers, daring to touch the things he had claimed. Cael's treasure had been taken, and some primal motive told him that thieves must die. If he were more sober, he may have noticed that the rage he had been seeking, unable to tap before, was only roused when something of his was taken. The elf was his. He had made sure of that.

The wolves moved first, having flanked Cael successfully. It was somewhat hopeless, how the untrained creatures relied on their claws and teeth against his hardened scale. If they only knew how to grapple and twist, like the white wolf, they may have had some chance of controlling the brass terror. As is, when they finally lept, he did not merely lash out with his hind legs to stun and batter the pack. Cael was beyond mercy, and his pounding heart was screaming for the death of thieves. Cael launched himself backwards into the first pounce that came at him from behind, catching the werewolf's torso in his massive rear leg, slamming the creature into the dirt. To its credit, it managed to rip off a few of the scales of his rear leg painfully as it thrashed against him. Cael pressed the monster's body into the dirt, squeezing his claws and twisting. He felt the blood of the monster run hot against his toes, and kicked the fatally wounded thing away from himself.

"Thieves!" he roared at the other wolves that surged forward together. His teeth found purchase in one, his tail cracked the skull of another. His brain could barely form words, but he knew he had to if he had any hope of drawing out the white wolf. "Thieves and invaders! Hoard-takers!" he roared again, barely having the presence of mind to stick to their wolfen language. The words came out as a howl, but their source was booming and frightful, as the pack surged towards him again. He spun in place, letting muscle and momentum do what his thinking mind could not. Cael heard the snap of cracked jaws and twisted claws against his flanks, knowing the impact would bruise soon enough. He whipped his tail against a downed wolf, hearing the gasp and sputter of its breath as its lungs were emptied by the impact. Cael shook with fury, pushing through the beaten creatures towards their campsite. Still more of them milled around the edges of the clearing, watching his approach carefully. When he turned towards them, they slunk back among the shadows of the woodland. None seemed willing to challenge the predator in the wolves' den.

None except one, of course.

Roused from his sleep, gaining knowledge of the dragon's arrival by virtue of his peoples' shouts and the howl of fury that Cael had let out, Rolan emerged from his tent of furs cautiously, but upright. He did not flinch as the dragon wheeled on him, rearing back sharply to bring his neck higher, out of the white wolf's reach. Rolan dimly recognized this stance, the way it protected the dragon from grappling. The dragonslayer in him told him that the beast's belly was now vulnerable, open to attack with weapons. Rolan realized he had none, save his claws. A moment passed between the two of them in complete silence, the bruised dragon, stained with the blood of Rolan's tribe, loomed over him. "Where is your beta now, phantom wolf? Where is the thief?" Cael roared, setting Rolan's fur shifting in the wake of the dragon's breath. His nose smelled the grease of another ball of fire.

Rolan turned his body sideways as he responded. "I wish to know that as well, dragon. She was with me, and is now gone, apparently with half my pack and the elf that she left here for keeping." Rolan tried not to panic. The dragon was far too close to avoid at this point, and to run would likely only bring fire or fury down upon him.

Cael dropped to his belly, growling at the wolf, "You are decieved, wolf. The black dragon played you for a fool with her witchcraft."

Rolan tried not to eye the dragon's neck too much, keeping his voice measured to avoid any hint of fear. "Witchcraft?" he said, giving momentary reproach to one of the brave members of his pack, closing on the dragon's flank again. The look he gave the overeager werewolf was death, and she backed down immediately.

"Your beta slept when my elf brought her to you because she was dead, her mind forced out of her body by the power of Emasa the Black. There is nothing left of your beta but a body and the will of that witch." Cael said, still restlessly scraping his rear claws across the ground. "Give me my elf, and I will prove this to you."

Rolan's heart had already frozen in his chest. He wanted to deny the truth of the dragon's words, but Selan had been...different. He plumbed his memory. He had not ever seen Selan and the black together in the same place. Was that enough to damn her in her abscence? Should he hear her side of the story? "Show me proof, dragon." he said at last, nodding. He was surprised to see Cael nod back.

"First, my elf."

---

Ahani was no fool, at least not this time. When she heard the wolves chasing her directly, she immediately broke from her plan. The creatures weighed far too much compared to her, and by rapidly changing her direction and footwork, they would never catch her. She could run along logs, descend and ascend ravines and run in wild lines to force them to scamper and slide to catch up. She no longer marked her path through the forest, with putting distance between her and the slavering monsters in her wake her only concern. She cut loose her empty bandolier as she ran, throwing it to one side, hoping the scent would distract one of them, even momentarily.

When she dared to look back, she saw how hopeless the situation was. Perhaps against one wolf, using all her tricks, she may have eluded him, losing him in a cliff that was too steep or a tangled cluster of vegitation. She knew places in the western forest that were perfect for exactly such a break. She had had animals use them against her in the past, but when she looked back, she knew it couldn't happen. They hadn't caught up to her yet, yes, but the wolves were running long lines, straight ahead, trying to come up on all sides of her. They would do so, too, herding her towards some vast, open area where they could merely run her down with their superior speed.

Fine, Ahani thought, as she reached the crest of a small hill in the woods. There are other ways to avoid werewolves. Thinking back to Afara, but trying not to think too deeply on her fate, Ahani reached up and grabbed the lowest branch of a tall tree...and began climbing. She heard the wolves scrambling up the same hill. She knew there was no way that she could disguise her scent. Climbing desperately, she hooked herself on the highest branch that she thought would hold her weight...and sat there, legs dangling, watching the forest floor below.

The pack was not confused. With despair, Ahani noted Emasa's presence among them, the grey breasted female obvious as she walked on two legs among the other werewolves, who rooted and sniffed around the base of the tree. It took them only moments to begin looking up the trunk, then back to Selan for direction. The witch called up the tree, in her disquietlingly flawless elven. "This is familiar, isn't it, Ahani?" For some reason, Ahani hated that the witch used her name. "Afara tried the same trick. I don't think it will suit you better."

Ahani curled up onto the branch, trying not to remember how Afara had been dragged down by her feet. She was well out of reach, and the few meager attempts at jumping and climbing the tree hadn't worked out for the werewolves, only serving to break off a few of the lowest branches from their weight. She shook her head at nobody in particular, hugging the trunk for support. Emasa continued to taunt her, "It would be suspect if such a fine ally of the wolves had killed such a mysterious elf. It will be less strange if a well-intentioned group of hunters kill you here." Well intentioned! Ahani shook at her words, hearing the splintering of wood. They were breaking something at the base of the trunk, no doubt.

"You will come down here eventually, Ahani! If you do so now, I will let you die quickly!" Emasa shouted up the tree, then growled a command to the pack, who began to claw at the thick, dead trunk with their claws, scoring shallow gashes in it that would eventually grow to larger ones. The wolves had felled trees before, and this time was no different. Emasa gave no indication of aiding them, merely standing with her arms folded, grinning at the terrified elf in the tree.

It would be ideal if she merely died in the fall, the elf probably not even weighing enough to have the courtesy to do that. No, it was more likely that Emasa would have to order the wolves to kill her, then attempt to explain to Rolan how close she came to escape. She would drag him off into his tent and that would be the last time it was likely to be discussed. If there was only some way to engineer this scenario so the wolf trusted her dragon body more...perhaps if Selan nearly died and was rescued by Emasa in her true form? That would certainly fix all the issues with trust that the pack suffered from. Emasa mulled it over, thinking on the many forms her victory would take.

Her ears twitched, however, at the sound of splintering wood...but not from the tree that the pack was savaging. She turned in place, looking back down the hill in time to see Cael casually push over a dead tree, clearing the path to the base of the hill she stood on. The battered dragon was here? Now? Fine, Emasa thought, if she could solve no other issue today, she would solve this one. She brought one paw up to her mouth, biting down to draw her own blood from it. She could feel her mind slipping away, drawn towards her beacon in the center of the forest, where her other bodies lay. She would kill Cael after all. There were other dragons in this world to sire her a younger body, and his loss would not be felt by anyone in the wood. Selan's body went limp as Emasa left it for the last time.

The pack froze at the top of the hill as Rolan howled out his command. They backed away from the tree, cowed by his arrival. It was strange, Cael considered, seeing how the white wolf commanded them. They rarely or never spoke, except in short growls at each other. Rolan was sprinting up the hill, sliding on his knees as he reached Selan's inert body. He reached down, feeling under the soft fur of her neck for a sign she still lived. The heartbeat was there, the mind was not. He looked back blankly to Cael, then up the tree at Ahani.

"You say she lairs in the center of this forest?" Rolan finally said. The dragon wasn't looking at him, still staring up the tree towards Ahani, who looked back in mild horror. Her domineering, stupid brass beast was...caked with dried blood, missing scales in places, his wing still in shreds.

"Yes." Cael said, "In the stones by the source of the river, in a dome of dark rock."

Rolan nodded, absently, then kicked Selan's body away from himself and stood, shaking the dirt from his fur as he did so. "Then take your elf and leave in peace, dragon. Return in three days. If I am dead, she still lives."

Cael ignored him, pushing through the pack to call up the tree. "Elf! We're going."

Ahani's descent could only have been quicker if she fell.

---

The pair of them didn't even make it back to the grotto. They had done enough running, fighting and hiding that day between them that the narrow ravine where they had formulated their plan earlier in the day seemed an inviting enough place to rest. They barely spoke, but what had intended to be a brief nap turned into a deep sleep, Ahani lying against the dragon's stomach as he curled up at the edge of the ravine. There, in the dirt, with a trickle of the brook nearby, they slept.

Ahani woke first, opening her eyes to the night sky above her, broken only by the shining of stars and the glowing, near-full moon. She saw well enough in the dark, and little had changed in the night. There was a strange pressure on her legs, and she shifted her head to find that Cael had moved, his rear claws resting heavily over her lower half. She pushed him off, slowly, so not to wake him, then lay back against his scales, breathing deeply in the cool night air.

"Elf." he said. She felt the rumbling in his chest long before she heard the word. "I do not think I should make any further enemies of my neighbors."

She shook with silent laughter for a moment, trying to remain quiet if not silent. It was borne mostly of relief rather than true humor. She could not concieve of how the pair of them had survived the day. "Is that so, dragon? What brought along this desire for peace?"

"It is painful to fight. That is why I fled the south. I wanted peace. When others take things that are mine, I need to kill them. That is the whole of life in the south: defending what is yours and claiming what is not. This was a taste of it I could have done without." It was the wordiest the dragon had been in ages, he did not speak often of the south. "I know how my fury can claim me. I sought to ignore it."

"But you failed." she said, glancing up his neck to Cael's head. He was looking down at her, almost serene in the dim white light. "You still claim things...and you still defend them."

It was an accusation. That was not lost on Cael, but for some reason he could not muster his normal shame and distraction. Perhaps it was exhaustion. "I think you have been the recipient of both sides of that frenzy, elf. You would know better than most." he admitted, still watching her carefully.

"I have, and I do not mind it." Ahani responded, shifting her weight restlessly against his stomach. She felt him rumble again, vibrating her with the noise. "I am not sure I should be grateful to you, dragon. You put me in this danger, but I cannot help but think I would have been among those taken by the wolves if you had not. This series of events was not ideal, but it...is no longer wholly unpleasant. There is some comfort in knowing a monster like you lives to chase away the wolves."

Cael rumbled again, a strange purring to come from so large a creature. "Monster again, is it, elf?" he said, "You are content to be owned by a monster?"

She looked away, then sharply back up at him. "I will show you."

Ahani stood, turning in place as Cael began to scramble to get upright. She stopped him with a hand on his flank. "You have been too deep in your own mind in the past to see when I gave myself up for you. You do not even remember." Cael watched her, having gone still. The way she moved as she ran one hand under her own furs, inside her tunic, made his breath deepen. She smiled, only briefly, at his expression, the tongue slipping loose from his muzzle to drip slightly onto the packed dirt of the ground. Standing, one hand on her breast, she beckoned up at his head, and he obliged by lowering his neck to bring his face closer to hers. The elf wrapped her other arm around the dragon's neck, pulling him the last few inches, she kissed the top of his snout gently. He shook with another purring rumble, and lowered his head, his long tongue sliding into the top of her tunic as she opened it for him.

The dragon's saliva ran cool across her breasts as his serpentine tongue darted inside her collar, lingering along her neck as it withdrew. It was likely the closest the dragon would ever come to a kiss, but Ahani didn't mind anymore. The memories of the beast using that same tongue to take her the night they first met came flooding backm, and she felt the blush of arousal rise in her cheeks. The hand inside her tunic pulled the garmet off one shoulder, and then the other, letting it fall inside out and expose her upper body. She let go of his snout, pushing the panting dragon away from her as she reached her other hand up to undo the long tail of her own hair, letting her uncut hair drop messily down her own back. "You are a cruel monster," she said, somewhat playfully, "corrupting me this way."

Cael watched her, his mouth shutting sharply with the comment. "In the south, dragons keep slaves. I would not tolerate such words from a slave." he said, growling dangerously. She didn't fall for it, his body was still rumbling with contentment. She had nothing to fear.

"Maybe not, dragon, but you fled the south, and so you must handle me." she said, running both hands across her own breasts, shining with his saliva. He rose quickly at that. Cael's heart beat rapidly as he felt his shaft twitching in its sheath, slowly emerging from the slit at his own crotch. The ribbed, red thing already dripped pre, and Ahani wondered momentarily how much control he had over it as she slid onto the knees of her leather leggings, letting him watch her as she disappeared beneath him. She crawled up towards the member, the impatient dragon already pushing his hips forward to press it against her bare chest. The dollop of pre joined his saliva as it beaded down her front, the heat of it drawing a quiet moan of happiness out of the blushing elf.

"This is why you are content to be owned by me?" Cael's question came, ragged as his breaths. She didn't respond to it directly, but her head nodded yes where he couldn't see it. She ran one hand over the top of the ribbed shaft, feeling its contours in her palm, the slick skin of the cock shining at the edges in the moonlight. Her lightest touch sent him pushing into her hand again, the tip of the shaft pressing against her breast as she held it with both hands, feeling him begin to thrust through her arms, the dragon's breathing loud above her. She all but hugged the shaft, letting it slip between her hands and arms again and again, the head of it prodding repeatedly into the soft flesh of her chest. He groaned above her, the sound of him being pleasured setting her into another happy blush. This creature had some love for her, even if he was savage, even if he was a monster. That was why she knelt there, taking his pleasure into her hands.

Ahani brought her mouth up to the tip of the shaft, smelling it deeply, shivering at the scent of it, mixed with the cool wind on her bare, wet chest. She ran her tongue along his tip, tasing the bead of pre that was forming there, then moved her head back down his shaft, letting her tongue run the length of it. The dragon growled his assent, the heat of his belly radiating against the top of her head and her back as she leaned forward, using one hand to support herself on the ground as Ahani continued to lick along his length repeatedly, being rewarded with the heady scent of him, and the salty taste of his fluids. Cael merely let out one long, slow breath of satisfaction as he began to twitch in her hands. Ahani leaned back onto her knees as it faced her, the beast stamping the ground on all sides of her as his orgasm began. Ahani closed her eyes as she felt thick streamers of the dragon's seed splatter over her chest and face, clinging in part to her long hair and splashing wetly across her midriff, dripping down to dampen her inverted fur tunic. She continued to kneel there a few moments as the powerful dragon groaned above her, gasping with pleasure as he finished cumming.

Feeling the heat of him melting into her skin, Ahani heaved, eyes still closed, lost in the warmth of the moment. As Cael shifted backwards, out from on top of her, and tilted his head down to inspect his handiwork, she opened one eye to find him grinning his stupid, draconic grin. She almost immediately scowled, more annoyed than truly upset. "I have shown you, dragon, what I meant." she finally said, somewhat standoffish. Cael merely brought his head in and sniffed his elf, his tongue lashing out again to curl around one of her breasts, and tasting no small quantity of his own seed in the process. She squirmed at the touch.

"I see that, elf." he said, bowling her over with his head, he stared down at her, still grinning playfully. She hadn't intended to be mocked in her moment of candidness, why was he still staring at her? Ahani noted, after a moment, that his shaft had not yet retreated into its slit as she had expected. Oh, she thought. "I do not think the time for confessions has ended."

Cael sat, almost like a dog may, in front of her as she lay back on her elbows, still half-naked before the monster. His eyes played across her body as he spoke, following her curves. "You drive me to frenzy, elf. Often when I see you, I wish to pin you right there and take you again and again, dominating you as I would a dragon I desired. I told myself that this was pointless, that I was merely projecting my lust for another onto you..." he trailed off, his large head coming to rest just above her as he stood and leaned in. "It is clear now that I took you because I wanted you and you alone. Give yourself to me. Give me permission to take you when I want, to throw you against stones and grass and gold and feel the grip of your skin on my scale." His words brought the blush back to her cheeks, where it had been stolen by her annoyance earlier. It was too perfect.

Ahani wanted to say yes, to merely surrender and let this creature do what he would for the rest of her life, or his, or their life together. She wanted to feel the press of his belly on hers, the fullness of his shaft inside her again. All that, though, and she was still full of fear. What place was there in the world for such an elf? "I...do not know if I can live like that. Other elves may not understand, if they ever come looking for my people. If you want peace, I am not sure..." Emasa's words about Ahani's name being used to ruin her people returned unbidden to Ahani's mind. Would Cael's kin understand, if they learned? This union was dangerous.

Some lust addled part of her mind said that was half the fun. "I will destroy anyone that would deny you to me. I am asking this one time, elf. You know I am willing to take what I am not given."

Cael nearly exploded when he saw her nod and say 'yes'.

Under his obsessive, lustful eye, Ahani began to remove her furs, first sliding off the damp, cum-soaked tunic, then the rugged, dirty fur leggings that had spared her knees before. Bare before him, the elf threw the garmets away in a pile against the side of the ravine. Her mind didn't even register the loss. So what if they were destroyed? The only thing that mattered was the dragon.

He stalked forward, his slow movements catlike, the elf watching the moonlight above them slip through the tattered remains of his wounded wing. She leaned back farther when his claw came up, pressing one of her arms back into the ground, pinning her there under his claws as he breathed through clenched teeth, taking in her scent. The beast's shaft was erect again, perhaps having been denied this too long. "I smell your lust, elf." he growled, the claw that was pinning her reaching for one of her still-wet breasts and grinding it roughly into her chest. She moaned, unable to deny his accusation. "I shall corrupt you further, then. " he said, pushing her body back and laying forward, bringing his draconic snout up between her thighs. Ahani squirmed, letting out a little cry as she felt his tongue dart into her folds, only momentarily, then again, deeper. The dragon lifted her legs up with both claws, losing accuracy as he began to swirl his tongue around her slit, letting it slap wetly against her inner thighs and belly as he licked almost ravenously.

"Ah! Ah! Ah!" Ahani's breaths came in tiny gasps as she squrimed beneath his roughly assaulting tongue. It was a a living thing inside her, leaving no part of her walls untouched by its hot, slippery mass. When it came to linger on her clit, flicking across it in a few rough strokes, she could only pound the packed dirt with a fist, crying out as pleasure shot through her. "Enough...oh, enough Cael, please!" she gasped out at last, her heart beating wildly beneath her heaving breasts. He withdrew his head quickly, the dragon's eye passing over her naked body, he tilted his head at her.

"Enough, elf?" he asked. She hadn't meant what she said, but...she wanted something else. She looked away from him and blushed again, one arm crossing under her cuppable breasts as she shook her head at him. Cael grinned, seeing the meaning of her gesture as she lowered one hand to her own slit, holding the now-wet pussy lips open for the dragon. He snorted, grabbing her roughly by the hips as he dragged her across the ground. She felt tiny scrapes and bumps, trying to steady herself as Cael rolled onto his back against the ravine wall, his shaft upright in the dim light, unmistakable for its glossy sheen. He pulled her unresisting body up onto his chest, leaving her lying facing his long neck, her cunt resting against the base of his cock, the only thing keeping her from sliding down his tail onto the ground. "Prove that you have not had enough." he growled at her, playfulness fading in the face of his own rising lust.

The heat in Ahani's own belly had her sweating as she ran both hands down to find the draconic cock between her thighs. She could see his face now, the drooling expression of bliss as she gripped him, trying to slide up him enough to get the cock head at her entrance. Without her hands for traction, however, she merely squrimed on his chest, the heat of the dragon filling her with the same frustration that Cael felt, of having something so close but not being able to take it. He saw, however, and with his foreclaws lifted her up above his member. Her hands immediately aligned his shaft, letting out a little sigh of relief as she felt its head slowly part her folds as he lowered her. Desperate, Ahani shook her head wildly and squirmed out of the grip of his claws, dropping herself onto his waiting prick.

Pain blossomed within her as the ribs of his shaft slipped past her entrance. Ahani cried out, the breath forced out of her by the suddeness of the penetration. His cock stretched her as it was forced inside, his hot breath running across her bare chest as he closed his eyes in pleasure at the sudden tightness of the elf. Cael lowered his head again and began to lick feverishly at her neck and the side of her face as he filled her. Ahani could only sit there, impaled on him, arms hanging limply at her sides as the dragon began to push the last inch of his shaft into her, forcing himself against her cervix. She closed her eyes whimpering at the intense sensation flooding her body, the heat and size of the dragon's shaft leaving her insensate as she waited for him to start thrusting.

Cael rumbled his pleasure again at the elf, her tightness robbing him of motion for a moment before he loses himself in the frenzy of his lust. Panting, the dragon begins to thrust his hips upward, feeling the elf shudder as his shaft slips through her depths, the thick ridges on the member slipping in and out of her with the occasional obscene popping sound. She moans on top of him as her fluids splatter across his crotch, finally driven over the edge after his tongue drove her to it. Cael merely grunts his lust, filling the elf again and again with him as she rolls her hips atop the dragon. The walls of her tunnel squeeze Cael's shaft, her depths still stretching to accomodate his girth. Ahani's tongue hangs out of her own mouth as the dragon continues to fuck her, her head and eyes rolling back with the ecstasy of his rough pounding. Her hands finally came up to her own breasts, rolling and kneading them as she abandoned herself to her draconic lover.

A familiar tightness building at the base of his shaft, Cael withdrew, pulling the cock out of the abused elf's pussy with a wet pop. Grabbing the elf as she began sliding down his body, Cael rolls the two of them over, leaving her on her back beneath him. Something about the position awakens a new torrent of lust in the dragon, his mind swirling as he sees the elf beneath him, mouth still open and panting as she looks into his eyes. Her nudity, the smell of her, drives him forward as he tries to find her entrance again with his shaft, pinning the elf against the wall of the ravine with his claws. Ahani can't help but spread her legs automatically as the member probes her again, her skin flushed with the coming of a second climax. His thrusting pressed against her abdomen for a moment, a tiny jolt of pain before he finally finds her entrance again. Stretched as she was before, they gasped together as the beast filled her, the weight of him now against her on the ravine wall, the feeling of being dominated by a monster driving her to the edge with each sharp thrust. Cael wasn't faring any better, his snorting and grunting heralding the arrival of his own climax. "Come, dragon. End it. Take me again." she barely manages to say, pressing her chest against his as she wraps her arms as far around the creature as they can go.

Cael, in his own rutting frenzy, barely heard her words, but understood that now was the time to let himself go. Roaring his orgasm as he pounds into the elf, this time to the hilt, his neck tilts back as he comes, splattering her insides with the torrent of draconic seed. Cael's hips bucked as she squeezed and milked his shaft, thin rivers of cum and her own mixed fluids dripping down the sides of his shaft. Perhaps too lost to be roused, Cael continued to thrust, their panting together, elf and beast, the only noise other than the slap of his hips against hers. Ahani whimpered, the warmth of his seed filling her completely. She sighed as he withdrew, sliding down to lay next to her in the dirt, her hands running up and down the dragon's exposed underbelly. He was grinning. As a change of pace, however, so was she.

His great head came down to nuzzle her for a few moments, and she rewarded him with a hug before rolling onto her back and trying to get shakily to her feet again. She would not sleep naked atop a dragon again. That had happened once before, and she had resolved that it would be the last time. Touching her slit briefly, noting the fluids that still oozed slowly from within her, Ahani sighed. Cael merely watched her, still grinning. "You are a fine treasure, elf." he finally said. Ahani absently noted that she didn't mind being called 'elf'. Not at all, anymore. It was merely a title, a fitting reminder of her position in his life. "Gather your things and climb atop my back. I will return you to my other treasures."

It was still night-time, but if he wanted to navigate in the dark then so be it. "Yes, dragon." was all she said, though, doing just as he reccomended. Some tiny part of her gave a small thrill at throwing one leg up over the dragon, mounting the space between the base of its neck and shoulders. She leaned in, holding on to the long neck for support as he began to climb out of the ravine.

"I am glad to have you, elf." he said, as the pair of them set out for his grotto.

---

Rolan arrived at Emasa's lair with only four of his healthiest wolves. He was tired of losing them to dragons, but they would be a vital distraction to help kill the black. His mind was, as he preferred it, serene. Selan had still not awoken, so he had left her in the camp. Perhaps with the death of this witch...Rolan tried not to think about his beta, and how her attraction to him had been only feigned by a body-stealing monster.

When his pack opened the door to the dragon's lair, however, he found only a sleeping dragon and a much smaller, sleeping elf. His pack sniffed around them both as their alpha tried to wake either creature with shouts and strikes to their bodies. The elf brusied, but the dragon didn't even respond. If she occupied neither of these bodies, then...

Rolan scowled as he realized what had happened. Selan. The pack didn't understand the intricacies of these events, and she could simply leap back to that body. Of course. She sought to manipulate the pack again. Rolan looked at the four wolves with him, two male, two female. Strong all, and canny enough to not come close when Cael came to their camp. Good wolves, and possibly the entire remainder of the pack. Rolan sighed. As he sat there, considering whether to return to the camp and try to prevent her from subverting the pack, the draconic body in the center of the room stirred, slowly unlidding its eyes as it began to rise. The wolves fanned out, growling.

Rolan, on the other hand, merely strode over to the waking beast. His first punch shattered the bony ridge of her eye.

In close quarters, against a dragonslayer, Emasa didn't have much of a chance.

Rolan took calm note of how the draconic body slid into unconsciousness long before his strikes broke her lungs. He noted, and had his wolves kill the elf for good measure.

At least for now, there was only one place the witch could hide.

When Rolan returned to the werewolves' camp-clearing, he found only a scattering of loyal souls that still believed he had not led them to ruin by allying with the black dragon. Terrifying the wolves with stories of herself, Emasa had turned them against him and fled into the north. Rolan merely picked up the pieces as he always had. There was time enough to rebuild. To grow strong. Perhaps speak to the brass dragon again and feed in the south.

Then there would be time to hunt.

---

Cael was a horrid hunter on foot, but still demanded that he try rather than allow Ahani to feed him. Feed him she did, but only with his most begrudging acceptance. His shining scale made him too easy for his prey to pick out on the terrain, and herd animals were frustratingly good at running in straight lines for hours on end, something that Cael only managed in the grip of his frenzy. He had been trying, again, to not enter that frenzy, to return to something resembling peace. The elf made it only slightly harder. The voice that harassed him about her presence had grown quiet, so Cael considered this a good trade. He was content to wait out the rest of the fall teaching himself to hunt, and eventually: fly again. He wasn't getting worse at the former. As he crouched through the tall grasses, sneaking around a ridge towards where he knew a small herd of buffalo were still grazing late into the season, he knew he was in range to run down at least the slowest among them. Cael crept forward, only looking to get a few inches closer...

Three sharp shocks hit the ground somewhere behind Cael, scattering the herd, sending up a massive cloud of dust as Cael felt the force of a strong wind pass over and around him. He spun in place, looking for the source of the impact, then froze when he reognized it.

Sitting there, grinning happily, were three silvery dragons, whose neck and scale patterns were unmistakeable to Cael Avengard.

"Cousin!" they shouted in unison.