{"sf1_id":862678,"sf2_id":null,"title":"The Wandering Shadow: Chapter Sixteen","author":"LucarioZer0","words":2656,"posted_at":"2015-05-18T05:24:00.000Z","tags":["Angst","Clean","Death","Human","Magic","Wolfess"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/862678-the-wandering-shadow-chapter-sixteen","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/862678","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=862678\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"16\nDarkness. All around him Will saw nothing but darkness. At least at\nfirst. Before long, points of light--in all different colors--began to appear in\nthe darkness, swirling and flowing as though disturbed by light but persistent\nwind. He seemed to be floating among them, and yet he was independent of them.\nWhen they moved he remained still, as though he were at the eye of the storm.\nWhere was he? What was he seeing? These were the thoughts that plagued him as\nhe watched the points of light flow around him.\nAs time went on he noticed that once in a while, a point of light would\ngo out, only to be replaced by another one, all in but a second's space. Or\nwere they simply blinking? No. He was sure of it. They were going out.\nSometimes one would be replaced by two, or a red one would be replaced by blue,\nand so on. Little hints that when these points went out, they were gone for\ngood.\nSomething occurred to him. In all the time he had been here--for seconds\nor eons, he couldn't really tell--he had yet to catch sight of any part of his\nown body. True the points didn't create much illumination, but he still\nshould've been able to at least see the outline of his own form, shouldn't he?\nHe made the effort to look down, but he couldn't seem to move his head.\nHe tried to move his arms, perhaps to reach up and touch his own torso, but he\nquickly realized he couldn't even feel his arms--or for that matter any part of\nhim!\nYet, he felt no panic. He returned his attention to the dancing points of\nlight. There was something familiar about them--comforting somehow, like the\npresence of a loved one. These points...they reminded him of a simpler time, when\nhe was a child, and the world seemed so miraculous a place. In a way, he\nfelt...not happy, but content.\nHmm...but how did I get here? He wondered. He tried to remember...what was it he had\ndone last? He furrowed his brow--or at least assumed he did, as he couldn't feel\nthat either--and let himself become lost in thought.\nIt took what seemed like forever, but the memory finally came to him. I fought the Shadow of Anubis...but...that\ndoesn't explain where I am, or how I got here.\nAgain he thought, and this time, the answer came more quickly--or at least\nhe assumed it did, since he couldn't properly sense the flow of time. I didn't survive that fight. I'm dead,\naren't I?\nHe hadn't expected a response to his thoughts, certainly not what came\nnext. A familiar voice, saying something he had heard entirely too often since\nhe was a child: Would you stop being so\nserious?\nHe tried to look around for the source of the voice, but couldn't move,\nlet alone see anything but the silently moving star points. It sounded so very\nfamiliar though. After a moment of consternation, the memory came to him. Taylor? Is that you? I really am dead,\naren't I?\nHe heard an audible groan. Honestly,\nwould you listen to yourself? Probably can't even hear me, can you? Asleep for\na bloody week, and now you think you're dead. Lovely. I thought hallucination\nwas supposed to come during the fever, not after. Shows what the hell I know. I\nmean really, would it have been so--\nThe voice kept talking, but Will no longer really heard what it was\nsaying. Asleep? Fever? Hallucinations? What was going on? Was he really just\nunconscious? Maybe then...\nMaybe I can wake myself up, he thought. But\ndo I want to? It so pleasant here. Peaceful. Tranquil, even. Why should I\nleave? Why should I wake up?\nThe voice said something then that Will mostly didn't hear, but one word\ndid register in his mind: Jenna.\nThat one word...no, a name! It was important to him. More important than\nanything else. He smiled. He could actually feel it this time too. Jenna was\nhis reason to wake up. Of course she was. How could he forget her?\nHe groaned. He was starting to feel other things too. His arms and legs.\nThe blankets covering them. And pain. Entirely too much pain. Then he felt a\nwarm presence, just a few inches from his face. A puff of warm air brushed\nagainst his cheek.\nThe points of light began to fade away, all of them, all at once. Then, a\nsingle line of light appeared in the darkness. It grew wider until he was\nblinded by it.\nHis sight began to adjust to the light, and when his vision cleared, he\nfound himself looking into to very familiar green eyes, farmed by white fur.\nThey looked at him with both concern and anticipation. In front of the eyes was\na rather long nose--no, a muzzle!--of purest white, that ended in a wet, black\nwolf nose.\nWill smiled a bit wider, ignoring the pain he was feeling. His eyes\nteared up at the corners as he realized what--realized who--he was looking at. \"Jenna.\"\nShe nuzzled him gently, rubbing her muzzle and eventually the top of her\nhead against his face. He tried to reach up and place his right hand on her,\nbut found his arm couldn't move. He edged his head to the side so he could see\npast her. His right forearm was set in a cast, and a sling was hugging the arm\nto his chest. That's right, he\nthought. The Shadow broke my arm.\nShifting his eyes to look just a bit farther, Will could see David,\nsitting in a chair that was positioned at the end of the bed that Will and\nJenna currently occupied. He was wearing what appeared to be a pair of Max's\nglasses, and had his attention focused on a local newspaper.\nWithout turning his head he looked over at Will and said, \"Glad to see\nyou're finally awake mate. I was getting rather tired of playing nurse maid.\"\nWill lifted his left arm and gently pushed Jenna off him--much to her\ndisapproval--and used his unbound left arm to push himself into a sitting\nposition against the headboard. Ignoring the pain in his torso he took a look\naround. They were in the guest room at Max's house. \nWill's mind was filled with questions. \"David...what happened? What have I\nmissed?\"\nDavid sighed and folded the newspaper, setting it on his lap, taking off\nthe glasses and setting them atop the paper. \"Where to begin? Well, to start,\nyou succeeded in destroying the Shadow of Anubis. So, you know, congratulations\non that. After that you collapsed. If I had to guess, I would saying firing off\nthat beam of yours took a lot out of you. You've been unconscious for about a\nweek.\"\nWill nodded. \"You said that before, didn't you? Just a few minutes ago.\"\n\"Yeah. Didn't think you were conscious.\"\n\"I...I wasn't.\" Will said. \"But I was still aware of...well somethings. You\ntalking mostly. Wait...you replied to my thoughts though.\"\nDavid rolled his eyes. \"Nah. You were rambling. Something about being\ndead, then someone named Taylor.\"\n\"Oh.\" Will replied weakly, not knowing what else to say. A few seconds of\nquiet passes before he said, \"Well, keep going, What else has happened? How did\nwe get here?\"\n\"Well, after you wiped out the Shadow, I managed to haul my arse out of\nthe pile of artifacts and glass the bastard threw me into, and got some help\nbringing you both back here. You--we--were all hurt pretty bad. I found a doctor\nwho was both willing to be discreet, and could use magic. He pulled the glass\nout of my back, bound up your arm and ribs, and managed to full heal Jenna's\ngashes, including re-growing the fur.\"\nTo illustrate this Jenna did a spin, showing ever part of her body. She\nwas in perfect health--aside from her lupine form.\n\"After that,\" David continued, \"I spent the past week keeping you alive\nwhile you were asleep. You had a fever too. It only broke yesterday.\"\n\"So if this Doctor was so great, why am I in a cast?\"\nDavid shrugged. \"He couldn't really do anything with your internal\ninjuries. Not his area of expertise, he said. They have to heal on their own,\napparently. So, you know, you're stuck with a broken arm and some fractured\nribs for a while.\"\nWill nodded. That explained the pain in his chest. Moving carefully, he\nused his left hand to lift his shirt. His ribcage was wrapped in bandages, and\nwhen he gently prodded a rib about halfway up his right side, he hissed with\npain. \"Wonderful. Well, at least we're alive.\"\n\"Yeah. We are.\"\nWill and Jenna both noticed the edge to David's voice, and Will frowned\nas he remembered. \"David, I'm sorry about Max.\"\nDavid shook his head. \"I've already mourned. Let's not dwell on it too\nmuch, yeah? The city held a memorial service for everyone who died, and Max's\nbody is on its way to Arles to be buried. Hell, he may already be buried.\"\n\"He wanted to be buried there?\"\nDavid nodded. \"His will was pretty specific about it. He was to be buried\nin Arles, and everything he owned was left to me.\"\nWill blinked a few times, not quite registering that at first. \"He...left\neverything to you?\"\n\"Yeah. I guess...I guess he didn't have anyone else. This house. The one in\nArles. Everything inside both. All mine now. I think I'd rather not have them,\ntruth be told.\" I'd rather have my\nbrother back, he lamented silently.\nWill let a moment of silence pass, and then he asked the question that\nwas weighing most heavily upon him. \"David...what happened to the guard? The one\nthe Shadow was possessing?\"\nDavid sighed. \"He died. He didn't survive the destruction of the Shadow.\nOr rather, he didn't survive the way you destroyed the Shadow. He er...wound up\nwith a hole in the middle of his chest.\"\nWill could thing of no response that would suit what he was feeling. He\nhad never taken an innocent life before. He wasn't even quite sure how to\nprocess it. He had known, beyond any doubt, that when he destroyed the Shadow,\nit would also be the death of its host...but at the same time is seemed too\nsurreal.\nThen a single image broke through the haze of his mind. A single memory.\nIn the moment before he had lost consciousness, he had seen the guard's body\nfalling. He had seen the gaping, smoking hole in the man's chest, the wound\nhaving been almost instantly cauterized by the heat and energy of Will's blast.\nJust that split second mental image was enough to make him feel sick.\nPhysically sick.\nWill was taken by the urge to vomit. He slammed his left hand up against\nhis mouth, clenching his eyes shut. He tried his best to steady his breathing,\nbut even his best effort wasn't enough. A moment later he leaned over the edge\nof the bed, dry heaving. There was nothing in his stomach to purge, which made\nthe experience painful enough on its own, but as a small amount of bile dripped\npast his lips he was racked with pain emanating from his fractured ribs.\nHe wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and--shaking horribly--managed\nto push himself back into a sitting a position. He was breathing heavily, and\nhe couldn't help but notice that both Jenna and David looked at him with\nconcern. Jenna edged close to him and nuzzled him gently. You're not alone love, she thought. I'm here. It'll be alright.\nThough he had no way of knowing exactly what she was thinking, he\nrecognized her intent, and responded with a one armed hug, gripping her\ntightly. A moment later he pulled away, and let out a shuddering sigh.\nDavid eyed him, showing an odd amount of concern. \"What's all that about\nthen?\"\n\"I...I remember. The guard's body. Falling. It was--\" Will shook his head\nand clenched his teeth, fighting the urge to start retching again.\nDavid licked his lips, almost nervously. \"Guess we both came away from\nthat thing pretty screwed up, eh?\"\nWill lifted his head, a questioning look in his eyes. He got the feeling\nthat the illusionist wasn't just referring to losing Max.\nDavid laughed, a hollow, emotionless sound. \"Don't you remember? I\ntouched the Shadow's mind. Or...minds. I still here their voices sometimes, at\nthe back of my mind, when I'm at my most relaxed. Makes trying to fall asleep a\nbitch. Haven't been able to get decent sleep without pills for the past week.\"\n\"This is different David,\" Will said with a shake of his head. \"I...I\nkilled someone. Not even just that. I sacrificed him. I decided that his life\nwasn't worth saving...if it meant the Shadow's continued existence. I'm a god\ndamned murderer.\"\n\"Didn't you tell me once that you've killed before?\"\n\"No.\" Will answered. \"You asked me if I had, and I didn't reply.\"\n\"Same thing as a yes though, wasn't it?\"\n\"Yes. Before this though...I only ever took lives when I had no choice.\"\nDavid raised a brow. \"You didn't have a choice this time either, did you?\"\n\"I...I don't know.\" Will admitted. \"At the time--and even now--it seemed like\nthe only option. But...I just don't know.\"\nJenna sat back from Will, her face showing as much concern and sympathy\nas it was capable of doing. She didn't know what else to do. A thousand\ncomforting words raced through her mind, but she couldn't give voice to even\none. She didn't have any ideas, and was rather surprised by what David said\nnext.\n\"Will...you can't let it consume you. We all...we all have things in our past\nthat we regret.\" Jenna could swear she saw David's eyes tearing, if only just\nat the corners, but then she though it was most likely a trick of the light. \"There\nare somethings that never leave us. Things that haunt us every time they cross\nour mind, when we least expect them. Failures. Losses. Mistakes. And yeah,\nsometimes even deaths, whether we caused them, or were merely impacted by them.\nWe've all got guilt though. Everyone. Unfortunately, some of us--you, me--we live\nwith more guilt than average people. When we look back...we wish we hadn't. That's\ngonna be your whole life now mate. Every time you look back to this time in\nyour life, you'll wish you hadn't. But you can still overcome it. You can still\nmove past it, even if you'll never forget it.\"\nDavid stood from his chair and set his newspaper down on its cushioned\nsurface. He stepped up to Will's side and placed a hand on his shoulder. \"I'm\nolder than I look Will. I speak from experience. It may not be right away, it\nmay not even be for years to come, but this too shall pass.\"\nHe removed his hand and left the room, quietly closing the door behind\nhim. Jenna stared at the wood of the door for a moment, finding she had a new\nlevel of respect for the illusionist. She looked back to Will then, and was\nsurprised to see tears running down his cheeks. She almost never saw him cry.\nShe moved in close, pressing the top of her head to his chest. He wrapped\nhis one good arm around her and pulled her close, burying his face in her fur.\nThough he was silent the entire time, Jenna knew he spent the next ten minutes\nin tears. Finally, when he seemed to have none left, he laid down, hugging her\ntightly. She watched in silence as his physical and emotional exhaustion took\nhold, and he fell asleep.\nShe yawned widely and--feeling fairly worn herself--she too fell asleep,\nheld close in his embrace."}