{"sf1_id":869866,"sf2_id":null,"title":"The Wandering Shadow: Chapter Seventeen","author":"LucarioZer0","words":4518,"posted_at":"2015-06-06T04:15:00.000Z","tags":["Character Development","Human","Magic","Wolf","Wolfess"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/869866-the-wandering-shadow-chapter-seventeen","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/869866","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=869866\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"17\nWhen Will woke again, his first feeling was hunger. Then, the pain\nreturned. Struggling to move his weight with only one arm, he just barely\nmanaged to push himself into a sitting position. He looked around, but saw only\ndarkness. It must be the middle of the\nnight, he thought. His eyes adjusted quickly, and before long he could at\nleast make out the furniture in the room, even if he couldn't see much detail.\nGritting his teeth the whole while, Will slowly but surely turned his\nbody until his legs slid out from under the covers, his feet coming to rest on\nthe cold, hard floor. Balancing as carefully as he could, he rose to his full\nheight, the covers falling away onto the bed as he stood. \nHe shuffled across the room, each step a little stronger than the last as\nhis weakened legs reacclimated to the simple act of walking. When he reached the\ndoor he placed his left hand on the knob then stopped and looked back at the\nbed, where he could see the fluffy white form of Jenna, sleeping soundly while\naccompanied by her usual soft snore. It took but an instant for him to decide\nto let her sleep. There's no reason to\nwake her up at...whatever time it is, he thought.\nHe turned the knob and stepped out into the hallway, softly closing the\ndoor behind him. He made his way down to the next door in the hall, opening it\nand stepping into the bathroom. Once he finished in there he stepped into the\ndark hall once more, feeling his way along the wall until he reached the\nstairs. He cursed as he was reminded that the handrail was on the right hand\nside. He stepped down onto the topmost step, bracing himself against the wall\nwith his left shoulder.\nBetween maintaining his balance, and his still weak legs, it took five\nsomewhat painful minutes to make it down to the ground floor. He pushed away\nfrom the wall and shambled toward the dining room, the nearest door and the\nfastest way to get to the kitchen. As the dining room door swung shut behind\nhim his most immediate observation was that of light coming from the kitchen.\nHe walked over to the opening between the two rooms and was mildly\nsurprised to see David standing beside the sink, holding a bottle filled with a\ncaramel colored liquid in one hand and a shot glass in the other. David looked\na bit surprised at Will's appearance in the kitchen. \"Well. You're up early.\"\n\"Uh...how early?\" Will asked, slightly surprised that it was early morning\nas opposed to late night as he had first thought.\nDavid rolled his eyes and pointed to the oven, which had a small glass\nfaced clock imbedded just above the temperature dials. According to the clock\nit was almost five in the morning. Will looked back to David. \"Well, if I'm up\nearly, then you're definitely drinking early.\"\n\"Yeah, probably.\" Even as David said that he pounded back the contents of\nthe glass and poured another for himself. \"Still, glad you're awake--and I don't\njust mean right now. For the past week the only ones I've had to talk to are a\nwolf and a horse. Smart as she is, Jenna can't do much but growl, and Vincent\ncan't even do that. Thought I was going to go mad.\" A second or two passed then\nhe asked, \"So what's with you then? Why are you awake?\"\nWill shrugged--and winced when pricked with a bit of pain--as he pulled out\nthe dining room chair nearest the kitchen and sat down right there in the\ndoorway. \"I've been asleep for a week, apparently. I think that's enough.\"\n\"Lucky you. Ran out of the pills I've been taking, so I haven't slept all\nnight.\" David took a small sip from his glass. \"AND! Good as this stuff is, it\nisn't helping me much.\"\nWill nodded. \"I imagine. What are you drinking anyway?\"\nDavid shrugged. \"Dunno. Max had it stashed away in a locked cabinet in\nthe basement. There's no label on it, but I think its whiskey.\"\n\"Was that the only thing down there?\"\n\"Nah...but I think I've gone through about two other bottles in the last\nweek...so there aren't as many as there were. It's not all this stuff either.\nThere's some wine and other fruity stuff too.\"\n\"Hm.\" Will considered for a moment then asked, \"Well, have you got\nanother glass?\"\nDavid looked at him with surprise--or maybe it was just inebriation--but\nshrugged and turned around, grabbing a glass out of an overhead cabinet. He\npoured a few ounces of the supposed whiskey into the glass and handed it to\nWill, who took it with a nod before downing it in one gulp. It was strong, and\nburned as it ran down Will's throat.\nDavid seemed impressed by that. \"Had no idea you did any drinking.\"\nWill shook his head. \"I usually don't. Felt like the right moment\nthough.\" He held out the glass and David tipped a few more ounces of the liquid\ninto it.\nDavid sighed as he topped off his own glass. \"Yeah. It may not solve problems,\nbut it sure as hell helps you forget 'em, eh?\"\nWill nodded. \"Sometimes.\"\nThe next few minutes passed in silence as the two imbibed more of the\ndrink. Then David asked, \"So why didn't you tell me before that you could do\nthat life energy shit?\"\nWill blinked in surprise at the question. \"I thought you were unconscious\nat that point.\"\n\"Nah. The uh...what's it called...the Shadow had me stunned, but I was still\npretty awake. And it hurt like a bitch too.\"\nWill gulped down another glass and got another refill. \"I didn't mention\nit because I hate that power. Or rather I hate that I have it.\"\n\"Yeah, you said as much to the...Anubis thing. But why?\"\n\"It's a long story.\" Will shook his head. \"And not one I want to\nrevisit.\"\n\"Oh come on mate, it's not like we're strapped for time. Let it out.\nYou'll feel...better. Maybe. Hell if I know.\"\n\"Alright, fine.\" Will sighed heavily. \"It all starts with my mother--\"\n\"Oh dear lord. I don't want your life story. Or your mummy issues.\"\n\"Hey, you asked, this is what you get. Now do you want me to go on or\nnot?\"\nDavid shrugged and waved a hand dismissively.\nWill took another sip of the whiskey before going on. \"Like I said, it\nstarted with my mother. When I was a child, I often had trouble sleeping, and\nshe would help me by using her power. See, I inherited my power from her. She\nwasn't very strong, but she had figured out this one trick. She could create\nthese little points of light, and make 'em look like the stars. I loved stars\nas a kid, but never got to see 'em often, living in a city. So she would make\nher little life stars and make 'em swirl around like a really slow snow globe\nand we would just sit there, and sometimes she would make up stories to tell\nme.\"\nWill smiled softly at the memory. \"She used to tell me that, each little\npoint of light came from someone else, and that it was like everyone in the\ncity was saying goodnight to me. I thought those star were the most amazing\nthing in the world. As I got older though, I stopped needing them to fall\nasleep, and she stopped making them. By that time I was about ten years old.\"\nDavid nodded. \"So then...if you loved it when she did it, why do you\ndislike your own abilities so much? I'd say they're bloody useful.\"\n\"Well...I discovered by accident that I had that power too. I was lying in\nmy bed one night, remembering those stars, and suddenly a couple little points\nof light appeared, floating right above my head. Just doing that must have\nexhausted me, cause I fell asleep right afterward.\nThe next morning I told my parents about it, and they were both thrilled.\nMy father didn't have any powers, but he was still happy that I did for some\nreason. That was nothing next to my mother though. She was ecstatic. But even\nthen, she warned me to be careful. She said it could hurt someone if I wasn't.\nSo, naturally, after just a few lessons on how to control it, I decided to show\noff to my friends when I went to school.\"\n\"Oh hell. This story doesn't end well, does it?\" David asked.\nWill shook his head. \"Not really, no. See, what I didn't understand about\nmy power was that it came not just from me, but that I could take energy from\nothers as well. I hadn't been taught that much yet and--\"\n\"Sorry, but quick question. Who was teaching you? Was it your mum? Cause\nyou said she wasn't very strong herself.\"\nWill looked at him as though it were a rather ridiculous question. \"I\nwent to a local M.E.L.D. center twice a week for my mandatory instruction. You\nknow, that thing you have to go through if you discover you have magical\nabilities? So you know how to use them and don't hurt anyone? When you get\nregistered in M.E.L.D.'s records?\"\nDavid shook his head, rather unconcerned by what he was being told.\n\"Nope. Didn't even know there was such a thing. I just taught myself.\"\nWill groaned. \"Add that to the list of laws you've broken. Anyway,\nignoring that. So I was showing off to some kids at school, making a little\nspark in my hand, and one of my friends put his hand on my shoulder. Next thing\nI knew, that little spark turned into a beam of energy. I lost control of it,\nand nearly hit a couple kids with it. But that friend was the worst off. He was\non the ground, totally comatose. He didn't wake up for almost a month. I could\nhave very easily killed him if he had stayed in contact with me for just a bit\nlonger. In that sense, he and I both got lucky.\nAfter that, I became a social outcast. No one wanted anything to do with\nme. I decided I didn't want my power anymore. But since I couldn't get rid of\nit, I finished just enough lessons to keep it under control. Since then, I\ndon't use it except on very rare occasions. Before fighting the Shadow, the\nlast time I used it was to create a spark so I could light the burner on our\nstove at home. Before that...I couldn't even say.\"\n\"So...because of a childhood mistake you--\" David paused, as though he\nthought of something very important in his drunken state. That thing became the\nquestion: \"How in the hell do you light a fire with life energy?\"\nWill hesitated for a moment, trying to recall. \"It's uh...well...it's because\nit's not really like other forms of energy...but it is at the same time. It's\nlike fire and light and electricity all at once.\"\n\"Oh,\" David replied after a moment, when the information sunk in. \"So\nuh...damn, what was I gonna ask? Uh...oh yeah, so you hate this power of yours,\njust cause you made a stupid mistake as a kid?\"\n\"Well it's more like...well fear, and concern. I'm worried that I could\nhurt people. A lot of people. So I don't use it. And yes, I suppose in a way I\nhate it. The only fond thoughts I have of it, are the memories of those points\nof light my mother made.\"\nDavid shrugged. \"Your loss really. Magic makes life more interesting\nand--\"\n\"I don't care!\" Will snapped, a bit more harshly than he would have were\nhe not becoming intoxicated. \"Don't you get it? My power isn't one to use\nlightly, and I don't want to use it at all.\"\nDavid seemed a bit surprised by the outburst, but was otherwise unphased.\n\"If that's what you want then. It's not my business.\"\nThey finished off what was left of the whiskey in silence. It was Will\nwho broke the silence when he finally remembered his original reason for coming\ndownstairs. \"Hey, is there anything to eat around here?\"\nDavid set the bottle and his glass down on the counter. \"I'll let you\nfigure that out. I'm headin' up to uh...bed. Gonna try to sleep.\"\nHe walked out, leaving Will alone. Will lifted his glass up to eye level,\ntwisting it this way and that, looking at the light shining through the last\nmouthful of the caramel hued alcohol. He looked from every angle, admiring the\neffect the light had on the color. After a moment he downed the liquid and\nstood from his chair. He pushed the chair in under the dining room table and\nwalked over to set his glass beside the empty bottle and David's glass.\nHe began rummaging around, searching for something other than whiskey to\nput into his empty gut. Eventually he managed to throw together a quick meal--simply\na sandwich, but even something so simple was no small feat with one arm\neffectively tied--and once his stomach was full he dragged himself back up the\nstairs--having an easier time of it now that the handrail was on his left. He\nfelt his way along the wall until he reached the guest room. He opened the door\nand slipped inside, not bothering to be quiet when closing the door behind him.\nJenna woke with a start. She hadn't even noticed he was gone. What she\ndid notice though--in no small part thanks to her wolf nose--was the smell of the\nwhiskey surrounding him. That puzzled her, and she sat up, a questioning look\nin her eyes.\nWill couldn't really see her face in the darkness, but he could still see\nthat she had sat up, and in the back of his mind something told him to tell her\nwhere he had been. \"Hey Jen...I thought I'd let you...stay asleep. I woke up 'nd\nwanted to get some food. Went downstairs and wound up splitin' a bottle of...some\nkinda whiskey with David. Sorry. Probably should have let you know or\nsomething, huh?\"\nJenna's brow furrowed. He must\nstill be upset if he was drinking. She had never known him to just drink\nfor the sake of it, so she figured that recent events were the most likely\ncause. Come to think of it, I could do\nwith a stiff drink myself...too bad I don't know if this body can tolerate it.\nShe bit her tongue--As if I need\nto!--as Will stumbled over to the bed and clumsily clambered under the covers.\nShe rolled her eyes and shook her head, almost not believing that had gotten\neven as drunk as he was. She didn't even want to think about how bad of shape\nDavid was likely in. Deciding not to make a big deal out of it, she snuggled in\nclose to him, breathing through her mouth to avoid having to smell his breath\nquite so strongly.\n***\nThe next day passed with not much getting accomplished, as both Will and\nDavid found themselves nursing sizeable hangovers, while Jenna silently\nadmonished both. It was on the second day after Will awakened from his week\nlong sleep that they finally began to put together something resembling a plan\nfor the future.\nThe morning began with David making breakfast--something that came as a\nless than pleasant surprise to Will and Jenna. While the poached eggs and toast\nwere likeable enough, there was one part of the meal that neither could\nstomach. They were something that David had called 'kippers' and each one was\nessentially a whole grilled fish cut in a butterfly fashion. Neither of them\nhad encountered such a thing before, and nether found it to their taste. Not to\nmention that--especially in Jenna's case--they found the smell of the fish rather\nunappetizing. They both silently resolved not to let the illusionist make\nbreakfast again if they could avoid it.\nMisgivings about the meal aside they all still managed to fill their stomachs.\nAfter swallowing his last bite, David set down his fork and said, \"I think we\nneed to talk about what we're gonna do now. After all, I'm sure you both still\nwant to try to find a way to fix Jenna, aye?\"\nWill and Jenna exchanged a quick glance and both nodded. \"Yes, but did\nwhat do you mean 'what we're gonna do'?\"\nWill asked. \"In fact, I'm surprised you're even still here come to think of it.\nHaven't you been wanting to strike back out on your own since we got here?\"\n\"Well, the way I see it, the whole reason you two are here--and that I'm\nhere in the first place--is because I said I would take you to Max, under the\nassumption that he could help you, yeah? Well...Max isn't...really in much a\nposition to help anyone anymore. So, as I see it, my end of the deal won't be\nupheld until I've helped you find a way to change Jenna back.\"\nThey both stared at him for a moment then Jenna rolled her eyes and gave\na snort that was as close as she could come to a disbelieving scoff. Will\nnodded. He shared her sentiment. \"If that's what you're trying to sell, then I'm\nnot buying. Care to try a different answer?\"\nDavid scowled and looked away from them both. After a moment or two he\nsighed and looked back. \"Well, first, I really do believe what I said before. I\nstill have a deal to follow through on. But if you must know...\" He hesitated for\na brief moment then--with a more somber demeanor--said, \"Honestly, I don't really\nhave anyone or anywhere else. I think...I think I'm finally tired of being alone.\nWhen Max died...I lost my last connection to my past. It hit me hard. Really it\ndid. And despite my best efforts, I've come to like you two. So I figure, why\ntravel alone, completely lonely for all my life, when--if nothing else--I can\nhave a few mates around, eh?\"\nNeither Will nor Jenna knew quite how to respond to that admission. They\ncould both tell that for once he was being completely honest. Finally Will,\nunable to think of much else to say, said, \"Well, I suppose you're stuck with\nus then. So, what did you have in mind for what to do next?\"\nSensing that the moment had passed, David nodded and said, \"Well, even\nthough we don't...have Max anymore, we still have all his books. So, I figure if we\ngo through all the stuff he had on magic, we might still be able to find\nsomething that could help Jenna. The odds probably aren't very good, but it can't\nhurt to look, right? Besides, in your state you probably can't do much\ntraveling right now anyway. So, we should take advantage of being here while we\ncan.\"\nWill nodded, standing from his seat. \"It's better than doing nothing. Let's\nget started.\"\nThe next few days passed with a rapidly developed pattern. Each morning\nafter they woke and had breakfast, each would select a book or two from Max's\nlibrary and begin reading. They would only take breaks for food and other\nnecessary functions, searching through the volumes until they went to sleep each\nnight. It was tedious, and difficult for Will--limited by his right arm's\ncondition--and Jenna--having no hands to work with--but still they managed to make\nsteady progress.\nAfter a week they had managed to get through almost all of the books\nbetween the three of them, and Will was able to at least move his right arm,\nthough it still hurt most of the time.\nOn the eight day after Will woke up Jenna trotted into the library and\nwas pleased to see there was only one book on magic left. They had almost read\nthrough them all. It took but a second for her to realize the negative side of\nthat. All that work and time, and they hadn't found anything that they thought would\nbe of any use. Her ears splayed out and she whined softly to herself. If they\ndidn't find anything...they had no back up plan. No other ideas.\nShe shook her head as though trying to shake away those thoughts. They\nclung tight though, unwilling to leave her. She sighed. I've just got to stay positive.\nBracing herself on the bookshelf she stood on her hind legs and gingerly\ngrabbed the last book between her teeth. She dropped back to all fours and made\nher way back upstairs to the guest bedroom. Will had spent most of the past\nweek there, having found that the bed's headboard gave him the most comfortable\nsupport, which he only cared about because of his injuries.\nReaching the door she nosed it open, and entered the room. She was\nsurprised to see Will was standing and staring out the window, the book he had been\nreading left abandoned on the bed.\nHearing the door squeak ever so lightly on its hinges, Will looked over\nhis shoulder at her. \"Hey Jenna. You got your next book?\" \nShe nodded slowly. What's wrong\nwith him? There was something somber about his tone and an almost defeated\nfeel to his stance. She padded across the wood floor and set her book on the\nbed before walking over to sit beside him. She looked up, a questioning look in\nher eyes.\nHe glanced down at her then looked back out the window at the mostly blue\nsky, dotted with the occasional white cloud. Granted, he couldn't see much of\nthe sky, blocked as it was by some of Cairo's taller buildings, but the parts\nhe could see where a wonderful shade of pale blue. He sighed softly. \"I'm not\neven sure it's worth finishing these books. Will anything good at all come of\nthem? Or will they just turn out to be another lost dream? Another failure? You\nknow, I'm not even sure why we're still here sometimes. I...as time has gone on...I\nfind it harder and harder to believe that we'll find a way to change you back.\nI don't want to give up...but it seems so hopeless sometimes, doesn't it?\"\nJenna hesitated but nodded in agreement. I wish I could say I thought otherwise, but he's not wrong. Every turn\nalong the way seems to have only made things worse...and we're seemingly no\ncloser to a solution than when we left home.\nHer heart ached as she thought of home--of their little apartment, and her\nbook store, and their seemingly care free lives. She missed it all so much.\nAs if reading her mind, Will said, \"You know what the worst part is? Even\nif we go home--whether we change you back or not--our lives won't be the same after\nall this. We can't ever just pretend that none of this ever happened, even if\nthere is some happy ending waiting for us. Our lives--our life together as we\nknew it--ended the day you transformed. I think I'm finally seeing that for the\nfirst time. This past week...I've had a lot of time to think--and not many good\nthings have entered my mind either. But the gist of it all is that I don't\nthink there is a happy ending for us. I don't see how there can be.\"\nShe waited for a moment, to see if he would say more. When he didn't seem\ninclined to keep talking, she turned to her own thoughts. I hate all of this. Really, I do. I hate this shape. I hate seeing Will\nso unlike himself. I hate every goddamned thing about this!\nShe let out an irritated snort then sighed when calm returned to her. I'm tired of feeling helpless. She shook\nher head. I'm not giving up just yet.\nEven if we do return home empty handed, I'm not going to give up. And I'm not\nletting you give up either dammit!\nShe grabbed his left hand between her teeth and started pulling him back\ntoward the bed. He let out a yelp, more from surprise than from any actual\npain. \"Jen, what are you doing?!\"\nShe let go of his hand and hopped up onto the bed, using her jaws to pick\nup the book eh had been reading, thrusting it toward him. She had a fierce look\nin her eyes that dared him to refuse taking it from her.\nWill hesitated for a brief moment, and she growled. Then he started to laugh.\nHis face screwed up in pain as his still fractured ribs ached from the motion.\nBreathing a bit heavily, he wiped a tear from the corner of one eye and said, \"I\nsee you're not giving up then. I guess I shouldn't either, huh?\"\nHe reached out his hand, but instead of taking the book he pulled her\ninto a hug, causing her to drop the book to the floor. \"I'm sorry. I know this\nhasn't been easy for either of us. I can't even begin to imagine where you're\nstill able to draw so much fire from. But if you're not gonna give up then I\nwon't either. We're in this together until it's all over, one way or another,\nright?\"\nHe pulled away and she nodded, her eyes gleaming. He's still not back to himself, but he's not far off.\nWill bent down and picked up the book she had dropped, thumbing through\nit to try to find the page he had left off on. \"Even if we don't find anything in\nthese books...well who knows? We could still figure some thing else out. We'll\njust have to stay hopeful, right?\"\nShe nodded again, sighing almost contentedly. He sat beside her and\nstarted reading again, and after a moment Jenna nosed open her own book and--with\nthe inherent difficulties of her form--started reading as well.\nNeither made it very far though, for the door opened a few seconds later,\nDavid poking his head into the room. \"So, are you two done feeling sorry for\nyourselves now?\"\nWill gave him a confused look. \"What are you talking about?\"\nDavid stepped in, rolling his eyes. \"I've been out there for the last\nfive minutes, hoping I would find an opportunity to come in. It sounded like\nyou'd stopped talking, so I thought I'd ask.\"\nWill sighed and Jenna shook her head. Both had thoughts along the lines\nof 'unbelievable'. \"Yes, we're done. Why? Is something wrong?\"\nDavid grinned. \"Wrong? Well I suppose that's really subjective, but I\nwouldn't call it wrong. Okay, maybe a bit of a pain in the arse, and\npotentially could amount to nothing but I would say--\"\n\"Would you get to the point already?\" Will snapped.\nDavid frowned, but continued anyway, pulling out the book he had been\nholding behind his back. \"I think I may have found something that could help.\""}