The White Wolf: Valerie's Quest

The chilly dark woods are disturbed by the rustling of leaves as a young Lycan is given chase by repulsive creatures, the lust for blood egging them on. She was not about to become dinner to whatever these creatures are. With laser-sharp focus, she skillfully navigates through the thick forest, maneuvering through muddy waters, potholes, and low hanging branches without losing her speed. Despite her efforts, the creatures, which are still unrecognizable, are closing in with each passing moment, their deadly snarls piercing through the silence of the woods.

She knows within her that her chances of making it out alive are slim. If only she could just shift, maybe then the playing field could be levelled at least to give her a fighting chance.

As she hurries through the forest, she takes every possible shortcut in an attempt to deceive and baffle her pursuers. However, it seems that these creatures can anticipate her every move, as they adjust almost instantly. She vaults over a large stump, narrowly avoiding a massive claw that was aimed at her 5-foot-9-inch frame. Unfortunately, the uneven ground beneath her causes her to lose her balance and she tumbles down a slope. Thanks to her quick reflexes, she manages to stop herself from rolling any further towards a certain death. Despite her quick recovery, the looming figures above her are still a menacing presence. She regains her footing and tries to run away, but her momentum is lost. Before she can escape, one of the grotesque creatures knocks her down with its huge arm. She struggles to stand up, but the other creature pins her down with its massive frame. She closes her eyes, preparing for the worst, but instead of death, something else intervenes. Something else attracts the attention of the creatures, diverting their focus away from her.

She opens her eyes to see another Lycan, in true werewolf form, flinging one of those creatures aside and tearing another apart with vicious ease. She recognizes the glint in this wolf's eye, and she knows that it belongs to none other than her older brother, Jacques.

"You okay, Val?" he snarls just as he rips the head off the last creature. Even though he can only communicate through grunts and growls in wolf form, she understands him because they have a sub-telepathic connection, which is a trait common to werewolves.

"Yeah, I'm fine but there's still more coming. I can smell them". She replies.

"Yeah, I can pick up their scent" he growls back. "You know it would be much easier if you could shift."

Ugh! She saw this statement coming. She gets the reason behind it but to have this sung to you for 18 years of your life like an anthem; it really becomes annoying at some point.

"I would if I could, but this is no time to debate my incompetence. We need to move. NOW!"

"Hop on. I'm much faster than you are" he offers.

Aside from the murderous creature that came close to ripping her apart that evening, getting a piggyback ride from her older brother is the next exasperating thing she utterly despises, but what choice has she got?

Jacques breezes through the woods quickly, and soon enough they can see a clearing on the horizon that leads to an open road stretching out to a small town. Even though her ears can still pick up the unearthly sounds made by those disturbing creatures, Jacques is a good distance away from them. They might make it, or so they thought...

As they approach the road, the earth beneath them begins to shift and the trees sway rather close together, sealing off their exit point and trapping them in. The trees huddle around the pair, creating a circular open space. Jacques scans his surroundings looking for any visible escape route all the while snarling and barking at the perceived force behind the trees.

"There are few things even a witch like me can forgive" a malicious voice, vile and eerie calls out from beyond the shadows. "But to steal from my sanctum is an error that cannot go unpunished, animal!"

Valerie's hands instinctively reached for the satchel slung around her neck which contained the stolen item.

The ground beneath them begins to sprout roots, which quickly take on grotesque humanoid forms and the necromantic witch emerges from the darkness. "You've really stepped in it now", Jacques growls back at Valerie as he barks and snarls at the approaching undead-looking creatures. Being Valerie's mount, he cannot defend himself properly without putting her in danger.

"Can you fight?" He asks her, taking stock of the increasingly populating creatures.

"We can hold them off for a few minutes... but then we could find ourselves in trouble."

Jacques just grunts aggressively in response.

Suddenly, growls are heard reverberating through the woods, shaking the ground and alerting the necromancer and her spawns. Even as a wolf, the smug smile on Jacque's face is visible. Valerie jumps off her brother's back, fear evaporating as she lands. Jacque howls at the moon, and other wolves join in.

Her pack had arrived.

As the wolves emerge from the dense foliage, the scent of damp earth and pine needles fills the air. Their eyes are wild, and their fur stands on end, revealing their readiness for battle. The necromancer, Cassandra, seems unfazed by their appearance, her eyes gleaming with dark power.

"Stand down, you and your puppets, or we'll make you," a voice booms, resonating through the clearing. There is no mistaking it. That voice, the authority behind it could only belong to the pack's leader and alpha.

"Bold of you to assume I can be intimidated to retreat, Xavier" she smirks, twirling the dark energy in her fingers, daring them to make a move.

The wolves growl in unison, their fangs bared, and their claws digging into the soft earth.

The alpha steps forward, his towering figure casting a shadow over the ground. Unlike the other wolves, he remains in human form as he glares down at Cassandra with golden eyes that blaze with an intense heat.

"We both know how this will end," he says, his voice low and menacing. The air around him shimmers with energy, and the ground beneath his feet trembles. "... There will be blood and you damn well know it won't be one of ours, Cassandra," he says, jaws clenched.

She does a double take at her surroundings, while Valerie watches her intently, before succumbing to a spry smile. "I never really had much use for the trinket anyway," she says with a snap of her fingers. The undead creatures she summoned dissolve back into the earth, and the trees rustle as they shift back into their original positions.

"But make such a mistake again," she warns, turning her gaze to Valerie, "and not even your alpha would stop the damnation I would bring down on you should you cross me."

The wolves stand their ground, watching as Cassandra disappears into the shadows. The tension in the air slowly dissipates, and the alpha turns to Valerie, his eyes softening.

"I'd take her up on that," the pack alpha affirms. With the danger now under control, his stern countenance eases up and he takes a moment to survey his surroundings. The other members of the pack transform from their wolf forms back to human, and Jacque follows suit, though he appears to be fatigued from the injuries he sustained in the earlier encounter with the creatures. Valerie moves towards him to offer her assistance, but he motions for her to stay put. After a brief pause, she posed the question that had been on her mind.

"How did you find me?"

Jacque reacts to the question as if a match had been struck in a powder keg. He gets up from where he had been sitting facing Valerie in an instant.

"No, no, no, no, no, we are NOT doing that. You don't get to ask the questions here." Jacque snaps. "What the hell were you looking for back at the coven of one of the most dangerous witches alive?"

"I would also like to know what this is all about, Valerie," demands Xavier, as he joins the two of them.

Confession time.

Her gaze falls to the ground as she tears her eyes away from Jacque. "I had a job, a bounty. The payout was substantial. Some lowlife hired me to retrieve this..." She reaches into her tattered satchel and pulls out an object. "... The Golden Eye of Shabbir from Cassandra's coven. I could have easily made off with it, but I didn't anticipate the grotesque hound-bear hybrids she keeps as guards."

Jacque's voice is laced with criticism, "And you didn't think to tell anyone about this dangerous mission?"

"It was my MARK, Jacque. I had to go alone," she replied defensively.

"You're part of a PACK, Val. We face danger together. We protect each other. Remember that?"

Valerie rolled her eyes, "Don't act like the rest of you haven't gone on solo missions before. Hell, you've been on far more dangerous quests without any supervision. What makes this any different?"

Jacque opens his mouth to respond, but Val cuts him off, "Oh, I know. It's because I can't shift like the rest of you. I'm the fragile one, the weak link. I don't have the physical attributes to handle danger like the rest of you. Well, guess what? I've undergone the same training as the rest of you, so I don't need your protection.".

Valerie walks away, but Jacque follows her and confronts her.

"If I didn't intervene back there, I'd have a corpse back home. Is that what you wanted? What the hell are you trying to prove, Val?" he asks, exasperated.

Valerie stops and takes a moment to compose herself. She knows this conversation all too well.

What has she got to prove? What has SHE got to prove?!

"What have I got to prove? What have I got to prove?!" she repeats, frustrated. "I've got a lot to prove, Jacque. A LOT! You have no idea the looks I get from everyone. What they say about me? What kind of cursed Lycan am I because I can't shift? Even the younger wolves are developing faster than I am. The pity stares. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop because everyone thinks one day, I'll end up dead when caught in the crosshairs of a fight. We hunt together, and there's always this wall of wolves around me like I'm some precious object that needs safeguarding..."

As Valerie continues to express her frustration, angry tears streak down her cheeks. The other Lycans around them shift uncomfortably, but Xavier remains patient, watching Valerie with understanding. Even Jacque's features soften as he listens to her outburst.

"I'm not gonna be held back by your stupid expectations of me. I might never be able to shift into a wolf, but that's not gonna stop me from doing whatever needs to be done. I'm not a fragile little girl. I'm smart enough and can handle my mess on my own. If I need you, I'll let you know. If I don't, back the hell off"

With that, she wipes the tears off her face and stalks off.

"Val..." Jacques calls after her.

"Let her go" Xavier says, putting his hands on Jacques to stop him. "She needs to clear her head. Clearly, there has been a lot she's working through and reprimanding her is not the wisest action here. I'll talk to her when the dust settles."

"She keeps making enemies with powerful people; putting the pack in danger all just to prove she's just as capable as us?"

Xavier takes in his concerns. Jacques isn't wrong. This could come back to the pack. Her reckless actions could cost not just her life but also the lives of the pack. The last few minutes might not end that way if Xavier did not have an understanding with the Necromancer.

Xavier responds, staring in the direction Valerie left "She acts like it doesn't bother her; that she doesn't need the Wolf. But she keeps throwing herself in danger in hopes that one day, in the moment of need, her wolf will save her... It is unrealistic still I do hope she's right, but I will not sit idly by and watch another of my children walk straight to their death."

He nods to another werewolf. "Keep an eye on her".

The wolf nods before vanishing into the night.