In the Wake of Giants

As Raban explained how the fish was cooked, Janine stayed relatively quiet and watched attentively. While she didn’t know if there ever would be a time where she would need to cook fish again, hearing him talk was relaxing. She watched as he pointed out different aquatic animals and their tastes, as well as the progress of the fish.

She didn’t like how the skin peeled, but she supposed that was how it was with fish. Finally, the fish was nearly done cooking. Raban pulled the cooked fish away from the fire and placed it in her sandwich after she opened her sandwich for him. After hearing the part about the heat, Janine decided to close the sandwich up and wait it out. Besides, eating small pointy bones did not appeal to her at all.

She carefully peeled the fish skin out of her sandwich and tossed it into the flames after Raban. With a curious sniff, Janine tried to determine whether she would even like the fish before she ate it. It smelled…. Fishy. Nothing damning about it to judge so easily. Oh well. With careful maneuvering, Janine bit into the center of the fish, where there was the smallest chance to bite into bone.

A shiver shook Janine all over her body - the fish tasted weirder than she anticipated. “Hmm. Not how I expected it to taste... Not that I had an idea of how it would taste in the first place,” Janine commented. However, before she could completely condemn the fish, she did catch it with the bits of meat that were already there to begin with. Thankfully, that saved the fish. Not to mention how hungry she was. The taste was somewhat tolerable after that fact.

“But the fish tastes alright with the meat. Maybe it needs something else to be more flavorful. How can you eat this alone?” Janine asked after she swallowed her food.
 
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He sat back, relaxing as he set about eating his own food but he did glance towards her, curious as to how she would find it. Fish could be a devisive thing to a person's pallette and even he could say what he preferred more out of fish choices. He caught the shiver and grinned boyishly, nodding lightly with acceptance. Fish was not to everyone's taste and he understood that without judgement.

"Well, I suppose it doesn't help there's a fair few ways to cook fish and not all fish taste alike either," he mused alloud in reply before he took a mouthful, teeth crunching through the tiddly bones that were too tiny to waste time over picking out. The fish would get cold by that time and he wasn't overly fond of cold trout. He didn't mind pickled herring cold. He found that enjoyable but for the most part if he ate fish cold, he was in wolf form at the time.

He chuckled softly, "Guess I've been eating it for longer... And there's something satisfying about standing in a stream and catching them in your teeth. Or on a rod," he nodded before he chewed through a couple more mouthfuls. "Also, hot fish tastes differently to cold fish... prefer Fish to be hot when I'm in human state, but raw when wolf."

Raban peered at the fire then and gave a low grunt, "To be fair, like a lot of things raw as a wolf..."

"Well, don't see many wolves sitting arounding a fire roasting their dinner, do you?" came a snarky comment from Chestnut, of whom was looking their way and then flipped her lip at him when he looked at her with a open snort of amusement.

Raban conveyed what Chestnut had said to have amused him thus, "She has a point." He grinned before he finished his bread and fish much more quickly than he thought he might finish it in. The recent events they had survived through clearly made him as equally hungry as it had made him tired. He was glad for this respite and chance to just stop for a moment and breathe. It was a chance at some rest he never seemed to have much of lately. This was true for them both. Here, their worries seemed worlds away and incapable of bothering them.

The practical part of his own mind knew and understood that could not lay further from the truth and they knew what was awaiting them back in Amastad. That hunter would not stop his hunt just because a giant lizard had decided to lay waste to the city. Raban knew their style and learned his own methods of avoiding their notice. Now that the Order knew there was a Werewolf in the area, he didn't doubt for a moment that Kiegel would follow the trail as well and Raban could not fool himself into beleiving that the Order's Commander would be as understanding and supportive as Cadfael had been.

He really did miss the old man.

After a moment, he shifted and laid down on his back, hands resting at ease upon his stomach as he stared up at the sky. "How can a place be near a city of woe and danger and be this tranquil?" he spoke quietly, but she would have easily heard his words.
 
It was very fortunate that Janine was hungry. But even then, she felt that she didn’t want to upset Raban? She couldn’t pinpoint it. No, perhaps it was that she was hungry. It really was tolerable when she ate it with the meat, so she’d have to work with that. She looked up at Raban when he talked about other fish and their flavors. Ah, so not all fish were cooked the same? Interesting. Well, when she thought about it, it did make sense. Not all meat was cooked the same, so it would only stand to reason that fish could work the same way.

Raban then stated that he liked his meat in different ways, depending on his form. She paused when he mentioned his other half. He almost sounded… Forlorn? No. Solemn felt more right. Perhaps a touch reflective. As she bit into her fish sandwich again, he said something that felt out of context. She tilted her head with curiosity until Raban explained what he said, making sense of his stray comment. She chuckled as she shook her head. “I agree with the mare. But the thought is amusing,” Janine said with a smile.

With another bite off of the fish sandwich, Janine watched as Raban laid himself on the ground, looking towards the sky. Ooh, not a bad idea. Setting her food down next to her, Janine followed suit and laid down perpendicular from his position. Her ears shifted a little when he spoke again, and she couldn’t help but give a sigh.

“I… Don’t know. Perhaps this is nature's own little space of peace among all the terror of the forests. Or this is nature’s way of separating and protecting itself from humanity? Dark forests, twists and turns, scary atmospheres, dangerous creatures…. All to keep humans away? Humans often destroy the things they touch….” Janine stopped and shook her head. She didn’t like the way she worded that - she never liked the idea of destroying anything pretty or delicate. Beautiful. Natural. It made her feel as if she was… Toxic. Destructive. Harmful. She didn’t like feeling that way.

“I mean…. It took us a while to find this place, even with our better senses. And on top of that, we found it more or less by accident. I bet a lot of the most beautiful places in nature are found by accident. This seems to be one of those places. And,” Janine said as she turned herself towards Raban, “maybe we should keep it that way. I don’t know many people in Amastad that would appreciate this place. Other than my mom of course. But then again, I don’t know many folks like I know you. And this really could be our hiding spot. A place to allow us to be away from the weight of our horrible dread, mentally as well as physically.”

Janine sat back up and crossed her legs. “You know as well as I that the events that have transpired these last few weeks have been weighing on us whether we know it or not. And with this new enemy lurking about in town, I feel like I’m just… Being pursued like a wounded animal. But you’re feeling that way the most, I know it. And.. I know you try not to show it, but your other half hates that feeling, doesn’t it? It’s used to being on top of things, isn’t it?” Janine asked with a tilted head. “I can understand. I hate that feeling too.” She turned her head towards the small lake beside them. “This can be our special place to let ourselves be…. Ourselves. Free. At least for the time we’re here.”

Janine sighed as she felt her eyes tearing up. Fuck, she didn’t mean to get emotional. A hiss slipped out her mouth as she turned her head to her knees. “I’m sorry. You had asked a simple question, and of course I make a huge thing out of it.”
 
He glanced as Janine followed suit and he smiled, peering up at the sky framed by the upper canopy of leaves. If he had owned his own place, it was just the sort of painting he'd place on a wall. It was peaceful and carefree and a reminder to take a breath, to slow down and remember not everything was cruel, nasty or inherently destructive. There was good in the world.

Janine spoke and Raban listened as he always usually did. Not that he often misheard much thanks to heightened senses but he disliked ignoring people. He knew from experience that being ignored could leave someone feeling inadequate and less than what they really were. If it had not been for his mother and Cadfael, his self-esteem might be in another paddock.

He looked to her as she shifted herself to face him. He remained lying down on his back, completely at ease with her company and where they were; he felt it was safe enough to let most of his guard down. There was no truly letting all of it down since the wolf inside was always watching, listening, reading things out of its own self preservative needs. She spoke of humanity and he nodded in agreement. He had lived long enough to know humanity had the highest capacity to destroy themselves and the world around them in the fallout. Theyt typically reacted aggressively to what they feared or did not understand or comprehend. Had they taken that step, they'd realised that his kind were not the worst of the darker powers of the world and that this world was ancient. Vampires, Werewolves, Demons... they had ruled it before everything changed and humans spread like rabbit warrens.

Raban smiled as she apologised and he sat up, facing her, shaking his own skull whilst his hands reached for hers. They squeezed gently before he spoke, "No... No apologies here. You speak from the mind and the heart and I am in agreement with every word. Some humans might appreciate this place, it is a paradise in what you could call a hell. However, most would underestimate natural beauty and see only what value or worth it could bring them."

He looked around them, eyes drinking in the scenery before they returned to her and smiled, "I think, I shall reflect their trait of selfishness and keep this place for ourselves. Our shoulders have been heavy for quite some time... and I'd be a fool to think that didn't affect my thinking, how I fight, keep others safe."

"And you're not wrong... The human part relishes being here. To stop, to take that breath... The wolf however, wants to hunt, chase off that wretched man back in Amastad. But I'm not ready to do that yet. Not until we're both ready to face it. I'm pretty certain he knows my truth, and through him, our Commander will by now as well. As much as the Order has given me a purpose to live, a meaning to my life... I know my time with them runs short."

"But neither do I wish to leave you alone with them, either. It is certainly, ah, a predicament, no?" he smiled, amused. He felt more relaxed and comfortable with talking and sharing than he had for the longest part of his life. Not since Cadfael had he someone with whom he could share absolute trust and faith.
 
Janine leaned into Raban’s hand when he touched her head. She would always appreciate his understanding. “Sorry again for being so dramatic. And as angry as I can be, I am a little afraid of him…. Okay, a lot more afraid. I don't want us to be separated..." Janine said with a small whimper. All this emotion was liable to be draining, and that was something she didn’t want to go through. This day was supposed to be one of fun and relief, and she was going to make sure that it would be fun and memorable in the most positive way. They both needed it. She sighed as she grabbed his hand and wrapped it in her own.

“We can make this place our own in our special way. Yes, we have a problem back at home. But we're here to leave our problems behind. So I think now would be as good of a time as any to go exploring. We’ve eaten, and have rested. Now we shall go look for new places to discover,” Janine said with a small smile. With a sigh she moved to grab her food and wrapped it up before putting it in the basket, and it wasn’t long before she packed everything up and put it away. Now there needed to be a place to put everything. Scouring the area, Janine figured it wasn't going to be easy to safely hide food, so she just walked over to her saddle and stuffed the basket underneath.

"There. That's good for now."

Janine turned to Raban with a smile before walking past him and staring at the gap in the distance. The waterway was an opening that led the water somewhere, and what it was going to be discovered by Raban and herself. "I have been wanting to go down that waterway ever since getting here. Let's go see where it leads!" Janine said as she turned back towards the frolicking horses near the small stream.

"Venus, Chestnut, you two stay safe now! Try not to get into trouble while we're gone!" Janine trilled with a wave. As soon as she was done waving, she ran down the hill with a childlike attitude.

"Come on Raban! We can't waste anymore daylight!"
 
He nodded as she spoke. He was afraid too. They would both be out of their minds not to be scared of something that knew what it hunted. It was fear that kept him alive and it was just an important emotion or feeling as anger or acceptance. It was natural. His hands squeezed gently in comfort, no words were needed to answer her own in that.

Janine grabbed his hands then and he smiled, the action reflected her mood and her words. He chuckled softly and nodded, "Aye, he can wait." He gave her a wink; his hunter issue and the mystery person who was hunting her could both wait. Today was for them and for them alone. Well, he mused, that was not quite true as he glanced towards the horses closeby. It was a chance for Venus and Chestnut to be who and what they were as well without threat of harm coming to their humanoid companions. He wasn't so worried about Chestnut, but he liked Venus.

Raban helped with the packing up. He left the fire going knowing that Chestnut would benefit from its crackling presence and she would be able to put it out if it spread anywhere. "Well, no time like the present," he grinned back at her, running a hand through his mop of hair roughly. He nodded when they were ready and smiled when she addressed their equines. Chestnut lifted her head and looked directly at Janine before she huffed and tossed her head.

Raban smiled, "They will do... What idiot's gonna argue with a fire demon?" Chestnut didn't have to hide herself here and Raban felt Venus knew and accepted that Chestnut wasn't trully a horse but one that could protect them both if needs be. He didn't like to underestimate a horse's intelligence.

He turned to see her run down the hill as if she were six again. He chuckeld and shook his head before he followed her in pursuit, catching her up soon enough. Seeing the waterfall would be good.
 
Janine laughed when she saw Raban catching up. Oh how wonderful this felt! She felt like she was a child again, playing tag with the other kids. Oh! Maybe she should instigate a game or three when they moved farther out. But in the moment, the waterfall was cause for concern. While it was a small one, it still held cold water. And with it being the middle of autumn, she was wary about anything involving the water. She never liked being wet if the outside air was going to be cold. So she was hesitant when she got to the waterfall. The only thing that was going for her was the fact that it was relatively small in size.

“Ugh, I hate getting wet during this time of year,” Janine groaned. She slowly but surely hopped the multiple stones that led up the waterfall, taking extra caution to make sure that she didn’t slip and fall. Of course, the inevitable droplets of water made contact with her skin, shoes and pants, but she didn’t let that stop her stride. It also didn’t stop her from complaining. “Aww, some water got on me. I hate wet shoes.” When she got to the top of the waterfall, she beckoned for Raban to come along. “It’s not that bad when you get used to it.”

The forest seemed a lot greener once they were above the waterfall, which looked impossible considering the grass from the little patch of land down from where they came had such perfectly green grass. And the oak trees lined the banks as well as the general forest around them. Orange red, brown leaves hung onto the trees that they decorated, soon to decorate the forest floor. Sturdy flowers showing their color as they weathered the cooler air. Janine felt as if she could stand still all day and watch the leaves as she enjoyed the quiet. Well, not too quiet. Thankfully, the sounds of the forest were still able to be heard. She was actually eager to see or hear some wildlife other than chirping birds.

“Nice part of the forest. So welcoming,” the young woman muttered. She stayed put until she was sure Raban was behind her, and then continued to trek on the bank of the small stream. She knew that it would eventually widen out to a larger body of water, and that meant new sights to see. A little while longer and Janine and Raban would soon notice the small stream turn into a larger stream of water. Excitedly, Janine jumped to Raban’s side of the stream before it got too large to get across, and ran alongside the edge of the hill that she was looking at.

“We’re almost around the bend,” Janine said as she slowed down.
 
The sounds of the waterfall filled his ears and grew louder with each stride he got closer to it. Water wasn't something that he minded, if he was in form and got wet then he would sometimes across smelling of wet dog for a time but it didn't bother him. She seemed hesitant about it but he knew it had to be cold and that was likely the cause.

"How do you cope in the rain? Rain is seldom warm," he mused aloud at her with gentle bemusement, letting her go across at her own pace before he began the ascent after her just as she encouraged him. The water was loud now and he could hear each little splash upon a rock or the main bulk sloshing into the pool below. For him, his heightened senses were a useful boon in navigating the world around him, but sometimes it backfired on him. Like with rushing water so close by.

They reached the top and he had to stand a moment in stillness, taking everything around him into his being. It was lusciously green and peaceful. There was no other way he could put words to describe the feeling of tranquility about this landscape of forest and water. It was a beautiful marriage between the two. He closed his eyes and just felt the air with his senses of smell and hearing. He could hear a variety of insects, birds, local fauna that moved about the trees nearby. He thought there was at least a few rabbits nearby, perhaps a gentle tread of a deer maybe. "This could be home," he breathed low with a subtle chuff to his voice that seemed more canid than human.

Forests were, for him, very freeing. He could be himself, he could even be free to an about in his darker form. It was a haven for when he was forced to undergo an unwilling change and a playground and practice area for when he was going through a willing change. He followed the edge even as she moved, pausing to remove his boots and socks. There was something to be said for feeling the earth beneath bare feet. He wasn't worried about stepping on anything or something striking out from the underbrush. It wasn't likely to kill him.

He grinned when she hopped to his side of the river and matched her pace with easy lopping strides. He chuckled and nodded, keeping to her speed. Raban didn't mind the pace set, it was relaxing and he was at ease with the world despite the trials and tribulations that undoubtedly awaited their return to Amastad. The whole point of this day out was to forget and live a little for a change. He was going to do exactly that before duty came back to the fore.

"Almost there... just beyond those trees, I think!" he returned, pointing it out with his unoccupied hand as they moved and sure enough as they drew ever closer and made the bend, the sight of the lake greeted them in its full splendour. It was mostly shrouded by trees with heavy canopies standing tall around the lake with an outlet that fed deeper in to the heart of the forest to perhaps feed some other lake in the vicinity. The lake looked deep enough to swim in and there was a good grassy area that surrounded its banks in which to run the circumference. "Just look at that... It's beautiful."

Raban could appreciate nature both for all facets of its being. It was bigger than all of those that walked amongst it. This was definitely one of those moments, even to the point he wiggled his toes deeper into the loam of the dirt and mud beneath his feet.
 
Janine’s heart pounded with more excitement as she reached the bend of the river. She stopped beside Raban as she took in the landscape before her. Such pretty trees, and a lake in the center of the area, long grasses lined the hillside. The sun made everything look so nice, despite it not being summer. She breathed in the crisp air, ignoring the slight biting pain that came with it.

“The grass smells so fresh, like it was just rained on,” Janine added. What a wonderful place to find. So calm and peaceful. The wind blew in her face, pushing the scents of the forest further into her nose. “I wouldn’t mind staying out here for more than one day,” Janine added.

So many possibilities out here. So many things that they could do. The day was too short for them to do everything she wanted to do all at once… No - Janine wasn’t going to stress over anything today; today was going to be fine, and whatever happens, happens. She sat down with a sigh - after impulsively checking the grass and ground to see if her spot was wet - and deigned to stare out at the water. “It would be fun to play in that water to see how deep it is.” But in that same moment, Janine chuckled to herself and shook her head. “No, no I don’t. Deep enough to swim is one thing, but deep enough to hide something is another thing. But running round the lake would be fun too -” the woman quipped. The way she saw it, she and Raban could do anything they wanted out here. She looked to Raban and noticed his feet touching bare earth. When did he do that? Didn't the mud feel weird and cold?

She opened her mouth to speak again when she heard the howling of wolves in the distance. Janine perked her ears in an instant, eyes scanning the horizon as if she’d find the culprits immediately. The calls were distant, but that never stopped the edge that crept around her nerves. Janine growled softly, but then gave a small smirk as she turned to Raban. No way she was going to be intimidated today - not by them.

“Humph. They think they’re the only things out here that can be loud. Well, I, no, we can be loud as well,” Janine said as she got on her feet again. She giggled as she got to her feet and ran up the hill that was behind them, stopping at the top, and faced the direction of the howls. Feeling her nerves swell with anticipation, Janine huffed a few times before letting out a howl of her own, as if telling the wolves that she was there as well. When she finished it, she looked down to Raban with a mischievous grin, though it was mixed with some other feeling she couldn’t readily describe.

“Come on Raban! You know you want to! Ain’t nobody out here but us and nature. Give the wolves a piece of your mind,” Janine said before she gave another howl.
 
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Raban nodded at the mention of the smell of the grass. It was filled with dew and other scents. There were the scents of several other inhabitants of the forest here, mostly small things like squirrels, foxes and badgers but he caught the scent of deer, a bear and wolves. There was no sense of immediate danger here. This place of idyllic tranquility was simply a place to come drink for the denizens of the forest. It was peaceful.

"I wouldn't mind that either," he breathed, it was certainly a place he just felt comfortable. Even the horses were relaxing, or at least from what he could glean from Chestnut.

She spoke of the depth of the lake then and he grinned. The predator within wanted to know, to rise to the challenge of seeing if anything was lurking. He couldn't imagine the water was warm however since they were now approaching the winter months. After all, that had been a chief reason the dragon had given for giving Amastad a reprieve from his vengeance. It also meant Janine wouldn't appreciate the cold water much and he didn't want her suffering on what was meant to be their fun day out away from worries back home.

"A good run around sounds like a plan. Not sure it's worth disturbing the day of whatever may be lurking below," he said softly, feeling the earth beneath his toes. He caught her look towards his feet and he simply grinned in reply before the howls of wolves emanated through the air. His gaze swerved towards the direction of the source with a level of alertness that spoke more of the wolf within answering. They weren't close and the call seemed purely one of a greeting. It wasn't meant for him or Janine, he knew but the wolf within wanted to answer back. Remind them he was still kicking about.

He heard her growl and he glanced towards her catching her smirk as she turned to him. She was up to something. He could tell. He blinked when she got up and ran up the hill. He turned as she passed him and he chuckled as the fight between them and the wolves in the forest in days past crossed his mind. Perhaps there was a level of wishing to remind the wolves of their place for them both. She howled and he chuckled at the sound of it. Raban heard the wolves give pause before they continued with their howls. He shook his head, bemused before he dropped his boots to the ground and made to join her.

Raban joined her side and howled with a clear answer that he did indeed want to. His upper half seemed to shift slightly, a soft black wave crossing through his skin as his head arched back, throat quite exposed. His jaws seemed to partially elongate but it was as fair as he let it. It would be apparent it was to improve the sound and length of his howl and the sound he produced would be eerie and unsettling for anyone unused to the knowledge of what he truly was.

The wolves stopped their howls, taking in these new messages to keep to their place, to stay away before they gave an answering call. It spoke of their unwillingness to approach but also of their vehement distaste for Raban's presence. Raban laughed, shaking his head in the manner of the wolf than as a human before he grinned, looking at her.

"Yup... They still hate me."
 
Raban howling made Janine’s senses burst with excitement. She felt the depth and intensity of his inner wolf; her eyes widened when this black wave moved across his skin and his jaw elongated to strengthen his howl. She marveled silently, figuring that he was holding back, if just a little. But it was a start. Oh yes, the start of something fun. But what? She’d surely figure it out sooner or later. For the time being though, she was just enjoying Raban and his little…. moment.

When he was done, Janine giggled as if she was mad. Her other half was reacting to him in a sense - something that she wasn’t expecting, but wasn’t entirely unwelcome. She rode the feelings within her as she listened out for the wolves in the distance - they reacted how she expected them to. Feeling triumphant, Janine hissed as she laughed her way to the ground.

"Whatever! They're just hating on you. They're jealous and they don't wanna admit it. Hehehe! Wasn’t that fun? Freeing? You were so loud! You told them!” Janine sighed giddily as she rolled onto her back. There seemed to be so much happiness within her, she couldn’t contain it; she knew that if this was any other time, she’d been so embarrassed that she’d want to disappear forever. It was really hard to think of any other time where she was this happy. Yes, the memories of her family when it was whole were very fond in her heart and would always make her happy, but this seemed to hold a different kind of happiness. One that she would make sure she’d never forget. Janine sighed as she finally sat up and faced the lake once more.

“I remember playing tag with my father by a lake once, and it was so much fun. Tag and hide-and-seek. Everyone always thinks that those games are for kids. They’re probably right, but I don’t see the harm in adults playing the game every once in a while. I know it’d make me happy to play with someone,” Janine said with a sigh. Her face then lifted up as an idea popped in her head. Wait. Why not? She does have someone to play with! She slowly turned her head to Raban, her face boasting the widest grin she’d had yet.

“Raban? Why don’t we play tag? Or hide-and-seek? Oh! Or hide-and-go-seek-tag!” Janine squealed with utter excitement. The thrill of those games always appealed to her the most - and she didn’t think it was due to her predatory half. She genuinely loved the thrill of the chase - and the idea of being chased. She hadn’t had anyone to play with since her youth, so this got her excited in every way she could think - to finally have someone to play with was the best thing that could happen to her for this day.

Although, she’d be lying to herself if the fact that her partner was a werewolf didn’t make it that much more thrilling. It opened up a door to wider possibilities, and it was beyond exciting to imagine how a game or two with him would be.

"Come on! What better game for a wolf to play than hide-and-seek? And I'll even let you go hide first... That is, unless you don't wanna hide," Janine teasingly added as she tilted her head.
 
There was something freeing in returning the challenge and call of a howl. He sat on his haunches as it came to an end, the air growing still and quiet for a long moment before other creatures felt safe enough to chatter and chip in and around the forest. He looked down to her and grinned boyishly. She was giggling away with abandon and he knew she must be feeling very relaxed if she was giggling. Raban wanted the same feeling but there was always some ingrained part of him that held its guard, to remain alert, to watch and listen for the slightest threat to his life. Part of that was the wolf and part of that was his childhood. His head tilted as she laughed so freely to the ground and he smiled, nodding.

"I would be lying if I said differently," he quipped, "One day they might just buck up the courage to take me on." Sometimes they did but it was so rare in happenstance that Raban oft forgot when they occurred. He winked and peered towards the lake that stretched below. He spotted the blowball head of a dandelion within arms reach and for the sake of feeling like his five year old self, he batted the head. Seeds dispersed into the air, some floating outwards and others down towards the surface of the lake. He smiled as he listened to her talk, he liked the sound of her voice especially when she let go of her doubt and went for it.

She had clearly left her ball of doubt back with the fish, or perhaps even at home.

"I don't know, those games are useful no matter what age. Builds muscle and balance and a sense of self awareness," he mused but he couldn't definitely say he had ever played the games children played when he was that young. He remembered a lot of training exercises, studying, lectures, milking the family cow. All rather mundane things a child would sniff and turn their nose up at.

He blinked and found her grinning at him like a Cheshire cat who got the cream. She wanted to play although one game soon merged into at least two games. Raban cocked his head to one side as he thought that through, the idea of it appealed. Especially to the wolf within. He extended his spine a little and sniffed the air but there were no scents to indicate anyone was eavesdropping nor had there been a change in the sounds of the local fauna. He peered back at her and snickered with amusement to her words.

"Hiding is just another word for ambush... Something I've learned to do over my time," he grinned as he rose. He made his way halfway down their little hill before he gave pause and half turned back towards her. "You taunt the wolf in me; is this game to extend to those forms?" he arched a brow, curious. Had he been a regular werewolf, the idea would not have been possible nor likely would their friendship have evolved this far. As it was, he was comfortable to play in either form, perhaps reclaim some of the childhood play he had lost. He could almost imagine Cadfael's facepalm in his mind.

Chestnut filled that picture in without missing a beat causing the man to snicker for apparently no reason at all.
 
A sort of nervous excitement flooded Janine as she waited for Raban’s response. She figured that there was a good chance that he’d accept, but there was also a chance that he’d decline out of wariness. But surely enough he seemed to lean towards going for it, if the tilting of his head was anything to go by. Janine found herself sniffing the air after Raban when he checked the surrounding area and beyond, making sure there wasn’t anything that might’ve been missed. Again, nothing out of the ordinary was detected, and when he got up, speaking as he did, Janine huffed at what she deemed to be a challenge. "Perhaps, but in these games, the one doing the chasing is the one doing the ambushing."

She tilted her head as he descended back down the hill, wondering what it meant - and then he asked about their game involving their other forms. Janine’s eyes gleamed brown as the words sunk in, gasping softly as her excitement rose even further than earlier. She got to her feet, shivering as she tried to contain herself, but try as she might, her tail ended up coming out on its own accord. She gave a short gasp and turned to see her tail rattle to match her excitement - it’s happened before, but she rarely allowed it to. She usually had control of that, but if this happened, then she must’ve been more excited than she anticipated. A flush of embarrassment filled Janine, and she turned to Raban with a sheepish smile.

Even so, Janine willed herself to keep moving; she was going to have fun with Raban, and if this was going to involve their other forms, then by all means, she was going to enjoy it. She supposed this was a testament to how comfortable they were with each other. She walked down the hill until she got beside Raban, heart pumping as if she had been running already. The embarrassment was still there, but she worked her way through it. “I was hoping you’d ask, Raban. And here I was thinking that I’d have to beg you,” Janine said with a smirk.

With that being said, Janine gave a hissing giggle as she willed herself to change into her demon form, the shifting being easy and non-rushed.

The newly shifted Janine flicked her tongue as she slowly stalked around Raban. “In that case…. You have to stay here to get yourself ready to go... Cause you’re It!” Janine shouted just as she lightly hit Raban’s arm with her tail. She squealed as she took off down the hill, then skidded to a stop just as she passed the treeline, and turned to Raban.

"Come and get me, wolf!" Janine hissed as she stared into Raban's eyes, challenging his inner wolf to come out and play. She quickly turned and dashed off again, letting out a roar that she couldn't keep in anymore.

The chase was on. And she hoped that Raban would make good with his words.
 
She argued the point and he grinned, picking at his shirt as he moved, "Eh, details."

The ground beneath his feet was enticing, making promises. He was glad there was no one around but Janine. Otherwise he might not have been so easy with his question to her. He could see the impact of his words just opening on her face and he couldn't hold back his grin displaying on his own face. Her tail appeared behind her and his grin widened, his canine teeth lengthening with his good mood and eagerness to just let loose. The wolf was something he long accepted about himself. It was as part of his identity as much as being a knight. It was the same for her. Her demon half, he knew, would have to be something she embraced and accept. Living in fear of yourself... it had held him back before Cadfael and Chestnut.

He smiled warmly at her, his eyes already turning to the yellow of his lycanthrope self as she moved. He sensed embarrassment from her but joy and ease as well. She had wanted this too and in that spoke of their predatory natures to be themselves. To hunt, to chase, and run at speeds too fast for humans to maintain. He grinned, "Today's a good day for it."

Raban's head tilted as he watched her transformation that was both similar and strange. He reached up, pulling his shirt up over his head and loosely rolled his shoulders as she encircled him. His head followed her movement soon as his head was freed from the shirt with a slow measure before he grinned when she spoke and smacked his arm. He gave a growl in reply as she bolted away from him only to pause to tease him out further. In the interest of not breaking another set of breeches, he stripped. He wasn't worried, she'd seen him at least twice now, there wasn't exactly much she hadn't seen by now and clothes was something of a costly outgoing for him. Nevermind the questions pointed his way.

He dropped the clothing to the grass, initiating his own transformation. His frame grew larger, fur multiplied and grew all over his body with a sleek shine. His head elongated with jaws that filled with teeth made for a carnivore, his canines nearly four times as large than before. Once his transformation was complete, he shook himself with all the manners of a wolf, his human side almost gone entirely if not for the human intelligence resting behind his eyes. Raban gave a loud howl that stated very clearly who he was, where he was, who he was coming for and for others to go away. Most of all, it rose to Janine's roar as his form flexed his clawed fingers and seemed to give her a momentary head-start before his form bounded after her.

He paused as he almost smacked into the tree-line to sniff the air. Whilst his heightened senses did aid him in human form, they were drawn to a new level as he was now, a large black nose taking in the air and reading from what information he received. Long erect ears listened attentively for any sound that gave her away. As soon as he heard one, he was on it as if a greyhound after a rabbit. Wolves were made for tracking, even over long distances and that was without him being a supernatural version of them. It was often key to a kill and thus his senses were something he highly valued.
 
Paws thundered across the ground as Janine raced through the forest. Raban's howl reverberated in-between the trees, confirming that Raban had changed and was after her. Oh how exciting this was - everything within her screamed in joy as she pounded through the tree trunks, making sure she didn't hit anything.

But now that the chase on, Janine had to switch her thoughts into actually hiding. Hiding from humans was once thing, and hiding from the average animal was another…. She figured that hiding from a werewolf was going to be harder than she ever tried, but the challenge called to her louder than her concerns. Now was the plan to hide from Raban. Physically hiding would only be half the battle - masking a scent would be even more important than usual.

But how to do so? She'd read enough books right? Surely she could pull something from the stories of hunters from the tavern, right? Janine huffed as she leaped over a fallen log, quick to search for something to aid in her endeavor. Wait. Dirt… didn't someone say something about dirt baths to mask a scent? Or was it mud?

Skidding to a stop, Janine quickly scanned the ground to find something that resembled dirt. When she found some, she hesitated, but only for a moment - she found that the challenge of the game was far too enticing to even deny the chance to succeed. She hissed as she rolled in the dirt, thanking the gods that it wasn't mud, and began to rub and brush her fur all over various tree trunks.

'Let's see if I can throw off my scent,' Janine thought with a smirk. Three trees and a berry bush later, Janine froze when she thought she heard the thudding of pawsteps in the distance. Hmm. Any suspected sounds were too close for Janine - especially considering what Raban was. Not taking the chance, Janine dashed off a few more yards into a thicker pine forest, where she took to a tree with a single bound. Taking great care to not mark the bark to where it would be obvious that she was there, Janine used her strong legs and claws to scale it, only stopping when she was sure the branches would block most, if not all of her body.
 
He was free and wild, feeling air course through his fur as he moved, the sun catching in glints across a sleek coat. Raban could never have denied the pros of being what he was. He was faster, more agile, his strength was increased and his senses greatly heightened. This game they were now playing answered a desire to hunt, to chase and he was happy in the doing thereof. He felt young, or at least he thought this was what being young must have felt like.

The werewolf raced through the trunks of trees before he paused to sniff the air once more. Her scent had changed. Not massively, but enough to make him question the direction. He took his time, pausing to root about leaf litter and the area around him. Had he been without his human thoughts to drive his intent, he may well have missed cues unknowingly given. Uncontrolled, he could be distracted, waylaid. It all depended on circumstance. Now however, he had the senses of the wolf and the intelligence of his human mind. He could couple the techniques learned over a long career under Cadfael's tutelage.

He came across a small spot but the dirt had been all disturbed and recently. Too recently. He grinned, teeth baring with drooling amusement as he lowered himself. His nose rooted about the disturbed dirt picking up fresher markers. Valiant try, Janine, he mused and one he could commend her for. She was trying to mask her scent. Her scent was on several trees and it did cause him several seconds of pause to work out which one to follow. He had to be sure. Move with speed, but never in haste. Raban wanted to be sure the track he followed was the right one.

Finding one that his nose relayed was the most recent of her attempts, he ran on, following any following clues to the direction she had taken. This included looking at the ground for tracks, either those of her paws or from broken organic matter. There were more than one way to track. The forest grew thicker, more dense but it did nothing to dissuade him from his hunt. He would find her. It was only a question of when for him. Bound after bound, he followed, growling softly when he had to stop. The tracks had vanished but her scent lingered.

Raban stood several feet below Janine, ears pivoting in several directions to pinpoint wherever it was she might be. Chuffing, he rooted around the area, pausing only for a good scratch to his shoulder with a right hind. He stood, confused for a moment before he shook his mane and thought it through. His quarry had gone in no direction or if she had, she had mastered not leaving a trace. All he had was a faint lingering scent that suggested she had been here but there was no direction through the trees that his nose or eyes could confirm.

If there is no front, sides or back, he mused, then the only other ways around this was down or up. He looked around and found the ground intact. His fingers flexed before he slowly looked to the canopies of the forest around them. He could not see anything off the ground, hiding, but there were ways he knew to try and flush out his prey.

With no warning, he bounded at the trees one by one, leaping from one to the next with a familiar ease. Claws left gashes in the trunks to mask his passing, he didn't have to worry yet about leaving no trace behind as he leapt higher and higher up the trees with each bound. He growled softly, the sound holding promise of location.
 
Janine took the time that she had in the trees to rest and regain her breath. She hadn't ran that hard or fast since the day she had saved Raban, and maybe even then she hadn't ran as fast as then. Saving a wounded person that was riding one's own horse was pretty good motivation to run fast. But this was just as heart pounding, but in the good way.

Janine's senses caught Raban's presence seconds before she saw him; she tensed and focused her eyes as she looked down, unmoving as she watched the werewolf below her. Her ears caught everything, the growls, the sniffing, the sounds the paws made on the plant matter under it. Janine flicked a tongue out, wondering and anticipating his every move…. Maybe a little too much.

Janine's tail, as useful as it was, began to betray her silence. With her excitement, her tail began to twitch and rattle - but only for seconds at a time. But that would be enough to alert anything; in an attempt to silence herself, she lifted her tail and put it in her mouth, clamping it shut so any sound would be swallowed down and muffled.

'So whatcha gonna do?' Janine eagerly wondered. She figured that her short dirt bath worked in a sense, because Raban looked stumped at the moment. Janine mentally gave a serpentine chuckle when Raban scratched himself; he looked cute when he seemed puzzled. Her eyes strained to watch Raban so tough she feared she'd end up hurting them. The anticipation was killing her - would Raban run off? Would he stay here? Wait… what if he knew where she was all this time, and was toying with her at this point? So many questions…. But she soon got her answer when Raban slowly looked above him - in the trees where she was hiding.

Oh shit. Did he find her?

Suddenly, Raban's frame was a blur, the sound of claws scraping bark filling the air. It took a few seconds before Janine realized: Raban was scaling the trees. Janine felt her jaws clench tighter on her tail as she tried to keep track of Raban's body, but it nearly blended in with the darkness of the forest below her. What does she do now? She couldn't stay, but moving at the wrong time was going to give her away.

Claws scraped the trunk it was latched to as her eyes tried to - wait, movement caught her vision from under her general height. Raban was getting closer. Janine instantly released her tail and shifted herself to be behind the tree, always trying to keep herself from Raban's supposed view. Impulsively, Janine began climbing higher, but barely remembered that the branches would be too weak to support her - her tail curled around a branch in nervousness, but it still threatened to rattle and give her away. 'Stop it! Stop rattling,' the woman panted. She felt the pangs of nervousness and anxiety slip into her arms, legs, tail, claws…. Head.

Where was he now? The claws scraping the bark somehow seemed so loud. Wait. Loud? Perhaps she could shift herself when he did? It was worth a shot. Distance was distance. For Raban, finding her was only half the fun - he had to catch her too. Janine focused her energy and forced her anxiety down, tracking the leaping werewolf for a moment. She then trained her eyes onto a tree that was away from Raban, and positioned herself to leap. Her muscles bunched in preparation to move, the branches straining under her increasing weight. 'You better hold on a little longer,' Janine demanded.

Her tail unraveled from around the branch it was wrapped around, allowing Janine to move freely. Once Raban leaped, Janine launched herself off the tree, her breath catching as she closed the distance to the next tree. When she reached the tree, her claws scraped the bark as she fought to move between thin brambles and thick branches, hissing as needles poked at her mouth and face.

She quickly shifted her body to hide from Raban's view…. Or, at least she tried as quietly as possible. She had a feeling that Raban's ears were too sharp to not hear all her movement. Her neck craned upwards as she scoured the forest ahead, wondering where Raban in that moment of time.
 
-Rattle-

-rattle rattle-

His pointed ears flicked immediately towards the sound, keen and wanting. It spoke of the acuteness of lupine hearing that the ears swiveled towards the direction in which the sound of the rattles originated. He could not see her, but he knew she was close. Very close. So close, he could almost taste her scent with his tongue. He licked over his nose with a flash of pink before he returned to his black visage.

Leaping from tree to tree was something he loved. It was something that demanded agility, control and finesse of hand to eye coordination. It required a quick calculation of angles before his frame committed the leaps involved. Each previous mark of his claws allowed him to gauge the angle required to increase his altitude relative to his previous position.

He was close now. It wouldn't be too long before he would force her to move and in that, hopefully, give just enough of herself away to enable him to follow her. He had a gleedful expression to his eyes that spoke well enough of the enjoyment of the chase. This was where his instincts thrived to their fullest as it undoubtedly was for her too. This was a level of freedom no ordinary human could possibly comprehend. They might try to, but he knew it was hard for anyone to understand something they could never hope to experience. Whilst he accepted what he was and loved the freedoms he gained from the pros to his curse, he had to remember it was still a curse. With that came the downsides of an inability to speak in form, that he could still pass it on to humans he didn't kill, that he would always be seen as something to be exterminated.

In the long term, he accepted that.

-hiss-

There it was! The tell! She had moved and he zoned in one her movement, landiong on the tree she had previously inhabited before he leapt towards her with the vigour of a renewed chase. Her scent was freshest here, strong and inflating. It was somewhat similar to Chestnut's but more predatory, snake-like in some ways, lizard-like in others with the edge that came with being a demon.

Raban felt he was almost upon her, she would have to move fast to avoid him but he was game for the chase. He had to catch her first. At least he did not have to worry himself about infection with his curse. She seemed to be entirely immune.
 
As soon as Janine landed on her new tree, she realized Raban was already upon her. Shit, she was too noisy after all. It was worth a try, but the game wasn’t over. Her eyes widened when Raban seemed to move faster with a renewed vigor - perhaps she shouldn't have taunted him so eagerly. All that anxious energy that came with being hunted flooded her again, making her tail twitch with anticipation. A question then came to mind: was Raban a better climber than her? While climbing wasn’t too much of a chore for her, climbing under pressure wasn’t something that boded well with her. Not to mention how she was going to get down while being around twenty feet high. She didn’t even notice how high up she even was at the time.

In a quick motion, Raban was moving again, rushing to her tree to reach her. She couldn’t stop the startled hiss that escaped her mouth, her body jerking in her rush to get back down to ground level. Janine sucked in air as she forced her claws off the bark, letting gravity take her down multiple feet before she grappled the trunk once more. Adrenaline rushed through Janine once more, even though it never seemed to leave in the first place, as Raban’s scent floated just above her head. She smelled the eagerness and adrenaline that coursed through his body, which seemed to spur her on even more. He had to be having as much fun as her - she felt it in her paws. She briefly looked up to see Raban above her, and she couldn’t help the taunting hiss that flew out of her mouth as she leaped towards another tree. She had to keep going if she wanted to see who was better in the trees.

She wanted to make Raban work for his prey. She was having too much fun.

As she moved, Janine subconsciously began to notice things she wasn’t really doing before - she felt herself thinking less and reacting more, listening to her quarry while gauging where the sturdy branches were and sticking to their level with each tree. Janine moved faster, leaping onto various levels of the trees in hopes of throwing Raban off. It was thrilling to somewhat notice her body doing things seemingly automatically. But she soon felt herself tiring within the trees - she felt the need to properly run again - run and hide if she wanted to prolong this fun chase. Janine looked down to see how far down she was, positioned her body downward, and launched herself to the ground with claws extended. She skidded on the ground before her claws dug in the litter underneath her, pushing herself to move as quickly as possible. She needed to find a place to hide before she tired out completely.
 
Her scent changed the closer he got. Before he had associated a level of confidence, assertiveness but now it had shifted to something else, something that was far more wary. Perhaps he was closer than he had anticipated or perhaps he had unwittingly set her drive into a higher gear. Either way, he was still game for the chase. After all, there had been the finding, he had completed that leg of the exercise but now he had to catch the prey he was after and that was where true endurance, guile and quick thinking came to the fore.

Raban had noticed his height had increased, nearing some of the treetops by now and he was careful now to not land on a tree too weak for his bulk. He was a furball packed with a lot of muscle, and muscle weighed a lot. Almost comparable to water weight. He did not want to risk misjudging his leap and ending up breaking something he'd have to heal through. Whilst that was easily doable given his healing process, it was still painful and it used up a lot of energy.

There it was, another hiss... It didn't sound intentional. Nonetheless, it was a cue to follow and he zoned for it. Anything prey gave away of themselves and their position was useful for a predator like him. He grinned wolfishly, lips pulled back to a toothy smile. The flash of pink and white didn't last long, a dark shadow was a useful means of getting about.

He bounded from one tree and then veering to a left tree before return to a central line of pursuit. There was a sudden decline of her scent and he had to double back to retrace her scent marker before hind limbs sprung him forth to the right direction again. Long claws that were slightly hooked provided him ample means to remain on the tree trunks. It was like a lupine's version of squirrel claws even though his joins weren't quite as robust for climbing as a squirrel's. Still, he essentially could pass for a large gibbon or ape if an observer wasn't looking too closely.

There was an increase of speed, he realised. Her scent markers drew further apart with each intake of breath. He howled, the heat was on properly now and it would boil down to a question of who would outlast the other. He reckoned he had really good odds, but he knew Janine was full of surprises.

She was also descending till after a point the scent seemed to disappear entirely. So, back to the ground then. The idea of doing so wasn't taxing, but the longer this chase lasted, the more energy he would use. All either of them had to do was put their endurance level to the test. He aimed to remain on her heels. perhaps the more he got closer and closer, she may make a mistake. It would, in essence, only need one made by her for him to get a good chance of pouncing her in their wild game of tag.
 
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