In the Wake of Giants

The scent of dampness danced in Janine’s room, slowly rousing her from sleep. She groaned, body heavy from tiredness as she yawned and rubbed her eyes. As she looked around her darkened room; for a moment she forgot what day it was, but her memory had cleared up rather quickly. A groan came from Janine as she got out of her bed, the scents outside becoming stronger as she walked to her window. She looked outside, seeing the darkness of the sky as rain fell down.

Shit. It was cold and wet too. It apparently had been raining for a while now. She couldn’t tell what time of the day it was thanks to the dark clouds, but considering the slack of people, it had to be nighttime. A worried expression painted Janine’s face, as she knew that each minute just drew Raban closer to his fate. The thought just made her want to cry again, but she shut herself down. No. Crying wasn’t going to help. But sitting around wasn’t going to help either. Janine looked out the window as the strength of rain got stronger. She thought about Raban and when he shifted in front of everyone, sighing as he folded his clothes. She wondered if he was still in wolf form or if he was in human form, and whether he was warm or not. The silver in the metal of the cage had to be doing a number on him, and she feared that he would be unable to completely do things consciously on his own. Recalling him tearing his clothes, she had the brief thought to get clothes for him, for whenever he somehow shifted back on his own.

She had to see how he was doing. She couldn’t do it during the day, but the night was when most of the population went to bed. Looking at the lack of people in the streets, she had to guess that it was well within the realm of nighttime. Best time to go off actually - late enough to not be seen by nearly anyone who was already inside their homes, quick to avoid the rain and cold. Before she saw Raban, however, she needed to go to the inn where he housed himself all this time, and ask the people if she could be allowed to go in his room. Hopefully Sir Kiegal and Greaves were asleep. Especially Greaves. She didn’t feel safe around him at all, and without backup, she didn’t have the confidence to encounter him alone. But all that aside, she needed to be quick and inconspicuous.

Janine nodded her head with conviction. Yes. Get in, give him clothes, and get out. Maybe a quick goodbye while she was at it.

…

Janine sighed - thinking negatively was easy these last several hours. Shaking her head, she gathered clothes she didn’t mind getting wet, and searched for something to cloak her body with to stave off some of the rain. It took a while, but she eventually found an old and thin blanket with her and a small sack to store his clothes in. Sneaking out the window, Janine dropped to the ground below, thanking the gods that she didn’t slip in the mud. She turned to the stables to check on the horses, running up to Venus and Chestnut with a determined look on her face.

“Hey Venus, Chestnut. I promised to come back here and check on you,” Janine said as she petted her mare. Venus snorted softly, nudging her owner gently in response to the petting. Janine walked around her horse to approach Chestnut, grabbing her brush to stroke down Chestnut’s longer hair.

“Hope your dinner was good for you. I’ve yet to eat, I’ve just woken up,” Janine said as she brushed the larger mare. She stopped brushing after a couple of minutes, and sighed to herself. “It turns out that it’s raining tonight. Good thing you’re here to stay out of it.” Janine said with a soft chuckle. Her face grew more solemn right afterwards. “I… can’t sit still. Raban’s all in the cage alone and just weak and helpless and in pain from the silver. I’m trying not to imagine him like some helpless puppy, but I don’t know what to think in this situation.”

She looked up to face the streets outside her fence. “I’m going to go to the inn you used to stay at, to get clothes for Raban. Then I’m going to go see him, Chestnut. Just to check on him. Everyone should be gone by now, and I want him to know I’m here for him.” She looked in Chestnut’s eyes a moment later. “That we’re here for him. I know, it’s foolish, but I just know I wouldn’t be doing this if he had just…” Janine paused and sighed, knowing that Chestnut knew what she was going to say. She sighed as she stood back up on her two feet.

“I need to get going. It’s already raining hard enough as is. I will not be very happy about it, but I’ve made up my mind. I’d ask for you to come with me, but I’m afraid of the risk of you getting sick. She blinked and shrugged at Chestnut. “Before you say anything, I don’t know if demons get sick. But you’re trapped in a horse’s body, and horses can get sick. I just figured that if I’m doing this I’d tell you instead of leaving you in the dark. I don’t think I want to feel how hot you can really get,” the young woman mused as she wrapped herself in the thin blanket. She wasn’t sure how convinced Chestnut would be in her reasoning, but she hoped it would be enough. She began to walk out of the stables.

“I’ll be back in a while. I’ll tell you everything that happens when I get back, I promise,” Janine said as she turned around and faced the wet ground outside. She groaned, but gathered the nerve to walk out from under the stables and into the rain. She almost immediately switched to a run, opening the gate and trying her best to close it in a hurry before dashing off onto the soaked streets of Amastad.

~~~~~~~~~​

Kiegal listened to Sir Reginald as he spoke, nodding his head shortly thereafter. He took a sip of his water while he gathered his thoughts; Sir Gerald and Sir Reginald seemed to have spoken their pieces of wisdom about the situation, and now it’s time for him to think about everything he had learned today. He nodded before he finished his cup of water, setting the cup onto the table with a sigh.

“I see. I suppose I do owe Raban the right to speak, given the special circumstances.” He got out of his seat and stood up straight before bowing a little. “Thank you Sir Gerald and Sir Reginald for your input and wisdom. You have given me a lot to think about. I appreciate you speaking with me. Thank you for the water, and I bid you goodnight,” Keigal said as he turned around to the doors.

Gerald nodded his head and watched as Sir Kiegal approached the door. “Hey, when all is said and done, would you consider telling me your decision?” he asked.

Sir Kiegal turned back to the old man, pausing for a moment in thought. “If you wish, Sir. I suppose it wouldn’t hurt,” Kiegal replied just as he pushed the door to leave the tavern. Gerald smirked a little at Kiegal’s answer, pleased that he’d be able to know what ultimately happened to Raban. He turned to Reginald, a brow raised at him as he smirked. “Before you say anything, you should’ve known I'd want to know what would become of Raban. Not everyday you get an Olf'way in the Order. And I know you’d want to know as well, don’t deny it,” the old man jested with a chuckle.

~~~~~~~~~​

Janine struggled to look for the inn at this time of night - the streets looked different at night, not to mention the rain made it hard to see properly. Janine was already feeling the pang of regret as she stood in the rain, her blanket quickly proving to be a poor shield for the rain. The cold was already beginning to gnaw at her, and the cold was what Janine feared clinging to her body during this time of year. But Janine shook some water off, ignoring the water that dripped down her sleeves and pants.

“Okay, where are you? I’ve seen you before,” Janine muttered to herself as she searched the streets. She sniffed the air for a familiar scent, but the rain had drowned out anything that could give off a scent and instead filled the air with its own scent. She sighed, going in circles for a few moments before closing her eyes and mapping out the streets. When she was confident enough to move again, Janine moved on, eventually running past the tavern in her quest to find the inn.
 
It was growing cold in the hall, miserably so but Raban didn't once complain about his misery since his groan when he had shifted back to his human self. He was huddled in one corner, it didn't matter where he put himself, the silver was equally lethargic regardless. Goosebump stood out in stark contrast on his skin and he rubbed his chest against the cold. There were occasions he had wished fervently he wasn't what he was, that he was just a regular normal human being but they were often fantasies he shoved back in a recess. Without being what he was, he might not have had the same journey he had taken to this point, met people or made the same friends.

His muscles were heavy and leaden yet he felt them to be equally like some glutinous substance that refused to hold his weight. Raban was focusing on keeping the lethargy at bay for as long as possible although pacing was out of the question by now. He had trouble just keeping his legs against his chest with his arms as it was. No, he exercised mentally with some assistance from Chestnut here and there.

Questions and games, anything to keep him interested and resisting the pull of the silver. Raban was thankful that silver was the only element affecting him right now besides the iron and steel detaining him. Wolfsbane was excruciating and Chestnut was not wrong in calling it a vile kind of torture.

Even with his misery and lethargy, he thought to Janine. She was his one regret in all of this, that he had been the cause of her upset with his decision. He wished she understood and hoped she would forgive him regardless of his fate.

-----------------

Chestnut lifted her head as she heard running steps approaching the stables and snickered. Only one person would run in this miserable weather that left her and her stallmate cold and restless. She had raised her own temperature to combat the cold a little but she had to watch her heat. Stables were prime fire spots. She looked towards the doorway as Janine entered and then returned to idle munching on whatever feed remained, her appetite was not its usual strength.

She snickered as she felt her mane being combed and one of her dagger-like ears snapped to face Janine as the woman spoke. That she was going to check on Raban and get him his clothes was of no surprise to the demon mare and she nodded her head lightly with acknowledgement. She reached out and touched Janine's hand with a large velvety snout. It was all she could do really to convey that she understood from both sides of this coin and that Janine had to go. She would think it odd if Janine hadn't at least tried.

Chestnut snorted but gave no protest to Janine going without either horse for means of transport. It would look less odd with Venus but Venus was just a normal mare and this miserable rainfall would give the horse the chills. It would be the same for her equine host and it would look odder still if people saw Janine on Raban's mount.

The sorrel mare huffed and tossed her head in the manner of one who expected nothing less. Whilst she could know what went on through Raban's eyes and experiences given their bond, she wasn't as privy to Janine's point of view. She chuffed again and watched Janine leave for a moment.

---------

Reginald inclined his head to Sir Kiegal as the Knight seemed to take in the advice of two old veterans of the Order as if it was information to be revered. He hoped it helped. Kiegal certainly seemed to have needed their input on this very strange and rare matter. The man rose but Reginald remained seated in favour of not putting his old bones out of sorts. He was perfectly comfortable.

"Think nothing of it, Sir Kiegal. Happy to be of help," he nodded, waving a gently dismissive hand before he picked up his cup and drank from it. He watched Kiegal head for the door before Gerald caught the man for a final request and Reginald grunted in bemusement. Trust the old coot to want to know what happened, but then he always did like getting the lowdown of the grapevine.

He watched the man leave and shut the door behind him before looking to his companion and snorted dryly, "Indeed not, and not like you'd give me a chance to deny it, regardless. Still, it should be an interesting turn of events."

---------

"Butter up, Little Wolf... you can ask her for it soon enough,"
"What?"
"She's coming to you... think she can't take anyone else seeing you in the stark."
"Chestnut!"
"What?"
"You... Never mind, coming to me... If she's seen?" Raban's mind was slow to process, the lethargy was getting to him. If he remained in the cage for a long time, he would stop breathing. he wouldn't die from the aphyxiation, his heart would restart the minute the silver lost its effectiveness but some Knights might not be aware of that little titbit.
"Give the Little Demon some room to operate." Chestnut's tone was like a mother to child, firm and assertive with no room for any arguement. Raban sighed
 
Sir Kiegal walked out of the tavern after speaking to Sir Gerald, mentally and physically preparing himself for the bite of the cold and rain. He wished he didn’t have to walk in this rain, but of course it rained in this time of year, so he had no choice but to accept it and face the fact that he was going to get wet. He looked up, facing the direction of the Order Hall just in time to see a figure running down the street. He blinked his eyes, turning his head as the figure looked rather familiar. Most of the figure was covered by a cloak of some kind, but after some of the blanket blew the right way, it revealed the face of the person running.

Kiegal blinked in disbelief. “Janine?” he questioned as he stood out of the rain. What was Janine doing out here in the rain? And she looked like she was in a hurry as well. Where was she going? He looked up at the sky to see how hard the rain was falling, deciding on whether or not he should follow her. Several seconds had passed and Janine was quickly getting out of view. With a sigh and a feeling he’d regret it, Sir Kiegal ran after her, hoping that the rain wouldn’t make him lose her.

~~~~~~~~​

Janine panted as she did her best to keep her satchel from being soaked by the rain. She needed it to keep Raban’s clothes dry, but the rain was making it difficult; thankfully, it wasn’t raining too hard, but it was still a main concern. On top of that, her mind was searching for the best way to get to the inn. She sensed that she was close, and that she needed to keep her eyes out for it. But she also sensed someone else outside in the streets as well. She turned around, but saw nobody. Was the stress getting to her?

‘You’re just overthinking it. Hurry up and get to the inn,’ Janine scolded herself as she ran faster.

It took what felt like forever, but eventually Janine got to the inn. She ran past the horse post, her eyes catching the old nag that she had now known was Greave’s horse. She snarled a little, realizing that she had a chance of meeting the Hunter here. She prayed that he would be asleep in his room, and nowhere near awake the moment she went into the building. With a nervous groan, Janine walked through the door of the inn, eyes scanning the room for any sort of danger. There were multiple tables scattered in the front room, and a fireplace to keep the room warm. Thankfully, nobody she knew was in the main room, only herself.

“May I help you dearie?” an older woman’s voice grabbed Janine’s attention. She jumped a little but composed herself the moment afterwards, hanging her blanket up on a hook before approaching the woman.

“I’m very sorry, but I-I’ve come in to ask for a rather strange request. I know you don’t know me, but I was just wondering if I can go into an occupied room, to retrieve some clothes for a friend of mine.”

The woman blinked at Janine, understandably puzzled at the request. “You want to retrieve clothes? I’m sorry, I don’t -”

“My friend is someone who usually beds here for the night. He’s just not able to come in this one night. His clothes are messed up, and I offered to come in his stead to get some for him.” Janine explained. While the context wouldn’t be what one would expect, she wasn’t lying in the least. She just hoped that the woman would be nice enough to let her in his room.

But the woman was hesitant. “I’m sorry my child, I can’t let you in other people’s room’s without permission. Besides, I don’t even know who you’re vouching for,” the woman said with a frown.

Janine sighed. “I’m here in Raban’s stead. I… Don’t know his last name, but I am here to get his clothes, honestly. He’s cold and I don’t want him to catch a chill. Please, let me go in and get what he needs. You can even go upstairs with me to watch. Or perhaps you can go in and get his things. I just need him to have clothes for the night. That’s all I want,” Janine begged.

The woman looked like she recognized the name. Her eyes lifted a little. “You know Raban?” The woman asked. Janine nodded her head.

“Yes, I know him. We’re partners in the Order. Truly, he’d come if he wanted to, but his clothes are ruined. Otherwise, he’d come here and get his own clothes.” Janine was growing weary with the hesitation. She needed to hurry before someone got to Raban first, but she didn’t know how to make the woman sway her decision in her favor. Her eyes lowered with a hint of sadness.

“Please?”

The woman seemed like she was beginning to feel pity for Janine and her predicament. With a sigh she relented, shaking her head with a small smile. “Oh, alright, just this once. But just his clothes. If I see anything else gone from his room, I will personally go find Raban myself and report him to you, do you understand?” the woman said with a pointing finger. Janine smiled and nodded. “Yes ma'am!”

“His room is upstairs to the left. Just three rooms down,” the woman instructed. Janine nodded as she ran up the stairs, her face beaming with happiness. She ran in a hurry, almost skipping across the staircase in her rush to Raban’s room. She paused when she suddenly caught the scent of something familiar - she felt her body react negatively to the scent, hairs raised as a hiss rose out of her throat. Greaves. She already forgot about him. Her eyes glared down the other side of the staircase, assuming that he was somewhere on that side of the inn. Janine would’ve stared continuously in nervousness had it not been her mind catching someone opening the

When she got to his room, she went in quietly, closed the door and searched the room for anything he would need to wear. It was a neat room as she suspected, and it helped her find the things she needed. Shirt, pants, even an extra pair of shoes. She admired his neatness and tendency to prepare with extra clothes. Janine folded all the clothes she gathered and packed them in her bag, making sure everything was in there so it wouldn’t fall out. When she was sure that she had everything, Janine went over to the door, making sure she was quiet all the while. But as soon as she was about to open it, she heard footsteps and voices, and it seemed to be going in her direction. Her heart thudded in her chest as the footsteps got closer, panic threatening to overcome her.

“Godamnit!” Janine cursed to herself as she looked around the room. Her eyes widened when she spied the window, and she rushed to open it. The sounds of rain echoed in her ears as she peered out the window, seeing herself to be facing another street. She looked up to see the Order Hall a short distance away, and she nodded to herself as she confirmed the direction she had to take. She went over the windowsill, looking down at the distance she had to drop, and just as she heard the door being touched, she loosened her grip. Her feet hit the wet ground, and she was propelled into the street with a stumble. Janine panted as she ran as fast as she could, ignoring the demand to stop as she ran off into the darkness and in a darkened alleyway.
 
Mrs Longfellows was nonplussed at the woman's sudden arrival and her subsequent request for Raban's clothes. She hoped that was the truth and not one made out of nefarious intentions. She, along with her husband, had long come to think highly of Raban. The man was akin to a son for them and she cared about him a great deal. They both did. She sighed and shook her head, hoping that Raban was all right wherever he was this night.

She felt a presence nearby and looked up to see a thin, lanky fellow head sulkily towards the stairs before he paused, "I shan't want dinner tonight." With that, he carried on up the stairs. Mrs. Longfellows only nodded and threw a little of a face, she didn't think much of her second tenant. The man was too thin and lacked in social graces with his blunt and sour nature and when she did happen to see him smile, there was something undeniably wrong with it.

Mrs. Longfellows was about sweeping the floors with neat strokes before Mr. Greaves called for her once again, beckoning her upstairs. Now what was his complain, she wondered before she rested the broom to one side and made for the stairs, hitching up her skirts as she did so.

"Yes Sir?"
"I thought I asked for no one to enter my room,"
"Other than for changing your bedding, Sir, I've had no want for your room. Unless you want dirty bedding," she challenged irritably, affronted at the lack of access for housekeeping. Greaves grunted and then relented before he spoke again.
"I will need to see Sir Raban's room. I was not aware he was staying here before."
"It's none of your business who else I have for tenants, Mister Greaves. Just like it's none of theirs to know you're here in residence."
"It is since I am investigating him as the Werewolf spotted a while ago."
"Sir Raban? A Werewolf? No, I do not believe him to be one nor will you be allowed in his room."

They were near the door of the room Janine was in and paused not far from it as Mrs Longfellows put her hands on her hips in a resolute fashion.

"It does not matter what you believe him to be or not. I have an investigation to run on behalf of the Order and you're obstructing my ability to do so. So, either you let me look or I go to the Order to sort this out and that won't end well for you, madam."

Mrs. Longfellows eyed him suspiciously and warily, not wanting the Order to be rifling so freely through her home and tenancy. "All right, but you touch nothing! Just look, is what you said, and you're not going in there without me."

"Fair enough. After you," greaves gestured and Mrs Longfellows sniffed before she moved and opened the door. A cold wave of air hit them both before she crossed the space and closed the window.

"Was that open before you entered?" Greaves said bluntly and Mrs. Longfellows turned and looked him over.

"Sir Raban often keeps his window open. He must have forgotten to close it before he left to do whatever he is doing now," she said idly as she watched him enter and take a good look around, his hands behind his back in an introspective manner. She didn't like hoiw he was eyeing Raban's things but he eventually seemed satisfied.

"Thank you, Mrs Longfellows," he nodded and left leaving the door open for her to use and close. She sighed and then peered back towards the window wondering where the woman from before had gone but if she was Raban's friend and if he was in trouble, then she hoped his friend could aid the man that was akin to being her son.

There was a voice from downstairs and she sighed before she swept out of the room, closed the door and then locked it after a moment's thought. She turned then for the stairs and headed down the stairs to find an older gentleman who looked like he had been braving the outdoors for quite some time.

"Oh, dear me, you're in quite the state. A towel, sir?"
"I fear I may undo your effort since I'll not be staying long, my Lady... Did a woman come in here just now?" the man bowed in greeting before completing his question and she found him more pleasant than Greaves' bluntness.

"A woman, you say?" she said softly and moved closer. The man had an air of authority about him that she had recognised in Raban and wondered if they were part of the same organisation. The military cut seemed familiar. "Might I ask who be asking?"

"Sir Kiegal of the Order, my Lady, the woman I'm inquiring after is also part of my Order"
"Mrs Longfellows, welcome to my abode, and that's a good thing to know, dear. She's a Knight then?' Kiegal nodded and Longfellows continued in a voice that she hoped wasn't loud enough to carry. "Then, yes, a woman was here just now, wanting some of Sir Raban's things. Clothes, of all things. Please Sir Kiegal, is Sir Raban all right? Only, he's a very dear friend and lodger to us both"

Clothes...? Kiegal frowned slightly, not really expecting the answer but it made more sense once the old woman revealed Sir Raban to be one of her lodgers. So, this was where he stayed, he mused with a slight glance around and then looked back to the woman, a face filled with concern or worry. They cared for Raban, that much he could tell.

"He... He is for now, Mrs Longfellows. That's all I can tell you right now. Thank you for telling me, I do appreciate it." He could tell the old woman was not convinced and movement to the right caught his eye. A man entered and removed his trench coat, hanging it up on a hook. Sir Kiegal looked back to her knowing now where Janine was most likely headed.

"Just as a matter of curiosity, Mrs Longfellows... How well has Sir Raban been a tenant of yours?"

"Oh, one of the best, Sir Kiegal. Such a helpful fellow. Always on time with his rent, never complains, helps me or Frank about the house whenever we're struggling. He's been here for such a while now that he's as good as family to us, isn't he Frank?"

"Hm? Oh aye, Sir. He's a good lad, that one," Mr Longfellows nodded.

Sir Kiegal nodded, "Thank you... I'll bid you goodnight." He inclined his head to her and she nodded as he left, Mr. Longfellows crossing over to his wife to put an arm around her and watch the older man leave.
 
Janine panted as the rain dripped overhead as she recovered her breath. She shook her head with a groan - she knew that it was getting late and her mother was probably losing her mind right now, but she was already this far in her plan, she had no choice but to see it to the end.

A growl flew out her throat as her body grew more and more wet, and in turn… Raban’s clothes! Janine gasped as her bag was being decorated with more and more rain droplets, and she shielded her bag with her body. How was she supposed to get there now?! Her blanket was left behind, damnit!

She needed to get to Raban fast, but she couldn’t afford to have Raban’s clothes drenched either. She had to think fast… With a frantic huff, Janine ran down the alleyway, looking for anything that could shield her bag. She didn’t really see anything that wasn’t soaked itself, and she sighed as she could only think of one thing to speed herself along. She groaned, but she didn’t see much else to do but keep moving. With a sigh, Janine put the strap of her bag around her neck, and began to change into her demon form. It made her skin directly exposed to the cold and wet rain, but she would be faster in getting to where she needed to be.

When she was fully transformed, Janine craned her neck down and grabbed the bag wrapped around her neck with her mouth. She lifted her head to force the bag in her mouth, widening it to the point where she nearly swallowed it. When she closed her mouth to keep it safe from the rain, Janine ran to the end of the alleyway to see where the Order Hall was, and just as she spotted it, lightning crashed and the deep rolling sound of thunder shook her bones. With a snort, she dashed off, using the darkness of the alleyways to conceal her form. She jumped between the cover of the dark, and ran as fast as she could when she had to run out in the open. She felt the rain fall even harder than before, her fur and skin threatened to be even more soaked that before.

Soon enough, Janine finally got to her destination. With her powerful legs, Janine launched herself over the walls of the courtyard, paws landing on the puddle-riddled ground. She groaned a little, but generally ignored the water, running to the doors with haste. Her paws struggled to open the doors after a few attempts thanks to the rain, but she managed to get inside the Hall before being seen. She closed the door quietly, panting as her body dripped with rainwater. She shook her body vigorously, expelling as much water as she could before she looked at the back of the building. Her eyes caught the ominous shape and size of the cage, and almost immediately, the man trapped within. Worry now swarmed Janine as she ran towards the cage, the events of all that had happened earlier in the day flooding her head all at once.

Janine’s serpentine eyes focused on Raban’s human form curled up in a ball, and just as she feared earlier, he looked helpless and cold, with no clothes to cover his skin. Her heart went out to him, and she hissed softly before realizing her mouth was still stuffed with her bag. It took a couple of minutes to get the bag out her mouth thanks to her trying to avoid her fangs from being messed up, but she successfully took the bag out of her mouth with minimal moisture clinging onto the satchel.

“Raban? Raban, are you awake? Did they hurt you? It’s me, Janine,” the young demon said as she sat down and stared at the cage.
 
Half of him wanted Janine to come and the other half didn't. He both welcomed any form of friendly company that didn't want him dead but feared the Order learning that not only did they have a werewolf in their midst but a demon also. He was willing to sacrifice his own future so that she could fulfil her own and he was fully accepting of this fact. Raban huffed into the ball he was curled up in right now and subsequently shivered, his skin a field of goosebumps.

The sooner his fate was decided, the kinder to everyone it would be.

He had lost the concept of how long it had been since he was first shown the door to the cage. He had shifted a few times, mostly in a circle just to shift the spots where the bottom of the cage dug into his skin. It was worse in the hips if he lay on his side and forcing himself to move helped stave off a little of the lethargy. The top of Raban's head was facing towards the door and didn't shift in the slightest as the door opened and closed. Nor did Janine's footfalls cause the man to move in reaction.

Raban initially gave no reaction to the sound of her voice. Chestnut fired off a word that roused his consciousness back to the fore and he finally shifted realising he was no longer alone in the Order's grand hall. His eyes blinked open before his head shifted to look wearily towards the direction of her voice.

"Ja-Janine?"

He forced himself to move, to sit up and he sat with his side facing her, raising one leg both for stability and modesty whilst the other curled around under the other. He blinked at her, comprehending what she had said to him but he hadn't anticipated seeing her in her demon form inside the hall with no other threats going on.

"Why... What if they see you... I'm okay... No, they haven't hurt me," he realised he had ordered his words in the opposite fashion but his brain was playing tricks on him. He wasn't sure how much longer he could stay awake for. He studied, focusing on her form taking in every line, scale and nodule of her hide. Her scales held a sheen that told him she had been outside and that it was raining. He knew then she must be cold where she was stood. He feared someone walking in and seeing her.

"You must... be freezing..," he struggled to speak, his throat was tight and his tongue heavy in his mouth. He shuffled closer to the bars that separated them from each other and then saw the bag around her neck.
 
Janine waited patiently for Raban to wake up after she spoke up, her tail flicking back and forth with worry as she watched for signs of life. When he finally roused himself awake, she noticed that Raban was very slow and tired when he finally spoke up. She gasped with a soft hiss and brought her head closer to the bars, shaking her head as she watched Raban shuffle around.

“I’m happy that you haven’t been hurt, Raban. And I haven’t been seen… At least not in this form. I’m more worried about you right now,” Janine hissed softly.

She studied Raban just as carefully as Raban was to her, noticing his skin wet with sweat and bumpy all over his body. He was suffering all night long, and she didn’t even know what he was going through, what he was thinking. She sighed as he drew closer to her, Raban taking notice of how wet with water she was. It was then when she noticed how cold she really was, seeing her body shiver after he mentioned her being cold.

“F-freezing? I haven’t n-noticed,” Janine replied with a stutter. Her eyes followed Raban’s as he moved closer to the bars and looked down to her neck, remembering the bag that she had around her neck.

“Oh! I forgot about this. Th-this is for you. I went to the inn you slept in and asked that nice old woman to allow me to get clothes for you. Thankfully she didn’t ask for my name, and she allowed me to get some clothes for you. I couldn’t stand the thought of you being in here all alone, naked and cold,” Janine explained as she sat on her haunches and shifted her paws and neck to take the satchel from around her. When she got it off the satchel fell onto the floor, and she nudged it against the bars with her snout. “I-I have everything in there: shirt, pants, even shoes. Hopefully this will keep you from being too cold,” Janine said as she backed up and sat down, eagerly watching and hoping that Raban would be able to put on the clothes on his own.

Janine sighed as she recalled Raban's voice; it was weak and frail, a sharp contrast to the man that she had gotten to know all this time. She'd never seen him as weak, not even when he was hurt that first day she found him, but this one time, while he was trapped in that silver cage, she couldn't see anything else but weakness. Nothing of his own fault of course, but it served in rousing pity for his situation and rage at the treatment done by him at the same time. Her tail slammed on the floor from her resulting anger, in which she suddenly heard glass shattering behind her. She turned around with a curious hiss, lifting her tail to see shards of glass stuck underneath it. Her gaze then lowered to find the source of the glass, where she then saw a somewhat dried puddle of a purplish-silver substance, and pieces upon pieces of glass.

Janine gasped. The vial of wolfsbane that Sir Kiegal had earlier! She forgot that he'd dropped it when Raban shifted in front of everyone. They never cleaned it up?! How dare they! She would've at least expected them to clean it up for the sheer fact that it was a mess!

Janine's eyes flashed angrily at the mess, rattling her tail violently to get the small shards of glass off her tail. “How dare they not clean this up?!” Janine snarled as she turned around. She inspected the mess of stained floor and glass before her and sniffed it lightly while flicking her tongue - the result was her head being assaulted by semi-strong odors, despite being left alone for hours. She reeled her head back with a hiss, shaking her head and pawing her nose and tongue and snorting out air as she tried her hardest to get rid of the odors. It eventually went away, leaving Janine even more frustrated than before. She looked around and spied Raban’s torn clothes in the cage, and reached her paw through the bars to grab his torn shirt.

“Sorry Raban, but I can’t let this stuff on the floor any longer,” Janine said before she picked the shirt up with her mouth. She dashed to the doors and opened the door, sticking her head outside as she let the shirt be soaked by the rain. When it was wet enough, Janine brought herself back inside, closing the door and running back to the mess. Before she cleaned it up, she shifted back into her human self, revealing her soaked clothes and body before dropping to her knees and carefully gathering the glass shards and substance. When she was done cleaning, Janine sat down against the cage, her body shivering even more than when she first came in.

“Are y-you able to get dressed? Do you need help?” Janine asked.
 
Raban was grateful too to not suffer more than he already was. Undoubtedly, Greaves already knew the torture the silver would afflict and perhaps had not seen more reason to add further grievances against Raban's body. Given how the hall's door was apparently left unlocked, he was grateful the other Knight's didn't add to his torment. This ache he could contend with, it just wasn't very pleasant.

He hoped she hadn't or else they were both in trouble but he couldn't hide his reaction as she told him of her worry for him right now. He supposed it was nice to be worried over. Not something he was overly used to experiencing but then he realised that was what being friends meant for each other.

Raban shivered and not for the first time in that evening but it wasn't something he could do about inside the cage. he had transformed and the silver meant he had used much of his remaining energy in order to do so. Showing Kiegal what he was willingly had cost him in terms of keeping warm but he felt it had been a necessary risk.

"You're... not alone," he nodded before he realised she had seen his eyes on her bag. She fluttered into a foray of words and he couldn't help but smile. "Mrs Longfellows..." he murmured with a nod. He supposed other than Janine, Mr and Mrs Longfellows were the only other friends or family he had in the world. They had done a lot for him.

"Thank you... " his tone of effection and gratitude could not be mistaken as he drew himself closer to the bars to see what was inside. He had been about to look inside the bag with an arm that had all the strength of a paper bag before a sudden thump caused him to flinch and find some energy out of the startlement. He blinked and looked towards her tail, noting the glass and his lips bared as he registered the smell given off by the broken vase. His skin shimmered black but with no energy to call on, the Wolfsbane aroma was less than its usual worth.

He backed away a little but his weakened body had enough of moving in such a short space of time. He sighed frustrated at himself for feeling as weak as he was even though he had willingly stepped inside and allowed himself to be locked up in this fashion. He was resting a lot of trust in Sir Kiegal to do the right thing and he hoped he had sensed the man's character well enough.

Janine raised her voice in incredulent anger and Raban glanced around, sniffing the air warily but his senses were addled and he could not hope to rely on their accuracy as to whether anyone had heard her. Movement caught his attention and he watched as she took away his torn clothing that he had left in one side of his small allocated space.

It took him a moment to realise what she intended to do with the cloth. He nodded and looked inside the bag as she dealt with the mess left behind. He found the shirt, pants and shoes and he removed them sluggishly one by one before he paused, hearing rain enter. He was grateful, the rain clouded the smell of the wolfsbane and his body felt a little better for it.

"I..." The question left him a little stumped before he shook his head, "I'll try... first..." Raban set the trousers and shoes aside before he stabilised himself with his legs. It was awkward but he managed it. although his ear gave a flush knowing his movement came at the expense of his modesty but if seeing him in the nude had bothered her before, she had never voiced complaints about it and it wasn't something he could help right now as he argued with the shirt sleeves.

It took him much longer to do than it would do normally, the shirt sleeves seemed like snakes that wiggled out of his reach every attempt he made but he eventually found the holes and shrugged the shirt over his chest. The cloth caught a little on his chest hair but it was fairly warm and allowed him some semblance of normality.

The trousers proved to be a greater adversary as he considered how to go about getting them on. His legs were the worst affected and he had to manual move them into each leg of the trousers. He tried to get them further but his legs and his own weight worked against him and he sighed, heavy with frustration.

He looked sheepishly to Janine, "Would you mind?"
 
After getting the information he needed, Kiegal had walked back out from the inn and back into the rain. He had taken the blanket that was hung up, knowing that it belonged to Janine. Why was she all the way out here tonight? He questioned it as he ran down the streets of Amastad, quite possibly being the only one in the streets tonight. He considered his inquiry with Ms. Longfellows and frowned a bit. Raban had been living in the inn all this time, and he didn’t so much as make a crooked eye come from the innkeepers. A quiet and helpful tenant, and the innkeepers cared very much about him. It made him think even more about his decision and what he needed to do. He seemed to be a rather pleasant man in every aspect of his time here in Amastad, from domestic living to being a Knight and partaking in his duties.

He looked up to figure out his placement in the streets. Not far now. He continued his journey to the Order Hall, his thoughts then drifting to the second piece of this problem: Janine. Why did she come all the way here? Why did she go so far out of her way to get clothes for Raban? Did she not realize what she saw yesterday? Or did she just not care?

Surely she cared, right?

~~~~~~~​

Janine half watched as Raban slowly put his clothes on his body. He put his shirt on rather okay, but he seemed to struggle getting his pants on his body. She groaned, turning her head to give him some privacy. For some reason, she felt herself being more conscious of his body, and she knew how he felt about his modesty as well. It was the entire reason she came in here, after all. Her ears caught Raban's voice as he struggled with his clothes some more, her eyes just catching his head turning to her, and asking for help.

"Oh. S-sure."

Her clothes were not helping her at all, the cold air permeated in them; that with the fact that the Hall wasn’t any warmer just made her clothes and skin even colder than it really was, forcing her to focus on her body and staying warm. If she didn’t get warmer soon, she faced the possibility of falling asleep against her will. She couldn’t fall asleep anywhere but her home, but she shook those thoughts from her head as she crawled to Raban.

She frowned as she tried to figure out how to put on Raban's pants - she never thought that she had to help anyone put on pants, let alone someone like Raban. She had to be fast though, as she never knew when she would need to hide. Ugh, she wished that she could just open the cage. She thought of an idea and scrunched up the pants legs while pulling out her tail.

"Lay on your back really quick," Janine told Raban as her tail wrapped around one of his ankles. She slid the pants hole past his first ankle, guiding it as far as she could before switching to the second one. She went as far as pulling both sides down to his thighs before she stopped, feeling herself flushing as she got to his lower extremities. After using her tail and hands to lower Raban’s legs to his side, Janine stopped and backed away, clearing her throat as she sat down again.

“I can’t go any lower than that. Gonna have to work the rest yourself,” Janine said between shivers. She looked towards the doors, taking guard as she tried to focus on her surroundings. She didn’t think about what to do if anyone came into the Hall. Her gaze detracted from the doors as she looked around, thinking of a plan to take if someone came through the doors. It was dark, and the rain outside plus the fact that anyone could come in at any moment made her on edge.

“Are you dressed -”

The sounds of lightning cracking through the sky startled the young woman into backing into the cage, her gaze forcefully looking upwards as the thunder boomed overhead. She huffed, opening her mouth to say something until she raised her head to stare at the doors. Her senses somehow picked up something outside. She couldn’t tell how, but she just felt that pressure that you felt when you sensed someone nearby.

“Someone’s coming!” Janine whispered in a panic as she frantically looked around for a place to hide. Her heart thumped rapidly as she scanned the darkness, trying her hardest to find the best spot in the space given. She looked back and saw a pillar in the far corner, surrounded by darkness and wide enough to hide her body. She ran as fast as she could, but ended up tripping on the strap of her bag, falling back down onto the floor with a hiss. Panic rose in Janine as she tried her hardest to get the bag off her, and froze when she heard the doors begin to open. She gasped and snatched the bag in her hand, then slid it across the floor towards the pillar while she ran over as fast as she could with little noise as possible. She panted heavily as the adrenaline and anxiety pumped through her body, and she sunk down back to the floor while she regained her breath. She peeked a little from behind her pillar to see Raban, and hoped that everything would be alright for him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~​

It took long enough, but Kiegal finally got to the Hall, pushing forward in the rain despite his body becoming drenched by the increasing rain. And just in time too, thunder and lightning was starting to come in. He didn’t really fear the thunder or lightning, but they were loud and something about them did make him wary in a sense. He ran to the doors, pausing a little for some reason. Why did he stop? Surely he wasn’t hesitant to come in and talk to Raban, was he? He frowned, wondering why he was stalling so tough. He puffed himself up and steeled his nerves, finally opening the door and taking himself inside the building, leaving the thoroughly drenched blanket outside.

He closed the door quickly, shaking his hands and arms as the rest of his clothes dripped with rainwater. He groaned, knowing that it was futile, and turned to the cage and the man he commanded to be put inside it.

Raban.

The inside of the Hall was colder than he remembered, but Kiegal kept his more authoritarian aura in check as he walked up to the man. He noticed Raban to be awake and… Clothed? He couldn’t help but raise a brow with curiosity.

“Good evening, Raban. I thought you would be asleep for some reason. And I see you got clothes. I vividly remember you having torn your clothes,” Kiegal said as he folded his hands behind his back. He scanned the room, as if he would be able to see so well in the dark. He had the terrible urge to ask about Janine and where she was, but he doubted he would get a truthful answer, if an answer at all. He sighed, lowering his head a little as he thought about his conversation with Sirs Reginald and Gerald.

'Give him the chance to talk,' they said.

After an inhale, Kiegal walked a little closer to Raban, thinking about his words carefully.

"I have been in service to the Order for nearly 30 years. I've fought dragons, trained unruly Knights, and escaped deadly situations. For a good portion of that time, you've been around, serving the Order alongside me. For as long as I've served, I'd never had a situation involving werewolves, not a sniff, a bark, a growl. Yet I've been working alongside one all this time." Kiegal furled his brow, contemplating his words.

"Did you not think this would happen one day? Did you not think that something would happen that would reveal what you are to the Order? Why did you even become a Knight in the first place?"
 
Raban obeyed her instruction, shifting to his back not entirely sure he'd be able to sit up again but he was content to force himself if he had to. He didn't wish to give in to the effects of the silver's hold on him if he could help and hated how helpless it was making him, but he had made his bed and now he had to live with his consequences. He felt more than saw her tail coiling around an ankle, finding the sensation strange but equally he was grateful for her help and the thought of bring him clothes.

He nodded as she spoke again and turned her head for the doorway. He struggled with the rest and he found it a little easier after he turned on his side with some effort. He hopped his hip over the edge of the trousers and managed to get the rest over.

Raban finished tying the cord to keep his trousers in place with fumbling fingers before she began asking him a question. He flinched as thunder boomed from outside and subsequently missed what Janine had picked up through the din of the weather. He growled softly as he forced himself back to a sitting posture, his chest heaving by the end of the movement before she exclaimed two words that made his concern rise at an exponential rate.

It wasn't unexpected someone else of the Order would come... the hall was accessible to each member of the Order, after all but he wondered who else would brave this weather they were having. It sounded rough from what he could hear from the windows. He looked towards her as she tripped over her bag. "Hurry; don't forget the bag!" he exclaimed as softly as he dared, words thick in the throat but the adrenaline the fear caused helped the words to flow better this time around.

He watched and looked towards where she was hiding, a pillar shrouded in darkness before he looked away again to see who it was that had entered the hall. Even if he couldn't see the face all that well or ascertained the man's scent, Raban recognised the walk of Sir Kiegal as the man approached the cage holding him.

The man questioned his appearance of being clothed and as Raban read the man's body language and the tone of his voice, Raban got the feeling the man already knew about the cause. He wasn't going to insult the man's intelligence but neither was he about to oust Janine from her hiding place, so he maintained an uneasy silence. In return, Sir Kiegal seemed to accept this and Raban waited to hear what the man had clearly come for. There was so much to be read in the man's body language and tone as he spoke and Raban's own feeling of shame increased. it was a good thing he wasn't currently in form, his ears would be betraying his mood.

He frowned before he sighed, replying as honestly as he could muster, he spoke as evenly as he could with a throat and tongue that felt as he held lead weights within the flesh itself.

"I wasn't given much of a choice, I was too young to realise I had one... By then it was my life. Sir Cadfael found me where I used to live... I don't know what you've read in my file... but my father left us, my mother later died to a broken heart..." He spoke in short sentences as it was an much as he was able to achieve with the silver hampering his effort.

"Cadfael knew what I was... I was not made, I was born to lycanthropy. It's rare, but it happens. Cadfael could have killed me then when I was but a boy.... I don't know why he didn't. He taught me to control my anger... focus it towards good deeds. Made me follow the code... and raised me as his own. He forbade me telling anyone, even those in charge. Made me promise to tell no one, even after he died... not unless I felt I had no other choice..."

He took a moment, his chest heaving with his effort but he pushed on to answer his Commander's questions. "The Order became my family... but Cadfael knew it could turn on me should they know. So I kept my promise to the old man. He was... for all intents and purposes... my father. More so than the one... who left me and my mother behind... How could I go against his word, Sir?"

"I knew this day would come, thus why I didn't resist before... The Order gave me purpose... A code by which to live, to do good, to give back. I do not regret the choice Cadfael made... Without him... He said I was not evil... just cursed yet fortunate to control it. The Order has been all I've known..." he trailed off helplessly.

"I meant no offense in staying within the Order for as long as I have... This is not how I wanted to leave but I accept whatever decision you come to, Sir... but know it's been an honour to serve alongside you," it was the truth, he respected Sir Kiegal and thought highly of him and he hid none of that feeling in his voice as heavy as it felt or as tired as he was. His shirt felt tight for the amount of air his lungs were trying to take in to compensate and the desire to sleep was now growing stronger than before.
 
Kiegal kept his full attention to Raban’s story, taking in every word he said and storing it in his mind. Born into lycanthropy; he had heard stories about werewolves born instead of the traditional ways, but he never believed it - in his mind, only the insane would’ve thought about being with a werewolf. But here he was, face to face with a man born with such a fate. He listened as Raban mentioned how Cadfael adopted him as his own, something he believed he knew a while back. It wasn’t uncommon for Knights of a certain caliber to take in young men as squire, and Cadfael was no exception. Keigal couldn’t hold back a sigh; he had to admit that Cadfael did a rather outstanding job raising Raban into the man he was, even if he was a werewolf. No random outbursts, no danger to any of his fellow Knights, no disrespect shown in any sense of the word; he was a model Knight, and a respectful man outside of his Knighthood lifestyle.

His head lowered, figuring what would've happened if he wasn’t brought up by Cadfael. Would he have ever become a Knight? Or even a generally decent person? Deep down inside, he knew that orphans more often than not harbored a lot of negative emotions towards their fellow man. A werewolf with such emotions would definitely not be as easy to control. Surely, one would’ve become a rather aggressive and negative individual. He nodded to himself; yes, being adopted and raised into a respectful knight was the best thing to happen to Raban, and Raban accepted this outcome of his life. And as a Knight, in an order that hunted his kind, he also accepted the risks that came with being discovered. And yet, he stayed alongside Kiegal and the rest of the knights because it was what he considered family.

A family that would turn on him the moment he was found out. But he thought about Raban’s recalled words: ‘Not evil, but instead cursed - cursed yet fortunate enough to control it’.

Kiegal turned as he rubbed his face. Why did it have to be Raban!? Why couldn’t it be some random sob from a distant place that came here for some reason? It would’ve made this task so much easier. Was there a reason that this had to befall on him and Raban? He turned back around with a huff and threw his hand to the side.

“Damn you, Raban! Why couldn’t you just retire like other men your age? I would’ve been so happy that you’d have retired and we could’ve avoided all of this! Nobody would’ve been the wiser and you could’ve gone through your life knowing you’ve fooled the Order-”

“Don’t you dare say that about him!” A voice came from Kiegal’s right side, making him jerk his head to the voice’s direction. From behind a pillar, he sees Janine come out of the darkness, anger apparent in her voice even though he couldn’t quite see it. He had a feeling that Janine was still in the building. Even so, the sudden attitude made him narrow his eyes as his position as Commander began to come forth.

“I beg your pardon? You have no right to -”

“No! You don’t have the right to speak to him that way!” Janine countered as she stomped towards Kiegal. He gasped incredulously, shocked that another Knight would so quickly talk back. He opened his mouth again, but found himself silenced before he could even say anything.

“You just heard the reasons why he never said anything to the Order, or to you! If he did, this very event would’ve happened sooner! You can’t talk as if he did this for fun. Like he just wanted to trick you. You’re shouting at him as if he stole and cheated from you. Like he didn’t serve alongside you for who knows how many years. Like some…. Charlatan. Despite this one thing, he never lied to you, or disrespected you. He even sees it as an honor to work within the Order. Surely you can’t see anything negative out of this, can you?” Janine asked as she felt the tears build up in her eyes.

Kiegal was taken aback. He knew today was an emotional day for Janine, but for her to actually talk back to him in such a fashion had him stunned. Normally he’d have her punished, even possibly stripped of her Knighthood… But he couldn’t help but listen to Janine as her words burrowed into his head.

“You’re getting mad at him for being brought into a lifestyle he never asked to be taught into. For being born into this world as something he never asked to be. For being different. He’s fought dragons under your command. Remember the day that dragon came close to the city, on the day that everyone reported the werewolf? He willingly shifted into a wolf to protect the rest of the brigade. Why? Because it’s his duty to protect his fellow knights, and protect a people that wouldn’t hesitate for a second to kill him if they found out his secret!”

Raban blinked as Janine backed away from Kiegal, moving closer to Raban as she sniffed and sighed. He watched as she crouched down next to him, hands on the bars, yet not taking eye contact off Kiegal.

"If you go through with this... If you decide to kill Raban.... Then you're no better than a murderer," Janine said with a certainty in her voice he wasn't prone to hearing.

The last statement left Kiegal with his mouth agape in shock. She really cared about Raban this much, to vouch for him? She saw that much good in him? He blinked in shock, her words swirling in his head as he tried to formulate something to say. What does one say in this situation? Between the words of Sir Gerald, Sir Reginald, Raban and Janine, and even Mr. and Ms. Longfellows, he felt himself relenting to the truth he knew in his mind. He lowered the commanding tone he tried so desperately to maintain and sighed softly. Without another word he walked over to one of the benches of the hall and sat down, taking in all the words said to him.

~~~~~~​

Janine felt all the emotions rushing to her all over again as she ranted to her Commander’s face. How dare he treat Raban like some common werewolf, a monster not able to control himself! He saw the proof and was told the truth; what purpose would lying have for Raban at this point?! He even told Sir Kiegal his past! What was he thinking? She felt herself losing faith in Kiegal, the one man she thought would see things with both sides in hand. Her body was shivering and shaking in anger as she sniffed and turned to Raban, eyes leaking with tears all over again.

“I’m sorry for coming out, Raban. I couldn’t let him speak to you like that. Not after all you’ve done.” She said softly as she sat herself down next to the bars.
 
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He watched as Kiegal reacted to his words, all of which had been honest. He hadn't felt great about having kept this one lie for so long but he did have a vented interest in living. He had questioned his right to live once and Cadfael had replied in the same self-assured manner he always spoke in. He could even recount the stern but encouraging expression on the man's face. Cadfael had been a handsome man in his youth and had lost none of it as he grew older, even as the wrinkles set in.

"You didn't ask for the manner of your birth, Raban. You bear no evil or malice. Your sense of duty and control is unparalleled amongst your peers and thus you have earned your place in society, regardless of the rules set by my Order. Whilst rules are never to be broken, sometimes they can bend like the trees in heavy wind."

It had taken a while before he had gained that belief in himself, believing he had a right to live but he had always accepted that should his lie be exposed, his choice in life would be dictated by others. Now his life lay in the hands of his Commander. He sympathised in that it was never easy to have another's life in your hands, the decision on whether they lived or died was not a simple matter and thus, Raban gave no measure for expediency in Kiegal's decision. He just hoped the man made one that was beneficial to staying alive even if it meant he would be stripped of his position and quite likely become an outcast to Amastad.

Kiegal's calm facade broke as he exclaimed at him in the cage wishing that he had retired, effectively wishing he had not forced Kiegal into this position. His shame hung heavy in his stomach that he was prevented from being completely honest with a man he had come to respect by fear of breaking his promise to a dead mentor but he refused to dance on Cadfael's grave by breaking his promise. 'Unless he had no other choice' was the only clause.

He didn't know about fooling the Order, that had not been his intention but as he began to stain out an answer, they were broken off by an angry female voice. His eyes closed and he sunk back before he opened his eyes again, seeing Janine in full defensive mode. He hadn't much in the way of strength to stop her, caged or not and he could listen as she spoke to their Commander almost as if he was her junior.

"Knew there was a reason I liked her," came an amused demonic snort.
"No longer a meat sack then?"
"Nope!"

Raban lost his strength to remain sitting up and slumped to a lying down position on his side. His arms now had the same heavy leaden feeling his legs were in. It wouldn't be much longer until his chest would follow suit and the ability to breathe would be hampered. The desire to sleep was strong and enticing but the loud words from Janine were sufficient in holding back that desire in himself as he listened

Janine had to have cared about him a lot to be willing to stand up to Sir Kiegal like this and he could see how Chestnut warmed to her. There was a fire in her words that the fire demon responded to, found exhilarating and listening on every word through her medium that was her Lycan. He swallowed, and realised he was very thirsty. He didn't remember when he last had water.

He watched as Janine then positioned herself between him and Kiegal, making it clear how thing stood and what things meant. He couldn't fault her argument, she had spoken his intent with a better clarity of words than he felt he could manage himself. Raban realised what she was doing, feeling uneasy but neither had she broken her promise to him. She was acting as a friend would in such a situation and neither man in the hall could deny she hadn't the right to do what she had just done. Even the act of her position now spoke volumes... She was vouching for him as Knight, as a friend, as a man.

He wanted to hug her but was frustrated since neither the bars or his own body would let him do one simple gesture. The cage was certainly in full working order.

He winced when she said he'd be no better than a murderer if he had her friend executed and felt that was a little harsh but he didn't doubt he had made her point with it as he watched Kiegal's reaction. The man sat down and seemed to be in a world of his own thinking.

Janine sniffed, drawing his attention on her as she spoke. He shook his head, "You did... what you thought... you had to," he breathed, wishing he could wipe the tear away from her face. He tried and managed to wiggle an arm though an opening in the cage and tried to grasp her shoulder. Whether he was successful or not, he didn't know. He lost the feeling in his fingers.

After a while, he sense movement and brown eyes looked as Kiegal stood. the man appeared awkward and unsure before he spoke. "I need to think on this.... I'll... I'll call a meeting again. Tomorrow." he looked at Raban and then amended, "I... I will try to be expedient." He moved and then headed for the door. Raban watched the man's stride and note the level of unease and uncertainty.

Raban felt Janine's words had hit home for the man a bit harder than anticipated and he sighed somewhat when they were alone again. "I... can't stay awake much... longer... It's hurts to breathe..."
 
Janine nodded at Raban as he spoke, but even as he was listening to him, she just wanted him to conserve his energy. “Shhh, Raban, you need to conserve your energy,” She said in a gentle tone of voice. She knew Raban was getting weaker as time went on, soshe wanted him to retain as much energy as possible. She watched as Raban struggled to lift an arm to reach her, and simply grabbed it as she leaned next to the bars. The fact that he was comforting her helped her believe she was doing right. She never said anything that suggested that she knew he was a werewolf, and so long as she didn’t say any damning statements, then she was safe. She sniffed as she wiped her tears from her eyes, sighing at the fact that she was brought to tears twice this day. She didn’t feel comfortable exposing her raw feelings to other people, Sir Kiegal included, but this was becoming one of those times where she felt no choice but to release those emotions.

Janine paused when she heard Sir Kiegal step up and said something about calling a meeting tomorrow concerning Raban’s fate. She felt slightly relieved, but overall frowned at the hesitation. Raban couldn’t last any longer in this cage - he needed a decision and he needed one now. But she supposed that this was something Sir Kiegal was truly struggling with. But she also didn’t like the idea of a meeting again. The others might not understand Sir Kiegal’s decision if he, by some miracle, chose to spare Raban. She just hoped he chose the option that allowed Raban to live. She watched as he left, sighing as she was left alone with Raban once more. She tried to relax, but Raban spoke up again. She noticed his struggle to breathe and talk, and worry once again washed over her. She knew his breath was weak and shaky already, but his breathing seemed to get worse over time. She didn’t notice it earlier, with the ranting and crying hindering her ability to hear the changes in his body.

“Don’t go to sleep yet, Raban. I’ll try and get you out,” Janine said as she looked around in the darkness, looking for a key to open Raban’s cage. She knew the key was used by Greaves when he unlocked and locked the door, but she never caught what he did with it after the fact. If the key was indeed with Greaves, Janine and Raban were fated to work this out themselves. She groaned as she made a dash to the doors, hoping that she’d be able to catch Sir Kiegal before he went too far. She opened the doors to see him halfway across the courtyard; she hesitated, having spent so much time being wet and cold already, but she ignored her reservations and ran back out into the rain, shivering with renewed vigor as the cold reintroduced itself onto her body.

“Sir Kiegal! Please, wait!” Janine shouted as she tried to talk over the rain. The man turned around at her voice, his face weary, but still surprised as the young knight ran to him.

“Janine, please, it’s a been very -”

“Sir, please, Raban is having trouble breathing, please come back!,” Janine asked as she looked into Sir Kiegal’s eyes. He blinked at her statement, as if it was impossible.

“Trouble breathing?” he questioned. Janine nodded and ran back to the Hall, and Sir Kiegal hesitated for a second before running back inside the building with Janine. He went back inside to see Janine almost to the cage again.

“Raban needs help. He can’t breathe right.”

“What do you mean ‘has trouble breathing’? Silver slows down the body, that’s it,” Sir Kiegal said matter-of-factly.

Janine looked down at Raban. “Exactly! Raban’s been in here for hours; his whole body is slowly shutting down! He can’t move, he can barely speak, now he can’t breathe right - we need to get him out of here!” Janine said as her eyes scanned the darkness again. Lighting struck the sky again as she looked at possible places where a key would be, only stopping to look at her head Knight.

“Sir, do you know where the key to this cage is?”

“I… I’m not sure. I left the Hall before asking about the key. I wasn’t worried about it at the time,” Sir Kiegal said as he stood in front of the cage.

Frustrated, Janine turned to Raban with a shake of her head. She couldn’t lose Raban like this. But what can she do?! She couldn’t possibly go to Greaves and ask for his key - hell would freeze over before he’d willingly give it in the name of saving Raban.

“Janine, we might have to accept the possibility of -”

“No!” Janine shouted with a shake of her head. She turned to her lead Knight with pleading eyes. “Sir, I’m not going to pretend that I understand your conflict and hesitation. I’m sorry that this is happening to you, but we are running out of time. If you want to kill Raban -”

“Janine, you know as well as I that I don’t want to kill Raban!” her Commander shouted.

Janine shook her head with a sigh, “Well I don’t know what to say to you, but it seems as if that is not going to be your choice. Either he dies tomorrow, or he dies now, either way, you will know about it, it will be under your watch and he’s gone! Or, just take him out of the cage and put him in a normal cell where he can recover. Or just release him. Just please help me take him out of here,” Janine begged. She watched Sir Kiegal as he hesitated, though trying his best to not look so frazzled. He turned to Raban as he struggled in the cage, before shaking his head and sighing.

“Alright, fine. We’ll get him out, and we’ll go from there. We need to find something to jam into the lock,” Sir Kiegal said as he turned around. Janine perked up a little with a nod, running away from the cage and towards the middle of the hallway, scouring the walls and floors for anything that could help. Even with her better night vision, she couldn’t see anything that could help. What would even fit in that keyhole anyway? She looked back to see Sir Kiegal grabbing one of the two swords that was hanging on the wall, and he put the blade as far in the keyhole as allowed. Janine watched as Sir Kiegal attempted to twist the sword, in an attempt to force the lock inside to relent to his strength.
 
Raban was losing all cohesive thought, even the comforting sounds of Chestnut wasn't something he could focus on any longer and the room was growing blurry. His body was beginning to shut down. He would have preferred to be awake for Kiegal's ultimate decision but fate was seldom that merciful and whatever work Greaves had done with this cage had worked to its full effect. His eyes were half open, his mind half aware but he knew Janine had spoken to him. He recognised the tone more than the words and and tried to do as she bade him.

He was grateful when she took his arm, the need for contact before he passed out wasn't something he had initially recognised he needed but now that he was, it brought him a little peace. He wouldn't be alone. Not physically, at least.

Raban's body shuddered and his breathing hitched as lungs tried to expand to draw in more breath. It was entirely a basic human function that was no longer a huge problem for Raban to stay alive with but it would, for all intents and purposes, cause him to look and feel dead once that last breath was expended and he no longer had the muscle function to keep his lungs or heart beating. Once freed of his silver and iron cage, his body would restart automatically by itself but it would take a while to do so. Anything could happen to him in-between then. Raban supposed Greaves might have been relying on this. It was an underhanded motive if he was and one he most likely would have kept from Kiegal.

He blinked sluggishly as Janine told him to not sleep and he wanted to tell her he didn't exactly have much choice or strength to but either way it was mute. He made a weak, low noise of complaint when she pulled out of touch with him and watched her look about before moving for the door. His arm hung awkwardly through the hole of the cage as his lungs struggled under his own weight. Raban could not recall the last time he had been this close to feeling what death was like... his vision was spotting and blurry, white pricks of light through a veil of darkness. He didn't know the time nor if it was day or night... it felt like night but he didn't trust his impaired vision.

Raban's eyes closed and his jaw went slack as his body shuddered again, not from the cold but rather a human's futile attempts to keep breathing. There was a reason he had never termed what he was as a gift. He always had viewed it as what it was as a curse, it was just a curse he was able to live with and knew others, albeit unwittingly, had it worse than he did. He vaguely heard footsteps on the stone floor of the hall, knew that one or more persons had entered.

His brain felt thick and fogged over, like trying to wade through thick mud that sucked him back at every stride. A raised voice cut through the din, bringing him to a level of more alertness but it didn't last for long and the voices returned to a ghost of themselves, as if a distant echo.

---

Kiegal twisted and then leveraged the sword, which felt ungainly against the lock, but he put all of his own strength behind it. The lock felt solid in as much as the rest of the cage had and he knew that it had been made with that purpose in mind. After all, it was designed for what was currently caged within but this whole set of circumstances had changed entirely. He glanced at Raban again and frowned in a growing tension of unease. The man looked dead, he couldn't see the man's chest rising or falling any longer.

He looked back at the lock before he gave it another go with the sword, however he tried it a little more delicately than before. Being a Knight was not always about brute strength alone, and required more finesse... thus he applied that to his task. It took several tries with the ungainly length of the blade before the cage was either worn or he just found the right combination of movement through the mechanism as something clicked and the door released with a small clunk.

Kiegal set the sword aside before pulling the heavy door open and entered through the aperture. The whole process of unlocking the door had taken a good five minutes, perhaps longer and as Kiegal approached the prone Knight, he felt a surge of regret in his gut. He lifted the man, his arms hooking underneath Raban's arms and pulled him out of the cage. He dragged Raban a fair few feet away from the cause of his weakness and lay him down, already disliking the way the man's head lolled with the movement.

He felt for a pulse and shook his head, "He's stopped breathing..." He was dismayed how a man, even a werewolf, could deteriorate this quickly just within a cage of silver, but then Raban had been the first instance of a werewolf in the Order's history for a very long amount of time. So much so, there wasn't even the training for them any longer. Just what was in the Order's archives. They would have to be revised... especially for any further incidents like this.

"I..." he didn't know what to say, none of this was familiar ground for even him and in the panic of the situation, he had forgotten everything he knew about werewolves or what Greaves had even lectured. Could werewolves die this way? He couldn't remember but this man was not breathing and he couldn't detect a pulse. He tried again, just in case he had missed it but the man felt so deathly still.
 
Janine tried her hardest to stay calm as Sir Kiegal struggled to open the door, but with Raban's life in the balance it was nearly impossible. She almost wanted to say 'screw it' and shift back into her demon form to force the bars apart to rescue him, but that would've been rather foolish. She just had to have faith in her Commander to be as fast as he could.

She turned to Raban's still body and saw his still body - her heart lurched with this feeling of dread; she knew he was supposed to have trouble in moving and breathing, but she didn't even see the most minute hints of life. Panic set in as she blinked, praying that everything would still be alright.

When Sir Kiegal finally opened the door, she pulled it open with him, not expecting the door to be so heavy to pry. Janine's heart still felt filled with doubt and fear as Sir Kiegal lifted and dragged Raban out of the cage, giving them room to move as she anxiously waited for Raban to wake up.

Only Raban didn't wake up.

Sir Kiegal said the very words Janine feared hearing. The words took a while to settle in, but when they did, the tears came flowing in again.

"What?" Janine blankly asked.

Raban stopped breathing? As in…?

The woman's breath shuddered as she ran to Raban's still body, pushing and nudging him as hard as she could to rouse him awake.

“Raban? Raban! Say something!” Janine said as she shoved Raban's side. "Come on Raban, you have to wake up! You're out of the cage! Wake up, damnit!" Janine wailed. She laid her ear on his chest to hear even a minute heartbeat…

But she didn’t hear one.

Janine’s heart caught in her throat as she moved her head away from his chest. The tears flowed freely down her face as she frantically shook her head. She may not be a nurse, but she knew that a stopped heart meant one thing. But she was refusing to believe it. He had to be alive, nothing had speared his heart. And yet, Raban laid without a breath, not a thought or voice to have.

“No, no, no! Raban, wake up! Please! I told you to hold on a little longer!” Janine sobbed. Tears blurred Janine's vision as her brain struggled to understand the situation, yet understood at the same time. Her head dipped back onto his chest, letting out a near inhuman wail as she cried into Raban's chest, a sound that narely mirrored her demon bloodline. She laid her head in this position for a few moments, all the emotions building up to this plateau she has never reached before.

Janine failed in protecting Raban. She promised that she would help him however she could and yet she couldn't even take him out of a cage before he just… stopped breathing.

Janine couldn’t think straight. This couldn’t be happening. This was just a nightmare that she had to wake up from.

Hurry up and wake up.

She cried for what seemed like forever before a hand rested on her shoulder.

"Janine… I'm so sorry…" Sir Kiegal softly said with an apologetic tone in his voice. But instead of comforting Janine, the words fueled this newfound rage inside her - she turned to Sir Kiegal with a snarl, anger and despair having full reign of her actions at this point.

"You…. This is all your fault! Raban was a good man, and now he's dead! He did nothing wrong! The only thing he's accused of was being different! But you and that damn Greaves had to do this, and you couldn't have just killed him!" Janine snarled.

Sir Kiegal backed away with a gasp, the rage coming from Janine genuinely startling him. "Janine, I did what I thought was right! The Order has rules for threats to humanity, you knew this coming into the Order!" Sir Kiegal responded as he backed away.

Janine's eyes slowly began to glow as she steadily approached the older man. "Raban isn't a threat to humanity! Raban isn't like other men or any other werewolf, and he hadn't done anything wrong but exist! And instead of just ending him, you have him suffering for hours upon hours, slowly dying instead of just making a decision!" Janine snarled. She rushed the man with a cry, shoving the man into the wall as she bared her teeth. The man gasped, seeing something coming forth from Janine, something that he sensed wasn't normal. Fear? No, something directly from her. What was happening to her? He tried to pull away from Janine, but quickly realized that she had gained a strength that just surpassed his.

"I tried to give you the benefit of the doubt, thinking that you'd do the right thing, but I see that you've made your decision the moment you put him into the cage! You humans always destroy what you fear, without giving it the chance to see what it could become! You labeled Raban as dangerous when he wasn't nearly so, and you've killed him!"

Janine pulled the taller and older Knight off the wall and shoved him to the floor, the man backing away in fear as Janine approached him with a snarl. Her rage was overwhelming, but even then she was just barely able to keep herself in human form. Even so, just this was damning enough to be reported - evidence to start an investigation with her in the middle. But Janine has thrown caution to the wind at this point.

Janine leaped and landed on her Commander's chest, hands grabbing his wrists, status and stature thrown to the wind as the tears streamed down her face. "I thought…. I thought that you were different… and maybe you would've done something else… But Raban is gone now. You've killed my only and only friend, the one person in this whole world to ever understand me. I can't ever forgive you," Janine said with a shuddering voice. Her eyes caught Sir Kiegal's - fear glazed in them as lighting struck the sky.

She heard the panic in the man's breath, enraged that he was still alive, while her only friend wasn't. She wanted to choke the life out of the man, to know what it felt for the breath to just cease.

She clasped a hand around the man's throat, teeth bared as everything in her mind, body and soul fought for control: change into a demon, don't change, kill her superior, don't kill him. And as all this ran rampant in her mind, Janine caught a glimpse of Sir Kiegal's face past her own tears - the remorse and fear in Sir Kiegal's eyes. She shook her head, using everything in her power to keep her rage down and crossing that line.

She listened uncaringly as Sir Kiegal struggled with the young demon's grip. "Janine… I'm so sorry about Raban. Truly. I've not only killed your friend, but I've killed my own colleague. My partner. My friend. I've followed the rules of the Order all my career and thought that I was just protecting the people. But Raban was more than just a werewolf, and the realization hadn't come until now. I deeply wish I'd come to this conclusion sooner, and maybe we'd both be spared of this moment," the Knight said as his own tears streamed down his face. He took a few moments to breathe, coughing all the while before continuing.

"I don't believe I can forgive myself either. You may end my life, Janine. I've wronged him, and this shall be my penance. My honor will not allow this, otherwise," The man concluded as he nodded his head.

Janine listened with narrowed eyes as Sir Kiegal spoke his words. He apparently finally realized the same thing as her, only a bit too late. Pity on them both. She growled, not wanting to hear his words anymore.

But then he gave her permission to kill him.

She gasped, the words of Sir Kiegal pushing into her mind as he laid on the floor. He… was going to allow her to kill him? In the name of honor. There was that word again. She snarled, tightening her grip around his neck at the word.

"NO! There goes that word again. Raban had honor too, and look where it got him! The only reason he went through with this is because he wanted everyone to see that he was an honorable man and that he wouldn't run away from his fate. But nobody saw his honor, only what he was - a werewolf." Janine sniffed as she released Sir Kiegal's wrist to wipe her eyes.

"Why do you care so much? What's the point of having honor if nobody sees it? If honor just gets you killed, then why do you work so hard to have it?!" Jabine sobbed.

Kiegal widened his eyes a little, seeing the conflict and pain in Janine's eyes. "Honor is something that helps mold humans strive to be a better man than they started out to be. Without the honor of a Knight, you and I both might've never met the man we currently know as Raban. If we ever saw him, we might have ended up seeing a completely different man. Honor within itself is not bad, but sometimes, humans do rather unhonorable things to achieve it… or they perform things they would normally never do to maintain it. And this exact honor is what Raban prefered to die for. I'm just sorry that I helped him achieved his plans in this manner."

Sir Kiegal's words pierced Janine's ears, despite the storm that raged within her. She didn't want to admit it but she knew that Sir Kiegal was right. Deep down she knew that if it wasn't for this quality within Raban, she might have never trusted him in the first place.

She just wished that their friendship would last much longer.

With a shuddering sigh, she released Sir Kiegal's throat, allowing the man to breathe fully as he coughed and sputtered. She got off his chest, letting the man full reign of his body as he turned and gasped for air. She backed away from the man, eyes losing their glow as the sadness slowly replaced the rage.

"I… don't want to kill you, Sir. I don't want to hurt anybody. I just… want Raban back. I didn't really see how lonely I was until I befriended Raban. And for a time I was the happiest I'd ever been. And now I'm all alone again," Janine cried once more as she walked over to Raban's stilled body. All the things she wanted him to experience as a human in life... All of her hopes of witnessing him being happy and being himself just drowned in the reality of this one moment. With a faltered strength, Janine dragged Raban to the wall, where she gently sat him upright. She didn't know what to do, but she couldn't bear to leave him alone, so she simply sat down and curled herself in a ball next to Raban, sobbing quietly as she let herself go numb.
 
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Raban's body was a deadweight, a heavy weight of muscle and reacted to none of the outside influences that tried to rouse it. Even his body heat had begun cooling, quickened by the cold flagstones beneath him. The man gave every appearance of being dead and held no reaction even through the shoving, crying and shouting that followed suit.

Not even Chestnut was privy to the words and actions spent by Janine. The Demon Horse knew Raban had succumbed to the effects of the silver. Once the muscles that aided breathing were affected, she knew there wasn't much Raban could do to stave it off. He was simply in that cage for too long for him to have obeyed Janine's plea to hold on.

Silence filled the hall save for Janine's sobs and the one sound of movement from Kiegal as he moved away to give Janine space and room to mourn her friend after a while. Kiegal hardly dared speak again knowing it would not solve anything right now. He wanted his Knight and friend back as well but there was nothing he could do to give that to her. He would trade his life for Raban's if he so could even knowing what the man was now.

An hour must have passed as the rain fell, thunder sounding in the distance. It was practically the only source of sound other than sobs or his occasional sniffs, trying to hold off on his own emotions. Raban looked horridly pale, a shadow of his former health and Kiegal knew the body had to have lost much of its owner's previous body heat. Kiegal rose, intending to rouse Janine from the ball she had curled herself up in. He knew Raban would not want her to grow cold, she already looked as she was shivering tenfold.

Kiegal, however, did not even make it a whole stride towards the pair against the wall when the body of Raban twitched and then came to with a very sudden intake of air that sucked greedily for all it was worth, as if a babe on a teat and the back of the man's head struck the wall behind. Kiegal stumbled back in total shock, clashing with the bench he had been sat on before and tumbled over the back off it with no ounce of finesse one usually saw from him. He forced himself back up and watched as Raban sucked for another gasp of air, noting how the calloused fingers clutched either at the stone floor or the first warm thing the other hand found - Janine's wrist.

The hold was not crushing, but held a weak firmness that spoke of just a pure need for warmth and air, as the man was breathing for the first time in his life. A heart that had been unequivocally still thumped once again, working cold and sluggish blood around Raban's system. The man did not open his eyes, not for a while and Kiegal was very much reminded of a baby coming and breathing into the world for its first time. It was strange, disconcerting and yet weirdly fascinating to watch.

Kiegal opened his mouth to speak before his shut it again, it was not his place to poke and pry Raban in the hopes of advancing the man's consciousness. With Raban being Janine's friend and only friend by her account, Kiegal realised it would be wrong of him to speak right now. The first words Raban should hear again should be hers first.

Raban's eyes were slow to open, his frame shivering from the hour or so he had technically died for and his hand clung to Janine's wrist with weak but needy grasps. He was not really aware of what or who was around him nor where he was right now. He was looking fundamentally for the purest of basic needs as he identified a heat source and his frame instinctively curled towards Janine. The scent that filled his nostrils told him he was safe, protected and with someone he new. However, this was all his sluggish, oxygen starved brain seemed to tell him for now.

Sir Kiegal watched the man curl into Janine with such open need that he realised that he could no more have the man executed for what he was than Janine could kill him, even though she had the right. He swallowed hard, his hand rubbing over his beard and mouth as he took what had just occurred in and how he was going to sort this situation out in a way the other Knights of the Order would accept. They would have to recognise what Raban had done for the Order, that he more than any of them had given his life to the organisation in the most fullest sense of the oath the man had held, and he would have to make sure Greaves didn't have any stride in putting his voice into matters.

However, neither could Raban stay in the Order any longer. The younger Knights would be more likely to dispute such a command and in the worst case scenario, attempt something very foolish themselves. He had no doubt Raban would aim to harm none of them in that sort of scenario but Kiegal knew Raban had not willingly gone into that cage with any desire to die before his time either. Looking at Janine, he realised then too that Raban leaving might be too much for her as well and he had no desire to seperate them.

He looked back to the man as Raban shuddered and curled in tighter towards Janine. He reached a decision that was made easier at the sight of them together but he would wait until both were back to full fettle again. He turned and left, slipping into a side door that lead elsewhere in the complex before he returned with woollen blankets, water and some bread and cheese. He had no intention of locking Raban up again, he doubted the three of them combined could not go through this event again as he offered a blanket to Janine in meaningful silence. The ball was in her court in terms for command right now, it was the least he could extend to her right now.
 
Forever seemed to pass by since Janine curled herself next to Raban’s lifeless body. His body was cold and heavy, much like her own body - heavy with grief and cold from being soaked for so long. She had managed to ignore her body's response to being so cold for so long, but at this point, she was shivering so much her back aches. After a point in time, she couldn't hold on any longer. Exhausted, Janine fell asleep at some point, unable to handle the overload of stimulation in her body.

Yet somehow, despite the exhaustion, Janine managed to wake up for short time frames, only to be horribly reminded of what she was waking up to, then crying herself to sleep again. Time was nothing to her at this point - she had no idea how many times she'd done anything, or counted how long it had been since anything. She just drifted into a sort of blank state, not a solid thought in her head as she sat next to Raban on the cold floor.

After the third time she woke up, Janine blinked bleary tears, wanting to move but her body was too heavy to properly do so. Her ears shifted as she heard movement, but didn't make an effort to do anything until the sharp sounds of gasping startled her to a higher awareness. She gasped, flinching as she attempted to move, only stopping when she felt something grabbing her wrist.

She looked down, seeing Raban's hand gently grabbing her. Dumbfounded, her brain took a moment to process what was happening, but when she heard that second gasp for air, it crashed all at once: Raban was breathing. A sliver of confusion and disbelief struck her, but it was quickly washed away with sheer happiness. Sitting with Raban as he slowly recovered from what was essentially death, Janine’s mind floated with elation, making her feel lightheaded as she curled up tighter to Raban. She didn’t care; not now at least. She was just happy to hear him breathing.

“Raban?! Raban, can you hear me?” Janine quickly asked. But Raban didn’t seem like he was able to talk in any sense of the word. It was fine, considering the circumstances. She had no clue what was happening to him, but she felt as if it was a miracle that she was even seeing him move. His body began shivering, and it made Janine want to wrap him up in the warmest blankets and lay in a bed. It reminded her of how cold she was, but she didn’t care, focusing solely on Raban’s needs. She wanted to provide for him, knowing she had little to nothing to give him in terms of comfort. And yet, as he opened his eyes as if he was a newborn, Janine felt her desire to protect him stronger than ever.

As he curled up closer to Janine, she felt this feeling that she couldn’t describe; it moved and mingled with her relief and happiness, but she couldn’t describe what it was in the moment. All she knew was that she welcomed it, and she’d sort out her emotions later.

“You’re fine Raban, I’m here,” Janine softly said as she rubbed her hands up and down his arms, especially happy that she managed to get clothes on Raban earlier. She closed her eyes as she felt Raban shuffle and curl up closer to her, nuzzling him as she reciprocated almost instantly. They both needed to be warmed up, especially Janine since she didn’t want to shut down at this point in time. Even so, she felt like she could fall asleep and everything would be fine. But the sounds of footsteps and shuffling startled her into opening her eyes, a sharp hiss exiting her mouth as she looked around for the source of the noise. She had forgotten about Sir Kiegal throughout this moment, and she felt a bit embarrassed, though it was quickly shut down - she had shown Sir Kiegal a surplus of emotion tonight, embarrassment was out of the question.

She was wary of what Sir Kiegal was doing, quietly sniffing the air for anything suspicious as she watched the man disappear into some other room. When he came out, he held blankets and a food tray, along with some water. He approached them slowly, eventually reaching them and offering the items, most likely as a peace offering. Janine looked up and blinked at the gesture, unsure of how to react; Janine looked into Sir Kiegal’s eyes and still saw those hints of remorse and guilt, and took the blankets with a small nod.

“Thank you,” Janine softly said as she grabbed the soft blankets. As she opened them and situated the blankets over both herself and Raban, she grew quick to be grateful and appreciative for them, relishing the softness and ability to keep them as warm as it could make them. It almost made her drift off again, but she shook off the tempting pull of sleep as she shook her head. She looked up at the darkness and sighed, seeing how late it had gotten. She had been here all night - her mother had to have noticed that she was gone by now, and must’ve been worried sick. Her ears shifted in an attempt to hear the noises outside, wondering if the rain had stopped or at least slowed down. The thunder rolled and boomed outside, but if she could hear correctly, she didn’t hear the rain beating down outside anymore. Perhaps the rain had finally ceased?

“Sir Kiegal… I… Have a favor to ask you,” Janine said with a slightly scratchy voice.

The man straightened his body at her voice, wondering what the young woman was going to ask.

“If it isn’t much trouble, can you please go to my house and inform my mom that I’m alright? I… She has to be worried sick about me,” Janine quietly asked. The man looked outside for a moment, seeing the darkness outside as he thought about where Janine’s abode was. He looked back down to her and nodded with a small bow.

“Yes, Janine, of course.” the Knight said before he turned to the doors to leave. He opened the doors slowly, looking at the night sky to see that the storm had finally died down to a small drizzle. Rather manageable than what it was for the majority of the night.

“Sir?” Janine called out just before he moved. Sir Kiegal turned his head with a slight head tilt.

“Thank you, for the blankets,” Janine said as she tried to show a bit of gratitude. Sir Kiegal nodded his head as he turned back around, walking all the way out the Hall and closing the door, heading his way to his destination.

Once Sir Kiegal left, Janine was left with Raban, alone, once again. She sniffed, noticing his scent having faded behind sweat and something that she could only describe as what weakness felt like. It reminded her of the infirmary. But his scent was coming back, she just had to wait while he slowly came back to his normal self. Either way, it was the most comforting thing she could take in while she and Raban slowly worked on regaining some semblance of warmth.

“Raban? Are you able to talk? Hear me? If not, it’s okay. I’m just happy that you’re alive. I…. Thought I lost you,” Janine softly said as she tightened her grip on Raban's hand. She rubbed her head in his chest, never before being so grateful as to hear a heartbeat as the sounds thudded in her ear.
 
Raban was not entirely conscious of what was around him, his body relying on the messages his senses conveyed to his basic fight or flight needs. He couldn't really see all that clearly, his vision was blurry and uncoordinated and so he just settled for half-lidded eyes that didn't foucs on anything more than a few inches away from his face. His sense of smell told him he was not alone, that he was safe and protected and it calmed any fight or flight response that had risen in reaction to what he was being put through. There was a heat source right next to him, it wasn't strong... there were shivvers there too but he clung to the source as if nothing else mattered.

His sense of touch relayed that he was cuddling into another human and combined with her scent and voice, he relaxed completely into her. Raban's body seemed to trust Janine without any need for vocal or mental input. His senses were rounding off nicely as the silver lost its hold over the werewolf in the room, releasing that which it had taken away.

Raban was vaguely aware of his arms being rubbed, the person he was cuddling into cuddled back and movement from somewhere else. The other scent was familiar, more musky and male in the identifiers but not a scent that caused him any reason for alarm. It was then a familiar warmth alighted in his mind. It was more a warm reminder than anything else and as he focused on these small details, his mind slowly caught up with everything else.

Something brushed and tickled against his skin and his eyes struggled to focus before they fixated on the blanket he was now covered with. He gave an open smile and small sigh of contentment as he remained curled into Janine with no wish to run away from this. Even if he had the strength to... his limbs still felt largely like lead or boneless jelly but he could wiggle them, bend his toes and flex fingers.

Raban was aware of voices that radiated with an echo sounded around him, matching the scents of their speakers. One male, musky, scented oils. One female, fiery, horse, familiar. He couldn't entirely make out what they were saying, but the wolf in the man recognised the tones. Just as much as he recognised the owner of the voice and the tones in which she spoke. There was concern, relief, happiness, fear... it was a heady mix.

It was a while before any semblance of his old, usual self returned. His legs twitched before he curled it back in, the leaden feeling was no longer there. He looked upwards and found his vision no longer blurry or even doubled. His body no longer hurt as much as it had in the cage.

Raban blinked and realised only then that he was on the floor of the Order Hall, no longer within the silver and iron cage that had weakened him nor was he in any other form of restraint. Not unless Janine and the blanket counted, but he didn't mind that at all. Welcomed it, really. Something bad must have happened to him for them to pull him out, especially in Kiegal's point of view.

"Janine?"

He didn't really recognised his own voice, it held none of his usual confidence but rather an unease or fear that he hadn't known himself capable of. He wanted to sleep but there were unanswered questions that now pricked at his mind. His arms shifted and pulled her closer underneath their blankets. He was aware now he was cold and she was shivering too. Her clothes were damp and something tugged his mind on how that wasn't a good idea but he couldn't put a nail on it.

"I'm out of the cage..." it was less a statement of fact than a question of poking curiosity. He bent his head, his nose drawing in air and her scent. It was comforting in a way that he didn't entirely know how to deal with but only knew he no longer wanted to be apart from. His breathing evened, returning to a normal manner as his heart slowed from its bout of working over time. After all, it had achieved something no mere mortal could ever do; restart itself.
 
It seemed as if Raban was still recovering his senses. She couldn’t tell how long it took for him to get back to his normal self since his… incident, but she wasn’t going to rush him at all. She patiently waited for Raban to show signs of normalcy, absently stroking him all the while. A vibrating sound came from her throat in that moment, one that she couldn’t recall herself ever making, but was familiar all the same. Janine blinked - when did she ever make this noise before? She lifted a hand and touched her throat in surprise, slowly tapping it as she contemplated what the sound could be.

Then she heard her name.

Janine gasped and looked up, her face brightening up once again as he finally spoke for the first time in what seemed like forever. “Yes, it’s me,” Janine said in a relieved sigh. She felt Raban’s arms as they shifted and drew her closer to him, her face flushing once she realized what he did. She felt the vibrations more intensely as she closed her eyes, relishing the feeling of such closeness. She still felt the chill from her damp clothes, but she was more tolerant thanks to the blankets.

He spoke again, mentioning how he was out of the cage, in which Janine opened her eyes in response. A bittersweet realization - she was happy that he was able to take notice of where he was, but wasn’t looking forward to retelling the events that took place in order for him to be released. She looked up after Raban sniffed her, her eyes staring into his with hesitation.

“Yes… You are. Sir Kiegal helped get you out after you…”

Janine paused, feeling uneasy with just the thought of saying the word 'dead' in her mind, “... stopped breathing.” Her eyes grew misty as she forced herself to recall the events that happened not long ago. “After Sir Kiegal spoke to you he left, but you told me that you couldn’t stay awake much longer. So I ran back to him and begged him to help me free you, and he eventually did… But… When he finally took you out of the cage, you… were…” Janine couldn't hold back the tears, the memory of his lifeless body flashing madly in her mind.

“You were dead! You stopped breathing, and I couldn’t wake you up! I thought you just passed out, but I didn’t hear a heartbeat. I pushed you and shoved you and shouted at you, and nothing happened. I didn’t know what to do, I just couldn’t think straight…” Janine cried as she hiccupped. She wiped her eyes with a hand, turning her head to the spot in the hall where Sir Kiegal had laid Raban’s body.

“Sir Kiegal tried to console me, but I… I lost control. I blamed him, and I attacked him.” She looked back into Raban’s eyes with nervous eyes. “I felt myself wanting to let go and just hurt Sir Kiegal. I was so angry at him, I felt my demon self want to come out. I think some did.” Janine paused for a moment, looking back to the spot in the hall while trying to recall her thoughts. “Some of it is a blur, but I remember pinning him to the floor. My hand wrapped around his throat. The fear in his eyes. I felt it, Raban. That feeling of wanting to hurt someone without remorse. I wanted to kill him, Raban. I was so willing to. I wanted to change so badly, I was fighting with all my heart and soul, but I didn’t want to break our promise. But I guess that’s too late. He surely knows that I’m not fully human as well.” Janine said with a sad sigh. She remembered the amount of sorrow and rage she felt in that moment before Sir Kiegal spoke, and for a few moments, it frightened her. She knew that she was justified in her emotions, but to be so close to ending another person’s life… It was scary what it took to get to that point. She looked back into Raban’s eyes with a small sniff.

“I didn’t kill him. He said something to me at that moment, and he reminded me why I trust you the most out of everyone in Amastad." She shivered again, and she shifted herself slightly to tuck her blanket under her. She sniffled again before sighing. "He reminded me of one of the many reasons why I value you as a friend. You and your honor. And for that I’m sorry for being so mad at you; I didn't understand, but he helped me a little.” Janine said with a small nod of her head.
 
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"Yes, it's me,"

Good.

His mind wasn't playing tricks with him, that all of this wasn't some elaborate concoction his mind had dragged together. He had half a mind to fear such an event... there were gaps in his memory, confusion swaddling his mind like an unwelcome soggy blanket. He only had one comparison to the blanks he felt when he did have one of his uncontrolled turns but he couldn't have had one of those. He remembered turning willingly.

He remembered watching Janine dress down Kiegal like he had been some green faced recruit. That was never going to be something he'd be quick to forget but anything after what she had told Kiegal was blurry and he could not recall anything beyond being told to hang on.

'Rather failed her there,' but now that he was out of the cage and it seemed there wasn't a move to restrain or imprison him again for some time, he made a vow to make it up to her... He knew she had been upset with him when he had relayed to her of his decision to follow through. If anything, he held her more tightly, or rather, needfully. He didn't want to lose her whilst currently unaware of just how opposite it was.

He gazed back into her expression as she looked up at him. She was hesitant, almost as if afraid to explain something to him but to her credit, she did begin to speak and he listened to every word with a rapt attention that wasn't in any way demanding. He listened to Janine, following her words and reading the emotions that danced across them.

Stopped breathing?

Dead?

He stared at her and then at where she had looked as she spoke of his body being laid down. His heart sank, upset he had unwittingly put her through such an event, his face expression his emotions. He had never been in such close and fixed proximity of silver for any long period of time until now . Not even Cadfael had an answer to that question. It explained the gaps in his memory and the dull aching fog that had come with it. Chestnut usually eased some of the experiences back to him to soften the lack of knowing but it required some level of being alive in order for her to do so.

He rubbed her arm almost subconsciously and then she continued talking, speaking losing her control and attacking her superior progressing through the promise she had made and understanding his sense of honour. It was a lot to comprehend and understand but the wolf's penchant for patience and endurance won him out. Attacking Kiegal might not have been one of the best ideas but he understood why. All that anger, frustration and sadness... it was not a situation he envied. He was sure Kiegal might let it pass. Otherwise why would he have agreed to get him out of the cage and come to terms with what his Knight was? Kiegal was usually firm but fair in most things.

"There's nothing to forgive," he breathed deeply. "If anyone should be apologising, it should be me... I went through with this and I placed you into an impossible position. "

He paused and pulled the blankets tighter around them before he rubbed her arm again, mostly to try and help keep her warm. Demons and the cold were not everyday bedfellows and he didn't want her to catch something nasty or incurable.

"I'm sorry if I scared you... I didn't know me dying... like that... was even possible. Or at least the appearance of being so," clearly being dead wasn't much of a permanent fixture for him. Just how long was his life expectancy if he could not die to suffocation or other more usual traditional methods, he wondered. No. It bore very little use to him to keep on that line of enquiry and he refocused on Janine.

"I'm glad you didn't kill him. It's a hell of a thing, killing a man. You take away everything he's got and everything he's ever gonna have."

He smiled softly, "You're the bestest friend a man could ever hope to ask for, Janine. I don't know anyone else in my life, save perhaps Cadfael, who would want to avenge me, controlled or not. That's no small thing. It sounds odd to say as such but there it is."

His strength was returning easier now without the silver. He was still exhausted and awkward in his movement but that was nothing a long round of undisturbed sleep wouldn't fix. This floor was annoyingly cold on his buttocks, even through his clothes, and the wall wasn't much of a friend to his back but he didn't want to let go of her. The close contact was soothing, comforting and made him feel human. They would have to move eventually... with her shivering in wet clothes... keeping her warm would be a struggle. It didn't help the Infirmary wasn't connected with this building.

Raban looked about but could not see Kiegal around even though he could smell that the man had been here a little short while ago. "When is he coming back?" he asked, feeling she would know what he meant as he continued peering to where the scent lead to, the door. He had gone out and effectively left what the Order would ordinarily call a major threat.

Not that Raban was capable of being one. He could move, but he had no energy and couldn't fight himself out of a paper bag if so pushed.
 
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