Evenfall

Isa had spent hours roaming the small town. She had discovered small fountains dotted all over, each uniquely decorated with a different sculpture standing in the middle. Her favorite was one with a grey wolf standing tall and proud, as if the sculptor wanted to preserve its defiance forever in stone. Isa liked it especially because it reminded her of Nao. She so wished that she could show him that statue – no doubt his hackles would rise, as he might think the statue a challenger.

She now found herself back in the center square, watching as the roof of the town hall bounced the colors of the sunset across all the buildings surrounding it. She leaned against one of the building walls and watched as the town was colored orange, then purple, then blue as the sun faded overhead. When the last of the burning light dropped below the shortest buildings, she sighed and pushed herself off the wall. Her mother would have her head for being late, but she had wondered how the strange roof would splinter the dying rays. Now that her curiosity was quenched, she began trekking to the border of the town.

The streets were dark and gloomy after sunset, setting off an almost eerie aura. Isa watched her surroundings carefully, as she knew what could hide in the shadows.

She was almost at the ring of buildings that bordered the town, when suddenly an iron grip appeared out of nowhere and closed around her arm. She began to call out, but her voice was smothered by a large hand that stank of old beer. Her struggles proved fruitless, as the grip of her captor was too strong. Her helpless sobs barely echoed off the walls as her captor dragged her deeper and deeper into the alleyway behind her.

When he seemed to have decided that they were far enough in that nobody would see them, he released her from his grip and instead threw her harshly against one of the walls. She finally cried out as her side hit the cold stone, her hands finding a thick layer of grime coating the wall. She reeled in disgust, but quickly remembered that the grime was probably safer than was behind her.

Isa whipped around to face her abductor, back hugging the wall. He seemed preoccupied with his clothing, and since she was sandwiched between what seemed to be a waste dump and a few empty beer kegs, he didn’t have to worry about her going anywhere. He flashed her a cruel smile that was full of nasty promise.

So, she did what she figured she did best: she screamed at the top of her lungs.

Fury overcame the man’s face and he stepped forward to silence her. Isa backed away as far as she could, folding herself into one of the corners of her small enclosure. Her captor advanced, all his clothing in various stages of undress. If she weren’t in such a threatening situation, she would have found his attire quite funny. She watched him, eyes filled with fear, as he quickly advanced.

Then, something she never thought possible happened. A massive silver wolf rammed into the man’s side, knocking him off balance. The fact that he was drunk probably didn’t help either. Everything happened too quickly for Isa to fully comprehend. All she saw was the wolf, standing over the man that seemed too surprised to react. Then, she saw the silver glint of a knife blade reflecting the day’s last light.

The wolf yelped as the man stabbed the knife into his right front leg, causing him to jump back and retreat. Isa could now see that the wolf was Nao. Her former captor, however, wasted no time in running for the hills. He didn’t have any intention of taking on an unnaturally large wolf. Isa gave a small smile as she watched him run, finding guilty pleasure in the fact that her wolf was able to strike even more fear into him than he had into her. She hoped he wouldn’t be too keen to try anything like that again.

When she looked back, however, Nao was gone. She barely caught the flash of a silver tail disappearing around the corner of the alleyway. She knew he was injured; she’d seen the knife. Wasting no time, she sprang to her feet and chased after him.

By the time she rounded the same corner, she couldn’t see him anywhere. With a sigh she began to run towards the outer ring of buildings. He was a wolf that was injured, his first instinct would be to get to the forest – where he knew he was safe.

The passage between the buildings that lead out to the forest seemed much smaller when she was running, than when she was walking. It was so dark that she knocked into the walls every so often, and almost tripped on seemingly-invisible objects that littered her path. When she emerged from the ‘wall’, however, she was met only with a pitch-dark forest. The trees loomed threateningly, their branches and leaves knocking and scraping against each other to create an eerie song with the wind.

Isa sighed helplessly. She would never find Nao in the darkness of night. Her best chance at helping him would be in the morning, when she could properly look at the wound. She never understood why, but he always disappeared at night. She could not remember a single evening spent with him; he always seemed to disappear before sunset, no matter where they were on the continent. He always came back in the morning, though.

A deep groan of pain drew her attention. She whipped her head towards the sound. It had come from the forest.

“Hello?” She called towards the looming trees, glancing warily at the dark shapes churning within them. No reply came. She debated what to do. Her mother had told her so many stories of evil creatures that lived in the woods. She knew all too many that drew in helpless victims in all manner of ways; calls for help, songs, even seduction.

No matter what she did, she would have to go through the forest anyway. She couldn’t stay the night in town; she didn’t know anyone. She couldn’t stay right where she was, she already knew what horrors the dark alleys held. At least she knew that Nao was somewhere in the forest if she got hurt. She was sure that wherever he was, he would come if her heard her in distress.

And so, she steeled herself and began walking towards the forest.

As soon as she stepped past the tree line, a rustle in the bushes – not three feet away from her – caught her attention. Immediately, she froze. She frowned when she heard heavy breathing. It wasn’t that of a dark creature, but that of a person in pain. She could hear that whoever it was was trying to hide their pain, as the breaths were short and far apart.

“Hello?” She tried again, gentler this time. She tried to sound more reassuring. Her heart hammered against her chest as she awaited reply. None came, and the breathing halted all together. “Whoever’s there,” she tried again. “If you need help, I can assist you.”

She waited a few more moments, when eventually the breathing resumed. It was much louder this time, and she could hear the groaning again. Whoever was injured was not trying to hide anymore.

“I- I’m fine,” a voice came from the bushes. Isa started; it was male.

“No, you’re not,” She pressed, carefully stepping towards the bushes. She was careful not to make too much noise. “Like I said, if you’re injured -”

“I said I’m fine!” Came her rude reply. She frowned and stepped closer.

“Don’t lie to me,” she said sternly. “I will help you whether you like it or not. Now come out from the bushes.”

She heard a sigh, which made her smile. It sounded like the kind of sigh one gives when one has given up an argument.

“I… I can’t.” He replied.

She frowned, hearing the hesitation in his voice. “Why not?”

She heard another sigh, an exasperated one. “I sort of… have no clothes on.”

Isa froze, halting her approach. “Um,” she said uncertainly. “Excuse me?”

The man groaned. “I do not have any clothes on.”

“Well that’s no help,” she said. “Aren’t there leaves or something that you can cover yourself with?”

She heard a dry chuckle. “Not exactly.”

“Not exactly?”

“It’s all poison ivy.”

“Ah, I see.” She chewed her lip. “I have an idea,” She pulled off her coat. “Put up your hand so that I can see where you are.”

A pale hand appeared from amidst the bushes. She could barely make it out in the darkness of the forest.

“I’m going to throw my coat to you,” she said. “Then you can come out of the bushes, and we can have a look at your injury.”

“Alright,” she heard his voice strain. Being careful not to let the coat catch on the bushes, she threw it over. The bushes rustled, as – she assumed – he pulled the coat over himself. “I’m coming out now,” he said.

She nodded. Then, when she realized he couldn’t see her, “Okay.”

She watched as a dark figure stood up from amongst the bushes, her coat hanging around his hips. She suppressed a smile. He looked quite funny. Slivers of moonlight began to cut the darkness around her, illuminating the forest floor. She felt more at ease, now that she could actually see her surroundings. Enraptured by the beauty of the forest bathed in moonlight, she failed to notice the man walking towards her.

When she did, however, she gave a small yelp of surprise. He put his one arm up in surrender, the other holding her coat around his waist. She gave a small chuckle as she realized that her fright was unfounded.

“Sorry,” she said, smiling at him. “I’ve just had quite the eventful night so far.”

He nodded in understanding, giving her a reassuring smile. She couldn’t see his features very clearly, as he was still standing in the dark.

“Come into the light,” she said, waving him over. “so that I can see you properly.”

He obliged and stepped forward. She could now see his dark hair and crystal blue eyes. He was young, and – even she had to admit – quite handsome. She felt a small blush rising to her cheeks when she remembered his state of undress.

“Come over here,” she said, motioning for him to sit on one of the large rocks surrounding them. He did as he was told and sat down.

“You’re wounded?” She asked, walking towards him. He nodded. She frowned and held out her hand, motioning to show her where.

Hesitantly, he lifted his right arm and revealed a river of blood flowing from a wound on its underside. She gasped and rushed forward, clutching his arm quickly to inspect the deep gash.

“Archen,” she breathed, studying the wound. “What in the moons’ names happened to you?”

He hissed as she prodded a bit too hard. “Sorry,” she muttered. He gave her a tight smile and shook his head.

“I was passing through the forest when a man ran out of that town and swiped my arm with a knife,” he explained quickly. Isa raised her eyebrow.

“And the clothes?” She smiled at his hesitation.

“I’d rather not talk about it.” He said uncomfortably.

She chuckled and nodded. “As you wish.” She carefully dropped his arm and reached down to pick up the bottom of her dress. He watched in confusion as she tore off a strip of material and then tore it into smaller strips – temporary bandages.

She threw the smaller strips over her shoulder before picking his arm up again. She used a bigger piece of material to wipe away as much of the blood as she could, before starting to bandage the wound.

“So,” she said, wrapping the material around his arm. “May I ask your name?”

He gave her a smile. “Only if I can ask yours.”

She smiled back before looking away. “Alright,” she said. “But you have to tell me yours first.”

“Fair enough,” he said. “My name is Nikolas. It’s lovely to make your acquaintance.”