Vasilisa's POV
On the dawn of Day #3, Scar decides to arise and scare the shit out of me.
I wake up and his face is inches from mine.
My heart stops and I gasp.
He laughs and sits back on his knees.
I sit up and slap his arm "You bastard. What did you think you'd accomplish by giving me a heart attack?"
He chuckles "That look on your face. It's priceless."
I huffed and sat up "I sit in here for three days, barely pissing, eating or sleeping, for you, and what do you decide to do? Try to scare me into my next life..." I muttered to myself as I popped various places of my body.
He was sitting on the bed, smirking at me "You're griping like a girl."
I stilled and then huffed again, rolling my eyes "I carried you halfway across the city, you stumbling around, drunk off of pain, mister..." I wagged my finger at him and his smiled faded.
"Thank you, V. I've spoken to Rhyn. He told me. I appreciate it, and I trust you more now because even though you didn't have to take care of me, you did. In fact..." He paused, looking around, as if maybe he'd find what to say next on the wall to his left and right, rather than in his head "...I have to leave in a few days, and I would like it if you accompanied me."
I scowled "Accompanied you where, exactly?"
He took a deep breath "Well, you see, we have small intrusions by the enemy on our outer regions. I need to go assess damage and, considering it was small, there's still a chance we can talk through this and maybe, just maybe, avoid a war all together."
My frown deepened "Why is it not able to be spoken through right now?"
He grimaced "Well, us Lycanthropes are not particularly fond of those Vampyres, and when a lot of us are in a room together, we tend to quarrel and get our pride bruised..."
I sighed "Dear Lord, perhaps you should send the women in instead. Men tend to do that in general."
He scowled "We do not. These are vicious, coldblooded killers, and.." His face grew deadly serious "..and they killed my mother in front of me. It's kind of hard to separate them from that time in my past."
I swallowed deeply, feeling strangely empathetic and glad he'd shared something so personal with me. I exhaled before speaking slowly "I understand, Scar, but think about it this way; those horrendous vampyres you're talking about, they are somebody's children too. They are somebody's brother, sister, mother, and father. I've seen humans kill other humans before out of spite, but that doesn't mean all of us are bad either, does it?"
He turned away, angrily "You couldn't possibly understand. I should've known that you would try to reason with me about those filthy bloodsuckers. Get yourself cleaned up and...go help your sister or something. I have no use of you today."
I watched him warily as he left and then I released the death bite I'd had on my tongue.
He didn't know half of what I understood, but after that little speech, there was no way in hell I'd be enlightening him.
I angrily tugged on my coat and followed him out of the door. I saw him stomping down the street and I made sure to go the other way.
Scar's POV
It had been a day and I was still fuming.
Rhyn didn't have a clue why, he just asked if I wanted to go hunting to blow off steam. I agreed.
I didn't expect that he would invite V. I didn't know why he would in the first place. I was still mad at the boy for being so cavalier about those vile creatures.
He showed up, and frowned at me as if he were disappointed in me. It pissed me off that it bothered me that he was disappointed in me.
"Let's go." I bit out.
We split up. V went his own way while Rhyn and I shifted.
I caught the scent of a deer and my only goal was catching it.
Vasilisa's POV
I found where I'd hidden my bow in the tree I always did and strung it. I slung the arrows over my shoulder and took off.
I'd seen a pile of deer dung on the way here and I followed it. There were half eaten plants and markings to follow as well. Soon, I saw the heard.
I strung up and arrow and watched.
They were silently grazing, going about their business as usual when they suddenly weren't.
One perked his head up and soon, the others followed.
A predator was around.
I saw the deer dart before I saw a gigantic wolf that burst through the brush after them.
I loosed the arrow for the deer and it pierced his neck.
He stilled and fell over.
The wolf stood over it, looking confused.
I strung up another arrow and stepped closer to the edge of the clearing.
His head whirled around to me and he growled.
I scowled...was that...no...
He sauntered towards me and I kept the arrow strung, ready to release it. The string was cutting into my calloused fingers as it always did.
He shifted.
Scar stood in front of me, naked.
I kept my eyes squarely on his neck, slightly in shock from the shift anyway.
He took slow step after step until his chest was touching the tip of the arrow "You're a fair shot, V." He murmured.
My gaze drifted down his chest and then I stopped myself and forced my gaze up to his gaze that burned holes in my soul "You stole my kill too."
I replied, softly "I didn't see your name on it."
He was silent before snorting. A smirk curved his lips as he put a hand on my bow, causing me to relax my grip "Where'd you learn to shoot?"
I shrugged "My father."
He glanced at me as I turned away, trying to look everywhere but at his naked body "Really? I haven't seen your father around..."
I shook my head, biting my lip "I'd be worried if you did. He's been gone for a while..."
Rhyn came into the clearing.
Scar and Rhyn picked the deer up by its ends and lugged it in between them all the way back to town. Rhyn was very interested in my bow. Apparently he had a sister that was not a very strong shifter, but loved to use a bow. They'd apparently gone to town and seen street performers that shot apples off people's heads.
I think Scar was agitated that Rhyn controlled most of the conversation on the way back to town.
I thought it was funny.
I didn't miss how Rhyn kept glancing at me though. I hoped I didn't have a booger on my face. That would be embarrassing.
Third Person POV, during the hunt and on the way back into town.
Rhyn watched as Scar took off and didn't mind going the other way.
He really wanted to see what V would do since he didn't bring any weapons with him.
While following the boy, though, he caught the scent of blood.
It was old, but Rhyn had all the time in the world.
He followed it until coming upon a string of birds that had all obviously been shot down by arrow.
His sister had hunted enough that he'd come to recognize the wounds.
It wasn't the birds that made him halt, though.
He found a long braid, hidden beneath the brush.
It had slightly unraveled and was covered in dirt, but the strap of leather still clearly bound one end together. It had been nearly a foot and a half long, if not two.
Rhyn shifted and picked it up.
At this hour of dusk, he could make out the color to be a brown color, but then again, that could be the mud.
For some reason, this braid bothered him more than it should.
He hid it in a tree and marked it as any animal would.
He would come back in a few days in daylight to examine the hair further, he decided.
His Alpha would be gone by then and V would go with him. He wondered how that would work out. They had been fussing like an old married couple lately.
When he found them, V was cleaning an unstrung bow he'd somehow made appear and Scar was looking over the deer.
He called to Rhyn to help him carry the deer and Rhyn obeyed gladly.
He engaged V in talk of archery, having much experience because of his sister.
V readily entered it. Rhyn knew the boy to be cynical, and charmingly so. He'd taken care of his Alpha after all and deserved reward if not a little respect for taking up for a man he barely knew.
Around the fire that night, as the three hunters and some of the pack joined in on the feasting of the deer, Rhyn became uncomfortable. It could have been the wine, but he noticed that in the flickering flame, the shadows that danced off of V's features could almost be described as feminine.
He noticed the curve of V's jaw, and the shape of his lips, and scrutinized his neck. He especially froze when V swallowed. His throat constricted as he consumed the deer, but no noticeable lump bobbed up and down as it did on the rest of the males' throats.
Rhyn shook his head and went back to trying to converse normally. V probably just has a small Adam's Apple. He told himself. He hasn't hit puberty yet, either.
Yeah, that's all it is. He even nodded to reassure himself. V was a boy, nearly a man. He was just a late bloomer.
Rhyn took glass of wine after glass of wine until he stumbled to his chambers late into the night, no longer bothered by the conspiracies of gender.