Merse panicked a bit as she watched the wolfen body that was now her own slip out of Dregsbale and take off full-tilt through the forest. As she considered her next move, a wave of memories flooded over her: playing with littermates, bounding through the woods on all fours, hunting with the pack. No! That's not me! Merse tried desperately to ignore the mental onslaught, but as the memories poured in, she also began to feel emotions associated with those memories. There was something important to me...no, not to me, but to the owner of the memories. That was why I...no, he....needs to get back to the pack. While Merse struggled to sort out her internal confusion, the distance between her and Dregsbale grew.
**********
The wolfen ran steadily through trees, across creeks, and over hills with few pauses to rest, covering a distance in a day as the crow flies that it would take a normal human a week by road. As dawn broke a full day after leaving Dregsbale, he reached a large river delta which stretched out across the land, a site he was obviously familiar with. Picking his way carefully but quickly around various tributaries and deeper waters, he rapidly made his way towards a large grove of trees situated on a rather large landmass in the middle of the delta. Reaching the edge, he rose to walk on his hind feet.
"Kayl?! Is that you bruddah?" A voice called out.
"Oof," Kayl exhaled as a heavy arm descended across his shoulders. He looked up to see a large auburn wolfen carrying a lance grinning at him. "Rigg."
"I knew you'd be back!" Rigg chuckled, then drew closer to whisper. "Hey, the elders and the Alpha were beginning to think you bit the dust. You better let Alra know you're still in one piece." Only then did Rigg pull back and look Kayl over. "What did happen to you, anyway? No meat? Where are all your talismen?" Rigg's eyes widened slowly.
"It's a long story," Kayl deflected as they headed towards the pack encampment.
"Kayl?" A tender voice rang out. Kayl turned to see a beautiful, lanky, silvery-gray female wolfen holding a basket of herbs. Alra! Memories came rushing back, and Kayl walked towards his mate-for-life with a peculiar expression on his face. Pulling her close, he nibbled gently on her cheek and let loose a low soft howl in her ear. Although she was overjoyed to see her mate, the blushing Alra soon pulled back.
"Kayl?" She asked questioningly, obviously surprised at his overt show of public affection, unusual for the normally stoic dark gray wolfen. As Rigg had, she too was now noticing his obivous lack of bracelets and necklaces, save one. She gazed at him searchingly, but was interrupted before she could ask any questions.
"Papa!" A shrill little voice rang out as a miniature version of Alra hurtled through the village and plastered itself to Kayl's leg. Looking down fondly at his little pup, Kayl reached down and lifted Raka up and hugged her tightly. Caught off guard, Raka still giggled and licked Kayl's muzzle.
"Raka, c'mon!" Some of the other pups in the village called as they romped around, and Raka turned to join her playmates, too young to notice anything amiss. Kayl paused and gave her an additional squeeze before letting her loose, an odd look in his eye. Turning back to a now speechless Alra, he gently guided her into their den without a word, not noticing the sharp gaze that had followed him since he returned to the village.
Upon entering their abode, Kayl became even more affectionate, and a slightly confused but willing Alra obliged. The two spent the rest of morning and afternoon locked together in gentle lovemaking, which seemed to grow slightly more desperate on Kayl's part as the hours passed. As the two exhausted mates finally lay side by side, a scratching on the entrance flap of their den brought them to their senses. Getting up, Kayl pushed aside the flap.
"Kayl," Rigg started with a knowing grin. "The elders and the Alpha want to meet with you tomorrow." As the subject grew more serious, Rigg's mischievous expression faded. "We need to know what happened out there, and to make some decisions..." Rigg's voice trailed off as he looked towards the closest branch of the river with a concerned glance. "Anyway, where were you all this time?"
"I went pretty far out to hunt," Kayl started as he stepped outside the den. "Large game has all but left the delta, the hunting grounds are nearly bare. I was careless." Kayl shook his head. "I was jumped by some slavers, they managed to put a collar on me." Rigg frowned, a mix of worry and anger.
"They carted me around, finally sold me to some cutthroats in Dregsbale..." Kayl trailed off, reaching for his head as though in pain. Mistaking it for tiredness, Rigg cut him off.
"That's enough for now, you can tell everything else to the elders tomorrow. Get some rest," Rigg waved as he trotted off.
However, Kayl did not re-enter the den. Rather, clutching his forehead, he stumbled off into the trees.
"Dregsbale...what happened in Dregsbale...I have to get back..." Kayl muttered to himself.
Dregsbale! Merse clutched onto that memory. I need to get back, there's more to this curse than I first thought!
"I need to get back...help...Pia...Drin!" Kayl slumped against a tree, his mind in a whirl as he clutched his necklace, the one Alra had given him when they were first mated. "I can't leave...but I'm not...."
"Are you really Kayl Steelfur?" Kayl whirled around as a harsh voice broke through his mental turmoil.