[Lycrios]

Lycrios glanced at the Elite with a look of confusion. Never had he heard of such a creature roaming this world. Maybe this was a creature of the same origins as the Elite, but it was of no bother to him. All this talk about food had made him hungry, although it didn’t take much for his appetite to be aroused. Although he was writing quite fast, a thing he had picked up over the years, he could not let the detail Aidan had just said slip his pages. The squirrel was no more. Although this sounded fairly unimportant to anyone there, Lycrios knew of true meaning of this unfortunate event. Although he did not want to ask right away about the cause of the little one’s demise, he knew that she had been a long companion to him. She was the one who could keep his insanity in check, most of the time. She had helped him through the times of the “fu-fu-fu”. Lycrios chuckled at the though of the insane monk, still sitting at the bar, gulping down glass after glass of whiskey to try and make them go away. Although at first he had never quit believed in the “fu-fu-fu”, it had become apparent after a while that they always appeared before danger struck. And it seemed an innate ability that the monk could only have, for he was the only one able to see the shadowy creatures. Still, none of this could even begin to bring comprehension as to what had brought the untimely demise of the squirrel.

He quickly finished scribbling down a few more sentences before returning his book to its secure location, inside his backpack. It had become a habit for him to carry around a book and write a journal of sorts. In his many years of existence, he had written several of these books. He kept them in his home, hidden somewhere in a forest so dense, even the bravest of adventurers rarely ventured into it’s shadows. The forest was renowned to hold horrors unimaginable for many. Most of the stories involved the wolves, either of monstrous size, of packs ranging from hundreds to thousands, and of wolves walking on their hind legs like humanoids. These stories christened the forest, The Forest of Wolves. Nowhere else did Lycrios ever feel more at home, that was why he had made his home in the deepest of it. There, many treasures were hidden, and his lifework, his books and weapons, were all lined up as trophies.

Though most of his books were hidden in his home, many were in the hands of great wizards, studying them, for his books held great knowledge. Many times where he had ventured to recollect his books, the secluded wizards would not want to return the valuable pieces, but soon found Lycrios’ methods of dealing quite direct. Most of the inexperienced wizards who had even attempted to read the books had fallen into insanity, for the books not only revealed Lycrios’ most inner thoughts, but also projected the images of what he had witnessed. That’s when he remembered Yume’s words. He turned to her, his yellow eyes glowing under the small light of the moon being able to pass through the smog. “ I am sorry if I offended you in any way by my words. It is just that, I’ve been through a lot in my many years of existence, as I am sure most of you have too.”

He paused. He was never good with apologies, he would have rather beat the other until his point of view changed to his own, but he knew somehow that this was not a thing to attempt with Yume. “It is not that I take what you have been through lightly, far from it. It’s just that, I have fought against creatures that have been said to wipe out entire races and survived. I have clashed swords with gods and demons all the like, with the help of the monk over there.” Lycrios glanced at the monk quickly, not knowing how he would react to the sudden jerk of memories. A smiled appeared at the corner of his lips. This was enough to give Lycrios assurance enough to continue. “ I know that what we might be facing could bring our end, but the meaning of death looses it’s hold on you when you have died a few times before. Trust me, I did not mean to seem arrogant or anything of the sort, it’s just hard for me to take anything as seriously now.”

He looked down at the ground. He realized at how much he had changed since the first time he had fallen. He didn’t think his eternal youth to be a burden, but sometimes, it was almost a strain too much to bear. Although he was not immortal, it seemed so to the many that had fought against him. His recklessness in combat was a direct link to his lack of fear of dying. And the same lack of fear had shaped him into the being he was today. A being he sometimes despised from his inner soul. Then, his stomach reminded him of something that had never changed in him. Aidan had warned the ones there, but they had no clue of what they were in store for. Lycrios pulled himself up and dusted his clothes. He then put two fingers to his lips and let the air vibrate through his fingers. The whistle began low and monotone, then shifted into a high pitched sound that seemed to go into a wave motion as the sound rose and fell in a slow interval. How this was possible, not many knew, for the whistle had only lasted a few seconds. No one said anything, but the Elite was aware that the sound could have attracted the critters he had seen, and kept a hand close to his weapons. Lycrios saw the move and snarled. “You better not take out those weapons in the next few moments. I say this to you as a warning. All of you, please do not be alarmed by what you are about to see.” Then, a voice rang out from above. It was Galen informing the group that something big was headed their way. Everyone stood up and prepared for a fight, all but Lycrios who simply sighed. “I told you, do not be alarmed.” As the sound of something big approaching got bigger, the words Lycrios had spoken were almost insufficient enough to keep them from pulling out weapons. Aidan had not moved at all, he was still lost in his thoughts.

When the head of the creature turn around a corner of trash and started heading their way, it took Lycrios’ hand on the Elite’s shoulder to stop him from pulling out any weapon he possessed on him. The wolf headed their way, or what looked to be a wolf. It was at least the size of a bear, maybe even bigger than the biggest of bears. It held a bloody dear in its powerful jaws. Lycrios walked confidently towards it. All watched at the sight when the man whispered something into the huge animals ear. The wolf then kneeled down and Lycrios mounted it, as if the creature had been trained to do so. “Everyone, I’d like you all to meet Nightstrike. Do not be alarmed by his presence, he is quite a docile creature, as long as no harm is meant towards me.” He rode the huge creature next to the fire and it let its prey drop to the floor. Lycrios liked his lips and jumped down. He began carving into the animal. His skill was remarkable and he had finished skinning and cleaning the dead dear in under an hour. At least half the meat had been put aside. Yume looked on. “You plannin’ on keepin’ that meat for later?” Lycrios looked at her with a puzzled look on his face. “What do you mean? This meat is for me, I just thought I’d share with you guys the other part. Nightstrike here tells me he has already feasted in the forest.” Yume just looked on, dumbfounded. Aidan chuckled, and his only response was, “I told ya.” Still, Yume had yet to believe that such an amount of meat was even physically possible to fit in Lycrios’ body. All her doubts vanished when he began feasting on his meat, not even taking the time to cook it on the open fire. The huge wolf stayed behind its master, curled up in a ball, seemingly half-asleep. Halfway through his meal, Lycrios stood up and took the skin of the deer and strapped it on the saddle in the back of the wolf with a few other skins of animals already there. No one had realized it when the beast had arrived, but a large saddle, with many various things strapped to it was attached to the mighty creature. Lycrios returned next to his pile of meat and lay back on his dire wolf.

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OoC: I'm sorry this took so long.