"Nightsworn." Roe plays with the word, mumbling it over and over as Gwyn studies the boy between stretches. "You summoned me here, didn't you?"
"Obviously," her breathing is labored, one arm wrapped around her chest as she cracks her neck. "I've been calling for days. Glad you could find time in your busy schedule. Oh wait, you don't have a schedule."
"You took my memories." He stares at her, crouched on the ground, one hand covering his mouth. "No, that's not right."
"You gave them up." She stops stretching, her ears perking up. She turns her head, her white hair dancing as the wind picks up. "I know you can't remember, but this is something you chose. I didn't force you."
Roe follows her line of sight. Everything he saw looked blurry to him, something he figures will pass as he acquaints himself with this strange place.
"What do you see?" Roe asks.
"You know, you're supposed to be my scout." She jokes. She turns back to him. "We've got trouble. Maybe thirty seconds before we're toast."
She takes two quick steps before she's right beside him. She touches the mark on his neck. His body feels lighter, his sight clearer.
"What was that?" He touches the place her hand had been a second prior.
"Ready?" She smiles.
A pair of howls break Roe's focus, his eyes trying to track an invisible target. Even with his improved vision, he doesn't spot the two monstrous wolves until they're nearly on top of him.
"Agnaz!" Gwyn shouts, a purple flame erupting under one of the wolves. Roe takes a quick step back, barely missing becoming dinner for one hungry dog. "Into the fire,"
"Into the flame." Roe throws a rocky punch at his attacker, no time to think about how he knew what Gwyn was talking about. His fist connects with the wolf's snout, but it merely snarls in response to the weak effort. It lashes a giant paw towards the boy.
Roe ducks, spinning as he takes another step back and roundhouses the wolf in the same spot he just hit. The wolf launches itself at the boy. Instinctively, he drives forward on one knee and throws an elbow into the wolf's groin. The wolf yelps and scampers off.
Gwyn swings a dark sword at her attacker. The blade cuts into the side of the wolf, drawing black blood and a nasty snarl from the creature. Roe rushes to join her.
"Watch yourself!" She yells without looking. Roe soon understands what her warning meant, as his wolf nearly takes his head off with a swipe of its giant paws.
"Woah, chomper!" Roe jumps back, his bare feet sliding in the dirt. He studies the wolf, as the wolf studies Roe. They circle each other, until Roe feints left and the wolf jumps as he goes right.
Roe drives a solid punch into the wolf's thick hide, feeling all the kinetic energy being absorbed as it lands. "Fuck." The black furred wolf bites down on Roe's shoulder, picking him up and slamming him into the ground, the beast's giant paws pushing down on the boy's stomach as it attempts to rip his arm from his body.
A purple flame crashes against Roe's wolf. The creature releases him and makes a hasty retreat.
Roe coughs up blood, red and warm, as he looks down at the massive wound. "Yikes…" He groans.
"Rosen!" Gwyn is quickly beside him, swinging her dark blade as the wolf attempts to take another bite out of him. She looks exhausted. Dirt and sweat cover her sharp features. Panic spreads across her face. "Can't even beat a damned direwolf…"
The two wolves circle Roe and Gwyn. She helps him to a sitting position, her sword arm outstretched to attempt to scare the wolves. But they know the two of them are on their last legs.
"Not like this," Gwyn whispers, almost to herself. "I will not die here."
Roe's vision begins to double, and he knows it's only a matter of time before he keels over. If only he were stronger. Maybe even if he just had a weapon. No. A weapon is useless without the power to wield it. Power… Yeah, that's a nice thought to go out on. Strength, and the will to go on.
His eyes threaten to close. Gwyn covers him like a mother to a kitten. Weak. Roe was weak, without memories and in a literal hell. Nothing felt right anymore. An image of his family flooded into his mind. A nice, happy family. Violet's wedding. Letty's pouty face. His parents, warm and inviting to a long lost son. The portrait of Roe and his elder brother…
Roe's eyes drifted down towards a glimmer of light in Gwyn's shadow. He halfheartedly reaches into it, and a warm feeling overtakes him completely. The wound on his shoulder begins to close up, final droplets of blood leaking out and disappearing altogether. He felt rejuvenated.
This. This is power. Roe follows that feeling of warmth into Gwyn's shadow, escaping into a void. A new lease on life enters his system, and he knows exactly how to accept this gift.
Roe appears beneath the wolf that took a bite out of him, springing directly from the beast's shadow and driving a jet black sword through the pitiful animal. The wolf crumples almost immediately, dead.
The other wolf lowers its head, snarling angrily at Roe. Roe stares back at the creature, mimicking its inane action.
"Sorry, Fido." He smiles. "I gotta put you down now."
The wolf lunges at nothing, as Roe is already gone, planting his sword on the underside of the wolf's belly in an instant.
Roe wipes black blood from his hands onto his pants, his nose reeling from the foul smell of decaying dog. In a matter of moments, the two beast corpses would shrivel up and descend into the dust beneath them.
"Roe…" Gwyn mutters. She steadies herself on her sword, using it as a makeshift cane. Exhaustion felt too light a term to describe how tired she looked. "Come here."
Roe walked towards the elf, deciding promptly that returning the sword he took from her shadow would fall right into his own, and it did. Nice.
Gwyn placed a hand on the shoulder that wolf took a bite out of, admiring how well put together his ragged skin had become. She smiled.
"Nightsworn, finally." She looked like she was about to collapse again. Instinctively, Roe grabbed her by the shoulders as her balance teetered. "A fine blade you'll make indeed."