That Night

  Fear overtook Oryn when he heard the howling, the sound echoing with something almost metallic that tore something fearful in his soul. When Loki, still tied to his mind, bellowed from within "RUN!" he knew that such fear was entirely justified. So he ran, fast as he could, far into the forest by the camp had started to set up, fully abandoning all he had, meager as it was.

  A River, not far from him, seemed to promise safety and so he ran toward it. 'This should hide my scent, I mean wolves only hunt for food-'

  'Those are Hellhounds, they are... well, unnatural wolves, soulless and twisted, born to consume to the souls of those that they devour. Eons ago, during the War Between Aesir and Vanir, a Vanir sorcerer experimented on a wolf, trying to create a way to end fellow immortals... Garm, The First, was the only one that did not lose himself to the endless void...the others, they yearn to fill the endless empty in their cores, and will chase you for all time. They must have been drawn by your potent soul and the Pyre spell you cast...like the ravens of the Valkyrie, they are drawn to death... but for a vastly darker purpose.'

  Cursing, the boy started to cry. "I don't want to die! I just... I have barely lived... is there anything I can do?"

  'Not without training, Seidr magic is all about healing, that is the only thing you will be able to do without training... and before you ask, that includes purifying nature and souls like you did with that Pyre.'

  When a root suddenly rose, clearly through magic, wrapping around his ankle with vicious strength, Oryn found himself tumbling to the ground... just as something rushed over him, a cold malignant energy radiating from the form, drawing in so much heat and life frost started to form. Looking up as fast as he could, spitting out mud, the boy was startled to see the wild, white eyes of a wolf looking at him with endless emptiness and a hunger so intense he could barely breathe.

  And yet he did not feel fear, but sorrow, sorrow that left him crying more. 'Such hunger, I've been there... the clawing at your belly, weak and afraid and dizzy... desperate enough to do damn near anything...' So lost in his thoughts, he could do nothing when the beast started to move in for the kill

  Thankfully roots swiftly rose up, wrapping around the beast, tightening with horrible crunches that left Oryn ready to gag.

  "Wretched beast. " A voice, ancient and withered, drew his eyes to the shadowy form of a woman, clearly not there in person. "Such pointless hunger, your kind has long upset the balance between life and death... the Vanir should have never allowed your kind to spread." Raising a hand, the roots started to tighten, killing the beast slowly...

  And that was something that Oryn would not stand for. "STOP!" His words startled even Loki within him, stopping the Attacker. Furious and warm, he moved over to the to Beast and placed his hands on it's bound snout, his hands glowing the softest of green. "Seidr is the magic of healing... so I will heal her...in anyway I can." Pain, searing, wrong, twisted pain erupted through the boy, dual in it's nature as light erupted from his core, tearing off of him in what could only described as a soul splintering, and shot into his hand... and through it, the wolf.

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  Blood and bone splattered everywhere as his right arm, all of the way to the elbow, quite literally exploded. He would never know how far he flew back, for pain and loss shattered any trace of conciousness he attempted to hold onto.

  """

  'Sweet Ymir... the boy... is he alive?' Loki thought through his connection to the boy, holding fast onto it if only to keep the boy's soul from fading away from his attempt at such potent healing powers.

  "He will live, yes." And Loki froze, seeing through power the shadowy woman that had saved his... ally, recognizing her immediately as Guelvig, the first and greatest Human Seidr witch... and the only one that had ever achieved immortality and enough power to rival some of the gods. Looking at, he realized her eyes held warmth and pride he had not seen in her gaze before. "The boy was successful, Loki... look." And she pointed to the wolf, which she had released. Her eyes had shifted, taking on the same, exact shade of brown that Oryn had, and he realized that she was looking at him as well. "The boy, desperate to save the wolf of her curse, was able to splinter his own soul into her, they are now one."

  The wolf, still nameless, started to nuzzle the unconscious boy, licking his face with a whimper.

  'How is his hand, I saw it explode?'

  The Witch cast a sigh, moving her hands forcing the boy to rise up and move toward her. As he floated, she waves her hand around him, searching for things Loki could never have understood, she was the greatest master of human magic there was after all. "The flow of power was too much, the boy lost his arm as you saw... I cannot recreate it... but I can give him something in return..." Flexing her fingers, he watched as a chunk of wood manifest in her hand... rowan, from the same tree the boy had marked as a grave for Thorfinn. "Powerful protective magic, it will make a powerful tool for the boy but Loki...we have to talk. The boy, his means well, and you wish to be free and get your mutual revenge... you will need to lead him better." Her image shimmered. "I cannot manage this projection for much longer... lead him to me, Loki... I will grant him the means to find me, but you must lead him better..." Fixing her eyes on him, he realized how utterly terrifying she really was, anger and pain melding into one powerful Witch. "Your prison can be broken,... and this boy can do it."

  Sensing her Truth, knowing it to be absolute, Loki nodded. "He will be at your door as soon as possible."

  "Be sure you keep him safe... I must rest, my power is wanning... but first, to finish his gift and healing." And the wood flew to the boy, landing on his arm, before the Witch started to intone a potent, ancient spell, weaving her magic in such a way that even Odin would have been impressed. Only when she finished, and Loki saw the end result, did he smile. "That will help keep the boy safer, of that I am sure... thank you, Guelvig."

  "Do not thank me, just bring the boy to me... do this and I will explain how you will be free." She frowned. "You know some Seidr magic, I know Freya and Frigg taught you. Teach the boy to the basics. It will take him a week to reach me, especially if you wish to avoid the attention of the Gods. Ensure he is ready, he will need every advantage he can get."

  She was gone then, leaving Loki and the Wolf to look at each other, with the Powerful Giant reading her aura. "You are actually a powerful creature, and since you are bound to the boy by soul mark, you are smarter and in control... but you need a name, everyone does. How does... Kovu sound?"

  The Wolf nodded, and laid down, watching the boy with eyes that could only be called loving. Even Loki felt safer with those eyes on him, and so he too allowed himself to rest as much as he could, even as he readied himself for the journey to come.