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"Dance in the wind!" Rinwell concentrated on gathering wind astral energy into sharp stinging gusts. She pointed toward Lord Ganabelt as he continued to prepare the devastating light astral arte that nearly wiped them out earlier. "Air Thrust!"
As the gusts cut through Ganabelt, Law and Alphen continued wailing on him. The lord grunted through each hit but his concentration would still not break. The ground began to rumble. Shionne fired her rifle in its wide beam mode. Rinwell ran up to Ganabelt to shoot a cannon of water astral energy from her hands.
Finally, Ganabelt staggered. Law and Alphen jumped into the air to strike Ganabelt down with a lightning-infused combined arte.
"Have you learned your lesson?!" Law shouted at the humbled lord kneeling on the ground. Rinwell turned to Law in surprise when she thought she heard him growl like an animal at the end of his question.
"No, not yet!" said Ganabelt as he stood up. He raised the light master core to the giant spirit vessel above him. A channel of light astral energy connected the core and spirit vessel. "For the sake of Lenegis and my fellow brethren on Dahna, I will not—"
Law dashed over to him, and everyone watched in surprise as their friend suddenly grew bigger and more muscular, big enough to rip open his Bureau outfit. When it tore, Law's skin was covered in brown fur like his hair. He growled and barked like a vicious dog as he tackled Ganabelt.
Rinwell turned around and held Hootle close. She heard Ganabelt's scream cut off by the sound of flesh tearing. Off to her side, she noticed Shionne turn her head away and gag, covering her mouth. Rinwell looked up and saw the light astral energy dispersing to the rest of Cyslodia.
When it was quiet again, she hesitantly turned around and tried to avoid the sight of Ganabelt's body with a pool of blood at his ravaged neck. There was something else to behold anyway: a creature that had the head, tail, and fur of a wolf but stood on two feet like a man. He stood in front of them hunched over like he was ready to attack, long arms at his sides, hands with long sharp nails poised to grapple. Rinwell felt Hootle quiver in her hood. The creature's fangs were bared and the fur around his mouth was stained dark red.
But he still had pink streaks in the fur on his head and a long tuft of hair secured with beads.
Alphen spoke first. "Law..."
Law's teal eyes widened and he relaxed his posture, though into a more ashamed one with his tail and ears tucked. "I'm sorry, guys..." He sounded like the Law they knew blended with a bassy, growling voice. He bent over to support himself on his hands and ran away running on all of his limbs, swifter than any human.
Business as usual, Shionne put her rifle away into empty space and walked over to pick up the master core. Rinwell exchanged glances with Alphen who took a deep breath and sighed. It was over: Cyslodia was free and daylight ruled the sky for the first time in centuries. They could now take a moment to grieve Zephyr.
But all Rinwell could think about right now was Law in that wolf form. In the daylight, he could be seen so clearly. In her short life so far, he was the most terrifying, yet the most beautiful creature she had ever seen.
"Protect the casters!" Rinwell shouted as yet another cast was interrupted. She blasted away with a burst of wind astral energy the small wolf zeugle that pounced on her.
She saw Law catch his breath after slaying a bird zeugle. "I'm gonna blame you Law if this fight goes south!"
"Okay, so I got kind of eager after our last fight! Sorry!" Law shouted back.
Alphen knocked down a group of zeugles with the Blazing Sword.
"Knock it off, we're low on orange gels!" shouted Shionne as she healed Alphen.
"And you don't have to keep me in top shape all the time!" Alphen snapped back.
"You heard the man, Dohalim," said Shionne.
While Rinwell was reluctant to be on Shionne's side, she couldn't help but add, "Maybe we should stop healing Law for getting us into this fight!"
"I said I was sorry!"
"Hm, perhaps we should!" said Shionne.
"Can't we get along and come together to defeat our foes?" asked Kisara as she swatted away a wolf with her mace.
Rinwell smiled at the exchange even in the heat of battle as she ran to an open spot. She held her hand in front of her while the other held her book as she concentrated on gathering the abundant wind astral energy in Mahag Saar. Before she could start her incantation, a growl from behind her caught her off guard. She was in the middle of turning around when a large wolf zeugle tackled her to the ground.
"Rinwell!" she heard Law's voice as she held her book to protect her face and neck. She heard a loud bark and suddenly the zeugle was tackled off of her. Kisara stood over her offering her hand.
As she got up she watched Law in his giant wolf form dangle the wolf zeugle by its snout and break off its jaw from its head. He then dashed to a nearby bird zeugle and leaped at it, pulling it out of the air and slamming it into the ground.
Rinwell didn't realize she was staring in awe until the light from Dohalim's healing arte flashed in her face. She opened her book again and fortified her stance.
--
The aftermath of the battle was bloodier than usual, with mangled zeugle corpses and limbs scattered about. Shionne and Dohalim healed everyone's wounds. Rinwell gasped and stepped back as Law still in his wolf form approached the group. Up close, Wolf Law was taller and broader than his father. His shirt was ripped at his sides and the front appeared tiny like a baby's bib on his broad chest.
"I'm gonna go hunt for food while I'm still transformed," he said with his human voice again blended with the low growling voice.
"Hey, Alphen, Kisara!" It sounded like Law was in his human form again, and Rinwell was surprised by her disappointment. "Come help me with this haul."
Kisara put her hands on her hips and shook her head. "Really, a whole buck? And how are we going to eat all of this?"
Law grinned. He was again a short and wiry teenage boy. "Well, transforming makes me suuuuper hungry, so with me and Shionne I think we could take this on!"
Alphen turned his head and laughed at Shionne who was eyeing the deer.
--
Sitting at the campfire, Law held his stomach and groaned.
Shionne nonchalantly ate another spoonful of her fifth share of the huge venison stew. "Guess I win."
"That appetite... is inhuman!" Law said before holding his stomach again and making a pained face.
"Says the wolf-boy," said Rinwell. Again she felt disappointed that the heroic wolf that saved her life was the same as stupid Law. Heroic... dashing... Rinwell pushed those thoughts away when she felt her face become warm.
"Truly a magnificent and fearsome beast to witness!" Dohalim also piped in. That's right, Dohalim and Kisara had never seen Wolf Law before. "Larger than man but somehow swifter. The battlefield his canvas with blood his paint. The beautiful chaos of how it's spilled on the ground."
"Aww shucks, Dohalim," said Law while holding his hand at the back of his head smiling. Don't feed that already big and dense of his, Rinwell thought.
"I've heard of the legends of wolf people among the Dahnans," Dohalim continued. "But the legends say that they transform when Rena's face is fully illuminated at night. You appear to have control over when you transform."
Law's face turned serious as he focused on the campfire. "For the most part. Yeah, our transformations don't depend on the phases of Rena. I have to transform and hunt every now and then to 'sate the Beast.' Otherwise, it takes over me and I black out for a whole night."
Dohalim hummed with his hand near his chin. "Ah, I see. Much like how men need to every now and then—"
"Dohalim!" Kisara interrupted.
Rinwell, confused, looked at everyone. Kisara and Shionne looked stern while Alphen and Law looked embarrassed, Law more so.
Dohalim coughed into his fist. "Ah. I shall save one of my questions for another time." Kisara crossed her arms.
"If I may ask, was Zephyr also...?" asked Alphen.
Law shook his head. "Naw. It comes from my mother's side. My dad knew, though."
"Are there a lot of you?" Rinwell asked.
"Dunno. I never knew any besides my mother." Law briefly looked like he wanted to say more but held back.
He stared in the distance toward the crescent Rena in the sky. Rinwell glanced at his profile from her place next to him, quickly before looking back at the campfire. She petted the very relaxed Hootle in her lap, trying to push the thought away that he also looked rather handsome from that angle.
Today was the first good day after the group had been stranded in Pelegion, for Rinwell, because she found the library while exploring Del Fharis castle. The room wasn't as large as the library in Autelina Palace but seemed to have almost as many bookshelves spaced tightly together. As she scanned the titles on the shelves, she found there were tons of new books to read. Hootle amused himself by flying through each of the aisles. Rinwell gasped upon finding the second volume of Myths and Legends, the first volume she had read as a child from her parent's collection. She immediately took the book and sat at a table nearby to flip through it.
She stopped flipping when she found a drawing of a wolf person. The artist portrayed the creature as having a more human face but also with a more crazed and terrifying expression. Not at all majestic like Wolf Law—
Uh! Rinwell briefly felt embarrassed but it went away when she read the accompanying text. Her eyes widened at reading one sentence, then her eyebrows turned downward reading the sentences after.
"Oh, there you are!" Law said from behind her. Rinwell yelped and quickly gathered light astral energy into a ball as she turned around. Law yelped as well and held his hands in front of him. "I-it's just me, Rinwell!"
"Don't... sneak up on me like that!" she said as she let the ball go and the astral energy dispersed.
Law scratched his shoulder not meeting her eyes. "Sorry... um, dinner's going to be ready soon."
"We eating here or at the inn?"
"Should be here." He looked around. "Found your favorite new room?"
"Y-yeah," she said as she closed the book, unsure of whether Law saw the picture of the wolf person.
She waited for him at a bench nearby the gates to the Lavtu Marshlands, reading a different book from earlier under the light of a lantern. Hootle hovered nearby and suddenly his mood became more fearful, letting out an anxious hoot. Rinwell looked up from her book and saw Wolf Law at the gates.
"Rinwell. What are you doing here?" It sounded like he was trying to speak softly but because of his voice, it still sounded somewhat frightening. Hootle hid in Rinwell's hood.
He walked up to her. She looked up at him and her mouth opened speechless to his silhouette against the fully illuminated face of Rena. A tall brawny form, a large head with pointy triangle ears on top. When he was close enough to the lantern, she gazed at his chest; he was shirtless, likely so he wouldn't be ripping his shirt every time he transformed. His brown fur was thinner there so she could see the outlines of his muscles.
Rinwell felt her face get warm and panicked upon realizing she might have been staring too long at Law's body. She looked up at his face, but he was so tall her neck felt uncomfortable. She caught a glimpse of his teal eyes with a gentle expression look away, and Law took a step back.
"N-no, it's okay!" she said. He stepped forward again but this time got down on one knee in front of her. "Don't be weird, Law!" She scooted to the edge of the bench and gestured to the open spot. He licked his lips and she noticed his ears and tail were tucked.
Fortunately, they both could fit on the bench, but barely. Rinwell realized she would have to talk to Law's beefy arm and shoulder. He then put his arm behind her on the bench. Didn't she just tell Law not to be weird?! She brought her hand to her face upon smelling his fur wet with water and blood. Hootle flew out of her hood and hovered nearby.
"So?" he broke the awkward silence.
She picked up the Myths and Legends book and hugged it to her chest. "I... found this book at the library that talked about the origins of the wolf people."
He nodded slowly to her. She could feel her heart pounding now, from what she was about to tell him, and just from his presence in his wolf form. Why, why did she feel this away when he was like this?
"You... did you know..." Rinwell clutched the book tighter. "That Dahnan mages were the ones that cursed your people long ago before the Renan invasion?"
Law hesitated to answer. She looked at his lap and saw he was squeezing his knee. "Yeah. I did," he finally said.
"I'm so, so sorry, Law." She turned to look up at his face.
"Why...? It's not your fault."
She got up to stand and face him. "I know! But, my whole life I felt like my people were victims, shunned and feared for being able to manipulate astral energy. And then when I read what the mages did to their enemies—"
"Because they were fighting. Your ancestors and mine." He leaned forward putting his elbows on his legs, finally being at eye level with her.
Gosh, she hated it when he said smart things out of the blue. But that wasn't the point of this conversation. "I... I want to make things right, though!" She shook her fists once in front of her. "Find a way to get rid of your curse."
Law raised his brows. "You... think I don't like being this way or something?"
Now it was Rinwell's turn to be surprised. She opened her mouth but no words came out for a second. "I... you do?"
Law shrugged and scratched his neck. Rinwell briefly pictured human Law in front of her. "I've been like this my whole life, and it's never really bothered me. And it's saved our butts a lot of times. All I really worry about is whether it scares you guys..."
His ears were tucked back and he was bent over so low he was looking at her slightly above him. She held her hands together in front of her. "No, I don't think so. I think Alphen and Dohalim think it's cool, dunno about Shionne and Kisara. As for me, it used to scare me, but, I see that it's still you in there after all." She looked off to her side then back at him, raising her hand. "May I...?"
Law slowly closed his eyes, and Rinwell hesitantly brought her hand close to his head. Then she rested her hand on top. His quick exhale burst through the air and silence.
"You have a really beautiful coat," she said.
He chuckled, and Rinwell noticed it sounded more human than beast. "Thanks." Then with his long arms, he reached up and patted her on the head back.
She huffed. "What did I say about not being weird!"
"What the—"
"Woah!"
"What the hell is that?! Is the enemy back for more?!"
Everyone stood ready watching the giant curtains of primarily green lights in the night sky over Cyslodia.
"Whatever it is, it's freaking huge!" Law growled in his wolf form.
"You guys, calm down! It's okay!" said Rinwell. "It's probably—no, it's definitely the Phantom Flower of Nevira."
They relaxed as they watched the lights shimmer through different colors and dance in the sky, while Rinwell told them about what she learned from her reading. Rinwell turned to Alphen and Shionne and noticed that Dohalim and Kisara had snuck away behind her.
"Sure, but it's so big we could've seen it from town just fine, couldn't we?" Alphen asked.
"Well, sure. But, still," Rinwell replied. Shionne then broke off from the group.
Law crossed his arms. In his wolf form, his elbow nearly grazed Rinwell's shoulder. By this point in their journey, no one batted an eye at Law in whatever form he was in. "Hey, who cares where we saw it? I'm just glad we got to see it at all." He admired the sky again. "It's such a gorgeous night sky here. You should really bring Shionne out to watch it."
"Right," said Alphen, then quickly, "Right! I'll, uh, do that." He then hurried away, presumably to catch up to Shionne. And then there were two.
Rinwell intertwined her hands together in front of her chest. "It took a lot to get here, but I can't help but feel like a dream of mine came true." She turned to smile at him. "Thanks, Law."
"I didn't do all that much really," he said as he scratched the back of his head. Perhaps no one batted an eye anymore because he felt more comfortable being himself in his wolf form around them.
"Well, I still really appreciate it. It made me really, really happy." She looked off to the side. "Oh! It looks like you can see it even better over there. I'm gonna check it out!"
When she stood atop the small hill, she shivered and hugged herself. That was when his arms—his furry and warm and muscular arms—wrapped around her from behind.
"I... um... Law..." At least her face was warming up now, nearly stinging against the cold air. She was just glad he couldn't see it.
"Aren't you cold?"
"Of course not! You're talking to a native Cyslodian here!"
"But, I saw you shiver. And we've been out here a while."
His arms loosened but she grabbed onto his bicep hugging it back to her. Her arm could barely wrap around his. He rested his chin lightly on top of her head. She looked up and watched his breath condense before leaning into his arm. Such soft fur... so warm... so cozy... the beautiful natural light show in the sky, in the arms of a scary-looking yet handsome and gentle wolf boy. She stayed stubbornly silent, though.
"So regale us again, Alphen," Dohalim said stirring his wine with a hint of a smirk on his face, "with how you thrust the Sword of Dahna into Shionne. And... where was it again? The details are hazy for me."
Rinwell didn't know what Dohalim was really referring to, but by now she knew he was making a double-meaning joke. Kisara would also interrupt him, particularly if it was something perverted, but she was happily relaxed and leaning back into her chair.
Alphen let out a noise of refreshment as he set his beer mug down. "You mean on Rena? Well, my Blazing Sword became the Sword of Dahna I stuck it into her chest—mmph!"
Shionne had shoved her hand to cover Alphen's mouth. "Please. Stop talking." Her face, which was already flushed from being drunk, somehow became redder.
They all sat around a table on a balcony of Autelina Palace, celebrating their victory under the night sky lit up by streams of astral energy, remnants of the merger of the twin worlds. Everyone except Law and Rinwell were drunk and rowdy and... irritatingly affectionate, Rinwell observed with a glare. Kisara leaned on Dohalim's shoulder with her eyes closed, and Alphen wrapped his arm around Shionne while he poured more wine for Dohalim without asking.
Rinwell quickly stood up. "I think I need to walk this meal off." Hootle flew into her hood.
Law also shot up. "Oh, let me go with you!" The merry chatter of their drunk friends faded when they closed the door to the balcony.
They walked through the market in Viscint, still bustling in the evening. Rinwell always loved seeing the various decorative lanterns lit up. Her mood lit up further when they came across an ice cream stand.
When she purchased her favorite, a trifecta of strawberry, chocolate, and vanilla ice cream, Law came back to her side with meat skewered on a stick.
"Really," she said flatly.
"Y-yeah, really! Like you should talk anyway!"
They both hmphed but still walked together, closer than before. Hootle flew out of Rinwell's hood when he saw a couple of owls perched in a tree. When their hands brushed during their walk, Law gulped and Rinwell looked away. But then she felt his fingers touch her palm. She opened her hand and his fingers intertwined with hers.
She looked at his shoulder which seemed higher than before. "Hey... did you grow taller?" Rinwell asked.
He threw away his skewer and then looked down at her. "Oh, guess I did!" he said with a smile and raised his hand to the back of his head. From this angle, she almost thought she saw his teeth fanged and briefly saw him in his wolf form. She could finally see him as both wolf and boy—no, a man, and like them both, but also no, because she just liked Law.