Special Delivery [Moonie]

[Alegretto]

Viatrus almost gasped and dropped the shirt and his needle. He was surprised that Toby was talking about his condition so openly. He managed to contain his surprise, though. Actually he was happy that the man was willing to be so open with him. It made him feel for sure that he was someone Tobias trusted and saw as a friend.

The halfling put the first stitch into one of the tears in his friend's shirt. He started threading back and forth between the two sides of the hole, pulling them together. He lost track of time and before he knew it he was more than halfway done fixing the garment.

He realized that some time had gone by without either of them saying anything. He had brought Toby up here to take his mind of his condition before they left, and now the last thing that had been said had been about it.

Viatrus considered what to say. He was struck with a thought. The other man had volunteered information about his past, it was up to the halfling to repay the favor. Considering it was immediately applicable to what he was doing now, he decided to tell Toby about how he had learned to sew.

"You know," he started, "sewing is something my ma taught me. She told me that was a 'valuable life skill' that I'd use all the time. Course I didn't believe her and I hated every moment she was teaching me. And of course she was right. I did some sewing to make money while I was on the streets, and I haven't paid a tailor in years." He laughed. "Just goes to show, mom's always know best."

[Zero]

The word werewolf had been hanging between them ever since Viatrus had figured out what was going on. Tobias tended to beat around the bush when it came to talking about his curse, condition, or whatever you wanted to call it. Mable had tried to call it a gift once, but he'd gotten upset with her and she had never referred to it as such again - at least not when he was around to hear it. She'd been really good to him those three years, and he missed her. There was still a lot he realized that he just didn't know.

Now that the two of them were alone together, it seemed a little silly to ignore the elephant in the room, as the saying went. Viatrus knew Tobias' secret, and the halfling still wanted to be his friend, as far as the "big guy" was concerned, that was more than enough reason to put a little faith and trust in his new friend.

Tobias settled rather uncomfortably into the hard, narrow chair while he watched Viatrus work. The other man was pretty good with a needle. He smiled at the story, and for a brief moment his mind wandered back to his own parents, and his expression faltered, turning into one of grief, regret, and uncertainty. "Yeah, I guess mom's do. My mom didn't teach me to sew, I was always hunting or fishing, you can't hardly beat that for a life. My dad had his own boat, we were kind of poor, but we didn't go hungry, and I was happy, helping my dad support the three of us. Seems like another world and another life now."

[Alegretto]

The halfling nodded as he worked. "I know what you mean. Three years feels like such a long time. Each day seems to drag by into the next." He paused and looked up at Tobias. "It's funny though, yesterday and this morning went by in a flash. Guess it's because there's been so much action." He chuckled as he set back to work again.

"Almost done." Viatrus said sometime later as he pulled the needle through the shirt one last time. "There." He pulled the thread from the needle and tied a knot. "Good as new!" He held up the shirt. The mending job was actually pretty mediocre, but the seams were solid and the halfling had worked quicker than your average tailor. He handed the shirt back to his friend. "Now we're ready to go."

Viatrus hummed as he collected his things, feeling that he had cleared the dark atmosphere between them.

[Zero]

"Time flies when you're having fun? My father used to say that a lot. He was great." Tobias had idolized his father, he had never known a more honest, hard-working man in his life. Even as a child he'd wanted to grow up to be just like his father, not some knight or great warrior like a lot of young boys might have dreamed, he just wanted to be a good, honest person and to raise his family and be happy. Happiness was a lot better than glory, anyway.

Taking the shirt, he didn't really even bother to look over the stitching job. What was a patchwork shirt to someone like him? As long as he could wear it, how it looked hardly mattered. Pulling it back over his head, Tobias actually tucked his shirt in before slipping on his vest and fastening it up. You couldn't even tell how badly the shirt was damaged with the soft-boiled leather jerkin covering it all up.

Once everything was gathered up, he stood and stretched a little. "Alright, let's get this letter delivered. Don't want to keep your employers waiting. Plus I kind of want to get out of here before Sorela sees me again. I don't want to make this harder than it already is." He made a little face, but then laughed it off. It was just part of who he was now, sneaking away from women that he couldn't possibly keep. "Hopefully if I ever come back through here she won't have decided she wants a wolf-pelt rug."

[Alegretto]

Viatrus nodded. "Alright then let's go" the pair left the inn in a much better state then when they'd arrived. It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, Viatrus just hoped that it stayed like that. He didn't think they'd seen the last of those trying to stop the delivery.

The halfling pointed down one of the roads leading out of town that ran through the forest. "We're going this way. I'm supposed to leave the letter at some nobles place about ten hours good walkin' up that road. Speakin' of nobles, did I ever tell you about the one time..." And he was off.

A few hours later, five men rode into the small town asking about a halfling friend of theirs. They were quickly directed down the road that Viatrus and Tobias were were on. As they set off each of them checked the weapons they had attached to their person. They'd seen the condition of the last four men who'd been after this halfling. None of them wanted to end up like that.

[Zero]

It was a gorgeous day, and the walk was pleasant, if slower than Tobias might have gone on his own. Indeed, the idea that the walk would take ten hours amused him, but for the halfling, he supposed that might be right. Well, there was no harm in slowing down every now and then to just enjoy the sun shining down warmly on his skin. With each breath he savored the rich scents of the forest around them, the taints of civilization fading as the hours stretched on and on.

Of course the sounds of birds, rodents, and insects were overshadowed by the sound of Viatrus' voice as his young friend went on and on without end. It amused him, but it really did seem as if the short man could talk forever, eventually repeating himself several times, but Tobias didn't mind, in fact, his expression was on of bemusement as he was being told once again about "this one time" that was just the same as "this one time" he'd heard an hour ago.

There was something beginning to nag at his subconscious though. They had killed four men yesterday. Four men that had wanted to kill Viatrus. Whatever this letter contained that they were delivering, it was important and somebody didn't want it to reach its destination. Why? What was worth killing a courier over? The fact that things had gone so smoothly so far into this day also bothered him. If it was so important, they weren't likely to just give up.

"Hey Viatrus, what do you say we stop for a rest?" He wasn't tired, something was bothering him. Brown-gold eyes looked first up the road, then back the way they'd come. "Actually, I...I think you should hide." A soft breeze swirled around him and his eyes dilated as he breathed in the faint scent of danger. "Maybe we both should..."

He'd turned the night before, the wolf had come out, wildly and against his will. The danger had driven him to do it. Was that going to happen again? What if he changed now? There might not be time later, and the wolf was far more dangerous than he was as a man. Wouldn't it be easier to protect Viatrus with fangs and claws at the ready? He chewed on his lower lip indecisively, stomach twisting. Tobias didn't want to rip apart people with his teeth, to feel the hot draw of blood, the hunger for flesh. It wasn't natural.

Actually it was the most natural thing in the world to the wolf, to the wolf it was the man that was unnatural.

"What should I do?" The words were almost a whispered prayer.

[Alegretto]

Viatrus smiled at the idea of taking a break. Actually, the halfling was walking faster than he normally would in consideration of Toby, though the bigger man still had to slow down for him. He was tiring faster than usual as a result and rest sounded nice about now. He was looking forward to the relaxation when Tobias said his next few words. He looked up at his friend, saw hid narrowed eyes. It almost looked like the man was snarling at something coming from the way they had come.

Whatever it was, Tobias clearly didn't like it and Viatrus was pretty sure he could trust the wold-man's senses and instincts. Not to mention people were out to kill him...

He tugged on the bottom of Toby's shirt. "We can get off the road a ways and then keep going. It's a good idea to hide but I don't think we should slow down." The halfling unlimbered his crossbow and readied the mechanism. He put a bolt into place and then quickly led the way into the trees. They went a considerable distance from the road before turning and progressing on a parallel path towards their destination.

[Zero]

The tugging at his shirt snapped Tobias out of his internal struggled, and shaking himself lightly, the large man followed his friend into the trees. Maybe if they moved quickly and quietly they could avoid further confrontation. He fervently hoped so. Changing into the wolf in broad daylight didn't sit well with him. It wasn't something he'd ever done before, come to think of it. His stomach was still twisting in anxious knots as he followed Viatrus, though.

Every breeze brought him the scent of danger and wrongness that would inevitably whip the wolf within his mind into a frenzy. There was another scent, natural but alarming. If they were spotted Viatrus would never outrun horses. Breathing raggedly he pulled his bow from his back and notched an arrow. "They're mounted." He whispered, then pausing to breath in deeply and slow he growled softly. "Five of them, I think, no, I'm almost sure..."

[Alegretto]

Viatrus looked around frantically. The forest wasn't too dense here so the riders would have no trouble bringing their horses through here. It wouldn't be tough to track the pair either in this underbrush. Maybe it was time to make a stand. He stopped walking and looked around. There was a tree nearby that went up pretty high. But the branches were up taller than he could get.

Except he had Toby now. He turned to the taller man. "We'll never get away from them if they're mounted. We need to take a stand. Here's a good a place as any. Give me a boost into this tree would ya?"

[Zero]

There was no question that this was going to come down to a fight at this point. Two people on foot wouldn't be able to outpace five men on horseback. Tobias' stomach was twisting in knots, he was worried he might loss his small breakfast. He looked up the tree, wondering how well Viatrus would be able to climb it once he'd boosted him up. Grunting softly he hoisted the halfling up and shoved him up towards the lowest branch.

"Climb as high as you can." He growled. The horses would give them good warning of when the pursuers got close. The animals wouldn't like the scent of him. Not at all. "Viatrus, should I change? The wolf can kill them. I don't know if I can."

[Alegretto]

Viatrus climbed a little higher and than looked down at Toby. "Don't change if you don't want to Toby. My pa always used to say that you should never let circumstances decide what you have to do." Viatrus looked at a nearby tree. "You know what, do the same as me and get up higher with your bow, Five guys? No problem between the two of us shooting."

[Zero]

Tobias chewed on his lower lip for a moment, looking back the way he knew the people that wanted to kill Viatrus were coming. Growling he put his bow back across his back and took a step back before leaping into the tree a good ten feet. In just a few seconds he had scaled nearly to the top, practically bounding up the branches in a blur of motion.

If he was going to do this, then so be it. Finding himself a good point to crouch atop his very, very high perch, he pulled his longbow back out and notched an arrow. Burning eyes were more golden than brown.

The wolf would have chased them down, ripped and torn, bitten and savaged. 

There were five dark spots moving along the road, far from where they hid among the trees. They'd chase them into the forest soon, leave the open road where the shots were easy.

The horses would have screamed and fled from his presence.

They had stopped, they seemed to be talking - or perhaps arguing. Had they found where Viatrus and he had left the road? He was going to lose the opportunity for his opening.

The wolf would have savored the taste of blood and flesh.

It was an impossible shot, human eyes would have only been able to see small specks in the far distance. Tobias could see them. There was a soft breeze. They were too far. The soft grey fletching kissed his cheek as he drew the arrow as far as he could without breaking the flexing wood.

"I. Am. Not. An. Animal." He snarled, banishing the thoughts of death and the taste of blood. The arrow flew through the air, whistling as it arched high over the trees. Tobias could only hold his breath as he stared at the small group, their arguing leaving them vulnerable, and they not even realizing death was coming. Moment later chaos exploded among them as one of the figures fell from the saddle, landing motionlessly on the ground. Horses screamed as the figures scrambled into the trees, trying to get away from a shooter they couldn't even see from so far.

Scrambling back down the tree, much less gracefully than he'd ascended, Tobias dropped to a branch only a few feet above Viatrus. "They're not really close yet, but they'll be coming now. I think I got one."

[Alegretto]

Viatrus watched Toby with interest as he ascended the tree. Man he could climb! Viatrus focused on his own travel up the tree for a while, and then heard a bow go off. He looked up and saw Toby firing off into the distance.

The wolf-man leaped down with the same shocking speed and started speaking to Viatrus. He nodded his head. Toby was an incredible shot. He spoke back to his friend. "Nice job Toby, now let's get back up higher so we're ready for them." So saying, Viatrus began climbing again. He got forty feet up and found a suitable branch to sit on. He perched, and armed his crossbow. He loaded a bolt and settled in to wait.

[Zero]

Tobias gave a sheepish grin as he realized what he'd just done and that Viatrus had seen a bit of his wolf showing through. He'd have never been able to make a shot like that without the keen vision the wolf had given to him. Considering the only reason they were both still alive right then was because of the wolf maybe he should have been a little more grateful for the strengths the curse had given him. Still he thought he'd rather just be a man again.

"Right, be careful." He mumbled softly as he darted back up the tree, perching a little higher than where Viatrus eventually settled. Following the halfling's example he had his bow ready and an arrow notched, though he kept it barely nestled against the string while he waited for a target to approach. Partially golden eyes were watching like a hawk for any sign of movements, his ears were straining to detect any hint of the approach of their enemies. It was his nose that gave the earliest warning as the scent of danger grew stronger.

"They're getting close, be ready." His voice came out a gruff, gravelly growl.

[Alegretto]

Viatrus sat in the tree. He could feel nervous sweat trickling down the back of his neck. Tension hung thick in the air. He heard Tobias' warning, and set the stock of his weapon on his shoulder. He heard it now, the sound of a horse neighing.

Two mounted men cantered into sight. From what he could see they were wearing leather armor and outfitted with swords and crossbows of their own. Viatrus squeezed of his shot. His bolt hit the horseman on the right in his arm. He fell off the horse. Viatrus frowned. He'd been aiming for a kill shot, but at least the man wouldn't be able to load or fire his weapon.

He began arming the mechanism of his weapon. Time for the next shot.

[Zero]

The wind was still blowing gently towards them as Tobias crouched in the tree, every muscle in him tense as he drew the arrow to his cheek and waited for the mounted me to come in for a clear shot. He didn't have to wait long, the first horseman was knocked off his mount by the halfling's bolt, and as he tried to struggle to his feet Tobias' arrow took him in the throat.

Growling softly he had another arrow notched and drawn in seconds, Tobias didn't have a chance to fire a second shot as a bolt shot by his face, barely missing his nose as it splintered and exploded the bark beside his head. Instincts had him recoiling, and he lost his balance causing him to crash down several branches before frantically catching himself, clinging to a larger branch and dangling from it as he scrambled trying to regain a footing.

"On the right, Viatrus." He warned, before finally catching a branch beneath his feet that was strong enough to hold his weight. Settling himself again he drew another arrow, the last one had been dropped somewhere.

[Alegretto]

Viatrus finished loading another bolt. He heard the crashing of Tobias falling and he turned to look with concern in his eyes. He saw that the wolf-man had arrested his decent and he breathed a sigh of relief. His friend shouted a warning and Viatrus looked in the direction the other man had indicated. The other two horseman were there. One was reloading his weapon and the other was aiming at Toby.

It was difficult to hit a moving target and the man was standing perfectly still, taking aim. It made him and easy target. The halflings bolt took him right in the chest. Leather armor was no match for the crossbow mechanism and his bolt killed the man almost instantly.

That shot allowed the second of the first two crossbowman to lock on to the halfling's location, and a bolt wizzed by him and hit the tree inches away from the halfling.. That man, his shot made, jumped into cover before reloading, and Viatrus tried to do the same. He climbed higher.

[Zero]

There were only two men left, and both had dodged for cover. Tobias took the opportunity to climb back up from where he'd fallen, then he noticed Viatrus going higher and he looked down, trying to spot his prey. Being attacked from two sides was going to be a very bad day. At least they weren't great shots with those crossbows of theirs. If they were, they'd have both been dead by now. Well, Viatrus at least would be, he wasn't sure what it would take to kill him but he wasn't eager to find out.

He moved up the tree, trying to keep himself between the halfling and at least one of the crossbowmen. It would be nice if neither of them were shot, but if one of them was going to take a bolt, then it was better him than his young companion. For him the worst part would be the pain, the wound wouldn't stay open, and there would be no chance for infection. Yes, better him than Viatrus.

Turning he knew he only had seconds before a bolt would be coming from one direction - or both. He pulled his arrow to his cheek and was ready to fire the moment the shooter opened himself up to it. Curse his timing, the man came around a large tree crossbow already raised and he fired. Tobias moved faster, though, and in an instant the bolt had sunk into the tree where the werewolf had been only moments before.

The man gave a startled shout, not even seeing where Tobias had gone, and a moment later he dropped with an arrow in his chest.

[Alegretto]

Viatrus climbed a bit higher, found branch he liked, and set up. He sat with his back against the trunk of the tree and rearmed his weapon. He then flipped around and looked down for the nearest enemy. He saw one of the crossbowmen going down, stricken, and he saw the other aiming for his friend.

He launched a bolt at the remaining enemy, but the shot flew over his head. Viatrus cursed. The branches and leaves that made them a hard target for those below made it equally hard for them to shoot at targets on the ground.

The crossbowman's aim was disturbed, but he quickly reoriented himself and launched a shot at the larger, closer target. "Toby!" the halfling shouted, even as the bolt left the crossbow. "Behind you!"

[Zero]

Tobias was beginning to struggle to keep a count of the attackers still alive. Was there only one left, or two? Confusion clouded his face as he froze where he was and tilted his head, getting distracted with trying to count how many bodies he'd seen fall. Considering they were still being hunted that was a very poor idea, and about to become a painful mistake. Tobias' ears would have twitched if he was a wolf as Viatrus called out a warning.

The werewolf turned, golden eyes blazing, just in time to realize what was happening. His body jerked and dropped from the tree, body colliding painfully with branches - breaking several - as he dropped limply from the tree, hitting the ground with a sickening crunch. He'd been high enough in the tree, no human would have survived a fall like that.

Tobias didn't stir from where he fell, laying limply on the ground, bow broken and caught still in the tree. In fact, aside from the crashing sounds of his fall, he hadn't made a single sound, and didn't so much as groan in pain now. His body was curled up slightly, mostly on his side and face-down, silent and motionless exactly the way he'd landed. If there was blood, it would have soaked into the ground rather than pool, so from any distance it was impossible to say how badly he might be injured.

The crossbowman that shot him had very little doubt that the big nuisance was dead - nobody survived something like that.