Fuck. Soren hadn't wanted to see Pepper blink back tears. He hadn't wanted to hear that catch in her throat. He hadn't, of course, wanted to hurt her - more - at all. But it had done the trick; Pepper left. Leaving Soren with an even heavier feeling of guilt and disgust with himself. But she was gone. Now he'd just pray she got out safely. She'd at least have a better chance of it on her own... right?
Once she'd disappeared, Soren collapsed against the dewy grass, cursing as a stone butterfly jammed into his back. Now there was nothing to do... but wait. The rest of the day passed painfully slow, with nothing to focus on but his regrets and the pain in his leg. His life was such a mess. He was such a fucking mess. Bringing down anyone who touched him. What a schmuck.
It was nearly nightfall before - finally - his wish to turn into a wolf was granted. He was lucky, he knew; it could have taken days or even a week. Now that he had three good legs, Soren was able to slowly pull himself up to his paws and limp out of the beautiful, but deadly, garden. Dusk gave the maze an even spookier air, but by some miracle he found his way out. By then, the first evening stars were shining above in the sky and all that was left of the day was a purple glow on the horizon. All the better for Soren, who could slip through the city unnoticed as a wolf much easier under the shroud of night. Carefully, he slunk out of the university. But how could he really go? Without knowing what happened to Pepper? He knew he should get out of the city - and as soon as possible - but he just needed to see that she'd made it out. He'd just stay one more day. Hide in the bushes or something. Nevermind that wanting to see her was what had gotten them in all this trouble in the first place. So, changing his mind, the wolf turned in the street to head back to the university. It was a mistake.
In the forest, being injured was dangerous; it left one vulnerable to all sorts of terrifying predators. But in the city, there was an entirely different sort of predator. Soren had just made it back to the entrance to the university when he was spotted by a group of street urchins, mostly boys aged maybe 8 to 12. They spotted him and, at the same time, spotted a game. The first stone hit him hard on the head. He hadn't seen it coming. The next in the ribs. The wolf sputtered, stopped, tried to scurry away, but even if he moved better on his paws than on his feet, he still wasn't fast. It wasn't long before the children had him cornered in a little nook in the university wall. The wolf snarled and snapped, but he couldn't bite them - they were children! And, anyway, none of them got close enough. In addition to the stones, a few of the braver, older boys, would work in a team to distract him on one end while they other boy tied a stick or a bottle ot his tail by some string. It was all deeply humiliating, not to mention painful, like one big insult on top of the injury he'd already sustained. The wolf cowered in the corner, growling, but with his tail and ears down. He was just starting to wonder if the children were going to stone him to death when someone came, and the children scattered...
The next morning, outside of class, Arianne was holding court. A group of five or six clustered around her. "...yeah, it was terrible," she was saying to her rapt audience, "what those children were doing. It's like, they were the animals, you know?"
Everyone nodded. Oh, they knew.
"I couldn't believe it. I think they even broke its leg! This ruthless bunch of urchins, probably old friends of Pepper's," she added loudly when she saw Pepper arrive for class. The audience all looked and glared at Pepper as though she had been right there with the other urchins, the villains of Arianne's story. Well, they were her people. "And this wolf, oh my goddess, you can just tell it must be a familiar or something. You can see it in its eyes. So intelligent, so wise."
One of the girl's mouthed a 'wow.'
"I'm just so glad I was there to chase off those awful children. Who knows what they would have done to this beautiful creature." That was, of course, not entirely true. It was the university grounds keeper who'd chased off the urchins. But Arianne, returning from an opulent dinner with her father, had been there when it happened. And she was the one who whisked the wolf away! The grounds keeper was just going to let it go, even though it was clearly injured. It was Arianne who took the wolf back to her room, gave it food and water, and it was Arianne who was going to heal it! It was a great way to feel good about herself - she was, obviously, a selfless hero - but also to have a familiar! Not many mages had them, and it was very impressive. A great accessory.
"Wow, Arianne, you're so brave," one of the boys praised her.
"No no," she said with fake modesty, "it's what any civilized person would have done." Here again, she shot a meaningful look at Pepper, which was mirrored by her friends. "And the wolf, oh my goddess, it's so gentle. Like a lamb. I just, I feel a real connection with it. You know? Like I was meant to find it there."
