The Beasts of Rainfall

Chapter 5- The Man

Some said that the Beasts had evolved from wolves in some sort of twisted experiment done by the Rians, the fearsome and numerous people who had terrorized the people of Rainfall for so long in a bloody, drawn out war.

Others thought that the Beasts had been sent from the depths of Hell to punish Rainfall for stealing what was known to all as the Rain Orb, the mystical, clouded glass ball the Queen had acquired all those years ago which had saved the people of Rainfall from the sun’s relentless heat and.

Everyone had their own idea of where the Beasts came from, but Clio herself had always believed when she was little that they were stars, stars that had fallen out of the sky when the rain came back after the Queen recovered the Rain Orb. She had told her mother that they were always killing people because they were angry that the rain had chased them out of the sky, and blamed the Queen. Because of course, why live on such a place as the ground when one could live in the sky? Her mother had smiled and said “Maybe.”

The Beast in front of Clio was seven feet tall, especially large for a Beast, and completely covered in layers of thick, shaggy black fur. He was lean and muscular, his legs long and his large paws well balanced. One of his legs was firmly clamped in the metal trap she had placed, steel biting into fur and flesh, muscle and bone. One large paw was resting on the faded doll, almost protectively. His muzzle was long, his fangs ended in fine tips, and his ears were large and pointed. A shaggy mane of fur surrounded his neck, and his clear blue eyes stared into Clio’s with surprise and pain, a pain deeper than the jagged wound the trap was cutting into his leg.

Clio pulled out her bow in one swift motion and nocked an arrow. Her hands were steady, but her legs were shaking, she was sure. She knew she had to shoot. One well aimed shot. But she couldn’t. Not because she didn’t have it in her. Because he was glowing.

The last notes of her song were still lingering in the air, but not in a natural way. They echoed around the hillside where they stood, seeming to encircle them as the Beast slowly lit up with a golden glow, which swirled through the air like the summer breeze, and came to settle around the Beast’s shoulders like a cloak, completely engulfing him in the bright mist until Clio couldn’t see him, only the halo of light, so much light...

And then, the mist cleared, flying away from him in all directions, and evaporating into nothingness.

Clio blinked repeatedly, as if to clear her head of the memory, and let out a quick, sharp gasp.

Where the beast had been mere seconds ago, there was a man.

His clothes were simple, made from a rough, brown material, but he wore a long, dark coat that reached his feet, and comfortable leather boots and gloves. His hair was a wild mess of spiky black locks, reaching well past his shoulders.

And he was tall, and worn. He looked young, maybe twenty or so, but worn fit him. He was covered in scars and bruises, some new, others old, and his eyes, his sky blue eyes, they were filled with light and pain and shock and they looked so worn... these were eyes that had seen more than twenty years.

And as Clio slowly lowered her bow, awe and shocked understanding in her eyes, she watched as those crystal blue eyes filled with tears that had been held back for years and years.

Clio slung her bow over her shoulder and walked towards him grimly, purposefully.

He turned his head to look up at her slowly and grinned. It was a tired, pained grin, but a grin none the less.

Clio kicked him over onto his side and pointed a knife at him, planting her boot on his shoulder. He let out a surprised grunt and the smile faded from his face. “Ok, explain. Quickly.”

“Ok, ok! I... I am sorry... I haven’t been like this for some thirty years.” His voice came out rough from years of silence, and still seemed to carry a hint of a growl with it. It also had a slight accent, one she couldn’t quite place. “I just... I can’t believe it. Look, I’m not going to attack you, and if you didn’t notice, the sharp metal thing is kind of preventing me from doing any fancy fighting.”

Clio narrowed her eyes, but reluctantly backed up as he sat unsteadily. He took a shaky breath and bit his lip, a single tear trailing down the side of his face. “You said you hadn’t been like this for thirty years, yet you couldn’t be more than twenty...” Clio said, watching him with fascination as he hastily brushed the tears from his face.

He nodded, and after another unsteady sigh, said “Look lady, I have no more reason to trust you than you do to trust me, but I don’t have a choice. You're the one with the weapons, and I’m the one stuck to a metal... trap thing. How about you unclamp this thing and get me some medical equipment, and I will tell you a story. It’s a long story, but one worth hearing.”

Clio nodded slowly and tilted her head slightly as she regarded him. “Deal.”