The Battle of Shrewsbury [Werewolf AU]

[tiltingwithlips]

The day of the battle dawns cloudy and cold. The men on both sides form up as the sun rises behind the clouds, facing each other across a field of gray snow in orderly ranks.

When battle is joined, most semblance of that order disintegrates. The leaders of each army range here and there about the field, directing their troops, and soon the snow is churned and brown with mud and blood.

Most of the soldiers are too busy fighting for their lives to notice the gray wolf creeping around the edges of the battlefield, crouched low to the ground, her hackles raised and lips pulled back in a snarl. Kate has never seen a battle. It's not exactly what she was expecting.

Comments

[tiltingwithlips]

Kate blinks at him.

And then, almost tearfully, starts laughing herself, and squeezes his hand.

[valiantrebel]

"I'll stay," he croaks, and lifts his eyes to the sky. "How long?"

[tiltingwithlips]

"Do, villain," she says, sniffing, "or I shall have to chase thee even further."

She looks up at the sky. "A few hours more."

[valiantrebel]

"Mm."

He takes her in again, and squeezes her fingers. "Cold," he says, almost reprovingly.

[tiltingwithlips]

"Thou, my lord, or I?"

Shrugging beneath the cloak, she squeezes his hand in return. "I could not speak to thee as I was."

[valiantrebel]

He tugs a little on each of her fingers: his own hands are cold, to be sure, but she, at least, may do something about that.

"Orders." He smiles wanly. "Now I'll sleep."

[tiltingwithlips]

"--Nay, love," she starts, then stops and cups his cheek in her hand.

"But thou wilt wake again."

[valiantrebel]

He doesn't take his eyes off hers. "By my life."

[tiltingwithlips]

She swallows, nods, and leans down to kiss him again.

"Then sleep. I'll keep thee warm."

[valiantrebel]

He thinks, perhaps, to watch her if he can, but no: not a minute after, he's slipped back under.

Harry hates waiting. Better, at least, to escape it where he can.

[tiltingwithlips]

Even though she can smell him and hear his heart beating, she watches until she sees his breast rise and fall.

He won't slip off. He couldn't.

Pulling the cloak over her again, she focuses on changing again, and settles in to wait for the moon.

[valiantrebel]

What Harry dreams and feels as the day passes, only he could say. He twitches and cries out sometimes, but he is much quieter otherwise. Overhead, the sky turned burnished pewter, then pink and orange, and then, deepening shades of blue.

During these long hours, his body temperature has been rising. He sweats and gasps, but his heartbeat stays steady.

Until moonrise. As if at a signal, his heart rate skyrockets, and his eyes spring open, wide and in shock.

[tiltingwithlips]

Kate, comfortable now as a wolf, has spent the day curled beside him and keeping alert for returning soldiers. Though troops wander across the battlefield every so often, collecting and counting the dead, none of them come close to their hiding place.

She feels the moon behind the horizon before she sees it, and sits up, ears pricked.

And when Harry wakes up, she backs away, crouching low.

[valiantrebel]

The body cannot remember pain, only that it felt it.

This is one of God's greatest mercies.

Harry's sides heave as he sucks in the cold air. The blanket is too close -- nay, anything against his skin feels like a vise. He kicks off the blanket and pulls frantically at his mail and vest. His fingers find little purchase, though, and he curls in on himself as though kicked, crying out.

[tiltingwithlips]

Kate snarls helplessly. Why didn't she think to get the mail off of him before? It's going to be hell getting him out of it.

[valiantrebel]

Little chance of helping with that now. Harry tries to push himself onto his elbows, his knees, but he's as uncoordinated as a drunk. He falls back to the ground, and the last distinctly human sound veers sharply into something much wilder and stranger.

He presses himself closer to the ground, head bowed, in the vain hope of steadying himself.

The change, when it comes, does not take long, and all at once, the clearing is quiet again, save for the drawing of long, greedy breaths.

[tiltingwithlips]

He smells so different.

Kate stays bowed to the ground, her hackles raised and her tail out stiffly behind her, watching -- the other wolf. Her husband. Harry.

[valiantrebel]

The shape under the armor begins to squirm. First he tries backing out of the mail, then shaking it off. With some work, it falls away; the trousers, he steps away from, with only a little tripping and dragging.

He seems to realize, as he stands there, that he's no longer on two feet. A quick twist of his neck: Kate was right -- the wound is gone. (And -- he wags it -- there is a tail!) Experimentally, he sniffs the air.

There's no disguising him: he's the same red-brown-dark color as his hair, and just as shaggy. The eyes are the same too. He turns back to Kate as he searches her out, every inch of him alert.

[tiltingwithlips]

After a moment, Kate stands up straight and pads towards him, sniffing.

[valiantrebel]

Immediately his tail starts pinwheeling. He bounds to meet her, with his usual enthusiasm but somewhat lacking in coordination still.

[tiltingwithlips]

Kate yips in surprise, and her own tail starts to swing.

[valiantrebel]

Harry Percy does not skid and crash into his wife. But there may be some ecstatic chest-bumping into her shoulder.

She's had a long time to familiarize herself with his smell; now he's taking his chance to learn hers, bumping his nose against hers. So that's Kate. He doesn't know the first thing about interpreting the smell, but he knows already that it's a good one.

Kate! Kate! He's alive! It worked! Kate!

[tiltingwithlips]

She noticed!

She barks, and barks again, delighted, because he's all right.

DELIGHTED TACKLE TIME.

[valiantrebel]

WRESTLING! He knows that! He's done it with their hounds!

--not like this he hasn't!

Harry barks, which shocks him so much that he falls quiet again, before testing out a pleased, for-real growl.

[tiltingwithlips]

Kate growls right back at him and tackles him again, nipping at the ruff of fur around his neck.