Calling to the Night

The sound of footsteps woke Valira from her nap. Her keen ears perked up at the new stimuli, followed shortly by the Hellhound yawning and unwinding from her ball. There were two kinds of people that used the road that passed by her favorite clearing to nap in. The first kind was the foolhardy adventure, the kind of man (or woman, though they were more rare) that sought fame and riches in the volcanic region behind the forest. They were frequently chased off or accosted by a monster in short order, sometimes even by Valira herself. The second kind was the pressured and/or wise merchant that used the route in a gambit to save time traversing the Cinder Mountains. Usually a bit of quick coin could be made by acting as their bodyguard and guide, though Valira tend to wave such a fee. Wealth simply didn’t appeal to her as much as having something to do or hearing the tale of someone’s life.

This was one of the ways that the Hellhound differed from the rest of her kind. Or at least those Valira had met. She could still be the classic, ferocious wolf when the mood struck her but such moods were rare. It was enough for her to know she was an apex predator, in all senses of the term, without having to assert such superiority on every passing human. Perhaps this is why those humans who used the road often referred to her as the Ashen Watch: a fair and usually trustworthy gatekeeper to the fortunes that lay beyond the Cinder Mountains. So long as one kept her entertained their travels were generally without incident.

In any case, Valira dug her claws into the ground as she completed her full body stretch. All the while she listened intently to the sounds along the path. There was a distinct lack of the rumble that a cart or wagon perpetuated, and the telltale clink of armor and weapons was absent as well. If anything, the footfall seemed to suggest that the person behind them was meandering without purpose. This struck Valira as odd. Usually fools or scholars were too afraid of coming this deep into the region. That or they were handled by her lesser monster peers before reaching her. That meant that whoever was behind the noise was something new.

The Hellhound’s long, ember-colored tail swished behind her as she quietly crept from her glade towards the edge of the trail. Once there she remained in the shadows, the mid-afternoon sun and greenery around her offering ample concealment. Even a fellow monster would be hard-pressed to pick out her dark skin and fur unless they knew what to look for. That meant Valira could watch and wait without fear of scaring of her potential prey.

When the man came into view she quickly understood why he’d been able to make it this far. Just under a meter and a half in height, he carried himself in the manner similar to that of a wounded animal. His brown eyes were blank, devoid of any emotion or spark of life. His cloak, a tattered bit of cloth that barely rated the term, did a poor job of concealing the multiple scars along the man’s form. Even though he couldn’t have been older than a quarter of a century, this human was an experienced warrior, or had been at least.  A profession Valira respected to a point but one that quickly drained her of all excitement when she considered the man’s demeanor as a whole. She would likely get no conversation from the shell-shocked veteran, and there was little reason to add to his injuries.

As such, Valira slinked back to her clearing and thought little of the the abnormality. In fact, by the time she awoke under the light of the full Moon some several hours, the Hellhound had all but forgotten about the man.

“Bah… Overslept,” she mumbled to herself, looking up at the silvery orb in the sky. Like many members of the wolf family she often sang to the celestial object when it reached its apex. However, in her case, the songs were not simple howls. They were full-fledged arias, composed from all the experiences she’d taken charge of. Something about weaving emotion into a melody brought her great joy, though she’d never shared them with anyone in particular. Instead, she had simply serenaded the Moon and let it be a silent audience.

Valira would do so again tonight, but first she had to travel to one of her preferred cliffsides. She never was entirely certain why she was drawn to sing there over anywhere else. At this point it was out of habit more than anything else. It just felt right. To that end, she left the forests behind her and ascended up into the Cinder Mountains proper. The Hellhound mused over the melody she would share with the Moon above as she went. She wanted to try something new, something different than her usual love songs. It wasn’t long before her thoughts turned to the man she’d seen earlier that day. Yes, she could sing about something like that.

By the time Valira reached the rocky formation overlooking the forest she already had composed an entire song in her mind. After glancing around to make sure she was alone on the desolate outcropping, the Hellhound opened her mouth and began her performance. It was an aria of sadness, of loss and of pain that spoke to those who had survived despite the World’s efforts to the contrary. She sang of a soul longing for peace from devils both interior and exterior, of isolation and longing. The somber tones flowed from her into the brisk, night air until she found her eyes watering up from the sheer emotion of it all. And yet she kept going, glad for the feeling it brought her.

For several minutes she remained like that. It wasn’t until her voice faded from her throat that she realized someone had come up behind her on the cliff. Eyes flaring with hellfire for effect, Valira turned and was surprised to see the man from earlier that day. Unlike her, he had no control over his tears.

“That was… beautiful,” he said as he wiped his face on his arm. “Absolutely beautiful…”

Valira waited until he’d finished cleaning himself up before asking, “How long were you listening for? It’s not often someone can sneak up on me like that.” A part of her was annoyed that her performance had been witnessed, yet another was pleased to see how much it affected the man.

He shrugged, stifling a sniff. “Maybe half of it. I was going up to a nearby ledge when I heard you. I wanted to know whose voice it belonged to. Sorry if I interrupted you.”

“Not at all,” she replied, all too aware of the fact her tail was swaying contentedly behind her. “Though I’ve never had an audience before.”

The man mulled this over for a moment, as if trying to find the right words. “Something like that… I wish there was more of it and less of…” He trailed off, subconsciously rubbing his forearm. Valira noted that the muscles there sported no less than three marks from the past.

“Of that,” she finished for him, motioning at his scars.

“Yeah…”

The two stared at one another for a time, Valira’s fiery eyes the only source of light besides the Moon above. Silence was only broken when the Hellhound realized what the man had meant.

“Would you like me to sing it again?” she asked.

Her counterpart nodded. “Please.”

Valira smiled and motioned at a nearby rock. “Have a seat then. But before that, I need to know something.”

“And what’s that?”

“Your name.”

At first the man didn’t reply. It wasn’t until he’d situated himself on the boulder that he did so. “Toran. It’s Toran.”

The Hellhound flashed another grin. “Valira. Now you just sit there and listen.”

And so she began her song again. Despite the added nerves of having someone physically present for her performance she actually felt as if she did better the second time around. When she’d finished she looked back to the man to see him once again a mess. Yet he was also sporting the traces of a smile.

“T-Thank you, Valira,” he said. “If I had anything to give you besides my gratitude, I would.”

Any other Hellhound might have taken the chance to immediately demand (and take) sex as payment. But not Valira. “How about telling me what brings you to the Cinder Mountains?”

Toran’s face fell somewhat. “As depressive as it is, I came here to die.”

Valira’s tail stopped in place behind her, her entire body following suit. That wasn’t what she was expecting to hear at all. “To die? Why?”

He wiped his face once more, shaking his head afterwards. “Some things are best left unsaid. No one should hear my story. It’s not a happy one.” Despite this, the corners of his mouth twitched. “But I am happy such a song like yours exists. It does a better job of telling my story than I ever would.”

“Hmmm…” She looked Toran over, trying to decide what to do with him. Finally, she offered, “I want to hear it anyways. But not here. You’re coming back to my cave with me.”

A tinge of bitterness slipped into the man’s voice. “Do I have a choice?”

“You always have a choice, Toran. But I can see you shivering from here.” It was true: he really was shaking in the frigid air. “Why not let share your tale over a fire and a meal?”

“I…” His mouth opened and closed a few times. When he spoke again all traces of acerbity had disappeared. “I’d like that.”

Valira’s eyes flared with new life and her tail began to wag once more. “Good. Come along then. It’s been sometime since I’ve had company.”

“Same here.”

From there Valira led Toran back down the cliffside towards her cave. It was a modestly-sized depression in the rock, kept warm by a hot spring towards the rear. “Wait here,” Valira said, pointing at a circle of stones about an ashen fire pit. After Toran has seated himself, the Hellhound moved to the back of her abode and rummaged in the hidden stores there. It wasn’t long before she returned sporting fresh firewood and a rabbit carcass. “I hope you don’t mind. I don’t have any spices.”

Toran shook his head. “Not at all. Can I help?”

“Sure. But if you burn it you’re still eating it.”

“Fair enough…”

Once the fire had been stoked into existence and the meat set cooking upon it, Valira sat across from the man. “So then. Your story,” she said.

Toran sighed. “Right… how much do you know about the Order?”

“Just what any monster does, really.”

“Well you see, they often hire mercenaries to do the things they don’t want to be caught doing…”

He launched into an overview of his time spent under the Order’s direction. Most of it was the sort of grisly affair best left in the annals of war: forcible relocations, terrible slaughters, survival at the cost of friends, and so on. The rest of his tale was less bloody, noticeably so, focusing on what little good had come of Toran’s efforts. In all it served to solidify Valira’s forming opinion of the man. He was a man of circumstance, a man who’d been forced to do unspeakable things out of fear and the need to survive. Said matters seemed to haunt him, hounding his every waking thought in the search for redemption. Toran desperately wanted to be granted peace even if he himself didn’t believe he deserved it.

“I… I don’t know what to say to all that,” admitted Valira as the last embers of the campfire sputtered out. Toran had talked for so long that there was even the hint of light from the cavern mouth. “Yours is the first such tale I’ve heard. I had no idea someone could live through all that and still be sane.”

“Sometimes I wonder if I truly did,” Toran replied, his eyes distant. “I certainly don’t feel as if I’m alive at times. Or that all of me made it back in one piece.”

Valira frowned, poking at the ashes in front of her with her foot. “I feel somewhat guilty now. My song earlier must have made you relive horrible memories.”

“Somewhat. But what matters is you managed to capture my pain in a way I never could. And for that I thank you again. This is the first time I’ve talked about this to anyone.”

Those last few words accentuated how tired and drained the man seemed to the Hellhound. He’d kept himself together throughout his monologue but the invisible weight on his shoulders seemed heavier for it. As such, Valira motioned at the cave at large. “I’m honored, then. But come. You need rest and I’m not letting you slink off after hearing all of that.”

“What if I don’t want to share a bed with you?” There was that hint of bitterness again. Now that she knew (or thought she did) the cause of it she wasn’t at all stymied.

“Then you don’t have to,” she replied as she raised a paw to placate him. “You must have this worry that I’m going to pounce you the moment your guard is down. That I’m going to keep you prisoner or captive in retribution for what you’ve done. But I’m not, Toran. You’re free to leave at any time, unmolested. But you might be warmer and happier should you choose to stay. It’s up to you.”

He seemed to struggle with those words, his pride and other emotions battling silently in his mind. “If it’s all the same to you, I’d much rather sleep alone.”

“Then alone you shall sleep. I’ll keep a lookout on my honor as the Ashen Watch.”

“What’s…? Never mind. I’ll ask tomorrow.” Toran rose and began to walk over to a cleared spot against the cave wall. Once there he laid down and did his best to use his cloak as a blanket. “Don’t think I won’t sleep with one eye open.”

“I’d expect nothing less after hearing your story. But you can rest easy while you remain here. I promise.”

“Mrm. I guess we’ll see…”

To Valira’s surprise the man drifted off within minutes. All of the tension in his body seemed to drain away from his unconscious form into the rock below him. Had she not known any better, the Hellhound might have sworn he was having pleasant dreams. But she did know better. Wanting to at least make him comfortable, she fished out an old blanket and pillow from her stores and carefully slipped them around Toran’s form. That done, Valira moved to the cave entrance and sat down.

As she watched the sunrise outside she mused over all that she’d heard. All Hellhounds, even her, had the maternal sort of instinct that made men like Toran all the more appealing. She couldn’t help but feel slightly obligated towards him, to try and make him stronger and happier.

“No one should be forced to suffer that sort of thing alone,” she whispered aloud to the rising sun. “I wish I could do more.”

---- End of Chapter One ----

> Note: Might be reworking some things before heading on to Ch2. Please be patient!