They walked for a long time without saying anything to each other. But the silence wasn't awkward, it was the silence of two strangers deciding what to reveal.
They weren't exactly strangers but they weren't friends either.
The path narrowed as the forest thickened. Lira kept a careful distance between.
It wasn't far enough for her to look afraid but it also wasn't close enough for her to look foolish. He was still a rogue after all But Daries noticed.
"Do I smell?" He suddenly asked.
"Huh?" Lira's head snapped to the right.
"You're too far. You're acting like I smell bad…or maybe I smell too good?" He inched closer and wiggled his brows.
Lira rolled her eyes and shoved him gently. Then she asked, "How did you do that? What kind of spell erases your scent?"
"Can you use magic?" He asked.
Lira bit her lip then picked at a loose thread on her sleeve.
" You don't have to say-"
"I can." Lira cut him off. "A little. How do you erase your scent?"
Daries stared at her for a while. "It takes a bit of practice." He finally said. "It helps if you're magic-inclined. You can dull your scent but not your aura."
"Aura?" Lira tilted her head to the side.
"Your presence." He clarified. " There's a special herb you can eat; it won't exactly get rid of your scent, it will just make your scent the same thing as everything else around you."
"What herb is that?" Lira asked.
"Wolfsbane."
Lira stopped in her tracks. "But that's poison."
"Not if you take it in small amounts. You won't be able to shift for a while though. If you can use magic, you can also dull your scent."
"I didn't see you take any today." Lira pointed out.
"That's because I don't need wolfsbane to erase my scent anymore." He stopped walking and scanned the area. "We should rest here for the night, it's getting late."
"Why don't you need wolfsbane to mask your scent anymore?" Lira asked as she dropped her backpack.
The sky was turning orange and it was getting cold and humid.
"Fifteen years of practice does that to you." He shrugged and started gathering sticks.
Fifteen years! Daries didn't look that old.
He must have started when he was at least ten years old.
She looked at him as he was studying sticks and placing them in his arm. His face was youthful but his gray eyes had a tired hollow look to them.
"Red." He called out. "A little help?"
"Oh right!" Lira exclaimed then hurried down and started to haphazardly pick up sticks. She piled up a bunch and presented it to him. "Here you go."
Daries took one look and laughed. "Have you ever started a fire before, Red? Don't tell me you want me to burn your clothes again."
"What's wrong?" Lira asked genuinely shocked.
"Some of these aren't dry." He removed the pile from her hands and gently placed them on the floor. "If it's not dry it won't burn."
"Oh..right." Lira said and looked around. "Why don't I go hunt something for us to eat?" She started to walk into the forest.
"Not so fast." Daries called out. "It's already dark. I'll go instead."
"But I can't just be useless." Lira insisted.
"You're not. After all, you're my way into Maindelandt." He touched her shoulder. "Let me do my part. There's a tent in my bag, you can set it up."
With that he disappeared into the forest.
After a beat of silence Lira said, "What the hell is a tent?"
In the forest, Daries rubbed the back of his neck with his hand as he relished the scent of nothing.
He and Lira were the only living things around. There weren't even any rabbits. He'd have to shift. He took a deep breath as it started.
He felt warm as his bones started to lengthen and his muscles began to grow. Daries always felt lighter like this although he was larger than his human form.
He felt the ground beneath his paws as the sudden rush of a flurry of scents filled his nose.
Then he smelt it. A deer, three hundred meters away. His legs began to move before he knew it. The dark forest around him sharpened and he saw the deer only a few metres away.
It heard him but it was too late. In a split second he had pounced on the animal,his jaws locking in on its throat until its struggles grew weak.
He thought of Lira as he dragged it back. She hadn't eaten all day. He quickened his pace.
When he returned to Lira, he found her to be nothing more than a tangled mess of canvas and poles.
She struggled harder but it remained an uncooperative heap. She looked up and her eyes widened when she saw Daries.
He knew how intimidating his wolf form was. His black as night fur had blue lightning in his mane and his bright violet eyes looked like they could see right through anyone.
He immediately shifted back so she would know who he was. "Damn Red. You really know how to set up a tent." He chucked.
"It's dark."
"And you're a wolf." He retorted in the same annoying voice.
Lira ignored his taunt and walked forward, "How can you still shift if you've been using wolfsbane for so long?"
"I'm not your average werewolf." He flashed her a smile and bent down to start the fire. "Use your little dagger to remove the skin, I'll start the fire."
Lira brought out her dagger and tried to skin the deer as best as she could. She couldn't get the image of Daries' wolf out of her head, even though she saw it for only a second.
She had never seen a wolf with lightning marks etched into its mane. It was beautiful.
Lira was sure of it, her partner was no ordinary wolf.