Chapter Text
Loba could not have been more relieved when they had offered up a trip; a chance to get away from the games for just a short bit, as well as the supposed trouble her demonio was giving her. She didn’t like lying to them directly like that, but still, she still couldn’t outright tell them what it was that troubled her so. And they were such a sweet thing to her; so eagerly offering up a spot on a trip with them that she knew was an important, near sacred thing to the hunter, all to ease her worries. The unspoken consolation though, was that it was absolutely going to.
Time away from here meant time that Bloodhound wouldn’t be looking into their supposed mystery beast of the canyon and, oh, if anything was going to ease her mind it was going to be exactly that. The snowy hills and mountains and forests would offer not even the smallest inkling of truth to her little secret, and with any luck, some prolonged time away may just be enough to get the hunter to drop the whole situation. Maybe eventually it would all become quite the funny story to look back on when she did finally gain the courage to tell them everything.
Things would be so much simpler if she did, the thief knew that well, and so desperately did she want to trust them with this, but…
Honestly even she was getting tired of her own hesitations by this point, but maybe it was best to put this all out of her mind for now. They would understand when the time came, surely they would. So many odd creations and beasts and beings existed in these worlds, and yet werewolves were still a thing of legend; of fantasy. The thief knew now that pushing herself to reveal this would only ever stress her out more. Perhaps it would be best to let it be, at the very least for these three days, before trying to broach it then. Evidently setting a time limit wasn’t doing any good for her, only worrying the woman further. But maybe this little trip would be all she needed. A change of scenery as they had stated and the chance to further spend close time with them; assure herself that no matter the form they would only ever see her as herself.
She hadn’t even told Jaime.
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They had stepped onto a little ship early in the morning, just her and Hound with bags packed and warm clothes on, wrapped in a heavy cape that they had made just for her with Tyra nestled into the fur trim at her shoulder, Artur content on his own seat a little ways away to nap she was afforded the beginnings of peace. The two of them chatted idly for a brief while but eventually the rest of the trip was spent in a comfortable quiet with the hum of the engines and the gentle croons of the smaller raven had lulled the she-wolf into a sort of a half-sleep for the remainder of the admittedly fairly short trip, woken from her rest with the slight turbulence of the ship starting to set down. Hound of course was already up, holding both their bag as well as hers. Loba merely grinned in gratitude knowing they would be much too stubborn to let her take her own things.
The place they had selected was nothing like the gilded streets of Olympus or anything else she had seen, purely undeveloped and untouched, and it was gorgeous. The snow had just begun to melt, thick in some spots beneath trees, grass peeking through in other places, but there was no clear path anywhere. The hunter didn’t seem bothered any though and led the way confidently as she followed two steps behind. Evidently the birds recognized the area as well judging by how they too took off to fly ahead, veering off slightly left and disappearing over the crest of a hill that soon enough they were heading up as well.
The view beyond was even more gorgeous ⎯ a small cabin seated at the bottom of the hill; the forest extending beyond it. Even if the she-wolf were far more comfortable in five star hotels in the hearts of luxurious cities, Loba absolutely could not deny the beauty of this place. Honestly, she was actually looking forward to exploring it with them, but it would definitely be best to settle first, so down to the cabin they went, just barely able to see the now two small silhouettes of the birds circling down to it.
The door took a little bit of force to get it open with the hinges frozen as they were, but after a little persuasion from Hound’s shoulder, they were in. It was such a cute little place too ⎯ not tiny, but not at all massive by any means. Just perfectly cozy.
“I’ve been coming here for years.” The hunter spoke as she pulled the heavy cloak around herself a little tighter, wandering a little further in to examine all the rooms.
“I can certainly see why. It must be incredibly peaceful out here.” Despite the quaint appearance, everything seemed rather modern within, from a full and honestly rather well stocked kitchen to the geothermal water heating that they had been sure to mention, and Loba was happy to find that the bathroom housed a fairly deep tub to boot. She supposed a nice long bath would be just the thing after a hunt in these temperatures, and one did sound nice right about now, but they had only just gotten here. There would be plenty of time to relax later, surely. She could settle for the warmth of the fire the hunter was now in the process of lighting for the time being. With how small the cabin was, she had no doubt it would heat up rather quickly.
The cabin housed really only four, technically five rooms in total, starting with the little mudroom in the entryway that led into the living room they were both standing in now with no door separating them. To the immediate right from the entry to the living room was the kitchen in all its glory. Straight across from said entry was the bedroom with the bathroom connected to it. There was of course a little closet in the mudroom as well, but that didn’t count.
“It is. There’s only one small village here that I’ve found and they are many miles east.” Bloodhound divulged, satisfied with the current state of the growing fire and leaving it be for the moment. “And most beasts do not come near the cabin itself.” That was no worry really, after all, they were both well equipped for whatever may be lurking out here. She had been honest in saying that she didn’t fully know how much interest she would have in hunting with them herself, but was willing to give it a try nonetheless, and so Hound had brought along two rifles with them. The pair were also well armed between that axe of theirs holstered at one hip and their carving knife at the other, as well as her staff and the two blades she commonly kept handy. And that wasn’t even to mention whatever they might have squirreled away here already.
“One day I think I would like to retire to here. Partially at the least. There would be much to do before it would be liveable here. Even for myself.” They spoke, removing their goggles and revealing those pretty eyes that she loved so much, followed soon after by their respirator. Well, that was a good sign that they would be staying here for a little while at least, and Loba to that was an invitation to remove her cloak for the time being, slipping past them to hang it up. Seeing her do so had them giving a little hum, speaking again.
“I will want to check over the guns and everything else before we head out, though that shouldn’t take long. The kitchen should be covered as well; the floor and island at least. It is always a bit… well, messy to process the animals here.” They had mentioned that many larger species of animal lived on this planet, not wildly so, but certainly more than average. It was easy to see then how skinning and gutting them in inches of snow might just prove to be a bit difficult, and Loba had not a single doubt in her mind that they would actually be catching something today. There were plenty of hours left until sunset, and with Bloodhound’s capabilities? They should be more than set.
“Well, if you like, I can get started on that while you look things over.” She offered easily, met with a little click of the tongue. “You don’t have to.”
“I didn’t come out here with you just to look pretty.”
“And yet you are doing an excellent job of it anyways.”
With a roll of her eyes and grin she couldn’t quite contain upon seeing theirs did Loba slip past them, heading for the kitchen to get started.
The roll of plastic tarp was easy to find, if not just a bit difficult to maneuver, but thankfully it did more or less perfectly fit the width of the floor between the island and the counter and the walls, so really all it took was cutting four pieces for the floor, which did still take some doing as she tried to properly calculate the length, but eventually that too was figured out. She was just finishing up with that when Hound entered, seemingly done with their inspections, and wordlessly taking the roll to cover up the island countertop as well as she finished up getting the floor situated, a roll of tape handed down to ensure the edges were sealed and nothing leaked between, though they soon kneeled to help her with it.
Loba was ever so glad she never had to deal with the aftermath of her own hunts like this; it seemed like such an awful hassle, but Hound seemed all too content to do it. Or perhaps they had done it so much by now that it was merely second nature, just a matter of going through the motions, and no more a typical chore than sweeping. With the two of them at it, taping also took no time to accomplish, leaving the kitchen thoroughly prepared for the viscera that would be brought to it shortly. With a soft sigh the hunter rose from securing down the last loose edge, Loba already up and setting the tape roll back down on the counter and out of the way for now.
“What do you think you would like to eat tonight? A stew? Roast?” Bloodhound questioned, glancing towards her. “Let’s just see what you manage to catch first; if anything.” Loba teased them with a little smirk earning a soft snort from them as they meandered over. “Do you really think me so incapable a hunter?”
“Maybe I just think I can do better.”
That got them to laugh as they gently slipped an arm around her waist, the she-wolf absolutely adoring the noise. “I look forward to seeing your prowess with these beasts then.” They retorted as she settled her hands onto their shoulders. The first kiss came easily, as did each after it, as did the steps that had her move until the small of her back was pressed to the edge of one of the countertops. Before, affection like this had been little more than a tool for her, the perfect distraction for prestigious and pretentious and over privileged degenerates who so readily traded a few kisses and a moment of wandering hands for their bank accounts and diamond rings and encrusted watches. It had always made her stomach turn back then, especially seeing as it was an unfortunately common tactic, and an amazingly effective one at that. That was just fine though. Any affection of hers was purely utilitarian. She had her self assigned job and refused to allow in a single distraction until she had finally avenged her parents. Loba really never had factored in actually falling in love.
With them though, that awful feeling had never resurfaced, not even once. With them, sweet, attentive thing that they were, they always had her feeling so exceptionally comfortable and safe in every sense.
Before that particular thought could once again find some way to manifest into guilt at not telling them or fearing them, or their current activities progressed to the point of being so distracting as to deprive them of getting anything worthwhile and important done, there came a rather insistent tapping at the window. Said noise came, of course, from Artur who had returned (as had Tyra, perched beside him and content to let him do all the work) and now was ready to indulge in the warmth of the cabin too.
With one last kiss, Bloodhound separated from her with that faint smile still on their lips before moving to actually allow the birds inside.
Thankfully, the next half hour was spent without distraction (though a handful more of kisses were stolen before their respirator was clasped back into place) and they were both able to redress for the less than favorable weather. They assured Loba that she could stay in the cabin if she so desired, but Loba had turned that offer down rather handily. Sitting somewhere all on her own would surely defeat the purpose of coming out here in the first place, and so she was determined to accompany them. Actual hunting was still up in the air for her, but a walk at least sounded nice.
Nonetheless, after all they had spoken of with this place, her usual knives were brought along as well as the extra rifle they’d packed was now slung over her shoulder, loaded, but not immediately readied, unlike their own. It was really just a precaution here more than anything else, though she fully trusted Bloodhound and their capabilities out here. They were referred to as the ‘Gods-sent-hunter’ for a reason, and an exceptionally good one at that.
Things were quiet but for the crunch of frozen snow underfoot. Even if the dense cities would always be her home, domain, and personal hunting grounds, Loba could hardly deny how unfairly beautiful it was out here. Everything glittered from residual snow and fresh painted frost coating what vegetation was allowed to crop up from beneath winter’s blanket.
The further they ventured along deer trails that Hound navigated as though they were a part of their everyday route, the more life there seemed to be. Birds fluttered overhead, coming to or going from nests, and she could hear rabbits and other little creatures in the underbrush that went skittering away from their footsteps, ignored and unharmed. A few of them probably would have made an adequate meal, but the hunter had set their sights elsewhere, and she was content to simply follow along.
There was a species of deer here, massive, ill-tempered, and a little too content to wander into the small handful of villages dotted across the planet. They had only one natural predator that was few enough in numbers as it was and thus the population of them had grown readily until it had become something of an issue. It was them that Hound was after. Loba was hardly surprised that her lover would find ways to do good even so far out here. Of course it had also been mentioned that said villages tended to give out at least a little reward for proof of each one killed; no doubt a little extra that Bloodhound filtered back to their own home. Talos needed all the help it could get right now after all.
The she-wolf had neglected to ask if there was a particular location in mind, or if they were merely meandering along until their prey of choice was encountered. It felt almost wrong to disturb the natural quiet by asking now however, and her curiosity was answered soon enough anyhow.
Slowly did a sound fade into recognition, though Loba knew she heard it a good while before the hunter. Running water had her perking up somewhat, head turning towards the noise. A moment or two later and Hound too turned to the direction of the increasingly clear sound as the path they were on now curved towards the water. That certainly made sense; in hunting it was probably a fair shot to check by a river.
It wasn’t like there was much looking to be done though.
As they both stepped out from the foliage, Hound soon reached a hand back to stop her, fully halting as well. The thief followed their gaze up river to where a few of what undoubtedly had to be the creatures they were after stood, either drinking or pulling up whatever bits of plant matter they could reach a little further back from the bank. Even from where the two of them stood, Loba had to admit that the creatures were at least a little intimidating to say the least. Something like that probably would have had her thinking twice in her own hunts. Evidently that wasn’t quite so for Bloodhound.
No words were spoken as they crept just a bit closer to a spot that was a touch more open, would give them a better shot, quite literally. Loba followed after perfectly, step for step, pause for pause, and came to crouch behind the hunter. A brief moment and they were raising a hand to guide her gaze and focus over to one deer in particular near the middle of the somewhat spread out herd.
“That one.” They stated simply, tilting their head towards her to better keep their voice down. The she-wolf examined it for only a few seconds before noting precisely why their sights had been set upon it.
“It’s leg is broken.” Her answer was met with another approving hum from them. It was just as she said though, and from the knee down on the deer’s left front leg was entirely mangled. Connected still, but not by much. It was exceptionally difficult to tell if the creature had misstepped at some point, maybe had gotten itself stuck somewhere and its leg had been crushed, or if it was evidence of an attack from one of those predators Bloodhound had spoken of. Regardless, it looked absolutely awful.
The hunter already had their rifle in hand, almost perfectly ready, and yet they still hesitated for just a moment, very clearly glancing over to her with an unspoken question, one she did actually consider before answering. Actual hunting like this with a gun wasn’t exactly her strong suit, but still may have done her some good to try anyhow, not to mention that she was certain Hound would be happy to have her participating, but… perhaps with another one. She wouldn’t go challenging their prowess just yet here. “All yours, beautiful.” Loba instead offered up with an encouraging little dip of her head to them.
They were all too happy to take the shot, almost as if the offer had been extended more as a single nicety rather than anything sincere. Loba didn’t mind one little bit; not when she was still feeling the creeping fingers of guilt and might have gone ahead and sacrificed a perfectly productive hunting trip just for her benefit had she missed the shot. That thought only solidified within her upon seeing just how quickly they were able to fully raise their rifle, aim, and deliver an impressively clean shot directly through the head of the poor beast. It couldn’t have been more than ten seconds total, and she couldn’t help but wonder how many more of them Hound could have landed as the rest of the herd began to bound away in absolute panic, wholly unorganized and frantic.
They seemed to consider the thought, gun still raised, but then ultimately decided otherwise, letting it lower as the rest disappeared into the treeline. To be fair though, just managing to haul the one back seemed to be enough of a Herculean task as it were, and she was already quite curious as to how that would be accomplished. Dragging back even two or three seemed impossible, but then again, this was Bloodhound, and they were no fool who rushed in without a plan. That much was evidenced by the small pack that they had brought with them that they now slung to their front, pulling a well-worn coil of rope from it before moving towards the carcass, and once more she followed.
Feeling only a little useless as she watched them expertly bind up the creature, she was allowed a particularly good look at just how large the things were. The antlers were as wide as the hunter was tall, and the hooves nearly as big as her hand with her fingers spread out. And these were aggressive too? She would hate to see what kind of animal out here actually hunted them.
Finally Loba broke the silence as she watched them test the knots to ensure they would hold as the carcass was dragged back to the cabin. Likely a tiring task that she could probably accomplish with ease, but it wasn’t exactly as though Loba could so easily explain why someone with her physique (not that she was weak by any means, but come now) could haul such a thing like a mere sack of flour. “How many do you usually bring down each trip?” Hound glanced up at her briefly before answering. “Typically anywhere from four to ten a day, depending on their movements and how long I am out for.” Loba merely offered a little hum in answer, earning her another look from them as they now stood.
“You do not think that you are holding me back, do you?” They questioned.
“I saw you hesitate like you were going to shoot more of them.” Loba answered after only a second or two of pause.
She could only envision the look on their face beneath that mask before they moved over to her. “The path back is difficult as is. Typically I draw them closer to the cabin or villages for easier processing and disposal.” That much was obvious and made perfect sense and already she felt silly for feeling any kind of insecure about this all. What was wrong with her as of late? She had never been so twisted up about anything before. This wasn’t her. She was Loba Andrade, renowned thief, fearsome Apex Predator of the games, and beauty without compare who had drawn in one of, if not the greatest hunter that the galaxy had ever known. No one could hold a flame to her, and nothing could diminish the love between them, and of course Bloodhound went the step further to prove just that without even being asked.
“The purpose of this trip is not for me to carry on as usual. It is to let you relax and get you out of your own mind, and that means doing whatever you wish to. I want to be by your side through this and if you so ask it of me, I won’t hunt a single other creature during our stay here.” That beautiful reassurance had an amused little snort leaving the woman, and she cracked a slight smile. “I know. You’re such a good dog for me.” Hound laughed this time as she planted a kiss to the side of their respirator. “Indeed. Now let’s get this back, get you a hot bath, and see what you would like to do from there.”
They knew her so well.
Just getting things moving was the most difficult part of it all, and Loba helped where she could without making anything too obvious. To be perfectly fair though, once they were moving and through the very worst of the underbrush, Hound actually did quite well at pulling it on their own. It looked exhausting already for them though, and she could easily hear their labored breathing. The sound wasn’t concerning (yet) but she was still paying acute attention to them, just in case.
They worried her sometimes, and honestly Loba wondered how they still managed to do certain things on their own. They were incredibly talented in all manner of things and she would never doubt their capabilities, but still. Bloodhound truly never ceased to amaze her.
Focused half on monitoring their breathing, and half on her own thoughts, the she-wolf almost one crucial little detail: footsteps… off to their right. She paused, ensuring that she was hearing correctly, and she very much was. The pace was slow and almost calculating, but consistent.
Something was following them.
“Hound, stop.” She hissed, and they did almost immediately, glancing back at her. The thief was still, and they followed her gaze, searching around where she was looking into one point in the foliage. It was obvious that they didn’t hear what she did just yet, but she caught in her peripheral vision when they did, focus finally snapping to the same point as her. Whatever was coming towards the two of them never stopped in its approach and it hardly sounded small. That was enough to have Bloodhound drop the ropes attached to the deer carcass in favor of readying their gun again and she did just the same.
Another moment that felt like years passed as whatever animal it was carried right along. She wondered maybe if it might be another deer, but that idle thought was very quickly dismissed as a frankly massive snout broke through the curtain of tall brush, followed by the rest of the body of an uncomfortably large wolf, who’s hackles were already raised, a low rumbling growl rising in its throat, green eyes regarding them, but ultimately focusing on the deer between them.
Mottled gray and brown fur seemed to just hang off of its body, patchy in some spots, and it did very little at all to hide just how emaciated looking it was.
Starving, it must have smelled the kill and come to collect on what it likely thought would be an easy meal. It was a wild animal of course, but there was something so feral to it, it sent chills down Loba’s spine. It really must have been starving looking the way it did. Starving and desperate and incredibly dangerous with nothing at all to lose here. When those eyes met hers though, deep down past the rabid hunger, there was something more. Recognition almost, or maybe she was simply hoping for something like that. After all, being closest to it made her the prime target to handle first, the easier obstacle to remove. No more than ten seconds total could have passed from the beast stepping out and now, but Loba felt as though she had been staring at it for a lifetime and a half already.
Her mama had always told her stories about lycanthropes having a distinct scent to them that canines of the more typical variety could pick up on and liked, tending to encourage them to be friendlier or even more submissive. She had seen it in domestic dogs before, but wolves weren’t so regular an encounter in any of the cities.
Any curiosity or optimism she may have held in placating the massive thing were thoroughly shattered by Hound taking the liberty of firing a few shots at it. Not into it, just at it. Maybe they had seen something too, or maybe they just didn’t want a fight. Shit, if even they didn’t want to face this thing, then she definitely should be making distance for herself. Well, no, they just probably didn’t want to kill it considering they were the only species that could help keep the deer population down.
Distance was probably still a good idea though.
Those shots definitely shifted its attention, and did likely more than intended, sending it skittering back off into the woods without a fight after all. Well, it wasn’t quite that desperate for a meal then. The footsteps faded out, and Loba began to relax a little bit, thinking very little of it all now that the danger had passed until she turned to see Bloodhound still standing just as they had been, albeit with the barrel of their rifle lowered to point safely at the ground. “That shouldn’t have worked.”
Loba huffed, almost cautiously flicking the safety back on her own gun. “I, for one, am just glad that it did.” Hound had since slung their rifle back over their shoulder again and took up the ropes once more. “They shouldn’t be accustomed to the sounds of gunshots like that.” They grumbled something else before shaking their head slightly and beginning to carry on towards the cabin with only some strain. “Poachers must have made their way out here then. Perhaps its pack was killed.” Hound mused. It would unfortunately make sense for that to be the case, even from the relatively small amount that they had told her about them. If they were practically endangered with already small packs and prey was plentiful enough for them, it didn’t exactly make sense for packs to just split up. But who was she to really know?
Thankfully, the remainder of the trek back to the cabin was blissfully uneventful, and Hound had managed not to kill themselves in the meantime from strain. Loba could hear it in their quietness that they were still likely bothered by the thought of poachers out here. She knew that there had been a real issue with them on Talos a while back that had come to affect their village and it had been dealt with, but there surely wasn’t much that they could do about it out here. At least not in any way that wouldn’t surely tear them apart from stress anyhow, juggling so many things like that.
While they worked to get the carcass into the kitchen, she had taken to stripping out of that heavy cloak as the cabin was now quite comfortably warm. She watched them wordlessly return with their rifle, collecting hers as well and going to stash them in the closet by the front door. Alright, that was it.
“Hound.”
They merely hummed to show they had heard but still obviously weren’t paying attention and Loba had to side-step somewhat to keep them from just idly wandering on to whatever it was they intended to do next. She simply reached her hands up, popping the clasps open on either side of their respirator, letting it dangle from its lanyard as she moved on to their goggles, gently pulling them down to hang around their neck. With no further obstructions, she was able to cup their face properly now, leaning in to press one, two, three soft kisses to their lips, minding their headpiece all the while.
As she drew back, the hunter sighed softly, and she fixed them under a bit of a look, still holding their face. “I’m sure that even if there were poachers here that they’ve long moved on by now. You don’t need to involve yourself here, love; you’re already doing so much with the games and your village. I’m not going to watch you absolutely exhaust and tear yourself apart, alright?” They returned a relatively flat look of their own to her before sighing again. “I’m still going to alert the villages here, but… you’re right.”
“Of course I’m right.” She purred before leaning back in to kiss them again, longer this time.
“Now, I will try to help you with that deer, but after that you’re taking a bath with me.” They smiled some and half rolled their eyes at her demands.
“Deal.”
“Good.”
Perhaps this trip had been for her benefit, but that didn’t mean that they didn’t need some relaxation too.