Tiernen's Crest

Rushing in front of the were-boy he frowned, brow furrowed. Stepping aside, he took a hold of the kid’s arm when he came by him, wrapping the boy’s arm up and around his shoulders.
“Okay, easy there, kid. I’ll find you some water.” He frowned down at the boy, seeing he was shaking and looking pale. It seemed like the were was getting worse. Should he take him to the city and to the hospital? Yes, there were the trust issues, but living to fight another day was better than dying out here. Looking away he couldn’t see or hear a creek or river, though he knew there was one nearby.
“You know, you never did tell me your name….though with the whole trust issues thing, I understand.” He paused, glancing down at the were-boy before taking a look at their surroundings. He frowned, eyes narrowed slightly. Hadn’t he set up a trap somewhere around here? Had some animal taken it?
“Just so you can mentally stop calling me human, or food, my name is Myles,” he spoke on, as he continued walking.

Myles shifted his weight when he felt Kieran rely on him completely. He glanced down at the were-boy again when he had given him his name. “Thanks….now I can stop calling you were-boy, large dragon, my death dealer, etc.” He smiled slightly, dragging Kieran along.
Over a hill and around of clusters of pines, Myles braced himself as he slowly went down the other side. He smiled seeing the river in the distance, though the sense of unease he had from earlier had only continued to grow.
Upon reaching the river, Myles slowly set Kieran down. Rummaging through his bag, he pulled out his canteen and handed it over to Kieran. “Here, you should have this if you need water right away….unless Weres are able to drink any water source they come across. Humans on the other hand, can’t get away with that.”

Myles frowned, seeing Kieran shakily reach for the canteen and then not take it. He tilted his head, watching as the teen winced. Glancing behind him at the river, he looked back at Kieran.
Returning the canteen to his bag, he went towards Kieran, lifting up the were-boy once again. Taking him over to the river he set Kieran down again by the river’s edge. Frowning, brows furrowed, he waited a few moments before he let Kieran go. It seemed like he would collapse into the water if he let him go, but at least he’d there to get him before he drowned.
Stepping away, Myles bent to pull out his knife. Twirling it about in his hands, he continued to frown and take in their surroundings. “This might seem like a stupid question to you, but is there anyone in this area that you trust? Anyone you could stay with until you get better?”
It wasn’t a common thing for him to feel like he was being watched. Whenever his skin crawled and his hair stood on end he didn’t question such a feeling, and he was packing and moving on that same day.

Myles frowned watching Kieran, sighing when he didn’t get an answer. “I’ll take that as a no in any case,” he muttered.
He followed after Kieran when he rolled himself into the water, stepping away when he rolled himself back out. When Kieran curled up, he crouched down beside him, moving his arms beneath him carefully and picked him up slowly.
Returning to where he had left his bag, he set the were-boy down again. Pulling out the sleeping bag he opened it up, set it down on Kieran and tucked it around him. He straightened when he was done, shaking his head after a moment and going to sit down by his bag. “You just had to go and get yourself attached to some kid, didn’t you? As if there isn’t enough shit going on.” Snorting, he rolled his eyes, staring at Kieran a bit longer before he stood up suddenly and walked away.
It wasn’t the best idea to have a fire if there was a risk of being detected. However, there wasn’t anything Myles could do to lose whoever it was that was watching. He couldn’t leave Kieran in this state to fend for himself, and he wouldn’t be able to out run or hide from those following them with the were-boy in tow either.
Returning to where he had left Kieran, he set down his kindling, and knelt beside it. Making a fire he remembered the rabbit the weredragon had caught for him earlier and he cut it up into smaller pieces so he could cook it.

Myles stared into the fire, caught in the dancing of the flames and the smell of the rabbit cooking. Did this were-boy, this Kieran, have to look so much like the one he lost? Was this some sort of sign? Was it just a coincidence, or was this some high being’s hand in making their paths cross so he’d be tormented further?
Blinking, he poked at the meat with his knife, glancing to look at Kieran. He knew better than to guess that the teen was having a peaceful sleep. The shuddering and groaning alone was enough to tell him something was wrong, but he didn’t know how he was going to figure out exactly what that was. He was no doctor, not even a medic.
Glancing down at the fire again he stood, grabbing some of the rocks that had been a part of the fire pit. He set the heated stones around the wrapped up were-boy form. At least they might help warm him.
Retreating he went in search of other stones to put in the pit. He used his shirt as a pouch, filling it up with more rocks. He was returning to their little camp, ducking under some low hanging branches when he felt something tighten around his ankle and he was swept up into the air.
The rocks and kindling he had been holding fell out of his arms and his shirt, hitting his head in the process. He spun, his vision getting blurry while he heard his heart thumping in his ears. Gritting his teeth, he tried to swing up, managing to reach the rope tied around his ankle. His fingers fumbled with the knot, and he fell back down before he could free himself.

Myles continued to struggle, falling back down to hang and spin once again.
This was a trap.
The young man knew that now. What he didn’t know was who it was that set it and where they were now.
A rustling from behind him made Myles stop his current attempt. Eyes narrowed, he tried to get his unsteady vision to focus. He couldn’t see anyone…but that sounded like it was coming from the camp.
Kieran!
Myles’s jaw clenched and with renewed vigor he scrambled at the rope, willing his nails to slice through the rope like his knife would have been able to. He fell back down, gasping for breath, body aching and feeling numb.
The kid's fast asleep and defenseless!
Trying to lunge up to reach the rope again, he failed miserably. The spinning was making him more nauseous than he realized. He shivered, pins and needles accompanying the numbness in his limbs.
Myles closed his eyes tightly, not wanting to watch the world spin and sway in front of him any longer. There was a wooden creaking above him, but he didn’t open his eyes to take a look. Then there was a crack and he fell to the ground.
Gasping, he got up slowly, leaning into a tree. The were-boy. Myles stumbled forwards, slowly when he heard voices ahead. The numbness increased as the men came into view. It dug deeper, going into his bones and seeping into his organs.
Five men stood around Kieran, rifles in hand and wearing camouflage. They sounded vaguely familiar….
“This isn’t the one we’re looking for, boss?”
“No, he must be the one that’s caught in the trap. Go check it out, and kill this one.”
Myles had slid to the ground, not able to stand while feeling such pain. His gaze focused on the men again, willing to remain focused enough to make sure they didn’t do anything to Kieran, even if he couldn’t hear what they said through the pounding of his heart.
A pair of the men left, while one was going through his bag, another stood next to him. Then one man remained next to Kieran, rifle in hand and aimed at the were-boy’s head.
An inhuman sound ripped through his throat and rumbled in his chest, creating ripples of pain, but he couldn’t stop it.
Myles was on his feet before the thought had even crossed his mind. He leaped over Kieran, pulling the man away from him. There was gun fire, the man was pinned beneath him and then his teeth were on flesh and blood filled his mouth.
Everything went into overdrive and the pain was drowned out. He spun, hearing someone approach from behind, only to see the man being knocked down by something long and white.
Myles stood over Kieran, the inhuman sound rumbling through him again as he eyed the men below him.
The men were below him?
He snorted, tilting his head, looking behind him when he felt movement. Long, white…tail? He watched the scaly tuffed tail for a moment, before he eyed it’s length, seeing hind legs, and wings…base of a neck…
Myles jumped, seeing the large white scaly form do the same thing. Screeching, he looked down at the men below him again, growing tense and hissing when he saw their rifles pointed towards him.