((Continued from: http://www.xeneth.net/urpc/index.php?topic=2732.45))

As Silver slowly stalked around the perimeter of the village, he'd hear howling all around--nearby, but always just out of sight, the sources remaining hidden in the surrounding forest. But with his weapon in his hand, no more would approach him.

It would be several minutes before his tense patrol was interrupted--a feminine scream, and a barrage of howling from the center of the small community.

While the village was small, it was still too large for two men to patrol it effectively--the wolves sneaked around the armed men to easier prey beyond them.

Silver had stopped his walking completely, his eyes transfixed on the double-ended spear he held. It appeared to be made of common steel, but it weighed no more then a feather in his hands, and he still vividly remembered that it came to him a swirl of silver wind.

This was all new to him, or at least, he didn't remember it. But there was alot he wasn't remembering he knew, this was merely another piece to the puzzle.

'At least this feels right.' He told himself.


His trance ended with the femine scream. He looked around and hesitantly he picked up speed as he rushed towards the heart of the small town. He still wasn't very confident in his abilitty, but he at least possessed the some sort of skill that could help defend the people of this town and he wouldn't let his own self doubts and fears be the catalyst for failuer.

"Besides.. I have Alan!!!" He said out loud as he rounded the corner of a building. Having someone to depend on did make being here easier, he would just follow orders, that was easy.

As Silver drew near, he'd seen the gray bodies stalking, encircling their prey like...well, like hungry wolves.

In the center of that circle were two figures. One was an elderly man laying on the ground--bleeding, in pain, but still alive. The other was much easier to identify--the aqua hair gave it right away.

"Reina!" came a cry from the other side of the circle. Hearing the scream, Alan rushed to the rescue as well. Holding his sword at the ready, he prepared to charge in, but a sound behind him caused him to hesitate.

It came from behind Silver as well: more growling, as even more wolves stalked out of the forest, ensnaring the two fighters between the inner set of wolves and those now emerging...

Unlike Alan, Silver didn't stop moving. He could guess what was behind him, and he didn't really want to stop and see how many wolves he had on his tail.

Why are these things here? Silver was sure that this wasn't normal behavior, everything about the scene screamed unnatural to him. He ran as fast as he could, hoisting his spear back and hurling it towards one of the wolfs that was around Reina and the old man, he aimed for one off to the side, incase he missed the wolf. His weapon may not have been able to kill but he didn't want to knock the old man out either.

"Alan. Whats going on!" He screamed above the growling wolves, hopefully getting their attention as well. Lowering his head, and bullrushing at the wolves circle. His idea was simple.. break the circle and get on the inside where he could better defend the two. It wasn't a great plan... but it was all he had.

Silver's aim struck true, as the wolf he aimed for fell over and stopped moving. He also succeeded in breaking the circle, as the few wolves in his way quickly scrambled out of it, though once he was beyond them they re-established the perimeter.

He was now in a much better position to protect them; unfortunately, his weapon was still stuck in the fallen wolf a few yards away, leaving the amount of protection he could actually provide up for debate.

However Alan, upon seeing Silver's move, quickly charged into the circle as well, slashing down a few wolves who weren't quite quick enough to clear away from him. "Beats me," he responded belatedly, "but I don't think these are normal wolves."

Wolves were smart creatures to be sure, but the level of tactics they'd shown were far beyond what they should have been capable of.

"Silver...grab the old man. I'll create an opening, and you get him and Reina to safety." He brandished his sword at the encircling canines, eyes bright with determination.

"B-But, what about-" the merchant girl began, only to be interrupted by the young knight.

"Don't worry, I can handle myself," Alan proclaimed with confidence he didn't actually feel.

"Right." Silver enthusiastically pumped his arm into the air. Then, poking a thumb into his chest he gave the two a toothy grin, his full confidence in Alen.

"You can count on me."

Without asking Silver would reach over and with surprising strength for his six foot and lithe frame he easily hoisted the man up, throwing an arm around his neck and acting as a support.

When Alan created the opening Silver would rush through... not really sure where he was headed, but at the moment it hardly mattered. It was a hurdle he would cross when the time came.

"Get ready," Alan ordered, gripping his sword loosely in one hand, leaving the other free to do as he pleased. He tensed for a moment, but took a deep breath to calm himself as he raised his hand in front of him, palm out.

"Now!" A large gout of silver flame shot from his palm, catching one wolf full on and causing many more to scurry out of the way. There it was, the brief opening Silver needed, and as he strode through Reina hesitated before following a step behind him.

As they got clear of the wolves, though, Reina looked back and saw a discouraging sight--the reason they were ignored is that all the remaining canines were surrounding Alan, slowly stalking them. He held his sword at the ready, but he knew he could not take out nearly two dozen wolves single-handedly.

"Alan!" she shouted, tears welling up in her eyes as it dawned on her what he'd just done.

The opening may have only been there for a few moments, but it was all that Silver needed. He blitzed through as quickly as he could while carrying the old man along, hoping that the girl would follow.

He heard the girl gasp, but he didn't look back. "Do not worry. Alan can take care of himself, he is a knight ya' know."

Silver was getting tired, all the running and fighting today was wearing on his muscles. He might have been more in shape then your average person, but he was still human.

"We need to get to a building." As if on cue his eyes caught glimpse of a two story building. "To the inn!!" He shouted, altering his course, last time he checked wolfs couldn't fly and defending a set of stairs or a a door was much easier then defending yourself from all sides. If he was lucky Alan would see where Silver was headed and follow.

He turned on his after burners and lowered his should, the one that wasn't supporting the old man, and charged for the door. Any wolfs that got in his way would have to be charged through...at least until he reached the door.

Silver's path was clear--Alan's attack had scattered the wolves in that direction, and no more emerged from the murky edges of the forest. Reina followed just behind him, but was clearly torn, not wanting to get killed, but not wanting to leave Alan behind either.

"But he's not a knight! He just acts like one," she whimpered. It was just as they reached the door to the house Alan got them staying at (the village was too small for an actual inn) that the wolves decided to strike at the one they'd surrounded.

The first one was met by Alan's blade, hefted in one hand, and the second fell to a burst of silver fire from the other. A third, though, rushed in to sink its teeth into his leg, prompting him to cry out in pain and alarm. Yet another wolf leaped, slashing a large gash into his off-arm with its claws.

Another burst of flame took care of the one clamped on his leg, but now he was bleeding, and without some aid the outcome was obvious.

Meanwhile, under the cloudless sky, it began to snow...

Silver hadn't heard Reina's words, he was focused on the task at hand. Once he reached the house he opened the door and ushered the two inside.

"Stay in here, Alan needs me." He did a one hundred and eighty degree turn, extended his right hand and as if on cue his double sided spear re-appeared in his firm grasp.

"Oh yea.." Silver said, looking back over his shoulder. "Find yourself a room and lock yourself in until one of us comes to get you."

He then bolted towards where Alan was fending off the wolfs. It wasn't until he started running that he noticed Alan was being overwhelmed by the vicious creatures.

"NO!!" He shouted as he hurled his spear the fairly large gap towards one of the wolfs. Surprisingly, even to Silver, the spear wouldn't loose speed on it's way, it would do the opposite, gain in momentum and veer slightly to make sure it would take the wolf by the neck.

He wouldn't stop to think about it, he couldn't stop. His friend was in danger and he was going to help him!

Just as Silver didn't hear her words, Reina didn't appear to hear his; upon seeing him summon the spear, she gasped. "You mean you're--?!" But before she could finish, he was off, and not having any combat skills she had no choice but to obey, taking over caring for the old man they rescued.

Silver's aim was initially off, but with his mid-air adjustment the makeshift javelin found its mark, sliding right through the neck of the wolf that had Alan's leg pinned in its jaws. The beast went limp, and Alan was free to move about once more. Wielding his sword with his uninjured arm, he cut down another wolf that leaped at him.

With a raise of his hand he sent another gout of flame out--in Silver's direction, no less. Fortunately the silver fire wouldn't reach him, but it did scare off the wolves between the two, creating a gap which Alan wasted no time taking advantage of.

As he did so, he noticed something odd...it was snowing. But there was something peculiar about this snow...

It him just as he reached Silver. "We just need to hold them off for a bit more," he informed him, though he didn't explain why.

"Hold them off? But--" His rebuttal was cut short as he reminded himself that Alan wouldn't needlessly keep them exposed to danger, if he had a plan then Silver would trust him.

He pulled forth the dagger he had tucked into his belt, it's black blade sticking out in contrast to the white snow that fell around them.

"Snow...." Silver looked to the sky, very confused. "There are no clouds...it's summer!" He said in disbelief before looking back down to where the wolfs were, putting himself back to back with Alan.

"You can depend on me."

"Good." Alan didn't have time to explain what was going on, as the wolves nearest them drew closer. Two of them went for the young knight, but against a head on assault he was easily capable of defending himself. Careful sword swings and the occasional burst of fire kept them at bay.

One went straight for Silver, however, rushing forward in an attempt to bite at his legs. Whatever intelligence they showed otherwise, they still attacked like wolves did.

While even the amnesiac young man could probably deal with the single wolf in front of him, the remaining ones began to slink around them in an attempt to encircle their prey once more.

Silver put his back to Alan's, gripping the black dagger tightly in his right hand. He wasn't really sure what he was going to do against a wolf with the dagger. But he refused to let it get past him.

He countered the wolfs low snapping bite by slicing the dagger low and at the creatures eyes, his aim wasn't great but he was capable of at least hitting the thing. If was determined to bite him then Silver would try to sink the black blade into one of it's eyes.

Contrast to the element he represented, wind, Silver was rooted to the ground.

"You wanna let me in on this secret?"

"I think--no, I'm sure a friend is nearby," Alan responded as he continued to fend off the assault.

Silver had no problem striking his target--though he lacked any memories of fighting, muscle memory was something entirely different. He didn't hold himself with much confidence, but if he was a fighter before it his body still knew how to move in combat.

This strike was different than the previous ones, however. The knife he carried was not like his spear, and as he slashed across the creature's snout wolf blood was spilled for the first time. This gave the creatures pause--they weren't smart enough to tell the difference between an unconscious ally and one that just fell asleep, but now that their sensitive noses could pick the scent of their blood in the air they weren't so eager to attack.

That pause was all that was needed--as the wolves seemed to reconsider their approach, the falling snow swirled into a violent blizzard.

"Don't move!" a voice commanded, and just in case Silver didn't take the hint Alan grabbed his arm with his free hand.

Within seconds the snow became a veritable wall that shrouded them from the rest of the world. Briefly even all sound was drowned out, but moments later a chorus of pained howls pierced the veil of silence. And then just as quickly as it gathered the snow dispersed, allowing them to see once more.

Every single wolf in the area, save for the handful they'd already felled, was pierced by icicles sprung up from the ground. None of them moved. But while most ice was clear and colorless, this was extremely shiny, and would be metallic looking if it weren't still slightly translucent. None were bleeding either, save for the one that Silver struck with the dagger.

"Are you two alright?" It was the same voice as before, its source now visible. He stood on a rooftop a little ways away, one knee bent forward as he leaned towards them. His silver hair was tied into three tails, a smaller one that fell straight back, and two thicker ones that framed his face. He had very refined features, and wore ornate looking garments: a mantle fell over breastplate armor, which in turn was over his tunic.

Despite his expression of concern, there was a confidence about him, as though he already knew the answer...