FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

It was a chilly fall morning in the village. A thin layer of frost coated everything, and the village and the area around it was surrounded by a thick blanket of fog, mimicking the current state of its inhabitants. Although it was early, most of the villagers were out and about, only, there weren't doing anything. They were all waiting in a still hush, a blanket of fear surrounding them. They were afraid of what was now set loose in the vast woodlands. But an unease had crept over the village over more than just that. They sought help from outside lands, but before they had even begun searching, they were notified that help was on the way. And so on the cold chilly morning, they waited. Waited for one man, someone who was as legendary and frightful as the creatures he hunted.

The horn was wrung and the gate guards armed their crossbows from up high on their wooden wall. The village tensed, becoming even more still as shouting could be heard from the guards on the wall. The great wooden gates slid apart, and from the fog walked a lone man towards the village, clad in shining silver armour. His armour bore the signs of many battles, but was kept clean as if it were just forged. On his back sat a large round shield, gleaming silver with odd knob like protrusions on the outside of it. In his hilt sat a gleaming silver sword, and on his knuckles sat gleaming silver spikes, razor sharp. The village looked in awe as the man strode into the heart of the village, as people approached him. The knight drew his sword on the approaching crowds, speaking calmly but with a deep, commanding tone.

"Who here knows the most about what went on a fortnight ago? Time is of the essence, and I have no time for pleasantries."

The crowd stopped in their advances, looking at each other with frightful glances. Then one of their number ran off into the village. The knight waited, until somebody was dragged out of one of the cabins by guards, through the crowd, and promptly tossed at the knight's feet. It was a young man. The knight looked down in his gleaming helmet, both hands resting on his sword handle is he leaned on it. His attention was drawn solely on the young man, who was bringing himself to his hands and knees. One look into the young man's face and he knew.

"You were smitten with her weren't you?"

The man nodded silently.

"When did she arrive?"

He spoke quietly as the crowd leered down at him.

"I-I don't know. It was like she just appeared out of nowhere."

"How long were you two together?"

"A-a few days, maybe a week."

The knight looked up to the villagers.

"What did you do once you found out?"

A short stocky man stepped from out of the crowd, obviously the leader of the village.

"We were suspicious when livestock started disappearing. We found blood trails late one night, leading back to her. She hired herself out to the local butcher, the vile creature."

"I asked not how you found her, but what you did with her."

"We used silver chains, bound her limbs tight. We had no other silver on hand. Anything we tried failed."

The knight tilted his head.

"You tried killing her. You thought silver chains and binds would be enough!?"

The man nodded.

"It's what all the books said."

The knight shook his head.

"Then you are a greater fool than most. Silver doesn't weaken them. Silver doesn't even hold them any better than iron or wood. It's the only thing that can hurt them, and that's it."

The stocky man looked flushed, but was determined not to look the fool in front of his folk.

"And how is it that you know so much about this beast? You knew precisely what she did to the lad here."

The crowd murmured amongst themselves, trusting the word of their leader more. The knight stood tall.

"I have little patience for such trivial things. I will tell you once, so listen well."

The crowd hushed at the command of his voice.

"Long before any of you were here, before this village was even built, before any of you were born, I was tracking this monster, hunting it, wherever it fled. I've followed in its wake for so long now, I barely even remember when it all started. I've killed a thousand fold of them, over and over, wherever I found them. She is more cunning than any others you will meet. Stronger, faster. She can charm even the strongest willed men, wrap them around her fingers. I know her well because I have followed her for over five centuries."

The village stood in silence. Only the stocky man wasn't convinced shaking his flabby cheeks as he shook his head.

"What nonsense, absolute nonsense! You're a bloody fool!"

The Knight shifted, looking down at the man, looking as calm as ever, before suddenly removing the helmet from his head. The sight that greeted the mayor, and the villagers, stunned them once more into silence. The knight looked human, like a middle aged man, but his face, starting from his eyes, had white hot cracks and veins of magic running under his skin. The magic under his skin was seeping out in some places, through scars and cracks. The crowd stepped back in terror as he lifted one of his gauntlets up, removing one of the armoured silver fingers, revealing an ancient looking ring.

"This is the ring my wife gave to me. You can try and read it, but none alive today have ever been able to translate it. The man I went to who cast this curse on me said its power would keep me going for a hundred years at the most. The only reason I'm alive today is because I will not rest until I have avenged my wife, and utterly destroyed the monster that took her from me."

The crowd was silent, but all eyes shifted to the young man on the ground, who spoke.

"You're a monster. Even more than the one you hunt supposedly is."

The knight looked down at him.

"You do not know her as I do. You do not feel what I felt. You don't know the innocence and beauty that was taken from me that day. I am simply avenging the one person I ever loved, and all the others who have been struck down by this curse!"

The man looked defiant.

"She told me she didn't want to run anymore. I didn't know what it meant at the time. She said she liked it here, wanted to stay here, in this peaceful place! The legends are true then. You have no mercy, for anyone."

"I have no mercy, because the monsters these people are have no mercy at all! Don't you dare talk to me about mercy, when you're not the one who has to slay a child as they turn, threatening to kill their entire family in the blink of an eye!"

"You said she was different!"

"Only in her cruelty. You're lucky to be alive boy."

The knight put his helmet back on, returning to his composure. He faced the awestruck crowd.

"Which way did she go when she fled?"

The mayor pointed a shaking hand, down near the end of the village. The knight looked, and could still see the signs of what had transpired. The knight left the crowd in silence, heading over to the end of the village, to the burned down husk of a building. Deep crimson was etched into the soil in great blotches, and on examining the area, found great gashes in the wooden pillars where she had climbed the wall. The knight returned to the village center, pausing once more amongst the crowd, staring down at the man in bindings.

"Do not judge this man. It could have happened to any of you. Even to you women amongst the crowd. He is no guiltier of his crimes than a poor man stealing bread to stay alive."

With that the knight left, heading towards the gates of the village, vanishing shortly into the fog, leaving a cold silence in his wake, as the villagers were left there, pondering their encounter with this ancient legend, the man who was more monster than anything else, clad in silver, sworn to hunt until his last breath.

The Knight was deep into the thick woodlands, traveling through the thick fog, following the trail she had left. To even the best hunter, she would have vanished without a trail. But he had centuries of tracking under his belt. There was always a trail. He pondered the words of the man in the village. That was the first time she had ever spared someone. The first time she had ever let herself get caught. In all these years, she had never been caught during a transformation. He had always found her first.

This was something new. Something she had never done before. Was it a ploy? Something to throw him off his guard? Or was it something else instead? He turned his attention back to the present, and realized, the trail went dead. Readying his shield and unsheathing his sword, he stood, ready. He called out to the fog covered trees,

"I know you're here. Come out so that I may end this, finally."

The forest was silent, devoid of any sounds whatsoever. She was here for certain.

"A man in your latest refuge says you don't want to run any more. If that is your wish, then come out."

A voice sounded out in the fog, as sweet as he remembered it. But he knew otherwise.

"Dear husband, the man is right. I don't want to run anymore. I don't want to fight anymore."

"Tell that to the men you slaughtered in the town you fled from."

"You know what it's like! When you get hurt, when you're angry, it comes out. It's no different than if you were chained up, while someone tried to kill you. Would you not fight?"

She always did have a way of talking sense to him. He planted his sword in the ground, but still stood guard, waiting.

"That's no excuse. Not for the things you've done."

"And what about the things you've done husband? You're a monster in the dark to my people, a nightmare told to children to keep them in line. The people you protect are as scared of you as they are of us."

"Good. Your kind should be scared. There is a consequence to everything. Punishment for your sins. Even you are not immune."

"Husband. You understand us better than most. You know how hard it is to control. Do you not remember when you stood by my side in those days, when I tried with everything I had?"

"I do, wife. And I remember the night it all ended. You had killed another. I couldn't live the lie anymore. And I couldn't watch you degrade into such a monster!"

"Husband, do you remember your first fight with me? How clumsy you were? You couldn't even wield a sword. Now look at you. You're the best swordsman in the world. Your abilities surely are unrivaled. It takes time to master things."

"I don't believe you. If you really wanted to master it, you would have back then. But you let go."

"Husband. If you do not believe me, then I will have to show you myself."

"Are you going to kill me, dear wife? Are you going to overpower me with some hidden strength?"

There was a thump behind him. With inhuman reflexes the knight had drawn his sword and spun around, facing the threat. His wife stood in the fog, in torn and burnt clothes, barely any scraps left, looking as young as the day she was infected with the curse. The knight chuckled.

"Oh my. You don't need your form anymore do you? You're going to kill me as a human?"

His wife smiled at him.

"No husband. Just wait."

His wife retreated into the fog. In the mists something could be heard, growling and roaring as his wife changed form. The knight was actually surprised. Only when the moon was visible could they change form. But they didn't change form willingly. He was right. This must have been some ploy by her to get him here. This was uncertain ground now. His wife emerged from the fog, at least a foot or so taller than she was previously, the remaining shreds of her clothes falling off her powerful frame. She towered over him in the fog. But, rather than attack him, she spoke.

"Dear husband, see what I have finally learned. I can control my gift at will. I am no longer bound by the moon and its cycles. I am no longer bound and shoved aside by the beast. We are one now."

She stood tall, opening her arms out wide, the long razor sharp claws of her hands splayed in a gesture of peace. The knight smiled under his helmet. As shocking as this was to him, it was a mistake. She had left herself open to him. With hundreds of years of battle in his veins, he raised his sword, and struck like lightning, right under her breastbone, through her heart. Her massive form slunk on his blade, collapsing. He was brought down to his knee from the weight. He stayed there, with the realization running through his veins of what he'd just done. 500 years. He'd finally done it.

His wife took a breath, running one of her dark furred hands across his helmet, claws scraping the metal.

"Husband. You know we heal faster than regular humans. In my learnings, I figured out how to accelerate it even further."

He looked into his wife's eyes, as she bared her fanged teeth, her ears drawn back. She reared her other arm back, punching it through his chest plate, straight through his heart to the other side. He choked as she stood back up, raising him up in the air. With one hand, she pulled the now bloodied sword from out of her chest, tossing it to the ground effortlessly. He continued to gasp, while she pulled him off of her bloodied arm, placing him on the ground gently.

"Husband. I'm sorry. I know how stubborn you are. You would chase me for eternity. But this is it. One of us was going to go eventually. I know your pain too. Rest now."

She folded his arms on his chest, standing over him. Gently sliding his silver helmet off, she leaned down to him. Her green eyes were in place of the bright yellow ones all beasts commonly had. She pressed her muzzle to his lips, kissing him deeply as his eyes closed. She parted the kiss, standing over him.

"Goodbye husband. May the afterlife bring you peace."

The knight lay there, his last breaths coming to a halt, as the images replayed in his mind of his wife. The knight began laughing as his eyes opened again, as he began to stand up to his feet. His wife turned on the spot, her long tail going rigid in response. The knight stood back up to his feet, breath no longer coming from him as the gaping hole in his chest filled with white energy. His wife went down to all fours, growling as he picked up his sword.

"Husband! How is this possible? What are you?"

The knight looked at the wound where he had stabbed his wife. Completely closed. He looked down to the hole in his chest. Good enough to being closed.

"Wife, you haven't heard all the legends of me have you? Or have I not told you what I went through to hunt you?"

"You turned to a mage dealing in the black arts. You had a curse placed on yourself. But that curse made you immortal, not invincible."

The knight took a swing at his wife, coming up with a bash of his shield as she dodged, the specially made ridges impacting for maximum bruising and pain.

"That curse couldn't make me immortal. No magic is powerful enough to do that. It wore out about 400 hundred years ago."

He blocked a swipe from one of her large clawed hands, as she howled in anger at him. He rolled onto his feet, cutting into both of her legs with a quick slash.

"This started happening a few decades after the curse broke. I won't rest until my goal is complete. The only thing that keeps me alive is my will."

His wife tripped onto him as he cut in just the right spots into her legs. She roared, baring the full extent of the sharp teeth in her muzzle, lunging for his neck. The knight dropped his sword, holding her back with one hand. She swiped a clawed hand across his face, drawing blood, which quickly vaporized as steam, only adding to the cracks and scars of white energy on his face. His wife rolled over, bringing him with her, kicking him off her into a nearby tree, watching as he slumped down the great trunk.

The cuts across her legs healed, and she stood upright, watching, and waiting. The force of her blow snapped his neck, and his head probably hit the tree trunk very hard. She smelled the air for his scent, and realized he didn't have one. It was as if, he wasn't alive, or dead either. And then he moved once more, twisting his head and cracking his neck, as he stood back up. Her ears dropped as the black fur of her mane like patch on her back stood up. She took a defensive stance, watching.

"Husband, what have you become? You're unnatural!"

The Knight dropped his shield, cracking his spiked knuckles together.

"Remember so long ago wife, when you joked that I was too stubborn to die? That was after I had an accident on a horse. It trampled me into the ground and dragged me for half a day before someone found me. You said even the healer looked skeptical."

The knight charged her with his fists up, headlong as his wife closed the distance in a few short strides, lashing out in a flurry of her claws. The knight blocked, albeit thrown off from the weight of the swings, grabbing one of her arms and punching his spiked knuckles up into her elbow, twisting with all the force he could muster, breaking her arm. She bashed him with her shoulder, sending him flying through the fog, sending out a bellowing howl that traveled for miles through the woods. She closed the distance to the knight as he was getting back up, lashing out with a kick into his knee that bent it backwards, toppling him.

She was on him faster than even his own reflexes, and began viciously tearing at the chest plate of his armour, trying to rip it apart. She tore through the ornate ancient silver armour, ripping into his exposed flesh with ease until he stopped moving. She stepped off of him, relocating her arm and letting her powerful healing take over. An ordinary man would have been torn to pieces by what she just put him through. But he remained almost completely intact save for a few minor looking gashes across his chest, which bled for little more than a few seconds before being replaced by whatever unnatural power fed him.

The Knight opened his eyes once more, standing back up without so much as even a stagger. He raised his spiked gauntlets up.

"I can do this all day. But can you? Let's test just how far you can go."

The knight's wife let out a bellowing roar on all fours, before charging headlong at him.

The Knight lay in a shallow stream, watching his wife, who likewise was laying in the water on the other side. They had fought all day long, through the fog as it cleared, through the sun as it shone bright in the afternoon, all the way up to the full moon. Neither was willing to give up. The Knight simply watched her as he snapped his arm back into place, as she likewise healed from the latest batch of injuries he had inflicted on her. She was panting heavily, but her healing showed no signs of slowing. She watched him from across the small stream, her eyes shining under the moonlight.

"How does it feel husband, to know that you will never fulfill your oath?"

The Knight stood up.

"How does it feel to know that you will never have any peace from me?"

His wife howled in rage, charging him from across the stream on all fours in quick powerful strides, closing the gap in seconds, before crashing into him with all her weight. The Knight was swept off his feet, and quickly pinned by his wife, who proceeded to rip into his chest once more. She used every ounce of strength she could muster into her blows, striking him again and again.

An ordinary human would have been mush under what she just put the Knight through. But the white veins and fissures across his skin seemed impervious to harm, and any skin that she struck was torn open briefly, only to close itself as his blood boiled away into nothing. She roared into his face, her sharpened fangs bared completely.

"Insufferable man! Why won't you die!?"

The Knight lashed out in one great strike into her jaw, cracking it in the process. His wife was briefly knocked back from the sheer power of the blow, to which the knight unleashed a quick flurry of blows into joints and nerves, incapacitating his wife. The Knight rolled her heavy frame off himself, and stood back up, cracking his knuckles.

"I won't die unless you go first."

The Knight circled his wife, watching as her incredibly powerful healing begin its work. He waited, studying her wounds as they healed.

"Tell me, when your jaw relocates itself wife, how did you evolve so far beyond your wretched kin? Where did you learn your abilities?"

His wife brought a hand up to her jaw, snapping it back into place. She looked at him with her green eyes, filled with hate.

"The same way you apparently did husband. I got this far because of my own will. And I will not be killed by you!!!"

She lashed out with one of her arms, connecting with a powerful blow that sent the Knight reeling back head over heels into the bushes. She stood up, having recovered now. Her eyes searched for the Knight in the darkness, and found him, standing back up to his feet. She had a plan. She may not be able to kill him. But she may be able to trap him. If she could trap him here for several decades, and then she vanished completely, he would never find her. She looked around the moonlit forest, and found what she would use. Going over to a small, yet relatively large sapling, she uprooted the tree, and charged into the Knight as he came venturing back to her.

The Knight was caught completely by surprise, as his wife impaled him on the tree, keeping him held upright with no chance of escape. She watched the Knight as he struggled, pulling himself along the tree to get to the other end and escape. His wife placed a clawed hand over his face, speaking to him briefly.

"If I can't kill you, I can trap you."

She twisted the Knights neck, snapping it, and watched as he went limp. She wouldn't have long. But she could make this work.

The Knight woke up with a start, taking in the dim light of the forest and the chill air of the morning, as the forest was shrouded in fog once more. He found his wife, quietly sitting on the dirt below him, in Human form, watching him. He tried to move his limbs but found that he couldn't. When he looked, he found out why. His entire body was impaled by various small trees, from every angle. Smaller, flexible trees were wrapped around in places, effectively turning him into a pincushion, trapped against an ancient tree in the forest. His wife watched with solemn eyes as he realized his fate. She spoke to him now, standing up from her spot in the dirt.

"Husband. This is the last time you will ever see me. I am sorry that I could not grant you peace, and instead subject you to this fate."

The Knight fought with all his might, trying to break free, but the amount of things keeping him pinned was too great.

"No!!! I will not let you run, after all this time!!!"

His wife took a deep breath.

"I don't want to fight anymore. I don't want to have to look over my shoulder every time I try to start anew. I want to have a life, with humankind. I want to live in peace."

The Knight shook his head.

"You will never, live in peace. They will always find you. And you will kill them, or worse. You think you have control just because you're different!!? You have the beast in your blood, and always will!!! It will break free again, sooner or later!!!"

His wife shook her head.

"If it does, then I will move on and start anew. But not with having to look over my shoulder anymore!"

"There is nowhere you can run to that I can't follow!"

"But there is, husband. Across the sea, to the other lands far beyond this place. By the time these bindings rot away, I'll have traveled so far away that you'll never find me."

The Knight struggled once more. His wife turned away from him, stepping back into the fog.

"Goodbye husband, for the last time. I leave your armour here for you. When you beak free, maybe you too will move on."

The Knight called after her.

"Wait!!!"

His wife stopped, turning back to see the Knight bound to the tree, his broken armour and weapons leaning at the base like a shrine. The Knight twitched his fingers.

"Take my ring."

She stepped back once more, looking up to the ring that was indeed still attached to his fingers.

"I knew that if I were ever going to fail, it would be because of you. Take my ring with you."

His wife scowled.

"What makes you think I would bring anything with me to remind me of you!?"

The Knight smiled, something he hadn't done in a very, very long time.

"Because I see the necklace around your neck now. It was covered before, but I recognize it. You kept yours too. Even after all this time, you kept it close to you. You remember what you were. The life you had with me. Some small part of you still cares. If you're going to escape me, then take this last piece of me with you, a reminder, a farewell."

His wife watched as the Knight hung there, suspended to the tree.

"What are you saying, Husband?"

"What I'm saying is, I give up. All these years, my life devoted to trailing in the pain and misery in your wake, the killing of your kin, and now it leads here. I thought that life would grant justice to me, and you eventually. But the world has other plans it seems. If I can't stop you, then maybe I can remind you of why I came so far."

The cracks and fissures across the Knights skin faded, their light dimming to a truly pathetic afterglow.

"Husband, what are you doing?"

"I told you. I came this far because of my will alone. And I have failed. Take my ring, and let me die. I am not fit for this world, and if I cannot avenge you, than I have nothing left but the weight of the centuries of what I have done in my failed crusade. I cannot carry it on my shoulders."

The Knights wife clambered up the various thick network of trees that pinned the Knight in place, stroking her hand across his cheek.

"Husband, why do you torture yourself so? Why do you burden yourself against what you cannot change?"

The man looked into the green eyes of his wife, his own having long since faded and replaced with the bright white glow that emanated from his scars.

"Because I was forced to endure it from afar, helpless and only able to watch you fall further away from what you once where, while I could do nothing. I didn't want anyone to experience it again. And most of all, I didn't want you to be the perpetrator of such things. You were pure once, you know."

She ran a hand across his face, feeling the glow of the weak light that shined ever more dimly as he sat there.

"So were you, you know. I am free now, more than you could ever know. I was but a child back then. So naïve in my thinking and mannerisms."

"You were innocent back then. Now look at you."

"I could say the same of you husband."

The Knight coughed up blood now, closing his eyes, feeling so tired.

"It doesn't matter now. Take my ring, and leave me here in my grave. Remember me when you go to strike someone dead. Remember me when you spread your disease to others. Maybe you'll realize it one day, how wrong you were."

The Knight closed his eyes, and said no more, waiting for his wife to leave. Carefully, and gingerly, she found the ring on his finger, and slipped it off, away from his hand, and stepped back down to the earth below. She looked at the ancient ring, the old language their people once used, and the old inscription that was carved into the simple band. She looked up, to the still form of her husband, who hadn't moved since.

Even though, long ago, the spark between the two had long since died out, it hurt to see the Knight, motionless, broken even. Some small part of her looked at the figure of the fallen man before her, who was impaled from so many angles, trapped in a prison, and she remembered, this was the man she fell in love with so long ago. This was the man who she had wanted to spend the rest of her life with, her one, and only soul mate. And in regards, it was still true.

In all her years, she had remained faithful to him and only him. She had always met some strapping young lad who fancied her. Power had a way of doing that to people. But she had never once broken her vows. She looked down at the ring in her hand, twirling it in her fingers. She slid the necklace off her neck, and looked at her own ring, which she had kept with her all these years. If there was one thing she would do, it was remain faithful. She slid the ring onto the chain of her necklace, and watched as it bumped up against its twin.

She looked up to her husband, one last time, before she walked away into the fog, silent as the forest around her. She was free now. The last chain that held her down was forever broken.

The Knight's eyes opened once more, as he felt the heartbeat in his chest. Not his. No, his heart was long since gone. He felt the strain of it, so very much alive. The Knight looked around him, in the darkened forest, and watched as a bright light illuminated his surroundings. The light grew hotter and brighter, like a great sun, as he yelled out in triumph, a great cry of victory that traveled through the woods in vast echoes far and wide.

The light bloomed to its highest, and he watched as the many trees that made up his prison burnt from the white hot light that channeled through him like a fire, and shattered into puffs of ash only to be blown away in the wind. The Knight fell free from his prison, to the earth below, where he lay there as the energy flowed through him once more. He looked up to the skies beyond, before back down to his gear, which his wife had found and placed at the foot of the tree. He gathered it all up, strapped it into place, grabbed his shield and sword, and readied himself.

So long ago had he prepared himself for this day. The ancient ring he too had cursed made contact with its twin, binding him forever to the life force of its one true owner. In all accounts it was bad in every sense of the word for a cursed ring to make contact with its twin, to bind two life forces together. But in his case, it was what he had hoped for. His last insurance policy.

Power and life surged back into his veins like fire, as his own life force was ignited once more, and he concentrated on his ring. There was now an invisible link between his ring, and his wife's, their life force bound together eternally. He could look deep, and find her wherever she was. He felt the overwhelming amounts of energy surge into him like a tidal wave, and keeping his mind focused on the ring, he grasped his weapons tightly, as time and space bent for him, and he phased out of reality for the briefest eternity.

In an explosion of light the Knight phased back into reality, appearing on the deck of a great sea vessel, as rain poured down onto him and thunder lashed out, his silver armour steaming. He appeared in front of two deckhands, who dropped what they were doing in surprise, and then fear. The Knight drew his sword, and stood stall on the deck of the ship. The two hands were still awestruck by his appearance.

"There is a woman aboard this vessel. She will be like none other you have seen before. You will find her, and you will tell her these words."

The two deckhands stood terrified in the Knights presence, as he placed the blade of his sword down on the deck, and leaned on the hilt.

"Her husband has unfinished business with her."

The knight waited, as only one man summoned enough courage to move, crossing the deck of the ship and heading down below. The Knight knew that time had passed. How much, he did not know, or care. The force that fueled his existence was ignited once more, and now he shared a link with his wife. He could find her wherever she fled. The night seas rocked the boat as the rain poured down onto the Knight, who stood as still as a statue.

In the night air, a scream ran out, and in a sudden explosion of wood and splinters, the knight's wife burst through the decking of the ship. She stood, in the tatters of some elegant clothing, in human form. Her eyes watched him, a true expression of shock on them as it was clear she couldn't believe them. She fell to her knees, the word formed on her lips, as he pulled his sword up and readied himself.

"How?"

"My last option. Call it insurance. I can follow you anywhere now."

His wife stood up, pointing a finger at him.

"No!"

The Knight nodded from under his helmet.

"No! You died! Your power faded! What monstrosity are you!?"

The Knight stood fast, as some particularly powerful waves rocked the boat, splashing up over the deck.

"I exist to honour my oath. You have a warriors promise. Even death did not hold me forever."

The Knights wife screamed at him in rage, a pure, primal and ancient scream.

"This ends tonight! One way or the other!"

The Knights wife charged, as he brought his sword up to bare. She transformed in mid stride, her form growing a thick coat of silver fur over her shoulders and chest, as her skin became pale, and her bone structure shifted primarily around her legs and arms, adding an extra joint on the legs and large, powerful arms. Her face changed to something more primal, with long fangs replacing human teeth, and an altered face to match her bestial nature. She stopped in mid stride, seeing her pale skin.

"What is this!? What have you done to me!?"

The Knight charged in her moment of hesitation, smashing into her with his shield full force, driving the blade into her stomach. He toppled her onto the deck, to which she threw him off, sending him sliding across the slippery floorboards. The Knight stood up as fast as his wife did, the very same power coursing through his veins that belonged to her. The two charged each other, this time his wife gaining the upper hand, smashing him down onto the floorboards with both hands. She stepped over him and began beating him furiously, smashing his body into the deck with each blow, until their combined weight broke the boards, and they tumbled down into the decks below.

The storm grew more violent as the ship was no longer crewed well enough to control its path, as the Knight in silver and the ancient beast did battle across the ship. Their fight was brutal, as the two fought harder and harder, becoming more violent and destructive, damaging the travelling vessel more and more. The storm grew intense, as waves became stronger and lashed out, battering the beaten hull of the ship. In the last known moments of the ancient, legendary knight, and the most powerful creatures he had ever come to trade blows with, the two fought to the bitter end as the ship capsized under the immense waves of the storm. The two were never seen again, as the only few remaining survivors were eventually discovered among the wreckage, and told their harrowing tale of what they had laid witness to.

Gentle waves crashed against the shoreline of a sandy beach, as the Knight looked out to the foggy sea beyond. There was no wreckage of the boat on the waves. The Knight continued along the foggy coastline in silence as the waves crashed against his feet. He looked out to the forest beyond the shore. This place was old. Very old. But he did not know where exactly it was. As he walked along the shoreline, eventually, he found the form of his wife on the beach, slumped on the sand.

Whatever weapons the knight had were long since washed away by the sea, and most of his armour was battered and broken. But it didn't matter anyway. His wife had proven her point, and no doubt, he had too. The both of them were physically incapable of destroying each other. The Knight found out when his wife transformed in front of him during the great storm. He had more power running through him then before, and likewise, so did his wife.

The Knight wandered over to his wife as she stirred, and sat down beside her in the sand. He began laughing for the very first time in centuries, as his wife roused to awareness. Her green eyes opened as she took a deep breath, and she rolled over onto her back, laying in the sand.

"Here we are wife. You and I, forever untouchable to the hands of death. All the power running through us, and we're powerless on this place."

The Knights wife leaned her head back, to look at the ancient forests behind them. She simply laid on the sand, looking out to the forests beyond.

"Husband, did I ever tell you that I despise you?"

The Knight nodded.

"We've made our points clear by now."

The Knights wife stood up suddenly, shaking the sand out of her silvery white fur. She looked down at the Knight in the sand, and rather than attack, she spoke.

"I'm leaving. Don't follow me Husband. The thought of trying to kill you for eternity is maddening enough."

The Knight looked out to sea.

"You won't be able to leave this place even if you try. It's old. Very old. And more than what we see now. You're trapped here."

His wife left without another word, and began bounding off into the ancient trees nearby, leaving the Knight on the beach. In some sense, he had done it. And in that regard, the Knight broke out into a happy whistle, as he laid back in the cold sand as the waves crashed over him.

100 years later

Waves crashed against the shoreline, as the sun shone brightly down on the beach today. The Knight stood close to the shore, with a large net splayed out in the water, hoping to catch something. He didn't actually need to eat. But he needed something to occupy his time. And food still tasted good. But he was doing a little more today than just that. He brought the net up from the water and found a few miscellaneous floor dwellers caught in the net. That would do well enough for what he had planned.

The Knight sat around an old fire pit, cooking what he needed to while adding the various juices to the meat to add more flavor. As he turned the meat over the fire, he heard the telltale sounds of footsteps along the sand, and kept his composure, pretending to pay no mind. The Human form of his wife stepped closer, and sat down in the sand next to him as he worked. She was silent until he spoke first.

"How are things?"

His wife remained quiet beside him.

"I know you hate me, wife. But your visits are becoming more frequent. It's been only 9 years since I last saw you. Something is happening on your end."

He pulled the meat out of the fire and dropped it down onto a wooden plate nearby, letting it cool. He sat down next to her in the sand. She watched him, and spoke as he cut the piece of meat up into portions.

"How can you do it?"

The Knight put a piece of meat down into his mouth, and started chewing on it, as he looked over, speaking with his mouth half full.

"Do what?"

His wife spread her hand across the beach, to his small encampment.

"All this. How can you be so normal?"

The Knight continued eating, as he watched the storm clouds off in the distance.

"I need something to pass the time. I'm at peace now, and have only the goals I set out to learn from. Why, what have you been doing?"

His wife scowled.

"What do you think?"

The Knight nodded.

"I told you. This place is old. It feels old. And I told you, eventually what you have inside you would catch up with you. But here, that's okay."

The Knight held the plate out to her as she watched him.

"I tried everything. This place is cursed. And I can't do it. I can't be normal like you. But I don't understand. Why here?"

The Knight held the plate out once more, still chewing away at his food.

"Maybe we're dead. Maybe we're in purgatory. Maybe the world finally caught up with both of us, and justice was served. Either way, it does not matter wife. We are here now, where we both, can do no harm. We are free to do as we please, except return to the mortal world."

His wife snatched a piece of meat away from the bowl quickly, as if he had set a trap.

"Even after all this time you're still insufferable. You really think I couldn't do it?"

The Knight nodded.

"What's happening now proves it, wife. Your instincts are getting the better of you, and even alone you can't stay normal. But here, it doesn't matter. And that's okay."

The Knight's wife was silent as she started chewing on the piece of meat that she had taken. The two sat in silence watching the waves crash against the shoreline, as a storm grew in the distance. She turned her head back to her husband. She pulled the old chain out from around her neck, and slipped a ring off. She held it out to him. The Knight looked inquisitive.

"What's this now?"

"I don't need it as a reminder, now that I'm stuck here with you for all eternity."

The Knight took the ring back, and slipped it onto his finger once more. He looked at it in the sunlight.

"Thank you, wife. I missed the feel of it."

The Knight's wife grabbed him by the neck as he slipped it back on, and stood up from the sand. In one powerful motion she threw him into the trees of the old forest nearby, letting out a bellowing cry as she shifted her form.

The Knight shook his head as he rose up from the tree he landed against, covering his eyes with one hand as he wiped his face. His wife came bursting through the foliage full force as the Knight simply stood there.

"Do we have to do this now?"

His wife crashed into him and pinned him up against a tree, her bestial green eyes locked onto his.

"Do you have any idea how maddening it is!?"

The Knight gave a simple smile across his face.

"Of course I do. That's why I do so much on my own. If I let the fact get to me that I am here for eternity I would go mad. But I take each day as it passes now. This place has many things that I can use to keep my boredom at bay."

The Knight's wife kept her gaze on him as he casually looked into her eyes.

"I can't do this alone anymore, Husband."

The Knight smiled, ever so slightly.

"Well, if you let me down from this tree wife, I'd be happy to let you into my camp. No strings attached."

The Knight held his arms out in a gesture of peace. Slowly, the Knight slid down the trunk of the tree, until he was back on the forest floor once more. He smiled once more.

"Now, how about we both go sit down and finish eating? I'll show you around afterwards."

The Knight walked back past his wife as she eyed his figure carefully, watching as he casually stepped through the jungle, the wounds she inflicted on him disappearing under more of the powerful magic that kept him alive. She shifted back into human form, taking a few steps after him. Her husband had changed so much in these last hundred years. It was almost frightening to see him so calm and easy going. But, at the same time, she smiled at his friendly, accepting nature. Some part of her was excited to be invited to his home territory. She looked down at the ring dangling from her neck, stepping after him, thoughtful.

Later on in the afternoon, the brewing storm caught up with the island, and the Knight decided to pack up and head inside. He was now sitting in the corner of his hut, on a hand crafted bed that he'd made, and was busy carving something with a sharpened rock. His wife had resorted to sitting on the floor, eating the last of his meal while taking in the Knights home.

He'd had over 100 years to make something, and what he'd made wasn't bad. The Knight had a relatively large hut made from trees, which sat a little ways off the shore amongst the edge of the forest. He had taken his time and hand crafted everything in his shelter, from a few chairs and a table, even to the furnishings like the carpets. The Knights wife looked up as she finished the last of his meal.

"You make good food, Husband. Thank you."

The Knight looked up from his work.

"You mean you've never cooked anything here? Surely yours must be better than mine. You always were very good with your meats."

She shook her head.

"I live wild here. This is the first time in a long time that I've ever changed my form."

The Knight shook his head in response.

"That would explain why you don't wear so much then. You really should stick to your old self. You looked better in clothes. I could always make some now. Those red carpets were a pain at first. Kept me busy though."

The Knight watched as his wife shifted uncomfortably.

"All this, is foreign to you now, isn't it? You can't imagine living like this, when in one moment, you could be running free, out there, in the rain. Hunting, or doing whatever it was that you found to pass the time. That's why I never stopped following you. With such a taste of things, how could you ever go back?"

The Knight's wife watched him closely now.

"Then how did you?"

The Knight shook his head, and pointed to a rack containing all of his ancient, battle scarred armour and weaponry.

"I never did wife. I keep this all here, ready for the day when something happens, as it always does. I still train, and keep my wits sharp. It's just now that I don't have a goal, I need to find others to keep myself sane."

"When you hunted me, for all those years, were you alone?"

"Every second. I took no one with me, for fear of losing them in more ways than one."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. What happened, happened. Neither of us can change it."

The Knight's wife stood up now, and sat on the edge of the bed awkwardly.

"No. I'm sorry that you were alone the entire time. You really had nobody?"

The Knight shook his head.

"I saw, people. Many people over the years. And I wanted to reach out, and say hello. But I always went back to what happened. And I couldn't do it again. I couldn't risk losing everything. Not again."

"You didn't lose everything. I'm still here today."

The Knight shook his head.

"Are you? Because when I look into your eyes I don't see the woman that used to live in there looking back at me."

The Knight's wife brought up the ancient ring that dangled around her neck up to his eyes.

"I never threw this away for a reason. And even though I attracted the eyes of many, I was always faithful. When I look into your eyes, I can say the same thing of you husband."

She leaned in close, and caught the Knight off guard, kissing him for just the briefest of moments. She broke away, a coy smile having come over her.

"But I know that you're still in there. And that's good enough for me."

The Knight stopped his carvings, setting them down onto his bed. He looked over to his wife, the ancient magic that clouded his eyes showing no hint of anything beneath. He sighed visibly.

"It's been a very long time since I felt that. I never thought I'd get to experience that again. Thank you, wife."

She continued her smile.

"You know, husband, we still both use these old titles. Maybe it's time we put more meaning behind them once more."

The Knight stood up, going to the entrance of his hut, and stood in the frame, watching the storm outside as the waves crashed against the beach. The Knight looked back over to his ancient set of armour.

"I would be breaking my vows, wife. The vows and oath I took so long ago. But, I would be willing to recede them, under one condition."

He turned back to his wife who had now stood up.

"One last fight."

She tilted her head.

"Why?"

"So that I may break my vows with some dignity."

The Knight and his wife had left his small homey encampment, and made for the beach in the storm. He admitted, the thought of his wife coming to join him was exciting, exhilarating. But he acknowledged the fact that she was still his enemy, and if he were to go back on his ancient vows, then she had to fight him for it. His ancient code demanded it. And fight they did.

But this time, it was different. There was an affection in the air as the two did battle for days on end. The Knight's wife would charge him with the bestial fury that ran in her veins, but her attacks felt different. She often spoke to him, goading him on, or commenting when he gained a temporary upper hand. And likewise, he challenged the power that ran in her, goading her on, reminding her that he was dealing such a thrashing to her in but the simple body of a mortal.

The island they were trapped on lay witness to their powerful blows, the ancient, inhuman silver knight, and likewise, his silver furred wife, who shared a fraction of his own power, as he did hers. The two reached uncontested heights in their fight, never before seen by the eyes of mortals, never meant to be seen. The wind carried the howls of his wife as she cried to the wind, as claws and silver clashed for the last time. And finally, as the fight led the two all across the island, the Knight rolled down a small gully, his ancient armour in near ruin, as he tumbled into a small stream in the ancient forest, as the storm raged on, pelting him with rain. His wife burst through the trees, leaping over top of him as he lay in the stream.

The Knight did not fight, and simply lay there, as his wife stood over top of him. He let out one final sigh of resignation. This was it then. Roughly 700 years, and he was standing down to his wife, welcoming her to join him in his solitude. But, it was more than that. This last, final fight, was illuminating. It had showed him just how different the both of them were, and ironically, how much they were one in the same. There was a respect to be had for the warrior that she had long since grown into. How could he not love her, when he too was of the same make? He pulled his ancient helmet off, and watched as it rolled away in the stream. He smiled up to his wife.

"Ok then, wife. I would wish to spend my time with you, more so than just a mere companion. I accept that you are truly, my Wife once more."

He held up his hand after removing his armoured gauntlets, showing her his ancient ring.

"You are mine. And I am yours."

The Knight's wife eased pressure off of him, looking down at him with a great smile across her face as the rain pelted down on them in the stream.

"Husband. Kiss me like you used to."

The Knight smiled.

"I think I still remember how."

Uncaring of the fact that she was still in her bestial form, the Knight kissed his Wife on the lips and held it, like he used to so long ago, breaking away ever so slowly, as he looked into her green eyes. He broke away at last, watching a smile grace her features. The Knight watched the rain slide down her features as she looked down at him, and came to a realization.

"You know, Wife, I never noticed how you looked before. All that made your features beautiful before are all still present."

The Knight's wife ran a clawed hand across his cheek.

"You always were a little oblivious to the finer details, Husband."

She kissed him back before pinning both of his hands down in the stream.

"What's this now?"

The Knight's wife smiled.

"I'm a person of instinct now husband. And I haven't had the chance to fulfill one instinct, in a very, very long time."

"So bold are we?"

The Knight moved in such a manner that he was able to off balance his wife, and rolled over top of her in the stream as the rain came down harder.

"And what makes you think that you're the only one who's gone without it for so long?"

The Knight's wife laughed, a distinct sound that he'd never heard from her bestial form before, as she forcefully rolled over top of him once more.

"Husband, I wasn't questioning that. I was questioning who would take, and who would give!"

The Knight's wife slipped her large clawed hands across the lower portions of his armour, and she watched with satisfaction as the ancient silver washed away downstream. All that was left was the simple clothing her Husband wore, which was easily torn away by her claws. The Knight was more insistent this time, making somewhat of a game out of things as he used his own strength to flip her over, before he pinned her down on the ground.

"I was always stubborn Wife, so you say. It would please me to no end to see your bestial self in such a compromising position! It would make things ever so sweeter after all this time!"

The Knight's wife kicked him away from her, clambering back over top of him.

"Not without a fight Husband!"

The Knight made a note to run one of his hands across her form. It was true. Under her larger, powerful frame, and her silver fur, she still had the form and features that made her beautiful to him in the first place. The Knight smiled, the ancient white lines across his face creasing upwards in the process.

"If it's a fight you want Wife, then a fight you'll get!"

At first the two's attempts at anything were broken by each other's own nature, the Knight being of unbending will and his Wife being a creature built for dominance, they both struggled to gain control violently, in turn only managing to arouse each other further. But eventually, a simple, often shaky truce came to pass. By then the two completely skipped any pleasantries and were only focused on the one burning desire that was brought out.

The Knight enjoyed watching his Wife, a being made for dominance, being put under control, if only briefly. He watched with pleasure as he held her long powerful legs back past her shoulders, as he thrust in and out without mercy, the now more subtle feminine features of her transformed face etched with pleasure and lust, but the bright flame in her eyes barely held back her need, her want to reverse the situation. She occasionally snarled at him as he put particular emphasis into his thrusts, her long claws dug into the dirt.

Eventually though, the Knight's wife would gain the upper hand, and having pinned him to the ground, she was now riding him without mercy, while the Knight was pinned, forced only to watch as she used him. She knew after all this time he was as likely pent up as she was, but she made an effort to keep him restrained and only able to watch as her supple frame bounced back and forth over top of him, her somewhat hidden breasts bouncing all on their own teasingly.

Both the Knight and his Wife had immense stamina, and continued their game for quite some time, long after the rainstorm had stopped. The entire time, it was a fight for dominance as the knight would go from having his wife pinned to a tree, keeping her arms held tightly together as he smashed into her ass repeatedly, to his wife turning the tables and keeping him pinned to the tree as she reared down on all fours and rode him.

Their reunion was fiery and passionate as they continued to remove hundreds of years' worth of sexual tension, and somewhat violent as well, to which both no longer cared, as they could not harm each other to any point even if they tried their hardest. But it only served to ignite their struggles and grapples as both fucked each other without remorse over the course of a few days and nights. Rather than the forest being filled with the clash of claws and silver, it was now filled with the passionate and angry moans of the two as they continued on, uncaring to the world around them.

The Knight lay inside his hut as another rainstorm pelted his campsite outside, his wife's form wrapped up in his in a mixture of blankets. She rested over top of him, thoroughly entwined with him as her strong legs were wrapped up in his, and likewise they held each other close. His wife was sleeping gently over top of him, but in this quiet lull the Knight was still taking time to appreciate his wife's form, different yet still alluring and beautiful.

Her body was strong and powerful, that of a true werewolf, yet still very feminine underneath it all. He did not need sleep as she did, but still could if he so wished. But in this quiet lull he couldn't pass the opportunity. He stroked areas with tender affection, watching for reactions as she slept, knowing he was having an influence on her even as she slept soundly. Eventually he looked to the outside world, and found that it was growing dark outside.

He did not wish to leave his wife's side, and chose to stay with her, eventually closing his eyes as he relaxed, listening to the heartbeat and breathing of his wife on top of him. He kissed her on the lips before closing his eyes fully, and he too, drifted off to a peaceful sleep. He was now truly content.

After all those centuries, things had finally worked out. He had never truly avenged his wife, but then again, he didn't need to. On this ancient island, where they were trapped inexplicably, he could live with her in peace, and maybe even, as time would march on, fully come to appreciate her as he used to. And if all else failed, they could take their frustrations out through anger sex. He smiled as he mused the thought. She was something pretty when she had that light in her eyes.

In the end, things had worked out. The Knight and no doubt his wife had left their marks on the world of mortal men, and now they could enjoy their lives in peace together without worry or fears. What more could they ask for?

The Knight couldn't think of anything else.

Yes, for the first time in a long time he was alive again.

And he was glad he had his wife to share it with.