s the large and golden wolf drew back from his body, the movement within his peripheral vision caused Brendon to immediately draw his attention away from his room and to the creature. He felt a sharp sting flare within his already pounding heart, and he had to take a moment to calm himself down, one of his hand raising to press flat against his chest.

Even though he was awake, he was incredibly exhausted. The strain on his heart physically ached, and his arm felt as though it had weights strapped to it. The room spun with a dizziness he hadn’t known had been present until now, and it took a handful of seconds for his vision to come together and focus on the large beast at his bedside.

He was within his room…

The fireplace was crackling, and left him warm, with the added coverage of his blankets laying over him within the bed. How… had they…? He couldn’t remember, at least not right away, because he was just simply too exhausted. It hurt his brain when he tried to think. And he… felt so weak.

“Wh…,” He tried, but his voice was hoarse and dry. “What happened?”

he wolf wasn’t adverse to their contact either, instead pressing forward and against him, almost cuddling to show his… affection. Brendon’s heart thumped within his chest, still beating quickly, but now he could also feel the mingling sensation of embarrassment as it burned at his cheeks. H-Had he blessed him accidentally? Had he bestowed the sentiment o-of affection onto him?

A strange glow, too, also began to come to life within them, their bodies all alight in a white gold, warmth spreading all the way through him, reaching his very fingertips. A soft, and startled, noise came from his throat as he began to draw back, uncertain and confused, but the wolf came with him — along with a bombarding amount of emotions, glimpses into the creature’s life.

Alarm filled Brendon’s smaller body as the large wolf fell onto him, bringing them down from their flight, and into a large hill of soft padded snow. Brendon sunk well deep within it, as it cushioned his fall, and the large body of the beast came over on top of him.

A strange sensation had taken hold of him, gripping at his very heart. A feeling of connection, something internal, or spiritual — magical — sealing and encasing him in a deep warmth of familarity. But with it also came the wolf’s very emotions; his despair and his betrayal, but more powerful than everything else was his… loneliness, aching so deep within his soul, and now reaching out to embrace him. His salvation…

Brendon blinked back a fresh surge of hot tears as the powerful emotion gripped him. He could feel his nose burning, and he had to physically hold himself back, his heart beating wildly within his chest. He didn’t understand what was going on, but as he held onto the thick fur coat of the animal, he could feel his curse even more deadlier than he had prior. The negative energy sweltered and churned, swallowing even him into its suffocating abyss. But, his hand gripped over the link that held it all binded together and within seconds it shattered and splintered away, sucking up all of his energy and consciousness along with it.

he large and golden wolf did not attempt to escape even in despite of the ample time he had to do so. Instead, he remained perched atop the wall, as though simply waiting on him to arrive. As Brendon neared the creature, the closer he became the more his heart beat faster, until finally he was there, mere inches from him. With a suddenly determined look on his face, he moved forward with purpose and adamancy, pushing both of his hands out, thinking the wolf would be up to more tricks at the very last second.

—And he had been right; his hands met only with the wall of a barrier, the invisible wall lighting up as both of his outstretched hands pressed into it. Brendon had expected more tricks, but not a barrier, and for some inexplicable reason, it actually struck at his heart. He could feel tears springing to his eyes, burning at his nose, as his face scrunched up with his frustrated upset.

e had already sort of expected the wolf to not allow him to touch him, so Brendon wasn’t all that surprised when the animal immediately stood and moved away from him. The beast acted more like a housepet than an actual wild animal, but like a housepet that had been abandoned and was uncertain of others.

Brendon frowned, and pursed his lips, placing both of his hands on his hips as he stared ahead at the wolf who was going to continue to evade him. He suddenly wished that he had a leash — oh, wait! A blessing...! H-He could use a blessing!

Suddenly, his expression flourished at the idea, a wicked grin spreading across his face, seconds before his gaze narrowed in on the large dog before him. Bringing his hands forward, he coiled them into fists, and tried to concentrate on the animal as best as he could.

“Okay…,” He mumbled out, gaze narrowing further, his cheeks beginning to grow hot, as he tried to build his own inner strength and ability to bestow blessings onto others. It was something he had little practice in, and if he had said he was a novice at curse breaking, well, he was like 10% at blessings.

When he felt it come to life in the palm of his hands, a sensation of powerful magic, a gasp escaped him — realizing he had summoned it! — and he instantly launched at the wolf, both hands outstretched, in a desperate attempt to make contact.

he golden wolf only stared at him for a long and hard moment, with no visible expression on his features. Although, Brendon wasn’t certain whether or not animals could even have expressions, so he wasn’t too concerned. But, he did draw back up to his full, but short, stature and clasped his hands together as he watched the large beast proceed to prowl in a circle around him. If he were to be honest with himself, Brendon would have to admit that he did feel a bit intimidated and a little bit scared, watching the large creature stalk around him like that.

But, he was certain that he knew exactly what he was! His curse had been made as plain as day, and the wolf before him was in fact a human. But, he supposed that didn’t necessarily mean that he was automatically out of danger. Humans could be dangerous too. Thankfully, though, the great beast stopped his stalking not long after he had begun it, and came to a stop directly in front of him, taking a seat, and then shook his head in a pronounced way.

“What does that mean?” Brendon immediately asked him in return, already perplexed. Did he think that he couldn’t do it? Maybe because of how young he was, or the fact that he had openly admitted that he was a novice?

rendon wasn’t certain why he wasn’t more scared, especially when there was an abnormally large wolf within such close proximity of him. Maybe it was because he had never actually been in any true danger before; he had never seen a terror, and he had never met anyone of suspicious or violent intent. The most experience he had in regards to unsavory behavior was that of his extended family, but the household staff, guests, and strangers were completely separate within his mind.

Still, the alarm bells were ringing within his mind, which was why he was thinking about it in the first place, and felt like he should have reasonably been more scared. He probably should have been shaking within his boots, or on the verge of tears, because a large, carnivorous, and feral wolf had pounced into the grounds and was now staring him down!

But, what if his feelings — his intuition — were right? Maybe he wasn’t scared because, as a nephilim, he could sense that the wolf before him was not just a simple animal? Actually, Brendon realized with a bit of a start, his eyes widening ever so slightly, that what he was sensing and seeing was…

“You’re cursed,” He mumbled out, clearly shocked and also sympathetic. He had no idea that the curse had been used in a way to keep it hidden, because for Brendon, now that he had taken note, it stood out as completely obvious. The negative energy sweltered around the golden wolf in a thick and ominous smog.

ith both of his hands reaching out, the covered fabric at his palms flattened against the stone wall, only his fingertips feelings its icy temperature, as he began to step up onto the snow covered bench, one foot at a time. A soft grunt parted from his mouth as he straightened, his legs somewhat wobbly from the curved surface of the bench. But, as he looked up, arms outstretched, and hands against the wall, he realized with an increasing amount of annoyance, that he had barely made it halfway. He couldn’t have even hoped to look over the top, unless he manifested his wings and simply flew to the height.

He most likely would have done it, the light already bursting around him to form at his shoulders and back, in autumn hues, when he was completely startled by the large shadowed silhouette of a creature as it appeared at the top of the wall, looming down over him, with the same piercing emerald he had glimpsed before!

Brendon’s heart lurched, a loud gasp escaped his mouth, his concentration shattered and the summoning light dissipating in a glowing dust of sparkles, as he quite literally fell over backwards, off of the bench, the coat on his back meeting the cold crunch of snow as he fell into it, a strangled cry of shock and fear escaping him as he went down. "A-Ahh!"