Challenge fic 2: Nightsong
Title: Nightsong
Word count: ~630
Summary: For the werewolf, the moon is the only one who matters. For Sheera (trans_elysiance)
Nightsong
She was in Her full glory tonight, bathing the earthen landscape in soft light that made the muddy field gleam. Water splashed up from the ground onto his legs as he ran towards his favorite cliff, coating his muscular thighs in thick, viscous liquid that was starting to harden on his upper body. He could feel the Change building inside him, the wild fire of energy that coursed through his blood dominating more and more of his mind as he ran, strengthening his senses. The scent of the earth was heavy and damp, and it held all the scents of Fall; the fallen leaves, the crisp night air that would have chilled his blood if he was purely human, even the scent of livestock from the farmhouse. Even the feel of earth and fallen leaves under his feet made him feel extremely alive.
He jumped over the fence separating the rows of harvested corn from the forest-like area outside easily, giving a whoop of exhilaration as he landed on the muddy riverbank on the other side. He was going to the highest point in his territory to see her properly, and she was rewarding him with the strength that came from the Change. He followed the river upstream, using the reflection it cast on his surroundings to spot game. Noting that his eyes were starting to shift from brown to a golden colour, he stopped playing around and ran faster. The river’s pace was as joyous as his own, dancing around rocks, and lapping at its banks as fish took turns jumping out of its waters, trying to catch bugs flying too close. He broke away from the river as it broke into a trio of smaller streams, and went into the woods.
The forest floor wasn’t as muddy as the rest of the terrain had been, and he made better time now that he didn’t have to fight to pull his feet away from the ground. However, it blocked his view of the moon and that made him uneasy. He knew that She was still there in the sky, but the canopy of trees was hiding Her beauty from his eyes.
When he finally reached the cliff over-looking the farm he had ran across, he let out a howl of despair. The clouds had taken over the task of hiding Her from him, making her firm round body into a film of light that stretched across the better part of the sky. His body was Changing without her, his bones twisting under his skin to accommodate his other form. Pain raced through his body along with the fiery sensation that accompanied the Change, his skin sprouting a thick coat of silver-gray hair that always made Her smile.
He was panting by the time he was in the form She loved, but he lifted his muzzle anyway and started to sing to Her, begging Her to show Her face again before dawn came and robbed him of Her love. He sang of the hunt, of running through the woods after game, of the beauty She gave to the land and how he missed Her during the day. The song of a barn owl joined his, her soft voice lending strength to his.
And then He imagined her coming to him in the guise of a woman he could take as his wife. How he could please Her if She could give up Her games.
Finally, he realized that She was always in him. She was the fire in the Change that left him panting, She was the reason why he couldn’t help spilling his seed when he caught his prey. She was the reason why he could live.
And then She peeked out from behind Her veil of clouds and let him sing to Her.
Word count: ~630
Summary: For the werewolf, the moon is the only one who matters. For Sheera (trans_elysiance)
Nightsong
She was in Her full glory tonight, bathing the earthen landscape in soft light that made the muddy field gleam. Water splashed up from the ground onto his legs as he ran towards his favorite cliff, coating his muscular thighs in thick, viscous liquid that was starting to harden on his upper body. He could feel the Change building inside him, the wild fire of energy that coursed through his blood dominating more and more of his mind as he ran, strengthening his senses. The scent of the earth was heavy and damp, and it held all the scents of Fall; the fallen leaves, the crisp night air that would have chilled his blood if he was purely human, even the scent of livestock from the farmhouse. Even the feel of earth and fallen leaves under his feet made him feel extremely alive.
He jumped over the fence separating the rows of harvested corn from the forest-like area outside easily, giving a whoop of exhilaration as he landed on the muddy riverbank on the other side. He was going to the highest point in his territory to see her properly, and she was rewarding him with the strength that came from the Change. He followed the river upstream, using the reflection it cast on his surroundings to spot game. Noting that his eyes were starting to shift from brown to a golden colour, he stopped playing around and ran faster. The river’s pace was as joyous as his own, dancing around rocks, and lapping at its banks as fish took turns jumping out of its waters, trying to catch bugs flying too close. He broke away from the river as it broke into a trio of smaller streams, and went into the woods.
The forest floor wasn’t as muddy as the rest of the terrain had been, and he made better time now that he didn’t have to fight to pull his feet away from the ground. However, it blocked his view of the moon and that made him uneasy. He knew that She was still there in the sky, but the canopy of trees was hiding Her beauty from his eyes.
When he finally reached the cliff over-looking the farm he had ran across, he let out a howl of despair. The clouds had taken over the task of hiding Her from him, making her firm round body into a film of light that stretched across the better part of the sky. His body was Changing without her, his bones twisting under his skin to accommodate his other form. Pain raced through his body along with the fiery sensation that accompanied the Change, his skin sprouting a thick coat of silver-gray hair that always made Her smile.
He was panting by the time he was in the form She loved, but he lifted his muzzle anyway and started to sing to Her, begging Her to show Her face again before dawn came and robbed him of Her love. He sang of the hunt, of running through the woods after game, of the beauty She gave to the land and how he missed Her during the day. The song of a barn owl joined his, her soft voice lending strength to his.
And then He imagined her coming to him in the guise of a woman he could take as his wife. How he could please Her if She could give up Her games.
Finally, he realized that She was always in him. She was the fire in the Change that left him panting, She was the reason why he couldn’t help spilling his seed when he caught his prey. She was the reason why he could live.
And then She peeked out from behind Her veil of clouds and let him sing to Her.