//------------------------------//
// Chapter 11: The Newcomer 
// Story: Blood Moon 
// by The_Darker_Fonts 
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Watching the lycan, Hemorrhage couldn’t see how he could’ve been the instigator of the carnage Leper and himself had seen at the village.  The lycan youth was incredibly playful, innocently so, with Leper, and continuously observed Hemorrhage respectfully, having seemed to have realized that he was the alpha here.  The great beast’s tail wagged with every sauntering step towards the forest, panting happily as it went along the way.  Leper responded to the youth’s playful antics with some playful circling, but he otherwise acted as the pathfinder for them as they crossed over several of the rolling green hills.
Now and then, the lycan would glance around at the hills, and towards the village and cave they had come from mournfully.  Hemorrhage was quickly piecing together exactly the kind of life the lycan had been living since that night more than three years ago.  The poor foal had likely not even realized he was transforming until the beastly side had completely taken over.  From there, he must have been solitary and lonely, and that had caused him to search for some sort of family.  Seeing as he now ate meat, the regular creatures that most ponies bonded with, and ponies themselves, were not an option for partnership.  And seeing as how he was probably not too trusting of nocturnals, seeing as that was what had caused his transformation, the only other creatures that he could really bond with were wolves. 
He must have found the pack, instead of forming it, which explained most accurately why he was so much of a follower, and not too untrusting of Hemorrhage’s authoritative demeanor.  He was a natural follower as well, not even questioning exactly where they were going, as long as they had food.  Which played into the bodies that were discovered within the cave, and his intense mourning over them.  They had adopted him, so it was only right that he felt especially bonded to those wolf pups, whether he was in the pack before or after the.  It did make Hemorrhage sad to see the young ones dead, but he knew first hoof the brutality of nature, and its merciless ways. 
There was a sudden yelp as the young lycan missed a step up the slightly sheer face of a larger hill that led directly to the edge of the forest, causing both himself and Leper to start.  The large lycan simply shook his paw out before stepping surely up the rest of the hill, his happy panting uninterrupted.  There was a moment more of pause as both of them saw something exposed by the lycans shaking, the fur settling aside to reveal a dangerous looking injury on its back.  Somewhat in the bottom part of his back, concealed under the mat of fur, was a metal spoke stuck into his skin, the surrounding hair underneath crusted over with infected scabbing.  While he didn’t see the actual skin, Hemorrhage knew the skin around the entrance to the wound would have to be incredibly infected, especially if his theory about the massacre at the village was correct.  It would mean that the lycan had kept the wound for nearly four months, a tremendously painful infection resulting from the wound.
Leper had definitely seen the same as he lagged slightly behind, allowing for Hemorrhage to catch up with his companion.  “You saw the wound,” he asked softly, to which the mordigan nodded, still speeding up to ensure that he was beside their young friend.  He didn’t want the playful creature to be left to guide himself, and Leper had already taken initiative, passing behind Hemorrhage and taking the lead.  “That needs to be cleaned immediately.  I’m not sure if you saw or not, but there are definitely maggots around the puncture, and the skin is deep red with puss pockets all around.”
“We’ll have Ailade clean it out once we return home,” Hemorrhage ensured.  “We’ll probably have to use Flaize leaves to knock this one out, but the poor thing will have a good meal first, even if that means I have to hunt for more.  He must be starving to death, because that’s how all those wolves in his cave died.”
Leper glanced to the side at the lycan, who was staring curiously at them as it went.  They would have to teach him how to be a pony again, or at least speak and act enough like it, if he was truly stuck in his lycan form.  With an encouraging gesture of his wing, he pointed towards the gap in the brush that marked where the beaten down path lay.  The lycan glanced from his wing to the path and back, closing his mouth as he twisted his head sideways in confusion.  Ah, yes, the creature wasn’t quite sure why they should head into the forest now, when they were so close to it earlier, Hemorrhage realized.
“Home,” the mordigan explained encouragingly, emphasizing the word with another point of his wing.  
“Hmmm,” the lycan agreed, growling the phrase out with the slightest touch of mournfulness, glancing back to the cavern where his pack lay dead.  “Hrmmm.” 
Leper gave their young friend a sad glance before entering the forest, ducking beneath a low hanging branch.  The renegade lycan simply brushed past it, his weight snapping it off as he passed directly through it.  He lumbered down the path with an observatorial glance around him, questioning the strange, unnatural path in the middle of nature.  He looked back over to Hemorrhage, to which the mordigan encouragingly gestured the lycan on.  After a moment of thought, the youth began happily panting again, prancing up to be beside Leper on the narrow path, practically pushing him into the brush lining the path.
Smirking at the sight, Hemorrhage recognized the place where the road curved off straight toward their castle.  Now was the real test to see how far the young lycan’s trust extended for them, and exactly his relationships with ponies and their structures in general.  If he were to flinch away from their castle with its pony-like structure, then it would be proof that he was beyond saving as a pony, but if he showed at least some sort of familiarity or didn’t even react to the structure, it may be a sign of a more docile, less primitive side to him, a side they could capitalize on to release him from his beastly state.
Surely enough, as they rounded the corner, the lycan pulled to a near stop, his paw slowly coming down and his eyes locked onto the castle.  His eyes widened in surprise at the sight, before narrowing sharply as he growled slightly at it.  However, despite this, he seemed to growl at it more because he was unfamiliar with the thing itself than its affiliation to ponies.  He looked it up and down as if it were some sort of large beast, his stance defensive as he stared down the intimidating structure.  
With a slightly concerned glance to Leper, Hemorrhage encouragingly called out again, “Home.”
The lycan’s head whipped around to him, eyes wide and curious as his head tilted once again, an ear lifting to allow him to hear clearer.  “Hrrmm,” the beast questioningly rumbled.
“Yeah, home,” the mordigan reiterated.  
The lycan gave him a wide-eyed, confused huff, turning around to stare at the castle, which Leper was approaching without hesitation.  Seeing the older lycan confidently striding towards their stone brick home, the young one began tentatively approaching it as well, keeping his stance low as he slowly walked down towards the castle.  Hemorrhage smiled at the lycan youth’s compliance, following behind him as they finished their short journey.  So long as nothing drastic occurred before they arrived inside, there was no doubt in his mind that they would be able to help the wounded and lost lycan.  
It was probably that thought that summoned Ailade from within the castle, as the wooden double doors burst outward to give way to her.  She was running without looking forward, yelling back to the castle something while her silky wings began to flap.  The sudden movement caused the young lycan to yelp, before growling and barking at the approaching mare.  She pulled up shortly, her head turning as she stopped, skidding across the path for a few more paces.  
The beast beside them had now moved in front of them in a protective stance, ensuring that nopony was going to harm its new friends.  It was amazing how quickly the large monster had gone from playfully docile, to aggressively defensive, barking uncontrollably now at the coven’s vampyre.  Ailade, for her part, reacted well enough to being greeted by a monstrous lycan right in the path to their home, slowly sitting down as she stared the beast down.  His barking subsided slightly, being replaced by growling as he observed Ailade's calmness.  Hemorrhage had never trained, or even instructed, any of them on how to react to a rogue, and most likely feral, nocturnal, but it seemed like Ailade had been prepared.
“Hey, big fella, no need to be scared, I was just leaving my home,” Ailade soothingly, facing the lycan calmly as it continued to slowly approach her.  Hearing another creature call the place “home”, he halted his progression in confusion, glancing back towards Hemorrhage and Leper for confirmation.  
“Hmmm,” he grumbled lightly, a questioning tilt of his head at the familiar word from an unfamiliar face.  He glanced back to Leper and Hemorrhage once again for affirmation, which they both gave.  After a brief moment of consideration, he nodded confidently, grumbling firmly, “Hermm.”
Hemorrhage watched as Ailade let out a sigh of relief as the large lycan slowly began to walk towards the still gaping doors.  She had to lean over to see the two other coven members behind the encroaching mass of intimidating fur, but she seemed to have already known they would be there, most likely because the massive beast passing by her had given them away with its glance back.  Having confirmed that they were indeed there, she stepped aside and watched as the youthful lycan timidly approached the doors, which were large enough that he needn’t crouch to duck through them.  However, perhaps from sudden meekness or because he wasn’t absolutely trusting of the structure, he bowed himself down, staring up to watch the top of the doorway as he entered.
Ailade watched the creature enter calmly, staying completely still as she waited for the companions to catch up with her.  Turning slightly to Hemorrhage while keeping her eyes on the lycan, who had paused on entry, she asked, “Who exactly is this lovely friend you’ve brought home tonight?  A member of the other coven, or perhaps an overgrown stray?”
“You remember the young colt that Leper reported having seen attacked,” he questioned, instead of answering.  “We believe this may be him.”
Ailade gasped as she turned her head to face him directly, staring up at him in shock.  “Are you sure.” she inquired doubtfully.  “It’s been a good long while, and Leper was pretty far out there.  Perhaps this is somepony else.”
“Well, whoever he is, it doesn’t matter unless we can free him from his beastly state,” Hemorrhage stated.  “As you can tell, he can somewhat understand what we say, so he definitely was a pony, and not naturally born.  He also had a pack of wolves that he stayed with, but it appeared that they all starved through the winter, and only he was left.”
“Oh, that’s terrible,” she exclaimed in a hushed voice, as they both began to stare at the creature they were discussing.  “The poor dear has gone through so much, whether he was the colt or not.”
“Well, there’s worse to it,” Hemorrhage continued, hushing his voice as well.  The lycan innocently began scratching at a spot on its neck, Leper smiling at the canine action.  “Leper and I both visited the village to see exactly what the matter was with them, and why they weren’t contacting us and why we hadn’t heard from them.  Well, when we arrived, we found the skeletons of some sixty three ponies, which if I remember correctly, were all but three adults.”  The statement was met with Ailade’s jaw dropping as a strangled noise came from her.  Despite her more motherly approach in caring for him, she was young, and had yet to experience the vast amount of death that came with long life.  “The bodies were all maimed, and among them were two wolf bodies, side by side.  Leper picked up the scent of this lycan, and from there we found its home and brought it back.”
“Why would it and its pack attack those ponies,” she asked, still looking as if she’d run into a wall.  
“We think that, most likely, it was an issue of territorialism, and that the ponies were the ones that started the fighting.  I’m sure that you can see how docile and playful this one is, and quite frankly, it doesn’t make sense how he could ever have instigated such a massacre, but it’s painfully obvious from the ruins that he was the main perpetrator of pony deaths.  He actually still has a wound from the conflict, a metal spoke of some sort stuck into his back.  I didn’t see the full extent of his wounds, but according to Leper, there are maggots within the infected yellow skin.”
“Well that’s awful,” Ailade proclaimed.  “We’ll have to clean it out as soon as we can.  I’ll use some Flaize leaves to allow him to sleep well while I work on him.”
“He needs food first,” Hemorrhage added.  “He still hasn’t eaten in who knows how long.  Considering the prime condition of the bodies in his cave, he wasn’t desperate enough to start eating those, and he didn’t immediately attack me out of hunger.  However, he won’t heal well malnourished.”
“Yes yes, of course,” Ailade dismissed.  “Being fussy is my job, master.  You get inside.  After the night you’ve had, you need your rest as well, though the others may expect some sort of explanation for the stray.”
Suddenly feeling the tiredness Ailade had described, Hemorrhage muttered, “Leper was there.  He can explain it to the others.”
He walked through the familiar doorway of the castle, which the lycans seemed to take as permission to continue on.  Tongue lolling out of his mouth, the younger lycan followed Leper through the foyer as he wisely led the beast towards an empty room, presumably where Ailade would operate on his wounds.  
“Oh, there is one particular thing I forgot to mention,” Ailade called after him as he entered the hallway that led to his room.  
“And that is,” he questioned without looking back, though he slowed.  
“Well, we happen to have another guest,” the vampyre admitted almost bashfully.”
“Ailade, what in Tartarus do you…” Hemorrhage trailed off as he turned around to face Ailade, but his eyes instead locked on an unfamiliar face.  A mare stood right beside Ailade, holding a small foal in one of her hooves, staring almost meekly at him.  For a moment, he was frozen, but then he felt a twinge in the very center of his being, something he’d never expected to happen, and in that moment he knew he was in love.