My 1000th post - Deadlier Than The Male – Exclusive for SteemIt

Tutorial for Werewolves – a ‘How To’ not be discovered and tricked into turning. Humes are so devious and conniving…

They went back to the boarding house after they had collected their clothing. All had separate rooms and bade each other goodnight before retiring. Hazel’s room was on the back of the house, on the opposite side to the other two and she left them at the top of the stairs in order to go down the corridor to her own room.

There was a washbasin in the room and a jug of clean water. She part-filled the basin and stripped her dress down to her waist, and then she washed her face, neck and upper body. She pulled her dress back up and lifted her skirts in order to wash the rest of her, and then took the basin to the window to throw the water out and was surprised to see a man clambering up the wall and across the rooftops of the outbuildings just outside her window. Pretending she had not seen him, but cloaking herself just in case he was Wolf, she threw out the water and pulled the window to, but not closed. She did not close the curtains but she got undressed and got in bed.

As she thought, she did not have long to wait for the intruder. She heard him as he opened the window and stepped into her room. Crouching down so the window did not silhouette him, he made his way over to the side of her bed. When he was no longer in between Hazel and the window, he stood again, he seemed to watch Hazel for a while and she feigned sleep. She could not sense that he was Wolf, but that did not mean he was not, he could very well be an Ancient with more powerful cloaking skills than she could penetrate. This could also mean that he would know she was Wolf too. But she did sense a difference to him, one that she could not explain, but would remember to ask Anton about.

Hazel did not know quite what to do, so she stayed still, she kept her breathing deep and even, waiting for him to make a move. He surprised her when he made his next move because he took his leave. He again crouched and went to the window, stepped out and pushed the window closed, just as Hazel had left it. Then Hazel could hear him scrambling across the rooftops. She stayed where she was, puzzled over her intruder, but the exertions of the evening soon took over and though the moon was still an influence over Nichasin and he was pacing the floor in his room, Hazel slept.

At breakfast the following morning, Nichasin looked as though he had had little sleep, which was correct, but he claimed not to be tired. She recounted her adventure of the previous night quietly so as not to be overheard by the attentive serving girl who was busy giving Nichasin flirtatious glances. Anton could offer no explanation for the feeling Hazel had sensed.

Then Hazel recognised the looks the girl and Nichasin were exchanging and she laughed. Anton looked up from his cup, which he had been studying. “What are you laughing at Hazel?” He asked.

“Look at the serving girl when next she passes by this table. She is giving Nichasin the eye. I do believe there is courting going on here, Nichasin?” Hazel giggled, she giggled more when Nichasin’s face coloured to pink.

“Nichasin, have you been dallying with that wench?” Anton said with mock-sternness.

“I.. but.. Did I do wrong? I saw no harm. Oh, I’m sorry.” Nichasin stammered.

Anton and Hazel laughed out loud at his embarrassment and the girl’s attention was drawn to their table once more.

“Ah! You are teasing me, you devils!” Nichasin realised.

“Be very careful Nichasin, the girl has probably a lover here; I would speculate that she has a father and brothers too. Don’t cause insult in case they come calling. We have enough on our plate at the moment without Humes after our blood for reasons such as romance.” Anton said.

“I agree Anton; as yet she can take no offence for I have not actually done the deed, although I was tempted last night. I was so restless. I went for a little walk in the yard out back. I saw our maiden there and she took my arm and walked with me a little way, there is a comfortable barn not far from here and she was so very willing and so disappointed when I would not…” Nichasin sighed and shifted his position on his chair.

Anton smiled as he saw this movement and said “She makes you uncomfortable even thinking about her then Nichasin?” He nodded towards Nichasin and Nichasin had the good grace to blush once more.

Hazel slapped Anton’s arm and said, “Stop that. The poor man is quite uncomfortable enough without you adding to his discomfiture. You are mean sometimes Anton.” She laughed, showing Nichasin that she was not as concerned for his feelings as he had thought her to be.

Nichasin just groaned at them both.

After they had eaten, they walked outside to explore the town. Hazel asked if they would be shopping and Anton refused to allow her to buy anything as they would soon be in Rome, where more sumptuous gowns and cloaks and shoes were just awaiting Hazel’s arrival. Anton promised that she would be tired of shopping long before he was tired of buying for her.

They stayed away from the poorer side of town, they did not wish to go close to where they had hunted the previous night, but they stopped at the little houses where wine and ale was served. They listened to the gossip and picked up a few details about the deaths of the two men they had caused. The first one was debated over, some said he was attacked in the street by a wild animal, others said that was nonsense; he was probably fighting or attacked either by knife-wielding men or a large dog. News of the second death had not yet reached town because the gypsies kept themselves to themselves and perhaps they had not even noticed the victim’s absence. If he were not married then maybe he would not yet be missed.

As they returned to the vicinity of the boarding house, Hazel sensed someone watching them. She turned and met the stare of a man. He bowed with his gaze downward and she turned back. She mentioned this to Anton and Nichasin as they continued. Both men looked around but the man had gone.

“Did you recognise him; do you think it was the one from last night?” Nichasin asked.

“I don’t know, it may have been the one from last night, but I didn’t see his face clearly, I seem to recall his face from somewhere, but of late we have seen so many people that I can’t remember exactly where I saw him.” She shrugged.

Hazel sensed someone watching her with alarming frequency during the rest of the day but she didn’t submit to the urge to turn around and look for the source of the feelings. She also remembered to try to recapture the sensation from the previous night, but was not successful.

Anton left them just before they went out that evening. He gave them instructions that whatever happened; they were to try to not change to Wolf until they arrived at the meeting place. Nichasin and Hazel made their way to the wood where Anton had told them to meet him. As they approached, they could smell blood, urine and fear. Nichasin bristled at the scents; Hazel was also unnerved by the smells as well as the sounds.

“Hazel, I need to change.” Nichasin almost seemed to be pleading with her.

“No, you can’t! Anton said we are to try our best not to. Concentrate. I know this is hard, but you must, this is important.”

They passed close to viscera hanging from branches and Nichasin growled as though pained. Hazel took hold of his hand and he squeezed hers hard and it did seem to help. At last they arrived at the meeting place and further horrors awaited. The scent of adrenalin, blood and urine was prevalent in this place, more than anywhere else they had yet been. Nichasin was almost uncontrollable in his urge to change, Hazel was just keeping herself in human form too and she found she was growling deep in her throat.

Suddenly Anton leaped from a tree high above them, landing in front of the two who were still holding hands like a couple of lost schoolchildren. In an instant both had lost what little control they held and were transformed to full Wolf. Nichasin lost command of his senses and snapped at Anton whilst pushing Hazel to one side in order to protect her. Just as suddenly, he realised what he had done and cowered in supplication in front of Anton. Hazel was in a volatile state and Anton kept his distance until they had calmed.

Neither could change back to human form in their explosive state of tension and Anton had quite a wait for them to be calm enough to listen to him. Both were prowling around, circling with each other but wary of each other whilst keeping an eye on Anton. After a good few minutes they both sat side by side and Anton could speak to them.

“I have tested you severely this evening, but there is a reason for that. In a while you will have to make your own way in the world of man. They are a stupid and superstitious race. They have Hunters for our kind, these are not just legends and rumours; they have men who hunt Were-wolves for a living. Usually they have some sort of ability to sense us, be they psychic or Throwback. Sometimes Throwbacks have normal lives and pass the ability to sense us onto their otherwise normal offspring. These are dangerous Humes, they know what we are and they kill us without fear of our First Laws, they kill us for their profit. Some are good and make a decent living from their trade, some are not so good and either they die quickly or cannot make a living. Some - granted they are an exceptional few - but there still are some who make an outstanding career and are very successful at killing our kind. They are the ones to be wary of. They know many of our secrets, and that is another good reason for killing any Throwback we find. But these Hunters will use devious means to prove that you are indeed Wolf.

“It is far more spectacular that they capture a Wolf and cage or shackle him when he is in human form and then have him change before the very eyes of the people who are to be paying him. That proves beyond all doubt that they have indeed captured the beast that has been terrorising their town or village. The way he would make you change would be to wait for the Full Moon. However he also knows that unless the Wolf is very newly whelped he may be able to resist the change then, much as Nichasin did on the cog, until he smelled the blood of the captain. The hunter would therefore know to have fresh blood waiting, sometimes a newly slaughtered lamb will suffice and sometimes he would not balk at using human blood. He would also use the other tricks I used tonight: male urine, adrenalin and guts. Any of those factors would excite all but an Ancient and would cause minor, possibly only very subtle changes in a Wolf, but he will know what to look for and will notice. If only he were to notice the subtleties then the deciding factor would be to use silver.

“Whilst you both did exceptionally well tonight and I am very pleased with you, it is not nearly enough. You would both have been proven Wolf tonight if this had not been a test. You must practice more; your very lives depend upon it. I will not push you any further tonight, go to your hunt, but even though I will cover your tracks, please be wary! There is a hunter in Marseilles, and he has lived here many years and does not venture far. He is an exceptional Hunter and has made a good living, enough on which to retire, but that is not to say if a Wolf ventured into his territory that he would not hesitate to use his skills to supplement his wealth. Go! We leave on the early tide. I will meet you before daybreak at the far end of the harbour.” Anton sent them off with a wave of his hands, already stooping to pick up their clothes.

After depositing the clothes at the boarding house, Anton went out to find where his protégés had been hunting. It did not take him long to find a kill they had made and whilst they had killed this man in a clean and silent way – for there were not yet any observers – they had left a mess such that none would assume this to be any kind of violent murder of human upon human, it went much further than violence. Anton understood why the pair had decimated the body after the killing, they must have been highly charged after his test of them.

He acted fast and was ever watchful as he used his knife to cut the evidence of the teeth marks out of the victims flesh. Then he shouted “Murder! Stop!” until people looked out of windows and doors. He crouched down as though to cradle the dead man in order to get more blood on his clothes and disguise the fact that he had cut him. He allowed others to pull him up and away from the body so they could see the dead man. Then when there were a few people in front of him, he melted into the crowd.

Almost right away he stumbled upon another body. This time however, the motive was robbery. The thief was bending over his victim rifling through his coat and then he stood as he cut the purse from the dead man’s belt. Anton knocked the thief out and took out his knife, slashing with it at this newly dead body. Then he carried the thief at a run back to the crowd. As he rounded the corner, Anton slung the thief onto the floor and dragged him by his collar. “Help me please; this is the man you are looking for. I found him in the next street; he was just starting to mutilate another victim. Here is his knife.” Anton threw down his own knife, which was honed to a wicked sharpness. It was fortunate for the thief that he was still unconscious as the crowd descended. Anton again allowed the crowd to push in front of him and when he was close to the back, he melted once more into the moonlit streets.

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