"[Wait-wait, your horse-wolf became a….. a brolic man with outdated tattoos? Where the bloody-hell did you find this thing?]"
"This thing….. is my brother. And he's one of … us, I don't know why you keep addressing him differently. He's a Lupine too. Just not of Romulus or Remus." Claude said.
"[... is bad comedy a symptom of severe trauma?]" Arne asked.
Frosty nudged the bag of gear and barked. In his humanoid form it was goofy.
Claude listened anyway and rummaged through the bag, pulling out four pieces of old jerky and white thermal under-gear. It was stained and torn. Frosty must've ripped it off someone's back in real time.
"What are you talking about, Arne?" Claude asked as he slid the gear on and scarfed down the jerky. The thermal was too short on the legs and too tight around the quads, glutes and back.
"[Youre telling me the wolf is a lupine? That's unheard of. An entirely new breed at that?]"
"Is it really? It makes as much sense as a human becoming a Lupine. I know many werewolf packs are documented to have silver cursed guard dogs. We're two sides of the same coin." Claude said as he dug into the bag and pulled out a steel chestplate with a wolf-fur collar and deep claw marks along the left breast.
"[….oh my. You're right. Just…. It was only supposed to be the other side.]"
"What?"
"[Nothing. A story for another time.]" Arne said quickly before adding, "[So, the lupine that bit you, also bit Frosty?]"
"Yes." Claude said coldly.
"[And his name was?]"
"Dolion."
"[Doesnt ring a bell. He must be new.]" Arne said.
"Whatever he is, I'll get him. Just keep telling me how to do this Lupine thing." Claude said as he shrugged on the chest plate and pulled out a steel spear wrapped in animal leathers. The blade was interwoven with a black antler that he could feel the weight off.
"[I don't think I'm meant to give you a step by step in this. It's our first day together and you've already created three new elements of lore for our kind.]" Arne explained, "[As a matter of fact, I think I'm here to tell you what not to do….]"
"Works for me." Claude dug into the bag and pulled out a waist bag he clipped onto his chestplates belt and a final item.
A mask.
It was tribal. Made of white woods in the shape of some sort of canid creature with long upright ears and a thick snout.
"[With that being said, I'd recommend we don't continue standing around. It's time to get an understanding on where we are and what to do from here.]"
Claude put the mask on, "Agreed." He headed out of the alley with his spear in hand.
Frosty turned and padded after him.
Claude whistled and quickly whispered, "Stand up, man! Walk like me."
Frosty huffed and began walking on two feet.
"[So….. you say your… brother, isn't a Lupine of Remus or Romulus? What then?]" Arne asked as they stepped out of the alley.
"He was bitten by Dolion— like I said. But he was going to die. He was rejecting the bite. So…. I cut a deal with a wolf-god." Claude said.
The city was beautiful in a somber and wintery sort of w—
"[YOU FUCKING WHAT?!]"
"I was being stalked by a few gods…. Well, I thought I was, but it was just Fenrir. He was feeling me out. He felt like I changed after the Lupines attacked. He felt I was ready. So, he saved Frosty as long as we both became his chosen."
"[Claude Grey….. you're shaping up to be something.]"
"I'm nothing." Claude said quickly as he surveyed the city.
"[The Last Lupine of Romulus, and The First Lupine of Fenris. That's something. Something no one has seen.]"
"Something no one will see if you don't focus and tell me how to work these abilities." Claude said quickly.
"[Alright you little shite, let's get our bearings first. Walk. Look like you belong here instead of gawking idly.]"
"Sure." Claude began walking with no real destination in mind.
Arne didn't like that, "[Look with your nose and ears as much as you do your eyes. We need food—]"
"I'll eat more on the road." Claude said firmly enough that Arne didn't bother persisting. He already had a general idea of his focus and will and didn't feel like arguing for hours.
The city was small. A blip in the midst of a wintery expanse of glacial mountains, white forestry and frozen lakes under miles of snow.
It was quiet despite the faint activity. Heroes rode by on breeds of horses built for the cold while others rode polar-bears or were pulled by sled dogs. Merchants held street corners few and far between, spewing black smoke from chimneys built into their carriages to keep warm.
Store fronts stood with simple signage etched into wooden planks. Witches shops. Armories and hide-depots all looked as stone and wood buildings with some even shaped like igloos.
Eventually, Claude reached a carriage selling newspapers.
He stopped and approached the wall of paper bundles on sale.
His pulse quickened for a moment. Not because of the headline about polar-form beast activity increases, the fact that they were in The White-Steppe or a missing team of beloved bronze ranked locals but because of the date.
"October first?" Claude thought. "I've been out for a month…..?"
"[The change from human to Lupine is an aggresive one. And Potentials take even longer.]"
"Why?" Claude asked.
"[No idea. We'll have to figure that out together—]"
"Hey— buy the paper or fuck off, yea? This isn't a lib—…..library…" The carriage owner trailed off and backed up further into his heated cart as Frosty stepped forward with his hands balled into fists.
A low growl rumbled from the shadows of his hood.
"[Hey, hey, humans can't just be growling at people.]"
"I know." Claude walked away from the papers and took Frosty with him with an arm around him.
He hadn't even noticed what that said about his height. If Frosty was over seven feet in his human form, then Claude wasn't very far behind…
Claude's travels eventually lead him to the western edges of the city he now knew was called Stonefrost Village-Keep. It was there that he found himself standing before the tallest building by a long shot. It was gilded by blue metals and had a symbol of ice hanging from its frontside. It looked like a sword with a antlered hilt bursting through a wolves jaws.
"The Frost-Born Guildhall."
"[So, do you plan to use the portals here to get back? Mi—]"
"No." Claude said.
"[You don't?]"
"Half of my friends are dead. The other half know I'm a monster….. my dad is dead. There's nothing to get back to. Other than the other Lupines…. and I'm not strong enough yet. So until I am, I think I'll stay. They have a shortage on heroes anyway."