Chapter Text
Nothing was left, not but a burned and crumbling shell, the life which was once built there torn away. A similar area existed within the city, burned into a pile of ash and bone. He would never see her again.
Adrian sat up, sword floating before him, pointing outwards, as if waiting for something to defend him from. He bounced his eyes around, taking in where he was. Leaves and grass beneath him, a simple blanket around his shoulders, slipping down with his abrupt movement. A few night insects chirped in the warm air blowing through the trees' limbs. The forest. Just outside of Rinde. Where... where Adrian had been following the ones who had last been at his mother's house. That part, that hadn't been a nightmare.
Wiping a hand down his face, Adrian re-sheathed his sword. Apparently, he wouldn't be getting any sleep. Probably for the best; He needed to find the ones responsible for Mother's- Adrian curled around his knees, letting himself take a moment to breathe. In, and out. Then slower. Adrian needed to find the ones responsible for Mother's death.
Beyond a personal sense of resolution, Adrian needed to track down those who were directly responsible for his father, as well. He loved the man, but Adrian was well aware his protectiveness could so easily turn to revenge, then spill into wanton destruction. As long lived as he was, his emotions were slow to change, to grow, and his love for Mother was no exception. Having her taken so soon would only drive him into a rage. best, then, to make sure he had direct targets, rather than spend his wrath over half the continent.
Mother wouldn't have liked either option. But her not being around was the whole reason Adrian was resorting to it.
With a few more breaths, Adrian pulled himself together, wiping his face off once again, and packing his sparse camp away. He spent a bit more time sniffing at the air, judging the direction his quarry had taken. He had to be close. He'd only been a few days behind them before, and he traveled faster than humans did. Cutting through the rest of this patch of forest would take him back onto the main road at least a half-day's travel faster, and more, since he wasn't sleeping the whole night. With a nod to himself, he set out again.
The wind blew by him faster at his speed, so he kept his ears strained to hear beyond it. Nothing yet, only sleeping animals and the few nocturnal ones keeping still as he passed by. he kept his feet from crushing much, so there was only the slightest of rustles as he sped by, occasionally a small series of cracks if he landed on a soft fallen log before pushing off once again.
This time of night, it was only adrian and his thoughts. He hated it.
He turned into his wolf form for short stints, whenever there were no other packs nearby to cause him trouble. He didn't have to think as hard then, though his emotional control was also worse, leaving him to sometimes feel the need to stop and howl, his heart begging for an answer, yet never receiving one.
Adrian swept through every still standing part of the house he could. He dug through ash and dirt, trying to find evidence of what could have happened--evidence of life. He hadn't found any evidence of death, at least. No bones, no scent of blood or burned skin and hair. Which meant Mother had been taken, and likely needed help. His heart jumped, raced, as he stood. He found the most recent scents. He could still find Mother if he went into town; he had to.
Adrian burst from the trees, skidding out onto the wide dirt path, panting. His heart clenched, aching even more than his lungs. He bent over, wrapping one arm around his own stomach, breathing harshly. His mouth tasted of copper. He spit out to the side of the road, trying to rid himself of the acidic flavor, breathing air in over his burning lungs, feeling the sting each time.
He couldn't stop, though.
Break over, but body still shaking from his prolonged sprints, Adrian spent some time walking along the road. It gave him time to readjust, would make him look more normal (if there were passersby this late at night), and allowed him to breathe in deeply, searching for those scents he'd caught at the house. Nothing yet, but he knew he was closing in. There weren't many options to take given the direction he'd initially followed.
Once he got his rhythm back, Adrian moved quicker, though not quite as fast as before. He kept to human speeds, if sustained longer than they would be able to. Breathe in, and he searched for whoever he was following. Breathe out, focus on the goal, not why he needed to continue.
After almost an hour of his new back and forth, he caught something. The faintest hint of wolf fur, worn leathers, and some sort of flowery perfume. Finally, he was close.
Adrian sped up. If he could catch his quarry unawares... well, maybe he could determine how much trouble they were. Maybe he'd be able to spirit them away before they reached the next city and became once again surrounded by religious zealots. Surely, at the current time of night, with the sky still dark and sunrise about two full hours away, Adrian had the advantage. It might take him some time to reach them, but he'd arrive before the sun.
Once he did... he'd figure out what to do once he arrived.