Word count: 423 // +3 points
Alduin wasn’t a very firm believer in luck or fate. Everything was as you made it and if something happened to work in your favor or against you then it was because you had done something to make it so. Thus, when the wind blew behind him and brought with it the scent of a not-so-distant memory, he cursed his weakness back then and snapped his head in the direction of his unwelcome company. First he heard it: the jingle of the dangling buckles on the beast’s coat. Then he saw it: the glint of light reflecting off of the gauntlets before they escaped beneath the demon’s cape.
For a moment, Alduin could do nothing but stare at the man walking away. Try as he might, he couldn’t confirm that it was the one he sought, but he knew he would find out. With everything in him, he hoped that it was so he could have closure to the past. His instincts screamed at him to attack; to launch his fangs at the wolf and rip his heart from his chest. Already he could taste the blood of his enemy on his tongue, and the thought sent a pleasurable chill down his spine. The fur across his body stood on end as he took a few steps toward the possible stranger, his hands eager to close around the neck that hid beneath that hood.
Everything good that Alduin was had been buried deep within himself. The memories of the past had been too fresh in his mind since he arrived at ‘Souls and the feelings of hatred for his history had built up too much for him to bear; but he knew better, and managed to keep his emotions in check—just barely. So it was with a deep breath that the Alaskan wolf was able to calm himself and bring back the friendly smile he had been able to keep up for so long before. He was only able to move forward by a few steps, however, before he tried to reach out to the beast.
“Excuse me,” he called, trying to keep his voice from wavering. “Might I ask where you are headed?”
It was then that he hoped that the beast before him was merely a traveler that lost his way or someone that had been sleeping and finally awoke to go elsewhere. Anything would be better than what he expected. He dreaded the stranger’s response, but waited patiently from a distance for his worst nightmare to become a reality.
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