Found in the Forest

[esp_dragonv2]

Fandom: Noblesse
Summary: There were rumours that a silver monster was stalking a village. Frankenstein goes to investigate and finds it, just not in the way he expected.
Rating: PG
Genre: General
Word count: 4,753
Status: Complete



"Where are you going after this?"

As far as greetings went, it was rather abrupt, even for Frankenstein after travelling for months alone. "Is there anywhere you would suggest?" he said, setting his bag down. He'd happened upon the village by chance, seeking news or rumours he'd missed.

The old woman grimaced, deepening her wrinkles. "Doesn't matter, so long as it's not into the forest." She jerked her head to the side.

The forest, hm? Frankenstein gazed at the treeline just visible over the tops of the houses nearby. "What's wrong with going that way?" He'd had no intention of going, but now he was warned against it, he wanted to investigate.

"It's haunted."

Ah, of course it was. "By what?" Was this a true meeting with something supernatural or something created through superstition and fear?

"A werewolf," the villager said, still eyeing forest with a narrowed gaze, as if saying that would summon one right then and there. Nothing appeared after a pause and she looked back at him.

"Has anyone seen it themselves?" Frankenstein asked.

She nodded. "Lukasz the woodcutter was attacked by one a few nights ago."

Interesting. It was more than someone seeing something in the distance. "Has he been seen by a doctor?" Was there actual proof?

She scowled at that. "The doctor refuses to see him, in case he catches the curse - same with the other villagers."

From what Frankenstein had learned from his own altercations with werewolves, it wasn't something that could be passed onto humans with a bite like the myths portrayed, but Frankenstein kept his quiet smile firmly on his face. "I myself am a doctor and if it would be all right, I could check over Lukasz."

At that, her eyebrows raised. "You're not worried about catching it?"

"I am a doctor," Frankenstein repeated. "I wouldn't want someone to suffer when I have the ability to help."

Slowly, she nodded.

Now to get to the bottom of this.

* * *
Frankenstein exhaled as he left Lukasz's house, hearing the door lock behind him. As information gathering went, it had been rather unhelpful. Mild scratches that seemed far more likely from branches than from claws or a bite, bruises from falling. Nothing that could definitely point towards an animal, let alone something supernatural. The description had been vague as well: silver fur, large, wolf-like.

It may as well have just been a wolf on a dark night, or drink had been involved.

Frankenstein had cleaned the wounds, promising Lukasz he noticed nothing strange about them.

He would keep an ear out, but he doubted there would be anything else that would offer more definite proof.

* * *
Frankenstein jolted awake, senses straining. Not a Union attack, no crunch of approaching feet, but a howl of a wolf in the distance that was still going.

Far closer he heard the flurry of windows slamming shut and hushed whispers.

He hurried outside, seeing Bogna who had greeted him into the village in the dim moonlight, her eyes towards the forest with a knife in her hand.

"I'm surprised you aren't hiding away like the others," Frankenstein noted, stopping next to her.

"Feh, I've lived a long life - I'm not going to be scared away by just a few howls." She peered at him. "What about you, doctor? I wouldn't have expected you to jump to our village's defence, especially without a weapon."

Ah. He had Dark Spear ready to summon if he needed them, but she didn't know that. "I wanted to see what was causing the commotion and I'm better equipped to treat injuries when they happen, rather than the injured be brought to where I am." And potentially doing more damage when the person was dragged across dirt and other things.

That seemed to appease her, Bogna's attention going back to the forest, and Frankenstein settled down to wait with her.

* * *
"For a doctor, you don't seem to have much sense," Bogna told him, face set in a disapproving frown.

"I've helped what I can with everyone's injuries here," Frankenstein as he shrugged on his bag. He had been able to teach the local doctor in more effective treatments, and had learned some of the local medicinal herbs. "I do want to check for other signs of werewolves. Prevention is better than cure, in my mind." He'd heard the howling a few days prior, but it had sounded like a wolf to his ears. He would either find something supernatural and deal with it, or he didn't and the fear of the forest would keep people from looking for him. It was a preferable situation no matter how it turned out.

"Then you'd best make sure you prevent losing your own life."

Frankenstein smiled. "I will."

After checking he had brought everything, Frankenstein headed off in the direction of the forest.

* * *
There had been nothing of interest so far, but it had only been half a day.

Saying that, while Frankenstein hadn't found any evidence of what Lucasz might have seen, he'd found lots of samples of plants he could test and study, so it wasn't a complete waste.

* * *
It was darker further in the forest, not just because it was later in the day, but because it was denser there, the trees older and thicker, far more undergrowth for Frankenstein to wade through.

He exhaled, adjusting his bag as he took stock of his surroundings. He would have to start building a shel...

Hm. There was a break in the foliage to Frankenstein's right, like something large had passed through it. Something far taller and wider than Frankenstein by the shape of it. He eyed it and then approached it, listening out for anything that was out of place from the forest sounds he'd become accustomed to.

Something shone on the edge of a broken branch and Frankenstein narrowed his eyes at it, the clump of white fur easy to see against the dark green.

He'd heard tales of white moose but never seen one with his eyes yet. That would explain the size of what he was looking at, but this fur was too long, almost the length of his forearm. It was thinner too. Almost like it was human hair.

Frankenstein rolled the fur between his fingers but that didn't give him more information.

There were tracks leading away from where Frankenstein was standing and he crouched down to inspect them. They were paw prints, not hooves, and when Frankenstein spread his hand out over it, the paw print was wider than his own. It didn't looks like a wolf paw print he had ever seen though, the paw pads too spread out, almost as if...

He sighed, staring at the evidence in front of him.

Almost as if the paw was human shaped.

Like a werewolf.

Well then. This was the first promising proof he'd seen so far.

But it also lead to more questions. Why was a werewolf so close to a human settlement? They either kept to their packs away from humans, or they attacked the human settlement. Staying close for a prolonged time wasn't something they normally did.

Something was off.

He peered at past the canopy at the darkening sky. He was a distance away from the village, yes, but it could be easily crossed by a werewolf in a short time. He could make a shelter later on once he found more details.

Straightening, Frankenstein followed the tracks.

* * *
Frankenstein squinted at the darkness, but he could only see to the next tree in front of him and no further, even with his eyes enhanced as they were.

As much as he wanted to, he wouldn't be able to track the werewolf further. He would have to wait until sunrise again, as much as he was loathe to admit it. If he kept going, he could travel away from the tracks instead.

Now he would just have to find somewhere to...

He paused, hearing something moving ahead. It didn't sound right though, leaves hissing and bark creaking too often. Like something was caught and struggling against it.

Frankenstein crept forward, the forest opening up into a clearing. Inside it was a silver werewolf with long limbs caught in a trap, rope tied around its snout along with its wide front paws under it as it dangled from a tree branch. The ground around it was disturbed from claw marks, but it must not have had enough purchase to pull itself free or to use its claws or fangs to slice the rope.

Seeing the size of it, it seemed young. Large enough that it would be taller than Frankenstein standing, but small compared to an adult werewolf.

The werewolf must have seen or heard him, because it started struggling with renewed vigour, whining.

Not exactly a scary monster, but for an unenhanced human seeing it at a distance...

"It's all right, it's all right," Frankenstein said in his most soothing voice as he set his bag down. Definitely not something that was aggressive. "I'm here to help you." He drew his knife from his bag but tucked it into the waistband of his trousers at his back - werewolves seemed to react badly to Dark Spear and this time, he didn't want to spook the werewolf.

The werewolf stilled, staring at him with eyes wide and ears flat. Frankenstein got close enough to see the blood seeping dripping from a wound, though he couldn't see where from.

He tracked the rope upwards, and it looked like it was attached to a branch, not looped over, so he would need to do a bit of climbing to get it down first.

The werewolf didn't try to move away, the tip of its tail wagging as he passed.

"I think the rope is tied to the branch, so I need to cut it from there." Rather than trying to climb up the werewolf to get to it.

"Hnng."

It was a response. Frankenstein found the tree and it was old enough that it should hold his weight. The bark was cracked enough that gripping it was easy and he used that to guide his way as he climbed up in the darkening forest.

His fingers brushed against something that didn't feel like bark and as he ran his fingers over it, it twisted in a circular fashion.

He peered down and saw the werewolf directly under him, almost glowing with its silver fur compared to the darkness. "How were you supposed to hide?" he muttered to himself as he drew his knife. But then, what did werewolves hunt that they would need to hide from? They could catch up with anything they wanted to and didn't have to ambush their prey either.

He gripped the dangling side of the rope and it only took a few swipes of his knife to cut through it.

He was able to hold the werewolf's weight enough to lower it down to the ground before letting go. The werewolf didn't catch their weight, falling over - though Frankenstein mostly only heard that rather than saw it has he tried to keep his hold on the branch as the tree righted itself once it was free of the werewolf's weight.

The werewolf hadn't run off by the time he jumped down, still trying to shake the rope off.

"Let me-" Frankenstein ducked as the rope cracked over his head like a whip. "If you hold still I can take it off."

The werewolf paused, ears pricked towards him.

"Just lower your head towards me, please." As tall as he was, the werewolf was still taller than him. The werewolf would probably be taller than him even on all fours.

The werewolf stepped closer to him, bringing their head near to Frankenstein.

Frankenstein slid his knife between the gap between the werewolf's snout and a paw. The paws dropped away but the rope didn't. That was strange and Frankenstein suspected -

He grimaced as the werewolf grabbed the rope and yanked it, accompanied by the sound of ripping skin.

Yes. The werewolf healing must have attached to the rope while trying to heal the damage.

He waited to see what the werewolf would do, if it would run or-

Frankenstein grunted, hands grasping and finding the werewolf's ears as he was headbutted in the chest hard enough to shove him back a step before he braced himself.

[Kill it. Feed us,] Dark Spear whispered, Frankenstein's skin tingling as he pushed away their voices. [It's trying to kill you.]

He rolled his eyes as he heard the start of a whimper from the werewolf, arms circling him but claws only pressing in, not breaking skin. The werewolf was a child and had shown no signs of aggression at any point. It wouldn't attack him.

The werewolf clung onto him like he might disappear, and well. That may have been what happened to their pack. Frankenstein didn't know much about werewolf family dynamics, but wolves tended to their young and stayed in family packs.

"Did you somehow get lost, hm?" he said, running his fingers through the werewolf's fur.

Another high whine, the werewolf pushing harder into him.

Or maybe it had gotten caught in the trap and left behind somehow.

"Let's see if we can find your pack then," he said as he patted the werewolf's head.

The werewolf's head jerked up to stare at him. They had more human-like eyes, the sclera more visible.

"You can't talk, can you?" Which would make his estimate of their age even lower. Well, it would be like talking to another scientist and trying to make sense of what the scientist was trying to say, so Frankenstein had a lot of practice.

"I'm Frankenstein," he said, dipping his head.

The werewolf dipped its head, mirroring him and then lunged forward to lick his face.

"Hello to you too." Frankenstein tried to say that anyway between the licks. "I'll call you 'Pup' in the meantime." It was that or some play on 'Wolf'.

Pup didn't seem adverse to that name and Frankenstein petted their head again. He found the open wound on the snout that had been rubbed raw by the rope, his fingers wet and sticky. Hm. Fast healing for human, but still slow by werewolf standards.

"Let's clean this, shall we?" The wound should close soon, but that could make things worse if it wasn't cleaned out.

"Hng."

"I have water in my bag," Frankenstein continued, taking a step back, and the werewolf followed him.

His bag was just a dark shape on the forest floor but he found his flask by touch and uncapped it. "This may be easier if we're both sitting." More comfortable for Pup so they weren't as hunched over.

He sat cross-legged on the ground with a tree at his back and Pup followed him, laying their head across his lap.

Perfect.

Frankenstein soaked a handkerchief with water and wiped it over Pup's snout, feeling where it started over Pup's lip and cut upwards.

There was enough light to see it appeared cleaner by the time he was done and he wrung the handkerchief dry.

He tried to stand up, expecting Pup to move back, but they didn't, watching him from his lap, tail flicking left and right.

"If this is where you want us to rest, I should make a shelter."

Pup huffed, still watching him.

Should. Frankenstein wasn't as affected by the elements compared to unenhanced humans, and with their fur, werewolves didn't have to worry about the elements either.

"All right," Frankenstein said, relaxing back into the tree. "I can sleep like this."

He'd slept in worse places.

Pup's tail wagged harder as they shuffled closer to Frankenstein.

* * *
Frankenstein woke up warm. And his legs tingled like...

He opened an eye a crack, seeing a mound of silver fur in front of him.

Ah. Right. That's what had happened last night.

Pup appeared to have moved even closer so they were curled up around Frankenstein rather than just their head, which explained why his legs were currently dead.

He wriggled his way free, not disturbing Pup and climbed up the tree to jump off so not to wake them.

Time to make breakfast.

* * *
Starting the fire was easy though Frankenstein peered at what he'd brought with him. It would sustain him, but it certainly wouldn't be enough for Pup. They would have to do some hunting once Pup was awake.

As if on cue, one of Pup's ears perked up and then Pup was on their feet, whirling around until they saw him.

Frankenstein side-stepped the charge, making sure Pup wouldn't run through the fire. Pup span around and lunged at him.

"Yes, yes," Frankenstein said as he caught them, "I'm here. I didn't leave you."

It definitely seemed like Pup had only recently lost their pack. Were they the one howling a few nights ago?

Frankenstein went back to the fire and held out a bit of the meat he'd been cooking. Pup looked at it, and then at him.

"It's yours," Frankenstein said, holding it closer.

Pup's tail wagged and it took the meat from him, the meat disappearing immediately.

Yes, there definitely wasn't going to be enough to feed them.

Frankenstein eyed the rest of his breakfast, and then held it out towards Pup.

Pup studied it, sniffing before looking at him with a low growl.

"I ate yesterday - did you?"

Pup's ears flattened. As Frankenstein thought. With Pup distracted, Frankenstein could see the wound over Pup's snout had healed over, leaving a scar. Hm. Fast healing, but not yet at the level of an adult where they could heal without scars.

"So eat this to get your strength up and settle your stomach," Frankenstein said, waving the meat under Pup's nose. "We can hunt later to eat something more your size."

Pup gently took the skewer from Frankenstein with a paw, and then ate the entire thing. How long had Pup been hanging there for...?

* * *
"Have you been hunting before?" Frankenstein asked. He'd set up a more stable shelter while Pup was distracted watching the flames of the fire and left his bag there. If all went well, it wouldn't be long before they returned back to camp.

Pup shook their head.

Additional proof Pup was just a puppy.

One of Pup's ears flicked to the side and they dashed off. They'd heard something? But if they hadn't hunted something before... Oh dear.

And if they ran away like that, was that how they got separated from their pack?

Frankenstein followed after them, which was pretty easy since Pup had just crashed through the forest.

He found Pup a short distance away, ears flat and shoulders hunched, staring further into the forest.

"Did it run away?" Frankenstein asked, trying to keep his smile from lips even as Pup nodded. Maybe that was how werewolves hunted - it certainly seemed like that when they attacked humans. "Ah well, we can try again with something else." It seemed to help distract Pup in the very least.

Slowly, Pup's ears perked up again, and they nodded, following Frankenstein.

* * *
Pup was rather excitable and distractable, chasing after whatever they saw or heard. They didn't go too far before turning back, and Frankenstein wondered if that was because they were worried about losing him.

It was how Frankenstein settled on fishing instead, since the fish were less likely to run away, as it were.

Of course, as soon as Pup saw the river, they dived in.

Frankenstein exhaled, smiling as he shook his head. Such a puppy. Maybe they could scare some of the fish that way. The surface of the river was definitely more active.

It didn't take long to craft a spear and Frankenstein waded in.

Pup splashed across on the other bank and Frankenstein stabbed down, seeing a flash reflecting off scales.

Yes, this would be fine.

* * *
There was a decent pile of fish by the time Frankenstein paused and checked on Pup.

Well. Pup looked like they'd had a full wash in the river, their fur laying flat against them as they watched the water.

"Do you think that's enough food for you?" Frankenstein said, gesturing to the pile.

Pup perked up at the sight of them and bounded over, spraying Frankenstein as they passed. If he had managed to stay dry while fishing, Pup had ensured he was wearing the river now.

Pup was making their own miniature river on the bank from how much water was running of their fur. Frankenstein certainly wouldn't be able to-

Pup shook, fur and water flying everywhere.

Frankenstein swiped a hand down his face, flicking the excess water off his fingers. Right. He didn't have to worry about drying Pup.

* * *
Pup finished all the fish, and when they were done, they settled into Frankenstein's side again while he sat on the bank.

"Feel better?"

"Hnnng." Pup nodded.

Werewolves had to eat differently as they aged - otherwise humans would have noticed their presence earlier with how much they ate, or humans might not have thrived in the first place because werewolves had hunted everything else first. He couldn't ask Pup to check though. He really should be taking notes... It was a wonder he hadn't started yet, but Pup's needs had taken precidence.

"Are you able to howl again?" Frankenstein wondered idly. Would that make a difference if their pack hadn't heard them before?

Pup tilted their head at him, a questioning grumble in their chest.

"In case your pack can hear you," he added.

A headtilt in the other direction.

Maybe werewolves called it something else. "Like this." Frankenstein leaned back and tried to do an as best approximation of a wolf howl as he could. It wasn't quite the 'something is being murdered' sound, but he hoped it would still be recognisable to Pup.

Pup slammed into him, knocking him over, whining and licking his face. Not a response he was expecting or wanting. "I - hey - if you - gah - can do it."

Pup sat back on Frankenstein's leg and tipped their head back and howled.

...Hm.

Frankenstein narrowed his eyes as he listened.

That wasn't the howl he'd heard before. That howl was lower in the range and, well. More experienced. It could carry far as evidenced by hearing it from the village.

Pup's howl was thin, breaking up in places and not very loud.

He still smiled and petted Pup when they finished and looked at him. "Yes, like that."

He'd found Pup hanging from a trap, their mouth clamped shut - he should have reasoned the one he'd heard wasn't Pup, though Pup could have howled and then gotten caught in the trap.

So then where had the other werewolf gone?

He listened out but he couldn't hear an answering howl. Maybe the pack had moved out of range already? Werewolves could move that fast...

He couldn't make any judgements since he didn't know what this particular pack was like.

"All right then," Frankenstein said, wringing his top free of some water before getting up. "Let's get going. We won't find your pack just waiting around."

* * *
They had been walking for a while but when Pup slowed, staring off in the distance, Frankenstein paid attention. It didn't seem like something to hunt or else Pup would have chased after it already.

"What do you hear?" he murmured, trying to listen past the bird song, insects buzzing and wind. It sounded the same to him.

Wait...

There was a regular thumping approaching.

Like something was charging directly towards them.

"Is that someone from your pack?"

As soon as Frankenstein said 'pack', Pup barked, wriggling and being more energetic than Frankenstein had ever seen them.

It seemed the thumping was more spread out, but getting closer.

Disturbed birds flew off in the distance, and hm. The hints were pointing towards something large if not a werewolf was coming straight for them.

They could be wrong and it was something else and Frankenstein took a couple of steps away, to allow him more reaction time. Just in case.

Pup glanced between him and the forest. If it really was their pack, they should have ran off already.

Unless Pup thought he was their pack?

He'd taken too long pondering, whatever was charging upon them.

Pup disappeared from his view in a silver blur, and Frankenstein span, trying to find them, already hearing high pitched yelps and scuffling.

Not part of their pack!

There was a whirl of fur and claws behind Frankenstein and he dashed in, grabbing whatever he could grab first and yanked, Dark Spear singing in his veins, screaming to be called adding to the confusion of noise around him.

Not yet. He didn't know who he was holding. He could hurt Pup.

He hefted whoever he had up-

And was met with a snarling face from the werewolf he'd pulled them away from.

A sharp pain to the side and the world whirled until it stopped suddenly when he crashed into something. Maybe a tree.

Frankenstein had enough time to draw in one breath, more and more of Dark Spear's voices adding to the buzzing in his ears.

Just enough time to call Dark Spear, forming in his palm to dig into the throat of the werewolf as it slammed into him. Blood poured over Frankenstein's fingers, but the werewolf didn't seem to notice, still pressing closer, their fangs so close to Frankenstein's face he could feel their hot breath, their claws digging into the wood behind him.

"What were you doing with my pup?" the werewolf demanded.

Oh. The surprise loosened Frankenstein's hold and the fangs got closer before he pressed back again. "Nothing," Frankenstein said through gritted teeth, feeling as he was slowly crushed, like the air was being squeezed out of his body. "I found him in a trap and I helped free him."

He was aware of barking in the background but seeing Pup's face appear so close to Dark Spear, purple tendrils reaching for them, made him hiss and release Dark Spear.

He ducked to the side as the big werewolf's face lunged towards him, but he was caught between the werewolf's paws and snout. He was trapped.

The other werewolf didn't snap at him, and Frankenstein regained his breath as the pressure eased, maintaining eye contact with the big werewolf. Peeking through the fur under their left eye, Frankenstein could see a healed scar. They had long fur that almost looked like a mane behind their head. Was this the werewolf he'd been tracking before?

The werewolf relaxed, pulling their face back. "My pup says you helped him."

That was what Frankenstein had said, yes. He could understand rage stealing all attention though and only concentrating on the threat. "I did."

"Hrr."

Pup was still trying to get between them, licking the bigger werewolf's snout, tail a flurry.

"Apologies," Frankenstein said. "I thought Pup was being attacked."

"'Pup'?" the other werewolf repeated, laughing that sounded more like repeated huffing. The werewolf's blood was already browning and flaking off their fur, Frankenstein not seeing any fresh blood coming from the wound.

Ah. "That's what I was calling him, since-"

"He's a pup." The werewolf took a step back and then scooped up Pup, growling as they rubbed their forehead to Pup's.

The other werewolf was so large they could cradle Pup like a child, twice as wide as him, torso and limbs covered in scars.

Pup continued whining, the bigger werewolf letting him lick their snout as Pup wriggled.

"We, ah, made a rather bad first impression," Frankenstein said. "Would you want to start over again?" It was a rather optimistic ask, but Frankenstein would have never learned anything if he'd been hesitant.

Pup glanced at Frankenstein, and then barked, the bigger werewolf sighed. "Min-gyu doesn't want to leave just yet."

Frankenstein perked up, a grin spreading across his face unbidden. "Well, then. I'm Frankenstein. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Muzaka," the other werewolf rumbled, nodding. "An' this is Min-gyu."

Min-gyu launched himself from Muzaka at Frankenstein, who caught him with a laugh.

This was certainly not what he'd expect to find in the forest, but he wasn't complaining either.

---

Inspired by this conversation.