Misunderstood Destinies

Layla took his hand in hers. "It's all right. Airen and his men are gone."

He realized his hands and jaws were covered in blood. He almost didn't want to ask, but had to know

"How . . ." His voice was horse. He cleared his throat and tried again "How many did I kill . . ? I . . . I can't remember anything after . . . being hit with the second arrow . . ."

"Airen's men were killed. I forced Airen to flee back to Zeiza. When you were... How you could say, unaware of the situation, I fought him off. The men of the patrol are all dead." She wondered if she knew any of them. Then again, at the same time, she didn't question it.

That meant he killed many. He sighed and nodded, then slowly got up. He was thankful his cotton shorts were stretchy. He composed himself.


"I thank thee for calming me. I dare not think of what I could have done . . ." He said before taking his hand back and walking off to find a lake or waterfall to bath in

Layla sighed as he walked off. She returned to the campsite. The fire was still lit and it was still dark out. She removed the blue wrap around her black tunic. The side of the wrap was now deeply blood-stained. The blue had turned into a dark red. Using a piece of it that hadn't been stained, she pressed it against her side as she laid against a tree. She hissed in the pain but continued to stop the bleeding. The wound was deep, but she was sure she could deal with it.

Jargos found a waterfall and bathed



A bear walked into the campsite and saw Layla holding her wound. He motioned to the medicines with a paw as the other animals came back into camp

Layla glanced toward the bear but denied medication for now. "I've got to press it or the medication won't work because of the wound still being open." The bleeding had started to cease after a while. She felt a bit faint, but still alert and conscious.

The bear nodded, then laid down to her left side, about two feet away. The animals seemed skittish and scared, like they knew something terrible was near



Meanwhile, as Jargos was bathing, he was beating himself up. He just proved all of them right. He just gave them more reasons to hate him. He shouldn't have fought them, he should have ran. He shouldn't has lost control. His mind raced as he fought down the urge to crush everything around him. even after 120 years of trying to keep himself under control, he couldn't do it. He was a savage beast with no reigns and no remorse until it was too late. He shook his head as the small pool became red with all the blood from his body. All of his wounds had healed, but he was exhausted. He crawled up on a rock and quickly fell asleep

Layla could sense the tension in the air. She looked toward the bear as if silently asking if they knew something was wrong.

"It was Jargos, was it not . . ?" The aged wolf asked




Jargos dreamed of massacring innocents in a fit of rage

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"He shifted, into his true form, did he not?" The wolf rephrased his question. The animals were scared. Jargos didn't recognize them in his rage, and though he never had, both Jargos and the animals feared that he might. Th animals felt no hated toward him for being the protector of Darkwoods, but the feared what would happen if he couldn't find a way to control himself. He was an apex predator with no natural equal



Jargos did not sleep well

Layla nodded. "It took me a while, but I got him under control."

"What provoked him? We could hear his roars clear in the outer edges of Garlan"

"A man I was once, well, once connected to was on patrol with his men and attacked us. When the leader attacked me, that's when I realized that Jargos was on a rampage."

"I see, that explains the bodies everywhere" A bear said, the aged wolf nodded. "It seems that there was a small army after the two of thee. Judging by the amount of blood, he tore through them without much conflict. He must feel awful." The aged wolf looked at he wound "When will thou used medicine? Thou must be in pain, no?"

"I feel bad enough attacking Airen. He was the leader." At the comment of medicine, she replied, "I'll probably have to use it eventually. Airen slashed my side when I aimed to attack him. It still stings, to be honest. I know it's deep, though."

The wolf nodded, then laid down




Jargos was still asleep, but not resting well

Layla tried to relax against the tree despite the pain in her side. She tried to hide it, not wanting to use medicine right away. She knew that eventually she was going to have to.

Giving up on relaxation after a while, she went on a search for Jargos.

Searching for Jargos would not be difficult, there was a trail of blood and deep footprints





He remained asleep, his nightmare seeming to never end

After finally tracking him down, Layla could tell he was having nightmares. "Jargos, wake up. You're all right. Everything is okay."

He started awake, and gasped for air. He looked around, spotting Layla, he got up and nodded to her


"What brings thee here ay such an hour?" He asked

"You didn't come back to camp. I was a bit worried. When I saw you were having nightmares, well, I thought maybe you'd want a hand." She smiled gently.

"I thank thee . . . I must apologize to thee. It doesn't matter how old I get, I still seem to have no control of myself. They way you saw me is how I am supposed to be, the way you see me now is a lie"

"That is not true in my eyes, and, even if it was, you are who you are. You're still a gentle person on the inside. You have a kind nature. Sure, you're a little rough around the edges. But, if it hadn't have been for you being there, I'd be on my way to Zeiza right now and Elder Ramona would be dealing with me."