Wolf

Black Wolf Cape Apparel A thick, warm black wolf pelt fashioned into a cape. 2000

Wolf ================================== Locked up in chains; I get fed, but the hunger still remains.

Tarnished Chain Trinkets Rumored to belong to a dragon named Marley. (Special thanks reyechan.) 70 Berserker's Belt Dragonmade Wearing the stolen sash of a fallen Swiftfoot Berserker will brand you as a target for others in the same herd. A bold choice, or a foolish one? 29 Iron Shield Apparel Well, trimmed in iron, at least... 500

Wolf is dying. He supposes he should have expected it to come sooner rather than later. He is pleased that Giada, at least, will now no longer have her war-dog. He would have liked to die out of chains, but he will accept his end.

He crawls into a basement, where he will not be found. The sounds of fighting recede as he drags himself lower. He thinks it is becoming very cold, but this may also be a consequence of his mortal injury. It is no matter.

He rests his head on the stone floor and closes his eyes. In death, there is freedom.


And then Wolf doesn't die. He would have, if he hadn't been found by Chroma as they did a final sweep for stragglers before sealing the Under. Chroma doesn't know all the dragons that live above their cavern; they don't know Wolf was a hostile. Chroma brings Wolf to Curie, who doesn't recognize him either - but Goldwood sees many travelers. She assumes he is a traveler, and works to keep him alive.

And then Hyacinth wakes up.

---

Wolf used to be one of Giada's mercenaries - of a sort. He was born and bred to slavery, trained from puphood to kill on his master's command. He did, and he was good at it. Hyacinth lost her eye to him - and then as a consequence lost her flight.

They keep Wolf in chains for quite a while, and really who can blame them? They don't kill him outright, because nobody in the caverns is that kind of person, but they're otherwise at a loss for what to do with him. He watches silently, speaks only when spoken to, and makes no complaints about his situation. (Better in chains here than with Giada, he thinks, but does not say.)

"Why?" Hyacinth finally asks him, when she has the courage to speak to him.

"I was ordered to," he replies, voice even, perfectly truthful. Then, because he can now: "I am sorry."

---

They unchain him. Not permanently, not at first, and Chroma always shadows him - they're the most combat capable of the group, and by then the dragons have learned that Chroma cannot die permanently anyway. (The dragons don't like the whole thing, but Chroma is flippant about the several stupid deaths that have occurred since the cavern was sealed. The dragons go along with it.)

Wolf doesn't attack. He doesn't do anything beyond what he's told. He is perfectly obedient, as he was trained to be. Codsworth cracks a joke to break an awkward silence - and Wolf replies in kind, perfectly dry, perfectly even. (He flinches when he does it, though none of them notice it. He's had a lifetime to learn to restrain his reactions.)

Trust is earned, not given. (It must go both ways.)

---

"I think I forgive you," Hyacinth admits.

Wolf looks up at her. There is a long silence. The tip of his tail flicks, once. It is more of a reaction than he would have ever allowed himself under Giada. "I am sorry that you are in a position to offer it to me."

He realizes, too late, that this could be interpreted as a threat. Hyacinth smiles at him, though, so she has not interpreted it as such. "Let's see if Chroma has something to get your collar off."

---

Chroma has tools whose strength Wolf was not aware was possible, and the collar is broken with a single careful blow. The pickaxe is comically tiny in Hyacinth's hands, and it is not easy for her to wield, but her hands are far steadier than Chroma's themselves. And she offers to do it. None of the others object, and Wolf does not either.

"You're free," Hyacinth tells him.

"Thank you," Wolf says, and he allows emotion into his voice for the first time since he was a hatchling. He is free to. He is not a weapon, or a tool. He is a person.

He is his own master, now.





Character Notes
♫ I'm My Own Master Now
• Wolf is generally not talkative unless spoken to first, and even then he tends to stay quiet unless he knows whoever's talking to him. Trying to hold a conversation can be somewhat difficult - he tends to take things very literally and has an extremely dry sense of humor, to the point that half the time you can't tell if he's even attempting to make a joke.
• Pretty much always trailing after Hyacinth. If he's not right with her there's a very good chance he's following from afar (and pretending like he's not). He seems to have latched on to her as his new commander, although at least this time it's a relationship based on mutual respect and trust. Hya isn't totally sure what to do with the whole thing, but she likes him well enough and he's quite discreet when she'd rather be alone, so... She doesn't particularly mind.

OOC Notes
• Metal Gear Rising: Revengance fandragon! Yes, I collect all the robots.