Hannah pulled tightly on the cloth. Liek winced. The gash on his hand was deep.

"Sorry." She said quietly.

Liek nodded. Isaac was watching him carefully. He didn't know what Isaac was going to say to him, but he was sure he wasn't in any trouble. The two of them burned the body of the assassin, and then dragged the buck that Liek had killed all the way home. All of this was done in silence. But there was something in Isaac's eyes, and the way he looked at Liek that told him that everything was going to be fine.

"Wanna tell me what 'appened there, Liek?"

Liek sat there motionless. What would he say? Could he tell Isaac and Hannah what he was? Could he really tell them that he was a Werewolf? No. Humans were unpredictable. Additionally, it had occurred to him that Isaac hadn't seen the whole fight. He hadn't seen the way Liek could move, and how strong he really was.

"I'm a traitor to my home land. I ran away, and now there are people after me who want to kill me."

It wasn't entirely untrue.

"I see. What'd ya do that made you a traitor?"
"I gave aid to the enemy, when I knew I wasn't supposed to."
"Ay, then I can see yer trouble. Why'd ya do such a thing, helping others in need?"

Liek shrugged.

"Perhaps because I don't think that even the enemy is all bad."

Isaac smiled and nodded. There was nothing more to be said.

"Yer a good boy, Liek. Me 'n Hannah are happy to call you a part of our family. Now, eat yer dinner. You've had a long day."

--------------------

Secretly, Cale was smiling on the inside. He was happy- no, ecstatic that Liek had managed to kill the assassin that came for him.

"Do you mean to tell me that a child, without any nails, ripped off the nail of one of our elite assassins, and then killed him?" The dark-haired assassin snarled.
"Yes. Tek failed to report in, so we tracked him down and found the remains of a burnt corpse, and we found one of his nails nearby." Another assassin spoke.

So that was the assassin's name: Tek. For some reason, Cale found this bit of information intriguing.

"The council would like to have a word with you, sir." The scout motioned to the dark-haired assassin.

He stared at the scout, anger blazing in his eyes. It was Cale's turn to grin. The dark-haired assassin saw Cale's toothy smile, and stormed out of the room.

"Be prepared to send out two more assassins to find Liek when I get back!"

Cale's smile faded. Two? That wasn't a part of the plan. He had to warn Liek.

"Assassin!" Cale barked. "I'm relieving myself of my duty as your leader."

The scout looked up in shock.

"But-"
"No questions. There are some things I must do."

--------------------

"What is it you need from me, elders?"

The dark-haired assassin knelt in front of the council. For the first time in a long time, he was actually nervous. Things were not going as planned. How could Liek, a traitor without any nails, kill one of the five assassins? They were the most feared killers in the werewolf race, yet Tek fell at the hands of a mere child.

"Foolish assassin! How could your men be so ill-prepared that they fail in doing what they do best!?"

The assassin broke out in a sweat. For the first time, he didn't have an answer.

"I-I'm not completely certain as to how Tek fell in battle against Liek. However, I am not taking any chances again. I've sent out two assassins to find the traitor. I will make sure that he-"
"We don't care what you have done. We want Liek's existence erased. If you fail one more time, it will be your head. Get the job done! You are dismissed."


to be continued....