A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

Instead of responding to his uncle's question, Erik slowly undid his transformation while he continued to talk. "I'm sorry for the ruse, uncle. The fact is, I couldn't be sure if you were still the same person after all this time.

Tragedy changes a man, and I didn't know if I could still trust you. But after seeing you interact with your teammates and fighting you, I can see that, while you really need to do something about your anger towards humans, you're still the same man I once knew."

Erik chuckled. "It also didn't hurt that I really wanted to fight you. You see, I have changed far more than you in these past seven years."

As he watched Erik slowly turn into human form while hearing him say those words, Viljar's face twitched, receiving a heavy mental shock when he slowly started realizing who Erik was. Or at least pretended to be.

Now in human form and, unfortunately, stark-naked, Elora quickly used her magic to conjure some simple clothes on Erik's body. Erik put a hand on Viljar's shoulder and looked straight into his eyes with a mixture of familial love and concern.

He asked Elora to heal Viljar as much as she could through the physical connection. While seidr magic wasn't ideally suited for healing someone the fairy wasn't bonded with, it wasn't useless either.

Elora didn't say anything and just did as Erik asked. She was happy about Erik's chance at a reunion and didn't feel like interfering. That said, she also did something extra.

Viljar gasped as dark green magic, accompanied by a soothing feeling, spread over his body, yet his eyes were unwaveringly trained on Erik's piercing yet caring amber gaze. He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't even realize a set of clothes had appeared on his body.

Since Viljar had removed the bodysuit earlier to keep it from being damaged in the fight and had also reverted to human form, he was now naked, and Elora was getting tired of keeping her metaphorical eyes closed. She had no interest in seeing a naked man that was not Erik.

Meanwhile, several memories of a young man he once knew sprang to Viljar's mind as his thoughts went into a tailspin.

He remembered giving him pony rides on his knee, wrestling, and sparring with him when he got older, and, eventually, watched him grow closer to the girl he had raised as if she were his own daughter.

He remembered feeling protective of Edda despite the trust and love he felt for his nephew. Then, he remembered the unimaginable pain he felt at learning of Edda's betrayal, followed by his wife's and then Erik's death.

Before that fateful day, Viljar had cried only once in his adult life: when he married his wife, Ingrid.

Yet that day, when everything he knew fell apart, he cried another three times.

'It- It can't be.' He thought. 'That boy died a long time ago and was nothing like this man.'

Yet, despite the different hair color, which was now gray-white rather than silver-gray due to the winter wolf bloodline, Erik's face was unmistakable, even if it was a little older.

Not to mention that several events suddenly began falling into place. Why did their group come to Frostvik? Why did some strange flower appear on Leifur's grave? And why did they take up residence in Erik's old home?

Surely all that wasn't planned just to trick him right here and now? What would be the point?

Feeling some of his strength return, Viljar struggled to his feet and clasped Erik's shoulder with a slightly trembling hand. His expression was complicated as he looked into Erik's amber eyes.

"Is that… really, you? Erik?" he mumbled with a slightly shaking voice, just hard enough for Erik to hear.

Erik grinned, happy that his uncle didn't seem to mind his little ruse. "Yeah, uncle, it's m-"

But before he could finish, Viljar balled his left fist while keeping his right on Erik's shoulder and, in a surprisingly agile move, heavily punched Erik in the stomach. "That's for beating up your poor old uncle, you brat!" he said in a hoarse voice, full of emotion.

Erik doubled over and coughed, his eyes filled with surprise.

Next, Viljar pulled Erik up and hugged him tight. Tears streamed out of his eyes as he cried for the fifth time in his life. "I thought you died, boy! Where the fuck have you been these seven years! Actually, never mind that it's so good to see you again, Erik."

Clearly, Viljar had some trouble dealing with the sudden influx of emotions.

Feeling the tears drip down his shoulder, Erik smiled and hugged his uncle back, inwardly thanking Elora for giving them both clothes before this point.

As for the punch, he didn't mind it and even kind of felt like he deserved it.

Suddenly, Viljar stopped hugging him, grabbed Erik by the shoulders, and held him at arm's length with a suddenly suspicious gaze. "It really is you, right? I've seen you do some strange things since I got here, and I'd rather not be fooled by some illusion or crap like that."

Erik chuckled, actually feeling glad his uncle had gotten a little more wary over the years. "Yeah, uncle, it's really me. Try asking me something only I would know."

Viljar seemed to think for a moment, then coughed awkwardly, "On your sixteenth birthday, your father and I took you hunting, but we didn't find anything. What did we end up doing instead, and what did it lead to?"

Hearing his uncle's question, Erik chuckled, scratched his head, and thought, 'I'm glad Elora already knows everything that's happened in my life,' before answering his uncle. "You gave me my first taste of alcohol, things got out of hand, and we all thought we saw a troll wearing a tutu, dancing in the moonlight… which we ended up chasing until morning."

He shrugged while Elora giggled in his head. "When we sobered up, we promised never to mention it again to anyone… until now, I guess."

Viljar couldn't help laughing loudly. There was no way Erik had told that story to anyone, not even Edda. He smiled widely, happiness sparkling in his eyes. "It really is you! Come here, boy!" he said as he hugged Erik once again.

Meanwhile, the spectators had various reactions. Emily wasn't surprised, as she had already realized who Viljar was earlier, so she just looked at their reunion and felt a strange mixture of happiness and jealousy. 'I guess I care about him since I feel happy. But… I wish Emma and I still had family to reunite with.'

Little did she know that she still had family out there.

Although, perhaps not in a way she would expect.

But that is a story for another time.

As for Nora, Björn, and Anne, who were all still in their transformed state, they looked at the events between Erik and Viljar with confusion. Nora and Björn turned to Anne, who had stopped struggling in their arms out of pure surprise and confusion.

"Anne? You have the best hearing here; what are they saying?" Nora asked. The trio was currently about 20 meters away, but several factors like wind and speaking direction were making it hard to hear, despite their enhanced hearing.

"Screw what they're saying, where the hell did those clothes suddenly come from?!" Björn exclaimed. "First, it was that Silver, then it was the boss! Some dark green light flashes, and they're suddenly wearing clothes; what the hell!"

"How am I supposed to know what they're saying when the both of you keep yammering on?! Shut up already!" It remained silent for a moment as Anne the werelynx perked up her feline ears. "I can only hear bits and pieces… but I think the boss and that Silver used to know each other? I think his real name is Erik."

Björn frowned and rubbed his chin in thought. "Erik… It's a common enough name, but I'm really not familiar enough with the boss's past to say anything substantial."

Only Nora seemed to have some idea as she scrunched her face in concentration. "Erik, Erik… I swear I've heard that name before in some important context, but where…"

Meanwhile, Erik hugged his uncle back and grinned. "So, no hard feelings about earlier? Aside from the gut punch, I mean."

Viljar laughed boisterously. "None at all! I enjoyed the fight! Although you're gonna have to tell me what the fuck happened to you in the past few years because, boy, have you changed! You've become your mother's son rather than your father's!"

Erik smiled sincerely. "I promised I would answer your questions, and I meant it. It's a pretty good story, actually. I got married, for one. Well, sort of, anyway."

Immediately, Viljar broke the hug and looked at Erik with wide eyes. "Married?! You'll need to tell me everything, boy! Especially what you mean by sort of!"

He violently patted Erik on the shoulder with his enormous hands. "But that can wait till later! For now, let me properly introduce you to the others. I bet they'll shit bricks when they realize who you are!"

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