Finding a Wolf In the Trees

Chapter 8~

Saxen rose early the next morning, before the sun had even risen above the tree tops. Nydia was still asleep and he didn’t wake her. He went to hunt for their breakfast, two rabbits quickly became a meal. He returned to the camp with his kill in his hands and sat down to clean the animals. The old grey wolf came through the trees as he was finishing the task.

How hunting went last night Grey One? Saxen asked the wolf as he tossed it the innards of the two rabbits.

The wolf ate the small meal quickly. It went well brother. We snapped their necks with ours jaws and have left their bodies for birds and other animals as we wolves do not enjoy taste of human flesh. Then we feasted on meat and bones of their horses, though I am pleased for your gift of the rabbit. Three small horses shall not satisfy the hunger of a big pack of wolves.

Yes the brother of that I know. Saxen replied as he put the meat aside and began building a fire. Hunting is not good here, for no deer wander this area so a horse is a blessing. Just as he put the meat on the fire Nydia began to stir. I should ask you now to go ahead brother, as the girl wakes, and if she sees you it will cause her to grow afraid.

I shall go my human brother, and I shall wait until she does sleep to appear again. The old wolf replied, and he sauntered of into the trees before Nydia had opened her eyes.

Nydia rolled onto her back and stretched. Once she was fully awake she turned her head and looked at him. He pulled his meat of the fire and took a bite, noticing her nose wrinkle at the sight of the juices dripping from the barely cooked meat. “How can you eat it like that?” she asked, and then she blushed slightly.

He could smell her embarrassment. He found it almost humorous that she would ask him something so trivial. He did not answer, he just looked at her, one dark eyebrow slightly raised. She sat up and looked away from him, trying to hide the rising color in her cheeks. After a few moments he plucked her breakfast from over the fire. Then he surprised her by crouching down next to her.

The corner of his lips twitched for a second before he gained control over his features. He handed her the rabbit meat and she took it from him. Their fingers brushed for a moment and Saxen felt the familiar surge of her uncontrolled power, and something else he could not name, flow through him at the simple contact. He ended the touch quickly and stood, almost smiling as his sharp ears heard her curse softly as she burned her tongue on the hot meat.

He sat down again and drew his dagger out of it’s sheath, causing Nydia to jump. He glanced at her briefly before reaching over to where he had left the rabbit skins. He began removing the fur from the skins as Nydia ate. He had finished one and was halfway through the other when Nydia began to cough quietly. He looked over to her and saw her rubbing her throat.

He grabbed his water skin and tossed it to her. It landed with a thump in her lap and she jumped slightly. She looked over at him then uncorked the bag and took a drink. He continued to pull the fur of the animal skin as she finished her meal. As he finished pulling the fur off the skin Nydia stood and walked over to him. He looked up at her as she held the water bag out to him. “Thank you.” She said softly, and he took the bag from her.

Saxen looked back down to the skins in his lap and started to take the excess fat off them with his dagger. “Take care of whatever you need to, then we will leave.” If he had looked up he would have seen her blush before she walked a little ways away into the trees.

It should have taken him much longer to finish getting the animal skins ready, but he found that he was already half done by the time Nydia came back to camp. He looked up as she walked over to him and he began to put the skins away. He put them in a special bag that was designed to keep the skins from drying out, so the would still be usable later on.

“What were you doing?” She asked as he took a drink of water then finished packing his traveling sack. He put his dagger back in the sheath that hung from a belt around his waist.

He stood and Nydia was slightly surprised to see how tall he was. She had never stood next to him before and she was surprised to find that he was almost a head taller then she was. “I was preparing the rabbit skins so I could make another water bag. Until now I have only needed one, but that will not be enough. I was going to make another water bag so we will not run out while traveling.”

That was the longest speech Nydia had heard him make, and she smiled. He wasn’t going to leave her alone, he was going to let her travel with him. “Thank you.” She said and in a move of total spontaneity, she hugged him.

He stiffened. He had not been expecting that. Her thin arms were wrapped tightly around his waist, and he could feel her power coarse through him, almost causing him to stumble backwards. He never made a move to hug her back. He just stood there stiff, and his arms at his sides.

Suddenly she pulled away as if she had been burned. Her hands clamped down on her mouth in an attempt to stifle a gasp, but he heard it anyway. She blushed furiously and turned her face away from him, her eyes glued to the ground.

Saxen bent down and grabbed his traveling sack. When he straightened up again she was still staring intently at the ground. “Come on.” He said and began walking away from her. After a moment he heard her running to catch up to him. She stopped at his side and matched his pace. She kept her gaze from him, except when she knew he wasn’t looking.

The hard lines of his face seemed more severe as he walked beside her. Nydia decided it as because of the frown he wore on his face. He had a good reason to scowl. She had nearly jumped on him, and had probably made him feel a little uncomfortable. A scowl of her own rested briefly on Nydia’s features, but it quickly went away again. There was no need to make this any less comfortable then it already was. She focused on the ground in front of her, making sure she didn’t trip over anything.

Saxen glanced at Nydia a few times. When she had hugged him her power had flowed through him but it was mixed with something else. That ‘something else’ had stirred the blood in his veins in a way that noting else had before. He couldn’t put a name to it, and that bothered him slightly.

He opened his mind to his brothers as he navigated through the trees. What did you see brother? Saxen called out to the grey wolf. There was a short pause before he heard the old wolf reply.

There is a stream a days walk for people. You will reach it a little after the falling of night. The wolf said, and Saxen saw the stream, and how to get there, in his mind.

Thank you brother. Saxen replied and broke the connection. He would speak more with Grey One later that night, now he needed to focus on getting to the stream. And, he needed to keep the memory of the brief hug that had shaken him so severely.

AN: This chapter is absolutely craptastic. It\'s basicaly just a filler chapter to explain nothing in particular. I just put this here to explain what happened \'the morning after\'. Yeah well anyway... please don\'t hate me, the next chapter will be more exciting I promise. This chapter also officialy concludes the prewritten chapters that I had on a flopy disk. It might take longer to update from now on but you never know... I might feel compelled to write more really fast. Again... I appologize for this craptastic chapter, I just didn\'t know how I could spice it up without rushing things.


Reviews:

Hello Betty: I know! I love mystery so I just HAD to put a little in here... just kidding. Everything will come together in time I promise!

Zelix- I\'m glad you like. Both the chapter and the picture I sent you. And YAY for happiness! You laughed, and laughing is happy, so I can rant about happiness now... but I won\'t I\'ll refrain for your sake. heehee.