Chapter Two

Merlo and Kini were practically beside themselves as Ember led them to where the dens of the tribe were and the Palace disappeared out of sight, returning to Cutter's holt where it normally resided. They were allowed to "sniff around" as the Wolfrider Chieftess put it, and choose a den of their own liking. Pool and Sust quickly pointed out to Kini where their dens were, subtly implying that they would be all too happy to share with her, and were practically bouncing with anticipation as they watched the female Sun Villager look around. Ember could almost hear their sending bet over who she would pick. Yun, not being half as shy about her desires, went straight up to Merlo and welcomed him into her den any time he chose to visit. Rather than getting indignant over his lovemate's bold actions, Mender chuckled at the Sun Villager's stammered turn down of her offer as he zipped into the closest elf-sized hole in the hill and declared that he would be staying there. Sust and Pool were obviously disappointed when Kini picked the den just next door to her brother's hastily chosen sanctuary.

With that settled, Ember ordered everyone back to sleep, which no one was going to argue against. Even Sust and Pool in the excitement of meeting a new female had to admit that sleep would be welcomed. The Wild Hunt had been very active that previous night, which meant they'd have to sleep in the morning--- and probably well into the afternoon ---to regain their strength. Merlo and Kini looked uneasy about this, being day creatures themselves, but made no protest as they rested in their dens looking anxious for their new adventure to start.

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

The following night, Kini and Merlo looked exhausted as the Wolfriders emerged from their dens. Neither had managed more than a brief nap during the day and now wanted nothing more than to sleep. However, they were determined to live with the Wild Hunt; they had been aware leaving their home in the Palace for the wild plains meant that they'd have to make some serious lifestyle changes, and accepted it. So the pair sleepily joined the group as Ember handed out their duties, trying to keep from rubbing their eyes too often and hiding their yawns.

Tonight Ember had inspected their meat supply and come to the conclusion that another hunt was needed to readily feed their now larger tribe. While the Wild Hunt gathered their weapons and wolves in preparation, Kini and Merlo watched from the base of Howling Rock, looking rather pensive about being around so many wolves and feeling rather useless. Ember hadn't looked at them once while she'd spoken, so the two were confused as to whether or not they'd be obligated to join the hunt. Neither Sun Villager had ever killed a living creature--- though Kini had a general knowledge of how to use the knife in her belt ---and even if they had, they certainly never would have used wolves to help them. Relying on such strange, unelfy things frightened the pair. A few of the beasts stopped to glance at the two new elves, but for the most part them were ignored, much to the Sun Villager's delight. However, seeing their obvious wariness towards the wolves, Pool brought his own wolf Far-Howl for the Sun Villagers to see up close.

"They're so big," Kini whispered in wonder.

"Yeah, but don't worry. Far-Howl is very friendly. Next to Patience, he's the calmest out of the pack. Go ahead and pet him. He likes new people."

Smiling at the Wolfrider, Kini tentatively reached out a shaking hand to stroke the gray wolf's thick coat like he requested and she beamed when Far-Howl's muzzle opened to pant happily. Merlo didn't move any closer, nor did he appear inclined to attempt to pet the wolf. He simply paled when Far-Howl lapped at Kini's hand playfully, muttering something under his breath as he tried to back away from the creature. Sandals not built to handle mossy ground slipped on badly placed rock and Merlo fell to the ground with a sharp cry, scaring Kini so that she jumped from Far-Howl and nearly tripped herself.

"I'm sorry," Pool apologized, pushing Far-Howl back and scurrying to sturdy Kini and help get her brother back on his feet.

Merlo hissed in pain, then said, "It's okay. I've just never been so close to a wolf before. They didn't come into the Palace."

"Are you bleeding?" Kini inquired. "We could have Mender---"

"No, it was just a stumble. Not even a scrape. I-I'm fine."

"Kini! Merlo!" Ember strode up to the three elves riding her wolf with terribly natural ease. "I won't ask you two to join the hunt, but while we're gone, Tyleet will be collecting berries and grasses. I want you two to stay close to her."

"Yes, Ember." The two siblings took off to where they could see the red head waiting for them with baskets in hands.

"Pool," Ember called to get Pool's attention away from the departing Sun Villagers. She had to laugh at the starry look in the young Wolfrider's eyes. "Ease up, Pool. They aren't going to become Wolfriders just because you introduced them to a wolf. You're going to scare them off before they've gotten the chance to settle down."

Pool blushed and nodded, staring at the ground. But he didn't get the chance to revel in his embarrassment long. Sust came with his wolf, Winter Coat, whose fur was always thick and shaggy all year long, and scolded him for trying to earn extra points with Kini before he even got the chance to introduce himself. Smiling brightly at his friend, Pool climbed onto Far-Howl and trotted beside Krim's son. Ember smiled at the pair, then turned back one last time to make sure that Kini and Merlo had found Tyleet before joining her pack.

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

Tyleet hadn't been too surprised when Ember had pulled her aside and asked that she take the two newcomers with her to berry hunt. After all, they were only Sun Villagers who couldn't really be expected to participate in a hunt on their first day, especially without wolf-friends, and Tyleet did seem to have a knack for befriending people. She glanced behind her to make sure that Kini and Merlo were following her and not getting left behind. They'd been walking for awhile and she assumed that, living in the Palace, the two Sun Villagers never had much reason to travel this far on foot. Though they were panting slightly, Kini and Merlo kept up with the Wolfrider; Kini even gave her a beaming smile when she caught eyes with Tyleet.

When they reached the woods, Tyleet handed them each a grass woven basket. "Tonight we're collection squirrel berries."

"Squirrel berries?" Merlo asked in confusion. "What are squirrel berries?"

"I'll show you." Tyleet motioned for the pair to follow as she stepped into the trees. She nearly winced as Kini and Merlo stumbled in after her, making so much noise to her sensitive wolf ears even though they were probably moving too quietly for any human to hear. Keeping her attention focused on the plants around them, Tyleet searched the path until she found what they wanted. "Ah, these are squirrel berries."

Kini and Merlo stared in wonder at the strange berry in the palm of Tyleet's hand. It's a deep, dark red that almost appeared brown, like the fur of so many squirrels, and at the end where a stalk should be are several stringy vines that looped to make the shape of a bushy tail. Kini laughed at the oddity of the plant and took it from the other elf to study it closer. Merlo grimaced at the thought of eating such a weird thing, especially since he'd never seen anything like it before.

"These are safe to eat?" he asked incredulously.

"Perfectly," Tyleet assured the Sun Villagers. Taking Kini's hand, she led the other female over to her left. "There's a bush of ripe ones here for you to pick, Kini. Merlo, there's another one just by the pond that you can pick from. Come."

"But---"

"We'll finish faster if you two pick the berries and I gather the grasses."

"But---"

Kini gave Merlo a light shove in Tyleet's direction. "Go on, dreamy head. I'll be fine here. Just you don't go falling into that pond."

Merlo stuck his tongue at his sister and lifted his rounded nose high in the air as he followed after Tyleet, who hid her smile behind a delicate hand. It'd been so long since Howling Rock had housed children, but the two Sun Villagers acted like a pair of cubs. Tyleet found herself missing that innocent playfulness and, though she loved the one cub she'd borne and the human cub she'd lost so many years ago her memory of him was too dim to recall at will, she felt the painful longing for a babe to care for.

"Tyleet?" Merlo quipped, nudging her out of her thoughts. "Is this the spot?"

Tyleet glanced around and shook her head. "No. See this." She pointed to a burred bush without touching it. "It's an itchbush. Touch any part of it and you'll be scratching like a wolf with sand fleas for days."

"Oh."

"Here's your bush." Tyleet directed Merlo to a bush much closer to the pond's edge where squirrel berries grew abundantly. "Remember, don't pick the ones that are still green." Without plucking it off the vine, she showed him which of the berries she was talking about. "I am going to collect some nuts on my way back to the treeline to gather some grasses, then I'll trackback to Kini, then you. I won't be too long."

"O-Okay," Merlo said hesitantly, trying not to let his reluctance of being left on his own.

"You'll be fine, Merlo."

The dark skinned elf twirled around and grabbed onto Tyleet's shirt like a cub clinging to its mother. "But what if a bear suddenly pops out of the woods and wants to eat me?"

Tyleet laughed at his childish fear and impulsively hugged him to reassure him. The Sun Villager squeaked in surprise of the familiar gesture and blushed before relaxing enough to smile at the Wolfrider. "Don't worry. I'm watching over you," she whispered as she planted a kiss against his temple. Clearing his throat, he nodded and went to work sorting through the bush as Tyleet departed.

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

Tyleet's basket was full of long thick grasses that would be dried back at the holt and used for padding dens and woven into more baskets for gathering. She made a mental note to ask the Sun Villagers if they knew had to make those strange sun hats Scouter had told her that some of their people wore in the desert during the hottest parts of the day. The plains could get awfully bright during the morning for Wolfrider eyes and it would do them all some good to have a way to constantly shade their eyes while they worked in the day time. She was just about to reach the spot where she'd left Kini when the sound of quiet singing reached her ears. Kini wasn't sitting in front of the squirrel berry bush, but had for some reason climbed up one of the trees.

"Kini?" Tyleet inquired with a half-hidden laugh. She hadn't been aware that the Sun Villager would even consider tree climbing until she'd adapted to their surrounding for a few weeks at least, but it appeared as if Kini had a streak of wildness in her that naturally led her to the high branches.

The Sun Villager looked down at the Wolfrider standing at the base of the tree and waved. "Tyleet, you'll never guess what I found. A whole family of squirrels, all curled up like lizards under a rock. It looks like they've been enjoying those squirrel berries, too."

"Kini, what about your berries?"

"In the basket. I grabbed every one in sight and filled up fast."

Studying the contents of Kini's basket, Tyleet grimaced and nearly groaned. Kini had indeed scooped up everything that had looked remotely like a berry--- small, green, overripe, and insect infested ---and even though the bush she'd placed the Sun Villager at had been full of ripe berries, a larger portion of the basket was no good. In fact, a few of the infested berries had probably already infected the good ones. A small section of the bush was missing where she'd simply grabbed the berries hidden inside the bush by the handful, along with their branches and leaves. It looked like the work of a half-minded cub who'd purposely failed their appointed task to get their work done as quickly as possible. However, as Kini came down from the branches, she smiled so sweetly and innocently at the Wolfrider, practically bouncing with joy as she awaited Tyleet's inspection of her work, that Tyleet knew she hadn't done such a bad job on purpose. Spending a majority of her life indoors, Kini probably just didn't know how to handle plants.

"Good work, Kini," Tyleet told the girl, trying to think of how she was going to gently correct her mistakes without giving off the impression that she was angry with her. "But some of the berries weren't ripe enough to be picked just yet."

Kini's face fell and she scampered over to the basket worriedly where she began to sift anxiously through her pickings. "Really? Which ones? How can I tell? When will they be ripe? Did I---"

"Easy, Kini, easy. It's all right." Tyleet gently moved Kini's scrambling hands away from the basket.

She picked up one of the green berries and proceeded to explain how to tell what berries were ready to be picked and which ones should be left on the bush for later. After that, Kini begged her to help correct the other mistakes she'd made, so Tyleet thoroughly went over the technique of plucking berries off a branch without taking anything extra with it, to allow more fruit to grow, and how to spot signs of insect infestation of fruit. Kini listened intently, looking as if she were trying to absorb every word that came out of Tyleet's mouth, and threw out a question of her own every now and then. When their lesson came to it's conclusion, Tyleet glanced up at the moon to calculate how much time had passed.

"You've spent more time here than we should have. The others should be coming back soon." After if one cue, a howl cut through the forest, making Kini squeak in surprise, then giggle nervously at her reaction. Tyleet smiled kindly at her. "We'll pick up Merlo, then hurry back. The kill was good. We'll eat well tonight."

"That's wonderful," Kini declared, picking up her newly sorted basket of perfect berries. "I wonder if Merlo heard that howl. Well, probably not. He more likely asleep at his bush by now, and nothing wakes him up."

Tyleet smiled without making a comment and slipped off into the woods to lead the way, giving Kini a lesson in stealth in the process. Kini did much better this time following Tyleet's footsteps as the pair made their way down the same path Tyleet had led Merlo down and soon came they upon the riverbank. While he wasn't asleep like Kini had predicted, Merlo certainly wasn't at his post by the squirrel berry bush. He was standing in the river, viciously scrubbing at his skin like he was trying to take if off. The Wolfrider was able to determine exactly what had happened.

"You can't scrub the itch away, Merlo. You're only making it worse." Tyleet placed her basket down as she entered the clearing and headed to the Sun Villager.

Merlo jumped at the sound of Tyleet's voice, nearly lost his footing, only to be sent tumbling to the riverbank where he collided with the Wolfrider sent to watch them. He looked extremely sheepish and embarrassed draped over Tyleet, still wet skin soaking her nice brown leathers--- he'd not even wasted time taking off his loin cloth which did the most damage to Tyleet's clothes ---and stuttered out numerous apologies. Tyleet didn't appear angry about Merlo's clumsiness nor did she see fit to reprimand him for getting her wet, though there were dozens of matronly Sun Villagers back home who normally would have chided him for being so careless. The red haired Wolfrider merely helped Merlo to his feet and took his hand as she led him back to shore. By his walk it was easy to tell that he was itching like crazy and not sure what to do about it. Taking pity on the poor elf, though she had warned him about itchbushes, Tyleet laid him down and began putting mud over the red patches of his dark skin.

"The mud will help soothe the itch for now. When we get back to the holt, Mender can heal the rash."

"Thank you," Merlo sighed with gratitude as he allowed himself to enjoy the relief Tyleet's administrations brought him.

Kini clucked her tongue scoldingly as she came over carrying Merlo's nearly empty basket. "No more than a handful. Really, Merlo, how could you be so lazy?"

"I didn't mean to." The Sun Villager pouted as he absently plucked at the grass beside him while Tyleet applied a little more mud on his shoulders when she finished covering legs. "I was picking the berries when I saw the strangest butterfly, all bright and shimmering, like the Scrolls themselves. I...I followed it as best I could, then something ran over my foot--- I don't know what ---and I...I..."

"You jumped and tripped over your own feet right into the itchbush, right?"

The knowing smirk in Kini's voice was too much for Merlo and, impulsively, he grabbed a handful of mud from his leg and threw it at his sister. Kini, who had never expected her brother to do something so violent towards her, got a face full of mud, too stunned to dodge the attack. Tyleet gaped at Merlo, just as surprised as his sister by the Sun Villager's actions. Merlo himself seemed to just beginning to understand what he'd done and he spouted off as many apologies as he could as he scrambled to his feet. The glare the female gave him through a mask of dark brown would have chilled anyone to the bone and Merlo only for a second before he broke off into a run. Before Tyleet could call him back, Kini let out a growl worthy of a mad wolf and shot after him.

"Kini! Merlo! Wait!"

Running for his life, Merlo missed Tyleet's call and was suddenly struck with an overwhelming urge to laugh. Struggling for breath, he started to slow down and stumble, but kept himself moving. Kini was close behind him, determined to make Merlo pay, and when her brother tripped on a rouge rock just as he broke through the treeline, she didn't waste a second pouncing on him. The pair went rolling to the ground until Kini pinned Merlo to the ground and she scooped up the soft soil by his head to push against his face, cursing him fervently. Merlo was yelling for Kini to stop, telling her how out of portion she was taking the whole situation, but his sister didn't pay any attention to him as she continued to reap her retribution.

"Well." The Sun Villagers froze when they looked up to see Ember sitting upon her wolf looking down at them. "Good to see that you two are enjoying yourselves out here."

Tyleet exited the woods at that moment, drawing the attention of those present. Behind Ember, Pool, Sust, and Scouter looked at Tyleet, then to the Sun Villagers and back again, the question plain in their eyes. Their currently situation wasn't exactly the easiest to explain at the moment, so Tyleet decided not to do it. Instead she walked over to get Kini standing, then Merlo. She shooed the pair back into the trees to fetch their baskets like a mother scolding her cubs and went after them to retrieve the basket she'd also abandoned. Scout couldn't help his smile as Kini and Merlo obeyed, still glaring at each, and laughter escaped him when the trio emerged with their rather meager yield. He dismounted and approached the Sun Villagers, taking the baskets and spilling the contents of one into the other. They made less than a full basket.

"Enough for Krim to work with," he assessed.

"Yeah, barely," Pool whispered.

"We'll take what we've got," Ember declared, nudging her wolf back the way they'd come. When they'd returned to Howling Rock to find the Sun Villagers and Tyleet still not back yet, she'd been worried that the newcomers had gotten into trouble and endangered themselves. Fortunately she'd only been half right.

to be continued...