Chapter Three (First Encounters)

While Harry had promised to be careful of anyone that he or Padfoot met, it had been days and neither of them had noticed any evidence of people. At least there hadn't been any that they had come across as they traveled keeping the river to their left. The fact that they hadn't seen anyone didn't bother either one of them as they were enjoying their wanderings, not in a rush to get anywhere despite how anxious they had been to leave Eryn Vorn. It was a pleasant leisurely trip with Harry being able to contribute to their meals by fishing. He had been thrilled to learn how to fish using either a stick to spear them or a vine and a bone hook for when he was on the move. The latter was what he had coiled up in his satchel. If they were to set up camp for awhile with a source of water full of fish, Harry knew how to build a wooden trap for them to collect fish too. Since he had learned to make a fire he had a much more enjoyable experience when it was time to eat his catch. The same when it came to hares caught in the snares that he had been taught to make. Padfoot had been insulted when the teen had proudly showed him the first hare he'd snared. It seemed the wolf felt as if Harry didn't think he was providing for him.

When Padfoot tripped him, Harry thought he was showing his displeasure at him. It hadn't helped that the wolf was growling at him albeit it wasn't his usual aggressive sounding one. Not until the boy saw Padfoot bow down with his front paws extended, tail wagging, before darting away then coming close to nip at his heels that Harry realized, "You're playing with me!"

Padfoot gave a sound that could only be in agreement having heeded his more mischievous side. The boy grinned, gave chase, and laughed as Padfoot would dodge him, trip him up, and take off again. The two would play when they wanted a break from running or walking northward. A time or they even played with the skin of a hare that the wolf had rousted. At night they would curl up together with Padfoot keeping guard until the faintest rays of light began to rise from the sun when he would sleep until Harry would wake him anxious to get moving again. Not that the boy wasn't adverse to just taking a day to themselves without progressing any further along the river's path. The duo continued in this way for days unsure exactly how long it was as neither were keeping track of time. For them it was just: eating time, play time, walking time, resting time, make camp for the night time. And of course there were times they had hunting and fishing time.

Neither had really thought too hard about what they would do once they reached an actual road let alone a ford. The two had paused because they could see the stone that indicated the place where they should be able to cross however the water was rather high due to it being spring. They could attempt to cross it and take the road they saw going west, or avoid it and stay on the east side of the river and follow the road going south-east. Their third choice was to just continue north following the river as they had been. However even in the dusk light darkening to night the duo could see that the river bent to the west.

"How about it, Padfoot? Which direction to you fancy?" Harry looked in all three directions then to the wolf who seemed to be doing the same to determine which was the best to go. Soon it would be time for them to stop for the night and wait for the daylight to continue their journey. Padfoot's head lifted though and it seemed as if he was sniffing, trying to take in as much and as many scents from the air as he possibly could. The fur on the wolf bristled as his lips drew back in a snarl, a deep threatening growl in his throat that caused Harry to whip his head in the direction Padfoot had alerted towards.

It was across the ford. Squinting his eyes, the boy tried to see what had alarmed his friend. "What is it?" he whispered in case they couldn't hear if they hadn't seen him.

A whistling sound answered him and a -thunk- into the earth just missing the side of his throat. Feeling his eyes widen as fear caused his heart to beat quicker in his chest seeing that someone had fired an arrow at him! He heard someone shout and Padfoot made the sound he did when he wanted the boy to climb atop him. Harry didn't hesitate as he grabbed the wolf's fur as he jumped and held on flattening himself against Padfoot's back as the wolf turned and sped quickly away from the ford running south-east. Before they had turned, Harry had caught a glimpse of their attackers. They were taller then the Drughu and cloaked. They tried to run after the fleeing duo the whistling sound indicating more arrows had been fired. Padfoot zigzagged as he ran and Harry kept himself flat, head down by the wolf's neck and tried to keep his fear in check but he couldn't help that he shook a little as some of the arrows came too close! Even when Padfoot had to slow down, he continued to trot for a good while before slowing to a walk.

Eventually they came upon a road on their left side. If there were roads, that meant people, and people meant settlements. Which might mean more arrows headed their way from whomever else they crossed paths with before they could explain that neither he nor Padfoot were there to attack. While the Drughu had been wary of the wolf, they had eventually warmed up to the canine seeing that Padfoot wouldn't harm anyone as long as they meant no hurt to Harry. Padfoot had even helped out in tracking lessons for the youngsters which Harry had been a part of. As neither boy nor wolf wanted to encounter anyone else at the moment, they moved further away until only Padfoot's keen eyes could see the road.

They stopped to rest and Harry slipped off Padfoot's back, pulled out the water skin and bag of venison from his satchel so that Padfoot could have a drink and some food without having to go off and hunt. After the wolf had eaten the meat, Harry squeezed out some water into his hand and had to bite his lip to keep from laughing at the tickling sensation of the wolf's tongue against his palm and fingers. When he'd had his fill he licked Harry's face causing the boy to scrunch his face up. "Ewwww, Padfoot!"

Wiping his face with the back of his hand and wrist, Harry then wiped it off on his breeches while Padfoot lolled his tongue in laughter as he sat then lay down. Harry replaced both the water and venison into his satchel before sitting down next to his friend. Frowning he wondered, 'Why do you think they shot at us? We didn't do anything!"

Padfoot huffed then gently grabbed the boy's arm in his mouth and gave a tug, clearly stating he thought he should lay down as well. Without resisting, Harry let himself fall backwards and after his arm was let go, used Padfoot as a pillow. Pulling the satchel to where it was on his chest, he clutched it and sighed. He wondered if they would get that reaction everywhere they went? Was this because Padfoot was a wolf? Would they have no choice but to return to the forest to keep from getting attacked? They wouldn't get much exploring done that way. Harry didn't want to go back just yet. Someday maybe, but something in him wanted to keep going and he was sure that that same urge was in Padfoot. Had those archers been men or elves? Which were more dangerous?

"Ewww! Stop doing that!" Padfoot had licked the boy's ear knowing he was thinking and worrying when he was supposed to be resting and trying to sleep. Harry wiped his ear and pouted knowing exactly why he got licked this time. While he didn't mind the occasional lick here or there, he minded when it was his ears! He got the point though and sighing one again, decided to push those thoughts aside and heed Padfoot and try to sleep while they could knowing that the wolf would likely get them moving earlier than usual.

As close as they were to the road, there was no play time while the duo traveled. Harry stayed close to the wolf and when motioned, stayed put. It was both with dread and relief for the boy when they came upon another river ahead of them. Where the river and road crossed was a city and to be prepared in case the city came with people, Harry rode astride Padfoot as they warily made their way towards the structures. From the outside it was quiet and looked abandoned but both had their ears straining for any sounds with Padfoot trying to pick up any fresh scents. The duo had been lucky when they'd come to the ford with night encroaching but now, now it was mid-afternoon and they would be clearly visible to any and all.

Swallowing nervously, Harry's head swiveled as he looked about them and despite the city seeming deserted, didn't relax until he'd felt the muscles beneath him loosen up and felt the familiar shoulder wiggle of Padfoot. Obeying the wolf, he slipped off Padfoot's back but stayed close with one hand latched to the other's fur as they walked. The city was in shambles and there was evidence that the river had flooded it at one point.

They only stayed in the abandoned city long enough for Padfoot to hunt them some meat that the boy cut into thin pieces, used part of the salt they'd been given rubbed into it to help season and preserve it, and hung to make jerky. It took 3 days for it to cure and once it was all dried out, Harry packed it up and they left the city. Padfoot had gone each day to scout to make sure that those archers hadn't been following them. So far it seemed that they hadn't, but neither boy nor wolf wanted to press their luck and find out if they were wrong. Harry was happy to move on as he hadn't been able to scrounge anything from the place nor had it been that interesting. Just in case, Padfoot led him to some marshland that they crossed. Harry happily saw swans and didn't question that he knew what the birds were even if he'd never seen one before. He pretended he didn't see Padfoot decide to try and chase one down either for play or dinner, the boy wasn't sure. He had been amused though when the wolf came back empty mouthed and a bit damp.

In the distance he could see mountains with snow on them. He wanted to ask if that was where they were headed, but id didn't seem Padfoot wanted to stay very long in the marshes, wanting to cross them as quickly as possible. That didn't mean that he rushed them through. The wolf was very careful and had made sure that his boy didn't stray anywhere that Padfoot himself hadn't already trod. A quick unexpected dip had learned Harry real quick to not stray. Three days had almost passed before they were out of the marshes because of the pace that Padfoot had set to get them safely across. Once out they followed the water as that seemed the safest course as it was also far away from the road. When the river split ways, they had to stay on the one that flowed to the right as that was the side they were on and didn't fancy swimming. It led to the mountains.

At the base, Harry stared up, up, up to the top of the snow capped peak. His mouth opened, not having realized just how big it was. The mountain ranged far to the north and south. It would take them ages to try and go around it, if they even could. From where they were, it looked as if the mountain range went on forever in both directions. As they started up the mountain, Harry was quite glad that he'd kept the hide from the stag that Padfoot had downed back near the city. He was also happy that he'd gotten better at skinning hides as he was able to wrap the fur around him not having butchered the skin. What he soon discovered however, was that maybe he should have tried to make some foot wraps. While his grass stained feet had become calloused from always being bare foot and having his feet free helped him for better purchase, at times it hindered him and caused him to slip just as much. There were some difficult parts of the mountain where the only way up was for him to ride Padfoot as the nimble wolf climbed surefooted.

It didn't take them long however to realize that they had erred and should never have strayed up the mountain. No matter how long it took, they should have gone the long way around. Their second day they had been taken unawares even with Padfoot's superior sense of smell and hearing. They had been set upon by creatures that would plague Harry with nightmares for some time. The first attack was an arrow that pierced through the animal cloak that Harry was wearing grazing his arm. He'd let out a startled and pained shout, which had Padfoot snarling in anger as he lunged at the nearest creature, tackling it as he went for the throat. Terrified as he was, adrenaline rushed through the boy as he ducked behind a rock cropping to pull his blow pipe from the satchel along with his bag of darts. Quickly, he fed one into the tube and peered over his barrier, found a target and blew as he'd been taught. It might as well have been a mosquito bite fro all the good it did. It had caused attention to be drawn to him, a goblin heading his way even as Harry was behind his boulder reloading his blow pipe. Harry peered up over the rock and had to quickly throw himself backwards to keep his head from being cleaved open. Scrambling backwards, he grabbed and pulled his knife despite how his hand was shaking. Hearing a pained whimper come from Padfoot caused his fear to heighten but it also ignited a flame of anger. Letting out an angry yell, he ran towards the goblin ducking down low and forwards into the creature's space. Using both hands, he shoved his arms out and up into the underside of the surprised goblin's jaw where it connected to it's neck. It stumbled backwards with a screech, black blood spurting from the wound. It tried to run only to be finished off by Padfoot. Breathing hard, Harry saw that the other were either dead or had fled.

Fleeing sounded like a good idea which both Padfoot and Harry did, making their way quickly back down the mountain. Going down was much easier than going up it had been especially when the duo lost their footing a time or two and ended up tumbling a little ways. They didn't stop until they were off the mountain and back near the river. There, they washed their wounds and Harry applied poultices. Of course Padfoot had been stubborn and snapped his jaws at the boy when he'd tried to tend to the wolf first. He would only let Harry tend him after the boy had seen to himself first. As he did so he knew that he'd have to find a way to thank the Drughu for their thoroughness when they had packed his satchel with supplies as well as when they had insisted that he learn how to tend to wounds.

That night Harry didn't sleep knowing what would be visiting him but also because of the howling of wolves. If they were as huge as Padfoot, the boy didn't want to end up meeting them. Not if they were as mean and vicious as those goblins had been. As everything seemed to be here that they had encountered since they left the Drughu and their forest behind. Just in case, Harry had built a huge bonfire and had the forethought to make torches and drove them into the ground in a wide circle that encompassed the bonfire as a deterrent. It hadn't crossed his mind that they might not be afraid of fire just as Padfoot wasn't. Thankfully, none came nearer than the perimeter. All the same, as soon as it was clear the wolves had left for easier pickings and the beginning of daylight started to lighten the sky, the two began walking back along the river's path the way they had come.

"Well, either we keep backtracking to the city and follow the river north-east," Harry stated as they walked. He pointed westward, "Or we meander back that way to the road and take it south wherever it leads."

Padfoot butted his head against the boy's side, clearly wanting to know what Harry thought. Gnawing on his lip, he looked both directions and shivered. "I say we follow the river."

On the road the only danger they might have is men, but they hadn't encountered anything along the river. They should be fine as long as they didn't come across anymore fords. Seeing as Padfoot didn't try and herd him westwards and had made a sound he'd come to recognize as agreement, Harry felt a bit of tension leave him. It didn't seem Padfoot was too eager to run into anything else be it man or nasty creatures either!