~ Seasons of Change ~

SAPHIRA

"Alright! There we go!"

Saphira announces that her efforts at tending to his wound are now over with and Lykos cranes his neck to inspect her handiwork. She may not be one of the main healers, but that doesn't mean she can't take care of a wound when duty calls for it. They had made it back to the ravine about twenty minutes ago. Only her back feels a little sore from being slammed onto the ground by one of those wolves, but otherwise she's pretty unharmed. Lykos, however, took a nasty bite that would have surely done more damage to her than it did to him. Still, she took the time to clean and apply a thin layer of herb to cover it up. She doesn't know if herbs will even work on him, but he seems to approve of her work, judging by the toothy smile that he gives her. She returns the expression. Why wouldn't she, after he fought to protect her from his own brethren?

She figures for that, he deserves a little more than some medical attention.

"Wait right here," she tells him as she gets up to head back to her pack. She flips open the flap, feeling his curious eyes on her as she rummages through the contents and extracts the two portions that she had cut from the deer's shoulders.

Lykos' narrow at the sight and he looks at her questioningly.

"I don't want to hear any arguing about it. This is me thanking you for fighting alongside me against your own kin," Saphira declares and sets the meat down in front of him. He still looks uncertain, so she rolls her eyes playfully. "Come on, Lykos. You know you want it."

He finally gives in and leans forward to pull his reward closer to his chest and begins to eat it. He seems to be enjoying it immensely, taking his time to strip smaller pieces and chew before swallowing.

Saphira releases a tired exhalation, stooping down to sit with her back against his flank. He doesn't seem to mind at all, even pausing in his eating long enough to turn his head and bump her thigh with his muzzle. She manages a tired smile and drops her head back against him. He's a firm backrest. His entire body is just raw, animal power, yet his thick, shadowy fur is just fluffy enough to be comfortable.

Despite the physical comfort, her mind is in a state of slight unease.

No major injuries of any sort mark her body. The worst she sustained is probably just some mean bruises on her back, but the smaller bruises and scrapes on her arms would be enough for her sisters to ask questions. She's just banged up enough where a simple 'I slipped,' wouldn't cut it for any one of the girls. She's going to have to think of something more believable than that. How she wishes she could tell them the truth, but even though Lykos protected her, that may still not be enough to convince the Hunt to allow him to live. A smile sneaks onto her lips at the thought of Lykos joining the Hunt, traveling, hunting, and fighting alongside her.

But that's just a fleeting dream.

Still, this feeling of companionship brings a sense of peace and even a spark of happiness to her, something she hasn't felt in years… not since Zoe. Saphira wonders if this is what 'moving on,' is supposed to be; finding something or someone that helps her to find peace.

"Snackie snackie!"

"Snackie for lucky harpies!"

"We want snackie!"

The high-pitched, raspy squeals has Saphira's gaze snapping up towards the skies. She can see a small flock of little, birdlike creatures fluttering down with gleeful grins on their pointy human faces. The rumbling that vibrates against her back makes her tense, but it's only Lykos emitting a deep, low growl. He's glaring at the incoming harpies and places a large paw over his prize protectively. These annoying little wind spirits are infamous for stealing food and he clearly knows it. It seems to be their very intention as they come in for a landing, then skitter over the ground towards them with their chicken-like feet. Saphira instinctively places a hand on the hilt of her knife, as harpies can sometimes be unpredictable, but it soon becomes clear that their only interest is in Lykos' food.

One daring little pest attempts to move closer and reach out with a winged, clawed hand, but she's quick to retreat with a squawk when Lykos snaps his head towards her with a snarl. However, she was the perfect distraction for one of her companions to dart in and snatch up a piece of meat that was just far enough away from the wolf. The lucky harpy scampers a few feet away, snickering happily with her prize before beginning to nibble at it. Another harpy tries to sneak in and pick a piece of the looted meat, but the first clearly has no mind to share what she stole, slapping the rival harpy away with an angry shriek.

"Mine! Mine, mine mine! All mine!"

Saphira can't help the soft giggle that escapes her at the sight of the little troublemakers. Some can be dangerous. She knows that the harpies employed at the demigod camp are intended to eat curfew breaker. Whether or not they're successful at their job is unknown to her, but it seems that this particular flock is nothing more than a bunch of thieving annoyances. At least in Lykos' view, as he evidently doesn't appear as amused by their antics as she is, judging by the frowning expression.

The squabble of the harpies did distract him long enough for one to creep close enough and snatch a large strip of meat in her small talons, but Lykos noticed just in time to clamp his jaws shut on the other end of the strip. The harpy's eyes widen, but she seems determined to wrestle it away and pulls with her might in a brief tug of war with a growling Lykos. The meat suddenly tears and the harpy flops flat on her back, leaving her with only a tiny scrap for her efforts. The wolf quickly crunches the spoils in his mouth and swallows with a lick of his muzzle before emitting a strange series of rumbling chuffs. It must be his way of laughing at the defeat of his tiny feathery foe.

The harpy doesn't seem to think it to be as funny as he does.

Saphira raises a brow as the harpy kips onto her feet and glares at Lykos, scratching at the ground with her tiny talons and puffing up her feathers. Lykos doesn't seem like he could be any less bothered by her threat display, even narrowing his eyes into what looks like a wolfish smirk as the harpy crouches low, like she's about to pounce at him.

"Stupid furry wolf! Mean to little harpies!" the harpy squeals and suddenly, to Saphira's surprise, actually launches herself right at him. "Make mean wolf pay- Squawk!"

Any attempt at an attack is put to a swift end by Lykos slapping a huge paw over the harpy's head, squashing and pinning her down to the earth. Her muffled protests and frantic thrashing of her wings goes completely ignored by the wolf, who seems to put absolutely no effort into keeping her face trapped against the ground. He merely huffs and resumes eating his meal until Saphira taps his shoulder with an amused chuckle.

"Hehe. Come on, Lykos. Let her go," she says, nodding to the struggling harpy.

Lykos groans and rolls his eyes, but he does as he's told, lifting his paw just high enough for the distraught harpy to scramble free and scurry away.

"Mean wolf! Mean mean wolf!" she wails as she takes off into the air with the other harpies following suit.

Saphira stifles a soft laugh and glances at Lykos with an amused shake of her head. "I take it you don't care much for harpies?"

He responds with a grunt and returns his attention to finishing his meal. Saphira shifts her eyes to the sky once more. It is thick with dark, gray clouds, but she estimates the time to be somewhere around noon, maybe just a bit later, which means she should be heading back to camp now. She stretches her limbs and arches her back before standing and turning to face a puzzled Lykos.

"I have to get back now. I'll return tomorrow, okay?" she tells him. He nods and reaches up when she leans down to scratch him behind the ears for a moment. "Stay out of trouble, and remember what I told you to do if trouble arises."

He settles back down and replies a soft chuff, then goes back to eating. Saphira is satisfied with this response, knowing that he'll keep his promise. Within a minute, she is packed up and walking up the passage and out of the ravine. Damn it! She forgot she still needs to think of a story for when she gets back. What would her sisters believe?

A tumble down a mountain? No. They'd never believe her to be so clumsy.

A misunderstanding with a moose? No, that won't work either. Any hunter is far too fast to be caught by such a lumbering beast.

What to say, what to say?

Oh! At last she has an idea. She need not lie to them about her injuries if she has no injuries to lie about. Once again, she is no dedicated healer, but she does carry a bottle of nectar and a small bag of ambrosia for emergencies. Without breaking her stride, Saphira swings her pack to her front and digs through it for the godly food and drink. A small sip of nectar ought to make her scrapes and bruises fade off right away. She removes the cap from the bottle and places it to her lips for a sip, tasting a wonderful flavor of freshly made apple juice. Instantly, the soreness in her back fades to only a tiny ache while her scrapes and bruises minimize and vanish altogether.

Well, now she doesn't have to worry about anything, except why she only brought the ribs of the deer and nothing else. But this is something that is far easier to cover. It shouldn't take much to deceive her sisters in that regard. She already knows what she'll tell them if they question her small haul.

Suddenly, there's a very light sensation on her head that disrupts her thoughts, tickling her scalp through her dark hair, as if a feather had just alighted upon her. She feels it again, then another soft brush on her arm from something like an icy, tiny speck, and another tickling her lashes. With a start, she realizes that it is starting to snow! The soft, icy flecks sway their way down from the sky all around her, settling on the cold earth, the branches of the pines, and on her skin and jacket. She doesn't know why, but seeing the first snowfall of the year makes her feel even happier, almost as if the changing seasons somehow is in line with her changing outlook on life.

Then, she remembers the other problem behind the attack by those two wolves earlier.

Shit. How could she have allowed herself to be so air-headed? This is the second attack in two days, the second occurence of the Wolves of Lycaon having a presence in the region, and so close by as well. Looks like she'll have to do some explaining after all, as something like that isn't something she can just brush under the rug... okay, she'll just say that she had encountered the wolves when she was gutting the deer. They attacked, but she was able to kill them both, however she didn't want to remain in the area for too long lest there be more of them nearby.

It's a simple cover story but it should keep Lykos out of danger from her sisters while also letting them know that there is potentially still a threat that is present.

Saphira exhales heavily, letting the sudden spike in anxiety expel from herself. There's no need to get nervous... yet. Despite the situation, there was still some good that came out of it. She decides to focus on that, to focus on the small, but growing dose of joy that she was feeling only moments before. Yes, that's it. Today is the mark of her turnaround. She doesn't know why she thinks that, but she does. She can feel deep in her chest that her new friendship is helping her ways she could never have imagined.

She just hopes that it can last.