Chapter 6 ~ Wolf
Su Lin had gone out with Lan about a week later, to gather herbs for Lan's grandmother, the cities healer. Out in the woods they were bent over plants, oblivious to the world. Yan suddenly began screaming her peahen sounds of alarm. Su Lin looked up just to see Lan being tackled by a large wolf. Lan screamed. Without even thinking, Su Lin gripped her root stick, she roared, tackling the wolf off Lan. "GO!" Su Lin yelled as the wolf regained its feet.
Lan took off, running as best she could. Yan followed, screaming peahen fear. Lan ran until she reached the fringe of the city, the entire time, screaming, "Help! Someone HELP!"
Shan Yu heard her and saw the running woman. Literally the entire army went to Lan but Shan Yu got their first. "What is it?" He asked, gripping her shoulders.
"Su Lin! It's a wolf!" Lan gasped out just as a howl came from the forest.
Shan Yu drew his sword and sprinted towards the woods.
Su Lin was tackled by the wolf, knocking the air out of her. She had seen many Chinese warriors fight and had gleaned some of their moves. She brought her stick up and stabbed at the wolf's neck. It embedded itself, making the wolf leap back, howling in pain. She didn't give the wolf a moment's rest before she tackled the beast, knocking it off its feet. They rolled down a hill and right out of the forest. They landed in a field, the wolf rolling a few feet away from Su Lin. She leapt up to see Shan Yu and the entire Hun army running towards her and the wolf. The wolf, on the other hand, did not see the army and lunged at her. Twisting to the side, Su Lin grasped the end of the root stick, drawing it out of the neck. She grasped the ruff of the wolf, landing on the beast's back, digging the stick into the animal's rib cage, going through the lung. It gave a howl of pain as she drew it out before plunging it back in again, the force of her blow breaking ribs and making the stick stab the heart. The wolf gave a dying roar before collapsing under Su Lin.
Shan Yu skidded to a halt, throwing up a hand up to stop the army. Silence flooded the field. He slowly sheathed his sword before calmly approaching the panting woman. "Su…" he said, making the woman shriek and throw herself at him, clinging to his shirt, tears running down her cheeks.
He instinctively wrapped his arms around her small frame, holding her close. "It's alright now Su. It's dead." He whispered in her ear.
The army silently moved away, letting their leader comfort his wife. Soon, Su Lin had cried herself to sleep and Shan Yu swept her up into his arms. Carefully carrying her back to their home, he laid her on the bed, covering her with a blanket. Quietly, he returned to the wolf carcass and brought the animal home. Butchering the beast outside his home, he carefully cut the skin away from the flesh, setting it out to dry. The wolf's pelt would make a warm blanket for when winter came. The wolf was very big, much bigger than any wolf Shan Yu had seen before. He also cut out the sharp teeth from the wolf's jaws. He placed the teeth into a soft cloth to save for later. Taking the meat, he stoked a fire, placing the meat over the flames, smoking and drying the meat. Some he took into the house to cook for dinner. He glanced over at Su Lin to see her still sound asleep.
She suddenly bolted up with a shriek. He was next to her in an instant. She clung to him. "Don't leave me." She said into his chest. "Please."
Shan Yu placed her back onto the bed before curling around her. About an hour later, he crept from the bed to gather the smoked meat and skin. Returning equally as stealthy, he took the meat off the fire. He quickly ate the food before returning to Su Lin. Feeling his presence, she turned to face him, grasping his shirt. She sighed, settling against his chest.