Chapter 5: The Wolf Pup

Ice was tired of slashing through the underbrush of the forest. He wouldn't stop complaining about the route they had taken. Instead of, "wasting hours," as Elyon had put it, on the roads, she suggested taking the, "short and dangerous route," as Ice had put it, off the roads. He kept talking about Imp Country that he had wanted to show Nightshade right before Skingrad, but now they'd be bypassing it and making a straight diagonal from Weynon Priory to Kvatch, their next destination.

So far, the four of them, counting Elyon's horse, Silver, had run into two bears, four boars, and a Spriggan, which Elyon had killed three times. She said she had had a lot of practice in Solsthiem with Spriggans and a bunch of other things, like Ricklings ("They're small blue men that are vicious and are men of the wild; they live in a large castle where they do the bidding of Hircine, the Daedric prince of hunting."), werewolves, bone hounds, witches, and Beserkers, crazy people that wore no clothes and ran around the wilderness. Nightshade found it fascinating, but Elyon never gave any specifics about her quests. Both Nightshade and Ice found it suspicious.

"Nightshade, what happens if she tries to attack us?" Ice tossed her Akaviri Katana back.

"If she's going to kill us she would've done it by now."

"I don't think she's ever been to Solsthiem. She's probably making it all up."

Nightshade rolled her eyes and ate a bread roll Elyon had given her. She was feeding Silver when suddenly Ice toppled over and Nightshade screamed in surprise.

A wolf, possibly bigger than him, was snarling in his face, pinning him down. Its pungent breath matched its ugly, gray face, and its fangs were blotched yellow with tartar.

Elyon had jumped back in surprise and had seemingly frozen. Nightshade swung her sword and the wolf jumped back. Ice scrambled to his feet and took out his two knives. "Stupid wolf," he growled.

"Actually, that's quite a smart wolf," Elyon was advancing slowly. The wolf watched closely. "Most wolves will outright attack you or run. This one's smart."

"I don't care if it can solve the hardest question in the universe. It attacked me!" Ice swung his daggers at the wolf, causing two large cuts, one on its face and the other on its shoulder. It, in anger, threw itself at him, causing him to loose his daggers and fall backwards into the mud. Nightshade slashed at its side and it tumbled. Elyon only watched.

The wolf was badly injured, but it didn't stop it from lunging at Nightshade. She swung and it threw it to the side. Its teeth were bared, but there were too many wounds. It knew it would die. Nightshade almost felt sorry for it when she plunged the katana into its side.

Elyon look miserably at it. Nightshade still looked grossed out, but she touched it with the toe of her shoe. It rocked slightly, like jelly. She stepped away.

"Elyon, you won't skin it?" Ice looked at her in question. She didn't reply right away. "You skin it."

Nightshade raised an eyebrow. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing. Ice, come here, and I'll teach you how to skin."

Nightshade watched the two. Elyon looked depressed the whole procedure. Then they moved on out of the clearing.

Elyon was no longer cheerful. Ice was eerily quite. Nightshade felt awkward.

It wasn't long before Elyon stopped again. Her expression had changed from a saddened look to a troubled look.

"Hear that?"

They stopped to hear a faint whimper. Elyon turned sharply to her right and suddenly the whimper turned into a high-pitched snarl. She pushed the branches and leaves away to see a den made of a fallen tree and a hole. The thing making the noise was inside.

"Careful," Ice, who had retrieved his daggers, took them back out. She put her hands in and then yelled "Ouch!" Her hand, as she pulled them out, was bleeding very slightly.

"Whatever's in there is pretty weak." Nightshade felt she didn't need her katana.

Elyon suddenly laughed. "It's weak because it's a baby wolf!"

The two blinked, half in wonder, half in confusion. She, however, approached Silver and took out a slab of venison. She ripped a small piece and threw it into the den.

"Why did you just do that?" Ice snapped. "You're feeding the enemy!"

"It won't survive without its mother, Ice. It's and innocent baby. It hasn't done anything to you." She turned on him. "Are you going to kill an innocent baby?"

"If it'll grow up to be a blood-thirsty monster, then, yes!"

"But it won't. Don't you know dogs come from wolves? Wolves were our ancestor's dogs, domesticated and did our bidding over time. It, no, she, can be tamed, just with a little trust."

Elyon continued to feed her venison and soon, she stopped snarling and came out. The young pup's pelt was a dark gray with flecks of black mixed in. Her paws were pure black along with her face, and her tail was darker than the rest of the gray but had a gradual, black tip. She only seemed to notice Elyon, whom who was speaking to her in a soothing whisper. Even Silver looked a bit frightened.

"See? She isn't a monster." Elyon stroked her softly. "Hey, little one, you cannot survive on your own. Want to come with us?"

"Ok, now she's really crazy," Nightshade whispered, but Ice shook his head. "Wood Elves have the power to command animals, but never have I heard of holding a conversation with them. That's some serious magic."

"C'mon, Richu! Can't you see Kvatch on top of that hill?"

The wolf cup barked. It had taken the rest of the day to get to even see Kvatch in the distance. Everyone was exhausted.

"Where will we pitch the tent?" Ice wasn't as tired as Nightshade whose legs felt nothing more than jelly. She fell to the ground and stayed there until he kicked her in her side.

Elyon stuck a peg into the hard ground with such force dirt sprayed in all directions instead of settling into a dust cloud. Ice figured she had muscles under that armor.

After the tent was pitched, Nightshade and Ice fell asleep instantly. Elyon, however, stayed up, unable to sleep, so she could sit on a rock and stroke Richu happily, and stare up at the stars.

"Are you really dead?"