Author's Notes: Thank you for the review, d0ra-marquez, it is very much appreciated. I am glad that you like my attempt at worldbuilding, and the contrast between the elves and the humans. Later on in the story, the humans will be presented more sympathetically, especially when Little Patch is much older. But, for the moment, the earlier chapters will deal with his infancy. Enjoy!
Chapter 3 – The Foundling
Tyleet hugged the human cub close to her breast, rocking him ever so slightly. At least he was fed and warm now, and he was clearly comfortable, as he was starting to fall asleep. Tyleet smiled as she looked down upon his peaceful face. For the moment, he was content. But, sooner or later, a decision would have to be made about his long-term future – what should be done about him? Clearly, giving him back to his human tribe was not an option. She thought about the tales that Pike told, about the human cubs that Bearclaw had given to she-wolves, to be raised as their own cubs. They did well, those wolf-raised cubs, never harming the Wolfriders, and, sometimes, turning against their own kind. Perhaps giving this human cub to a she-wolf to raise would be a sensible action – after all, White-Tail had been gentle enough with him while he had fed from her, and the suckling wolf-cubs had not minded his presence, once it was clear that he presented no danger to them. But Tyleet had become fond of this cub since rescuing him from his fate; and felt that she did not want to abandon him, now that he was sleeping peacefully within her arms. Besides, if she did give him to a she-wolf to raise, then there was always the possibility that his human tribe would find out about this. They might have chosen to abandon him, but that did not mean that they would be unwilling to take revenge on the Wolfriders, if they felt that one of their own had been treated in a way that they disapproved of – the humans could be irrational and unpredictable in their thoughts and their actions. It might not matter to them that she had not stolen the child that they had abandoned – humans needed little reason to hate and fear that which they did not understand. And, for so many years, the humans had not understood the Wolfriders and their ways.
Tyleet shook her head slightly, as the human cub smiled in his sleep. No, it was clear what needed to be done; the child would, somehow, have to become a Wolfrider – at least as near to being a Wolfrider as a human could possibly become. She would have to tell Cutter, of course, and he would be reluctant – but who, more than Cutter, knew about the longing for lost cubs? His own cubs, Ember and Suntop, along with his lifemate, and his soul-brother, had been spirited away to a far future time, taken by Rayek on a mad quest to undo the accident that had stranded the elves on the World of Two Moons. Besides, Cutter was good with humans – he had managed to befriend some humans, many years before, when the Wolfriders had lived in a distant land across the Vastdeep Water. He knew, perhaps more than anyone else, that humans could be helpful and friendly towards elves, despite their shared turbulent history.
The child yawned, woke up, and opened his eyes. Tyleet sniffed him; he clearly needed cleaning and changing. It was clear that the needs of any cub – elf, wolf, or human – were very much the same. In a way, it was quite pleasant to think about what needed to be done immediately, rather than worrying about what should be done about the child's future.
She took him to the nearby river, where she washed and changed him. This at least gave her the chance to think. She remembered Pike's stories once more, and tried to think if there might be any answers within them. She knew that these stories contained the wisdom gained from the experiences of past Wolfriders; wisdom that, quite often, could help with the challenges that future elves might face. Could any of Pike's stories help her now? As she absent-mindedly wrapped the infant in clean furs, she tried to remember the stories that Pike had told about the previous interactions between elves and humans. There were, of course, the stories about Mantricker and Demontricker – but those had been tales about a couple of youths, both of them on that awkward precipice between childhood and adulthood. No, she needed a story about a young child – a human infant – and how the elves had dealt with this infant in the past.
Not Mantricker, but his mother, her own ancestress, Goodtree. Long ago, there had been a time when Goodtree had adopted a human cub, and called him Bearling. The humans at the time had been wary of the elves, but there had been a fragile peace between the two tribes. But Bearling had only remained with the Wolfriders for a short time – however, he had met Goodtree again, many years later, when he was old. He had been a friend of hers, of a sort, and had never forgotten the love that he had received from her as an infant.
Tyleet looked down at her human cub, and smiled. She was now certain – it could be done; there was a precedent. Her cub would become a Wolfrider.