I never thought I'd ever be so happy to see a stranger. It was the she wolf from before. I got to my feet and luged at her tears of joy flowing down my face. She awkwardly patted my back with one hand then pushed me away. She dropped the knife she had on the ground by the hunters dead body.
"What the f**k were you doing that made a hunter catch you?" She admonished me harshly. "This is peak hunter season, surely you knew that?" I shook my head guiltily looking down. I felt like a little child being punished for something they did wrong.
"What would have happened if I didn't hear you? What would have happened if I didn't recognize your voice huh?" She shouted annoyed as she worked on my chain. I kept mum, eyes still fixated on the ground.
"I'm sorry." I said in a bare whisper. The chains fell with a loud clang to the ground. She sighed loudly and turned me around.
"Are you hurt?" She asked softly staring at me with concern in her eyes.
I stared at my wrist, it was still scarred. She grabbed my hand and inspected it closely.
"He used silver handcuffs?" She asked examining it.
"Yes." I was surprised she knew all this. She mumbled a curse under her breath.
"It will take a bit long to heal, but, it will heal nonetheless." She looked around then grabbed my other hand. "Come on. Let's go. They are normally in pairs, let's leave before his partner finds us."
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"You never came round to telling me your name." I pointed out to her as she started a small fire. She paused, the stick almost falling from her hands. For a moment I thought she wouldn't answer me then she finally mumbled,
"Roesia." as she continued her attempt to start the fire.
She'd brought me to her hideout. A cave hidden deep within the hills. It wouldn't be easy for an u welcomed visitor to find. It looked pretty nice, with vines covering her entrance. And she'd put her belongings neatly around the place to give it a more homey feel.
"You have a beautiful name." I muttered softly. She grunted.
"please," I could feel her rolling her eyes. I smiled. She'd definitely opened up to me. I think. She maged to start the fire and sat back pleased with herself. I found myself drawing closer to the fire. The heat was a welcome change for me. Roesia had given me a set of clothes I could 'chill in' as she put it and I was ever so grateful.
"When there is no moon out, the new moon, that is peak hunter season. Know that." She said seriously looking straight at me. It was hard to look away. The flames danced and crackled between us. "You'll occasionally run into one when the moon is still small, so be careful. As the moon grows bigger there's none in sight. Because that is when we are at our wildest and strongest." she adjusted herself to a more comfortable position.
She looked at me for a moment seeming like she wanted to say something.
" What?" I asked her nervously.
"You look so much like him." She mumbled in such a low tone I barely heard her. Just as I opened my mouth to say something she continued talking. "For lack of a better way to put this," she paused looking as if she was still contemplating on whether or not she should tell me. "You're weak, so try and stay out of the forest. For you it's dangerous at all times. Because if it's not hunter's crawling through the woods it's lone wolves and rogues. I highly doubt you'd be able to fend them off."
Ouch. That stung. But she was right. I wouldn't make it. I was banking on sheer luck and my speed right now. I fisted my hands with a resolve. "Could you please help me train?" I asked her coming forward. "I want to become stronger." And avenge my pack, I added silently in my head.
She contemplated for a bit. The flames filling the silence. I waited anxiously for her reply.
"Yea sure." She said nonchalantly. "Now let's eat something." She announced as she stood up dusting herself. "Wait for me here. I'll be right back." she said and left. The ground was a bit softer here. I thought to myself as I curled up next to the fire. This felt so good. My eyes were slowly closing up. I yawned sleepily and curled even tighter. Allowing the sleep to take me.
"Hey, wake up." it hadn't been long when I felt myself been shaken. I shrugged the hand off.
"Eat before the fire goes out." the voice continued. The delicious smell of meat wafted into my nostrils having me wake up instantly.
"I've already chopped it up and put it on the sticks, now all you need to do is roast them to your liking." I opened my eyes and saw Roesia holding out two sticks with sizeable pieces of meat on them. My mouth watered as my stomach grumbled loudly.
"I wasn't even gone that long. You must have been exhausted." She said as she went over to her side, threw in a bit more pieces of wood and stuck her sticks in the heart of the fire. I looked at her awed.
"you can stick yours in too if you want, most people don't like it that way." she said amused as she sat down. I got up and carefully put the meat next to hers carefully so as not to burn.
"Won't the sticks burn?" I asked her as I sat back down.
"I don't know how to explain it, but no they won't. Rest assured." She seemed happier now. I noted also relaxing a bit. I hadn't noticed how tense I was around her. An awkward silence encompassed us. I looked at her. Should I fill it? she looked pretty comfortable.
"How did you know my brother?" I asked slowly pulling out the syllables unsure whether this was a sensitive topic to her. The silence pulled out. She'd either not heard me or chose to ignore me.
"How long have you been without a pack?" I tried for a different question. Silence. She suddenly sat up.
"Let's eat." She announced. "Will you need me to remove yours for you, baby fingers?" there was a trace of humor in her voice. Had she not heard me? I looked at her puzzled.
"Yes, please." I replied nonetheless.
Who was Roesia?