Wolf Child

III

"Look, they are having so much fun," A voice whispered in her head. On the screen, the Alpha cornered Kilfer on a wall. The wolf's eyes were deep red, and Ferhia could see within. The hatred, the bitterness and the wanting for revenge. The canine inched closer, snarling, and leapt forward.

Ferhia did not dare to open her eyes, but there was warm, thick fluid running down her face. She opened her eyes, the Alpha was already on Kilfer. On her face was the blood of her brother. The leader of the pack. Kilfer.

The wolf turned, its blood red eyes staring at her, nailing its eyes right into her soul. She felt small, weak, and could be gnarled to pieces between the wolf's teeth. "Yes, my dear," The voice spoke, this time even more menacing, "Slaughter her."

Then, the last vision she saw was the canine's razor teeth clamping down on her, and the next thing was darkness.

***

Ferhia woke up, her face filled with beads of sweat, her mouth chattering and her heart pounding so hard against her chest. The pack was gone (Ferhia assumed they went to forage for prey in the night), and Kilfer was just awake, cleaning the bust of the Wolf god.

"Kilfer," Ferhia spoke, and he jumped, slightly but enough for Ferhia to notice.

"Uh, yeah?" Kilfer mumbled, turning and standing.

"Where's the pack?" Ferhia averted the conversation, pretending not to see Kilfer's reactions.

"They went to the river, it's their time to catch fish, let's get the berries today," Kilfer shrugged, placing the bust back to its original position in the tiny house, "We'll have breakfast first before we leave."

Ferhia could feel the annoyance in his voice -- he hated getting the berries in the forest for it was filled with danger even when the sun was glaring overhead for it was filled with ferocious animals that killed and ate men calmly, and only with the Alpha they could be guranteed safety. The last time they had met a venomous snake, and it was not a good encounter at all.

They ate in silence, and once or twice a hawk screeched overhead but they did not even mind. When Kilfer raised his head finally, the Pack had just returned. The Alpha nuzzled its snout against Kilfer in affection as Ferhia watched in silence.

"Let's go to get the berries, we don't want to reach the forest later than midday," Kilfer turned to Ferhia. They gathered their tools and left, Kilfer riding the Alpha and as usual, Ferhia trailing behind.

The trees thickened, and darkness set over them; only a ray of light emerged from the tiny holes between the branches. It was silent, and except for the soft padding of the Alpha's foot and the occasional bird tweets and the flutter of wings.

Suddenly, the Alpha paused in front of her, creeping behind the bushes. Ferhia followed, and between a thin crevice, a multicoloured plant with white leaves stuck out of it.

"The... Plant of God," Kilfer marvelled at the beauty of such a rare plant. Every century, only a single plant grew in the most desolate parts of the forest, "How is it even possible to grow here?" Ferhia frowned, "This might be--"

Before Ferhia could finish her sentence, a creature emerged from between the bushes, its horns huge and splattered with red blood.

"Boar plants, as I guessed," Ferhia took a step back. She knew that it was mostly impossible for the Plant of God to grow there, but she knew that the plant would be a boar plant, which the boars would use it to attract its unlucky prey. Kilfer leapt off the wolf's back as it growled, its gaze held on the incoming foe. Both animals glared savagely at each other as the duo stood behind the Alpha.

"R'you je wolf child?" The boar spoke through its thoughts with a heavy accent as it met Kilfer's gaze. He was one of the few who could communicate through animal tongue but was surprised that the boar could speak wolf tongue.

'You speak wolf tongue?'' Kilfer raised his eyebrows, but heard the Alpha's voice telepathically, 'Don't listen to him. He is trying to hypnotize you--"

Before the Alpha could finish his sentence the boar charged towards the Alpha, his thick tusks ready to deal a fatal blow to the wolf, but it leapt aside and rammed into the boar from the side. The duo spiralled into the thicket downhill, and Kilfer could feel the pain of both animals as twigs and branches whipped across their bodies.

"Is the Alpha alright?" Ferhia stood at the edge of the thicket, trying to find any sign of movement from below, but the misty air had covered the bottom of the hill.

"He is. I can still feel his presence," Kilfer made a pulling action with his hands and the trees swayed towards him, and soon the Alpha was brought back up.

"Impressive, young Kilfer. But we should beware of those boars," The Alpha padded towards them. Kilfer smiled and nodded with a sense of appreciation. Even Ferhia was surprised that Kilfer could control plants, something more powerful than simply wind.

As they tread downhill, plucking mangoes and pears and bunches of other fruit the scenery below could be seen, the rivers flowing smoothly, cascading down a huge waterfall to a huge lake, and beyond that was acres of sparse land and little towns and villages were scattered forth. Ferhia averted her gaze to her brother, who clung to a tree, tugging at a fruit and it came off from its branches. Kilfer never let her venture anywhere further than the waterfall.

"Ferhia, catch this!" Ferhia turned and from high up Kilfer flung a mango at her. She lept up and caught it mid-air, and placed it into the basket.

"Great," Kilfer clambered down from the tree swiftly, and hauled the basket up, "It's a good amount of fruit, time to leave for home." They left, but as they walked up the mud caked lane Ferhia knew one day, that one day she would do her own exploration by leaving the mountains to faraway lands.

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