Alliance

Shelter

Nala has been running for what feels like an hour. If my sense of guidance hasn't mislead me, we are heading south. I give Nala's mane an affectionate stroke. She's taking us home. As much as I'd love to return to the land that I once called home, I can't. This alliance, while admittedly more beneficial for Laochra Riocht than us, it helps my people, too. I cannot and will not let them down.

"Nala," I whisper, "let's find some shelter, okay?"

Nala only neighs in response. I tug her reigns until we're facing the direction we came from. It doesn't take Nala long to realize that where we're going, or rather back to. My beloved horse gives some resistance but follows my commands nonetheless.

"Don't worry, girl," I coo softly. "We passed some mountains not too long ago. We'll stay there for the night." Nala gives me a very dramatic sigh before beginning to walk in the direction I'm leading her. While I know that Nala is more than capable to keep running, I let her have some sort of break. I would ordinarily pull over and let her lay down for a bit, but circumstances don't allow for this. I'm not sure what residential woodland creatures there are here, so I prefer to keep moving in case there are dangerous animals in this area.

By my count, thirty minutes pass before things start looking familiar again. The cave shouldn't be too far off now. I rummage through the pouches of my saddle to see what all I have. In our hasty exit, I forgot to grab my satchel which held most of my food. I only have three apples and a bag of sugar cubes for food with me, but that doesn't concern me, considering that I have my archery equipment in hand.

There's a loud snap and a high pitched whimper to our left. Both Nala's and my head snap to attention, quick to assess whether or not we need to run. Had tonight been any other night, I would not be able to see what is happening in the bushes to our left, but there isn't a cloud in sight so the moon is able to provide some light.

It takes a moment for my eyes to focus and when they do, I'm able to make out a young wild boar stomping out what looks like a wolf. A fallen twig snaps under Nala's hoof, causing the boar's attention to whip toward us. It starts to charge.

Without a moment's hesitation, I whip out my bow, knock and arrow, and send it straight into the eye of the pig. The thing falls over within seconds and I rush to go retrieve it. While the coast is clear now, the animal's kin may soon stow up and seek to avenge its fallen, as the wolf's might. The pig isn't fully grown, but it is heavy nonetheless. I struggle to heave it onto Nala's back. I move to remount Nala when I heard another whimper.

My face scrunches in confusion. Hadn't the wolf already died? When I picked up the pig, the wolf's chest was still and its blood seeping into the forest's floor. Curiosity getting the better of me, I go back to the slight clearing behind the bushes to find a pup hopelessly nudging and crying over what seems to be its mother. My heart clenches as sympathy pangs at my chest. 

Without thinking, I march over to the animal and scoop it into my arms. It thrashes against me but doesn't make much leeway. The thing looks like it barely opened its eyes days ago, more or less to be in any fighting shape. It tries to bite at my arms, but it feels more like a baby's teething than anything. The pup goes ballistic once I mount Nala. The reason behind it, I presume, is that the beast that just killed its mother is right in front of it. I place the pup in the secure saddle pouch where my bow was minutes ago. I sling my quiver over my shoulder, my bow across my chest, then grab Nala's reigns. With a quick tut from me, Nala is speeding through the woods. As much as I would like to give her a break, I'm not risking us getting caught and blamed by wolves for the death of one of their potential pack mates. It's not worth a few moments of rest.