August 6, 2003
Sooner or later every child has to grow up and be able to survive in the adult world. This is true for elves and wolves alike. In Lonewolf's humble opinion, sooner is better than later in these cases. But is he right? Or is he pushing the youngster in his care too hard?
Lonewolf's stomach growled. He hadn't eaten since he left the Holt two nights ago. His only companion on this trip, Bite, looked at him with begging eyes. She was hungry too.
**Don't look at me like that, Bite. You know the rule: we eat as soon as you make a kill.**
The wolf, still only a cub, gave a soft whimpering sound. She didn't like this game. She was used to having her meat brought to her either by the older wolves or by her bond elf. She knew how to follow a scent trail, but she had never killed. Lonewolf's heart aced for her. Seeing his friend suffering from hunger tore at his soul, but she had to learn to fend for herself.
They walked on. Lonewolf had long since lost count of how many sets of fresh tracks he had forced himself to ignore.
'Bite has to track down her own prey,' he repeated over and over in his mind. 'She can do it. She will do it. When she's hungry enough, she'll do it.'
But deep down he started to wonder. 'Maybe it's too soon. Maybe Snowspear was right when she said she was too young… Owl pellets! Fire Eye was younger when he leaned, and I've shown her everything she needs to know. She has to learn and this is the best way to do it.'
As they prepared a temporary den to rest in, Lonewolf couldn't help but to wonder if this was really the right way to do this. He had done it the same way with all his previous bond wolves, true. But did that mean that it was right? He couldn't say. He had always thought that this was the way, but he was not completely convinced at the moment. Maybe some wolves needed to learn in some other way.
Shortly before sunset that day Bite suddenly jerked her head up from its resting place on her paws. She stood up and tested the air. Lonewolf did the same but before he had time to identify the scent the young she wolf had picked up, Bite was on the move.
'DUNG!' he thought as the picture of a female boar with young passed before his mind's eye.
**NO,BITE! Not this one! Danger!**
**Hungry. Food.**
Realising that Bite was too hungry to be cautioned, Lonewolf chased after her, readying his bow as he ran. A single thought passed through his brain as he prepared for the fight that would come: 'What have I done?'
Lonewolf ran as fast as he could, fearing that it wouldn't be fast enough. Up ahead he heard Bite attack her prey.
'High Ones, let me reach her in time.'
As his bond wolf came into view he saw that she had prevailed. The young boar never knew what hit it. Its siblings were fleeing in panic, but the mother charged. Lonewolf let his arrow fly, but it was a poor shot. It hit, but hardly slowed the boar down. She kept on coming.
**RUN, BITE! RUN!**
Too close for another arrow, Lonewolf dropped the bow and drew his sword. The light from the setting sun reflected off the brightmetal blade. His heart was pounding, his mind racing, but it seamed like he was moving painfully slow, as if he was under water. He saw Bite turn to face the oncoming danger. She too seamed to move slowly. Even the charging boar appeared sluggish.
Leaping to intercept the female boar, Lonewolf screamed, urging Bite to run away. But only the first word came out of his mouth, the rest was drowned out by a roar originating from deep in his throat. He barely perceived his own change as his inner beast took over.
As soon as Lonewolf slammed into the boar, shoulder first, tackling her off course, the world sped up. He instinctively rolled with the fall and leapt on the boar once again before she had a chance to regain her balance.
If anyone had asked Lonewolf to describe the fight later on he wouldn't have been able to do so. He was on autopilot, relying completely on instinct and reflexes. He thrust, stabbed and slashed with his blade. He ducked, sidestepped and rolled out of harm's way without thinking about it. Suddenly the boar was distracted by Bite. The young wolf had, in an impressive display of strategic thinking, circled around and attacked from behind. When the boar turned, Lonewolf thrust his sword deep into its chest. The fight was over. The boar fell. Lonewolf pulled his blade free and stabbed again to finish the beast off.
Lonewolf's heart slowed down and bit by bit he regained control over himself. After making sure that the adult boar was really dead and that its mate was not around, he looked over at Bite. She was already busy tearing chunks of flesh from the young boar, eager to satisfy her hunger.
Lonewolf let out a sigh of relief. 'Another hand of moons and that little piglet would have been a mighty foe, my friend,' he thought to himself. 'We were lucky this time. But you sure made your first kill. Even though I would have preferred a slightly less lethal prey.'
They ate well that evening and rested for a while before they returned to the Holt.