Special Delivery [Moonie]

[Alegretto]

Viatrus watched with horror as the crossbow bolt tore through his friend. The wolfman was tough, but could he survive that kind of damage? His concern for Toby delayed him in reloading his weapon, giving the opposing shooter an advantage. The other man was putting another bolt in his weapon already.

The halfling reached for another bolt, but his hands found only a single shot in his bag, and not one he could really use. His blood ran cold. He'd used too many shots in the last few encounters.The only one left was his specifically modified grapnel bolt, and that had no chance of hitting a target as far away as his enemy. Even as he considered what to do next another crossbow shot thudded into the branch he was sitting on a foot to his left. The other man had dialed in the range.

What could he do? He needed to get down as soon as possible, he was only a sitting duck up here, but how could he be fast enough? The answer he came to terrified him, but he realized that he had little choice. While his opponent was reloading, the halfling pulled the grapnel bolt out of his pack, and wrapped it around the branch he was sitting on. He threw the rest of the rope to the ground and slid down, clutching the cord. It was just in time, a shot filled the space the halfling had just vacated and would have hit him if he hadn't moved.

Viatrus' descent was rapid and uncontrolled. The cord gave him a sever rope-burn, and he wasn't able to stop himself well as he hit the forest floor. Luckily the ground was pretty spongy, but the impact still sent severe shocks up the halfling's ankles. He didn't have time to deal with the pain though, he scrambled into some nearby bushes just as his enemy, now armed with a sword, rushed into the space he had just vacated. He hid in the underbrush, doing his best not to breathe. The tension in the air was palpable and intense, and Viatrus could only prey that the man didn't notice him. That got less and less likely though the longer this went on...

[Zero]

For the second time in two days that Tobias had taken a crossbow bolt trying to protect Viatrus. It was extremely unpleasant, but at least this time he'd been prepared for it - sort of anyway. Falling from the tree hadn't been part of the plan. For a few moments his world had actually gone dark as he hit the ground, unconsciousness seizing his mind. All he wanted to do was curl up into a tight ball and sleep. The pain was intense as he was brought back to the moment and he couldn't suppress a groan that quickly turned into a pitiful whine.

The pain was most intense in his chest, and his hands reached up to tentatively touch the protruding bolt, what little of it there was, the shot had gone deep in the right side of his chest and breathing was a raspy, agonizing affair, blood bubbled softly on his lips with each labored gasp. The rest of his body was aching dully, probably from the fall, but he stirred cautiously and didn't think anything was broken.

Of course he had a new problem, one of the wrong ones was staring at him in disbelief, sword in hand. In a moment of panic Tobias realized he didn't know where Viatrus was. Was he too late? Had his moment of confusion gotten the halfling killed? Thrashing on the ground the sound that came from him was a savage, tormented howl. His eyes held not even a fleck of brown in them, they were nearly glowing gold in their intensity. The body was man, but the mind was all wolf now.

The man holding the sword struck quickly, swinging for a death blow to the throat, possibly hoping to sever Tobias' head, but the wolf was much faster. The sword came down on empty air, the werewolf was behind him faster than the eye could even follow. A blink later the man's head rolled from his body as Tobias stepped away from the falling corpse. He managed to take two purposeful steps before collapsing back to the ground, a mixture of growls and whines coming from him.

The sounds he made were full of pain and misery - he still wasn't sure where Viatrus was - he couldn't even smell him, the scent of his own blood was too thick in his nostrils to smell much of anything else. The gold quickly melted from his eyes, returning them to their usual brown as his growls turned to soft sobs.

[Alegretto]

Viatrus was still wondering what to do when noticed that Toby was still alive, and active even. The halfling was relieved until he realized with horror that the swordsman was coming to a similar realization. He ran out from cover, intending to do anything he could to stop the man's murderous swing at his friend.

Tobias beat him to it. The werewolf somehow separated the man's head from his shoulders before either he or Viatrus could react. The halfling witnessed the bloody scene with shock and horror and was stunned into activity for a few moments. His heart accelerated, and his breathing became heavy.

All of his instincts told him to flee, just as they had in the past. Like then, Viatrus tried his best to stop his body's reaction. In his head, he knew that Toby was his friend and that the woflman would never hurt him. In fact, his lupine companion had proven several times that he would do anything to save the halfling. Still, what he knew in his head didn't stop his knees from shaking.

Viatrus forced himself to take several very deep breaths in an attempt to calm down. He looked up, and saw that while he'd been preoccupied mastering himself his friend had collapsed on the ground in a sobbing heap. Concern for Toby finally won over his fear and the halfling staggered over to his side, kneeling down to get a better look at his friend's wound. He had to suppress his fear, to hide it. To make sure that Toby didn't notice anything was wrong. He couldn't let the other man feel like a monster, not again.

Even as he thought it though he knew it was probably futile. He forced himself to help Toby, but his whole body was tensed to run away. It was clear he was fighting with himself to stay at Toby's side. The wolfman had keen senses, and Viatrus knew he would notice the fear.

Fine then, he'd have to let his actions send stronger signals than his body. "Toby, what can I do to help? Please, what can I do?" He tried to put as much anguish and concern in his voice as possible, and it wasn't that hard. He was truly worried about the wolfman's condition. If he wasn't, there was no way he'd be able to force himself into action.

[Zero]

The strong metallic scent of blood that filled his nose made it impossible for Tobias to smell Viatrus, at least until the stronger, acidic smell of fear cut through the haze over the sobbing werewolf's mind. He was in agonizing pain, but relief flooded through him, choking off his sobs. Viatrus was alive, and terrified. That cut him, he knew that he caused that fear, but at least the halfling was unharmed. Better alive and afraid than dead.

As his friend knelt beside him, voice dripping with concern, a new feeling arose in him - panic. Tobias jerked away from Viatrus' hands, not wanting to be touched. The wound was worse than the one before, and it had been dangerous for Viatrus to try to touch him then. Brown eyes clouded with pain looked up at Viatrus with a whimper.

The wolf in him had retreated once the threat was gone, but it was still there, just below the surface somewhere. Wounded animals were dangerous creatures and he feared that the wolf would lash out at the halfling in pain. The thought of accidentally hurting his young friend made his stomach knot painfully.

"Get away from me." The words came out half sob and half warning growl. His chest was on fire, each gasp burned. It would never heal if he didn't removed the bolt from his chest. Blood and saliva was drooling from his panting lips as he jerked away from Viatrus further. "Just stay away." He growled again, not wanting the halfling near him right now, and the brown in his eyes was being overrun once more by gold.

Viatrus was a good kid, Tobias knew he just wanted to help, but right now the best help he could be was staying out of the wolf's way. With a force of will he scrambled to his feet and staggered away, golden eyes glowing with a wild intensity. The wolf knew what he needed better than he did at this point, best to trust the animal inside his mind. A warning growl rumbled deep and low in his chest, an attempt to deter his young friend from following him as he disappeared - slowly at first but soon he was speeding away in a rush to distance himself from Viatrus - for the moment it was the best way he could protect him.

[Alegretto]

The werewolf's frantic motions saw Viatrus reacting in surprise and alarm. His whole body was tensed, and Toby's animation caused his instincts to send him backwards. His brain tried to keep him by his friend's side, and what resulted was an awkward compromise that ended with him falling backwards on his rear-end.

He wanted to stand up again, to help Toby and prove he wasn't afraid, but his legs betrayed him. They wouldn't find the strength to allow him to regain his footing, and he was left sitting in a daze.

When Tobias stood up, Viatrus redoubled his efforts to do the same, but he couldn't match his friend's exertions. The werewolf sprinted off into the forest, and the halfling called after him in a panic. "Toby! I'm not scared, really. Toby, come back!"

Viatrus misunderstood his friend's reason for leaving, and instead interrupted his friend's flight as a reaction to his own fear in Toby's presence. The halfling let out the choicest curses he knew and smashed his fist into the ground.

Why couldn't he help Toby? He hadn't meant to hurt him, but now the wolfman probably hated him. Hot tears came rolling down his face, and Viatrus couldn't do anything but sit amongst the underbrush in abject misery, cursing his own weakness.

[Zero]

Tobias heard the halfling's panicked calls for him, but he ignored them and kept going. He knew that he was upsetting Viatrus, but he was in too much pain to try to explain everything. Honestly, he wasn't sure if he should try to explain it. Was it better to let his friend think he ran because of the fear shown towards him or to scare the poor kid further by explaining his own fears of hurting his friend on accident.

He'd never do it on purpose, he never wanted to hurt anybody - he hadn't even wanted to hurt the wrong ones until they hurt Viatrus and then him. After that the wolf hadn't cared what the man wanted. It disturbed him to lose control like that. Just now when he'd taken that man's head off - that hadn't been him - it had been the wolf in complete control of him. That man that had shot him yesterday had been the wolf's doing too.

When enough distance had been put between him and Viatrus he slowed down and fought with himself internally. The wolf wanted to transform, curl up, and lick his wounds. The man just wanted to rip this stupid bolt out of him and get back to his friend. Tobias knew that his friend was worried about him, and the longer he stayed away, the worse it would be. Growling angrily he frantically picked at the small nub of steel that protruded from his chest, the metal was slick with his blood, indeed, finally looking at himself he was shocked at just how much blood was soaking and slowly drying on his clothing.

It took several agonizing tries to pull the bolt from his body, but the moment he tossed it away from him in disgust he felt better. Sucking in the first deep breath since being shot he shuddered in relief as he felt his body working to heal itself. Dark circles were around his eyes, he'd not rested properly the night before - serves him right for hunting that young woman. Exhaustion ate at him. Food and sleep were forefront in the thoughts of both man and wolf, for once they agreed on what they needed.

His clothing had to be peeled off, the blood made it stick uncomfortably to his skin. Ruefully he thought about how Viatrus had just fixed his shirt for him. Nothing to be done about that now as refreshing air touched his blood-smeared skin. The change came smoothly, despite his injuries, and a couple minutes later he was shaking out his thick brown and grey coat, blood droplets splashing out from his fur.

It didn't take long for him to hunt down and kill a small deer, eating until his stomach felt completely gorged on the sweet meat. Tobias found a stream and drank his fill before rolling in the water vigorously and shaking out his coat - repeating the process until he was satisfied the blood was gone. Blood would only freak Viatrus out more. Of course, he thought seeing his wolf might freak the poor halfling out nearly as much, but he wasn't sure he could even shift back right now. He'd just have to put back on clothing caked in dried blood.

Making up his mind he didn't even go back for his clothes, they were ruined, he'd just have to get new ones later. Clothing saturated in the scent of his own blood would only keep his wolf aggravated. Trotting through the trees he wasn't even sure how long he'd been gone - long enough to be feeling almost normal aside from being really tired. His wound didn't hurt in the slightest anymore.

Counting on the fact that Viatrus would have eventually moved, he worked on tracking the halfling to see where he'd gotten to. Luckily for Tobias his wolf was very good at finding things and he was well-versed in his friend's scent. He could have found the halfling blind-folded using only his impressive nose. Golden eyes burned with the joy of hunting as he found his 'prey' and stalked Viatrus subtly for a few hundred yards.

The wolf could play that game all day, but Tobias wrestled the animal back under control with no small amount of annoyance. He could have moved without making a sound through the undergrowth, never being seen if he wanted it. However, he purposely rustled some bushes and let out a soft, very non-threatening whine as he dropped to his belly and crawled slowly towards his friend, doing everything in his power not to completely terrify the poor guy.

[Alegretto]

Viatrus remained sitting and crying for some minutes. It took him a while to recover himself, and finally stand, albeit shakily, to his feet. What now? Tobias probably hated him now, and he probably hated himself even more. How could he do that to the werewolf. He should have stayed away until his fear was under control, he should have been braver.

No, should haves weren't going to help him and his friend reconcile. He had to go after Tobias. He was about to do so, when his whole stomach lurched. His organs churned, and he could feel nervous sweat on his neck and brow. The thought of pursuing the wolfman into the forest terrified him.

Internally he berated himself. How could he be acting like this? Toby was his friend and he'd never hurt him. He knew that? Still, every time he tried to move, his legs seized up. Every time he rationalized, the image of Toby tearing the head off that man came to his mind.

The amount of willpower it took to initiate that first step was more than Viatrus thought he could muster. Still, he slowly, painfully, placed one foot in front of the other. And then again. And again. Each successive step became easier and he picked up his pace. He would find Toby, he resolved, he had too. He didn't want to be alone again. Not if he could help it.

He'd been trudging through the forest for some time, following the broken branches and blood that marked Toby's path. He hadn't gotten very far. Even injured and probably in unspeakable pain, the wolfman left very little trail. He was stuck standing in a clearing, looking for the next marker of his friends path, when he heard a rustling in the underbrush.

He looked to the source of the noise, watched incredulously as a wolf walked out of some nearby bushes. Or, rather, it crawled. The canine was making a low whining sound and it scooted across the ground comically towards Viatrus. Normally the halfling would be afraid, the wolf was truly a massive beast, but the sight was so disarming it made him burst out laughing instead. He realized with relief that he didn't need to be afraid, it was Toby for sure. He didn't even need to see the wolve's golden eyes to know it. His friend was here and in control, he was sure of it.

Suddenly his earlier fear seemed ridiculous. How could he ever think his friend would hurt him? How could he ever worry that Toby would abandon him? He knew the wolfman better than that. he felt ashamed of his doubt, and he almost cried again at the sight of his friend, though this time they would have been tears of joy. And relief, Toby coming back meant he wasn't alone again.

Toby approached him slowly, probably trying not to alarm him, and Viatrus decided to alleviate his worry. "It's okay Toby," he called out to the wolf, "I'm not scared, I promise." And it was true. In a flash, Viatrus' fear was gone, replaced by joy that his friend had come back.

[Zero]

When Viatrus broke out laughing, the wolf froze, tilting his large, shaggy head to the side, the ears perked up and his long pink tongue lolled out. The wolf thought the sound was strange, the man thought the sound was wonderful, so the wolf wagged his tail, causing soft thumping and swishing sounds. After a moment he started crawling forward again, still making himself look as small as possible - which was still pretty massive.

Tentatively sniffing, the smell of fear was fading from the halfling, dispersing in the air as it was no longer being generated and didn't continue to linger. That affirmation coupled with the verbal assurance had Tobias rising from his stomach and stretching languidly, no longer whining. The wolf hadn't liked crawling or whining, but understood that was what the man sharing his mind had needed him to do.

The sharp smell of fear still clung softly to Viatrus, but it was far more tolerable to his keen nose, but the wolf still wasn't quite satisfied. The creature did not smell right to him at all, which caused his animal frustration. Compromise, was the consensus from man and wolf. Striding forward confidently, Tobias butted his head against Viatrus softly, then began gently rubbing his head and neck against his friend, allowing his own wolf scent to rub off onto the small odd creature, which caused his wolf to relax a little.

Sniffing at Viatrus' hair, it wasn't perfect, but with a snort the wolf relented and seemed satisfied for the time being. Tobias was overjoyed and licked the side of his friend's head with a soft whine, tail beginning to wag again as he sat back on his haunches and let his tongue loll out again. If a wolf could grin, he was doing it. Although he tilted his head to the side and flicked his ears back in annoyance as he realized he wasn't quite sure how he was going to talk to the halfling like this.

He really needed to learn to think ahead.

[Alegretto]

The wolf's butting into him surprised Viatrus a bit, but the physical contact was surprisingly comforting to him. The furry animal was warm and friendly, and his actions managed to broaden the halflling's smile. When he started licking him, Viatrus broke out laughing again. He was glad that Toby was back. He didn't have to feel alone again.

The wolf sat back on his haunches, breaking physical contact, and Viatrus took a step back so he could see the canine in it's entirety. He was truly a massive creature, and sitting down like that he was about as tall as the halfling. And definitely bigger.

Standing apart like this, Viatrus suddenly realized the same problem that had struck Toby? How could they speak when Toby was like this. The halfling could communicate but it would be one way. Then again, considering their lack of options that would have to do. "Let's head back Toby, we need to get your stuff. Where did you leave it anyway?"

[Zero]

Massive in wolf sizes was an understatement as the shaggy brown and grey animal sat in front of Viatrus - Tobias could compete in size with a large pony, maybe even a small horse. His paws with the razor sharp claws were easily as large as the halfing's face. For all his size, strength, and speed the wolf was capable of a great degree of gentleness, which the man within him was pushing very hard to display to keep from frightening his friend any more.

When he heard what Viatrus wanted to do, though, the wolf let out a soft whine, then a low growl, fur bristling slightly. In the eight years that Tobias had been a werewolf, this was probably the most communication of any significance that his two halves had had. The man had to soothe and coax the wolf, but the fur went flat and the growl returned to whining. His clothes would be easy enough to find, but it would take time for Viatrus to move that distance and his animal didn't want to go at all.

The wolf was very insistent on it, in fact. Smelling his own blood made the wolf anxious and heightened aggression. The animal saw no point at all in the things left behind, and Tobias had to show lots of memories and images to the wolf to convince him that he needed his belongings. Although "convince" wasn't quite the term for it, more like relented and reluctantly accepted the human logic - something completely foreign to his animal mind.

Tobias huffed softly as he stood up, exhausted from all the fighting, the hunting, and the lack of sleep, but still pushing himself to finish what they'd started. Sleep could come later, after Viatrus was safe and sound with his job completed.

This brought him back to the other problem - they had lost time already. His friend was just too slow. Flicking his ears he moved up and rubbed against Viatrus again before nudging him towards the wolf's shoulder and laying down. Golden eyes looked up at the halfling expectantly. Surely his friend would take the hint. The wolf certainly realized what the man was trying to do and paced in his mind with annoyance, but the man ignored the wolf's distaste with the idea of being ridden like a mule.

[Alegretto]

Viatrus watched Toby intently. The animal in front of him looked thoughtful, though if you'd told the halfling a couple of days ago that a wolf could look thoughtful he'd have called you crazy. Eventually, Tobias seemed to come to a decision. He stood up and paced towards Viatrus. The wolf nudged him a bit and then lay down.

For a moment the halflng was confused. He thought he was misinterpreting his friend's signals. Did TOby want him to ride on top of him. It was true that the wolf was big enough to carry three Viatrus' easily, but it was still crazy. Him, riding a wolf?

Still, the more he thought about it, the more it made sense. They could cover ground much faster this way. But his reluctance still existed. It was just so weird. Then again, Toby was asking. Who was he to refuse? This mental argument went on for several moments, before logic and trust for his friend's decisions beat out his common sense.

However despite his resolution, mounting the wolf was an exercise in complete and total awkwardness. Even with Toby laying down, it was difficult for the halfling to swing one of his legs over the wolf's side. Eventually, he had to jump onto the wolf's back, belly first, and then rotate himself from up there into a sitting position. It took him a bit more time to orient himself properly, but finally he told Tobias, "Okay, I'm ready when you are."

[Zero]

Oh they were in agreement that it was a weird arrangement. Tobias was almost laughing in his head at the mental image of a wolf racing through the forest with a halfling clinging desperately to its back. His wolf didn't find that thought funny at all, but that only made the man even more amused. The wolf he was forced to share his head with made him uncomfortable all the damn time, payback for a change was sweet.

Tobias gave a soft grunt as Viatrus jumped onto his back, noting the trouble the poor kid had mounting him. The guy was just so short and his wolf was so massive. When his 'rider' said he was ready he slowly raised himself off the ground, trying not to jostle his small friend into falling off. Turning his head to look back at his friend large ears flicked and he snorted, not satisfied at all with the positioning. It felt odd having someone on his back, but it wasn't so much that as the way Viatrus had seated himself.

Stretching his neck he gently grabbed the sleeve of the halfling's shirt and tugged him softly to pull him to lay low against his back and grip his fur tightly. If Viatrus sat up he might get caught by low-hanging branches, and that was the last thing he wanted to happen. Releasing his hold on Viatrus he huffed again and started trotting through the forest at an easy pace for about a hundred feet to be sure his young charge was held fast.

As soon as he was sure the muscles bunched and strained as he raced forward, paws flying over the forest floor as he weaved between trees. There wasn't a horse alive that could outpace a wolf like him, and every part of his being understood that he was powerful and strong - even for his own kind. For a moment he nearly faltered in his long stride before smoothly slowing to a jog and finally a stop as they came to the spot where he'd left his bloodied clothing.

The hair on his neck, shoulders, and back raised as he emitted a low growl of displeasure. The scent of his blood coated the trees and ground here, as well as the cloth and leather piled nearby. His wolf didn't like that. Not at all.

[Alegretto]

Viatrus was a bit surprised when Toby tugged him further along the wolf's back, but he found that when he was resituated, he was in a much more balanced place. He wasn't sure what why the wolf was tugging him down lower until he noticed how much higher he was than normal. There were suddenly branches that might hit his head. That was novel.

He had barely finished settling back into place when Toby started lumbering forward. For the first few seconds Viatrus had trouble finding his balance, but he quickly got more and more used to the wolf's movements. He thought he'd be good, and that was when the his friend really took off.

The ride was faster than Viatrus could have ever imagined. It was terrifying and nauseating and invigorating all at the same time. The halfling had never experienced anything quite like it. He clung desperately to his friend's back as the wind whistled past him. Funny, there hadn't been a wind while they were standing still, but now it whipped around his face and hair, howling with astonishing volume.

The ride went on for what felt like an eternity, but finally his friend stated decelerating. He got slower and slower, and he finally came to a stop. Shakily, Viatrus fell off of his friends back. Actually, it was more like he oozed off of it, sliding messily down his friend's side to the ground.

It took him some time to recover himself, but he was eventually able to stand again. He turned and looked at Toby. "Okay, that was pretty incredible, but can we please not do that again? I don't know if I have another one of those in me." He laughed shakily, but the wolf seem, preoccupied. In fact, his friend was just looking odd in general, and he heard what sounded like a growl coming from him. "Toby," he asked, concern in his voice, "Toby are you okay? Is something wrong?"

[Zero]

The wolf didn't understand how the strange creature that practically melted off his back couldn't understand his distress. There was dry blood everywhere around them. His blood. The scent was so thick in the air it was clogging his nostrils and preventing him from smelling anything else. The wolf couldn't understand. Tobias did, though. Viatrus didn't have the senses he did. Considering the dull color he doubted his friend even realized that blood was all around them.

Hearing the concern in Viatrus' voice, the wolf bristled for a moment before the man soothed the beast, hackles dropping so his coat smoothed out and the low grumbling in his chest died away. Turning his head he let out a whine and licked his friend's hand to reassure both himself and his friend that all was well. Nothing was wrong except an animal doing what an animal was going to do.

Huffing softly he strode forward, nose tentatively sniffing all around him, trying to detect a scent that wasn't the coppery tang of blood. He failed, of course. A good rain would cleanse the smell of the forest though, or enough time. Moving to his discarded belongings he assessed the damage unhappily. His bow had been broken and left behind, but his quiver was intact, though it looked like some of the arrows were damaged. Snorting, he had to fight back the wolf's overwhelming displeasure of the use of the unnatural weapons. As far as the animal was concerned his only necessary weapons were fangs and claws.

He picked up his shirt and shook it gently out to show Viatrus that it was so caked in dried blood it was actually a bit stiff as it shed flecks of the dull red-brown stains.

[Alegretto]

Viatrus saw now that Toby's shirt was completely ruined. No wonder he'd been reluctant to come here and get it. "You know what Toby, we'll get you another shirt, I think we can just leave that hear. But what about the rest of your stuff?" he asked.

He walked past the wolf over to the rest of the man's clothing. The pants and small clothes seemed mostly intact, and there wasn't nearly as much blood on them as on the shirt. Toby could probably wear them again. He picked those up, and retrieved Tobias' quiver as well, before walking back to his canine companion.

"Is there anything else you might need?" he asked. "A bag or anything?" He paused to think for a moment. Something came to him. "Oh, your bow! What about that?" The halfling had honestly lost track of it in all the confusion.

[Zero]

As soon as the words left Viatrus' lips, the wolf spat out the shirt, letting it fall to the ground unceremoniously. It wouldn't be missed, that was for sure. Stepping away from the discarded scrap of clothing he dropped down to his haunches and watched the halfling examine and gather the rest of his belongings for him. Tobias felt a little guilty, he should be cleaning up his own mess, not having his friend do it for him. Though without hands it kind of made things tricky.

Ears flicked at the barrage of questions, the wolf tilting his massive head to look at Viatrus with brown eyes swirled softly with gold. For a moment he and the wolf had an internal discussion about communication, and finally the animal simply shook his shaggy head awkwardly. It wasn't a gesture the wolf really understood, but the man did, and the halfling would, so that was good enough for him. He couldn't explain that the bow was broken, but all things considered he hoped Viatrus would let that go with a simple head shake for now.

Standing again he walked over and nudged the halfling gently with his nose, steering him in the right direction they should be going. There little run through the woods had literally cut hours off the trip. Too bad his friend had asked not to do it again, they could have turned a ten hour walk into a two hour sprint. Of course dealing with their attackers had wasted some time, but they couldn't be more than a couple hours from their destination - good thing Tobias had fled in the rightish direction!

[Alegretto]

The halfling continued to look quizzically at the wolf until it shook it's head. Two things struck Viatrus. First, there must not be anything else, which meant something had happened to the bow. And two, that was a very funny-looking thing for a wolf to do.

He kept trying to think of the severity of the first, but the humor of the second kept interceding and Viatrus cracked a smile. It was all he could do to not outright laugh.

When the wolf stood up and approached him, concern momentarily flashed through the halfling. Had the stifled chuckle offended him in some way? But no, Toby was just nudging him. Probably asking him to move. He turned to look in the direction he was being urged to, and realized that it was towards their destination. Looked like Toby was ready to go.

"Alright, alright." he told his canine companion. "I get it, that's enough shoving. I'll get moving." Even as the words were leaving his mouth, Viatrus was beginning to walk in the direction indicted. He threw Tobias' quiver over his shoulder as he went and started folding the man's clothes while humming to himself.

He finished that quickly, and then turned to his friend. "Hey Tobias, did I ever tell you about the time I got caught in a snare... Oh wait you were here  for that." he paused for a moment. "Okay I got it. How about the time I fought someone off with a cake..." He'd already told that one too. He just didn't remember telling it.

[Zero]

A soft huff was given at the idea that he was shoving his companion. If the wolf had wanted to shove Viatrus the halfling wouldn't still be on his feet. Letting out a sigh, Tobias plodded along behind his friend as they got underway. Amber eyes watched as the halfling folded his clothes, again feeling a little guilty that Viatrus was stuck carrying his things for him. Well he had suffered horrible injuries twice now on his young companion's behalf, so maybe that kind of made up for it a little.

It still bothered him how badly he'd bled from the bolt to the chest. When he'd been shot in the stomach it had hardly bled at all in comparison. Maybe it was the difference in location? He was pretty sure his lung had been pierced earlier, which was pretty bad. Still, he felt fine now. Good as new, except so tired that he was glad for even Viatrus' slow pace.

His paws were heavy and dragged lightly on the ground as he walked, tail down, and head drooped. Tiredly he tried to lift his nose to scent the air and gave up when he decided his own head was just too heavy for such exertion. First chance he got he was going to sleep for a freaking week. Maybe his extreme tiredness was part of the reason he'd bled so much? Hmm.

Viatrus was back to his constant chattering, and Tobias listened absently as his ears flickered and swiveled, listening for danger that might approach. Inwardly he was groaning softly, praying for no more "excitement" on this trip. Honestly he wasn't sure how much he could take!

[Alegretto]

Viatrus kept walking, maintaining a steady pace through the forest both with his legs and with his mouth. He knew that his walking speed was slow for Tobias, so he tried to lengthen his stride and increase his speed over the normal, just a little.

And even though he seemed absorbed with his talking, the halfling was actually paying close attention to his friend. The words coming out of his mouth were more of a reflex than anything else, and he barely put any mind to what he was saying. Instead he analyzed Toby. The wolf seemed to be flagging a bit, keeping his head and tail down.

He looked tired, bordering on exhaustion, and Viatrus felt concern. He hadn't really considered the other, less immediate effects that injuries might have on Toby. He thought back to the first time he'd been injured. He's seemed super tired then too. Sure he healed fast, but what did it take out of him? How much longer could he keep going?

He broke up the monotone chatter of his words with a more pointed question. "Toby?" he said loudly. He paused for a moment to make sure his friend was paying attention. "You don't look so good. Do you wanna keep going or do you wanna stop for now?"

[Zero]

Tobias wasn't really paying attention as he ambled along behind Viatrus, and though the constant chatter was acknowledged, he wasn't really hearing or comprehending the words very well. His whole body seemed to be on autopilot. His paws kept moving, but his mind had more or less checked out as he stumbled along in a daze.

It took several moments for him to realize that his friend was actually talking directly to him now. With an effort he raised his head enough to peer up at the halfling with tired brown-gold eyes, the wolf was keeping the man going, though on dregs of reserved energy. He could follow Viatrus for hours in this semi-aware state, but his ears twitched along with his nose. Viatrus smelled concerned - about him?

Tilting his head he looked around, not sure how much ground they had even covered. They should have been able to reach the their destination today, that had been the plan. With a soft snort he moved over to some bushes Letting his flank drop first, the wolf lowered himself to the ground heavily, resting his large head on his front paws as he gazed up at his friend thoughtfully. Even a few minutes break sounded nice.

Of course even as he thought that his weary eyes closed and a moment later soft snores began coming from the large beast.