The Not so Lonely Wilderness

[PixelatedGlory]

Mert made sure Asta hadn't accidentally left any of his belongings out in the snow and then let her plow a path in the directions he indicated. He didn't really need her to make the path but it was easier to walk in her wake and it was kind of nice.

Good thing I know that's her or i'd think I was seeing things. An animal like that, in that color is pretty rare.

The next trap the came to had actually done its job. A large white hare was caught in the snare and though it was tired out it wasn't yet dead. Mert set aside his weapons and slowly walked up to the animal. With no hesitation he snapped its neck and put it to rest. Mert took out a rope and some string to hang the body on while he cleaned it. The meat he would keep for food but the blood and the innards he couldn't use needed to be removed before they ruined it all. Packing the catch with snow afterwards would keep it good while they traveled. "Looks like we're having fresh meat for dinner you two," he called to Asta and Deli, who was still around his neck but peering down at what he was doing.

[DragonSong]

The elk lowered her head in acknowledgement, though her eyes and ears were constantly flicking around in search of danger. A prey animal's instinct.

She picked her way in a careful circle around Mert as he emptied his traps, as though he was a calf she was intent on defending from outside threats.

[PixelatedGlory]

Mert finished cleaning the hare and then added it to the rest of the gear he was carrying before they headed off to continue along the trap line. It was amusing to Mert the way that Asta was circling him. He was pretty certain anything hostile that might approach would be swiftly taken care of, possibly even before he had the chance to ready his weapon.

It was a peculiar feeling to have someone else protecting him for a change and it actually felt pretty nice if he was being honest. It was taking up most of the day but by the time they started heading back to camp Mert was carrying about a dozen catches of various animals. It was a very good haul considering the storms and the snow.

In the distance there was a howl and then a little closer two more replied. Mert gripped his spear and stopped to look around. Deli's ears perked up and she also stood ready. They weren't close enough to camp to make a run for it's safety. Mert figured he didn't need to warn Asta of the threat, she probably already knew before he did.

[DragonSong]

Asta paused, ears standing straight up. She huffed, breath fogging in the cold, and glanced at Mert.

She had a few options. One was risky, but could potentially prove the most beneficial. She huffed again, the nodded to herself and allowed the elk form to melt away.

One small caveat to her powers was that she usually had to take human form— even just for a few seconds— between shifts, typically bigger ones. Elk to wolf was one such shift, prey to predator.

Ghostly pale and completely without the protection of clothing, she shivered in the snow a moment before falling forward onto four paws, raising her head to sniff the air. She had to resist the urge to howl back, to let the wolf overtake her: This was the risk. If she could fight the instinct to alert the pack to her presence, she might be able to make a bid for territory against them.

[PixelatedGlory]

The scent of the kills must have drawn the attention of wolves.

Damn! One wolf I could probably scare off or fight well enough but a pack will be very dangerous. Might have to drop the catches and run for it.

Mert might have drawn his bow but the chances of him seeing a wolf in the snow before it got too close was low. The spear would help better in a closer fight. He was about to call out to Asta to make some sort of plan when she suddenly shifted back into her human form for a moment. Mert was very concerned that she might freeze but was relieved when she changed once more into a wolf.

A chill ran down his spine as a terrible thought passed through Mert's head. This could have been an elaborate trap set by Asta and other wolves to get him out of his camp. He shook his head, there was no reason to be so paranoid. Even if it was true there was only one thing to do. He crouched slightly and held his spear ready to react to whatever threats approached.

Mert didn't have any idea what Asta was planning. She had said she had trouble thinking like a human in her animal forms and that was a little worrying in this scenario.

The howling grew louder as the wolves approached in the cover of the snow. Too many for Mert to safely fight and now they seemed to be surrounding the little hunting party.

[DragonSong]

Asta slunk into a low crouch and began circling Mert slowly, head and down down, held stiff. She whuffed low in her chest at the sleek shapes that were starting to pace around them, wary but curious.

She barked quietly. They weren't in the pack's territory, they had every right to be here. This was just a hunting party, wandering a little further afield than normal.

The wolves eyed her, not quite sure what to make of her, but it didn't look like they were going to attack.

[PixelatedGlory]

Asta's circling at first had renewed Mert's suspicions that she might have been working with the wolves but then he had noticed that she was focused outward from her little circle. As the other wolves loomed out of the snow drifts it became clearer that she was effectively in a standoff with them.

Neither side seemed to be preparing to attack for the moment, but Mert still gripped his spear and held himself ready to spring into action. Instincts were instincts, even for a human. At least now he knew exactly where each of the pacing wolves was.

As for the wolves, they seemed a bit confused by the sudden appearance of another wolf. They had caught the scent of the killed animals and a human but they had been traveling with what smelled like an elk, not a wolf. The unexpected change in scents bothered them and made them hesitate. Several of them paced around to keep their prey from fleeing while one older wolf padded forward.

This wolf had seen plenty of fighting before and had several very prominent scars on his face. Still, he was healthy and capable and the others were deferring to his decision on whether they should attack. The scarred wolf came closer to Asta and sniffed the air before letting loose with a loud and rumbling growl. It was a challenge. An request for her to convince them why they should forgo their bounty.

[DragonSong]

Asta lowered her head and ears submissively, an instinctive response. She tilted her head and whined, tail held low but wagging in large, slow sweeps.

It would be too much trouble to hunt the human. Wolves were ferocious in a pack, but deep down they were all pragmatic cowards. If there was a chance of more than one or two of them being hurt, they would usually back down.

She was relying on that instinct, rolling onto her back submissively in front of the scarred wolf and whoofing quietly. Though she was playing nice, it was clear that both she and the human were more than they appeared. Hopefully, they seemed nonthreatening, but also too much trouble to hunt. It was a careful line to tread.

[PixelatedGlory]

The scarred wolf had kept unflinching eye contact with Asta until she lowered her head. She was being submissive and not challenging him to a fight. That pleased him. She had no pack or wasn't with them so they were in undisputed power. Still he could tell there was something... different about her. She smelled of wolf and acted like a wolf but there was the unmistakable instinctual feeling that she was more dangerous than that. He approached Asta as she lay on her back and sniffed a little closer.

Mert watched the wolf approaching Asta with dread and a chill ran down his spine at the growl. He was almost sure the wolf was going to attack Asta while she was on her back or the other wolves were going to leap in to attack him while they were distracted. Neither of those things happened though. Instead the uneasy standoff continued and he slowly shifted on his feet so his joints wouldn't lock up.

The wolf glanced over to examine the human. A man with sharp weapons and he didn't seem weak or ill. Together his pack could easily take down the female wolf or the human but to fight them both would mean splitting up. They would surely take injuries and they would be more difficult to heal up from while hunting in the snow.

He gave a frustrated 'whuff' and turned back to leave the strange group to their catches. His pack was not starving yet and it would be safer to hunt something less dangerous. He would have them followed though to see where they holed up. While leaving he stopped once to turn back and let out a long howl that was repeated by his pack mates. A reminder that they were there and that the human and wolf should leave the area.

[DragonSong]

Ghost waited, breath caught in her throat, until the pack began to move away. She knew the wolves would be keeping an eye on them, but that at least she could handle. She counted her lucky stars that they hadn't been drawn into a fight.

With a soft huff of relief, she rolled to her feet and took human form, crouched in the snow. "We sh-should finish up here q-quick and leave their t-t-territory," she chattered, hugging herself against the cold. Gods, she wanted to be a wolf again, or an elk, but she knew she should probably talk with Mert about the potentia danger.

[PixelatedGlory]

Mert let out a huge breath as he allowed himself to relax from the tension he had been holding his body in for the entire encounter. The wolves had apparently decided this was too much trouble for them to deal with and were leaving. That was good, but they still needed to make it back safely to his camp. There they would be safer than out in the open in case the wolves changed their minds.

He had already started moving to check on Asta before she rolled over onto her feet. When she changed into her human form he winced as he realized how much she must have been freezing like that. "Here, either take my coat or let me carry you or just change back into a warmer form. Don't want you getting frostbite out here. I know we need to leave- was planning to just end for the day and head back to camp. I'm not messing with that pack of wolves."

[DragonSong]

Asta nodded quickly, relieved he didn't seem all that invested in chatting about the encounter. She quickly shifted back into the form of an elk, shaking her whole body with a quick tremor of relief as warmth settled back into her body.

Lowering her head toward Mert, she whuffed out a soft breath and nodded at him, indicating he should lead the way.

[PixelatedGlory]

Mert was honestly a little relieved when Asta chose to revert back into an animal form. He had been willing to give up his coat or carry her if he had to but both would have probably made things a little uncomfortable for him.

When she was settled in her elk form and nodding at him he started to trudge through the snow back towards his campsite. The travel was significantly slower without the elk cutting a path for them but it wasn't like it was Mert's first time making this journey through the snow. Still it was fairly quiet with just the sounds of exertion as they walked and in the distance a little bit of howling.

The howls got further and further away but a few of the wolves continued stealthily trailing the human and elk as they walked. They would find out where the little group was bedding down.

It took most of the rest of the daylight to get back to camp and Mert was looking pretty tired. He had decided not to rest very much on the trek back. Extra time spent out in the open was time that they were left open to an unexpected attack. Wearily he led Asta back through the hole in his makeshift wall of compacted and iced-over snow and then placed the sledge back to block the entrance.

Mert was all too happy to quickly store the pelts and divide the meat up into what he was going to cook and what he was going to freeze to bring with them and then went inside the tent where it was warm and dry.

[DragonSong]

Asta wasted only the time it took to change back into her human form before bursting back into the tent, teeth chattering as she dove for the nearest cluster of warm furs and curled herself up in them.

"Wolves are st-still out there," she shuddered out. "K-k-keeping an eye on us."

[PixelatedGlory]

Mert went to the fire and began stoking it back to life almost as soon as he got back inside the tent. It had been knocked down to coals so it wouldn't accidentally burn down the tent while they were gone. Now though, they were all back and all shivering from the icy conditions. Mert was fairly tired as well from trekking so long in the snow without the usual breaks.

As the new tendrils of flame began to spring forth from the dried peat chunks he sat down and held his hands near the warmth. Deli had burrowed into the neck area of his coat and all that could be seen were two gleaming beady black eyes and a little nose twitching as her head poked out through part of his beard.

"Aye, I figured our catch would be too much temptation to just leave alone. Let 'em circle for a bit. Won't be easy for them to get over the walls and they got spikes."

Mert was truthfully more worried about the situation than he was letting on. They were far out from the nearest town and if the wolves attacked it would be just them three fighting them off. Even a moderate injury could spell death for them.

"Let's get ready for the night and figure out what to do about the wolves in the morning? I know you must be hungry."

[DragonSong]

"S-sounds good." Asta smiled and nodded, shuffling a little closer in her cocoon of furs. Feeling suddenly a little guilty, she flushed a bit and added, "You should take all these tonight." She indicated the blankets she'd wrapped herself in with a brisk shrug. "I can sleep as a wolf or something."

[PixelatedGlory]

Mert began heating up some more food over the fire. They were all definitely hungry and a good solid meal would do a lot to make them comfortable regardless of what was going on outside the camp. Over the faint crackle of the fire Mert smiled kindly at the cocoon of furs that was Asta.

"You choose how ya want to sleep but I don't need all the furs. Most o' them are spares in case it gets colder or something needs fixin'." He made a bit of an embarrassed face however, which was surprisingly noticeable though the beard, as he thought of something. "I would like Deli to sleep with me though. I... didn't sleep so well without her last night."

It was such a small thing and shouldn't have impacted such a strong man as much as it had but truthfully he had been unable to sleep well without Deli curled up by him ever since he first found her. She was like that one blanket every child had that they insisted was the only thing that let them sleep. Except he was a grown man and such things were ridiculous.

[DragonSong]

Asta blinked, then smiled and nodded. "Of course." She blushed a bit and added, "Again, I'm, uh...I'm sorry we woke you." Her smile turned sheepish as she snuggled a little deeper into the furs.

[PixelatedGlory]

Mert smiled back at Asta and prepared two bowls for when the food was ready. "It ain't all your fault since a little someone was right there playin' with ye," he chuckled and tried to turn his neck to glare at Deli but she just squeaked and playfully circled around to the other side where he couldn't see her as well. Despite the glare his tone was still soft and it was pretty clear he wasn't really mad.

"Besides, if i'd have known you were able to be all those animals I'd have likely said it was cute and not as frightening. We do need some good sleep t'night though. Can't get too worn down out here or things will catch up to you in the worst way." His gaze drifted off towards the wall of the tent, not actually looking at anything in particular. Really he was just a little lost in the memory of some of his earlier trips out into the wilderness. He had survived but a few of them had seemed like they might have gone either way at the time.

His reverie was broken as Deli perked up and gently bit him on the earlobe. She knew what he was thinking of and that he was likely to burn the dinner if he stayed distracted. Mert jerked back to reality and started putting the food into bowls for Asta and himself.

[DragonSong]

"Mm." Asta agreed quietly as she accepted her bowl, murmuring her thanks. Hot food was a luxury she could rarely afford, and she had to restrain herself from scarfing it down like a wild animal.

"I can keep watch for a while, if you like," she offered after a few mouthfuls. "I don't really need to sleep much."