A Wolf's Meeting (Rhii-Rhii)

[Blue]

Another crisp, cold morning, their breath hovering in the air on mist laden clouds. The chill in the earth had seeped into their bones, and he knew that they had reached the time when they would begin making their beds in the trees. Winter was coming, and it was not kind this close to the mountains. Wrapping his blood red scarf more securely around his face to keep his nose safe from the nipping air, he tended to Lumi with still stiff fingers.
He worried most about the fair haired toddler - she did not have the vitality for this lifestyle, and yet he could provide nothing different for her. He had added to her usual cloth wrappings the pelts of a few hares stitched together. Their fur would shield her somewhat, but she sniffled pathetically and buried her face into his bare chest as he attempted to resituate her wrappings. Her nose was wet and cold, and he let her rest against him, petting the back of her tiny neck when she whimpered a few times.

A rustle came from nearby, and he knew Lavi was there even in their silence. She was dressed in naught but a 'skirt' of similar rabbit skins and a 'necklace' of bird leg bones, beaks, and talons. Like Sorin, who had an equally sparse wardrobe, she did not seem terribly bothered by the cold aside from the lingering numbness of their earthen bed. What she did want, however, was some breakfast - the stare she was giving him told him as much.

The three of them did not oft require words to communicate, and even the littlest Lumi, untouched by the gods and goddesses, had learned how to pick up on their subtle cues and hints and to give her own. Thus in silence they broke camp and began to trek quietly through the woods, Sorin at the head, abnormally bright green eyes scanning the trees ahead for food in a way that only a wild creature could. Behind him, Lavi moved just as silently, and though she was but a child herself, she had Lumi strapped to her back, the toddler still dozing off, head lolling to one side.
Thus they continued, unknown to most of the civilized world - just how they liked it.

[Rhindeer]

Of all the things that could happen that day!

When Tessa had taken a head count of her sheep, she'd come up one short--one of the lambs born that spring was missing.

Tessa found its tracks after some searching, along with fresh dung, and the discovery, while relieving, was not an entirely happy one: from is tracks, it had wandered off into the forest.

And Tessa did not like forests, and avoided them at all costs.

But what choice did she have? It was either rescue the foolish thing, or leave it to the predators--a cruel fate, and also a costly one, for each sheep was money and food for her. No, there really was no choice at all; she had to save the poor thing and she had to do it quickly, while there was still light.

Ordering her fluffy white sheepdog, Fable, to stay behind with the sheep, Tessa took a deep breath, said a little prayer, and steeled her nerves before she followed those tracks in.

Ears straining to listen for any bleating, she put her fingers in her mouth and whistled. Her sheep knew to come when called--they were smarter animals than people gave them credit for and besides, they knew that meant food when they were around the church--so it must have been further in, because she heard no response. A knot of worry formed in her gut; she hoped it hadn't been taken, or that it wasn't trapped or hurt or--

"Oh!"

That was when she saw them--a man, strangely dressed with an ominous staff, and a little girl behind him. Tessa froze and ducked behind a tree; even if they didn't look so...so wild, she was uneasy around people, but that went even more so for that odd group! Pressing a hand to her chest, she watched and hoped they would pass.

And that was when she heard the bleating, and the light thumping of hooves on earth as her lost sheep came running toward her.

[Blue]

The whistling sound, cutting through the soft ambient noises of a morning forest, was enough to stop both in their tracks. They crouched down faster than it took one to blink, and remained motionless, sharp eyes scanning for the source of the sound through the foliage. They could both hear her rather than see her, though Sorin had to admit that for a human, she was moving rather quietly. Normally there was much crashing and crunching and breathing - humans truly had little idea how to exist when surrounded by nature, the very thing that had originally birthed them. It was clumsy, irritating, and just a little bit sad.

A different sound to the side caught Sorin's attention, and nimble fingers moved for his bow and the quiver of arrows at his back. That was the sound of something animal, though it moved in a similar quiet yet somewhat clumsy manner. Must be a domesticated animal of some kind. There was enough hunger in the stomachs of all three of them to justify taking the risk for this meal - Sorin stood in order to set the arrow along the path the animal was most likely to appear.
Lavi was watching the woman, or at least watching the tree behind which she had disappeared. She could tell she wasn't moving, which meant she was likely hiding out of fear rather than preparing to attack. Which was just as well, for in the next moment Sorin let his arrow fly.

A tiny white creature crumpled all but silently, it's death swift and easy. Sorin was already setting another arrow, if only to turn it onto the tree behind which their unwelcome guest was waiting. Behind him, Lavi was already grabbing the carcass, though her own gaze hadn't left the tree either.
"Please stay there."
Sorin finally spoke, his voice soft yet surprisingly clear in the brisk air. He'd rather not have to use this arrow for anything other than hunting beasts.

[Rhindeer]

"NO!"

Tessa cried out before she realized what she was doing, but as the sheep went down, she couldn't help it. It just slipped out. She realized her mistake not a second later and her eyes went wide, her heart jumping in fear, and she slapped her hands over her mouth as though that would take back the words.

Then she watched in horror as the child--who had a child strapped to her back!--dragged the sheep away while the man notched another arrow and fixed it on her. She stared at him in terror, not daring to look away, and held very still.

They had to be bandits. She'd stumbled upon bandits. And this time, Fable wasn't here to help her.

"I...please don't shoot," she said, voice quaking. "I don't have anything, sir. Just...just that sheep, but you can have her. Ah...which...you...already know..."

[Blue]

The dark skinned child had already scooped up the lamb, smoothly removing the arrow from it's limp form. Her large, luminous eyes remained fixed on Tessa, even as she began backing way. There was a slight rustling of vegetation, and then she was gone, lost to the leaves and shadows.

For his part, Sorin was supple and steady, breathing slow and silent, the arrow tip never straying from the young woman crouched in fear. It was a fear that was almost palpable, an honest feeling. She was not bait to lure and trap him, she was truly alone right at that moment. He was inclined to think her less of a threat, but it was amazing what a person could do when terrified.

"Stay there, and I will not harm you. I apologize for taking something precious to you."
His voice was soft, but carried easily in the crisp air. He was already moving easily back toward the safety of heavier foliage, all the while keeping his attention on her and the forest around her.
"I won't ask you not to tell others of what you saw. But I will warn you, do not follow us, and do not encourage others to find us. It would be very unwise."

[Rhindeer]

Tessa didn't move, not a single inch. She scarcely breathed all the while, and only nodded woodenly as the man spoke while praying to Ansgar that she'd come out of this in one piece.

Slowly, she held her hands up to show they were empty, her body trembling with fear and tension. "I won't tell anyone," she breathed. "Swear to God, I won't. Please, go in peace." And she was proud of how the words came out, with barely a tremor to them, even though her eyes were burning with unshed tears.

Because little was more frightening than feeling like prey.

[Blue]

Though the girl was to be commended for keeping her voice incredibly even toned, the fear about her was so thick as to be palpable. He chose then to believe her words, but even were they to be untrue in the future, he would deal with it as it came. He always did. He would not take the aggressor's path, and so all he could do was defend and evade. Until his charges were old enough, and strong enough, to make it back over the icy mountains.

He chose not to say anything more to her, instead melting back into the shadows of the forest, disappearing as a silent thing, as though he had never been there to begin with. Lavi was waiting some small distance off, still carrying both Lumi and the dead sheep. He nodded to her, and the two made their way swiftly through the underbrush, eager to put distance between them and their frightened witness. Only once they felt suitably safe would they pause to properly tend to their new food item.

@Rhi-Rhi

[Rhindeer]

Tessa could have melted with relief, but instead she turned and headed back the way she came, swift and light-footed just in case the man changed his mind!

It was a little ways back to her own modest camp, and it wouldn't be her camp for long. After that, she would be packing up and moving as soon as possible! Just in case those people came back, and decided they wanted more sheep--or something more than sheep.

But as she came out of the cover of the trees that she saw with a sick, sinking sensation that someone else had found her camp first.

Someones.

There were three men, and each of them was stocky and well built, a couple with the scars to show they'd done horrible things before and come out on top. There they were, rifling through her meager belongings and herding her sheep together, and Tessa saw with a gasp that caught in her throat that they even had Fable, muzzled and leashed.

Fable saw her first. She whined, tugging at the leash and wagging her tail, and the men looked--and smiled.

Their grins only broadened when they noticed the mage's mark embroidered onto the breast of her tunic.

"Well hello, little witch," one of the men sneered, hand playing with the dagger at his belt as he approached. "Don'tcha know it's dangerous for a little girl to be out here on her lonesome?"

Panic gripped Tessa,  and she backed up slowly. She wasn't defenseless and she'd had to defend herself against trouble before. The problem was that she'd always had Fable to help her, and she'd been armed with at least a crook.

The only defense she had now was one she dared not touch. Ever. Not even if the alternative was death.

Better death than damnation.

"S-stay back! I'm warning you!" she said, praying she could at least intimidate them with the threat of magic. She was terrified of them--but terrified of what could happen if she did act. A mage's word wasn't worth much; if she hurt them, she could easily take the fall for it, even beyond what they could inflict on her. It was all too easy to convince others that a mage had used magic in self-defense even if they hadn't--and it was that thought that kept her from expanding upon the threat.

As much as death was better than damnation, she still didn't want to die.

"Or what? You'll bewitch us? Zap us with lightnin'?" The man's grin broadened. "Go ahead. I dare ya."

And then they were on her. It wasn't a fair fight, or a long one, and she didn't stand a chance, not against three of them much less one. She struggled and kicked, tried to punch them even, but she didn't land a blow before one of them easily got her in his grip. "Let go!" she cried, throat tightening with panicked sobs. "Please, stop!"

"I call first dibs!" the laughed to the others, ignoring her pleas, and Tessa screamed as he tossed her to the ground like she was weightless. Soon he was on her, pinning her and grabbing at her belt, but Tessa kicked wildly and clawed at his face.

And all the while Fable whined and lunged against her leash.