Wolf's Heart

“So you’re telling me that Ulric let you ride him?”

I smiled as Katima stopped walking and stared at me, shock spread over her face, “Well, I was slowing him down – his legs are a lot longer – and then we had to climb the mountain and I wouldn’t have been able to make it the whole way. It was really the most effective way to travel here.”

She laughed and we resumed walking, picking berries and placing them in our baskets as we went, “Maybe. He used to give me piggy back rides when I was a kid, but cut me off when I turned ten. Something about me being old enough to walk on my own and not having to hitch rides on guys’ backs. I told him I’d only hitch rides on his back, but he wouldn’t listen to me.”

I looked at her, trying to follow her flow of conversation, but I was having a hard time, “Um, what?”

She smiled, “Basically, what I’m trying to tell you is that Ulric hasn’t allowed anyone to be at his back, let alone against it, since ever. He only let me because I was his little sister. It’s just surprising to me that he let you.”

“Oh,” I frowned as she bent and picked more berries, “you make him sound so cold and aloof. The Ulric I know is kind and sweet.”

She looked at me, “Well, Ulric might be kind and sweet, but Clarence is a force to be rekoned with. No one crosses Clarence and lives.”

“He sounds mean,” I said quietly as I rolled a berrie between my thumb and first finger.

“He is, I hope you never meet Clarence.”

Me too, I thought silently and I dropped more berries in my basket. The description of Clarence that she gave me was frightening. The villigers would tell stories to unruly children about Creatures that fit Clarence’s description perfectly. He was the lead characters in every nightmare, be it man, woman, or child.

Noticing my quiet demenor Katima grabbed a few more berries and turned to me, “Lets go back, I think we’ve got enough for mom to make three pies.”

I smiled, “Pie?”

Her grin was full of amusement, “Three of them.”

I followed her as she turned to head back to the camp, stopping when I saw two Creature staring at us a few yards away. My eyes widened as the brown Creature snarled, his teeth shining in the sun. The black Creature behind him just watched us, his eyes passing from me to Katima repeatedly.

My breathing quicken as fear pulsed through me. I tried to speak, to move, but I couldn’t do either. When the brown Creature roared I jumped, a cry finally leaving my throat. I tried to reach for Katima’s hand, hoping to pull strangth from her, but nothing was there. Looking over I gasp again to see another snarling Creature beside me, this one the color of Katima’s blonde hair.

She roared, the sound echoing through the forest and stood tall, so that her body almost towered over the males. She roared again, this time louder than the first. The black male immediately backed away, but the brown male returned her roar, his teeth displayed so that we could see every sharp, deadly point.

Still Katima didn’t move, just roared louder and waited. She watched him, her fingers flexing every few seconds. After a few minutes of stillness the brown Creature attacked, charging forward with teeth and claws extended. Still Katime didn’t move till he was almost on her, forcing him to waste energy as he ran to her.

I screamed when they met, claws and teeth ripping into soft flesh and snarls and roars sounding from the duo. I backed away quickly when the male suddenly shoved Katima away. She slid back a few feet, but managed to right herself and charged straight at him without missing a beat.

I was so focused on Katima’s fight that I never noticed the black Creature creeping closer to me until his clas wrapped around my wrist. I screamed at the touch and tried to pull away, but he didn’t let go. His claws cut into my skin, causing blood erupt and drip to the ground. Katima turned to look at me, but the brown Creature charged her again. That was when I figured the brown male was there to distract Katima while the black one, for some reason, grabbed me.

I screamed again when the Creatre pulled his lips back, the smile looking more like a snarl as low grumbles sounded from him. I fought him as he pulled me closer, tears falling from my eyes when I noticed Katima was still fighting the brown male. She can’t help me and fight him at the same time. I looked back to the black Creature and whimpered, my fear intensifying as he leaned forward and sniffed my neck.

That’s when another Creature’s roar sounded from somewhere in the forest, this one louder than any of the other’s I had heard.