|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sun Dec 26, 2010 1:51 am
In the past, Wren might have fallen for that very smile.
In the present, she looked back and scoffed at how stupid her younger self must have been.
In the future, she may look back yet again and think the very same thing about herself that day.
Saving someone who had something to give was one thing. She could exploit her good-standing, combined with his good nature, and benefit in one way or another. But this guy... What did he really have? Some washed-up, spoiled little heir that couldn't take care of himself didn't have a damn thing she wanted
"You'll just keep owing me," Wren said. "Just remember all this when you actually have something I want."
No point in asking for anything from somebody who had nothing (including common sense). She convinced herself trying to cash in on someone's nobility was unwise, but the worst he could do was turn her down later. The way of a thief was to get all you could and try to get more.
"She said you've got a bounty on your pretty little head. To be honest, I would sell you out myself if I wasn't so sure the practice of killing the messenger is still very much a present day custom. I'd venture to say they want you back alive -- she acted a little pissy when I implied you might be laying dead in a ditch somewhere. By the way, if you sell me out when she finds you, I will have you killed in the most horrible way imaginable."
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Dec 26, 2010 4:32 pm
Well, now wasn't that just something? A bounty on his head? He doubted that. If they're really wanted to find him, they would have already.
"And she was alone?" he asked. that was the part that baffled him the most. They never would have let a wolf like that out on her own. She'd run away. Her mother had been kidnapped, after all, and she was always eager to escape.
...And why would she, of all wolves, be wanting to find him if she hadn't been assigned to it? It's not like she was particularly fond of him, or felt any real loyalty.
Well, whatever. "I would do no such thing," he said, in response to her comment about selling her out. His expression was a bit aghast -- as though, clearly, she had no idea of what sort of wolf he really was. "It was never my intention to entangle anyone in my affairs. Not like this, at any rate." His brow furrowed. If the search party were with the scout, then it was quite possible that they'd bring her back with him if they were found together. That hadn't occurred to him until just now, the likelihood of the guards subduing any other wolves in his presence to drag them back as fresh blood.
That wouldn't do at all. Best to put it from his mind until it became a concern.
"The two-leggers. Why is everyone afraid of them?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Dec 26, 2010 6:19 pm
"Good."
Very, very good; Wren had no back-up to defend her if he did run off and tattle. Her best friends were talent and hiding places. When combined, they were enough to permit survival, but she always felt luck would bring her down in time. The day she got cornered would be her last. She knew it. All she could do was prolong the inevitable.
Dakolin may have been willing to tear apart her sisters as part of a personal agenda, but this? He'd take no part in this. For all he knew she could be dead at the feet of those--
"The two-leggers. Why is everyone afraid of them?"
"They aren't," Wren countered. "Only the smart ones. Which explains why you got near them and the shaman lives with them as far as I'm concerned. Do me a favor and when something finally kills you, make sure it isn't around here. I don't want your rotting corpse attracting crows. I hate birds."
Wren's version of "goodbye". Or something. She scowled at him, got up and slunk off back through the trees.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Dec 26, 2010 6:32 pm
But...she hadn't answered any of his questions at all! He pouted a little, watching her leave, baffled now. But grateful. He wasn't sure exactly what he was grateful for, but he could feel it nonetheless, swelling up in his heart.
For whatever reason, this wolf -- who clearly didn't like him at all -- had chosen to protect him from a threat he hadn't even realized.
...How noble! This, this was precisely what he had always been looking for. The brotherhood amongst thieves and vagabonds! The inherent worth and dignity of every living thing! Equality among wolves!
His spirits inexplicably buoyed by this interaction, he called a farewell out after her, quite certain she wouldn't hear him, and then turned to wander back toward home. He was in a rather good mood.
The idiot.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
