For a while the humans and the wolves stayed at the ruined castle. The old wolf has come to trust the man and the female wolf, but for some reason he could not seem to come to trust the female human, his wolf senses told him, that she was not all she appeared to be. Sometimes, when he looked at her he could see, what his wolf mind perceived as either guilt or anxiety. He was anxious to set forth on his journey to find the Elf that shot him. For far too long has he lingered in this place. Not even the spirits of the forest seem to want to dwell here.
Early the next morning he decided that it was time for him to move on, he went to the female wolf, where she was sleeping, he nuzzled her neck, waking her. She got up and gave a small yawn, stretching her legs, she sat down on her hind legs, as did the old wolf, they stared at each other. And she knew that he meant to leave. She gave a small whimper and licked his face, he returned the gesture.
Just as he was about to leave, the man stood arms outstretched in front of him, the wolf came to a halt, looking annoyingly at the human standing before him, suddenly the man fell down to his knees in front of the wolf, and put his arms around him, giving him a hug, it felt strange to the wolf, no human has ever come this close to him. The man said something he did not understand, but he felt something stirring in his old wolf's heart. As the human pulled away, the wolf gave him a few licks in the face, and the man laughed as he tried to avoid it. For some time they just looked at each other. He is going to miss the new friends he has made, but his quest to find the elf has been put off for far too long. He needed to find him. Before it was too late.
As he prepared to leave, he felt a nudge behind him, as he turned around, he saw that it was the female wolf, looking at him with eyes filled with sadness, he moved closer to her and gave her a reassuring nuzzle. Things will work out, and perhaps one day, they will meet again. By now the female human has also risen.
She was wary in approaching the old wolf, she knew that he did not trust her. And she won't blame him if he knew what her quest entailed. . . But for now, he needed to set forth and continue his journey. If time waited for no man, it certainly will not do so for an old wolf beyond his prime.
As he set foot on his journey, he gave one last look at the three figures staring at him, he put his muzzle to the air, and gave a long, and lonely howl.
And with a rather heavy heart, the old wolf left his companions and set forth on his journey. Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew that he would meet them sooner than they expected.
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Evelix stood watching as the old wolf left. A heaviness set in his heart, he has grown quite fond of WInterfang, and so has Nasana, she followed the wolf wherever he went. He found that they made quite a good team when they were out hunting, Nasana with her speed and agility, and Winterfang with his stamina and strength. He was certainly going to miss the old codger.
Neeta saw the look on Evelix's face, and she could not help but feel a pang of guilt rising in her, her mission too came as an important one, and she soon will have to leave as well. Things were not looking good so far, too many stumbling stones in her way. She knew what she let her self in to, and she will have to carry the consequences in the end. For now, there was nothing to do about it.
Lonely, for the first time in Asana's short life, she truly understood what it meant. He was leaving, she knew that she might not ever see him again, she just sat there, howling after him. Hoping, and praying that this was not their last meeting.
