Their progress across the Black Forest became slower the deeper they ventured under the cover of the age-old trees. The ribbon of a path they had followed in soon dwindled into a barely visible thread, disappearing for long stretches under the shrivelled mummies of leaves fallen many autumns ago, so fragile that they crumbled to dust seconds before their horses' hooves actually touched them, branches broken either by strong winds or heavy snowfalls, their still alive moss cover glowing eerily in the penumbra cast by their previous owners, and even huge, collapsed trunks which Shadow jumped without difficulty, but the other horses had to walk around.
"Is there no other way, dragon?" Leodhais demanded after he had to take a detour around the second fallen trunk which obstructed their path.
"Not that I know of," Peregrine replied, loosening Shadow's reins again. The poor horse who knew the trail well enough to gallop all the way to the standing stones was even more impatient than his rider by the frequent forced stops.
"But there must be," Leodhais insisted, ducking at the last moment to avoid a branch growing too low, which Gilderoy, riding in front of him, passed under without difficulty. "This one's impossible. It will take us forever and a day to ride through this forest, and then we still have two provinces to cross before we reach Goon Brenn and its ring of stones!"
"Well, why don't you dispatch a patrol to look after the forest and clear this path once you become our king? It's something that would benefit everyone. In the meantime, save your breath, elf, you might ride faster if you stop talking."
Leodhais, already used to the dragon shifter's lack of manners, only frowned in response and urged his horse to walk closer behind Gilderoy's. He would never admit it, but the ancient, allegedly magical forest was starting to creep him out even more than the ghost moor had. He had been quite excited to meet its inhabitants until Peregrine had said that, for whatever reason, the centaurs, werewolves, vampires and those members of the wizarding folk who deal in darker branches of magic than Emrys, weren't the king's most ardent followers. Now, he just kept looking over his shoulders at hearing each alien noise that the forest produced.
Feeling observed, Leodhais pulled the hood of his cloak up, determined to follow Peregrine's example and ignore all the strange sounds, reaching them from mysterious sources hidden invisibly somewhere behind the trees. He didn't complain when the dragon didn't stop for lunch, but he was just about to start as they reached a little round clearing and the first glimpse of the sky he got since the morning confirmed his suspicion that the night had begun to fall, the knowledge crushing him with the feeling of hunger and exhaustion which he had been ignoring the entire day. However, before Leodhais could open his mouth, a wolf as large as Gilderoy's pony crept from under the trees lining the path that wound sharply to the left to skirt the clearing, blocking their way.
Peregrine's horse, apparently recognising the beast stopped calmly, but the sight of the formidable predator made Gilderoy and Leodhais' steeds rear up in fear, forcing their riders to cling to their reins for dear life.
The moment Gilderoy pulled himself safely back onto the saddle, his hand buried deep within his horse's mane managing to calm and reassure the frightened animal, he looked for guidance at Peregrine, whom he had started to admire at some point during their travel.
What the dragon shifter did now only made that admiration grow. Without a shadow of fear or surprise the dark-clad man dismounted his horse, sat on his haunches to bring his face level with the grey wolf's black snout and stared in the beast's shiny, yellow eyes without blinking, a silent exchange apparently passing between the two.
"What the..." Leodhais grumbled at his side, and the dwarf put his hand quickly on his friend's leg in a warning before his complaints could disturb the curious conversation.
Even as Leodhais shook his hand off and inhaled before asking another question, the wolf nodded and Peregrine uncoiled elegantly from his position, coming back on his feet like a piece of black, rolled up ribbon unfurled by a gust of wind, turning to his companions even as he poured back into his saddle smoothly. "We may proceed into the werewolf territory," he announced, following the enormous charcoal grey wolf without waiting for their reply.
"Let's accept a meal not to offend the pack and then move on," Peregrine added in a half-whisper after a while of careful silence, falling in step with his two companions, moving out of earshot of their wolf guide.
More wolves joined the first who led them through the forest gradually, until the three travellers found themselves surrounded by what seemed to be the whole pack even as they reached another clearing, this one interspersed with huts and cottages similar to those they had seen in Elvenshire and Dwarfland.
Feeling almost at home for the first time in days, Leodhais shook off the remnants of his fear and observed the wolves-- some of them were smaller and more delicately built than others. He had heard many fascinating stories about the sensuality and passion of the werewolf females...
"Are they women?" the elf asked, shifting on his saddle into a more comfortable position as he tried to rein in his imagination. He nodded towards the group of the smaller wolves which observed the visitors with open curiosity and interest from the shadows; the smallest, silvery-white looking so proud and gracious that Leodhais simply had to wonder how she would look in her human form.
"Yes, they are women. And you should avoid them, elf. Being polite but keeping your distance is the best approach to werewolves, especially for us. We are here on Alaric's quest; we act in the name of the king."
Leodhais nodded, grateful for the reminder. Distracted as he was by the werewolf ladies, he had almost forgotten Alaric and his heir. "So what's beyond this settlement?" he asked, turning Alaric's ring around his finger to better remember his duty. "Where will we sleep if we ride on after dinner?"
"In the vampire territory," Peregrine said.
"What? No way, dragon. We're staying here tonight; they look friendly enough."
Peregrine opened his mouth to protest, then closed it again. He couldn't possibly argue with the stubborn elf without their conversation being overheard, and so offending the pack, especially once the three females he had been watching, sensing a potential victim, shifted into their nude human form in front of their very eyes, leaving the elf with the promise of a very interesting night should he decide to remain, before they fled into one of the cottages. The dragon shifter groaned in surrender, letting his eyes skip between the blushing dwarf and the eager elf who was already dismounting his horse.
"We both know how this is going to end, elf. What about Alaric's daughter?"
Leodhais laughed, throwing his reigns to Peregrine. "What about her? We haven't even met yet! I'm not doing anything wrong..." His eyes were trained beyond Peregrine as he said that, and turning around the dragon spotted a welcoming committee composed of the same tree females Leodhais had set his eyes on, clad in a pastel coloured, semi-translucent finery which somehow made them look almost more naked than they had been when they had shifted.
"Welcome, travellers. Sir Peregrine, we hope that you'll finally accept our shelter for the night, seeing that you are not alone," one of them, an ethereal, petite blonde said, passing him a golden chalice filled with red wine.
He bowed to her in greeting and took a sip before he passed it to Gilderoy, who followed his example before passing the cup to Leodhais, who drank deeply, his eyes never leaving the girl who had spoken. She was breathtakingly beautiful, almost elven with that sheet of silvery blonde hair falling to her ample chest in that arranged, inviting way, making him itch to touch it...
More men and women started to draw closer around them curiously, while others attended to the fire burning in the middle of the clearing where their evening meal was cooking.
"I'll accept a meal gladly, fair Auriel. But you know me, I prefer to sleep outside."
"Aah, you'll never change," the girl smiled before letting her amber eyes fall on Gilderoy in a silent enquiry.
"A-and I'll ke-keep him co-company, fair lady," the dwarf stuttered in his turn.
"I'll accept whatever you offer, my ladies," Leodhais bowed deeply to each of them. "I can't possibly spend another night on the cold ground."
The three young women giggled, and two of them laced their arms through Leodhais' while Auriel took the empty cup from him.
"You won't regret, my lord," she said, preceding the three towards the line of cottages, her hips, poorly covered by the layers of pellucid, mother-of-pearl fabric swinging invitingly as she moved, underlining the promise she had made.
~~~
Word Count: 8511 in total.
Second milestone reached :)