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At first, I thought Colbolt had been spooked. I ran my hand through his fur, reassuring him that we were okay, that nothing was following us. The Maukibou stomped his hooves and snorted, showing me what he wanted me to see.
He had brought us to the opening of a cave.
“Oh, my Gods…” I said, the words falling out of my mouth. “You knew this was here?”
More snorting, and stomping. I couldn’t understand him, not really, but I caught his meaning all the same; he was trying to show me urgency, trying to get me to hurry.
“Right,” I said, nodding, “Let me check it out first, though. Watch him.”
I slid off the saddle, leaving Colbolt and Valerian near the creek while I moved closer to the cavernous entrance. Already I could smell something animal, something beastly. Wolves? No. Maybe bears, though. Yes, the strong, musky aroma pouring out of the cave was a large, grizzly kind of scent… but it was old, and weak.
Abandoned?
I moved in a little closer, getting right up to the edge of the cave. From here, I noticed the tunnel beyond the cave’s mouth angled down, into the earth and the rock. The smell was coming from down there, somewhere, but the more I sniffed the air, the more I convinced myself that it was residual.
This was a bear’s den, once, but not anymore. Where the bears went, I had no idea, but they hadn’t been back here for some time, and probably wouldn’t ever again. Still, I took a quick jaunt inside to make sure. The air was warmer down here, the cave itself insulating quite well against the cold. Still, we would need a fire or something to keep Valerian warm.
Much to my relief, the cave itself wasn’t covered in bear crap—that was all the convincing I needed.
Rushing back outside, I ushered Colbolt through the cavernous opening and guided him gently inside. Though the Maukibou was big, he could lower his head enough that he could fit through the tunnel. Once inside, there was more than enough space for him to sit comfortably in. I could tell the heady smells in this place were setting him on edge, but I comforted him, making sure he knew we were alright.
Gently, I peeled Valerian off Colbolt’s back and set him on the ground, propped up against Colbolt’s stomach. He was drifting in and out of consciousness… he looked weak, and out of it. Whatever he had done, it had taken almost every ounce of strength out of him. I didn’t have any food or water on me, and Colbolt’s saddle bags were empty, save for a handful of frozen berries.
I offered them to the Maukibou, who happily ate them out of my hand. He had gotten us to safety, after all; the least I could do was make sure he was fed.
I knelt down in front of Valerian, who seemed to be perking up just a little. “Hey,” I said, tapping him gently on the face. “Are you going to die on me? Should I be worried?”
He blinked at me. “Not that I’m aware of,” he grunted.
“Good. I need you to stay here and not die while I go out and get us some food and some firewood.”
“No fires.”
“Don’t worry about it. We’re safe.”
Valerian looked around. “Where are we?”
“In a cave. Colbolt found it. A fire down here won’t attract attention.”
“You don’t know that.No fires.”
I frowned at him. “Have you ever eaten an animal raw? Because that’s what you’re going to have to do if I can’t start a fire in here.”
Another grunt. “I’ve eaten worse.”
I shook my head. “You’re impossible. Stay here.”
“Not like I can go anywhere.”
I got up, patted Colbolt on top of his head, and started making my way up toward the mouth of the cave. As soon as I reached it, I threw myself onto my hands and feet, hitting the ground already in my wolf form. All of my senses heightened further, to the point where I could smell not only the bears that had previously inhabited this cave, but even what their last meal had been.
Fish.
There were fish in the creek. On the one hand, that was great, because it meant I didn’t have to go far to try to find food. On the other hand, I had never hunted down and killed a living creature before. I hadn’t evenfishedbefore. Was I just supposed to know how to catch fish with my teeth? Because if I was, I was coming up short.
My instincts had made me take up my wolf form, but the rest was hard to figure out. The fish were close. I could hear them flapping about in the little stream. I could also smell berries somewhere, but theyweren’tclose, and I didn’t particularly like the idea of going for a trek in the dark in search of berries which probably wouldn’t feed both of us anyway.
I padded closer to the stream, my nose low to the ground, sniffing for tracks and for other important scents. Besides our own, the creek, and the berries, I couldn’t smell anyone or anything else in the immediate area. Sighing, I decided I was going to have to figure this hunting thing out after all, because the truth was, I was getting hungry.
