The pace of the caravan had slowed somewhat as they passed through the mountains. That was probably due to all the guards being forced to wear their gambeson armor on the march. Argu'n were not built for endurance the way humans are, and the extra burden was obviously taking a toll on them.

Jack reached up and activated his headset. "The way things are going, won't the guards be too worn out to fight if we get attacked?"

It was Ger'ron who responded. "If we were going normal speed probably, but I made the lads wear their armor while practicing all winter for more than just warmth. So they should be fine."

Thinking back to how he'd spent the winter getting Grim used to the sounds of gunfire, Jack nodded and patted the wolgen on the side. "Good thing we did our own practicing, huh boy?"

Grim looked back and chuffed in acknowledgment of being addressed, so Jack tossed him a small morsel of meat which the wolgen wolfed down before catching back up with his place in the center of the formation. Jack could tell Grim was a little more tense than usual, evidence that he was picking up on the general vibe of everyone else. As quick as the wolgen learned and adapted to everything, Jack suspected the species was at least a little more intelligent than wolves back on earth, though probably not as much as other primates. Still, he tucked away the thought to puzzle over another time.

-

As they cleared the treeline into a small clearing, Lon'thul saw S'haar motion for him to fall back and speak with her. When she caught up with him, she nodded at the tracks they were following. "Can you tell how far behind them we are?"

The hunter rubbed his chin. "Hard to say for certain, but I'd say less than half a day... Though that's kind of bothering me."

S'haar tilted her head to the side. "What do you mean?"

The hunter looked back to the ground. "Well, we've been more or less this far behind them all morning, but we haven't seen or heard any signs of fighting yet. With some Hill People ahead of the wolgen and the rest trailing after, they should have engaged by now... There should be some sign of a struggle somewhere, but they just seem to be steadily walking forward..."

As if on cue, that was when the howl of a wolgen could be heard in the distance. First one, then two...then three...and finally four. That stopped everyone cold. Angela spoke up over the headsets. "Has anyone ever heard of four adult wolgen packing together?"

Lon'thul looked like his mind was running a mile a minute, but he was still getting nowhere. "Ummmm, no. No area could sustain that many. They'd eventually starve themselves to death."

This time Jack spoke up. "Could it be children still running with their parents? Or maybe two rival packs engaging in a territorial battle?"

"Lon'thul shook his head again. "No, any pups would have been chased out of the burrow long before now, and while rival pairs fight over territory, that usually happens in the late fall or early winter, so come spring, they can raise their pups in peace."

S'haar's eyes narrowed as she glared into the treeline, then turned and shouted to the camp. "Hunters, back behind the guards! Everyone get your bows loaded and ready! Guards have throwing spears at the ready, and long spears close at hand. Whether it's two wolgen or four, I expect everyone to remain calm and disciplined!"

Lon'thul knew S'haar was well aware that wolgen usually wouldn't attack a group of argu'n this large, but nothing was usual about this situation. Between the Hill People hunting the beasts, there being four adult wolgen, and the relatively tight confines of the mountains, it was anyone's guess how this day would turn out. He wondered if anyone would die before the day was over...

-

Jack had his rifle loaded and ready when the first wolgen cleared the treeline. Ger'ron shouted for everyone with bows to hold their fire, but with their greater range, accuracy, and rate of fire, the human and Lon'thul were the exceptions. He lined up his aim with the monster's eyes and pulled the trigger while Lon'thul loosed his first arrow. Of course, actually hitting such a tiny target at that range was almost impossible, and with the creature's thick skull, the bullets were at best cracking the bone while the arrows merely caused the wolgen to bleed, but the impacts slowed the target down as the beast flinched.

The second wolgen cleared the treeline at a run, quickly passing its partner as it charged the line of argu'n. Jack's stomach tightened when S'haar ran out to meet the beast's charge. As the beast swiped at the much smaller argu'n, she dove to the ground, sliding under its claws, then came up on the other side of the monster, getting a stab in on its vulnerable flank in the process.

Of course, Jack knew the attack was superficial at best, but it had the desired effect of causing the wolgen to stop its advance and turn to attack the annoying threat. As soon as it did, Ger'ron shouted, "Fire!" All the workers raised their gastrophetes and took their shots while the guards threw their smaller spears, hitting the wolgen with a barrage of bolts that turned its flank into something resembling an inverse porcupine.

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The beast cried out in anguish and turned to face the more significant threat as the guards lined up together and readied their long spears to meet the beast's charge. But before he could move, S'haar grabbed hold of its shaggy mane and whipped herself around, plunging her sword through the monster's eye and instantly dropping it to the ground.

Before the warrior woman could retrieve her sword, the second wolgen braced his feet, readying a charge, and bellowed a challenge. The roar was deafening, causing S'haar to release her sword unretrieved and cover her ears while many guards did the same.

Jack had to drop his aim to try and rein Grim in, but the smaller wolgen shouted his own challenge back regardless. Soon Em'brel and Sare'en were at his side, each grabbing a side of the wolgen's reigns to try and keep him from charging in while Jack shouted commands to the wolgen. "Grim, down! Get down!"

S'haar drew her second sword while Angela ran up beside her, both getting ready to meet the wild wolgen's charge. However, rather than charge, the monster unexpectedly turned and looked to the treeline behind it, roaring again. Not long after, two more wolgen cleared the forest at a run and charged right into the lone wolgen, tearing into it in a frenzy. Everyone watched in disbelief as the three wolgen they'd thought would be attacking the exiled camp fought amongst themselves instead.

S'haar hesitated a moment before taking the opportunity to retrieve her first sword from the fallen wolgen while Lon'thul nocked an arrow but waited on the draw. Once Grim was back under control, Jack raised his rifle to look through the scope and was surprised to realize the two new wolgen were adorned with what looked like leather harnesses...

-

S'haar heard Ger'ron shouting orders to reposition everyone, so their line of sight wasn't blocked by the fallen wolgen, but she remained focused on the brawl in front of her. So was it a territorial brawl of some kind? Even if so, those other two wolgen would make short work of the lone one, and then they'd still have two serious threats to deal with. She looked over at Angela, who was also paying attention to the fight. "When the other two come at us, I'll take the right wolgen while you take the left. I know you're durable, but if they get their claws under a piece of your metal body, they're still strong enough to tear it free, so be careful!"

Angela hesitated, still focused on the fight. "I'm not so sure that'll be a problem..."

The fight was winding down. While the lone wolgen put up a fight, it just couldn't defend on all sides, and the pair landed hits more frequently and decisively as the battle dragged on. That was when a group of Hill People cleared the forest line. They hesitated at the sight of S'haar's camp, clearly unsure what to do with this unforeseen complication.

The wolgen didn't seem to care, though, and one of the pair finally got its jaws wrapped around the lone wolgen's throat. The solitary beast tried to lash at its attacker with its tail, but then the third wolgen pounced from behind, pinning its victim down. Moments later, the fight was over, and the pair raised their heads, almost in unison, to howl their victory.

That was when Grim howled back, causing both wolgen to whip their heads around and take a threatening posture facing Grim's direction.

Several things happened in quick succession. First, S'haar readied both of her swords. Next, Ger'ron shouted for the workers to raise their belly bows to be ready to fire. And finally, one of the Hill People started yelling at the wolgen as he ran forward. Despite his thick accent, S'haar could make out his words. "Stop! Get back here! Stop, both of you!"

One of the wolgen looked back and forth, wondering what to do, but the other stalked ahead, ignoring the argu'n shouting commands. Then, before anyone knew what was happening, Angela lunged forward, punching the beast right on the nose. The wolgen reared back as if unsure if this shiny new animal was a threat or not, while the AI took the opportunity to launch herself forward, wrapping her arms around the beast's neck.

Apparently, the wolgen wasn't ready for how heavy the proportionally smaller woman was, and she brought him to the ground while keeping a tight grip around the wolgen's throat from behind its head, shouting, "Down Boy!" on the way to the ground.

The wolgen struggled and scratched at the ground to try and break free, but the AI simply tightened her grip, causing the animal to almost black out, then releasing a bit of pressure while speaking to the animal. "Alright, big boy, if you keep misbehaving, we'll have problems. I'd rather not hurt someone's pet more than I have to, so how about you calm down for Lady Angela, huh?"

The wolgen whimpered and stopped struggling, so Angela loosened her grip a little more. Then when the animal tried to struggle free, she repeated the process a few times until the wolgen finally lost the will to fight.

Jack, Em'brel, and Sare'en had their hands full dealing with Grim. Even though he'd calmed down somewhat, they weren't about to loosen their grip again so soon, but everyone else was frozen in shock at the scene of the metal goddess rapidly taming a full-grown wolgen. None more so than any of the Hill People not currently holding the harness of the wolgen who'd listened. The most mesmerized was the one who'd been shouting commands. He was rooted in place, slackjawed, simply trying to comprehend what he was seeing.

Finally, Angela loosened her grip and got to her feet. The wolgen she'd been wrestling with stood up and sniffed the metallic woman. After a moment, he jerked forward as if he was going to bite Angela, who simply responded by flicking the beast on the nose. The wolgen blinked a few times, then seemed to think better of his actions and sat down staring at the smaller woman who began scratching his neck as if he was just some overgrown puppy. "See, aren't scratches better than flicks? Behave yourself, and maybe we'll even give you some treats later!"

The argu'n who'd been shouting commands stepped forward, making the wolgen look back and forth between him and Angela as if unsure who was in charge. Then, finally, the male stopped, addressing Angela. "How... Who... What..."

Angela seemed to take pity on the man and gave a slight nod of the head while she continued scratching the wolgen in a spot she knew Grim particularly enjoyed. "Hello, I'm Lady Angela. Does this big fella have a name?"