The ferns, bushes and grass were a green blur as I shuffled along. I wasn’t moving quickly due to a pronounced limp but still my surroundings seemed indistinct and melted together. Why the hell was I limping? I glanced down and saw a short length of broken branch protruding from the side of my calf.

Huh. Must have got stabbed with it when I bounced off the tree. Fuck you tree. I’d buy an axe and cut that bastard down. I paused, setting aside my new vendetta against a bloody tree of all things and leant down to rip the wood from my leg. I suppressed a scream as the jagged piece came free from my limb and blood began to trickle down over my sandals. I cast heal again and once more the flow slowed but didn’t stop. My injuries were too severe to be immediately sealed by the shitty low level spell.

Health: 83/120

Mana: 0/100

The blood loss must be draining my health. My thoughts were feverish as I resumed my ragged flight to what I hoped would be the safety of my cave. The pain was like hot irons held to my leg and shoulder, making my eyes blink away tears and my muscles shudder.

The now familiar stench of rotten brains and rancid piss greeted me as I emerged from the forest. I really should have sited the tanning hole somewhere further away from my regular path. Despite the agony, new energy filled me as I saw my home and I sped up to reach the edge of the cave. I snatched up my Shop bought spear and the three short throwing spears I had made but not yet had reason to use.

Dumping more wood on the fire, I hoped it would catch quickly and scare away the rest of the pack. My mind was convinced more wolves were even now slinking through the undergrowth towards my refuge. My imagination populated every shadow with gleaming eyes and powerful jaws.

I backed behind the fire and leant against the wall, the throwing spears falling from my numb left hand but the stone tipped spear clutched tightly in my right. I put my back against the wall and propped the spear horizontally in front of me, point levelled towards the woods, as I searched desperately for the enemies I was sure were eyeing me hungrily.

Long minutes passed and nothing happened. Eventually my back began to relax, sending fresh bursts of pain through my ruined shoulder. I lowered myself down and examined the damage carefully. Strands of wool seemed to be embedded in the wounds, jagged tears in the muscle that had dragged short gouges of flesh away as the beast had recoiled after my knife found its neck.

I gently peeled away the now completely ruined cloak. It clung wetly to my skin leaving large splotches of crimson behind. I used the spear tip to awkwardly slice what was left of it into strips. One was dipped in previously boiled water stored in a nearby clay urn and carefully wiped across the injuries. As the gore was washed away the true damage was revealed. It wasn’t as bad as I’d feared. It didn’t appear any tendons had been severed, no muscles had rolled up and bulged out, but the layers of yellow-white fat showed clearly beneath my tanned skin, the teeth having cut through to the subcutaneous tissues.

I began to bind my shoulder with a few more strips of wool, pulling them tight enough to make me hiss in pain. Hopefully the pressure would stop the bleeding soon. My leg was easier to treat. The wound was deep but I was optimistic it wouldn’t leave me crippled, should I survive long enough for it to heal. And avoid an infection. I washed it clean as well, wincing at the rough cloth scraping into the gouge, and bound it tightly.

With a final grunt I leant back and took deep breaths. My health had stabilised after my primitive field first aid. I watched my mana ticking slowly up, one point every six minutes, and prayed nothing would bother me until I’d had a chance to get a few more casts done. Then I’d be in a much better position to deal with any stragglers from the pack.

I looked up as a shadow moved at the edge of the treeline. I tensed and snatched my spear back up. I tried to heave myself upright, using my right leg to slide my back upwards against the rough stone of the cave wall but it slipped before I was halfway there and I slid back down with a grunt. I pulled the spear across my lap and gripped it tightly, the stony tip wavering slightly but held firmly in the direction of this new threat.

A wolf dragged itself forwards, emerging from the greenery like a grey ghoul. One of its legs, the front left, wasn’t working correctly. It tried to put weight on it but kept falling to the side. Its ribs or spine must have been damaged as well as it flew away from me after I punched it as its back legs weren’t stable either.

It crept towards me slowly. Its teeth were bared in a silent snarl.

“You sure about this little guy? I’m pretty sure I’ve got the drop on you,” I grunted. The wolf's ears flicked back and lay flat against its skull. The fur was matted with twigs and leaves stuck along the right side of its body. I hefted the spear slightly as it drew closer. It slunk around the far side of the fire and I prepared to fight.

Then the damn thing lay down and whined. Like a puppy being loaded into a bag with stones! It had been a long time since a plea for mercy had been able to move me. When they started babbling and offering to double my fee if only I’d let them go I just tuned it out and finished the job.

This wasn’t some asshole who had pissed off someone capable of retaining my services. Even if it was, I still had my code. How do you judge a wild animal by human standards? Was it unethical of the bloody things to steal the meat I’d caught in my trap? Maybe. But they had just been following their nature.

Admittedly laying a fucking ambush and blindsiding me had been a dick move. However it was a tactic I’d used myself on many occasions. There is no point letting the bloke you’re going to kill know in advance what you’re up to. I couldn’t fault the bloody things and the big one had paid the price. This poor little bastard must be a baby or something.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

It was big, even stretched out on the ground, but smaller than I’d thought back in the heat of the fight, when adrenaline had been firing every nerve in my brain, making the world take on exaggerated detail. Still a big fucking dog though. I used the spear to slowly climb to my feet, leaning heavily on it as I finally stood upright.

It whined again.

“Fuck off dude. It’s a mercy, ok? Don’t look at me like that.”

Large green eyes were staring up at me. There was no threat there, not any more. It was begging for its life.

“I’m going to regret this,” I muttered. I painfully picked up an empty bowl, wrapping my armpit around the shaft of the spear to keep my balance and scooped it into the slightly bloody water I’d used to dip the cloth that had cleaned my wounds. It was faintly pink against the orange of the fired clay. I moved the bowl into my left hand, hissing slightly as I clenched my fingers on the rim. I inched around the fire slowly.

A faint growl rose up and the wolf shuffled forward slightly.

“Enough of that shit you ungrateful bastard,” I snapped. I leaned forward and put the bowl down then used the butt of the spear to nudge it closer to the animal while balancing carefully on one leg. The wolf snapped at the spear but I swatted it into the side of his jaw and he whined again.

“For some dumbfuck reason I’m trying to help you, idiot. Don’t be a dick.”

I left the bowl near the wolf's face and backed away, grateful to be able to lean my weight on the spear as I went. Why the hell was I helping this thing? Was it some deeply ingrained sense of wrongness at seeing something so similar to a dog in pain? It would be kinder to just end his life but I knew I wouldn’t do that. Some selfish part of me rubbed its hands together at the thought of having a companion, even a crippled one. A companion that unlike almost every human I’d known back home I wouldn’t have to lie to. If the beast survived and stuck around I’d have a… friend… that I could be honest with.

The blood loss must have been messing with my brain. I was a professional killer and ought to be far beyond this kind of maudlin emotional self indulgence. My ego died over a decade ago. That’s what I always told myself anyway.

The wolf sniffed at the water and began to lap at it. I had backed away and settled down next to the piles of smoked meat. I pulled out a green package and began to chew on the tough, heavily flavoured meat. The wolf finished the bowl, knocking it over at the end as it tried to get at the last few drops. It looked at the meat in my hand and its tongue lolled out as I slowly took a bite and chewed.

“Hungry fella?” I asked. A whine followed by a growl was my answer. He crept slightly closer, his belly pressed to the ground and kept his eyes locked on the scrap of rabbit flesh. “I guess you’ve got a taste for the bunnies eh? Seeing as you stole my kill.” The wolf heaved itself up and snapped forward as far as he could manage but the butt of the spear flicked out almost without thought and swatted him away.

“Bad dog,” I muttered. It turned sad green eyes, misty with pain on me and I felt genuine pity for the poor bastard. I reached back, resting the spear carefully across my outstretched legs so I could snatch it up in an instant if I needed to, and pulled out another strip of meat. I tossed it in front of the wolf who sniffed it suspiciously.

“If I wanted you dead I’d not bother feeding you, mutt.”

He cocked his head at me, glancing up from the morsel I’d offered. With a clomp the meat vanished. A short whine and a pleading look followed, making me sigh loudly.

“When did I become so soft?” I muttered, tossing the wolf another strip. “I’m not sure how this is going to work, dog. If I go to sleep are you going to try and eat me?” Long ears flicked backwards then forwards and his head cocked to one side in what I was convinced was questioning-tinged-with-hopeful body language.

“Ah you stupid bloody dog.” I began to slowly drag myself back towards my urns of water on the far wall. When I was halfway the wolf jerked forward towards the meat and once again I smacked him in the snout with the base of my spear.

“No. That’s mine,” I said angrily and his ears went back. He shuffled away from the meat slightly. “Good boy. I’m the boss here bloke. Just remember that.” I dipped a bowl into the pink water and took a long drink before falling into companionable silence with the wolf for a few minutes. I used heal again and felt considerably better. I checked my wounds, carefully peeling the bandage on my leg to the side and while the wound was still fresh, new skin had formed around the edges of the injury and the bleeding had stopped.

“It’s gonna be a long fucking day. You know you nearly got me? If the pair of you had attacked at once I’d have been fucked. The big fella might have died but if you’d struck at the same time I’d have been toast.”

The wolf cocked his head again and started to inch towards the meat. He stopped as I slapped the butt of the spear against the stone of the cave floor.

“As I was saying, hanging back was your mistake. Want to know the thing about fighting? You’ve got to strike hard with everything you’ve got when it’s time to make your move, before the other guy makes his. I dunno if the whole living as a wild animal experience equates to military action. Or killing pricks for money. It was a lot of money, ya know? Way more than I got in the army. I could get medals in the army, I guess, but money is better than medals. Still, being a hitman was less risk and more money. I picked my jobs, like I’d tell clients to piss off if they were being stingy and I didn’t have to charge into the guns when some idiot LT got a bee in his bonnet.” The wolf made a chuffing noise I took to be laughter.

“It was safer, better paid and I got to keep to my code. I’m pretty sure all the hajjis were pieces of shit. The ones I knocked overseas I mean, but maybe some of them were like us? Just following our nature. Who fucking knows?” I muttered taking another bowl of water and drinking deeply.

“We need to come to an arrangement.” The wolf had laid down, resting its head on its functional forelimb, the other stretched out crookedly to the side. For some reason it perked up and turned to look at me. “You’re a good listener mate. I bet you’d be handy in a scrap as well, as long as you learn to strike when the iron’s hot and not lurk at the back like a pussy. How about you and me team up? I’m kind of woozy from the blood loss but if we’re both still alive in the morning how’s about it? Can we give it a go?” My words were slurring slightly at this point. The adrenaline, pain and blood loss all adding up leave me rambling insanely to a wild animal that couldn’t understand me.

A faint whine answered me and I smiled. It would be nice to have a friend. A real one who didn’t need to be kept at arm's length, someone I could be honest with, no pretence and no lies.

“You’re gonna need a name. How about Wilson?” I chuckled.