32

The White Wolf’s Pup

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The tanned hide, hidden in the corner of the cave, reminded Alduin of the Goblin Ruler’s coat. This resemblance made Alduin’s heartbeat rise with great speed.

Having heard the whimper come from this corner, Alduin ran forward, he couldn’t allow the enemy to snipe them again.

His quick move was followed by pulling away the hide. A shadow hid here, but Alduin clearly saw two eyes stare back at him from beneath a ribcage. His murderous gaze stared back, with this heightened tension Alduin didn’t care what it was, it just needed to die.

Alduin’s spear immediately shot forward after he pulled away this cover. The hidden creature was about to die as the spear entered the bare ribcage.

“WAIT!” Veleda’s voice rang in his ears as his concentration was broken. ”DON’T!”

A hand pulled his shoulder but the spear moved forward. A loud impact was heard as dust rose from this crevice.

“Veleda!” Alduin panicked, she was the reason why he moved so quickly. “Get back, it isn’t safe here!”

Alduin knew he missed, his hand never felt the sensation of piercing flesh. His left arm quickly moved Veleda behind him as he readjusted his position.

“WAIT!” Veleda held him back once more.

“Veleda!” Edward had arrived near them in a panic.

“Just listen!” Her voice rang loudly through the cave. Everybody seemed to ignore her opinion, but now silence descended.

Alduin stood in front of Veleda in case something happened, but this time he held his spear tightly to his side. He couldn’t help but say with a suppressed voice, “I told you to stay back didn’t I?”

His heart was racing, the fear he felt of Veleda being here was more than he expected. But still, she stood her ground.

“I’m still behind you,” Veleda argued back. “More importantly, look closely!” Her voice, which had just broken through their thick skulls, now brought with it their lost sensibilities.

“What?” Edward reacted, his right arm brandished an axe as he was ready to protect this young couple. But his voice now sounded in disbelief, “What is that?”

“A prison?” Alduin asked back. “Wait, don’t tell me!” Alduin instantly turned toward Veleda.

“It doesn’t make any sense, does it?” Veleda seemed to be the only one with rational thought left.

In front of them, stuck inside the cave’s crevice, now laid a large white wolf’s fur. The similarities were strikingly familiar compared to the fur the goblins wore. And most importantly, the fur of the wolves, the slaves of those goblins.

As the flashlight shone onto the creature, A whimper escaped once again. Two large eyes reflected, and Alduin realized, “It’s a pup?”

Inside a giant ribcage, a prison made from the bones of its family members, stood a young pup in a defensive position. It was no taller than the pup of a large dog around half a year old. But its sharp teeth and striking fur had already betrayed its lineage.

“It’s a child,” Veleda spoke. “It’s the only one that also has white fur.”

“Veleda!” Werner, her father, had arrived to berate her. But seeing the sight in front of him made him turn quiet as well.

Silver white fur, almost resembling the light of the moon, was covered with dried-up blood. A husk of a puppy stood there, no, it lay there with silent whimpers as two eyes stared at them with hatred.

“Shouldn’t we kill it?” Bob asked, his shield shaking in his hands as he thought back to last night.

“NO!” Veldea turned with a frown. “I’m taking it with me!” She had made her position clear.

“What? There’s no way we’re taking a monster with us!” Edward had no thought to play along, he had seen how fearsome those beasts were. During the invasion, they had no qualms to bite their masters to death, but before he could continue, someone else already spoke up.

“I agree.”

“Alduin!” Lucas, Alduin’s father, was the next to speak with surprise. Not a single person here wanted to take this risk, not after witnessing what it would grow into.

“Right, we’ve found it, we decide.” Veleda proudly puffed out her chest now that Alduin followed her lead. She smiled at Alduin as she was satisfied by his backup.

“I’m not doing it to keep it as a pet.” Alduin poured water over her victory. Alduin looked Veleda in her eyes as he asked, “How did you know?”

Veleda replied with an inquisitive look.

“Don’t tell me?” Alduin looked in shock. “Did you realize it the moment you noticed its presence?”

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Veleda looked back as if she didn’t understand. “Wait, didn’t you?”

“What are you talking about?” Edward had no idea what was going on, his hands gripped the axe tighter as he wanted to get this over with.

“That pup,” Alduin spoke. “It tried communicating with us. I just didn’t realize its intention from back over there.” Alduin looked with amazement at Veleda, her perception much sharper than his.

“Did it talk to you?” Werner had been obsessed with the knowledge on the Goblin Ruler. “Did that pup communicate with you as well?”

“No, dad,” Veleda said, “It’s not talking, it’s just- how do you say it?” She stared at Alduin as she tried coming up with the right description.

“Uhm-“ But Veleda saw that Alduin was just as curious as Werner. “It’s more like hearing an animal in distress conveying its emotion.” She seemed proud of her description, yet nobody agreed.

“Well, it is whimpering, so I figured as much.” Bob, the shield bearer, was the first to respond.

“Right,” Lucas and Werner agreed.

“So what’s your plan?” Edward asked Alduin.

“It means no harm,” Alduin said as he sighed. He couldn’t understand how Veleda figured it out that quickly. “I’m sure of that.”

The small wolf seemed to have starved as its ribcage was visible through its blood-stained fur. But this time, its eyes of aggression seemed to fade as a glimpse of hope shone through.

“Do you want to come with us?” Veleda approached the bone prison. This place was most likely made from the remains of its kin.

"Veleda.” Alduin’s hand held her close to him. “What did I tell you?”

She became flustered at his touch but replied with a pout, “It’s safe isn’t it?”

“You promised me,” Alduin said, he needed to make this clear from the beginning. “Always stay behind me,” His voice softly continued, “I can’t protect you otherwise.”

A whimper responded to them once more, its impatient attitude made it clear it wanted to be free.

“You.” Alduin only faintly understood this beast. It wasn’t like the goblins where it was just a foreign language, this was a more primal communication. “You understand me don’t you?”

The pup stared Alduin in his eyes before a soft howl sounded.

“I’m breaking this now, if you move you’re dead. Understand?” Alduin threatened, but his heartbeat still hadn’t calmed down.

“Gramps,” Alduin said.

“Right, we’ll move back.” Edward pulled Veleda back, they couldn’t underestimate it, not after witnessing Alduin and that Goblin’s abilities.

Alduin lifted his foot, strength he had only used once gathered in his limbs. Right before he struck down, Alduin warned the pup, “Watch out.”

A thick thud was followed by the breaking of bones and the rising of dust. Alduin, who stared closely while gripping his spear, now laughed. “Seems like you listen quite well.”

His hand grabbed the pup by its neck. “You’re not heavy, are you? How long have you been stuck in there?” But only a small whimper replied as this creature’s body completely curled up.

“Can I touch it?” Veleda walked closer, her eyes shone with brightness.

“Sure,” Alduin had a good grip on this monster but still, no ounce of hostility was felt as two large inquisitive eyes stared into the illuminated room.

“Let’s gather the useful items and leave this place,” Edward sighed as he looked at the two people holding the wolf. “Alduin, don’t let it out of your sight.”

“Right.” Alduin nodded. “If there’s something you need my help with, just let me know, we’re going outside for a bit.” Alduin laughed as he watched the old men slowly explore the now-silent cave.

“Alduin, can I hold it?” Veleda asked as she followed Alduin outside.

“Not yet,” He replied as his eyes focused on the creature. “What do you think?”

The balled-up pup, held by its neck, only let out a disinterested whimper. Not a single muscle seemed to care about this treatment.

‘How many scars can such a small creature even have?’ Alduin observed the pup as the sunlight finally hit them. But he was more curious about something else.

'Is it stronger than those big ones?' He didn’t know what to feel. 'No, it's definitely weaker, but its presence seems to be stronger, or is that due to what happened?' Alduin tried to compare them to the large mounts but he couldn't remember what they felt like.

“Hey, there.” Veleda broke his thought process with a voice filled with joy. “Are you glad to be outside?” Her smile had bloomed even further the moment they exited the cave.

The small creature, coated with a paint of red, ignored her as it looked at the open sky.

“It seems that way doesn’t it?” Alduin awkwardly responded to Veleda.

“It does, it does,” She said, she didn’t mind it, a cute little creature was in front of her. “Let’s clean it up!”

A whimper was followed by a struggle of wanting to escape but the moment Alduin held it tighter it stopped.

“Listen. From now on, the moment you show even the slightest-“ A soft threat was being formed but was promptly interrupted.

“Give it to me.” Veleda glared at Alduin and a small whimper sounded out while Alduin was being berated.

‘Little-‘ Alduin glared back but it seemed to have realized the power balance in their relationship.

And like this, both of them helped clean up the small pup with a bucket of water until its fur was white again. Several times did it try to struggle but near the end, it could only succumb to its fate.

After having cleaned it, Alduin and Veleda stood next to a fallen tree with the small wolf sitting on top. A discussion was going on.

“You don’t like their meat?” Alduin had already walked back and forth trying to find something to feed this pup. From meat to dog food to goblin remains. His voice had become annoyed after having tried everything.

“Why don’t you tell us what you want?” Veleda asked as she stroked its fur. And only now did it respond positively.

‘You little shit.’ Alduin realized what it was doing as his eyes glared at the fragile little beast.

“I think it wants to eat those?” Veleda followed the direction the wolf pointed to.

“Huh?” Alduin frowned.

‘Aren’t they useless?’ Alduin thought. A bucket stood in the cart by the cave, a bucket full of black goblin cores. ‘I already tried everything?’

Unlike the sky-blue cores, the black ones didn’t react to anything. While they did resonate with the energy he felt in his body, he found no way to access it. Even blood didn’t make them react.

‘Wait,’ Alduin realized, ‘is that how it is?!’

Alduin picked one up and walked back to the pup. “You want one of these?”

A whimper finally responded to him and Alduin laughed in return.

“Well, I don’t mind giving them to you, but you know they are valuable right?” Alduin asked with a severe expression, and the puppy looked back in shock.

‘Gotcha.’ Alduin felt joy wash over him as he had found a way to secure their safety. He had realized what this creature had been after since the beginning.

“Ok, if you follow us then we’ll give you a couple.” Alduin wanted to hand it over but stopped near its mouth. “But first we need to decide on a name.”

A whimper of complaint was heard but a voice drowned it out. “Oh,” Veleda nodded in surprise. “It’s a boy right?”

“Right, and it has silver fur.” Alduin smiled. “How about-“

“Hati!” Veleda spoke up, she seemed to have been waiting for this moment. “We’ll name him Hati!”

Like this, Alduin and Veleda had adopted a monster.

And on this day, the white wolf’s pup, with fur that resembled the moon, was named Hati.