Another sharp jab between her shoulders brought her out of the inner cocoon Lilau had withdrawn into. The guard in front stepped to the side, pointing with an emphatic “Great Beast.”

The haze over her vision cleared, bringing into focus a black, furry lump bound by thick ropes.

She was beside him in an instant. The recesses of her mind recognized her companion before she could put a name to it. Makotae!

He stirred, a frosted muzzled appearing from the ball of fur, eyes unfocused. His thoughts were just as bad. They flowing like mud with little sense to them.

What did they do to you?

More mud, a flash of something green, an acrid taste. Lilau didn’t know what plants they had here, but she guessed preparations of medicines were the same wherever you went. They had given him some sort of mixture, one with a strong sedating effect.

She leaned against him, running her hands over his head and back, noting his bonds without hesitating over the ropes. They were thicker than what she was used to, woven from tiny threads of hair that twisted around, thousands upon thousands, until combined strength created something she doubted Makotae could break at full strength. They had wrapped the ropes around his fore and rear legs, crossing over his back with multiple complex knots along their length. Untangling it all would take a great deal of time. A bellowed word from her right, followed by two firm hands on her shoulders, told her that her time was up.

The hands yanked her up. The word came again, demanding her attention. With reluctance, she tore her eyes from Makotae to regard the newest stranger who held their lives in their hands. Another man, his skin so dark it shone, stood tall with an air of authority that echoed in the colors of his robes, more vibrant than she thought possible.

The self-assured power in his eyes made her skin crawl, an aversion she hid in the defiant set of her jaw. Her opposition registered in the man’s gaze. He change of his stance, going from authoritative to relaxed in a single breath.

Confused, her defiance faltered as he called out. A girl appeared. She was near Lilau’s size, but the flat lankiness of her build spoke of her younger age. Lilau shifted from one foot to another as the girl and man conversed, trying but failing to get some insight into what they were saying. The wall of sights, sounds and smells were closing in again. After what felt like an eternity, they finished their conversation, made a few pointed remarks to the guards, and walked off.

Much to her surprise, the guards slipped their spears into straps on their backs and moved up to Makotae. One gathered up his front half, one his rear. Together they lifted him into the air, legs dangling. He gave a languid growl as he struggled to keep his head aloft while they carried him off the way they had come.

Lilau shook as she walked behind, the uncertainty of what was happening weighing on her mind like a stone. She kept her eyes locked on Makotae’s dangling legs all the way back to the shelter she had started in, where they deposited him on a rug before taking up their vigil at the exit flap. No sooner had she knelt at his side than the girl walked in.

Lilau frowned. She must have followed them back as well, yet Lilau hadn’t noticed. A flaw in her skills that only came to light when she was overwhelmed, which happened a lot around people. Just another reason to avoid them.

Somewhere along the way, the girl had gotten a bowl of something. She now placed it near Lilau with a bob of her head that made the long, thin braids of her hair wave. Lilau eyed the bowl. Whatever was in it contained a lot of dark-brown broth with chunks of meat and plants. A stew of some sort, although the smells were just as foreign as the rest of the place. The girl pointed at the bowl, uttering a phrase.

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A sensation like the one that had struck Lilau earlier returned, bringing with it images of the smaller, fluffy creatures she had seen grazing outside. The meat had come from one, a beast called a... sheep? With the new words for sheep stew now planted in her mind, once again she blurted it back out on reflex, gaining more distrustful looks from the guards. The girl giggled, grinning as she clapped her hands in delight. She turned her delight into a game, where she spent the next few moments pointing out and naming things while Lilau mimed them back. Each time, the girl’s mirth increased until she was alight with glee.

Such unabashed emotion made Lilau more and more uncomfortable. Once the guards sent the girl away, she was more than content to snuggle against Makotae and eat her stew in relative quiet. Still, although she did not understand how it worked, the ease of learning this new language pleased her. In the game’s course, she had learned the words for guard, rug, leather, man, woman, quite a few colors and others besides. As much as she didn’t wish to remain in their village, she could see the wisdom in learning their language if she was to stay in their lands. Plus, the girl was a good teacher. She hoped she would see her again.

With the hunger she hadn’t realized existed sated, she turned her attention to her drugged wolf. His thoughts were still muddy. Maybe it was wishful thinking, but they seemed to be getting clearer. Good. Now that she was by his side, she could keep them from giving him more of the sedative.

Makotae was in no shape to eat or drink, but the ravenous pit in his stomach spoke loud through the mess of his mind. He had done the most work in their flight. He needed to eat and drink soon or it would take a toll on his health. Until then, she would endeavor to comfort him as much as she could while studying the knots on his ropes a little closer.

As the day wore on, her guards changed. There were always two, one with their eyes firmly on her while the other stuck to Makotae. This kept her from doing more than observing the knotwork, but no one came to administer more medicine to him, either. As the light filtering through the hole in the shelter’s top faded, he started to struggle.

The guards took note. One stuck their head out to yell something outside before both guards turned and stared. Their grip tightened around their spear handles.

Lilau stroked Makotae’s head and leaned against him to quell his thrashing. Easy, now. We don’t want to give them a reason to give you more sedative. Did they hurt you?

She had run her hands across him several times already and had found nothing other than chafing from the ropes, but she wanted to make sure.

Other than the binding and drugging? No, but I am starving.

Her own stomach ached with phantom pain. Now that you’re fully awake, hopefully they will bring food for you and if not, I will feed you the next bowl I get.

He snuffed a fake sneeze that made the guards jump. Will be hard with this rope around my muzzle.

We will see to that when the time comes.

With his bonds tested and found to be too strong for him to slip, he went still as Lilau nestled against his warm belly, drawing strength from his presence.

When the flap opened next, it started Lilau out of an uneasy doze. The smell of raw offal hit her well before she focused in on the bearer, a soft-looking older woman with a kind air about her. She glanced at Lilau with a look of concern and sympathy that made Lilau shrink further into Makotae’s fur.

Her reaction caused pity to rise in the woman’s expression, but she turned to Makotae as she drew near, placing the bowl within Lilau’s reach yet outside of biting range. She mimed removing something from her face before retreating through the flap, leaving Lilau to hope the next steps went smooth.

Lilau placed her body between Makotae’s teeth and the guards as she pulled the circle of rope free of his mouth. He let out a whine as he worked his jaw up and down. Ow. How long has that been there, anyway? It feels like I chewed through a whole deer.

She smiled, pulling the bowl of offal to him. Well, I hope you can handle more chewing, because it seems they know what a wolf likes.

Could be drugged, he mused, with his nose already buried in the offering. Guess we’ll just have to wait and see.