Femi's ears pricked at the distant howls cutting through the frozen air, the sound echoing off the jagged, trees. His instincts screamed at him to be wary, more predators meant more danger. But then, a thought struck him, sharp and sudden like a blade between the ribs.
Wolves.
Yip... yip.
Victim answered the howl, its tiny voice trembling.
"Yes," Femi whispered, "It might work."
The creature whined softly, sensing Femi's gaze on it, its eyes blinking up at him with an almost human-like understanding. Around them, the trees groaned under the weight of the wind, their branches clawing at the darkening sky.
Femi's lips curled into a grin.
"Ah… the heavens have opened a way."
Behind him, the clash of steel and beast roared, Vaga's furious shouts, the bear's enraged bellows, the sickening crunch of impact. Snow sprayed in violent arcs as the armored bear lunged, its massive paws churning the frozen earth. Vaga was holding on, barely, her body battered and at its limits. She wouldn't last much longer.
He had to act. Now.
Femi's mind, once clouded with panic, now burned with cold, calculating clarity.
Wolves were smart. Cunning. They hunted in packs, targeting the weak, the isolated. And right now, the armored bear was distracted, focused entirely on the green-skinned warrior hacking at it with an axe.
Perfect.
But first, he needed their attention.
"Listen, Victim, it's time to earn your food," Femi murmured, rubbing its head. The pup's fur was slightly cold and wet. "I need you to call them. Can you do that?"
The pup blinked, then as if understanding tipped its head back and let out a weak, trembling howl.
Femi's heart clenched at the sound. It was pitiful. Desperate.
Truly, you are a professional victim, my dear pup.
But it seemed to work. In the distance, the answering howls grew louder.
Closer.
Ah, I hope I haven't invited the devil.
------
"Keep howling, Victim. You might be our saving grace," Femi said. The young wolf pup yipped in response.
Femi turned back to the battle. It wasn't looking good at all.
The bear dominated the fight, its armored bulk shrugging off Vaga's strikes. She was on the defensive, her movements sluggish, her breath ragged. But not all was lost—Femi spotted cracks in the bear's outer plating, showing that at least there was a chance to break through.
"VARGA" Femi yelled.
She erupted with emerald light, slamming into the bear. The beast blocked with its paws, the impact sending tremors through the ground. Using the distraction, she staggered back to Femi's side, her chest heaving.
"Do you have a plan?" she gasped, her breath fogging in the cold.
"I won't call it a plan, more like a hope," he admitted, his voice laced with uncertainty. "I don't even think it'll work. It'll be a miracle if we survive this."
"But we have to try," Varga said, her grip tightening on her axe.
"Ten minutes," Femi said, his brown eyes scanning the treeline. "We just need to hold it off for ten minutes."
"Ten minutes?" she repeated. "Why ten minutes?"
"I hope the miracle happens within ten minutes."
Varga sighed, "okay then I will do my best"
"No," Femi corrected. "We both have to do it, or you'll be killed, then I'll be killed."
With newfound resolve, they both began to walk, towards the armoured bear. Varga began to carefully removed the strap holding her broken arm. Unfortunately her bow was destroyed by the earlier ambush of the bear, a bow would have been a better choice against this foe.
Closing her eyes, she started to chant, and a bright emerald light burst out from her body. Her broken arm began to glow faintly as she forced Kuros through it. The energy surged, but the strain was evident in her gritted teeth. Forcing Kuros into her broken arm would worsen its condition, but now was not the time for that.
"I am ready," she said.
"Let's begin," Femi responded.
The bear roared, its furious eyes fixed on the two of them. This preys had survived its previous attack, and now it was ready to end it. With a powerful burst of speed, the bear drew closer, charging once more. The two of them stood side by side, ready to face the bear's fury.
------
The armored bear charged, its massive body a blur of plated hide and fur, the ground trembling beneath its weight. Varga and Femi braced themselves.
Varga moved first, her emerald-lit axe swinging in a brutal arc. The bear reared, deflecting the blow with its armored forearm, but she twisted mid-air, using the momentum to slam her boot into its snout. The beast snarled, shaking its head, just long enough for Femi to dart in, his dagger scraping against the cracks in its plating.
I don make mistake.
The bear's paw lashed out, swiping Femi off his feet. He hit the ground hard, ribs screaming, but rolled just as claws gouged the earth where his head had been.
Varga was already upon it again, her movements fueled by sheer will. She feinted left, then pivoted right, her axe biting into the bear's exposed shoulder joint. A spray of blood, but the beast barely flinched. Instead, it retaliated with terrifying speed, its armored head slamming into her chest.
Crack.
Varga gasped, stumbling back, but she didn't fall. She couldn't.
Femi was up again, circling, his mind racing. Distract. Survive. Buy time. He snatched a rock and hurled it at the bear's face. A useless attack, but the beast turned, just for a second.
Varga used that to strike.
Her axe came down like a falling star, splitting one of the bear's plating seams. The creature roared, a sound so deep it vibrated in their bones, and swung blindly. Varga took the hit a glancing blow, but it sent her skidding across the snow, blood trickling from her lip.
Femi lunged, driving his dagger into the bear's hind leg. It buckled, just slightly, but the beast whirled, jaws snapping. He barely yanked his arm back in time, the bear's teeth grazing his fur.
Too close.
Varga was back on her feet, breathing ragged, her left arm trembling, the forced Kuros was wearing off. She met Femi's gaze. Five minutes left.
The bear eyed them, its massive chest heaving. It knew they were weakening.
ROAR!
It charged again.
Varga ducked under a swipe, countering with a brutal upward slash. The axe lodged in the bear's chest plating, stuck. The beast roared, lifting her off the ground as she clung to the weapon.
Badam..badam
Femi didn't hesitate. He sprinted, leaping onto the bear's back, stabbing at its neck, trying to stab it's remaining eye, anything...
The bear thrashed, not going to fall for femi tricks again, bucking like a wild stallion. Femi held on, clawed fingers slipping, until one brutal shake sent him flying. He hit the ground hard, his vision swimming.
Varga was still hanging from her axe, kicking at the beast's face. With a furious jerk, the bear ripped the weapon free, and her with it. She crashed down, the wind knocked from her lungs.
The bear loomed over her, raising a clawed paw for the killing strike
HOOOWL!
The sound cut through the chaos.
Not Victim's weak cry, but a chorus of them. Deep. Hungry, and Close.
Femi's lips curled into a bloody grin.
The miracle had arrived
The forest seemed to shift around them. Shadows moved between the trees, sleek and silent. Yellow eyes gleamed in the dimishing lights.
Then, like a ghost emerging from the snow, it appeared.
A massive white wolf, its fur like fresh-fallen snow, its eyes a piercing, unnatural blue. It stood taller than Femi, muscles coiled beneath thick fur, its breath steaming in the cold air.
And it was looking right at him.
Femi swallowed hard.
This wasn't just a wolf.
it was a direwolf
But as he processed this, more wolves emerged, twenty-seven, flanking the Dire-wolf like a small army.
Its gaze swept Victim, then back to Femi.
The direwolf's lips peeled back in a silent snarl, revealing dagger-like fangs. Femi forced himself of the ground, even as every instinct screamed at him to *run.
Instead, he did something reckless.
He knelt.
The alpha's gaze flickered between Femi and the pup. Then, with a low, rumbling growl, it bent its head and sniffed the pup.
A moment passed.
Then another.
Then...
The white direwolf's head snapped toward the battle.
Varga was still on her back, her breaths ragged. Blood streaked the snow around her. The bear, though wounded, was relentless, it didn't care for the wolves when prey lay defenseless.
A deep, guttural snarl ripped from the direwolf's throat.
And the forest erupted with movement.
Wolves, dozens of them surged forward like a living tide, their howls shaking the earth. They moved as one, a blur of fur and fangs.
But not toward them.
They charged past, straight at the bear.
The beast barely had time to respond before the first wolf leaped, sinking its teeth into the bear's hind leg.
CRUNCH.
The bear bellowed, swinging its massive paw, but the wolves were fast. They darted in and out, harrying it from all sides, their coordinated attacks leaving no opening.
Vaga rolled away from the clash, and staggered back, gripping her axe as she stared in stunned silence.
Femi didn't waste the opportunity.
He sprinted toward her, grabbing her arm.
"We're leaving. NOW."
They didn't wait to see the outcome. They ran, the sounds of battle erupting behind them, snarls, roars, the crunch of bone and armor.
---
After a while of running, Vaga's legs gave out the moment they were clear of the battle, her body finally succumbing to exhaustion. Femi half-dragged, half-carried her, his own muscles screaming in protest. Victim licked his ankle, urging him on.
Behind them, the sounds of the wolf pack tearing into the armored bear faded into the distance.
"You…" Vaga coughed, blood flecking her lips. "You called them?"
Femi grinned, breathless.
"Yeah, I figured it might work after hearing the wolves howling, which indicated, this might be their territory," Femi explained, while hauling Varga . "No predator wants another to just walk into their territory. So, I used our little friend here, right, Victim?"
Victim yapped at his name, tongue lolling, tail wagging like a mad thing.
"Thanks to Victim, we were able to make a call. I was betting that they would come running after hearing one their fellow wolf. Giving us just enough time to run, while they tore into that monster."
He spat blood. "Ah, but thank the heavens my enemies weren't watchin'. Am sure they'd have tried something."
Vaga's eyes flickered toward femi then behind her,. Had he really planned that.
Femi exhaled.
They had survived.
Barely.
But they had survived.
And as the twin suns dipped below the horizon, casting the world in bloody twilight, Femi knew one thing for certain. This might not be the last time, he risked his life in this forest, so with their breaths ragged, their bodies pushed beyond it's limit.
They all made their way towards the direction of the Krags camp hoping nothing else attacks them.