Arthur couldn't help but quicken his footfalls as darkness descended upon the forest. Admittedly, he hadn't been able to find the pair as quickly as he would have thought. The beaten-down path went much further than he had first anticipated. The atmospheric noises of the forest suddenly grew intimidating with a cacophony of wolf howls in the distance. Those were not to be trifled with, especially at this hour of the night. From what little he knew of wolves, he knew that they were territorial first, and compassionate second. He didn't expect them to show such a thing anyone, given that they were, in fact, wild animals. An unpleasant thought played out in his mind, one that he willed away as soon as it became present in the forefront of his conscious. The image of the two teens mauled to death by the wolves played out as an image seared into his vision. Not the kind of thing he should have been thinking about, he wouldn't let that happen to the pair of youths, not on his watch anyway. Not if he had anything to say about it.
With that in mind, his speed increased to a level of a light jog. Sure, such a thing was treacherous to do in a forest where roots upheaved any solid level ground, but so was being out here at this hour of the night anyway. A little bit of risk was worth the price of finding these two idiots sooner. Arthur reflected back to his own childhood, specifically his teenage years. Sure, he had been a rebellious little shit, but he had never done anything as monumentally stupid as this before. A sudden memory interrupted his thoughts, one of hanging out with his friends half-drunk at a relatively dangerous swimming hole. Yeah, he did the exact same type of things when he was their age, he couldn't really judge in that regard. Trying to think like a teenager, he wondered what he could find at the end of the path. If he was lucky, they'd just be drunk and needing an escort home. That's what he was counting on. He didn't have the heart to tell her poor mother anything aside from or worse than that.
Fearing the worst, Arthur raised his voice to call out to them.
"Hello? Amelia? Are you out there? I'm here to make sure you're safe. Can you hear me?"
Increasingly desperate, the Knight's voice grew into that of a shout.
"AMELIA! SCREAM OUT IF YOU CAN HEAR ME!"
Once the shout left his throat, a murder of crows cawed out as they took flight from the branch they had been perched. Definitely not ominous, not in the slightest. Sighing, he continued down the path. A pair of luminescent eyes glittered in the darkness. Arthur froze in place. The one pair of yellow eyes suddenly became many as a wolf pack's howl echoed out mere meters away from him. How had they snuck up on him? Had it really gotten that dark already? The paladin considered his options as he stood in place. The pack of wolves was standing vigilant across the path, he'd have to somehow sneak around them, and he wasn't about to take them head on. From what he could see in the distance, they were wild grey wolves, mottled with black stripes and spots in their fur. Their snouts were down-turned as the luminescent yellow eyes glared up at him. Definitely not friendly nor welcoming, not in the slightest. Maybe yelling out into the night and declaring his presence was not the best idea. Then again, Arthur wasn't well-known for his general intelligence nor wisdom.
Trying to calm down the wolves in any way he knew, Arthur motioned with his hands towards the ground. With a somewhat trembling voice, Arthur soothed in a voice desperate not to get eaten alive by a pack of angry canines. "Hey there, simmer down now, I mean you no harm. There you go, psss pss pss, that's it..." The problem was, however, that his method was not working. The angry roadblock did not back down, not even in the slightest. Instead, they stared him down with unwavering stance. Arthur would have to try a different approach to the problem. While searching his knapsack for anything that could be used as a distraction or toy, a voice speaking into his mind broke him out of his train of thought.
"Do not pass, traveller, this area of the forest is sacred for those in need of protection. We will protect whom you seek with our lives, for we are dutybound to her as guardians of the forest. Trespass and you shall perish a violent death."
Yeah, that would definitely cause one or two problems, not that the dogs were somehow capable of telepathic communication in English. Those weren't any type of ordinary pack wolves. This was not the type of thing he encountered often. In fact, he had never encountered that kind before. This situation, then, put him at a disadvantage. The wolves, in their general nature, probably understood how to deal with a human. Arthur, on the other hand, had absolutely no clue how to deal with wolves that could speak. Maybe the key, then, would be to speak back to them. It probably wasn't though, and would leave him with the worst possible outcome. On the off chance they were somehow friendly, they'd probably just tell him to fuck off.
"But I'm trying to save her though, okay? She ran away from home and her mother is very concerned, you get that, right? I'm sure that among you, one of you guys is a mother. Mariah has a mother too, you know. And that mother, in fact, sent me down her to take her out of the dangerous forest."
The wolves looked at each other, hopefully considering Arthur's statement. One of the wolves bristled, while others emoted back. It was interesting to watch, in a way, how the animals could communicate to each other without speech. But then again, they could speak telepathically so could probably actually communicate.
WC 1021
With that in mind, his speed increased to a level of a light jog. Sure, such a thing was treacherous to do in a forest where roots upheaved any solid level ground, but so was being out here at this hour of the night anyway. A little bit of risk was worth the price of finding these two idiots sooner. Arthur reflected back to his own childhood, specifically his teenage years. Sure, he had been a rebellious little shit, but he had never done anything as monumentally stupid as this before. A sudden memory interrupted his thoughts, one of hanging out with his friends half-drunk at a relatively dangerous swimming hole. Yeah, he did the exact same type of things when he was their age, he couldn't really judge in that regard. Trying to think like a teenager, he wondered what he could find at the end of the path. If he was lucky, they'd just be drunk and needing an escort home. That's what he was counting on. He didn't have the heart to tell her poor mother anything aside from or worse than that.
Fearing the worst, Arthur raised his voice to call out to them.
"Hello? Amelia? Are you out there? I'm here to make sure you're safe. Can you hear me?"
Increasingly desperate, the Knight's voice grew into that of a shout.
"AMELIA! SCREAM OUT IF YOU CAN HEAR ME!"
Once the shout left his throat, a murder of crows cawed out as they took flight from the branch they had been perched. Definitely not ominous, not in the slightest. Sighing, he continued down the path. A pair of luminescent eyes glittered in the darkness. Arthur froze in place. The one pair of yellow eyes suddenly became many as a wolf pack's howl echoed out mere meters away from him. How had they snuck up on him? Had it really gotten that dark already? The paladin considered his options as he stood in place. The pack of wolves was standing vigilant across the path, he'd have to somehow sneak around them, and he wasn't about to take them head on. From what he could see in the distance, they were wild grey wolves, mottled with black stripes and spots in their fur. Their snouts were down-turned as the luminescent yellow eyes glared up at him. Definitely not friendly nor welcoming, not in the slightest. Maybe yelling out into the night and declaring his presence was not the best idea. Then again, Arthur wasn't well-known for his general intelligence nor wisdom.
Trying to calm down the wolves in any way he knew, Arthur motioned with his hands towards the ground. With a somewhat trembling voice, Arthur soothed in a voice desperate not to get eaten alive by a pack of angry canines. "Hey there, simmer down now, I mean you no harm. There you go, psss pss pss, that's it..." The problem was, however, that his method was not working. The angry roadblock did not back down, not even in the slightest. Instead, they stared him down with unwavering stance. Arthur would have to try a different approach to the problem. While searching his knapsack for anything that could be used as a distraction or toy, a voice speaking into his mind broke him out of his train of thought.
"Do not pass, traveller, this area of the forest is sacred for those in need of protection. We will protect whom you seek with our lives, for we are dutybound to her as guardians of the forest. Trespass and you shall perish a violent death."
Yeah, that would definitely cause one or two problems, not that the dogs were somehow capable of telepathic communication in English. Those weren't any type of ordinary pack wolves. This was not the type of thing he encountered often. In fact, he had never encountered that kind before. This situation, then, put him at a disadvantage. The wolves, in their general nature, probably understood how to deal with a human. Arthur, on the other hand, had absolutely no clue how to deal with wolves that could speak. Maybe the key, then, would be to speak back to them. It probably wasn't though, and would leave him with the worst possible outcome. On the off chance they were somehow friendly, they'd probably just tell him to fuck off.
"But I'm trying to save her though, okay? She ran away from home and her mother is very concerned, you get that, right? I'm sure that among you, one of you guys is a mother. Mariah has a mother too, you know. And that mother, in fact, sent me down her to take her out of the dangerous forest."
The wolves looked at each other, hopefully considering Arthur's statement. One of the wolves bristled, while others emoted back. It was interesting to watch, in a way, how the animals could communicate to each other without speech. But then again, they could speak telepathically so could probably actually communicate.
WC 1021
