“I found it here,” he said, holding it out so she could see it better.
She took an immediate step back and her disapproving face got even more pronounced. “It looks like trash,” she said a bit too quickly, “you should just leave it here.”
“But it’s not trash,” he said excitedly. “It’s a piece of history. Some great battle was fought here against a foe so powerful that it could shatter a shield like this. Imagine the warriors that stood on this very ground so many years ago. It’s… it’s just that I can’t even fathom how wondrous that time must have been.”
“Wondrous?” she hissed back. “You think such slaughter is wondrous? What do your people know about the Ancients and their destructive ways? Do not presume to speak with authority on a topic that your people have never learned the truth of.”
“What truth?”
She simply shook her head and Kre could see that she was visibly shaking, whether with rage or with fear, he couldn’t tell.
“I want to understand,” he said, almost pleading. “Honest I do, but how can I if no one ever explains anything about this civilization except that they were once peaceful and in harmony with nature until they were attacked?”
“Who told you that piece of…” she started before she was suddenly cut off by the howling of a wolf. “Shh…” she warned, crouching low and holding her hand out to Kre to do the same. He did so instinctively, fully trusting Kitalia in any situation that made his heartrate speed up.
“Back to the hole,” she whispered, motioning back the way she had come. Kre nodded and moved to follow behind her.
Another wolf’s howl pierced the air, followed by two more in quick succession. Kre couldn’t place where they were coming from, as they seemed to echo through the forest, but he knew that they were closer than he liked.
Kitalia didn’t seem to have the same problem as she swore softly and stopped moving. “They are at the river too,” she muttered. “You and your stupid yelling cost us our hiding spot, and this ridiculous excursion of yours gave them enough time to encircle us. They have us surrounded and are closing in.”
Not that it would help in any form or fashion, but Kre gripped the shield fragment closer to his body in an effort to make himself feel just a bit safer. Wolves were not something he was interested in meeting firsthand.
“What do we do?” he whispered, mostly to himself, but also to check if Kitalia had already come up with a plan to get them out of here. Knowing her, it likely involved climbing trees and jumping from branch to branch.
“Not sure,” she said through gritted teeth. “Let me think.” It was clear she was at a loss and wasn’t fond of how it felt. Another set of howls ripped through the air. They sounded the same as the first set, but Kre swore that they seemed much closer than the first time.
As his eyes darted around, hoping that he would see the wolves before the attack came. Somehow, he reasoned, it would be better to know it was coming and to brace oneself than to be completely surprised by the attack.