The Deer

Though his heart sinks at the thought of the fight, he knows he and the elf girl will need this food. He bolts after the deer and soon finds it can easily out pace him and soon is gone from his sight. He roars in anger as he throws the club to the ground.

A growl from his left alerts him to a near invisible white wolf that approached with all signs of aggression. He glances to his club in the snow and quickly goes to grab it, but the wolf is faster and snatches it up before he can get it. He blinks in confusion, why did the wolf just take his weapon instead of attack him.

"You are lost." The voice rang in his head and not his ears. He spun around looking for the source and soon found a much larger wolf, one nearly as tall as he, staring him down through another rising white out. "The banshee brought you here, but gave no instruction. Fool specter."

"What are you?" He spat out in utter shock.,

"The Wolf. Or rather the spirit of the wolf." It paced back and forth as it observed him, viscous glances rained from it's direction occasionally as if to accuse him of personally defiling a sacred law. "Why do you hunt my lands?"

"Uh, to survive." He laughed with a nervous grin.

"Such a thing feeds more than yourself." The Wolf said.

"There's an elf girl, she's hurt..." He tried to explain, but was silenced.

"Ah, her..." The Wolf seemingly smiled in his head. "We thought the snow would take her until the thaw." The glares became smiles in his head as the Wolf seemed to take delight in finding out about the girl.

"You're not getting her..." He felt a wild anger rising in him.

"A human protecting an elf, a northern elf at that." The Wolf seemed to find humor in this, ah, but you wouldn't know how dangerous that is, now would you."

"And I don't care." He felt as a man possessed, by what he did not know and he did not care. He only meant to survive.

"Then human, fight us!" The Wolf split apart into several smaller wolves that vanished into the white of the snow.

A sudden attack from one wolf brought him to his knees, he brought his hand down hard against it's skull and dug deep into it's eye and it released him. Another grabbed at his foot and put all his weight into falling on the wolf's neck, snapping and ending the wolf. A third rushed him while he was down, but he managed to grab the creatures jaw's and with strength he didn't know he had he snapped the jaws in half. The final wolf was faster than the rest and quickly had him pinned, growling in his face as it tried to snap at his neck. He managed to toss the wolf to the side and quickly retrieved the small carving knife from his pocket. The wolf seemed to laugh at the small weapon before it charged again, he pulled the knife up with on great thrust as it pinned him to the ground again and tore into his neck. The knife though had already ended it, tearing a great jagged gash in it's neck. It flopped to the ground as he **** himself up and back to standing.

He would not die like this and decided to see of the battle was still going. As he wandered out of view Wolf appeared on a ridge out of sight, his viscous glances from earlier having turned into a sympathetic stare. He nodded to one of the lesser wolves that followed him and it quickly snapped up the carcass of the deer from earlier.

"Use this gift well human, the banshee chose with wisdom. Your rage will end the Withering, but it will be by your love or hate that the world will survive or die." The Wolf howled into the winds.

He looked up to the ridge, drawn by the howl and saw the great Wolf. He sighed in annoyance more than defeat as he saw the smaller wolf that now carried the carcass to him. It neared and slowed, watching him carefully. A strong wind blew and kicked snow in his face, causing him to shield his eyes. When he looked down again the carcass was there and the wolf gone. Looking around cautiously he hefted the deer over his shoulders and made his way back to the tree. If he was lucky he would have dinner for himself and the girl.