Epilogue
Epilogue
“MILADY? Is that bundle in your arms what I think it is?”
Laila was the first to notice the bundle in Claire’s arms when we returned to camp. The pup was still blissfully asleep, probably still exhausted from its ordeal.
“It’s a fenrir pup,” Claire replied with a smile. “Isn’t it adorable? Leo saved it from being beaten to death by a group of trolds.”
“Trolds?” Laila blinked in surprise. “Are you sure it was wise to bring it back with you?”
“I promised Sebastian it’d be all right. Leo said she’d look after it, so I imagine it’ll be just fine. Besides, for whatever reason, I can’t imagine this little one would ever harm a human.”
“But what about all the tales of them devouring people?”
“Oh, those are just folktales. I just know this one wouldn’t do that.”
I didn’t know where Claire’s confidence stemmed from but, looking at the comfy little bundle in her arms, I had to agree. It could’ve just been because it looked like such a cute pup, though.
Laila raised an eyebrow. “Sebastian agreed to this?”
“Of course he did.” Claire turned to face him. “Didn’t you, Sebastian?”
He nodded. “I provided several conditions, of course, but I allowed it.”
“In that case, I suppose it might be all right.” She nodded to herself, then turned back to the pot on the fire. “It is rather cute,” she mumbled as she started spooning out dinner.
I was hungry after all that had happened, and the others seemed just as eager to eat as they formed a line. Dinner was orc again, alongside a simple soup with a few scant veggies on the side. Despite having eaten orc time and time again during our trip, it had a calming, homey flavor to it, so I ate with the same enthusiasm I had on the first day.
As we all ate, Phillip and Nicola reported the day’s findings to Laila and Johanna. Phillip especially got really excited when it came time to talk about my Herb Cultivation, and I got the impression that he exaggerated more than a few details, but I didn’t cut in. I didn’t want to rain on his parade, after all. I just wished that Laila and Johanna wouldn’t look at me as if I were some kind of superhuman as he talked. It was more than embarrassing.
“Are you sure you want to leave now, milady?” Johanna asked Claire after the report was over.
“Yes, I’m quite sure. We’ve already stayed longer than I told the other servants we would, and I can’t imagine we would be any more successful than this. This little one is living proof there are fenrir left in these woods.”
“You have a point,” Johanna nodded. “I haven’t heard of anyone entering the depths of this forest since the founder’s time, but the fenrir are still there, it seems.”
“Exactly. To tell you the truth, I was hoping to meet a silver fenrir like the founder had, but this is enough for today.”
“If you insist, milady, I won’t say anything more about it.”
“That’s that, then.”
With that, we finished our dinner and relaxed, having finally accomplished everything we set out to do.
🐾🐾🐾
AFTER our midnight meal, we rested a while around the fire. Just when we were about to start watch, however, the bundle Claire was holding started to rustle, then it whined once.
“Well, look who just woke up,” Claire smiled.
The little fenrir opened its big eyes. It looked up at Claire’s face. Leo, realizing it was awake, stood up from where she’d been sleeping beside me to say hello.
The sight of both Claire and Leo at once, though, prompted it to retreat into its blankets. “*Whimper*…”
Considering Leo’s size, I’m not surprised.
“It’s all right, sweetie,” Claire cooed as she patted it on the back. “Leo’s not going to hurt you. She’s not a mean silver fenrir.”
“Arf…?”
Leo gently leaned in and gave the fenrir an affectionate nudge.
“Arf? Arf, arf?”
“Ruff, ruff.”
They exchanged words. I couldn’t understand what the fenrir was trying to say, but Leo was saying that it was safe now. The pup broke eye contact with Leo to warily look around the camp, as if looking for something.
“Arf… Arf-arf, arf?”
“Woof? Woo-woo-woo.” There was a worried tone in Leo’s voice.
I wonder if it’s looking for its parents?
The pup sounded just like Leo had right after I took her in. She was too weak to hear clearly through the rain back then, but I could tell that she was looking for her family.
Leo left the pup and plodded over to Laila. “Ruff… Woo, wroo, wruff.”
“Is everything all right, Miss Leo?”
She peered into the pot. “Woof?”
“Leo’s wondering if there’s any food left,” I translated.
“I understood that one,” Laila reassured me. She then turned back to Leo. “I’m afraid that dinner is all gone, but if you’d be willing to wait a short while, I could prepare something.”
“Ruff!”
Laila pulled some of the remaining orc meat out of one sack, then a few scraps of vegetables out of another.
We really were low on veggies, huh… Orc is tastier than any pork I’ve had, but it’s gotta have a side or something. There’s nutrition to think about, too.
As soon as Leo saw Laila begin cooking again, she walked back over to the fenrir and gave it a little nudge.
“Woo, woo. Ruff.”
“Arf?” It started squirming happily. “Arf-arf, arf!”
“Is she alright, Miss Leo?”
“Ruff, woof-woof.”
Leo’s ears drooped for a moment, then she mimed chewing.
“She says the puppy’s hungry.”
“Ruff.”
“Oh, I see. That explains things.”
Makes sense that Leo would go to Laila, then. She’s been cooking for us this whole trip.
That might mean, then, that the fenrir was looking for food instead of its parents. I felt more than a little silly for assuming it was like Leo and getting all emotional. I didn’t actually say anything, so I didn’t feel too embarrassed about it. That didn’t necessarily mean I was wrong either, though.
I shook my head clear and decided to have a word with Laila.
“Do you think you can make it a little lighter on the stomach than usual, Laila?”
“Hm? Is there some reason I shouldn’t prepare it as I always do?”
“The baby fenrir’s the one that’ll be eating it, after all. Also, it was pretty seriously injured when we found it, so it might not have a lot of stamina left. Better safe than sorry, right?”
“All right, then. I’ll try to make it easy on the stomach.”
“Thank you.”
With that, I went back to where Claire and Leo were sitting. The fenrir appeared totally used to Leo now and they were snuggling and licking each other. As I watched, Claire held a finger out in front of the pup’s nose.
“Arf? *Sniff*.” It hesitated for a moment in confusion then started sucking on her finger.
“Hehe, that tickles!”
Uh, Claire? You realize how easily that could’ve gotten very, very bad, right?
Fortunately, it wasn’t using its teeth, instead, sucking at her finger the way it might at a baby bottle. As Claire giggled, I could hear Sebastian and all the guards let out a collective sigh of relief.
Given its size, I’d assumed it was a few years old. But it might really be a puppy, especially if it still had the urge to suckle when it got hungry. Even if it wasn’t supposed to get as big as Leo was, it’d probably be pretty big as an adult.
“Food is ready,” Laila called out. “You can come get it anytime, Miss Leo.”
Leo readily stood up, grabbed the now-clean wooden plate she’d used at dinner and carried it to Laila. Laila filled it with food. Leo tried to carry it back but realized after a moment that her jaws weren’t quite nimble enough to. It’d tip if she tried. She was giving Laila a pitiful look when I came to help.
“Here, let me carry that.”
“Oh, thank you,” Laila said. “My apologies. I should’ve asked you from the beginning.”
I smiled at her moment of airheadedness as I carried it back to the pup.
“Woof, woof.” Leo bowed politely to Laila.
“It was the least I could do, Miss Leo,” Laila replied politely.
Good girl, Leo. I’m glad you remembered to say thank you.
I brought the food closer to Claire, and the fenrir pup seemed to instantly pick up on the smell. It eagerly sprang out of Claire’s arms.
“Oh.” Claire sadly looked down at the empty blankets in her arms.
“Hold on, there!” I shouted to the pup. “You’ve gotta calm down a little! It’s still too hot for you!”
“Arf-arf!”
Either it didn’t understand what I was saying, or it was too hungry to care. It started running circles around my legs.
“Here, why don’t you feed the pup, Claire?” I held the bowl out to her. “Make sure the food’s cool enough that it doesn’t get burned.”
She hesitated. “Are you sure?”
“I don’t know how much Leo helped calm it down, but it seemed more than happy to sit in your arms. In fact, I think it’s starting to get attached to you.”
“Y-You really think so?”
“Yeah, I do. I know you’ll do great. Here.” I handed her the bowl
I couldn’t blame her for feeling hesitant. She’d probably never cared for an animal before. I encouraged her to blow on the food to cool it down. The whole time she was hesitating, the fenrir was running around us and yipping.
“Grauuuul!” Calm down! Leo said.
“Yipe?!” Its eyes flew open with fear, then it immediately sat down.
Wow. Leo can be harsh when she needs to be.
“Go ahead, Claire,” I encouraged her.
“O-Okay.”
She started blowing on the food and, as soon as it was cool enough, she put it down. The fenrir looked up at Leo nervously.
“A-Arf?”
Leo nodded. “Ruff.”
The fenrir’s red eyes gleamed with joy as it pounced on the food.
Claire watched it eat with wide eyes. “Do you think there’s enough?”
“I’m not sure. It definitely wouldn’t be enough for Leo, but at its size, maybe.”
I became less sure as I watched it scarf down the meat, though.
There was still a bit of meat left, wasn’t there?
“Laila? Can we ask for seconds on that grilled orc?”
“Of course,” she replied.
If the fenrir couldn’t finish it all, then I was sure Leo could handle the leftovers. It looked like it could handle solid food just fine, too.
For a while, we all watched the fenrir eat in silence.
Hey. I see you drooling there, Leo.
“Are you hungry, too?”
She gave me a sorry look. “Wooooo…”
After all that had happened, the usual helping of sausages must not have been enough.
“Laila? If you don’t mind, could you—”
“Not a problem. I’ll begin grilling some for Miss Leo as well.”
“Ruff! Ruff!” Leo started wagging up a storm.
Not so hard there, Leo. You’re making it hard for the little pup to eat.
After a while, both Leo and the fenrir were digging into the second course of meat. The sheer difference in their sizes made them look like parent and child, especially when they sat side by side so nicely.
I had a feeling the pup would want more meat.
It ate a lot for such a little guy. Given all that it had been through, though, I wasn’t too surprised. It needed all the energy it could get.
Claire giggled. “They have quite the appetites.”
“Yeah, they do.”
They both finished eating before long, and Sebastian and I went to wash the plate afterward. By the time we returned, we found the fenrir sound asleep in Claire’s arms once again.
“My word,” Sebastian said. “Asleep already?”
Claire nodded. “Yes. I imagine having such a full belly must have tuckered it out, the cute little thing.”
It was probably still recovering, after all. She smiled as she looked down at it, and I could tell she’d already gotten attached.
After that, Phillip and Nicola stayed on first watch while everyone else returned to the tents to sleep. The fenrir refused to leave Claire, however, so Leo ended up sleeping right beside the women’s tent just in case.
I’d better get some sleep while I still can… I’m on watch next.
I crawled into the men’s tent and, after saying goodnight to Sebastian, I wormed into my sleeping bag. Tomorrow would be another busy day as we headed back to the mansion. I’d best be ready for it.