Dust to Dust: Misery Loves Company 2

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Travis spent the night on the forest's edge with the injured black wolf pup, nursing him off of death's doorstep. At one point he had tried to carry the animal inside his house, but the pup growled weakly every time he was taken away from the forest. They were both tired of being alone; and so they fell asleep, finding warmth in each other.

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When Travis awoke, he made a decision. He would leave the village. There was nothing there for him but painful memories and the dead eyes of his parents. In the forest, with the pup, there was a chance at something. At what he didn't know, but the trees called to him, and he answered. Carrying the still sleeping pup, he ventured farther in the woods, determined to sever his ties with the world behind him.

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The wolf pup didn't seem surprised upon waking. He just treated Travis like a new member of the pack, nothing special about it. Leaning up from the arms of the boy, the wolf pressed their foreheads together. The young guardian of the forest opened his connection with the woods to Travis as well, bringing him into the fold. There were no words to be said, their thoughts were so intimately connected by the newly forged bond that words were now unnecessary.

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Setting down the injured wolf pup, the duo set off to hunt. One hurt and one inexperienced, they were not ready for the danger of nature rampant. Luckily, nature was on their side in the woods. The branches gave way a bit easier, the underbrush felt a bit softer, the sounds carried by prey a bit louder, and their own footsteps a bit quieter. This was their domain, however weak they may be.

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A nearby branch fell, and Travis noticed its special properties. It was supple and strong, and curiously fell right next to a cluster of tough straight branches. The forest was arming him, all the bow and arrows needed to be complete was an animal ligament for the bow and fletchings for the arrows.

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Mentally receiving the task, the wolf pup ran off to pick up the materials. The old Alpha's cave had plenty of bounty from the prey he had taken, but it had been picked at by brave scroungers after his death. None of the looters had taken the pile of discarded feathers however; as well as the fresh leg of a deer that the wolf pup had gotten so injured trying to take. The deer's leg was bigger than the pup himself, the size difference making the pup's bravery apparent. Dragging the leg and holding the feathers in his muzzle, the young wolf returned to Travis.

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The last shaving of excess wood was peeled off the bow when the pup returned with the rest of the materials. After much cleaning, a powerful section of sinew was removed from the deer's leg and fashioned into a workable bowstring. Two knots later and Travis was holding a complete bow, a welcoming present from the forest. The feathers were affixed to the rear of the hard branches, cut down to size, and sharpened. Wooden arrows wouldn't protect the duo from the predators that stalked the darker corners of the woods, but it would earn them dinner.

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And so the boy and wolf set off to hunt for dinner, leaving their dark pasts behind them. Days and weeks passed as they grew accustomed to working together, their actions began working in sync just like their minds were after being bonded. Barely registering as separate entities, they kept the balance of the forest. They would cull anything growing to strong, and help along anything growing too weak. A razing herd of goats was picked off on at a time until only half remained, stopping their destruction of the ground's greens. A worn family of pheasants was given food and shelter for a few weeks while they regained the strength to survive under their own power.

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Adventurers and creatures too ignorant to follow the laws of the forest were stalked and killed. The guardian duo weren't very strong, but assisted by the trees they could accomplish anything. Arrows flew for unimaginable distances, piercing through eyeholes of surprised warriors' armor. Footsteps were silent as the maturing black wolf tore through the underbrush, only to leap at a mutated bear and tear at its throat.

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Over the months, the duo managed to restore balance to the area. The forest had regained its peaceful aura that the abomination of earth and stone had taken. But it couldn't, wouldn't last.

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First came the shaking. The ground heaved and the trees shook with it, some splintering under the stress.

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Next came the darkness. It flowed like an ocean, filling every crack and crevice of the woods. Even the trees weren't spared as the shadows stole inside them, possessing them with their filth.

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And lastly came the mangled monstrosities vaguely reminiscent of trees. The dark ents had come to ravage, and ravage they did. Any tree not corrupted by the darkness was blasted to chips by great swinging branches or broken into pieces by strangling roots.

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In an instant, the forest was in its last moments, and the Ranger and partner ran as fast as they could. There was nothing they could do here.

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One more chapter in the Misery Loves Company story. Maybe two. Or more. But my original plot only calls for one more chapter.

Working on the regular chapter for the day, not sure if I'll release it tonight. Might want to release the next two at once, depends if I write something or not. It's a debate.