#lowf

The four of them shuffled to the end as the instructor sorted out the rest of the group. They all knew each other, but not all of them ran in the same groups. Wolf was usually with the older children these days, and Mac and Rowan were just in a different set of friends.

They all nodded to each other, and waited for the instructor to finish. Wolf was already moving a little, bouncing on the balls of her feet and tapping her nails against the arm guard. The sound was both annoying and satisfying.

“Catch!” the instructor called, throwing padded sparring staffs to the groups. Flow’s nearly hit her in the face, and Rowan and Mac floundered to the catch theirs. Wolf caught it with one hand, and looked around like she was wondering how everyone else had failed to catch it.

“Pick a partner to spar with in your group! We will be rotating sparring partners every few rounds, so do not waste time thinking about it!”

Mac and Rowan immediately stood opposite each other, leaving Flow and Wolf to spar each other.

“You do know biting is not part of sparring?” Flow asked her, and Wolf raised an eyebrow.

“Aye,” Wolf hefted the padded staff, feeling its weight. “Is it truly necessary to pad us and the weapon?”

“They do not want to risk injury?” Flow shrugged. “It is harder to hold though.” Only the ends to properly padded, the middle leaving space to hold, but it still felt restricting.

“Ready positions!”

Flow and Wolf held their staffs out towards each other, shifting to longer stances and lifting onto the balls of their feet.

“Begin!”

Flow was first to launch forward, making Wolf block and dodge, then coming in for her own strike before Flow could follow. It became clear that Wolf was both strong and fast, but Flow was stronger.

As the instructor called “Time!” Flow shoved the butt of the staff into Wolf’s chest. Wolf staggered back and tripped over her own feet, sprawling on her back as the bout came to an end.

“Per-perhaps,” Wolf panted. “That is why the staff is padded too.”

Flow held a hand out to help her up, and Wolf took it.

“Reset!”

Wolf and Flow took their positions again.

“Begin!”

Wolf was even faster this time, not wanting to be knocked onto her back again. She suddenly lunged and Flow staggered back, something primal kicking in as she looked at Wolf’s face. She’d been so convinced that a real wolf lunging for her.

Wolf then managed to swing and knock Flow’s legs out from under her. Their bout paused for a moment as Wolf helped her up, and they continued from where they left off.

“Time!”

The two relaxed, breathing heavily and faces pink under the helmets.

“Everyone, move one person to the left!”

There was a bit of shuffling as everyone tried to work out exactly what they meant, but soon Flow was facing Rowan, and Wolf was facing Mac.

The next few fights weren’t as good. Flow initially had a hard time realising why, but soon put her finger on it. Neither Mac nor Rowan were as good. They weren’t bad by any means, but they lacked the ferocity of Wolf.

They apologised when they landed a hit, almost as though it was reflex, and their hits were soft, cautious. They’d been chasing and rough housing each other for years, why this change?

After everyone had fought everyone in their group, the instructor called to the end of sparring, and bid everyone to take their armour, put their staffs back, and start gentle walking to cool down.

Flow ended up walking behind Wolf, both of them looking like their hair hadn’t seen a comb for at least a week. For Wolf that might actually be true.

The session came to an end, and the children all wandered back to their homes, but Flow followed Wolf as she walked towards the edge of the Whispering Forest.

“Why are you following me?” Wolf asked, barely stopping.

“I think we should do our own sparring.”

That made Wolf stop, and she turned to face Flow, face creased and head tilted as she thought.

“…You were the best fighter in our group,” she said slowly.

“Exactly, and so were you! So, we should spar together!”

The corner of Wolf’s mouth lifted into a smile. “No biting?”

“No biting, obviously,” Flow rolled her eyes. “We could do it with proper staffs, without armour!”

“I think we should wait on that. We are new to this.”

“We will be fine!” Flow brushed off. “We are not babies! We can handle it!”

“I still believe we should wait, a little bit. We do not have our own staffs.”

“You live with Lowf! Make some!”

Wolf opened her mouth to counter, then closed it.

“…Only if you can find practice armour.”

“Deal!”

 ---

They kept the staffs at Lowf’s hut, and Flow kept the armour in her room. She did have to ask the instructor in the end to borrow it, but the instructor was fine with it, as long as they brought it back for training.

A few months into this arrangement, the pair were dropping their staffs off a Lowf’s hut, taking their helmets off and shaking out their hair.

Lowf poked his head out of the hut, the smell of salt and herbs drifting out of the door.

“Would you two like a drink? It is rather warm out.”

It was summer now, with biting insects hovering over every body of water they could find and the days dragging on, while the heat only climbed.

“That would be lovely,” Wolf panted, tongue lolling like a wolf even as she sweated.

“Come in, it’s cooler inside.”

Flow had never been inside Lowf’s hut before, and jumped at the chance to look.

The hut was small, it seemed like there was barely enough room for two people, let alone three. To the right of the door was a small hearth and cooking pot, and Flow had to duck as she entered, as herbs and meat hung from the ceiling.

The hut itself was cluttered, with finished and half-finished carvings and their tools. There were plates and other utensils, carved from wood, scattered rather haphazardly. To the left was a pile of furs, while a basket of feathers and sticks hung just by a small window. A couple of packs sat under the window, one empty, one in the process of being packed.

The hearth was not lit, and the pot only filled with cool water, and Lowf was right, it was cooler in here, away from the sun.

Flow and Wolf found some space on the wooden floor, sipping their water. After a minute or so, Wolf flopped down, pressing her back against Flow’s side and drinking from there.

Flow looked down in surprise, half expecting to see a dog, or a wolf even, but Wolf was still human.

Even Lowf looked surprised. “Acting like a wolf without being one?”

“Too hot for fur,” Wolf grumbled.

“We can go to the River of the Diving Bird later if you want to cool off.”

“Yes!” Wolf popped back up again, making Lowf laugh and almost clashing heads with Flow.

“You would be welcome to join us,” Lowf added to Flow. “If your parents do not mind?”

“I can ask.”

“I would suggest that you finish your water first,” Lowf smiled warmly, his weather-beaten face crinkling and a leaf hanging from his curly, nut-brown hair and over his ear as though it were fixed there.

 ---

The sun was still up, although finally beginning to set when the three of them reached the bank of the river. They found a section of bank that formed a pebbly, muddy shore and Wolf ran straight in, fur and tail flying.

Flow shielded her herself from the spray of water as Wolf jumped in, and Lowf laughed and shook his head. Flow then yelped as Lowf pushed her in.

Freezing cold water splashed up as she struggled to maintain her balance in the calf deep water, and she shrieked from the cold. It was then Lowf’s turn to yell as Wolf burst from the water and grabbed his sleeve with her fangs, dragging him down too. He lost his balance and fell onto hands and knees for a moment, water splashing up and completely soaking him.

“You asked for it!” Lowf roared as he pushed himself up. He plunged his hands into the water and splashing repeatedly at Wolf, who chuffed and yelped as she dodged each splash.

Flow got caught in the crossfire, and began to splash indiscriminately. Wolf, Lowf, the trees, everything got soaked.

Lowf was still laughing, and Flow joined in. Yaps and laughs came from Wolf as she changed form with every leap and dodge.

Finally they ran out of energy and trudged back to the bank, sheltering in the shade of the trees.

Wolf didn’t turn back to human right away, fur dripping and tongue lolling as she made her way up the bank. Lowf seemed unconcerned, but Flow found herself skittering away.

Wolf wasn’t full grown, still a young wolf with gangly limbs and scrappy coat, but her shoulder still came up to just below Flow’s chest. The fur was in a shorter summer coat, mostly grey and white, with brown mantle on the shoulders, streaking down the back towards the flank.

White tipped her muzzle and paws, and a solid grey ear flicked towards Flow as she walked towards Lowf. Once she was within range, she began to shake herself dry.

“WOLF!” Lowf tried to shield himself from the deluge. “Enough! Wolf!”

Wolf didn’t stop until she stopped dripping, sending Lowf a wolfish grin before flopping down onto the grass, panting. Lowf sighed heavily and ruffled her between the ears before collapsing under a tree.

Flow remained standing, still eyeing Wolf nervously. She was relaxed now, but… but she was a wolf. She hadn’t had that realisation for a while, but here it was again.

“You are safe,” Lowf assured, with a rather defeated tone, like he’d said that many times. “She will not harm you.”

Wolf let out a huff that sounded like a laugh and her tail thumped against the ground.

Flow cautiously sat down, still keeping Lowf between her and Wolf. Lowf and Wolf looked at each other, and another huff and chuff she stood up and flopped between Lowf and Flow.

Flow froze as Wolf rested her head on Lowf, but rested her back against Flow’s side.

She slowly began to relax as she realised that nothing was going to happen. Wolf’s tail swished and thumped against her foot, and the weight was comforting. Drying off in the warm, summer air, she began to feel safe. At peace.

---

Sparring is an odd thing, it doesn't happen to everyone, but quite a lot of people, the first time they spar, with contact, they get nervous and apologetic about it. They're suddenly afraid of hurting you. It's just something that happens, and you grow out of it with practice. As for why they're doing this sparring? I assume it's a like a Warrior precursor, everyone gives it a go as a kid and they can walk away if it doesn't work for them.

@fairyofsomething​ suggested I start calling this the ACU, or Alaunus Cinematic Universe, and I'm down for that!

On another note

He charged for the door and flung it open. It was a cloudy night, and his eyes were adjusted to the low light coming from the hearth. He could barely see a thing.

“Wolf?!” he called out, trying to find his torches and strike flint. The torch spluttered into life and flared, although its light didn’t go far. Still, he held it high and cast around.

Wolf was long gone, but he found her tracks, light as they were. They spoke of a young pup, ambling excitedly into the woods.

Lowf was comfortable in the Whispering Forest, confident in the daylight. Nighttime? It could be done, but the risk of him breaking something shot through the roof.

Still, he hovered, strongly considering it. He could track her, but would he ever catch up? The longer he waited, the less likely that seemed.

With few options left, he howled.

There was an answer, the wobbly, squeaky, pup howl he recognised as Wolf’s, and a bunch of other howls joined in. He howled again, and the howls came back.

Was this a goodbye? He found himself hoping not. Despite the fact that she had been dropped into his life with no warning or preparation, he found he enjoyed the little wild thing’s company.

He planted the torch into the ground, letting it continue to burn, and making sure the falling cinders didn’t set the grass alight. He sat by the side of hut, and stared out into the dark.

 ---

He hadn’t noticed when he fell asleep, but he woke up to something trying to climb onto him.

He opened his eyes with a groan, grey, pre-dawn light showing him that the torch had long since burned out. He was slumped against the wall of his hut, neck at an angle that was definitely going to hurt if he moved it.

Still, he looked down, wincing slightly, and saw that a familiar looking wolf pup was trying to climb on him.

“…Wolf?”

She gave a high pitched chuff of acknowledgement before succeeding in climbing up to his chest. She then curled up as best she could on the angled surface.

“You came back.”

Wolf yapped quietly before yawning widely and snuggling in.

Lowf let out a low chuckle, and scratched the top of her head with two fingers. Her tail began to patter against his ribs until sleep took her.

He looked at his small charge, and smiled fondly before resting his head back against the wall. The sun was not up yet, he could sleep more.

 ---

Another moon cycle had gone by, and he had managed to brush Wolf’s hair. Once. Trying to encourage human habits was like pulling teeth.

Still, as the moon went up, Lowf wondered if she would go out again.

“Wolf?” he still didn’t know how much she knew, but her grasp on human language was getting strong. “Will you go with the wolves tonight?”

“Think so,” she turned over a small toy Lowf had crafted in her hands, before sending the small wooden hoop spinning across the floor, rattling in a satisfying way.

“They will call for you?”

“Aye.” Wolf sent the hoop spinning again. “Might want to see you.”

Lowf froze. “They want to see me?”

Wolf growled slightly, word not coming to her. “Protective. They are protective.”

“They want to test me?”

“Maybe.”

Lowf suppressed a nervous laugh. A test from a wolf? What would that entail? Wolf seemed calm about it, but what Wolf was calm about wasn’t always a good indicator.

Night fell, and the howls filtered through. Wolf bounded towards the door as she did last time, but waited for Lowf to get up and follow before disappearing through it.

Lowf took a deep breath before he left the hut. The sky was clearer tonight, so he could easily pick out the wolves who stepped out of the treeline, and who Wolf bounded towards.

Lowf froze before he got too close, watching the wolves greet Wolf with sniffs and muzzle licks. They then all reacted to something he couldn’t hear, and stepped aside.

Another wolf, walking slowly, made their way through the assembled pack. There was a limp to them, one eye looked milky and the muzzle grey in a way that didn’t match the rest of the face.

Still, there was clear respect as the assembled wolves licked their muzzle as they walked by. The old wolf reached the front of the pack and looked right at Lowf.

A shiver of fear went down his spine and he glanced at Wolf. The roles were reversed, he was looking to her on how to behave.

She seemed to realise this too, and obviously lowered herself a bit, eyes a bit to the side.

Lowf tried to copy, lowering himself to the wolf’s level, not making eye contact. Every instinct was telling him to move, to get out of there. This was an entire pack of wolves, best to leave them alone, and they’ll leave you alone.

The old wolf growled a little, and looked at Wolf. Wolf scampered over to Lowf, and turned human.

“Come to her. Legs do not work as good.”

“I understand,” everything was telling him that this was the worst idea possible. But he trusted Wolf.

Keeping low, he made his way towards the old wolf. Wolf was next to him as a human, maybe she was suddenly very aware that he didn’t understand?

“Stop,” she said, and he did. There was still a good two metres between him and the old wolf. Wolf changed to pup and stood between the two groups, ears and eyes flicking between the two.

The old wolf made her way over, and stopped so close that if he leaned forward, his nose could touch hers. Lowf still dared not make eye contact, and tried to control his breathing. He desperately wanted to run.

The old wolf chuffed and sniffed, close enough to ruffle his hair with her breath. She briefly looked away and chuffed at Wolf, who responded with a whine. The old wolf then stepped back and sat down.

Lowf felt like he could breathe again, then the old wolf lifted her head back and howled.

The rest of the pack joined in, and Wolf nudged him before she tilted her head back to howl too.

Lowf kneeled, cupped his hands to his mouth and joined in. His howls got lost in the more powerful howls of the wolves, yet he didn’t feel the need to stop. The howls blended together like a choir, those who needed to breathe fading out while the others carried on, before joining back in again.

Eventually the howls faded, and Lowf looked back at the wolves. They were all sniffing and licking each other, which all stopped as the old wolf stood up, and made her way back into the forest.

The rest of the pack began to follow, and Wolf paused, one paw off the ground and head tilted. She turned back to where Lowf was kneeling, darted over and up to lick his face before bounding into the trees.

Lowf let out a long breath, but given that he was still here, he assumed he’d passed this test the old wolf had been attempting. He tried to stand, but his legs nearly gave out from underneath him, knees trembling.

Oh.

He managed to reach the side of his hut, half stumbling, half crawling, and slumped against the wall. Seemed like he would be sleeping outside again. He could live with that.

He woke up again to Wolf clambering onto his chest at dawn, and he simply smiled warmly before going back to sleep.

 ---

Later that day, when Lowf had mostly recovered and Wolf was knocking the hoop between her hands across the floor, Lowf had to ask.

“Did I pass?”

“…Mostly,” Wolf responded. “Told her you did not know how to talk, so she was more…” Wolf growled as the word failed to come to her.

“Lenient? Forgiving?”

“…Understand…able?”

“Understanding.”

“Understanding,” Wolf nodded.

“Who is she, to you?”

“She is…” Wolf growled again. “You but girl.”

Lowf took a minute to work out what she meant.

“…She is your mother?”

“Aye.”

Lowf sat down heavily, stunned. “I met your mother?”

Wolf tilted her head, then scowled, growling. “Words!”

“Take your time,” the words were out automatically.

“She… found me. Did not…” words failed Wolf again and she growled in frustration.

“She did not give birth to you?”

“Birth?”

Lowf felt a sudden sense of dread. He was not prepared for this conversation! Especially when she didn’t have the vocabulary!

“Um, she is not your blood mother. You do not share blood. Like you and I do not share blood, but I look after you.”

Wolf nodded slowly, seeming to understand. “Aye. Not same blood, but looked after me.”

“Do you know who your blood mother is?”

Wolf shook her head. “Should I?”

“You do not have to. If you do not know, then it does not matter.”

Wolf nodded, accepting that answer.

“How long did she look after you?”

Wolf shrugged. “Long time. Always.”

“We have gone over numbers, can you work it out?”

Wolf frowned, and tapped her fingernails against the wood floor. “Wolves do not count. Just ‘one’ ‘few’ ‘many’.”

“But you can count. Do you remember?”

Wolf growled, trying to get the numbers to work and counting off her fingers. “…Four? Five? Do not know.”

“Four or five years?”

Wolf shrugged again, and went back to knocking the hoop back and forth.

Lowf at least recognised when a conversation was over, and managed to stand up, after that revelation. He was glad she didn’t tell him that last night, otherwise he would not have handled the pressure well. Caretaker to caretaker, how much was she judging him now?

His gaze went to Wolf, still batting the hoop across the floor. Hopefully, she thought he was doing a halfway good job.

---

I realise that Wolf's explanation of how wolves count is a little bit of a retcon, but it can explained away. Her full wolf name is 'The One Who Walks on Few Legs and Many Legs', which is a bit of a mouthful for human language. 'The One Who Walks on Two and Four' is easier and close enough.

Lowf passed the vibe check! I don't know if I ever actually explained why Wolf got left with Lowf. She was initially raised by wolves, but once they started to realise that she wasn't ageing at the same rate (she aged at a human rate) the wolves realised that she couldn't really stay. Wolf's mother selected Lowf on account of his closeness to the forest, and was moderately pleased that it hadn't been a terrible decision.

He rested a hand on her head every now and then, since he could not convince her to hold his hand, and he felt a bit odd about it too. She seemed to prefer the occasional, reassuring touch.

He put a smile on his face and tried to make his normal deals, as well as asking for other supplies, like children’s clothes.

One of his old friends, the tailor (so his first call for clothes inquiries), burst out laughing when he told him what he wanted and why.

“You? With a child? Lowf the Woodsman? Who swore never to settle down and just live in the woods with nothing but him and the wolves?”

“Aye,” Lowf spoke through gritted teeth. “Just me and the wolves.”

The tailor continued to laugh. “I never thought I’d see this day!” he clapped Lowf hard on the shoulder. “You tried so very hard to avoid all this, and a child is dropped in front of you! The Island has a sense of humour, my friend!”

“You could say that,” Lowf sighed heavily.

The tailor managed to recover himself, although every now and again he’d burst into fresh giggles. “You, you are in luck! I think I still have my youngest’s old clothes, hold on,” he disappeared deeper into his workshop, still chortling.

Lowf let out a long sigh and looked down at Wolf. Or… where he thought Wolf was.

“Wolf?” he looked around, and spotted her trying to clamber up the counter the tailor often used. And it was tipping.

“WOLF!” he darted forward and yanked her away just as the counter fell with a groan and a great CRASH!

“What is going on back there!” the tailor yelled as Lowf tried to calm his heartbeat. Wolf sat still in his arms for a moment before trying to wriggle out again.

“Do not dare!” he hissed, and she growled and kept wriggling.

The tailor peeked his head through the door and pieced it all together. “Are you either of you hurt?”

“We are fine,” Lowf assured. “Although I may grow grey hair sooner than I expected.”

“Children will do that to you!”

“Have you found what you were looking for?” Lowf asked, trying to stand up and keep a grip on Wolf at the same time. She was easier to carry as a pup, she was smaller.

“Almost my friend, just a moment,” the tailor disappeared into his house before reappearing holding a shirt and pair of trousers. “I cannot do anything about shoes I fear, but these are a start. They might be a little large.”

“It cannot be larger than what she is already wearing.”

Lowf exchanged the new clothes for hide, Wolf tucked under his arm like a bundle of twigs. She seemed to give up for now, and Lowf didn’t put her down again until they were out of the door.

“Stay close, please,” he all but begged. He still didn’t know how much Wolf really understood, although she was learning quickly. Wolf looked up at him, then out at the street, which was averagely busy, a few people going about their day, and stepped closer to him.

“Come along then,” he began to walk to his next stop, Wolf in step with him.

 --

It might have been too soon.

He’d encouraged Wolf to play with the other children, and only after a few minutes of watching had she jumped straight in. He thought it would be fine, he still had some errands to run, other parents were watching, she would be fine.

He then heard screaming, and one of the mothers screeching. He left his pack at one house and bolted out in time to see a little girl with messy brown hair being dragged away from Wolf, arm bleeding.

Wolf was just standing there, and Lowf rushed in to grab her before things escalated. The mother spotted him and began to pierce his eardrums about how irresponsible he was and how dare he let a child who bites around other children.

It was all he could do to apologise profusely and make a run for it.

They reached the outskirts of the village before Lowf put Wolf back on the ground.

“What was that about?” he asked, out of breath, and only just noticing the small dripple of blood coming from her mouth. “Is that your blood?!”

Wolf shook her head, her grasp of human communication had come a long way in the last week.

“Then what happened?”

Wolf tilted her head, thinking hard about the words.

“…Play… Bite…Yelp…No play… Girl bite…why?”

“The other girl bit you too?”

Wolf nodded, crouching a little.

“But you bit first?”

Wolf nodded again, not making eye contact.

“Why?”

“Play.”

Lowf rubbed the space between his eyes, and tried to call on what he’d seen dogs do when they played.

“…You got carried away and bit too hard? But stopped when she cried out?”

Wolf frowned for a moment before nodding.

“But then she bit you?”

Wolf nodded again, and the frown was back. “Why?”

“I do not know, but… do not do that again. They are not wolves, they do not like being bitten. Nor are they used to it.”

“…No bite?”

“No bite.”

Wolf whined and suddenly she was a pup, rolling onto her back.

“No need for that,” Lowf recognised submissive behaviour when he saw it. “Let us go home, we can apologise in the morning.”

Wolf whined, but got up to follow him. He later remembered his pack, but he just resigned himself to picking it up tomorrow.

--

A child. About five summers old, and apparently not wearing any clothes. Wild, grey hair draped over her back and down her shoulders, as she got to all fours, and started walking on her hands and feet.

Her face looked up, revealing bright amber eyes.

Lowf didn’t know whether to raise or lower his bow. On one hand, this was a child, on the other… magic had been returned to the island for all but five summers, who could say if this was human?

“Hello?” he spoke cautiously, and the small child’s head shot towards him.

She began to growl, baring her teeth.

“Where are your parents?” he felt like a fool asking. This was a naked child in the middle of the Whispering Forest. If she had parents, he wasn’t certain she should go back to them!

The little girl stopped growling, and tilted her head in such a way, he almost expected ears to start flopping. Which was rather silly if he was honest.

He carefully removed the arrow from his bow, putting it in his quiver before crouching to her level. Those amber eyes carefully followed every move, simultaneously very aware and not understanding.

The little girl then began to howl.

Despite her size, it was a powerful howl, mournful and questioning. As she began to howl, something changed.

Suddenly a wolf pup was there instead, howl squeaky, but still powerful.

“What the…” Lowf stared. That wasn’t possible. How? How? He can’t have seen right, he’d been in the woods too long, he was seeing things. There was no possible way that that had happened. He’d clearly just stumbled over a very curious wolf pup and the mother was likely on her way…

Why were there no responding howls?

The pup stopped howling, and suddenly there was the wild little girl again. She sniffed hard, and brought her hand up to her face. She drew it back and stared at her now damp hand.

Questioning his sanity, Lowf sat down, cupped his hands to his mouth, and howled.

His howl was not as strong, or loud as hers, he simply didn’t have the lungs, or the practice. Still, when he looked back down, she was staring at him with her head tilted. She then lifted her head to the sky and howled, and he joined in.

Two humans, or, one human and one not-quite human, howling likes wolves in the Whispering Forest. When one started to run out of air, the other would pick up, until the two howls ran out at the same time.

As their howls stopped, a faint wolf howl could be heard. The little girl’s ears pricked up and she howled right back, even though she had to be tired. There was one more faint howl, and the little girl didn’t respond.

She changed to a pup and curled up on the ground, making odd, hiccupping noises and small whines.

“Hey,” Lowf said softly, and pup’s ears flicked at him. “Come on, let’s go.”

He slowly stood up, so not to spook her, then very obviously started to leave, looking over his shoulder. The pup’s head shot up when she realised what was happening, and she scampered after the stranger.

Lowf, once again, questioned what in spirits he was doing, leading a wolf girl out of the forest like this. The wolf pack didn’t seem to be coming back for her, so it made some sense to do this, right?

Curse his bleeding heart, he could handle dogs, but children were another matter.

He noticed after a while, that the pup was lagging behind, and for moment considered if it was going to be worth the biting and scratching, before going back and picking her up by the scruff. The pup yelped in surprise, but went limp in his grip.

He shifted around under he was carrying her in one arm, and continued the walk back to his hut. The pup wasn’t too wriggly, possibly taking in the novelty of the situation, as she used her new vantage point to peer around.

As the sun went down, they broke through the forest edge, and Lowf’s hut came into view.

It was spacious enough for one person, plenty of space for cooking, sleeping, carving, crafting, whatever he needed to do. In the past, in bad weather, he would have a dog who would sleep in there too. If this pup was going to stay, then that would be all the time, he supposed.

He let out a long breath, shoving open the door with his shoulder. The hearth was cold, as he’d left it, but hopefully the stew in the pot was still warm.

The pup was asleep now, so he removed his pack, bow and quiver as carefully as he could with one hand. It took him much longer than he wanted to take the lid off the pot, find a bowl, and spoon lukewarm stew into the bowl with just one hand, but amazingly, the pup did not stir.

The sun was completely down when he finished, the faint moonlight just coming in through the window. He put the bowl and spoon to one side, to clean in the morning, and with the still sleeping pup, got settled on his furs, and went to sleep with the pup on his chest.

--

He woke to the dawn chorus, and a foot in his face.

With a grunt he managed to sit up, and looked down to see a five year old child, sprawled out on his chest and snoring slightly. One foot was pressed against his jaw, while the other trailed down his side, and her head was firmly on his belly.

Lowf groaned and lay his head back. Why, why did he think this was a good idea? Surely there would be people in the village who would take her in? Who would do a far better job?

The memory of the two of them howling in the woods crossed his mind. Who in the village would do that? They would try and tame this child, and while she had to learn how to be human, pushing aside the wolf seemed… wrong.

Wolf and human. He could cope with that.

The girl shifted in her sleep, and shivered a little. No fur, she needed clothes.

With a small grunt, Lowf carefully sat upright, catching her before she could fall, and placed her in the pile of furs that served as his bed. She slept like the dead, and continued snoring on as she snuggled in.

He scrambled around the hut, trying to work out exactly where he’d left some clean clothes. He found a shirt, a bit small on him now, although it would swamp this girl. He’d figure something out.

By now, a curious whine came from the furs, and he looked over to see that the little girl was awake.

“Good morning,” he wasn’t sure why he was talking, he wasn’t sure how much she understood. “If you’re cold, I can fix that,” he held up the shirt.

The little girl wrinkled her nose at it, and Lowf chuckled at the expression.

“I know, it is not the best, but it will keep you warm, promise,” he stepped towards her, and suddenly she bolted.

“Wait-!” he dove after her, missing as he hit the floor, skidding slightly. There was a yap, informing him that she had shifted, and he sighed heavily, knowing she was now going to be much more slippery.

“Come on, pup! I am trying to help you!” Lowf got up and dove for her again, and the pup clambered up the shelves on the side, knocking off carvings, and one carving knife, that nearly speared Lowf in the hand.

“Ah!” he yanked his hand back just in time, as the knife landed point down on the floor, juddering from the impact. He took a minute to try and calm his suddenly pounding heart before trying to grab her again. Thankfully the shelves didn’t go too high, so he was able to grab the pup by the leg and pull her away.

The pup began to shift rapidly, pup to girl to pup to girl, over and over and she tried to escape. She flailed and screamed and yelped and cried, but eventually, the shirt was over her head.

Lowf sat on the floor, exhausted, as the girl sulked, the sleeves flopping well over her hands.

“There… Not so bad… is it?” he panted, resting back on his hands and looking at her.

The girl growled and looked away.

“Hold on a moment,” Lowf got up and scanned his shelves, keeping one eye on the child. He found some twine and went back over to the girl. She bared her teeth and backed away from him.

“Please,” he pleaded, “just, stay still for a moment. This will not take long.”

The girl seemed to consider this for a moment, then turned to tried to run up the pile of furs.

“Hey, hey!” Lowf launched for her, grabbing the back of the shirt (and some hair, as much as he tried not to) and pulled her back. “Hold still!”

She snarled and shrieked as he wrestled with her, trying to bundle up the shirt and secure it so that it wasn’t trailing as much, then somehow managed to roll up the sleeves.

When it was finally done he plopped her down on the furs and sat down himself, groaning.

“I have not even eaten yet,” he looked over at the girl, who was now quiet, marvelling at the fact she could move like this, and wasn’t nearly as cold. “There! Much better, you little wild thing, you!” he shook his head and stood. “You must be hungry, I know I am.”

He walked over to the pot and lifted the lid. No doubt the stew was cold now, but it would be something. The girl perked up at the smell, and shifted to pup, running over and putting her paws up on the pot, trying to shove her muzzle in.

“No, no,” Lowf pulled her back by the scruff. “You’re a wolf, you know who eats first. Wait!”

Whether she understood what was being said, she seemed to understand the message, and for the first time, waited patiently for Lowf to find bowls. He expected to find the shirt he’d spent so much energy to put on her on the floor, but there was no sign of it.

Did clothes change with her? It would make things easier if that was the case.

He spooned a bowl for her and placed it under her nose. She wasted no time digging in, muzzle getting covered in gravy, and sending flecks of it flying.

Lowf let out a heavy sigh. If this was going to continue, he had work to do. She needed to know how to use the human language, not just wolf, she needed proper clothes that fit… his eyes drifted to the knife still sticking out of the floor. He also needed somewhere safe to put all his carving knives.

Spirits, what was he doing?

--

A little girl around Flow’s age, with wild grey hair and amber eyes. She wore one of Lowf’s old jerkins, tied around the waist with a bit of rope, but the hem still dragged on the ground, swamping her, while the arms were rolled up about ten times, just for her fingers to barely poke out.

The girl stuck to Lowf like sap, looking around with eyes as wide and bright as lamps. There was… something. Something wasn’t right.

Maybe it was the fact she barely blinked? Or hardly made eye contact with anyone? There was someone like that in the village and they were alright, but this girl…

Flow realised the feeling as she followed her mother to meet Lowf. She didn’t feel like she was looking at a girl her own age. She felt like she was looking into the face of a wolf.

Flow gripped her mother’s skirts and hid behind them, peeking out at the strange girl as the two grown-ups haggled. The other girl tilted her head at her, staring, unblinking. This time she made and held eye contact, and Flow felt such a shiver down her spine that she had to look away.

“Flow,” her mother said, gently pushing her out from behind her skirt. “This is Lowf’s… errr?”

“This is Wolf,” Lowf dodged the implied question. “Say ‘hello’, Wolf. Like we practiced.”

Wolf looked at Flow, and gave a stiff wave, sleeve flopping and barely revealing her palm. She glanced up at Lowf, who nodded encouragingly.

“I am Flow,” Flow held her hand out like her mother did when talking to new people. Wolf stared at her hand like it was a fish that suddenly leapt out of the river and started walking.

She looked up at Lowf, who tried to mime shaking Flow’s hand. Wolf then held her hand out, and bobbed it up and down without touching Flow’s hand. It was Flow’s turn to stare like Wolf was a walking fish.

Flow’s mother let out a high pitched titter that Flow had never heard before, then took Flow by the shoulders and steered her away from the pair, calling her thanks for the meat over her shoulder as they walked away, quickly.

 --

Flow wouldn’t see her again for another few weeks. Wolf wasn’t wearing Lowf’s shirt anymore, instead she was wearing slightly baggy shirt and trousers; clothes more appropriate for a child of around five summers, and didn’t look like she was going to trip over the hem every few seconds.

Flow wasn’t sticking to her mother this time. Instead she was with the other children in the village, who were running all over the place, shrieking and horsing around, as small children tended to. A few grown-ups watched, to make sure that no one got hurt, but mostly the children were left to themselves.

Wolf was standing on the edge of the group, watching the children play, and trying to work… something, out. Flow tried to watch, but quickly got drawn back into the chasing.

Then Wolf was in there.

She leapt for the older boys and rolled around on the ground, growling and getting thrown to the ground, but she bounced right back again. When the older children realised that this one wasn’t going to scream if she fell over, they began to tussle with her too.

The game began to centre on the older children and Wolf, and the younger ones got bored, wandering off back to their parents.

Flow huffed and pouted at the pile of wrestling children. She wanted to play too! She didn’t cry when she fell over either! With the deepest scowl she could muster, Flow dove into the fray, finding Wolf in the pile and rolling around on the ground with her.

She didn’t see Wolf’s face going furry, her teeth lengthening as she got too into the game. Then fangs sank into Flow’s arm.

Flow shrieked and the fangs were instantly gone. The shriek turned from pain to anger, and Flow bit Wolf right back.

The yelp sounded so much like a dog that Flow recoiled in surprise, but the game was already spoilt. The older children were screaming and the grown-ups were yelling, and Flow was being dragged back by her mother.

Lowf had also grabbed Wolf and was pulling her away, the other girl having a stunned expression on her face. A small dribble of blood fell from Wolf’s mouth, and with the arrival of stinging pain, Flow realised that her arm was bleeding.

Her mother’s screeching could only be heard by dogs at this point, and Lowf’s apologies were so quick that they all blurred into a mess of noise. All while Wolf and Flow stared at one another, being dragged away from each other.

 --

It was rare to see Lowf in the village more than once a week, but he was there the next day after the incident, knocking on the door to Flow’s family’s house.

Flow peered around the wall as her father answered the door, and Lowf explained in low tones why he was here.

“Flow!” her father called into the house, and Flow couldn’t hide her eavesdropping anymore, scurrying up behind him. On her arm was a fresh bandage where Wolf had bit her, and there were a few small bruises from roughhousing, but otherwise she was fine.

Wolf was hiding behind Lowf’s legs, peering out at Flow with those wide, amber, eyes. Flow didn’t think she was looking at a wolf’s face now. Now she saw a scared girl her age, who really didn’t want to be here.

Lowf crouched a bit, to more level to the girls. Earth brown eyes looked at Flow and glanced back at Wolf.

“Hello, Flow. Wolf has something she would like to say, isn’t that right?” Lowf looked pointedly at Wolf, who took a deep breath. Lowf muttered something that Flow couldn’t hear, and Wolf looked right at Flow.

“I am, sorry. For… for biting you,” she looked up at Lowf, who nodded. She looked back at Flow, speaking haltingly. “I… I did not know, that I was not allowed to do that.”

Lowf grinned and patted her on the back, and Wolf relaxed.

“I’m sorry too,” Flow said, before tilting her head. “Does that mean I get to say I got bit by a wolf?”

“Flow!” her father admonished, while Lowf laughed.

“If you would like!”

“And you can say you got bit by a person!” Flow said to Wolf, who blinked at her, but Flow continued on. “We can play again, but we can’t bite each other again!”

Wolf looked at Lowf, who nodded and pointedly looked back at Flow.

Wolf nodded and held out her hand. Flow took it in her pudgy, small child hand, and the two shook like grown-ups did.

 --

The first bit takes place mere days after Lowf found Wolf, and he's still getting used to it. Flow was too young to realise that Lowf was constantly thinking 'Spirits... what am I doing?'

This is going to be a four part mini thing, just on Flow and Wolf's relationship through the ages. Writing Wolf as a young child was interesting, especially when dealing with Flow. I like the idea that to people other than Lowf, Wolf was just this weird, spooky kid for a while.

Oh, and Flow definitely bragged for weeks that she got bit by a wolf! She didn't actually know that Wolf was a wolf for a little bit though. I did miss a trick not writing that realisation.