Within the Darkness: chapter 17

Wallkery stayed at the cabin caring for her old friend and nursing it's cut. The beast had lost lots of blood and though Wallkery didn't know much about healing she knew it needed to rest until it was able to replenish its supply. While the beast was asleep in the mid-afternoon Wallkery went out and did some hunting, both for herself and her friend, who she had decided to call beast since that is how she thought of it.

That evening Wallkery lay against the side of her beast and wondered what Maradith would say when she finally returned. The more she thought about it the more she became convinced that she should not hurry back. Maradith had a habit of making the strongest people feel small and insignificant compared to her wrath.

The next few days Wallkery stayed at the cottage and kept working on bringing her beast back to full health. Beast recovered remarkably fast and within 3 days she was back to full strength. However, the longer that Wallkery stayed in the cabin the more she was unsure of how to explain her absence. The wrath of Maradith was not something that she was looking forward to.

Finally, after a week of being gone Wallkery packed up everything she wanted to keep and burned the rest with the cabin, she had decided that that part of her life was over. After watching the fire for a few minutes, she stared back into the woods to return to Maradith's home. Walking slowly, because she still had no idea what she was going to say, and barely paying attention to the path.

After walking for a while, she made it to the clearing and looked up to see Beast walking at her side. Smiling she chuckled and spoke to the wolf, "You are by far the strongest wolf I have met." she said with a look of slight announce, and pointing to the forest they had left she said "Go, you do not belong with me my Beast." the wolf looked at her with wrath looked like annoyance and tilted her head in question. After several minutes of trying, and failing, to send the wolf away she conceded and looking Beast in the eyes she said "If you want to join me then I will not stop you, as it appears that I have no say in the matter." and starting to walk she simply said, "Come."

Together they walked until they reached the clearing of Maradith's home. Pausing for a moment Wallkery and Beast stood at the edge of the clearing and looked in unseen. Slowly she prepared herself for the storm and walked to the house.