Whuump Whuump Whuuuuuump!

My father’s sword spun through the air. Thrown with all his force, the blade embedded itself into the wolf’s side fractions of a second before it sunk its claws into my mother, killing it instantly. The momentum of the wolf’s leap knocked my mother to the ground, pinning her beneath the weight of the beast.

Now, standing before the alpha wolf, my father stood with nothing but a shield. Ajax had already moved to my mother’s side to help pick her up, not realizing that my father was weaponless and had no way to defend himself.

The alpha wolf’s lips curled into a cruel grin. Though his brethren were falling around him, he would at least be able to bring one of us down with his pack. In a storm of claws and fangs, he tore at my father’s defenses, gouging deep scrapes into the shield and sending splinters flying through the air. The alpha wolf continued its onslaught relentlessly, pushing my father to the absolute limits of his speed and agility.

Watching and gritting my teeth, I realized that my father would not last long enough to allow the other hunters to come help him. Though he was an excellent swordsman, the alpha wolf in its berserk state was simply too fast for him to handle. If I wanted to see him live another day, I would have to do something myself.

But what could a ten year old do? I didn’t have a weapon on me, and even if I did, a blade couldn’t pierce the wolf’s skin without significant mana augmentation well above my current level. I had watched Frank’s fiery sword pound down on the wolves’ time and time again to little effect, so my little blaze could do little to hurt it either.

As I wallowed in indecision, my father was slowly being driven back by the alpha wolf. The attacks were so fast and fluid that he didn’t even have time to think about escape; all he could do was desperately bring the shield to the next place that the wolf struck. In the corner of my eye, I could see Frank and Ajax finally realize my father’s peril after finishing off the rest of the wolves. They were on their way!

In the worst possible timing imaginable, not three seconds before help would arrive, the alpha wolf’s savage attacks finally broke through the shield. With a sharp crack, the shield snapped into two useless boards of wood and steel, the destroyed half spinning wildly into the air. As I helplessly watched, the wolf raised its claws for a final, lethal strike, I suddenly felt the air gather around me.

Fueled by my despair and anger at my uselessness, the air condensed into the strongest spell I had ever casted in my life.

I watched as the blast of air picked up my dad and flung him backwards, the wolf’s killing blow ripping the front of the shirt to shreds but just missing his body. With a grunt, he skidded to a halt far out of the wolf’s reach.

As the wolf prepared to leap again onto its defenseless target, eyes tunneled onto its enemy, Ajax’s hammer slammed into its snout, knocking it back. Realizing that help had arrived, and its allies were dead, the wolf howled again and then leapt away into the night. Frank started after it, intending to chase it down and exact vengeance, but was stopped by a firm grip on his arm.

“Let him go,” Mia admonished. “We can’t afford to chase it and get hurt. It knows better than to mess with us now.”

The flames died down on Frank’s sword as he planted it in the dirt. He slumped as the exhaustion of the fight caught up to him, leaning on the sword for support. Mother rushed over to where dad was, and threw herself on top of him tearfully, berating him over how dumb it was to throw away his sword.

Bella looked over from Lucina’s unconscious body. “She’ll be alright,” Bella said. “But we’re almost at Dunby’s Ford, we should stop there to let her rest. It was a serious wound, and I don’t want to make it worse with travel. Ajax, come help me bring her to my tent. I’ll make sure she’s recovering well.”

While Ajax went to help Bella, Mia walked over to me. “Alright, kiddo, lets get you to bed again. Let the adults clean up the mess.”

As she hauled me towards the tent, the adrenaline pumping in by veins suddenly dissipated, leaving a wave of exhaustion crashing onto me. Struggling to keep my eyes open, I was gently deposited onto my bedroll, and the gentle tune of the wind quickly lulled me to sleep.