The soft snore from Duha made me smile. She falls asleep quickly. I looked down at the drawn face of the child in my arms. I hate to think of this little guy crying hungrily in the foundations of a building all this time. He stopped eating and I sighed. It will take a while before he will be able to eat properly. I wonder if that contraption is still here.

Looking over at Duha, I could see she was fully asleep, so I stood and walked out of the room to the third door on this tiny landing. It opened in a room that had all the baby things in it. I laid the boy in the cot and started rummaging through the cupboards and draws.

"What are you doing?" I jumped and turned at Duha's voice behind me.

"Ahh... Duha I thought you were asleep."

"I was until you left the room." She walked up to the cot looking down at the boy.

"We had something to help children like him. I know it was in this room."

Duha lifted the boy out of the cot and stood watching me. "What is it you are looking for?" She asked watching me dig through the draw full of cloth nappies. I stayed quiet as I continued to look, not wanting it to fall out and break. Duha smiled. "The lady that ran this place, she let you take care of the little ones didn't she?"

I rolled my eyes opening the draw next to me. "Yes, she... ahh here it is." I said as I pulled out a metal device.

It was a glass bowl and a spout. The spout had a long tube. The bowl had a lid and a handle that went into the bowl and was attached to a flat disc. I walked back to the other room. Duha followed after a moment stopping in the doorway. "And what does that do?"

I looked up from what my hands were doing. "It gives them a way to drink milk. I don't know how it works exactly but I did have to use it."

Duha came closer to watch as I set it up. I filled the bowl with a small amount of milk and pushed the handle down, making the disc force the liquid into the tube. I brought it over to Duha and put the tube into the boy's mouth. He started drinking hungrily.

"That is clever."

I nodded working the handle up and down to keep the milk flowing. "It is. The bowl is small to limit their intake too. If they have been starving, then you can overfeed, making them cry for hours."

Duha patted my head. "And you said you didn't have skills."

I looked up at her as the bowl emptied. Duha was grinning at me. I saw the pride in her eyes. "What are we going to do with him?"

Her smile slipped from her face as she looked down at the boy. "He will have to come with us."

She sifted him to her shoulder rubbing his back. "You sure?" I asked.

She frowned at me. "What else would we do with him?"

I shrugged, and Duha shook her head at me, laying him on the blanket on my bed. She raped him up; as I got close, she picked him up and wrapped the blanket around me, tieing it behind my back so the boy sat against my chest. "Come on then. Let's get our things and get to that farm." Just then my stomach growled loudly. "Maybe we should feed you first."

I shook my head. "No, we can eat when we get there."

She picked up her bags and nodded. "Alright let's go."

Duha picked up my bag, helping me into it. As soon as she had adjusted it she walked out of the room with me following. Before long we were back out into the night as a cold breeze blew through. Duha looked off at the lights of the people camping nearby. "They will smell us." She whispered.

"Aren't we going to join them?" Instead of answering me, she walked west.

I hurried to catch up with her long strides. Soon we were walking side by side through the village. The place being this silent and broken didn't hurt as much as it had. I looked around at the places and saw the people moving around in my mind. None of them deserved this. I dread to think what happened to all these people. The tavern caught my eye as we passed the street that it sat at the end of. It was partly collapsed. Even he didn't deserve this. If only the army had sent someone for some wine. I thought, shaking my head. I have no more tears for this place.

Duha saw me shake my head and looked down at me. I turned from the sight of the tavern to the path ahead. Just like Duha said. We move on. Ahead of us was the edge of the village and the dirt path to Michi's farm. We stopped at the last burnt-out building. I looked out over the freshly dug graves and markers.

Duha dropped to her knees and looked over torn-up ground. She tilted her head back howling into the sky. The sound was full of sorrow. The boy stirred in his sling so I rubbed his back to calm him. She howled again then bowed her head. Something caught my eye, and I moved to one of the markers. I saw a bracelet made of glass beads.

I picked a flour and placed it on her grave. "We will do our best for him." I said to the mound of earth.

Duha was following me with her yellow eyes. She stood and came over to me. "We can do no more for them."

"Why did you howl?" I asked looking up at her.

She put her arm around me and walked us away from the graves toward the dirt path. "It's what Wolves do to mourn, Pup." Her tone was soft as she led me towards the trees.

We walked along the dirt track away from the village leading to the farm. I frowned at the hoof prints in the dirt and the occasional horse dropping that looked a few days old. My hackles rose the closer we came to the farm. The bandits... did they come this way? Is that what they meant when they said the bandits went north?

Blood scent touched my nose as we got within sight of the farm, making me stop. Katja opened her mouth to talk but I hushed her. She nodded looking confused. I put her into a deep shadow of a tree and told her to stay with a hand. Putting my bags with her I pulled out a long knife. Her eyes were wide looking at the knife in my hand. I smiled at her and gestured to her to stay; she nodded, clutching at the boy.

I turned and moved slowly towards the smell. Dam this form! It is big and lumbering. No silent creping in human form.

The farm loomed in front of me. I crouched in the bushes watching the house and other buildings. Everything was ominously dark and still. I could hear movement but it was just animals. The blood smelt fresh like it was spilt today, filling me with dread for the farmer I knew. If this was bandits the animals would be dead too... something is wrong here.

Creeping around the edge of the cleared area so I was behind the house, I saw nothing out of place. That is bad! Why would there be living animals and nothing out of place if the bandits attacked here? I can see the hoofprints from the bandets, but... it doesn't fit.

I took a slow breath as I moved out of the shadows towards the blood smell in the barn. On I crept from cover to cover moving closer to the smell that filled my nose. I was about to move again when something shiny and sharp pressed against my neck. "What are you doing creeping around my farm?" A low voice whispered in my ear.

I turned my head slowly looking up at the owner of the thing at my throat. I followed the scythe blade up the handle to the large man on the other end. "Gorilla, It's me lone Wolf." I whispered back.

"What are you doing sneaking around my home?" The blade pressed into my neck more leading me to frown.

He is not usually this aggressive. What is going on with him? "I smelt blood and thought you had been attacked. I came to Investigate."

He frowned at me. "I was attacked.."

"So was the village. I rescued a couple of humans and came here for help."

He moved the blade from my neck, straightening and giving me his usual frown. "I see. Are you going soft Wolf?"

I stood straight and adjusted my shirt. "No Gorilla. I haven't changed."

He poked me in the chest. "I don't see your human face often Wolf. That is a change in itself."

I growled and he grinned at me. "I will fetch my humans."

He fell in beside me as I moved away from the cluster of barrels that I was hiding behind. "Your humans?"

I sighed. "They are Pups. Someone needs to take charge of them, it might as well be me."

He frowned shifting his shoulders. "Are all the rest dead?"

"All of them."

He shook his head. "These humans are so... aggressive." He said as we rounded the house and started to cross the garden that had been trampled.

"And they call us beasts." I muttered. He chuckled as I stopped near to where I left Katja. "Come out Pup."

She stood from behind a bush and came over looking relieved. "Michi! The village... it was...." She started as he crossed his arms.

"You saved this one?" Michi said through gritted teeth.

I sighed. "You are a fool to disregard her." When he had spoken, Katja's eyes hit the floor, and she looked... submissive. I put my arm around her making her look up at me. "She has more skills than you know."

"I know she can't farm."

I grinned. "She is a very fast learner. Let's go back to your..."

"I'm leaving the farm." Gorilla growled.

My smile slipped. Did a spider visit him too? "You know about Dragon?"

He shook his head. "Why are you talking about myths?"

Myth? No, he doesn't know! "He is no myth. I saw him."

He uncrossed his arms and sighed. "Let's go to the farm and talk then."

He turned and we started walking back to his farm. "Are you a beast too Michi?" Katja asked in a innosont tone.

He gave Katja a withering stare. Why does he still try to hide it? "He is a Gorilla."

Michi glared at me. "Why would you say that?"

"She knows what I am. I don't see what the problem is." I said with a shrug.

He bared his teeth. "She is human!" He said human like a swear word.

"And what is this human going to do to you, or me for that matter? If we wished it we could kill her in seconds. She can't fight." Katja flinched at that holding the boy in to her chest protectively.

Michi growled as we crossed the threshold of the farmhouse. "You said you need help. State your business and then I will go." He said sitting on a stool at a table.

"We found a baby half starved and we need milk for it to survive. Do you have any?"

Michi nodded. "Have the cow. I only have one left anyway. The others were killed by bandits. That is why I'm off. The blood you smelled was me butchering all the meat I could to sell. I need money if I'm going to travel."

"Dragon is telling us all to meet at North Pass Cave." I said, taking the seat opposite to him.

He grabbed his bag. "Why do you believe in this myth?"

I sighed. "The queen of Spiders told me of the Dragons call and I saw him in a village. He is real! I smelt him, he stinks of fire and brimstone. I've never smelt a anyone like him. I think he wishes to bring us in. They are camped just outside the village we came from. There is a large group of our kind there. He is there."

He sat down at the table again looking curious at my story. "I think I will go and milk the cow." Katja said softly offering me the boy.

I took him and she left the house. I frowned as I looked over at Gorilla. He was staring at the child in my arms with a frown on his face. "He wants to fight them?"

"I don't know, it's likely as they took the time to bury all the innocent humans in that village."

He stood again. "I will go to them, it's better than offering my services to the army's. I might at least die for a cause worth dying for. I'll leave you some of the meat." He walked to the door and stopped looking over his shoulder at the boy in my arms. "Humans are the only things that kill their own like this. They chase them and hurt them in ways I hate to think about. Then they leave their bodies to rot. They can't even respect their kind. We have lived alone a long time Wolf. Maybe we should both go to them. You could bring the cow and we could all join that group."

"That is what Katja wants... I still have my reservations."

He grunted and shifted his bag to his other arm. "We have talked often about your reluctance to find yourself someone. It seems you weren't looking for a mate, you were looking for a family. Those are hard to keep safe alone. I will watch for you, and when you are ready to ask for help, come find me. I have never turned you away, and if you keep these... pups, then you will need someone to watch your back. I will do that... if you will let me." With those words, he left.

I sat there staring at the now-empty doorway. What did he mean by that? He always talks to me like that. Why would I want a mate when most of our kind have shunned me? Maybe it's the...

Shaking my head I looked over the house. It was intact other than a few marks in the door from the weapons used to try and get in. There were plates and cups, a nice stove, a comfy bed and supplies here. We could use this place to get Katja's strength up. We could sell the meat and any tools here to the other farms. I could buy a horse and fix up that broken cart I saw in the headgerow.

"I think he likes you." I sighed at Katja's voice bringing me out of my head.

"He doesn't like anyone." Looking over at the doorway I saw her with a bucket of milk.

She walked into the room putting the bucket on the floor. "He liked some of the villagers."

I flapped my hand at her dismissively. "Let it be Katja. I'm trying to think."

She smiled at me as she fetched bottles to fill. "What are we going to do now? I know you don't want to go with them."

Just how much did she overhear? "It's not that I don't want to it's that I..." Words failed me as I remembered my family.

Katja stopped filling the jug she would use to put the milk in the bottles. She looked worried as she watched me. "Did I overstep?"

I shook my head. "No... painful memories come with the idea of connecting with my kind."

She sat with her hands in her lap now that I had opened up a little. "What happened?" She asked softly.

I growled and stood. She shrank away from me. I walked to the bed and lay on the soft mattress. It smelt of Michi but I tried to ignore that as I put the boy down next to me. "Sorry." I growled again at Katja.

"You just seem.." Katja started.

I rolled over to face the wall taking the boy with me. She sighed, and after a moment, I heard her pouring milk again. I yawned listening to the sound of liquid pouring into glass bottles. Why is everyone trying to get me to talk about things best left in the past? I don't want to think about that any more.