The wolf’s eyes were a pale shade of blue surrounding a thin slit. All it took was a single second for me to know what the wolf thought of me.

 

Just another morsel.

 

The Wolf’s cold eyes scared me, so much so that I didn’t notice it was getting close until it was right in front of me. I pulled my feet up in an attempt to run, but nothing happened. It was only when I looked down did I see that my legs were covered in ice. Just like the boar.

 

The wolf seemed to recognize that I was struggling to get out, I swear I could see its lips curl into a smile that only grew wider as it approached. Slowly. Slowly. Step by step. Desperately I tried to grab my crossbow on my back, but as soon as I pulled it up the wolf swatted it away with its snout.

 

I could smell the creature’s breath as it started to open its mouth…

 

Thunk

 

Grraaahhhh!!

 

The wolf reeled back in pain and I could see an arrow coming out of its right eye before eventually freezing and shattering

 

Looking to the source of the arrow I could see Johnston standing there with his bow in his hands. I thought he had ran, but fuck me I am glad he didn’t.

 

“Come on, we need to get out of here.”

 

As Johnston was chipping away at the ice around my feet I could see he was sweating from what I could only assume to be fear. I had a feeling I was the same.

 

The second the ice was cleared I picked up my crossbow and bolted with Johnston following close behind. We didn’t know where we were headed, just that it was away from the wolf.

 

But we didn’t get far.

 

I could feel the air around me get colder and colder and the wolf got closer and closer before it eventually cut us off. 

 

Looking at the wolf now it had real crystals of ice forming around its fur and its mouth was curled into a snarl

 

“Luise. Run, I’ll buy time.”

 

“No you dumbass, I’m staying here. I am not letting you pull some self sacrifice act. And hey, we came out here to give my crossbow a test run, right!?”

 

“Hehe… fine. But don’t curse, you are too young for that”

 

Dumbass is focusing on my language instead of the death machine in front of us? Haha, that really is just like him.

 

We both readied our bow and crossbow respectively.

 

“Don’t stop moving, it’ll freeze your legs if you stop for too long. You won’t even notice until its too late”

 

Even thinking about it now I don’t know when the wolf began to freeze my legs, just that one second my legs were fine and then next covered in ice.

 

“Got it, I’ll keep that in mind.”

 

The both of us began running around the wolf in an attempt to split its attention between the two of us

 

Thunk

 

Thunk

 

My crossbow bolts and his arrows kept on bouncing off or getting stuck in the wolf’s fur. While they didn’t seem to do much to harm the wolf, it was certainly getting annoyed.

 

We both stayed on our feet and kept on running around, using the trees to break line of sight.

 

The wolf kept on switching between us, trying to bite one before getting annoyed and snapping at the other. If we stopped moving for even a second I was afraid one of us would get bitten for real.

 

Thunk 

 

Thunk

 

Thunk

 

“Keep at it, don’t slow down!”

 

We are doing nothing but buying time, and the both of us are running out of arrows and bolts fast. Sure we can pick them up, but some are getting dulled from hitting the hard fur. That and while we could both keep on running and dodging, eventually we would get tired. I could begin to see Johnston pant and I could already begin to feel my own chest heave.

 

“Mr. Johnston, I have an idea, but you are going to have to trust me on this!”

 

It's something small, bound to fail, but it's better than nothing.

 

“What is it?”

 

“Mr. Johnston, I am going to need you to stand still”

 

“What the fuck? What was all that about self sacrifice!?”

 

It's the first time I heard him curse, haha if it was in any other circumstances I would have broken out laughing. 

 

“Just trust me, neither of us are dying today”

 

“Aghh fine, I’m trusting you on this!”

 

Following what I told him Mr. Johnston stood in a spot out in the open, just like I was expecting ice began forming quickly around his legs.

 

Also just like I was expecting, the wolf saw the easy prey and switched attention to him.

 

The wolf began charging toward the easy prey in front of it.

 

“Mr. Johnston! In the mouth!”

 

The wolf started opening its jaw as it approached Johnston, seemingly excited to get rid of one of the annoying targets.

 

Thunk

 

Grahhh!!

 

An arrow went straight into the wolf’s mouth and got stuck preventing the wolf from closing its jaw.

 

“Keep at it, don’t stop!”

 

Thunk

 

Thunk

 

Thunk

 

Graahhhh!!!

 

Both of us began firing arrow and bolt after arrow and bolt. Johnston into the Wolf’s mouth and me into its eyes.

 

Every shot forced the wolf back further and further, the assault continued until we both ran out of arrows.

 

But the wolf wasn’t dead.

 

Crack

 

Everything we had shot at the wolf froze over. As if making fun of us the wolf smashed its head against a nearby tree and immediately shattered all the bolts in its eye. It then chomped down and broke all of the frozen arrows. 

 

It looked wounded, yes, but it was still alive. We had completely ran out of everything we had and Johnston’s legs were now frozen in ice.

 

“Luise... Run.”

 

He truly seemed desperate this time. Fuck this I am not letting this end this easily!

 

I placed my hand near my chest and summoned my dagger. 

 

I could see Johnston’s eyes widen at me from summoning my weapon but I didn’t care. This was life and death, and I sure wasn’t going to let him die.

 

I began charging at the wolf seemingly catching it unaware, the wolf not expecting its prey to suddenly run at it.

 

“Wait no!”

 

I could hear Johnston scream at me, but I couldn’t stop, from this point on a single slip up would kill me. 

 

The wolf’s eye was messed up from my bolts, something that I used to my advantage. Running to the side of the ruined eye the wolf was unable to properly see me.

 

As soon as I was in grabbing range I tried to hoist myself on top of the creature, something it was not very happy about.

 

In conjunction with the knife from my backpack I was able to use them both as ice picks, digging deep into the creature’s hide.

 

GRAH!

 

The wolf shook itself and began jumping around, trying desperately to knock me off, when it tried to bite me I raised up my leg and kicked in its already wounded eye.

 

Yelp!

 

After finally getting on top of the wolf I began stabbing into the creature’s back. It grew even more desperate, trying to run into trees and rocks to get me off.

 

Pain began wracking my body, but no matter what I kept on stabbing, my arms and the wolf’ back started getting slick with blood. Although whether it was mine or the wolf’s I did not know.

 

Awoooo!!

 

I could feel ice begin forming around my own quickly begin forming around my own body, guess this is what happens when I am so close to the thing. 

 

I pulled my knife out of the wolf’s back and climbed closer to its face, I had to make this one count.

 

Lining up my strike…

 

GRAHHH!!

 

The wolf finally knocked me off, but I had done it. My knife was firmly embedded in the other wolf’s eye. The wolf desperately began clawing at its face, pulling my knife out and sending it to the floor.

 

The wolf began squirming around biting in random directions and flailing around blindly. It was finally blind, but it was not dead.

 

I summoned my knife back into my hand and slowly approached the flailing wolf. While the thing was blind it could still easily hurt me.

 

As quickly as I could I grabbed its snout and shoved my knife into its mouth before it could bite me. With a twist of the knife the wolf went limp.

 

“Hey, you think the orphanage would like wolf for dinner?”

 

Turning towards Johnston he looked exasperated at my comment. Soon that exasperation was replaced with relief.

 

“You know, jumping on the creature’s back was a really stupid thing to do.”

 

“Hey it worked. And now we have a dead wolf and a story.”

 

After assessing my injuries and finding a way to bring the wolf’s body back with us we made our way over to the village. There were some questions and some uncomfortable wolf beastmen, but everything smoothened out.

 

Turns out, wolf tastes pretty good.