The evening started peacefully after Eahlswith's return. Zilia helped Aellisia to skin and prepare the small boar that she had dragged back to the camp. Zilia for her part had long since gotten used to the animals the over five-and-a-half-foot tall wolf would bring back with her, and Aellisia didn't think there was anything unusual in the beasts her friend hunted for them. Although there was a part of her that longed to hunt alongside her again, Aellisia understood that she needed to stay close to the human given her leg injury lest something unexpected attack while both she and Eahlswith were away. And after they had finally eaten their fill and cooked enough for them to eat cold in the morning the time came for Aellisia to broach the subject she had been dreading. Truthfully Aellisia was unsure why she was so hesitant to bring the subject up, after all, she knew how important the question was to her friend. But she had grown to like the Human woman they travelled with, and the idea that asking about the events that had led to the decimation of her friend's pack might cause a split preyed on her mind. Sighing and attempting to quell the inexplicable flutters in her stomach, Aellisia decided to dive in.
"Zilia, there's something I need to speak to you about, something that you briefly touched upon a while ago."
Zilia's gaze locked onto her, a quizzical expression on her face at the unexpectedly serious and sombre tone that Aellisia was speaking to her in.
"Of course, ask away, if I can answer any questions you might have I'm happy to do so."
Aellisia nodded and met the human's gaze, Eahlswith had curled up in between the pair of them, aware of the fact that Aellisia was asking about Mathio, and her former pack. "When we spoke before you said that Mathio's father had been hurt by wolves in the forest near the town, which was why he acted the way he did around Eahlswith." Zilia nodded slowly, not sure where she was going with her questions.
"The truth Zilia, is that Eahlswith originally lived at the edge of the forest. But a certain... Incident occurred, one that led to her entering into the depths of the forest some time before we met one another."
Aellisia fidgeted slightly as she met the human's unwavering gaze.
"Her Pack, her... Family, were attacked and wiped out by humans. None of them survived except her."
Zilias gaze whipped to Eahlswith whose golden eyes were meeting hers, surprise written across her features as Aellisia continued. "Eahlswith told me that it started when Humans came to the area of the forest where she and her pack had made their home. At first, they tried to drive them away, but the humans kept coming back, cutting down the trees in their territory until finally they were forced to leave when Eahlswith and her pack injured a few of them."
Understanding blossomed on Zilia's face as she looked between Aellisia and Eahlswith before she spoke in a low tone.
"I see."
Aellisia nodded and gently rested her hand on Eahlswith's massive head before continuing.
"Eahlswith and her pack thought that the humans had left for good, but they returned, and these humans were clad in metal and bore weapons. They hunted down Eahlswith's pack, fought and killed them, whilst Eahlswith and others of her pack killed them in turn, ambushing them when they could until they had no choice but for the remnants to flee."
Zilia's face had paled as Aellisia spoke and she looked shocked as Aellisia took a moment to continue.
"But those driven out were the pups, and a few pregnant mothers. And after they encountered a monster in the woods they too were killed."

Zilia sat there silently, her shock evident as her mouth moved, trying to find words to speak.
"I know the event you're speaking about."
Her voice was shaky and barely above a whisper when she finally found the words she wanted to say.
"And I think I understand what you wanted to ask me. You want to know if Mathio's father was one of the humans who were hurt by Eahlswith and her pack."
Aellisia nodded, her face grave as her unflinching gaze was fixed on the woman. Zilia looked away for a moment to gather herself and with a shuddering breath, she finally nodded before continuing.
"I believe so. I remember the incident well as I was a new member of the guild at the time. Some lumberjacks, including Mathio's father, had been commissioned after a guild scout had found a large grove of Silver ash trees in the forest. Silver ash is a very valuable tree, the wood is often used in the making of carts, carriages, and furniture as it is easy to work with. And when it is treated and worked properly is both lighter and stronger than oak, with a silvery finish that makes it very beautiful to behold."
Zilia's voice had regained some strength as she spoke, although she still refused to meet either Aellisa or Eahlswith's eyes, instead staring off into the distance as she continued.
"At first they reported that they couldn't harvest the trees, that wolves in the forest kept trying to drive them away. But eventually, when they wouldn't leave and kept returning, three of them were seriously injured by the wolves and finally were forced to flee."
Finally, Zilia met Aellisia's gaze, and Aellisia could see that the woman did not want to continue speaking. She tried to give her a reassuring nod, but she could feel Eahlswith's bubbling anger through their bond. While Zilia had been speaking, Aellisia had been translating the woman's words and sending them through the bond so that Eahlswith knew what was being said. Ultimately, the woman slumped her shoulders and her voice shook a little as she forced herself to continue.
"The guild had been commissioned for the task, and when the Lumberjacks were injured the request got bumped up a grade or two. There was a lot of money on the line..."
Zilia's voice had trailed off, and she still couldn't seem to meet Eahlswith's unflinching eyes, but nonetheless swallowed heavily before she spoke again, seeming to dread saying the words that came next.
"The wolves, based on their size, and the fact that they attacked humans were classified as non-sentient. As Monsters. And an extermination commission was put out for all eligible members."
Silence reigned in the campsite, broken only by the occasional crackling of the firewood. Aellisia was shocked at what Zilia had revealed, nonplussed as to how the guild could have come up with such a classification without trying to ascertain what her friend and her pack truly were. Eahlswith's anger had flared up into a bonfire, and Aellisia could feel just how hard her friend was working to not scare the human in front of her as she simultaneously fought the urge to attack her on the spot.
"I wasn't allowed to take the commission, not that I would have wanted to given my own unfamiliarity with that section of the forest. But I know some of those who did and some of those who died."

Zila had hunched into herself as she spoke, and for reasons that Aellisia didn't understand she wanted to comfort the woman. She could see how much this had rattled her, saw the toll it was taking in recounting these events, but caught between her friend and the human she did not know what to do. So forcing herself to talk in a low and calm voice, she asked the next questions that had been on her mind during Zilia's retelling.
"What happened after the wolves were killed? And who put the initial commission out?"
Zilia jerked her head up and Aellisia could see that the woman was holding back tears. During their travels, Zilia had become very aware of the fact that Eahlswith was sentient and that she was at least as intelligent as she was herself. Realisation of the fact that Eahlswith's pack had been as sentient as she was, that they were not, in fact, monsters had rocked her to her core.
"I'm so sorry Eahlswith... I never knew..."
Her voice cracked as she forced the words out and the first tears began to trail down her face, Aellisia felt a sharp pain in her heart at the sight and wanted nothing more than to stop there, to comfort the woman. But Eahlswith DESERVED to know everything, and it was this fact that stilled her actions.
"Zilia, I'm sorry, but we need to know."
She put as much empathy into her voice as she was able, her hand gently stroking Eahlswith for comfort. Nodding her head, Zilia seemed to stare at nothing as she silently cried for a few minutes, before speaking in a trembling voice.
"The commission was put out by the Woodworkers Guild, and they were the ones to fund it when it was escalated. And as for after..?"
Zilia clasped her hands and tightly closed her eyes as the tears continued to spill, her hesitation evident.
"The... Pelts were sold to the guild and at least one of the heads... It was stuffed and mounted in the guildhall..."
As she trailed off and Aellisia translated the last words with revulsion and horror Eahlswith could no longer contain the building fury. She snarled at the human and shot upright, causing Aellisia to rise with her, desperately trying to calm her friend's rage, telling her over and over that the human woman in front of them was not one of those responsible. Zilia fell backward in fear at the massive snarling wolf standing in front of her, a small cry escaping her lips. Until finally, Eahlswith turned away from her to look at Aellisia.
'I need to leave for now. I understand what you are telling me. But right at this moment, I need to leave for a time lest I do something regrettable.'
Aellisia sadly hugged her friend and closed her eyes as she nodded, speaking out loud this time.
"I understand, we'll wait here for you. And Eahl I'm so sorry, take as long as you need to."
Without another word, Eahlswith pulled away, and sparing a brief glance at Zilia turned away and loped off into the forest, her mind filled with grief and pain and anger.

For a long time after her departure, Zilia quietly cried. After her friend's departure, Aellisia had come over to the woman and wrapped her arms around her in a hug, hoping to ease the woman's sadness.
"How old were the pups...?"
Zilia's voice came out shaky as she returned Aellisia's hug, her face buried in Aellisia's shoulder. The pain in her words stabbed at Aellisia's heart and she gently shook her head as she responded.
"I don't know, Eahlswith never told me and I didn't want to pry. But from what she has said in the past, they weren't very old only a few months at most."
The admission caused Zilia to clutch at her tighter than before and a fresh wave of tears to erupt. Aellisia was struck at how empathetic this human was, to shed tears over an event she had not taken part in for beings she had never met. And so she gently stroked her back and let the woman get her emotions out until finally she felt her still and relax her hug slightly.
"Is Eahlswith going to be ok...?"
Zilia mumbled the words out, pulling back to meet Aellisia's eyes with her own reddened ones. Softly Aellisia smiled at her and nodded, using one hand to tuck some of the human's errant hair behind her ear.
"It will take some time, and she knows that you had nothing to do with what happened, but right now she is in a great deal of pain and needs to try and deal with it in her own way."
Zilia nodded and ducked her head down with a sigh.
"I've heard other guildmembers brag about that fight before, and seen the mounted head in the guild tavern. I used to think that it was incredible that they managed to take out a pack of monsters like that so close to the town. I never knew that they weren't monsters, that they were sentient, that they could feel and think like I can."
Aellisia simply listened as the woman let her rambling words spill out, before shifting to the side and taking the woman into a side hug. For a moment neither of them spoke simply staring into the fire together as they both struggled with the emotions they were feeling, before Zilia gently rested her head on Aellisia's shoulder. As they both sat there a sudden keening howl echoed through the forest around them and Zilia tensed up and Aellisia felt a fresh wave of grief flood the bond she shared with her friend. The howl was long and sent shivers down the spine of the human, for even without words that howl seemed to be filled with a bottomless well of pain and grief.