The Sounder

One after the other, the gargantuan boars jumped into the icy cold water. None seemed to notice the chill as their murderous gazes were trained solely on the four poor beings who had unfortunately crossed their paths.

"What do we do?" Mairwen pulled her hood up and her face disappeared beneath Zan's cloak. The cold in her body quickly dissipated, making her wet clothes more manageable.

Renat shook off his fur and Eira recieved her armor back from the recesses of Alaron's cloak. They watched the powerful animals for a moment, trying to decide their next move.

They could run, but likely they would not be able to outrun the angry sounder when they made it through the stream. It was possible Renat and Alaron could make it with their speed, but Mairwen and Eira simply did not have that advantage.

There was the option to climb a tree, but that also seemed an unreasonable option. Boars were known to be tenacious.

Although they did not seem to be magical, the sheer number of the creatures could eventually knock down even a large tree.

Their options with such a massive group were limited and becoming more so the longer they remained indecisive.

If they were indeed not magical then they could not reason with their leader. Mundane animals did as they pleased. And by their angry grunts, these creatures seemed pleased to wipe the humans out of existence.

"We will take out the leader," Alaron announced. "If they don't have a cohesive group, they should fall apart and turn on themselves to find a new leader."

"Are you sure?" Renat looked anxiously at the hogs.

They were already halfway across. The humans had moved up stream as they talked but the animals had changed course to match. Only a little ground was truly gained by the maneuver.

"How should I know? I have never been a farmer or a pig wrangler. They are just as likely to turn to destroying us, I suppose, but I don't see anyone with a better idea." Alaron pulled out a bow from his cloak as did Mairwen.

Continuing to back away, the group tried to put some distance between themselves and the swimming animals. The pigs turned even further upstream to meet them.

Alaron raised his bow and aimed it between the two tusks of the lead hog. It was the largest and had been the first to leap into the water.

"Wait!" Mairwen touched his arm.

"Are you crazy?! They are almost here!" Alaron pulled his arm away and drew back.

"At least wait until he is out of the water and charges. Maybe...maybe he doesn't want to harm us." The princess's words were found to be false only a moment later when the boar emerged from the water and immediately began his charge.

Its gaze firmly trained on Renat, the wild hog roared angrily and lowered its tusks to impale the brown wolf.

It did not reach its target. Almost immediately two arrows landed between the boar's tusks and in the soft sockets of the creature's skull, killing it instantly. It fell to one side and skidded from its own momentum, creating a deep gash in the soft earth.

There was a pause before the other hogs of the sounder began to come up the shoreline. The four defenders moved even further away in hopes that the death would distract the hogs enough to give them a chance to escape.

The first boar reached its fallen comrade and sniffed for a moment, confusion evident in its eyes as it nudged the leader of the sounder. Two more joined the first to confirm the death and then they all gave a grunt that sounded more like a wail.

In unison, the twenty hogs that had reached the shore--the number was growing every moment--all turned their heads toward the trespassers. They lowered their heads and began their pursuit.

As a unified group, they thundered down the valley. Mairwen and Alaron raised their bows, but Eira stopped them.

"Run!" she yelled, knowing that their shooting, no matter how accurate, would not stop all of the lumbering horde.

The four split and went on different paths, hoping to confuse the vicious boars. In an unspoken understanding, Alaron banked left, Eira and Mairwen turned slightly into the trees and Renat stayed by the water's edge.

The hogs did not waver in their pursuit. Every single one continued down the river chasing after the brown wolf.

The two women and the Guardian quickly realized what was happening. They all three stopped and gathered back together at the tree line of the valley trying to discern what they were seeing.

"We shot their leader. Why are they chasing Renat?" Mairwen watched as her husband maintained a narrow lead. She refrained from calling out to him and distracting him, though she desperately wanted to cheer him on.

"They see him as the biggest threat," Eira observed. "If they catch and kill him, they may circle back to find us."

"Then I hope they do not catch him," Alaron commented. "Both for his sake and ours."

-------

Renat also realized that the boars were only after him. Even without turing around, he could smell every one of their scents and hear each and every hoof as it beat against the ground.

The brown wolf had chosen the path along the river because he could run the fastest. He now tapped into that speed to put distance between himself and the sounder. However he knew that his speed would not hold out forever.

Unlike when he outran the wolves, Renat did not have the advantage of turning away from the river and turning up into the trees. His wife and friends were up in the trees somewhere and he might accidentally lead the beasts right to them. It was best to stay along the shore.

The scientist was pretty sure that he could outrun them. He had the stamina and the will to keep himself and the others safe. That is until he looked ahead of him.

'What in the world? Seriously?!'

A short way up the valley, a pack of wolves--real wolves--was stretched in a line blocking his path. Were they waiting for him or the sounder of hogs to come into their trap?

Not that it mattered. Either way, their teeth were bared and their eyes were filled with malice.

And Renat was between the two mighty forces destined to collide.

"Not good."

There was really only one option. And Renat hated it immensely. Taking a deep breath, he prepared to dive back into the water in hopes that the two forces would be so caught up in one another that they would ignore him.

So he made a wild leap of faith.

The brown wolf's feet left the ground, but instead of coming back down in the river, they continued to rise. A watery hand wrapped around his torso and picked him up from the river where he was met with a watery face. The nymph tilted her head looking at him with a curious expression.

The wolves and boars stopped to look at the water nymph in challenge. Yet they did not forge into the water after her. They simply watched Renat, unwilling to leave him alone with the magical woman.

The nymph spoke to them, but could see her words were not understood. The beasts to which she spoke were not magical, after all. So she used her magic to spray the animals on shore like the castle servants did to stray cats.

When that wasn't enough, the watery woman sent a wave on shore to disperse the savage beasts and leave her in peace. Reluctantly, the creatures moved away, each returning the direction from which they came.

"Thank you," Renat said. As his arms were pinned to his side, he could only node his appreciation. "I owe you my life."

The brown wolf's relief at the turn of events was short lived as the nymph suddenly turned her full attention on him. Her brow furrowed. She gurgled at him and when he did not understand, her expression became dark.

Turning Renat up upside down, the nymph sniffed at him, sending droplets of water all over his back paws. The scientist dangled helplessly in the air, all the blood rushing to his head.

Somehow the water was both fluid and solid, which both intrigued and frustrated the wolf as he tried to escape her vicelike grip. The position also tickled, and he had to fight the urge to laugh.

The swirl of emotions--frustration, fear, and joy at being saved--all mixed together and lit a fire in the wolf's belly. He could feel red creeping into his vision, ready to react to the less than gentle treatment.

Spinning Renat around to look at him from every angle, the watery woman studied him closely. What was she hoping to find?

"Put me down, please!" Renat begged. He could feel control of his body slipping away.

The nymph could feel it too, for she tightened her grip. It seemed she had come to a decision. With a harsh word that Renat did not understand, the nymph turned him upside down and plunged him beneath the river.

She would drown him.