Sole Wolfess and Kid
© 2022 by M. Mitch Marmel and Walter Reimer

(The Sole Wolfess and Aedith ‘Sunny’ Winterbough are courtesy of E.O. Costello. Thanks!)

Thumbnail art by  tegerio, color by  marmelmm



Part Twenty-six.

[Note appended to manuscript: "Your blood literally ran cold, eh? Hello, Desiderata."]

[Note appended to manuscript: “This is me, ignoring you.”]

[Note appended to manuscript: "By responding to me. Logical wolfess."]

[Note appended to manuscript: “Shaddap.”]



***


Councilor Furrow assured me that Eastness would cover the hotel bill, telling me that it was the least they could do as thanks for getting rid of Moth and recovering the Messenger Rings. I thanked her for her generosity and took my daughter upstairs. It’d been a very long and stressful day, and Aedith was fighting to stay awake by the time we finally reached our room.

Elves Don’t Lie, I was tired as well, but I made sure that she took a bath and saw her safely bedded down before I got cleaned up. Several cantrips were needed to erase the scorch marks from my clothes and close up the rents in the fabric, and I was quite weary by the time I went to bed.

I woke up the next morning to discover that she was curled up next to me, and I hadn’t noticed. Guess I needed the sleep. I gently eased off the bed to keep from waking her up. The sun wasn’t up yet (which would be guaranteed to rouse my sleeping daughter), but something had started bothering me.

Magicking my left paw to glow, I drew the wakizashi from its sheath and studied the scorch mark on the blade. I took a small bundle from my Elfintory that contains a whetstone, a rag, and a small flask of oil, and tried wiping the scorch away. The mark refused to go away, even after I tried Gramerye on it.

The sword and its bigger sister had been a gift from a very singular lady, and I was a little worried that Tali would think that I had abused the gift by letting the blade get damaged.

Still, it was earned honorably, the result of a very memorable fight against an Unseelie villain.

And I was still determined to teach my daughter how to use a sword – or, at least, how to hold it properly.

[Note appended to manuscript: “Keep the label up, or it'll crack.”]

[Note appended to manuscript: “Shaddap.”]

My ears flicked and I put the blade away as Aedith sat up in bed and yawned widely. “Good morning, Aedith,” I said.

“Good (yawn) morning, Mommy,” she said.

I glanced at the window and added, “The sun’s almost up,” and my daughter smiled.

We both offered a devotion to the Brilliant Light as it shone through the window, with me following Sunny’s lead, and then we got cleaned up for breakfast.

I wagged a finger at her as she held up her dress after I finished brushing her fur. “No?” she asked.

“No,” I said. “Traveling clothes, Aedith. We’re leaving today, you know.”

She stood there, looking at her sundress, and looked up at me. “The other one?”

I blinked, and my ears went back as I recalled. Of course, I had paid for two dresses. I smiled at her reassuringly and patted her between the ears. “In all the fuss last night, I almost forgot. Don’t worry,” I said, “we have plenty of time, and they can’t leave without us.”

Breakfast showed me just how much of a traveler my daughter had become; like me, she ate until she was full, and tucked the carefully wrapped leftovers into her Elfintory. Very sensible thing to do in case we have to miss a meal. After settling the bill (the room was paid for, but not meals), we headed for DelFurrio’s.

“Good morning!” Lisbet and Dorotea chorused as we walked in, with the anteater adding, “Thank you for helping Eastness, again.”

Aedith and I smiled. “We were happy to help, but I’m afraid that we’re leaving soon. Do you have Aedith’s other dress ready?”

Lisbet replied, “Sure!” She went into the back room and emerged with two parcels wrapped in stiff brown paper. “It’s made to the same measurements as the first one, so a fitting won’t be necessary.”

Sunny’s smile lit up the shop, while I placed a paw on the other parcel. “And this is - ?”

Both shopkeepers suddenly got all embarrassed, with ears and tails dipping. “Um, well,” Dorotea said, “It’s like this, Ma’am – we know that you’re the Wolf Queen and all, but,” she soldiered on before I could object, “we – Lisbet and I – thought that you should have a dress that matches your daughter’s.”

“Oh-h?” I asked as Aedith laughed and clapped her paws. “How did you get my measurements?”

More embarrassment. “Well . . . “ Fjordsdottir began.

“Elves Don’t Lie,” I reminded them.

“The last time you were here, you were asleep by yourself, and, well, there’s this one machine . . . “

I nodded. What Elves do with Gramerye, the Temporal Corps does with machines and technology. I peeked inside the wrapping, and the dress’s colors matched the sundress that they had run up for Aedith. I closed it up and smiled at the reindeer and the anteater. “Thank you very much for the gift.”

“Are you leaving today?” Dorotea asked.

When my daughter nodded, Lisbet asked, “Can we have a goodbye hug?”

Just a hug won’t be too bad, and the two shopkeepers hugged me and Aedith before we left the shop.


***


[Note appended to manuscript: “Oh, Missy? I gave the wakizashi to the Potts twins, and they’ve given it the once-over.”]

[Note appended to manuscript: “Oh?”]

[Note appended to manuscript: “The stain on the metal won’t come off, but apart from that the metal’s crystalline structure is completely intact. So, no trouble using it.”]

[Note appended to manuscript: “Oh. Um, thank you.”]


***


By the time we reached the State Council building, there was a single heavy cart drawn by large ants assembled, and furs were busily loading it with provisions. To my surprise, the Eastness delegation only numbered five, with two of them being the driver and his relief.

A crowd had gathered by the time everything was loaded, and horns sounded and a cheer arose as we set off to the Gate. Aedith sat between me and the driver, and she looked happy to be going home.

I think I was, too. I had guided my daughter to the place of her birth, defended her, fought against the Unseelie, although it was Aedith who deserved the credit for vanquishing him. All credit to her.

She was wearing Moth’s derby as the sun climbed higher in the sky.

I was hoping that Fuma would approve of my endeavors and might find it in Her to make me the Wolf Queen again. Well, it’s in Her paws; all I can do is continue to tread the path that I’ve marked out for myself.

Our cart led the way up the ramp to a position over the Gate, and the scenery shifted to the second Gate before the ants drew us down the ramp to make way for the next. Furs who were already clearing land to found a new village waved as the driver moved us through the woods to the third Gate.

“Stop us here, please,” I said as we drew closer to the spot, and I stood up as the driver reined in the ants. I turned and addressed the group. “One of your Councilors said that the road was growing straight. When my daughter and I came this way, there were five Gates behind us,” and I explained about the Greytor-Gate, the Island, and the Glacier. “If you brought foul-weather gear, put it on now.” Aedith pulled her hood up and I followed suit before sitting back down.

Our little caravan approached the Gate –

- And emerged on a familiar hill, with a stream running downhill into a small valley. An odd cove carved out of the stream was still there, but already silting up. It and the general deserted air of the place told me one thing, that Artabanus had found his Embrace.

He, in his pride, had designed the Great Machine that had caused so much misery. He’d had to be humbled, as had I.

I hoped that I’d always remember the lesson.

Fortunately, the Gate would reopen in a few hours, so we all took a break to water the ants. I ate some of the cheese that I’d bought. Very tasty.

The Gate reopened, and we emerged on the Greytor, with the sky overhead promising rain.

“Eala,” Aedith said, and I echoed it as we clattered down the hill.

Thank the Lady, we were home. A straightened road, indeed.

I sent a private thank you to Fuma. It was She Who put me on this path, and I guessed that it was a sign of Her favor that we Gated more or less directly here from Eastness.

A lanky roebuck in a mint-green uniform stood up from the rock he’d been sitting on and started jabbering and honking in Elfhamian. Aedith replied with a laugh, and Sixth grinned and took to his hooves. From the direction, I guessed he was running to the Master’s Lodge to let his father know.

I dismounted to watch the unloading. I put a paw on my stomach as something gurgled. Probably something from breakfast wasn’t agreeing with me, or it was nerves.

Aedith shouted, “Mommy!” and I turned to see her running toward Ooo-er, who was coming up the road.

There was no thought involved. I started running as well, and when she saw us the otteress also broke into a run and there was a three-way collision with tight hugs and happy faces.

Happy faces marred by tears, in my and Ooo-er’s cases.

“I told you I’d come back,” I said to her. She gave me a surprised look as I apparated the letter Arnie gave me from my Elfintory to hers. I knew she’d read it later.

Ooo-er nuzzled me. “I believed you. I love you,” and we kissed. When we parted, my paw rubbed my stomach again. What the Netherhells?

“Well met, wolfess,” and I turned away from Ooo-er as the Master loped up. “Congratulations on a job well done.”

I started to say something, but instead an odd sound that resembled a combination of a sigh, a burp and a swallow came out of my mouth.

And I vomited.

I suppose that it’s to his credit that the Master pooked out of the way. Of course, to his debit I heard him say, “I thought they were supposed to eat grass to prevent that sort of thing.”

I could feel Ooo-er patting my back as I recovered, and from the corner of one eye I could see Nippy approaching, armed with cleaning supplies and a shot of persimmon brandy.

Wiping my mouth, all I could think of was, “Now, what was that all about?”

Might have been the yak’s milk cheese.




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