Something in the boy's voice jolted Angelus wide awake and he sat up to see a very sick wolf walking around a few feet away from the boy's blanket. Half of its hair is missing, and its skin has shrunk over its bony ribs, making it look like a monster. It looked as hungry as the boys, its bare teeth gleaming in the morning light.
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Okles climbed out of the traveling rug as clumsily as he could and rushed towards the wolf, yelping. He walks close enough to let it know he's serious, but if it tries to run, he stops and lets it run away. It took a few steps back, then raised its mane and growled at him. He shouted at it again, but it didn't move.
He kicked forward sharply, but the ball dodged. The wolf crouched down and prepared to attack, and Ankrex raised his arm to be bitten by the wolf. The wolf took the bait, jumped up and grabbed him, throwing him to the ground. But Androx was faster, and he was ready. At the last second, he pulled his arm away from its jaws and grabbed its throat with his other hand. As soon as he felt he had a hold on it, he grabbed it hard around the neck with both hands and held it out of reach to avoid being caught in its claws. After cheering up, he quickly changed his hands, rotated the wolf's body, and broke its neck like a chef killing a bird. He tossed the body through the bushes so he wouldn't have to look.
It seemed to Androx that the boys' horrified expressions turned into one of hero worship, so he grinned and acted like it was no big deal, just to impress them further. "What's that look? All I did was kill a wolf," he said.
"How did you do it?" asked the white one.
"Obviously, I grabbed it and twisted its neck. Didn't you see?" Androcks said, very pleased with his joke.
The two boys stared at him in confusion for a moment, and then the black man said, "No, we mean, um..."
"I know what you mean. Wolves aren't that dangerous alone. The only really dangerous part of them is their teeth. I'm three times heavier than him, stronger, with two fists and two legs. I'm also smarter. One A single wolf is no threat to a fighter like me. Ten wolves," he explained.
They didn't respond, looking like they were hesitant to believe him. There was no doubt that everyone they knew was a coward, hiding from the wolves instead of fighting. Androx walked toward the center of the intersection for a moment, looking in every direction for more wolves, but saw none. At that time, it was lonely. A sick wolf abandoned by the pack.
He quickly noticed that it was still cold and hurried back to his travel rug, hoping the warmth hadn't left yet. It doesn't. "Nothing more, kids. Go back to bed," he said. Then he sat down and closed his eyes, hoping to rest for an hour or so before the adrenaline wore off.
But after a while, he felt a hand on his chest again. "What happened this time?" he asked.
"I have to make some water, Master Androx," Kit said meekly. "I know you want to go back to sleep, but you asked me to tell you."
"I must do the same," said the black one.
Andrew sighed and sat up. "Did I say that? I guess so, didn't I? I guess I gotta take you," he recalled. "Gods, it's so cold this morning." It's too cold in the north. Are you warm?"
"Yes," they replied in unison.
"Very good," Ankerex said, climbing out of the traveling rug for the second time and standing up. He'd been too distracted by a wolf to notice it, but his whole body was stiff and sore enough to make him flinch. so cute. He thought that he was hit too hard by the shield yesterday. It’s best to be grateful for these kits. It's their fault.
"Here, crawl out on your side so the blanket doesn't fall behind you. That way you won't be too hot when you come back," he said, helping the children take off their blankets. He pulled the black one to his feet and was surprised to find how light he was. He was so weak and unsteady on his feet that he couldn't really walk, so Androcles held the boy at his side and lifted him up. The white one was less swaying as Androx pulled him to his feet, but he still held on to Androx's hand, just in case. The white one lost its balance a few times and almost fell over, and the black one was more or less being carried, but it made it.
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Okles led them to the edge of the clearing, and the three of them stood side by side drinking water, like old friends holding each other after a night of drunkenness. Neither pup is producing much moisture, which may mean their bodies are absorbing water instead of rejecting it. It wasn't long before their thin bodies began to tremble too, and they hurried back to the bed instead of getting out of it, and once back on the bed they were huddled together.
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Okles made the fire bright again, ate a biscuit, and gave the little goats some new wine and honey. As morning came, between feeding and watering the kid, he hung out the bandits' clothes and hides to dry, sharpened his sword and Pansy's knife, and spent half an hour stretching and strengthening practise. Although he carefully watched every shadow for more wolves, the danger seemed to have passed.
By late morning the hot sun had burned away the morning chill, along with the mist in the sky, in a most pleasant way. Finally, when the little penguins pushed the blanket aside and soaked up the warm sunlight like lizards crawling on rocks, A
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okles came over and took a moment to compare them. They looked calm and content, and he could see signs that their bodies were responding to his care. Their stomachs were starting to get rounder, but that's because a hungry person's belly is like a heavy cart and it takes them a while to get moving again. They will rise like a cake but will flatten out after a few days. The black man's feet also began to swell; his body didn't know where to put the water. This is normal. He doesn't see any new open sores or rashes, which is good. Sometimes the skin of the hungry man starts to peel off, but the kit looks healthy enough.
He spent the afternoon digging through bags filled with grain, flour and beans, looking for merchants' silver. Although he searched through all the sacks twice, he still couldn't find it.
That night he cut himself a cloak from red cloth and managed to sew the edges before dark. He used a buckle from an old cape because the Silver Lion from his military service was too sentimental to let go of. Someone might recognize him and call him an ally, even in barbarian lands. After all, no one can tell.
It was an uneventful day for the cubs. They eat, they sleep, they make water a few times, they keep themselves. Somehow it made him feel lonely, as if he should be entertaining them. His mentor Diokles certainly does; the man's love for children is out of this world. This was lucky for the lost, sad boy all those years ago.
As these memories resurfaced in his mind, a wave of anger, resentment, and regret came over him; Diocles taught him not to be consumed by loss and anger, but these emotions never completely left him. Diocles was the father Androcles needed, preparing him for the army and giving him his first spear. This is exactly the kind of person Anchorex needs in his life. It was like this with all his friends, they all took a piece of him with them when they died.
These kits need people too, people like Androcks. But as pretty as the pups were, or would be after a few weeks of steady food, he didn't want them to like him. The best thing for them would be to find someone to take them in, someone other than him. A wanderer who doesn't need to keep his vows. He didn't want to like them either, for the same reason. Still, the three of them seemed a little lonely as they passed the time quietly.
So that night, as they sat around the fire, he sang his army songs, even though he had no harp or drum to accompany him. He had a military voice, not a choirboy, but he sang pretty well. He begins with the Battle of Seikopolis, which he fought in as a young man; the melody is lively and cheerful, and the children seem to enjoy it. Then he sang two love songs that Della had taught him; they had a strange tone but were easy to remember.
Then he was quiet for a while, thinking about what to sing next. Both boys turned their heads towards him, looking at him expectantly, clearly hoping he hadn't finished. He noticed for the first time that he found their emotions surprisingly easy to understand. Maybe all kids are like that.
But he could only think of one last song, an old song he had sung many, many times. In fact, it had no name and the military simply called it the Hymn.
Live and shine; don't suffer. Life is short and time has its price. Dance your heart out, sing your heart out, drink your heart out, eat your heart out, for death will come one day.
When he finished, he felt a little sad; he had sung that song on the graves of those irreplaceable friends. He thought of the aromas of the harvest and the rich wines they had talked about, and of taking turns visiting each other's farms. They were killed one after another. The first was Diokles, only a few years later; then came Euphemias and Athanasius, who were closer to him than brothers. More than once he held him during surgery and watched him scream in pain. Nikon bought him his first night with a woman. The Thai who taught him medicine. They all died, most of them cut down as they stood over Androcles, protecting him with their shields like the best soldiers.
For a while Androx stared at the fire, thinking about the days and people that were gone forever. The little goats said nothing to disturb him; there was something about them that seemed sad, somehow. Maybe they themselves are thinking about the burden of memory. He almost asked for their stories, but decided against it. He didn't want to sit by the fire and remember them one day when they disappeared from his life. He didn't even want to know their names.
Singing time was over and he fed the children again and made sure they were all settled in for the night. He then crawled into the same blanket he had slept on the night before because he woke up free of fleas. This time, though, he kept his sword and Pansy's knife handy, just in case.
* * *
This night was very similar to last time. He felt something angry deep underground, disturbing his dream. Several times throughout the night he woke when he heard something moving in the bushes, but each time he saw nothing, so he rekindled the fire and went back to sleep.
The children had been sleeping and the next morning he got up before them and had breakfast ready when they woke up. He added a little flour to the wine to make it more nutritious without making it hard to swallow, and they wouldn't complain if they noticed. When he took them to get water, he found that the white foot was steadier and the black leg seemed to have some strength, which he didn't have yesterday.
The warmth of the day comes faster than yesterday, and the sun seems brighter. A flock of songbirds flew around and chirped, bringing music to the air. A gentle breeze blew over the hills, swaying the golden leaves of the pale bark that looked like ocean waves. In fact, it's nice enough that Anchorex can understand why someone would want to live here, despite the darker skies and worse food. No wine or olives, unless imported. Still, the breeze was lovely and the scenery as pleasant as one could wish.
Although Della had never spoken much about the landscape, she came from somewhere in the north, somewhere off the map, a place her people called the "Land of Grass." The only details she told him were that they had a lot of sheep and that the land was cold and rocky. If he never catches up to her and her bodyguards, Androx's only plan is to wander around until he finds such a place and hope she's there.
If she were still alive. If the bandits kill her bodyguard, that's it. He frowned and imagined countless times that some bandit bought himself a farm and some slaves and lived a good life in the countryside.
"Master Androx, are you angry?" the boy in white asked shyly.
"Huh? No, I'm fine. Do I look angry?"
"You look really angry, you always do. Is it because of us?"
Both boys looked nervous, like they thought they were in trouble. Androx had to giggle. They looked like they had been caught stealing a basket of figs and were not sure whether they would be punished.
"No, it's not because of you. I'm just a guy who looks angry, even when I'm not. Don't worry," he said. He didn't need to tell them that they were indeed at least in some way at fault because he was sitting here, not traveling. The little penguins relaxed and gave him shy smiles, which he had to admit were kind of cute.
