Tenma had managed to sleep soundly and safely for the first time in a long while, so much so that he hadn't noticed that the father wolf had returned with some deer meat.
The pups were playing with their father's tail, while the mother wolf was cleaning Tenma's fur, noticing that he was already awake.
Tenma lifted his muzzle, feeling a growl from his hungry stomach.
The mother wolf instinctively wanted to guide him to nurse again, but he quickly refused, getting up in the middle of a yawn.
He approached the father wolf, tilting his head upon seeing him with a serious look; more serious than usual.
Hoping he wouldn't get upset, he approached the meat, taking a bite, feeling how tough it was, having to bite hard to get a good piece to feed himself.
However, the father wolf didn't react; he just kept looking at the entrance of the cave as if he was thinking about something.
That's when Tenma remembered that he could now understand the words of the dogs, and maybe he could understand him too.
He waited anxiously for him to say something about what was happening outside, recalling hearing an explosion, but he said nothing.
The pups, seeing Tenma eating some meat, ran towards him to jump on him, forcing him to dodge them quickly.
enma moved cautiously and placed his paw on the side of the father wolf, looking at him.
"Can you understand me?" Tenma asked, seeing how his expression changed from serious to more relaxed, wagging his tail for him to play with it. Tenma supposed that he didn't understand him by his response, so he sighed, looking at the mother wolf.
They both remained silent, and there was a certain tension in the air. What had the father wolf seen to have them so tense?
In the father wolf's eyes, the yellow flame of the angel's possession appeared for a brief moment, catching Tenma's attention.
Tenma observed the father wolf, who still didn't react to his attempts at communication. The tension in the cave seemed to increase with each passing second.
The yellow flame of the angel's possession had disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, but the memory of that unsettling flicker lingered in Tenma's mind.
Suddenly, the mother wolf stood up and began to walk towards the entrance of the cave, her movements cautious and alert.
The pups, noticing the change in their mother's behavior, stopped playing and followed her with curiosity, though keeping a prudent distance.
For a moment, but now all together, he felt like they were all one big family. …The feeling was comforting.
For a moment, he remembered the squirrel that accompanied him. Seeing how he was treated, it was most likely that she had gone to look for him, but he himself didn't know where she was.
Anyway, during his sleep, he had been reflecting on everything that had happened, and for what he believed was best, he decided to make a decision. He looked at the father wolf, hoping that the angel possessing him would listen.
"Angel…"
And with soft words, he smiled, seeing how the wolf would look at him again.
"…You see… I've decided… that I…"
***
A few kilometers away, in rocky terrain, Dave had been running after leaving his small tunnel towards the entrance where they had arrived in that cavern. He had left the magical spellbook there, hidden, and from how he had seen the human use it, it would be a powerful weapon against that hunter.
He took different routes to ensure he confused his scent in case anyone followed him, and when he was finally close to his destination, he stopped quickly.
Sitting against the rocky wall, next to the entrance where they had come from, was the brown wolf of the pack. He was observing the area with curiosity, walking near where Dave had hidden the book.
Dave looked as many times as he could without the wolf finding him, fearing that the wolf would find the book first and destroy it.
He needed to distract him somehow, so he picked up a small stone beside him and peeked his head out from his hiding spot, aiming at the wolf, intending to quickly change his position so he wouldn't be noticed.
However, where the wolf had been walking a few seconds ago, he had completely disappeared.
Dave let out a big sigh of relief, smiling as he cautiously advanced towards the book's hiding place.
Not noticing behind him the hunter who had been silently following the squirrel's steps…
Dave moved cautiously towards the book's hiding place, his small steps slightly echoing in the rocky environment.
The fear that the brown wolf might reappear made him more vigilant than ever. Suddenly, a crunch of dry leaves behind him made him stop dead in his tracks. Without turning, he felt a heavy and threatening presence.
The hunter, with his dark hood covering his face, slid silently to the side before Dave could turn to see him.
He stayed alert for a moment to see if anyone was following him, but he would hear the slip of the book beside him, seeing how the brown wolf had taken advantage of his distraction to steal the book without him noticing.
Dave tensed up completely, quickly thinking about how to act.
His heart was pounding much harder, feeling like they were playing with him, feeling as if he was already being hunted.
If he didn't do something, not only would the book be in danger, but also himself. He closed his eyes tightly and let out a cold sigh, looking determined at the wolf.
With a quick movement, Dave threw the small stone he had picked up towards a nearby bush, creating a loud noise. Without waiting to see the wolf's reaction, he ran towards the book.
However, the brown wolf had it tightly gripped in his jaws, looking furiously at the squirrel.
A loud growl resonated from the wolf's muzzle, and before Dave could do anything, he heard the howl of the dark wolf pack, fearing that he had called for reinforcements.
About to drop the book out of fear, he felt the wolf release the book and quickly run towards another side, avoiding being seen by his pack. Leaving the squirrel stunned, with the book between his small paws…
The howl echoed once more, and Dave preferred to avoid wasting more time, returning through the entrance where he had entered, closing it with a large nearby rock.
Now trapped where his greatest battle with the rats had not long ago taken place.