Alex followed after Eli as he moved through the woods. He seemed almost a part of them the way he moved, finding sure footing even when no trail existed, barely making noise as he stepped. By comparison Alex felt like a horse trying to do ballet. He seemed to find the noisiest leaves and twigs to step on and nearly lost his balance twice in the first mile on a too mossy stone or a damp tree trunk. Every time he blundered Eli would look back at him, roll his eyes slightly and continue on. Eli even managed to pick up a few rabbits with a well thrown stone from a sling as they walked along, tying them to the bottom of his pack, "For dinner. Always best to eat off the land and save the rations you brought for emergencies or days with light pickings."
That happened more as the day progressed. Eli started teaching Alex, opening up a bit more. He'd call over Alex to point out some track or spore he would have completely missed. Once or twice diverting their path through the woods to a new one to avoid something. "See.. there's a bear around here. Track's only a few hours old. Looks like it was wandering north so we're going to go around a bit to the south. Stream crossing, but nothing you can't handle." He'd tease Alex like that, too. But always with a smile.
They ate lunch while walking, a handful of berries plucked from a bush that reminded Alex a bit of raspberries even if they were blue, a bit of cheese and some bread. Eli seemed to be settling down and becoming more comfortable leading Alex around. He was giving him less direct orders and more often requesting Alex do things. He still did as he was told, but it was nice not to be ordered around like a puppet.
"Chel said you had a secret." Alex said, looking up as Eli's back tensed.
"Chel has a big mouth." He tossed a not quite ripe berry back into the woods.
"But do you?" Alex took another bite of the cheese. He didn't know what type it was but it had a deep, rich flavor that he was really enjoying.
"Everyone has secrets. Enough questions for now." Eli was back to being gruff in a moment, then he stopped, placing a hand on Alex's chest to halt him in his tracks. He looked to be on full alert, his eyes scanning the trees. "Something's off. The animals are quiet." Alex could hear it now that it was pointed out. It wasn't a sound that had set off Eli, but the lack of it. He had been hearing birds and forest critters chirping and chattering all day. Now, it was just leaves rustling in the breeze. A pair of howls sounded from behind them as well as the sudden sound of something crashing through the underbrush.
"Shit. I knew I should have killed them." Eli drew his bow and arrow and shoved Alex in the direction they were going. "Go! Run! I'll catch up." He turned to face the direction the wolves were coming from.
Alex wanted to stay but he didn't have a choice. Not with a direct order. So he bolted. He stopped trying to emulate Eli's woodland graces as he pushed through the forest. Nor did he worry about the hunter finding him again, he was leaving a very obvious trail behind him. Obvious to Eli anyway. He just barreled on ahead until he found something large, shaggy, and brown blocking his path. There was another wolf. This one was different from the other two, he was bigger. He looked less like a wolf and more like some prehistoric ancestral monstrosity of a wolf.
Alex stopped in his tracks, staring at the beast wide-eyed. The wolf gave a lurch as it stood up, all four of its limbs thickening. The hind legs twisting to support a two-legged gait while the front legs twisted into a pair of overly-muscled arms, the paws becoming giant claw tipped hands. Between his legs was a very obvious scarlet cock, canine in look, inhumanly large in size, and already hard and drooling. "Little human alone in the woods. My little brothers said you looked a tasty treat. The wolf spoke in a gruff growl.
Alex turned to run back but the werewolf was on him in a flash, shoving him to the ground, his shoulders pinned under those clawed hands, his chest pressed into the dirt. He felt his kilt being pushed up with a wet, cold nose, exposing his ass to the air. "This will hurt little human. But only for a moment."
He squirmed and fought, but the wolf was so much stronger than him. He managed to get his hand on his dagger, get it free, and blindly slashed behind him. He felt resistance as the blade cut through something. But the wolf laughed. "Little human has some bite. Good. But not silver.. not.." Alex felt a weight suddenly fall atop of him, the wolf's grip giving up, but pinning Alex below his body.
Alex struggled to get the heavy mass off of him, and eventually wiggled free. Had he killed him? He scrambled away from the wolven form that somehow looked smaller. In front of him it was reverting back to a human. Still large, but not as massive, with a shaggy brown hair and beard. Only the werewolf's cock remained unchanged, still looking completely canine in form.
"Alex!" Eli bounded through the woods, coming to a halt next to him. "What?" He looked at the fallen werewolf and then down to the dagger still in Alex's hand. "Oh, thank the gods I had the foresight to give you that. Are you okay? Did he penetrate you?"
Alex shook his head, still breathing heavily, almost in shock. "Did.. did I kill him?"
"No." Eli said, he wrapped an arm around Alex's shoulder. Helping him to his feet. "That dagger is enchanted, anything cut by it falls into a deep slumber until the next sunrise, as long as they survive the wounding."
"The rest?"
"Dead." Eli said with a bit of finality. "You'd think they'd learn to leave me alone by now, but new upstarts keep moving in. This one is lucky I'm not in the habit of murdering sleeping men." He did reach into his pack and pull out something, a small vial of some yellowish dust. "I was going to sell this, but I think it's best to use some now." He popped it open and sprinkled a little of the contents over the fallen werewolf. "Pollen from the lethe flower. He won't remember anything from the last week. This shit's expensive." Eli said with only a little annoyance. "To keep us safe. Worth it. Don't need a werewolf on us out for revenge."
They walked in silence for the next few hours. Eli stayed closer to Alex, but seemed to have suspended his lessons for the day. Not that Alex was particularly in the mood. But he did find the hunter's close proximity to be comforting. Eventually they came to a large pond, or maybe a small lake. Alex didn't know the difference, but a cascading waterfall fed the waters. Eli guided Alex behind the waterfall where there was an opening in the rock just large enough for them both to squeeze through.
"Good, my stash is still here." Eli said as he stepped into the cave beyond. Alex blinked a little in surprise. It was rather spacious for that opening, and completely dry. A firepit had been marked out in the middle of the cavern, and off to one side was a pile of wood and waterskins, and furs under a thick cloth that Eli was pushing aside. "One of my many little refuges hidden around the woods. Always pays to have a warm, dry place to curl up for the night." He set out one of the furs for Alex to sit on by the fire and soon had a small one going in the fire pit. The smoke rose out though a small hole in the cavern roof, keeping it from getting too smoky inside.
"You just relax, I'll take care of things tonight."