Isher Notra

Lien:

A piercing scream came out of nowhere!

Lien's ears stung, making her quickly cover them with her paws. Her entire body recoiled until she was practically a ball of fur.

Grýla also heard the weird noise and was as bothered by it as the Wolf. "The hell is that noise?!" She took a few more steps and shouted. "Leppa! Did someone put pepper on the Cat's milk again!?"

The faint voice of Leppalúði responded. "The Cat's fine! I don't know what that noise is!"

The female Ogre grunted. "Course he doesn't know. Lazy bastard knows nothing!"

Lien was also frustrated. Though for different reasons. The cage was still too damn small! They couldn't even put her in a cage big enough for her to jog a little. There was barely space for stretching as it is.

Of course, she tried to brute force her way out of there, but whatever this metal was, it was unbreakable. She clawed, chewed, and bashed multiple times, but there was no sign of a tear or even a dent in the cage.

The bright side was that her nose was blessed by such an intoxicating smell! She recognized the fragrance of a well-cooked and seasoned venison with some herbs. It made her both hungry and reminiscent about home.

She missed her mom more by the second she spent here. Maybe she was making the wrong call by escaping Pantsti so many times. She had good friends there, pups and adults. There were also many ways to pass the time with games. Heck, she even missed the boring Saniya classes at that point!

She would gladly hear her mother's scolding rather than spend another second there. She missed having someone to hold her tight, to feel the warmth of another Monoke.

That was why Lien was not very well seen by the other species. Only Wolves accepted her clingy nature, which was too much even for a pup her age. After harsh words from her mother, the pup tried to keep it to herself outside Pantsti.

Now she wondered how Stella would react if she didn't hold back on her. She knew almost nothing about Humans, only that they were scary and that she must keep her distance from them. And that knowledge was shattered by her experiences with the girl, so...

She should have asked, at least. Now, who knew where she was? Was Stella even alive? Regardless, chances were they would never cross paths again, and that realization made the Wolf deflate.

As if she was paying attention to Lien, Grýla approached her and decided to finally speak to the Wolf when she was at her lowest point. "How's the little fighter? Gave up on escaping yet?"

Lien wasn't in the mood for the Ogres' crap anymore. She bared her teeth at the witch, though she wasn't sure she was pointing her snout in the right direction. "When I get outta here, I will bite you so hard!"

The old Monoke laughed so loud at the pup's attempt at intimidation. It sounded like she had heard the best joke in ages. "Oh, I'm waiting for ya, kid!" She spoke between chuckles.

The Wolf wasn't taking the mockery well. She grabbed the cage bars with her paws and tried to yank them with all her might! However, rage was not enough of a motivator for such a feat. Ultimately, that was a pathetic effort with no result.

Lien took deep breaths. It was all she could do to calm down. However, the voice of the Giant Witch was a powerful roadblock. "Finished with yer tantrum now?"

The pup avoided lashing out against the cage again, so she put her effort into scratching a particularly itchy spot on the left side of her neck. That felt good, but... the temperature in the cage rose significantly after that.

Also, that made the Ogre more worked up than her insults or threats. "Stupid kid! Don't scratch the rune!"

Oh yeah! The rune. The witch had touched her neck, and after a few bites and scratches, the Wolf couldn't feel the heat of the lair anymore. The itchy spot did feel a bit chilly.

The Ogre rotated the cage, which Lien was ready for this time. Grýla poked the Wolf's neck again. However, the pup had no energy to protest and bite her finger.

It wouldn't do much damage, anyway. Sinking one's teeth into these guys' skin felt like biting rubber.

In half a minute, Lien wasn't feeling the sizzling heat anymore. It made her wonder about where the hell she was. She knew the kitchen was a naturally hot place, but that was too much!

"Could you put this stuff in a less itchy place?" The pup was reaching new heights of frustration.

The witch scoffed. "Trust me, kid. If you're bothered by an itch, imagine the heat. 'Sides, rune magic is a very delicate and complicated area of knowledge." She felt somewhat insulted by the Wolf's lack of knowledge about the nuances of runecraft.

Lien was very uninterested, though. "Whatever you say..."

What she was interested in was Grýla's cooking. The pup's stomach roared desperately for food, and saliva dripped from her tongue, increasing in volume by the second.

The witch chuckled. She had picked up on the Wolf's hunger. "No one can resist my cooking. But if ya want to eat, ya must answer my questions."

Lien couldn't resist that offer, but the Wolf wouldn't get all cheery and grateful for her generosity. Even she had some sense of pride.

The pup huffed. "Okay."

Suddenly, Lien heard the noise of a chair being dragged close to her. Of course, that meant that Grýla had sat down to speak to her. The subtle tremors the pup could feel could have been from the witch resting her arms and/or hands on the table.

The first question was... "Where did that Human go?" She was serious now. It made the pup recoil a bit more.

Lien shrugged. "How am I supposed to know? By now, she must be far, far away from here."

The giantess sighed. "What the hell were you thinking, kid!? Helping a Human, of all creatures?!" She didn't sound angry, just... disappointed.

However, these words made Lien gain some courage and stand up for her friend. "Hey! Stella is very different from what you grown-ups say about Humans! We went through a lot to escape your kids, the Cat, AND your husband!" She raised a finger with each mention of their previous challenges.

"Right..." Grýla sounded oddly confident. Did she expect Lien to say that? "And where is she right now? Where did she leave you?"

Oh no... That was it! Lien growled and bashed the cage with anger. "What's your deal, huh?! Stella didn't leave me! I only made sure she escaped!"

As always, Grýla showed no reaction toward the pup's outburst. "Just sounds like ya were the fool that took the fall for her. In simpler terms, she used ya."

Lien's heart sank, but she refused to accept that! She slashed against the bars! Tried to bite her way out again! But in the end, she was only wasting her strength.

"SHUT UP! I don't want to hear your crap no more!" The Wolf could feel tears almost breaking out of her eyes, but she held in. Crying here did not feel appropriate.

Grýla's voice... softened? She sounded a lot more... maternal.

"Kid..."

Lien could feel the Ogre's breath blowing against her fur. It didn't smell as bad as she thought it would.

"Whatever you two went through, no matter how sweet or friendly she was with you, she only saw you as her bodyguard. So, of course, she wouldn't treat you like crap!"

That... made Lien pause. Grýla's logic made sense, even though she loathed to admit it. As far as she knew, Stella only tolerated the Wolf because of her superior strength and speed.

But... No, that didn't feel right. She might have been blind, but she was aware of the Human's reactions when they almost went their separate ways.

Then again, it could have been that Stella was terrified that she lost her bodyguard. However, she also shed tears when Lien convinced her to stay.

Yeah, Grýla was full of crap. There was no way that Stella could hate her, right?

Right?

Grýla continued her argument. "You know the Humans are the reason we're stuck in this forest, right?"

Oh...

Of course, Lien knew that. The main reason why Humans were so feared by the Monoke in the first place. Their retreat to Sayama...

Every Monoke Lien's age was taught the story.

Grýla's voice gained a brighter tone as she started her reverie. "I once lived in a vaster, colder land, you know. Plenty of space for Monoke like us." Then, venom dripped from her words. "But the Humans... They were disgusted and afraid of us. And you know what they did?"

Lien said nothing. Until she let out a whimper when the floor beneath her shook violently. She assumed Grýla slammed her fists on the table. "They hunted us, slayed most of my people! I was lucky my family found this place to stay before it was too late!"

The pup was... paralyzed. Lien felt overwhelmed by the giantess' boiling anger. Her heartbeat echoed through her body and rang in her ears until it was all she could focus on.

She started to cry. The tears broke through the dam all at once. She wanted to go home. She wanted her mom, her friends, Stella...

Stella...

Even if Grýla's words were correct, the actual experience of her partnership with Stella made it so hard to accept. They were a pack, by Tizohi's antlers! She couldn't ignore the bond that they had!

However, Lien remembered another issue. How could she claim they had a bond if they didn't meet for long? It was a very eventful day, for sure. But... How does someone even gauge two people's relationship? Is there a correct duration for two people to go from acquaintances to friends? Were they even friends? In Lien's heart, yes. But the Human might feel differently.

These thoughts made Lien sob louder than before. Even Grýla seemed to let go of her rage and take pity on the poor pup.

The chair screeched as its legs scraped the ground again. "I'll get the soup."