[Child of the 7th Age]

Bingo peered out from between the branches of his leafy bower; the ground was far below but he had a good vantage point and could see everything that was happening. He had a distant glimpse of Sassy who had raced over to a tree well back from where the action was occurring. He could not tell for sure, but she was slumped over the limb in such a relaxed fashion that he guessed she was asleep. Bingo could hardly suppress a chuckle. Sassy was small and young but she must have iron nerves! He could not imagine falling asleep with the fear that the wolves might uncover their hiding spots.

His own heart thumped wildly against his chest. For the most part, his own companions had scattered and had managed to find safe places to hide: some in trees and others in rocks or climbing up jagged slopes. "The Big Folk, however, for the most part were trying to fight. A number of them were getting the short end of the stick. It seemed to Bingo that they would have been better off trying to flee or take cover. The fact they hadn't done that probably meant Big Folk could be incredibly stubborn and too proud for their own good.

One of the wolf pack had fallen, but a number of the others still fought on darting in and out between the sharp swinging blades. One of the Men had been hurt. Instantly the pack converged on him, tearing at his legs and lunging forward to attack his face and body. In a moment the Man was down. Bingo clung tightly to his branch and wondered how long they would have to wait until the pack went away and he and the others could come out of their hiding places.

For a moment during the fighting he had actually forgotten he was ravenously hungry. Now the gnawing sensation in his stomach had returned. In desperation he even began to wonder what roast wolf would taste like. If the rest of the pack ate their full of man flesh and then ran off, and it was safe to build a fire, he vowed to try a meal of grilled wolf-on-a-stick.