Rûdhchamion smiled at the young wolf. The elf maiden held the pup in her arms as he licked her face, relieved that it was now safe. The dark elf looked up at the young half-elven girl. She had shown spirit, but he could not quite get used to trusting a mortal – even if she had elvenblood. He wondered if she knew of her elven heritage.
He walked over to where the fallen beast lay. He ran his hand over the creature’s body. Its hide would make an excellent armor, or shield of sorts. The dark elf took out his knife and began to skin the monstrous snake.
“What are you doing?” Anarya asked curious at what he was doing.
“We need some protective coverings… suitable armors, “ he replied. “The leather tunics we have will be no match for most darts and arrows. But this may give us some advantage.
Better get some rest. We must break camp soon after and be on our way.” He paused a few moments, and as Anarya was about to turn to Taralphiel he said suddenly, “the girl did well.”
The elf maiden smiled slightly. Khelek whined and jumped down, examining the dead snake.
Khelek, you did well. You will be a hunting wolf one day, but for now stay alive. Do not think that you are ever a weight upon our company wolf-pup, many times have you proven your worth. Rûdhchamion smiled and stopped a moment to scratch the white pup behind his ears. He then turned back to his work and continued skinning the huge reptile. He cut it into several large pieces, cloak-like.
“I’ve never seen a snake that huge before.” He heard Taralphiel say softly to Anarya. Khelek gave her a whine.
When the dark elf stood up, he saw that his companions were sitting expectantly waiting for him. He walked over to them and set down the bundle of skins next to his pack, he would prepare those later. It would need to be dried properly, smoking it would help – later when they camped in the night. Anarya handed him a waterskin, which he took gratefully, sipping a few drops.
“We’d best be off.”
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