Bryony peered out of her bedroom window, the afternoon sun hidden by deep grey clouds and sputtering rain. Her siblings had all gone off hunting for frogs, leaving her and Yorric in peace for once. A strand of lightning lit the sky for a brief moment, before a rumble was heard in the distance. She could swear that she still could hear the baying of wolves far out.
She had heard her mother and father muttering to each other that the wolves were getting braver, and that more of them had been seen on the borders of the Shire. Many rely on the bounders to make sure they are kept safe, but something in their tone of voice told Bryony that this was something beyond the bounders' control.
Pulling herself away from the window, she made her way to the living room, the fire crackling and illuminating the darkened room. She plopped herself on her favourite armchair, switched on the lamp and grabbed her unfinished book, sighing in relief as she sank into the armchair.
The warm light bathed her in a soft glow as she read, her mind dreaming of the journeys she was reading about. She was so caught up flipping through the pages, she failed to realise that someone had snuck into the living room and was slowly inching his way towards her.
A towering figure covered her light, and in her fright she closed her book and was about to whack whoever it was that almost had the jump on her. Instead, she found the beorning silently laughing at her as she swatted him on the arm.
"You are insufferable." He let out a snort before sitting down next to her on the carpet, both of them enjoying the warmth of the fire. She watched as Yorric took out a journal and handed it to her.
I have sent a letter to Benjenn. I should like to postpone our travels a bit, to see if he is willing to speak with me, and to see if I might make amends with the folks at the Knackered, and to help out in the Shire more. Too many wolves lately! Troubling. Your father has also asked I help fix the roof at your grandparent's smial over the bridge in Crickhollow. Apparently it is leaking.
She handed him back the journal. "You do have a lot of apologising to do, you silly bear. But I'll be with you every step of the way." She gave him a smile, patting him on the shoulder.
It seemed it wasn't just her who noticed the wolves. Bryony found herself biting her lip. "Have you heard the baying? We usually only used to hear it at night. Now it seems that any time of day, you'll hear them." Yorric nodded at her, giving her arm a reassuring squeeze. Having him help the bounders with their patrols gave her a slight sense of easiness, but still, he couldn't be patrolling all the borders at all times.
"And seriously? My grandparents' smial is leaking AGAIN? I thought da and Marcus had gone to fix it a couple of months back!" Yorric brought out his slate and wrote: "Your da made me chase a cow off their roof yesterday. Maybe that's why there's a leak." Bryony let out a loud groan.
"They do this every single year. We keep telling them, the cows are totally fine grazing on the fields, they don't need to graze on the roof as well!" Shaking her head, she put her book back on the table next to hear.
"I'll come with you to Crickhollow and make sure they're not getting into any trouble. And we can make sure that the wolves are not troubling them as well." Yorric nodded in agreement before writing, "Shall we also speak to the bounders?"
"I think that's best. But we'll head off tomorrow." She sighed, sinking even deeper into the armchair. "I am finally comfortable in utter peace in this love-filled but forsaken house and I plan to enjoy every second of it." Just as she had breathed out her last word, they heard the front door slamming open, followed by a cacophony of screams and yelling of their names.
"Or we could go now. Now seems like a perfect time to go." She saw Yorric tense up at the screams and he quickly nodded, helping her out of the armchair. She quietly grabbed her pack and walking stick.
"Out the back, forget about the front door! Hurry!" Yorric tugged his own pack on and they both hurried out of the house, making their way quietly to the back and leaving without a trace.
