Walking down the gently worn forest road, her horse whinnied softly and tossed her mane. She patted the mare's neck and clicked in her ear, reassuring the beast. The moon was bright and the path easily seen, and she was doing the horse a favor by walking her down the road, rather than through the brush and thicker wood. To the moment, she'd been a good horse, and the girl didn't want the mare twisting an ankle this early into her journey. Coming up lame this far from anything even resembling a town or farm was a sure-fire way to make her late for her appointment. And this appointment was well worth making.
A twig snapped ahead in the bush and the mare stomped a hoof and snorted. The girl felt the horse tense beneath her, her spine and stomach ready to engage a charge should the girl nudge her in the right direction. But the girl patted the horse's neck again and clicked, hugging the horse with her thighs. Knife in pale hand, she continued on until the horse stopped and refused to budge a few yards down the road.
"Easy, girl. I'll take care of it," the girl cooed. She dismounted in one swift move, placing a hand on the mare's neck to command her to stay. She walked forward about a yard and waited, feet spread, back strong. She could smell him before he stepped into the moonlight, onto the path in front of her.
"A great big beastie you are, aren't you?" she chuckled. "Your mistake was the dip you took in the creek. I can smell the cold, metallic scent of wet fur for yards, and your step isn't the quietest." She took a step forward and he sat on his haunches, tongue lolling. He shook his head, flapping his ears and pawing at his snout abashedly, more like a farm dog than a wolf.
"How long you been followin' me then?" The over-sized silver beast stretched like a cat and walked towards her, shoulders down, paws in front of him, ears back with a big puppy-like grin. He licked the back of her extended hand and rubbed his side against her legs before, tail tucked, he stood on his back legs. He wasfar taller than she as he placed his forepaws on her shoulders and licked at her neck and pointed chin.
"Oh, stop now! Are you going to go all the way there like that, or do you want to share the ride?" Dropping to the ground, she heard the typical popping as the air around him hazed like heat across the fields on a hot summer day. The man stood in front of her, dark hair and scruffy beard shocked through with silver, eyes glinting like gold in firelight.
"I thought you liked my kisses, Mistress?" His voice was gravely and deep, his muscles shivered one more time before he looked truly like a man, all the lines in their proper places. The hair on the back of her neck relaxed and the mare pranced closer in greeting, recognizing him.
"Not when you smell like rabbit, you animal. Here," she smiled and tossed him a cloak from a satchel off the horse's side, and he wrapped it around his shoulders, reveling in the scent of the soft suede, rubbing his cheek against the fur trim. "We'll have to filch pants and boots for you at the next farm, but I've got the shirt you left me holding."
"Oh you kept it, did you? Like the scent?" He held out his hand and escorted her to the side of her mare. She swung up easily and he was behind her swiftly, settling in, pressed warm against her back.
"Needed the scent to track you. You owe me a few rabbit hides, thief." She nudged the horse forward and the mare happily trotted down the path, not minding the extra weight, nor the scent of the wolf now that he was in a less threatening form.
"No worries. I'll make you a set of nice fur gloves and line the hood of your cloak for you. I was hungry. It doesn't do to have a hungry wolf in bed." He rubbed his cheek against her back and sighed as he blew hot air into her scent so that it came back heady into his nostrils. "What's the job?"
"Robbery by way of seduction," she replied, nudging the horse into a quicker trot.
"Can I eat him after?" he growled.
"No. But you can club him over the head, if it'll make you feel better." He wrapped his arms a bit tighter around her hips and settled in for the ride. Town was a long ways off and he was content to enjoy the few peaceful moments they were given. They never lasted long when he found her. Someone was always trying to kill the tiny, golden-haired nymph, but that was the life of a mercenary.
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