backdated december 13th

Frodo awoke in a cold sweat. The first thing he saw was a pile of bloody intestines directly above his head. The man shrieked and jumped up at once, only succeeding in banging his head on the ceiling that appeared to look so disgusting. Horrified, the wolf jerked his body in a disgusted manner and ran forwards, so the ceiling subsided to sky. Looking back, Mr Silvertongue realised it was not the insides of something but rather red and brown roots that had been above his head. Of course... it all came flooding back to him with a groan. His intense eyes skimmed to where X'yrin slept peacefully beneath the tree. She hadn't left his side since he fell to sleep. This made him smile softly, softly but not too much. The pain was still evident in his face of melancholy.

Carefully the man peeled off his cloak that was bound so tightly around his skinny and frail bodice. Numerous cuts littered his chest, long gashes against his back. The whole of his body was covered in purpling bruises. But they were no way near as painful as last night, and he felt less jumbled now, more focused. Since he'd woken up there'd been a single resounding urge in his stomach, an urge to prove himself. He would do that today. He knew X'yrin was a warrior of sorts and she'd show him how to defend himself. He refused to be a weakling ever again. The man pounded off, thoughts rummaging in his mind.

An hour later and the wolf was in secui, both a dark deer hide and the pelt of an Arctic fox by his side. He'd returned to the tree after a succesful hunt. X'yrin was still asleep. Behind the tree he had placed the bodies and skinned them. He removed what skin he could from the pelts and then reversed to optime, cutting holes in the edges of both hides as he stretched them over the branches of trees. They were hidden from site for the most part. Then Frodo collected the meat left over from the kills, fed himself, and hauled the rest of the meat back underneath the tree.

From there he crouched down against the dirt and roots, watching X'yrin solemly. It would take three days for the pelts to dry- he'd say his reason for waiting in her pack was to have her train him. But in the end, he'd have fixed a cloak for her. The least he could do for her kind efforts. Silently, he waited for the woman to wake up.

- sorry for wait! word count; 317

The snarl was unexpected and provoked him of course, and he jumped up from his crouched position and took state a few paces back, his eyes wide. The young man watched with an unpleasant expression, but smiled greatly when she excused herself. He must have given her quite a fright, after all, hanging around as she woke up. Yes. he answered quickly then, eyes flickering to the side, where all the meat lay. I've just eaten, me. 'Ave as much as yer fancy. he commented, and then gave a little bow as he stooped back out from under the tree and stood outside. His ears perked up at the secondary statement and he nodded, though spoke while doing so. Better. he commented, wincing as he remembered certain snippets. The young man lifted an arm tenderly and watched over the bruises, his lips pursed in a mental battle for strength.

Frodo sat outside the tree, waiting for her to eat what she wanted or not eat at all until she joined him. He planted himself on a small bank of grass and waited, watching the sun finally rise and fill the land with light. The wolf inhaled and tucked his legs beneath him, calling out to X'yrin. You're not like any lady I've met before, ye know. 'Tis brave, ter rescue some joker an' take 'em inter yer company. What's your secret? Yer a warrior o' t'some sort? it was just friendly conversation, but then it developed into something more. He needed to get stronger, and perhaps she was his last chance before he reached full maturity. He lacked the self confidence needed, but he was full with inginuity. Frodo could manage something if he really, really wanted to do it. You...yer could teach me? the question hung in the air blankly, and he reached his body with strong fingers, tightening grips around seperate tendrils of fur.