章 2: Vengeance And Mercy
Hustling back to their home, Dee immediately made his way to his boss's lair as it was a cave high above their camp. He stumbled inside between the crevices and approached before his leader. "Boss! Boss!" the skinny wolf called out for him. "You got to hear this!"
Before him in a small chair was Gark, leader of the Black Alder wolves that had long dark fur with two solid white patches along each part of his upper shoulders. He looked annoyed as his subordinate disturbed his peace. "What news could you possibly have for me?" he asked Dee, his head resting on a clawed hand. "And where is Warg? He's always the one who reports to me and not you. Unless you were sent to by him to tell him you messed up."
"That's not the reason boss. I-I-It's actually about Warg." Dees' knees shook as he tried to tell his fearsome leader. "H-H-He's…dead."
Warg lifted his head up slowly. "What?" he growled, anger slowly building up within him. He leaned towards the scrawny wolf in his seat. "What…did you…just say?"
"H-He g-g-g-g-got killed by some kind of weird two-legged creature that had some kind weird stick that shot…well some kind of mix of fire and thunder." Dee soon found himself grabbed by the throat of his threatening leader.
"Do NOT think that lie will save you from me. Such tales will get you nowhere."
"But it's true boss! I swear it!" Dee gagged, clawing at his clenched throat. Squeezing slightly more, Gark growled in discontent before releasing his skinny cohort.
Dee gasped, coughing as he rubbed his throat. He looked up to see his leader glowering menacingly at him. "Show me." Gark demanded.
Back at the fields, father and son were leading the sheep back to their farm. It was small humble piece of land that rested only fifteen minutes away from the village by cart. A nice little setup with a barn big enough for their whole flock during the winter, surrounded by plenty of rolling hills of green for them to graze. All complete with a few extra animals for good measure, horses for plowing the fields and cows and chickens for the milk and eggs.
Once all sheep were accounted for, father and son went inside the house to mend Grigory's wound. Upon inspection, Grigory's hand still had feeling but he would have to not use much of it for several days much to his dismay. Some gauze and a good amount of medicinal alcohol to clean the wound would do for now. The young shepherd boy grumbled in disappointment at his hand while his father cleaned up. "You know, things weren't TOO bad before those wolves showed up." Grigory snorted. "As if we haven't had enough difficulty maintaining the farm already, with the landowner breathing down our necks."
"It's better to have lost a hand than your life, son," his father said while putting up the gauze for future use. "Be fortunate that fate was kind to you today. Otherwise, I would have lost you. And that is far more worth to me than anything this land is worth." The seasoned farmer placed a reassuring hand on his son's shoulder.
"I know, but what are we to do about these wolves now? Seeing how some of them got away, there's no telling when they'll be coming back. Maybe in larger numbers," said a concerned Grigory.
"Then we'll just have to be more vigilant, Grigory. You can't always expect things here to be too dull and boring, eh? Otherwise, you'd want to leave too." His father chuckled and Grigory sighed in disbelief. Grigory didn't care that much to stay on the farm forever, but he cared enough to see to it that it gets handled well. He felt like he got the short end of the shepherd's rod as his older brother went out into the world for a better job and hopefully, bring back a fortune for the farm. He knew it seemed the right plan, but he couldn't help but feel selfish about not being able to go out and explore the world outside of his village.
"If I did leave, I'd have a better chance helping us out like Dimitri."
"You know why I can't have you go just yet."
"Why not now? It's been months since he left. You'd think he'd be back with SOMETHING by now."
"These things take time, son. Whatever Dimitri gets, he always sends back a good amount of it for us."
"Ya, Da. I know, but surely it's enough to hire another hand to help us out isn't it?"
"I wish it were true, but we still have a little more ways to go," his father sighed. Grigory was getting impatient, the time his brother had been away should have been enough for a good amount of money to come in by now. He wasn't sure what kind of work Dimitri was doing but certainly he would have got a job that paid more, right? So many thoughts went into his head, most making him aggravated and impatient about not getting out of here. His father could sense his frustration and sat down next to him. "At least wait until the next harvest? Hopefully with the amount of crops and wool we'll have soon, it'll hopefully be enough to hire another hand to help me out around here."
"But that's only two months away!" Grigory complained. "What else am I to do around here besides attend to the animals? There's only so much to do in town and almost everyone I know has moved on to better things. I hate to be left behind."
"I UNDERSTAND THAT, but I need you here more," his father implored him. "You know I can't do all this without you. Please, son? Two more months is all that I ask for."
Grigory sat silently for a while, hesitant about wanting to stay. He knew it was in good conscience to stay and help his Da. As good as a man he was, common sense told him the his da wasn't a one-man army. Grigory waited this long. What's two months more? Facing defeat, he gave in and agreed. "I'll do it."
A smile was on his father's face as he ruffled his son's hair. "That's my boy," he said content.
"But if any more wolves show up, I'm not going to hesitate in killing them all." Grigory said firmly.
"You can't completely blame the wolves being as they are, Grigory."
"Can't BLAME them?! One of them just tried to KILL ME!" Grigory was shocked to hear his father say such a thing.
"I didn't mean it like THAT. I mean wolves being creatures of their nature. True, it's unforgivable that one of them almost killed you. But now you know that there's more of a reason for you to stay here."
This only made Grigory hate being here even more. "It's be better if they weren't here at all! Damn wolves are nothing more than a nuisance. I'd be happy to take a bear over those pests any day!"
"As would I, son. As would I," his dad said in calm agreement. "But do not wish to deal judgment upon such creatures so easily. Every living thing has a purpose on this earth. And those wolves are just as part of this world as we are. And someday, you'll understand it."
"Ya, but I won't make any promises." Grigory grumbled.
"Remember son, hate is never a solution. Sometimes it's compassion that makes us a better being. If there were no more wolves, there wouldn't be anything to keep one on his toes. You might find they are just the same as you and I are, in a matter of speaking."
"Oh, I'm so certain of that," said a sarcastic Grigory. He got up from his chair and headed for the door. "I'm going to feed the animals."
"Alright, I'll have dinner in about thirty minutes so don't be out there too long."
"Yeah, yeah." With a swing of the door, the shepherd boy was gone as he slammed it shut. His father sighed. He knew his son wanted to explore the world just like his brother. He didn't want Grigory to feel like he was being held back. He wished that the boy could understand the simpler parts of life as he did. He only wished there was a way that he could.
Grigory, taking his shotgun with him just in case, began feeding the animals from smallest to biggest. He gave feed to the chickens, bales of hay to their three cows and two horses, and slop to their drift of pigs. The sheep, being the largest amount of animals they had, were fed last. Grigory emptied some bales of grass in the their food trough. One of the few things he enjoys about this part of his daily chores was giving the animals attention, petting them and playing with them. The sheep especially loved it, looking forward to being with him in the pasture. It kept him happy on a farm that lived on its livestock.
When he was done, he went to check on the hay bales next. He'd always check the condition of them and how much would they need to replenish. Once done, he'd report to his father as he would handle everything else with finances and such. Depending on how much is needed and the cost of getting it would be the matter of Grigory fetching the hay after selling the number of eggs, pigs, wool and milk they would collect.
And after that, it was off to check the traps along the property line. They were set to go off in case of predators, especially in case of wolves. And just as he finished with everything, not a moment too soon. For as he was double checking his count, he suddenly heard the rattling of bells somewhere east of the property line. "Damn wolves again," he growled under his breath. Placing the list down, he grabbed his gun, checked to make sure he was loaded and prepared, and marched towards the noise.
His grip tightened along the gun rest and handle as the rattling got louder the closer he got. Pursing his lips, Grigory was ready to do his duty as a protective shepherd. Coming into view was, as Grigory expected, a wolf. He readied his shotgun as prepared to kill it quick and painless the moment he was close enough. But once he got close, however, something didn't feel right. The wolf wasn't as scraggly or vicious looking like the others he encountered. Instead, it seemed lean with fur so smooth and rather than snarling at him, the wolf was whimpering and looked pitiful in fear of dying. Such a miserable look was on her face (he caught a glimpse that the wolf was a she, don't ask) as she wanted to escape the clutches of the trap he laid out. Modified, the former trap used for furring now was used to keep any predators from getting away before Grigory had the chance to shoot 'em.
And yet this time, for some reason, there was hesitation lingering in his mind. The words of wisdom from his father lingered in the back of his mind. They were the only thing keeping Grigory to do his duty as a shepherd boy and killing the trapped lupine. His finger slightly pulling the trigger, he battled with the conflicting emotions within his heart and mind, uncertain about what to do. The young shepherd closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
A shot rang out through the yard as birds cawed and scattered as the gunshot scared them off. Grigory exhaled as he opened his eyes and lowered his gun. He shot the chain off of the trap and puts the gun down for the moment. The wolf squirmed and looked uncertain about what just happened. Squatting down, he held out a hand to her. He edged close but stopped when she bared her teeth a little at him. He waited until she relaxed a little and calmly told her "Easy now. EASY." He got closer to the trap and straining he opened the jaws of the trap enough for the she-wolf to pull her leg out. Once she did, Grigory released his grip and the jaws slammed shut.
Studying the wolf, it seemed like she was able to walk on it. It was satisfactory enough for Grigory. "Alright, get out of here," he said to her, shooing her off with a gesture. "Go on, get!" The shepherd boy picked up his shotgun and looked at the wolf who seemed hesitant to do leave, possibly fearing he would shoot it as she took off. "Go on, shoo! Get out of here!" Grigory demanded, shooing her off again. That being enough, the wolf scurried off and disappeared into the thickness of the woods.
Letting out a sigh, he shouldered his gun and headed back home. As he did, a peculiar brown rabbit had been watching the situation and a curious expression took shape upon her face.
A breath of cool air slapped Grigory's face as he came back inside the house. Resting his gun above the fireplace, he washed his hands and joined his father for dinner as they were having chicken stew. He hoped not to regret letting that wolf go.
As they sat down to eat, two pairs of eyes were eyeing their house from upon a hill. "So, this where the weird furless cusses live at. Perhaps you were right for once, Dee." Gark growled. They had found Warg just a little after Grigory came across the female wolf. Seeing the corpse of his once-living brother made Gark's blood boil. He never thought he traveled half the day to have to bury the last of his immediate family. They heard the gunshot and secretly followed Grigory's scent to where he lived.
"What do we do now, boss?" Dak asked nervously, twiddling his hands.
"Bury the dead, say a prayer and tomorrow,…we take what's owed to us." Gark said with a snarl.
"Wait, you don't mean…but what about those weapons they have?"
Gark viciously snarled as he grabbed the skinny wolf by the throat. "Gather half of the pack and have them ready by morning." He shoved Dak to the ground and the wolf immediately took off. The fearsome leader off the pack looked back at the house. "Eat well, foolish strange creature," he muttered, baring his teeth. "For by tomorrow morning, you will lose EVERYTHING."
— 次の章はもうすぐ掲載する — レビューを書く
週次パワーステータス
-- 推薦
ランキング 
-- 推薦
チケット