The dust didn't clear all at once.
It thinned slowly, drifting down in uneven waves until shapes began to show again.
Arthur was already moving before it fully settled.
"Nox!"
"I'm here!" her voice came back, shaken but alive.
Relief hit fast, but it didn't last.
Because the rest of the scene came into view.
The wolf stood there.
Right in front of her.
Still.
Too still.
Its body was lowered, legs trembling slightly as if they could give out at any second. The ground beneath it was dark, soaked through where the blood had pooled and spread.
The cub slipped out of Nox's arms the moment it saw it.
It stumbled forward, small and unsteady, then pressed itself against the wolf's side with a soft sound.
The wolf didn't move much.
Just its head.
Slowly.
It lowered it toward the cub, brushing lightly against it.
Arthur stopped a few steps away.
He didn't say anything.
Didn't need to.
The injuries were clear.
The spears hadn't just hit.
They had torn through.
Deep.
