There was something cold against his chest, moaning Harry forced his eyes open.
"I'm alive...?" He whispered upon seeing the sun off to his right hovering just above the forest.
"Obviously you're not dead." He didn't recognize the voice; it was deep and rumbly, like a growl...Harry shot up right and scrambled away from the softly panting Wolf lying next to him.
"Master Potter! Harry! They're here to help us!" Twilight told him insistently when he hit his back against the cliff wall and vainly tried to scramble up the sheer face. Still suspicious, Harry turned to look at the Wolves. There were nine Hunter-scouts and one large Warrior, marked by the swath of midnight black fur around his shoulders and his immensely larger size. One of the smaller Hunters was curled up on the ground near the wall and still a bit confused, Harry looked it over just for something to look at. He was hurt pretty badly, his sides heaving, tongue lulling out his mouth and his eyes glazed over.
"He fought the forest Wolf off you, master Potter. He saved your life." Twilight told him quietly. The Wolves all watched him avidly while he carefully felt around the Wolf's bloody pelt.
"Fawkes?" Fawkes lowered himself onto Harry's outstretched arm, still chattering at him for dislodging him while he was trying to heal Harry's wounds. Harry only moved the phoenix over the dying Wolf, and seeming to get the point, Fawkes hopped off his arm and settled on the Wolf's side. The Wolf picked up his head and growled at the bird, but Fawkes squawked at him sharply and he lowered his head again. Harry watched the tears slide off Fawkes’ ruby red feathers and fall onto the deep gashes that he found easily enough through the blood soaked fur. The Wolf whined a little, but when the phoenix hopped back onto Harry's shoulder, he immediately struggled to his feet and turned a little circle before licking Harry across the face and nuzzling Fawkes affectionately.
"Um...You're welcome." He still wasn't comfortable around the giant Wolves - even the smallest Hunter-scout was twice the size of any normal wolf - but he didn't like the idea that one would die after having saved him if he could help it.
"We should go. The pass is four days riding." The Warrior Wolf said gruffly, picking himself up and heading for the pass. Moving slowly so as not to agitate his still throbbing wounds, Harry climbed back into the saddle and eased Twilight after the pack of weaving forms.
"Are you hurt?" He asked the unisus, patting him along the neck.
"I am fine. And yourself? How are you?"
"I'm okay now. Thanks Fawkes...I thought I was dead for sure." He then suddenly remembered the Gryffindor sword and turned abruptly to look back at the quickly shrinking battle site.
"It's in the saddle hoister." Twilight said quietly. Harry checked the hoister and sure enough the bejeweled hilt was protruding from the leather sheath. "Perhaps you should keep it in easy reach." Harry agreed silently and reached up to scratch Fawkes’ neck. The phoenix preened under the attention and nuzzled against his cheek.
Night fell barely two hours later and they slowed to a stop next to a stream.
"We'll set up a watch from the cliffs. This area is heavily shielded so you shouldn't have any problems. This is NightSong, he'll stay with you." The hunter-scout that had saved him from the Forest Wolf, still covered in dark sticky blood came foreword a few steps. Without another word the pack turned and bounded up the mountainsides, disappearing efficiently in the darkness despite their light coloring. Harry looked at the Wolf a little uncertainly before casting a glance around the clearing. They were under a ledge in a semi-circle of thick trees that shielded them from any casual glance from the road, a stream bubbling softly next to them.
"Um...do you want to....take a bath or something?" NightSong cocked his head to one side and surveyed Harry for a moment before turning and wading into the stream.
"Are you planning on starting a fire?" Twilight asked suddenly, obviously a little annoyed and very tired. Harry sighed wistfully and eyed the clearing again and for the first time noticed a little notch, not so much a cave as a three-walled cubical that would protect them and the fire from the worst of the wind and go further to hide them from anything that might not be specifically looking for them...yet. Taking Twilight by the reigns, he led the unisus into the sheltered rock outcropping. Feeling like he hadn't slept or eaten for months, Harry found Fawkes a natural shelf and made him a temporary nest of a stack of dried leaves and grass that the wind had blown into a far corner, he then set to the arduous task of removing the saddle and supplies from his mount's tired back. Twilight gratefully unfurled his wings and stretched luxuriously.
Digging through the bag Harry found the kindling and started a small fire, watching it crackle to life and immediately felt like he might just sink into the ground and not move for a few centuries.
"You're not planning on sleeping in that, I hope..." Harry spun abruptly. NightSong was damp but otherwise clean and looked refreshed from his bath. "You should eat, then get to bed. Warrior will wake you early tomorrow. Probably before the sun rises." Harry marveled at the Wolf's voice, calm and soothing and not half as deep as the Warrior's was, in fact, it sounded almost feminine and Harry wondered for a moment if NightSong really was a male.
"....? Huh? Oh, yeah. Yeah you're right." He turned back to the bag and pulled out the rations bag. "Are you hungry? I'm not sure what this thing gives, but..."
"I am fine.......thank you....for offering." Harry nodded uncertainly then reached into the bag and though it looked empty from the outside, and certainly nothing fell from it when upturned, his hand closed around a small packet and he drew it out. It contained dried meat, a large hunk of cheese and round loaf of flatbread. Harry chewed at it slowly watching Twilight tear absently at some sweet grass he found growing in abundance through cracks in the cliff wall, and Fawkes had long since fallen asleep.
"You should make the bird eat before he sleeps, or he will be very unhappy in the morning." NightSong commented, lifting his head from his grooming for a moment before return to the task of getting his fur into some proper order. Harry was once again struck by how feminine NightSong was, and cleared his throat while searching for something suitable for the still sleeping phoenix.
"So....um...do female Wolves hunt?" He asked nervously, keeping his eyes glued to the task for many more moments. When NightSong said nothing, he tentatively looked up and just about fainted. The Wolf was smiling at him; but it wasn't an inviting smile in the least. NightSong had far too many much too sharp teeth and they gleamed menacingly in the firelight. Harry waited tensely for the Wolf to do something drastic and lunge at his throat; had he insulted the Wolf in some unfathomable way?
"Yes...actually females hunt very well... And I am male by the way." Harry's breath caught in his throat and his eyes opened a little wider; was NightSong angry with him?
"Oh..." Was all he could manage.
"Would you like to check?" NightSong offered slyly and for the first time, Harry realized that NightSong was playing with him. He sighed loudly.
"That's okay...."
"Did you think I was going to eat you or something?" NightSong asked, making a sharp barking sound that took Harry a moment to identify as a laugh. Harry shook his head, laughing nervously as he finally located a bag that contained seed and dried herbs of one sort or the other.
"Fawkes? Fawkes...come on you need to eat." The phoenix didn't seem pleased to be woken up, but he gratefully accepted the bag of feed and buried his face in it. Harry tossed a glance at Twilight and smiled when he saw that the unisus was sleeping soundly on one side.
"I happen to be a rather attractive male at that..." NightSong persisted when Harry settled down again to finish his 'dinner'.
"I'm sure you are." Harry laughed; he was actually getting comfortable with the Wolf. They continued the pointless banter for a while longer, but Harry's eyes were beginning to close of their own accord so he pulled out his bedroll and flung it so it unrolled on its own.
"You're going to freeze if you sleep like that." NightSong pointed out when Harry began to climb into the bag. Growling softly, Harry moved back to the bag to find the warm things he had packed. "Don't put more *on*!" Harry gave an irritated sigh and turned to the Wolf.
"And what else should I do?"
"Take them off. You'll be much warmer if you sleep nude...under the blankets of course." Harry began to laugh, NightSong was toying with him again. "I'm serious. Your clothing will trap heat in the material, but you're bag is made like an insulator so it will keep the warmth in your bag with your body. That's were it's most useful by the way."
"How would you know something like that?" He asked suspiciously, his eyes narrowing to green slits.
"Just trust me." Harry glared at him for a moment longer, then shrugged and began removing his clothing. The mountain air was frigid and he was freezing even as he pulled his boxers off and jumped into the bedroll. Upon seeing Harry crawl into his blankets, Fawkes took his food bag and carried it back to the saddle stuff before hopping on the blankets and insisting that he be let in. NightSong laughed at their antics and gingerly picked Harry's discarded clothing off the ground.
"I should burn these. You have much warmer things to wear...you'll catch your death in these." He observed, but Harry had already fallen asleep. Smiling a wolf smile, NightSong nudged the clothing into Harry's bag with his nose and curled up on the young wizard's chest.