Land Down Under (KJDarKnight & Treasure)

Mathias came to a stop when he caught sight of the wolves and the woman sitting among them. He frowned slightly. She seemed to be...one of them? He'd never seen anything like it before and he wasn't sure what to make of it
 
Lynna gasped and jumped to a very wrong conclussion. "Hey! Look out!" she yelped suddenly. "Run away fast!" How did that girl not notice the wolves that were stalking her??

The wolves were on their paws, hackles raised as they turned toward the pair. They snarled viciously as they slowly stalked forward. The girl was on her feet, a spear clutched in her hands as she glared into the darkness. She made a noise, something like a bark as she challenged them.
 
"Dammit Lynna" he grabbed her arm and pulled her back "she's not in danger" he hissed in a whisper "but now we are. Go back. Slow and quiet" he added in an urgent whisper. Maybe they could get away from this still
 
Lynna turned to run, but two of the wolves had flanked them and now ran around to block them. They growled harshly, approaching slowly.

The girl stood waiting and glaring at them. She hadn't spoken yet, her dark eyes fixed on Mathias. Mathias was the alpha. Lynna was nothing more than a pup. She could tell that instantly.
 
"Fuck" Mathias grumbled "don't make any sudden moves, don't smile, don't look them in the eyes" he cautioned Lynna, his eyes on the woman "drop the knife" he added before lowering the rifle and showed his hands "we mean no harm" he said to the wild woman
 
Lynna tucked the knife in her belt instead of tossing it. The wolves stopped but still growled low and deep.

The girl glared at Mathias. "All people mean harm" she snarled at him. "You eat us."
 
"No. Not us. We don't eat wolves" Mathias assured "rabbits, dear, no predators" he kept his voice calm and quiet
 
"Just what you humans say," she spat. "Untruths! You destroy!"

"Okay, that's fair, plenty of humans destroy, but that's why we're out here," Lynna tried to reason. "The other humans kicked us out. We're trying to rebuild."

She glared at them still. "Not believe you! Prove it."
 
"How can we prove it?" Mathias asked not sure how she expected them to prove they had been thrown out
 
"Your problem," she snapped.

Lynna pointed back the way they'd come. "Can we just... leave? We won't be back."

She snorted. "Humans never leave what they find."

Lynna thought about it then glanced at Mathias. "We could take her to meet the others?"
 
"Maybe" he was skeptical all of them would be open to all this. But what choice did they have.

He looked back at the woman "come meet our group. Watch where we go. See for yourself and here. Hold on to this until you trust what we say" he slowly pulled the rifle off his shoulder, pulled out the magazine, and put it on the ground and stepped away from it.

He was giving up his main form of defence, equivalent of rolling over and submitting, he'd made them vulnerable
 
She stared at them, her gaze narrow. She didn't move for several minutes, the wolves growing antsy around her.

"Fine," she suddenly spat. "Go. Leave. I not want see you again."

"Okay, okay," Lynna said, backing away, "but, you know, we're going somewhere to find shelter. Don't you want a proper home?"

The woman didn't answer, just sneered at Lynna.
 
Mathias glanced at Lynna "Come on, lets go" if the woman wanted a home she knew where they were. He wasn't about to push anything. He backed away from the woman and glanced at the wolves. He was still careful not to make any sudden movements
 
The woman barked at the wolves - literally barked! - and the shaggy beasts reluctantly parted to let the pair go. Lynna tried to go slow and careful, resisting the urge to run full-tilt out of there. From the snarls and growls behind them, the wolves were not happy about letting these intruders go, but Lynna did not look back.
 
Mathias lead them back towards the firelight of camp, not speaking until the growling was distant. "Well that was... not at all what I was expecting..." he glanced back "We got lucky... the wolves could easily take our whole group if they had a mind to"
 
Mathias sighed "My guess... the wolves took her in when she was little. She grew up with them not with people. She's not crazy it's just all she knows" he reasoned "Best to let her be, she's plenty safe with her pack, safer than we are, to be perfectly honest"
 
Lynna frowned, thinking it over as they walked. "But it's not right. People need to be with people. Not animals. And... she looks like one of us, not Badru's people, so why would she be up here at all?"
 
Matbias shook his head "I don't know... and honestly we have bigger problems" he was just glad they got away unscathed.

He did wonder about the woman but he had been placed as leader and he had to think of them first
 
"At least aren't that far from camp," Lynna muttered. "I still did not get my baton back."

Back at camp, Badru stood patiently waiting, calm and at the ready. Jonah paced a little as he watched the darkness suspiciously.
 
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