Watching him go, she felt an unexpected pang of emotion and smiled at him her eyes shining with unshed tears for the lost kittens and for his act of kindness. She sighed, suddenly realizing they would likely have no means to care for a litter of lynx kits. She rubbed her head and looked at the fire, there would have to be some way. She rolled out one of the furs near the flames and set to work cutting up the deer carcass for cooking and drying.
Pren returned up the hill around not long after he left. He had three kittens in each hand and arm, with an extra one tucked underneath his bicep. Seven in total he looked to her. "Are you sure you want them?"
Gwennol widened her eyes at the sight of the blind mewling kittens. Seven in a litter! No wonder the mother was so very thin, "Well...now I don't have a choice. You've saved them and now I'm responsible." She pulled the hide apron of her skirt up, holding it out to take the kittens.
'It isnt too late for me to take them back," Pren replied, reaching for her apron, first of all putting the three in his right arm in before he one by one added the remaining four. "If it rains. I am just sheltering you, not them. I do not want to be bit in the middle of the night."
Gwennol looked at them, setting them by their dead mother and they squirm over each other to try to suckle the last of the milk but a few are already too weak to move. "They don't have very big teeth," she looked into one of their mouths, the tiny points had cut through the gums already.
Pren watched the kittens with a raised brow as they squirmed for their dead mother.
Gwennol sighed and knelt down, stroking their fur and looked up at him, "I know I shouldn't have asked...the Huntsman has his ways. I have no milk to give them, if only I had a goat." She moved to put a pot of water to boil, shredding some meat to put in it.
Pren grunted, as he moved voer to sit by the fire, watching her and the kittens, "I am not catching a goat for you."
She shook her head, "I've seen no signs of goats, anyway." She finally got the meat softed and mushy and attempted to feed the kittens with her finger, but most of them turn away, not wanting the offered food.
"I will have it if they don't want it," Pren looked at the food with a small chuckle.
Gwennol took out some travel bread and spoons the hash onto it, handing him a piece. "I don't think they'll make it, they're too young to be away from their mother." She put her cloak down, covering the litter to keep them warm.
Pren took the travel bread before sticking it his mouth, chewing before he responded, "Just let them fight to see who lives." He shrugged his broad shoulders, clearly not knowing about this kind of stuff.
Gwennol sighed through her nose, "They're too young to fight but the strongest might survive the one who will eat the meat." She offered it to them several times in the evening, only one or two attempting to eat.
Pren watched her and the kittens with a small shake of his head, "You should rest."
Gwennol tucked her hair behind her ear, holding one kitten that is very quiet and still. She shook her head, standing without a word and went to bury the small body at the edge of camp. Coming back, she sat down with her hands in her lap. "They would have died anyway, it just hurts to watch."
Pren looked about, trying to find the strongest of the kittens, "One might live."
Gwennol watched as one crawled over its siblings, mewling loudly as he sought out the source of comfort blindly.
Pren asked, "What do they need to live?"
Gwennol pulled the cloak over them, "They need their mother." She offered them food one by one, "I think they were left for awhile.They were very cold and that's a bigger killer than lack of food."
"Then move them by the fire," Pren pulled his fur cloak off, placing it by the fire and making it like a small ditch.
Gwennol shifted the cloak, adding the kittens to the fur closer to the fire, "That one that's crawling has eaten some of the meat."
"Then that one will probably live," he said, watching the crawling kitten with a small nod. "You should sleep you know. I want to leave at first light again."
Gwennol waved him off, reaching down once more to try and encourage the others to eat. "I'll sleep later, on the horse if I must."
Pren sighed and replied, "Fine. But I will stay awake, too. Bears lurk in these woods, and yourself, a few kittens and a bird can not scare one off."
Gwennol looked at him, "I can always wake you, get some rest." She pulled the more boisterous kitten into her lap, feeding him off her finger, his tiny teeth nipping her as he ate.
Pren grumbled before he lay on his side, looking at her and the kitten before he falling into a light doze.
Night passed quickly, the stars bright over the hills of the Trollshaws. In the darkness, there were sounds she knew and those that were unfamiliar. A snuffling sound that she was not quite sure was a bear and heavy steps that made her shiver but came no closer so she did not wake Pren. It was not long before she had to tend to the kittnes for a final time. As dawn broke, Gwennol came back from the edge of the camp, her hands slightly dirty from digging. Her eyes were red rimmed, from tears or tiredness one could not be sure. She put a pot on to heat water and a few cuts of the venison on sticks near the smoldering coals. She tucked the surviving kitten in her robe, keeping him warm.
Pren remained asleep, his head resting on his bicep, his muscles twitching slightly every now and then.
Gwennol moved over to him, kneeling and gently shaking his arm, "It's dawn, Pren, wake up."
Pren stirred rather strongly, his head jerking upright and looking about as usual before his breathing calmed. He then looked into her eyes. "You have been crying."
Gwennol moved back a bit as he startled awake. She rubbed her eyes, "I'm just tired and the smoke..." She glanced back at the treeline, "They all passed save the one that ate." She reached into her robe, pulling out the sleeping kitten, his scrawny body curled up as she cradled him.
Pren looked to her with a raised brow, almost certain that she has cried before he shook his head. "More manageable than all of the ones I arrived with." He then sat up, looking to the kitten and pointing one of his large fingers outwards, gently tapping it on the head.
Gwennol sniffled but would not admit to crying, "He'll get bigger." The kitten woke, mewling and stretching, responding to the tap on the head.
Pren pushed himself up, offering his hand to her. "Come. I am ready to leave."
Gwennol tucked the kitten back into her robes, letting it nestle between her breasts. She stifled a yawn and nodded, gathering her things and picked up the sticks with the roasted meat, handing him one.
Pren rips the meat off using his teeth as he moves to the horse, pulling it over towards the fire.
Gwennol kicked dirt onto the smoldering flames, snuffing out the flames. She took a bite and chewed it, discretely spitting it into a cloth to save for the kitten. She glanced at him to see if he noticed.
He was too busy eating his own food and getting the horse ready, the now empty stick between his teeth as he pushed a bag onto the back. Pren muttered, 'Ready?"
She nodded, finishing the smaller piece of meat and reached out for his hand to boost her up. Taking her hand before his other moved to her one leg, going to lift her up onto the horse's back, remaining off the horse as he looked about for a few moments.Gwennol straddled the horse, reaching to cup her chest to feel if the kitten is secure. Cysgod flapped his wings, finishing off the gristle that had been his breakfast.
Pren climbed on after lifting his cloak back around his shoulders, placing his arms around her this time more pinning her still though remaining gentle. Keeping both her and the kitten safe, he then gripped onto the horse's mane before it tapping his heels against its flanks.
Gwennol clung to the horse, leaning back as the rhythm of the stride started to rock her to sleep, secure in his arms.
Pren whispered to her, quite gentle for once. "Sleep. I have you safe."
Gwennol dozed off, a small smile on her lips at his words, her head bouncing slightly against his chest.
Pren remained quiet while she slept, only speaking when she would show signs of stirring, telling her to go back to sleep.
The young woman finally woke when the kitten mewled, calling out in hunger. She opened her eyes, peering at the landscape, no longer of one of steep cliffs but rolling hills and holly trees. "How long was I asleep?"
Pren replied, "Nearly the day."
Gwennol shook her head, clearing it of grogginess and took the kitten out, rubbing him with a cloth before feeding him some of the chewed meat. "Where are we?" She looked around at the deserted landscape, the ruins in the distance.
"The land just above Enedwaith. A few dunlendings are about here. I came here often with the Dragon-Clan," the big warrior said, halting the horse for a moment. The sun was starting to go down, setting the holly trees aglow with red light and behind them the cliffs of the Trollshaws cast long shadows.
