Wolf-speaker Read Online Free

visits.
    I don’t do it a-purpose, argued Daine. How can I do it without paining you?
    Without
the fire, Cloud suggested. You don’t need it to talk to us, or to listen. Why should you need it now?
    Daine bit a thumbnail. Cloud was right. She only used the fire of her magic when she was tired, or when she had to do something hard. She was tired now, and the smell of cooking ham had filled her nostrils. “Let’s try again tomorrow,” she said aloud. “My head aches.”
    â€œCome eat,” called Numair. “You’ve been at it nearly an hour.”
    Daine went to the fire, Cloud following. Digging in her pack, the girl handed the pony a carrot before she sat. Numair handed over a bowl of mildly spiced vegetables and cooked ham. Kittenclimbed into the girl’s lap, forcing Daine to arrange her arms around the dragon as she ate. Between mouthfuls she explained what had taken place.
    Cloud listened, nibbling the carrot as her ears flicked back and forth. When Daine finished, the mare suggested, Perhaps I am the wrong one to try with.
    â€œWho, then, Cloud?” Daine asked. “I’ve known you longer than anybody.” She yawned. The experiment, even though it hadn’t worked, had worn her out.
    But I am a grazer—you are a hunter. Why not try with a hunter? It may be easier to do this first with wolves. You are practically a wolf as it is.
    â€œAnd if I forget I’m human?”
    (“I wish I could hear both sides of this conversation,” Numair confided softly to Kitten. “I feel so left out, sometimes.”)
    The man said you won’t, replied Cloud. He should know. Brokefang is part of you already. Ask the stork-man. He will tell you I am right.
    Daine relayed this to Numair. “She has a point,” he said. “I hadn’t thought the predator-prey differential would constitute a barrier, but she knows you better than I.” He watched Daine yawn again, hugely, and smiled. “It
can
wait until tomorrow. Don’t worry about cleanup. I’ll do it.”
    â€œBut it’s my turn,” she protested. “You cooked, so I have to clean.”
    â€œGo to bed,” her teacher said quietly. “The moon will not stop its monthly journey simply because I cooked
and
cleaned on the same meal.”
    She climbed into her bedroll and was asleep the moment she pulled the blankets up. When the wolves returned much later, she woke just enough to see them group around her. With Kitten curled up on one side and Brokefang sprawled on the other, Daine finished her night’s rest smiling.

    It was damp and chilly the next morning, the cold a taste of the months to come. Breakfast was a quiet meal, since neither Daine nor Numair was a morning person. They cleaned up together and readied the horses for the day’s journey.
    The wolves had gone to finish the previous night’s kill. They were returning when Numair handed Daine a small tube of paper tied with plain ribbon. “Can we send this on to the king today?” he asked.
    Daine nodded, and reached with her magic. Not far from their campsite was the nest of a golden eagle named Sunclaw. Daine approached her politely and explained what she wanted. She could have made the bird do as she wished, but that was not the act of a friend. The eagle listened with interest, and agreed. When she came, Daine thanked her, and made sure the instructions for delivering Numair’s report were fixed in Sunclaw’s mind.Numair, who had excellent manners, thanked Sunclaw as well, handing the letter to her with a bow.
    Brokefang had watched all of this with great interest. You have changed, he commented when Sunclaw had gone. You know so much more now. You will make the two-leggers stop ruining the valley
    Daine frowned. I don’t know if I can, she told the wolf. Humans aren’t like the People. Animals are sensible. Humans aren’t.
    You will help us, Brokefang repeated, his