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They rode in silence for the rest of the day. The storm seemed to have done its worst. There were a few showers, but nothing like before. They were fortunate they did not get the snow and sleet of the more northern lands, but Aein was grateful for the cloak Finn had passed along to her the night they left.
They encountered almost no one on the road. Those they did scowled at them with suspicion. The fighting between the Haidra Kingdom and Lord Arnkell's land had taken its toll. Aein hated that the people they passed were drawn and hungry, their eyes were hardened, their spirit stooped beneath the ravages of this pointless war. All this suffering was because of one man's greed. One man who was willing to sacrifice whatever and whomever he needed to get what he wanted. She hated him.
It was on the fifth day that Finn stopped and raised his nose to the sky.
"What is it?" Aein asked, as if he could answer while in wolf form. Lars pulled out his sword, sensing the shift in mood. His horse danced nervously.
Finn whined. He pointed his nose and paw like a hunting dog. She peered into the shadows of the trees.
"There is nothing there but some birds," she said in confusion.
Finn barked. Aein didn't know if that meant there was someone else there or something else entirely.
"Let's go take a look," said Lars.
Aein's heart skipped a beat as her body prepared for whatever lay waiting in the forest edge. By the time she removed her mace, Finn had taken off into the tree line and Lars was fast behind. She couldn't believe they had gone on without her. She spurred her horse on.
Both Lars and Finn were stopped beneath a tree staring up at one of the higher branches. There was nothing there but a hawk. It would land and then fly off and then come back again. Whenever it moved, Finn began barking and snapping at it, trying to climb up the trunk.
"The hawk?" she said with confusion.
Finn would not leave it alone, so she replaced her mace and pulled her bow from the quiver attached to her saddle. But before she could load the arrow onto the string, the bird was gone, well out of range.
She replaced her weapons and Finn sat, exhaling a disgusted huff. She could see he was frustrated. She turned to Lars. "Any idea what that was about?"
Lars shrugged, as mystified as she was. He pointed at Finn. "We talk tonight," he stated, as both a promise and a threat.
As they returned to the road, Finn kept whining and trying to lead them back into the forest.
"Finn, unless we are in dire danger, traveling through the forest will only slow us down and honestly, not going to provide us shelter. If you haven't noticed, we're wearing this." She banged on her metal breastplate. "Lord Arnkell doesn't need to send any spies. He can probably hear us coming with all this clanking armor."
Finn was not dissuaded and kept running back and forth to the tree line.
"What on earth has gotten into him?" asked Lars, leaning forward on his saddle. "It is as if he has gone mad."
Aein followed Finn's gaze to the top of one of the trees and squinted. "Is that the same hawk?"
Finn went wild barking and snapping. Aein again pulled out her bow and arrow, but again, before she could even notch it, the hawk took off. But he did not fly away completely. He circled and then came back, landing in a tree some distance ahead. There, he sat and watched them.
"Is that creature following us?" Aein wondered out loud. As soon as she said the words, Finn calmed. "That is what was going on, wasn't it?" asked Aein.
Finn barked in affirmation.
Lars wiped his face with his hand and stared off at the bird. "What can we do about this?" he mused.
Aein put her bow and arrow within easy reach. "We keep an eye on the sky and if it comes close, we kill it."
"But why is it tracking us?" said Lars. "Who sent it? And what knowledge could they glean from a bird? It can't talk. It can't tell anyone what it sees."
"Unless they are able to see what it sees. Or..." Aein looked from Lars to Finn and back again. "Or if the bird is a human, someone capable of shifting into an animal other than a wolf."
Lars clenched his jaw, the muscles bunching at the corners. "Then perhaps it is best if we wait until sunset and see if our friend is still with us when the dark comes."