Herbalists' Cache never had to knock on wood

Coelacanth reveled in the male’s easy companionship; her long, slender legs bunched and flexed to reach the pinnacle of her gait, flowing strides lengthening so she could savor the simple joy of tracking the beast shoulder-to-shoulder. The smoke-and-iron male’s excitement was contagious. Panting elatedly, Seelie nodded in response to his silent question and tipped her head quizzically toward the lonely bellow. “Shall we?” bespoke the sparkle in her Neptune eyes, and at the gold-masked wolf’s urging she took point. Catlike paws snapped into a quicker gear, and the oddly-matched pair broke through the deepening snowdrifts to spot a bull elk, just as they’d hoped — but this elk was the largest creature Seelie had ever seen.

One thing was for certain: two wolves alone could never bring down such a magnificent beast. He was kingly, the prongs of his vicious-looking rack encrusted in frost, and his fur was peppered with snow and ice. His breath came in wicked curls as he snorted, sighting the wolves, and stomped one cloven hoof. The bull appeared to be fashioned of the winter weather, a harbinger of the perils yet to come, and Coelacanth turned an uneasy eye to Tryphon. A testing step was taken toward the grizzled herdmaster, and when the elk snorted again — this time in derision — and began to move off, “Let us give chase!” she begged the larger wolf, darting forward a few steps with a soundless bark. With a huffing sigh, the elk moved into a lumbering trot, annoyed and disgruntled but wholly certain of his safety; and Coelacanth followed, good-naturedly nipping at his heels. When her excess energy was spent, she turned to her impromptu hunting partner with a silent farewell; then she retrieved her bowl and trotted carefully back to the bay.