Chapter Text
Enid could smell them.
They weren't part of the pack.
No, they were...different.
Her pack had been watching them for days, she knew this well, but for the first time, she was actually within smelling range of one of the others. The Hound had told her that these new people were stupid, like sheep.
They were prey.
The night was dark and full of terrors, but none would dare attack her pack. Enid knew they were strong, stronger than a pack of actual wolves. The living and dead alike feared her, or so she liked to think. It was really the leader of the pack, simply known as the Hound, that inspired fear. But these new people were, like her leader had said, stupid.
Sheep.
No more than eight of them sat around a dying orange fire, the occasional spark popping and floating away towards the moon. It was a full moon, Enid thought with satisfaction. A nice, full, yellow moon that served at the lone source of light on the otherwise pitch black night. The patriarch of the sheep, a man with long, greasy brown hair and a stubborn face, stared into the fire as if trying to win a staring contest with the flickering flame.
Stupid sheep, Enid thought. The fire will make him night blind.
She couldn't wait to pounce on her prey. The Hound had been generous to send her on this mission. Simple, yet important for a lesser member of the pack. She would make sure The Hound knew everything that the sheep had done while under her surveillance. He would reward her well, she knew.
When the man with the greasy hair finally turned his back on the fire and fell asleep, Enid knew it was time to head back to camp. Quiet as a cat, she stalked through the dense Virginia forest with haste. If she were late, The Hound would surely punish her. Enid didn't want that. When The Hound got mad, it never turned out good for anybody in the pack.
As she trekked through the woods, she became aware of a faint rustling sound. It grew more prominent, quiet at first, but then as if it were right on top of her. Enid whipped her head around to see one of the dead barreling down on top of her. Killer instinct kicked in. She side-stepped the stupid animal, allowing it to crash into the ground where she had just stood.
Enid wrapped her hand around the curved knife her mother had given her in a time long forgotten. The hilt, personally carved, felt at home in her slender hand. She withdrew the weapon from her belt and ended the beast in front of her by plunging her knife into its eye socket. A small black pool of blood oozed from the wound, but the creature remained dead.
"Stupid animal," Enid commented as another dead beast descended on her.
She didn't have time to think, only to act. There was no time for caution as she battled the creature on top of her. The stench of rotting flesh made her want to vomit, but she pushed the urge away along with the beast. It scrambled in the leaves to regain its vertical base. Enid stopped it with a swift jab into the side of its head.
Better, Enid thought.
Enid emerged into a clearing large enough for the twenty or so members of the pack. Only the light of the full moon shone down upon them. Most pack members were sleeping, but the lone figure standing in the middle was wide awake. A shadowy figure standing nearly seven feet tall, clad in worn leathers and furs, he awaited Enid's return.
"What have you learned?" The Hound asked, his voice gruff and throaty.
"The sheep are sleeping." Enid reported, careful to bow her head before her leader. "The head of their pack spent some time staring into their fire, but now he is fast asleep."
"What of the others?"
"Sleeping." Enid said dutifully.
"Good," The Hound said, "Very good. You may be of some use to us after all, Little Wolf. I have another mission for you, if you are willing to embark upon it."
She had exceeded her master's expectations, Enid knew. Excitement bubbled through her petite body, to the point where she began to shake with eagerness. "Oh, anything for you!" Enid exclaimed. "Please, I will accept your offer!"
"Very well." The Hound motioned for her to raise her bowed head. "I was planning on giving this to Ramsay, but it seems that you are willing to commit to me entirely. Listen close, Little Wolf, for this is dangerous."
"I'm listening!" Enid said.
"Good. Now, while in pursuit of the sheep we are tracking now, one of the Pack has discovered a place filled with sheep. Walls protect them from us, but it appears that these sheep are especially stupid."
"How stupid?"
"Stupid enough to let in other sheep, from the outside. Possibly dangerous people, and they just let them into their little community. The Pack could easily storm the walls and butcher all inside, but I have thought on it for many a day. I have come to the conclusion that a siege of this place will not suffice. We would lose to many."
"This is where you come in, Little Wolf."
"What am I to do?" Enid asked, eager to serve her master.
"You are to disguise yourself as a sheep and join this community of theirs. You are to gain intelligence on their numbers, their weapons, and their defenses. You are to become one of them, or so they will think. When the time is right, you will sneak back out and report all of your acquired knowledge to me."
"You want me to become a sheep?" Enid asked, repulsed by the idea. "One of...them?" She said them as if it was the most repulsive thing she could think of. It was.
"Precisely, Little Wolf. You appear innocent enough, at least to somebody who doesn't know who you really are. You are the perfect candidate for this mission, if you are willing to forgo on such a dangerous endeavour."
"Oh, yes!" Enid cried. "I accept! I accept!"
"Excellent." The Hound embraced Enid in a warm hug, something that she had never seen him do to anybody else ever before. The simple gesture made her feel content. Wanted. Dare she think, loved.
"Where am I going?" She asked after The Hound had broken contact.
"The sheep call their home the Alexandria Safe-Zone, or so the scouts say."