The Echoes of Forgotten

Elara's breath came in shallow gasps, each exhale forming fleeting wisps in the frigid air, the cold biting into her exposed skin. Her eyes frozen to the spot the wolf was guarding with its massive body, she strained her ears, hoping for the faintest sign of footsteps retreating through the forest, but the silence pressed in, heavier than before.
The man- if he had truly been there- was gone, leaving no trace of his presence behind. Elara's heart ached with the uncertainty, the fragile thread of hope that had stirred inside her, now shredded into pieces.
The wolf who had remained- either to stop her from following the man or to keep an eye on her, Elara couldn't know, nor did she want to. The wolf's glowing eyes fixed on her, unblinking, but she was no longer scared of this beast who was excluding an eerie calmness as if it were more than just a creature of instinct.
She tried to stand again, taking the support of the tree behind her, but her muscles had become weak and unresponsive. Pain lanced through her shoulder once again, and her vision blurred. She tried to peer at her shoulder to see how deep the wound was under the rough bandages but the growl from the wolf stopped her from doing so. A frustrated curse escaped her own lips as she slumped back to the ground, something was wrong, though her other injuries were not hurting as much, but the one on her shoulder was getting worse as time passed, her strength as if being sucked out of her by something invisible.
The wolf however didn't move, but its gaze seemed to intensify, watching her struggle with a focus that felt almost human. As Elara rested her head back on the wooden texture, closing her eyes in frustration and exhaustion, she finally heard movement. The wolf loomed over her, its glowing blue eyes locked onto her pale face, smeared with dirt and blood.
"You should leave too... or are you waiting for my death?" Elara said through ragged puffs as she felt the wolf's presence, towering her with unnerving calmness as if weighing a decision far beyond the instinctive nature of beasts.
She finally opened her eyes, her turquoise meeting the blue orbs of the wolf, though the creature was so near her, again fanning her with its warm breath, she didn't feel scared. "You don't want me dead... or rather that man you sent away doesn't want it, right? Or else... my fate should had been decided the moment you found me in this jungle." Elara commented, calm despite her situation. Though her dry throat was making it difficult to speak, she kept gulping on the little saliva that formed in her mouth to keep it hydrated... a futile attempt, she knew but she had no other option.
A low growl rumbled from somewhere deep within the wolf's chest. Elara felt she could now understand the creature too, just like that man... it was asking her to keep quiet. But what else was she supposed to do, her mind was on the edge of consciousness, it was making her frustrated and muddled-minded. Elara hated powerlessness but ever since she had awoken in this jungle, that's all she had felt- helpless, powerless, her mind kept traveling between consciousness and dreams- memories and she hated it.
She could barely feel the cold anymore- the wolf was keeping her upper side warm but the snow under her should had felt cold at least but funnily, her lower body had become stiff to it too. Elara froze, the haze on her mind lifting slightly as the wolf bent its head low, nudging her side gently with its nose.
"W-what do you want?" She croaked, surprised by the wolf's action.
The wolf nudged again and then looked toward the mountains. Was it telling her to leave? In this condition?
"Can't you see?.. I can't even stand on my own... and you want me to walk all the way toward those mountains?" Elara asked, shaking her head in disbelief. The creature was intelligent but not so much as to understand that no normal person can walk with multiple injuries and that too a journey that might take a whole day for a healthy person.
The wolf however didn't stop, it nudged her again. But this time the wolf didn't straighten, instead, it sat down beside her as if telling her to mount it.
"Y-you... you want me to get on you?" If she had felt disbelief before, then it was not as much as she was feeling now. The wolf didn't move, its blue eyes to Elara's astonishment seemed softer than before as it waited patiently for her.
"I... I can't understand it... Are you really a beast? Why would a beast help a human?" The beast huffed, its warm breath creating a fleeting cloud around her. Then, it did something unexpected- something no ordinary wolf would do. It leaned further until its back was right in front of Elara, who in response stared in shock and bewilderment. The wolf pressed further, using its head to shift Elara's body onto its own, mistaking her shock with her incapability to move.
Elara quickly recovered from her shock, she grabbed the soft fur and with the help of the wolf, she maneuvered herself on top of the wolf. Its thick fur cushioned her, offering some warmth against the biting cold. The beast stood tall, shifting under her to balance her weight, and then it turned its gaze toward the mountains looming in the distance. The sun almost hiding behind them, completing its patrol for the day.
"Wait-"
With one swift motion, the wolf jumped toward the mountains, and Elara's cry of shock was drowned in her throat.
The journey ahead was treacherous: between the forest and the mountain stretched an open, snowy plain, barren and exposed to the harsh wind that was making Elara hide her face in the soft warmth of the beast. The wolf's muscles coiled as it stepped out of the sheltering trees, moving with deliberate speed which made Elara feet like she was moving in the air, carried by the wind at a speed not known to humans.
Each powerful stride from the wolf carried them further into the desolate expanse, the nearby voices died down and only the wind pressed on Elara's exposed ears.

The wind howled across the frozen wasteland, carving intricate patterns into the snow and leaving no place to hide. The sun which was already setting when they started their journey had completely disappeared and in its place the moonlight reflected off the endless white, illuminating the path forward and painting Elara's form as a faint silhouette on the wolf's back. The wolf's pace quickened, they were almost near the mountains, Elara had noticed the change in the howls of the wind around them and she finally looked up, the mountains loomed ahead but the air had gotten colder. She moved, pressing herself further into the warmth of the fur, her fingers twitching where the wind was slapping on the exposed skin. The wolf glanced back briefly, its glowing eyes narrowing, then pressed onward with renewed determination, jumping from one shadow of the clouds to another.

It wove a path that avoided open ridges and steered clear of patches of snow too deep to navigate safely. By the time they reached the base of the mountain, the moon had also hidden from view, making the night darker and difficult to see in. The wolf however didn't stop, it slowed its pace as it approached a jagged, rocky outcropping partially concealed by snow and ice. With a low grunt, it slipped through a narrow crevice, the opening barely wide enough for its massive frame to pass.
Inside the cave was a darkness that pressed on Elara's sight, making it impossible to see but the wolf carefully walked inside without bumping into the walls and it finally came to a halt. The air was frigid but still, offering a respite from the biting wind.
Elara grabbed the wolf's fur as she felt its body lowering. When it stopped going any lower, Elara carefully slid off its back, using her weak legs to tap on the ground to navigate in the darkness. Elara blinked several times to adjust her vision in the darkness, even after a few seconds of silence where the only noise was the whistles of the wind at the cave's door and her own breath mixed with the wolf's low puffs, Elara could only make out the hulking shape of the wolf nearby. She blinked, her mind struggling to piece together the events that had brought her here. Her gaze lingered on the beast, its blue eyes, two glowing orbs in the darkness.
"What... What are you?" The word came out in a hoarse whisper, barely audible over the sound of her shallow breathing.
She saw the outlines of the wolf sitting back on its haunches, its glowing eyes locked onto hers. The beast didn't growl or snarl, instead, it seemed to consider her question, as if understanding her words.
Elara's mind reeled, wolves were intelligent, yes, but this- this was something entirely different than anyone could ever imagine. She pressed her uninjured hand against the icy wall, the cold seeping into her palm as she tried to steady herself.
"This doesn't make sense," she muttered before she could stop herself but the wolf stood abruptly, its massive form towering over her once more making her breath hitch.
It turned toward the cave's entrance, the only place where a small amount of moonlight was entering the can, its ears twitching as if listening for something beyond the wind. Then the blue glows glanced back at her, softening for the briefest moment, and without warning, it began to pad toward the exit, pausing only to nudge a small pile of dried moss toward her. A makeshift bed, Elara's fingers curled weakly into the moss as she stared at the creature, her pulse quickening despite her exhaustion. Wolves didn't act like this. No wild animal carried a human on its back, especially someone who entered their territory without their permission, let alone take them to a place for them to rest and shelter from the heavy cold.
Her lips parted, but no words came. The wolf growled softly, ears swiveling toward the entrance of the cave as if hearing for anything unusual. It turned, its massive form silhouetted against the pale moonlight, then glanced back at her one last time. The look in its eyes was... knowing intelligence. Before she could summon the courage to speak again, the wolf stepped out into the blizzard and disappeared into the darkness of the night, leaving her alone in the eerie stillness of the cave.
For a long moment, Elara simply stared after it, her body trembling from exhaustion and disbelief. The warmth of the wolf's fur lingered faintly on her skin, a reminder of the surreal journey that had brought her here. Her gaze flickered to the cave's mouth, where the faint glow of the moonlight marked the wolf's departure. "What kind of beast cares for a human?" she murmured, her voice barely audible and her eyes fell shut once again.