Gwen held Henrietta close, trying to shield the unconscious girl from any injury. But nothing happened. Instead from the corner of her eyes, she saw a javelin arc across the sky and land between them and the man. Both of their attentions turned towards the source. It was Henry riding Granthar. Brave, foolish, and horribly injured Henry, saving them again. In that moment Gwen blinked tears and quickly wiped them away on her sleeve. Relief rushed through her, even though she was angry at the foolish warrior for coming to their rescue. 

Henry got off the tiger and fell. It only made the tears come faster. Stupid stupid stupid. He was being incredibly stupid right now. He stood up shakily and made his way to them. And Gwen saw it again, blood. He was bleeding again. A gush of blood slipped past his fingers as he tried to cover the wound. The girl looked away and let the tears flow.

"Please tell me you're both okay?"

Her blonde hair swayed slightly as he bobbed in a weak nod. Silence passed between them for a moment. She wiped her tears away before flashing a glare up at Henry. Her mouth opened to reprimand the already injured boy, but no words came. In that instant her eyes turned towards the tunnel they came out of. She could feel the snap of bone. It was too faint for human ears to hear, but the snap reverberated throughout her body. Then she heard the scream of the man.

From the tunnel, Fenrir emerged. The kidnapper’s leg was in his mouth as the wolf dragged the body towards them. Blood trickled down Fenrir’s fangs and black fur. The kidnapper was… still alive. Gwen knew that even though there was so much blood on the man. Fenrir stopped a few yards away and deposited the kidnapper on the ground and sat down besides the body.

"Good afternoon, students of the Academy. This is an important announcement: tonight's banquet has been brought forwards and will instead take place two hours from now. Please ensure that you prepare adequately and attend on time. That is all."

The bodiless voice startled all of them. But when the message ended, Gwen stood up and gently settled Henrietta down. She was a noblewoman of Elianst. There wasn’t time to dawdle in shock.

“Fenrir, Granthar,” She addressed both familiars. Fenrir waited for instructions while Granthar seemed more amused at being ordered around again. “Both of you stay here.” Henry was about to speak but she stopped him. “You’re in no shape to be moving. You stay here, I’ll go for help. Fenrir, keep a look out for anything suspicious. He may have more accomplices near by. We need him alive to get any information we can, so try to subdue him and not tear his throat out.” And with that Gwen left in search of teacher.