Thank Gwythr Birch had a plan, because for some bizarre reason, what to do when you’re cornered by a talking wolf pack was never covered in Italian high school. Jacopo inched back slightly, keeping his eyes on the lead wolf and trying to remember where the food bag was. They must have had it with them when they were sat by the fire in the evening, and they definitely hadn’t thought to bring it with them into the tent, so… it must still be by the ashes. Jacopo turned his head slightly so that he could see the campfire in the corner of his vision while also watching the wolves. They hadn’t moved, and they were unnaturally quiet. He suppressed a shiver. Few things scared Jacopo after two stints in prison, but there was something eerie about the way the semi-circle of wolves were sat staring at him with their reflective eyes glinting in the moonlight.

He kept his movements slow and steady, like Birch said, but his heart was thumping like a rabbit. He managed to retrieve the food bag without any of the wolves budging. Maybe it was just his imagination, but they looked even hungrier than they had seconds before. Jacopo passed the bag to Birch, who withdrew some meat and cheese and threw it into the no-man’s-land between them and the opposing army. His mouth dry, Jacopo relayed her words to the silent wolves.

“Seems fair,” the long-haired brown-grey one said thoughtfully. “The fight just doesn’t seem worth it.”

The black wolf grunted dissent. “Can’t trust humans.”

“They’re not humans,” piped up a silvery-grey wolf on the far left. “Humans can’t talk. That male is a fairy.”

“We’re both fairies,” Jacopo clarified, trying not to think about the fact that he was conversing with a bunch of hungry talking wolves. “Fairies are more connected with nature than humans. You can trust us.”

“Told you so,” the silvery-grey wolf said smugly, while the black wolf grunted again, looking displeased.

The lead wolf had remained quiet so far, his yellow eyes fixed on Birch. Jacopo got the sense that he knew who the alpha was between these two fairies and was sizing her up. When he stood up, the other wolves immediately fell silent and turned to look expectantly at him, waiting for the verdict.

“We’ll be back tomorrow night for our meal,” the lead wolf said firmly. He stepped forward, grasping Birch’s offerings between his teeth, and then turned and vanished back into the forest. The rest of his pack followed suit, although the black wolf curled his teeth back into a snarl before he went.

Feeling the tension in his chest loosen slightly, Jacopo translated what the wolf had said for Birch’s benefit, still watching the treeline where the animals had disappeared. “You really couldn’t hear them?” He frowned slightly. “They were speaking Italian.”