"Are we there yet?" Magnus asked.
"No," the elf replied, a deadpan expression on his face.
5 minutes later, they crossed a small stream.
"Are we there yet?"
"... No."
Another 5 minutes passed, and the forest thinned. Faintly, they could make out the start of a vast grassland.
"We got company!" Magnus said, turning to look towards his right.
"No! We're not-" the elf was about to yell, but it was interrupted.
"GRRR-" A weak growl came from the forest on their right side.
A thick leg stepped out of the bushes, claws long enough to tear a man apart. Two oversized fangs gleamed in the light, primal and terrifying.
A sabre tooth tiger.
'Or something that resembles it.' Magnus thought, eyeing the oversized cat.
Although it wasn't as large as the bear, it still was nearly as big as the war horse he rode.
"Kid, get behind me." the elf, though struggling, stood before Magnus.
He unsheathed a pair of intricately carved longswords, their tips curving slightly backwards.
A bold idea struck Magnus as he eyed the tiger.
'Just to make sure-' he closed his eyes, 'Control!'
The cat stiffened for a second, before Magnus felt a bond form with it.
'Wow. Far easier than before.' he gazed at his one remaining hand, before clenching it, 'I've grown a lot stronger. But I still shouldn't get cocky, lest I end up without the other one.'
Fragmented memories surged into his mind.
'The feelings and thoughts which are transmitted are always different. Ah, can't push her too much, otherwise she might break free. But she's surprisingly smart.'
His eyes opened, and he looked at the cat, the images of two cute cubs surfacing in his mind.
"Relax." Magnus spoke, and started going towards the beast. "It's a friend."
"Wha-STOP!?" the elf yelled and tried to stop him, but Magnus already arrived next to his new 'friend'.
Then, Etin saw Magnus grab the cats mouth and open it, before sticking his head in.
"See? It's a friend." he smiled as he pulled his still intact head out, looking at the dumbstruck elf.
He turned towards the cat. "Anyways, you're Tiger from now. Say, if I get you food, will you be my mount?" he looked towards the cat.
Tiger stared at him like he was insane, yet it understood what he said, 'Where's the food coming from?'
'There's enough bear and deer meat at my place for you to eat for the next month or two,Ha!' he communicated, sending images of the bear and deer over.
Reluctantly, the cat agreed.
'Hunting hasn't been easy for you, huh?' he asked, and the cat nodded In agreement.
'If I tried to separate her from her kids for too long, she would probably try to break free, no matter the price.'
Magnus pondered, as he climbed onto Tiger's back.
'So, if I make her follow me willingly, it should be easy to control her down the line. And she knows we could probably kill her, so she's willing to cooperate for her starving cubs- for now.'
He was about to order her to go towards the mountain, before he realized he forgot something.
Turning around to look at Etin, he saw the elf still standing there, his mouth wide open.
"Hahahahaha-"
"You getting on or do you want to walk, Etin?" he arrived in front of him, still mounted.
Etin snapped out of it, before taking a deep look at Magnus.
"I am 326 years old, and I have never encountered a madman like you." he climbed up, sitting behind Magnus.
"Holy- You're that old!? You look 20, at most!"
"...Im still considered a child, Magnus. My father is a 680 years old. And the oldest-"
"Stop! I'm getting jealous of you, why couldn't I have been a beautiful elf, instead I'm a crappy human!" Magnus lamented, "The world is so unfair!"
"...Can we get going already? Since we have places to be?" Etin asked, pretending to be annoyed.
"Oh right! Let's go Tiger, we need to be fast!"
Tiger turned to look at them, before thinking to itself,'Fast? You want fast?! I'll give you fast!'
Tiger tensed up.
'I have a bad feeling about this-' they thought at the same time.
A pair of screams rang out from the forest, one belonging to a human, and the other to an elf.
"TOO FAST, SLOW DOWN!"
"HEEEEEEEELP!"
The next thing they knew, they were at the mountain's base, the ride nothing but a blur of shapes and colors.
---
In a grove, somewhere in the middle of the mountain.
Magnus and Etin got off Tiger, before both of them collapsed to the ground.
"I hate cats..." Magnus said.
"I do too..." Etin said.
After giving the two of them a smug look, Tiger lay down on the ground.
"We saved a lot of time at least, so we have that going for us." Getting up from the ground, Magnus glanced at Etin.
"That I must admit is true, though I will never again listen to your," he stood up, glancing at Tiger,"...Ideas."
"Now, where to? We should be nearby right?" Magnus said looking around.
Pine trees as far as the eye could see, with sparse snow covering the landscape.
He turned to look towards Etin, only to see green light gathering in his hand.
Apprehension filled him.
'There's no way I'd get betr-'
And then he saw the elf apply the green light to his wound. After a few seconds, he removed the bandage to reveal pure white skin.
"Perfect." Etin stretched, before he noticed Magnus looking at him in amazement.
"I can't heal your arm. Maybe gramps could if you brought your severed arm along."
"I... Okay. Can you teach me that?"
"You're not an elf, so I can not. Magic between humans and elves flows differently, so what works for us doesn't work for you."
"I see..." though disappointed, Magnus expected that much.
"Hmmm... We've been here how long?" Erin suddenly asked.
"A few minutes, why?"
"The patrol should've found us by now." his face turned grave, "Something is off!"
'Something is... Off? AH!'
Only then did Magnus remember - he hadn't been paying attention to the map. Without hesitation, he opened it, and his face turned grave.
"We're in deep shit! Etin!"
Etin drew both swords, looking towards Magnus for answers.
Before he could say anything.
Rustle-
From the bushes, a horseman charged out, covered in black plate armor.
"Magnus!" Etin desperately ran towards him.
In Magnus vision, the greatsword was rapidly growing closer.