Finn was enjoying himself at the banquet, holding court with the other knights who seemed impressed that the out of towner was as good as he’d said. The next day would prove everything, with the dark knight his biggest competition. He could worry about that later though. For right now he was focused on enjoying himself. Or was until the screaming started. Finn was deep in the banquet hall, but the shouts from the other end had him looking in as wolves barreled through the hall. He jumped up instantly, drawing his sword as the wolves started to attack.
Norman was having a good time, maybe down one glass of ale too much, but it wasn’t too bad that he didn’t hear the screams and the slamming of doors and scraping of chairs as the wolves approached. And without thinking about it, he was up on the table in the very center of it, trying to stay as quiet and invisible to the wolves as possible. It probably wouldn’t work, he didn’t think it would work because they weren’t dinosaurs or anything, but maybe it would buy him some time while the others made more noise than him.
Finn was already swinging, ordering others too as they tried to help as well. He took down one wolf, watching people scatter until he saw Norman. Norman out in the open, standing on the table and not running. Finn started that way, reaching for the other young man and calling out. “Norman! Run!”
“They’re going after the ones that run!” Norman impressed, eyes wide and wild as he started at the wolves attacking and ripping and all the blood… He was frozen to the spot. He couldn’t move, not even with Finn there reaching for him.
“They’re going after everyone!” Finn caught Norman’s arm, pulling him back towards the ground as another wolf leap towards Norman, seeing him as an easy target. Finn swung out with the sword, making contact with the wolf, but more batting it than hurting it.
Norman’s breath came in a gasp as he came way closer to that wolf than he wanted to be. He stumbled off the ground and behind Finn, but he wasn’t ready to feel the ton of bricks that was another wolf smash into him and send him skidding into the ground harder than before. And he gave a yelp in pain when the wolf’s nails dug into his stomach and his jaws snapped near his face.
Finn was focused on the one in front of him, swinging at it, getting enough to slit its throat. He wouldn’t have noticed the other if Norman hadn’t banged into him when he fell. Finn turned, hearing the yelp of pain, but he was already reaching, already swinging again, burying his sword in the flank of the wolf and kicking it off of Norman. “Come on,” he said, grabbing his arm, trying to pull him up again.
Norman’s heart was pumping so fast that he thought it might jump out of his skin. He was pulled up by Finn and took the direction of going with him very well, clinging to his arm as he went wherever Finn decided they needed to go. But he was terrified and not doing well in this fight between them and wolves. Instantly he got a flashback to one of his earlier nights, at home with his friends in a D&D campaign, and realized that having enjoyed those fights and being present in this fight were two totally separate things. “Go where?”
Finn found his spare dagger, handing it out to Norman as he slashed at something else. “Anywhere that isn’t here. People are dying.” He looked around then started towards the edge of the banquet hall, pulling Norman with him.
Norman happily followed along with him, sticking as close as humanly possibly to his knight. He gripped the knife in his hand but didn’t feel right using it. His heart was pounding and his instincts told him to just stop moving, to stay still and let everything pass him by, but he kept up with Finn until they made it to the edge and then to the exit. “But where is safe?”