ALO Short Stories 3: There And Back Again

There And Back Again is the third short story to be released in the ALO Short Stories series. 
It can be read over here and consists of two chapters.
== Summary ==
The story takes place a half year after episode 1. It starts by showing the day-to-day routine both Lynn and One-eye have, that being she staying in the den all day long, and him constantly patrolling and hunting. Their relationship is a bit strange: One-eye hates her but feels that it is his responsibility to take care of her, while Lynn does seem to think he can change into a nice daddy, and she does love him.
Not long after that, a few hounds appear. One-eye fights fiercely to defend Lynn, but does end up tearing both his ears, losing one tooth, and crooking another in the process. He also hits his head against a rock, causing him to faint.
Lynn, unconscious, too, who had lost her right eye due to one of the hunting dogs, gets taken with the poachers, is given her collar and cyborg eye, and locked in a cage. Lynn wakes up and is confused as to everything what happened, but a fox in the cage above her suffering the same fate. The vixen explains her what happened to her, and that Lynn is likely going to be sold on the black market since she's part red wolf, and red wolves are considered to be pretty rare. 
Meanwhile, One-eye wakes up and is struggling. He does want to go back to get Lynn as he still views it as his responsibility to save her, but he also thinks that this maybe is a sign that he should stop trying and just let her go, and, moreover, going to poachers is suicide. He is really relieved for a while at the second thought, and decides to live by his own from now.
Lynn is still being kept in a cage. It is a while later, and Leyta gets taken out of her cage, to never be seen again. Lynn feels really lonesome, thinking that either One-eye is dead or that he won't come to collect her, but, in the end, he does come, grumpy and somewhat distant and sad. He takes her out of the human den, just as the poachers and some dogs arrive back home. There is a snowstorm hindering the humans from shooting them, but the dogs chase the wolves.
Lynn escapes into the woods, but One-eye vanishes halfway through. He later reappears to help Lynn, who almost got bitten by a dog. He does have a bullet wound in his leg, though, but manages to fight off the dog.
Having taken out the bullet, the two wolves later return to their den, both silent. Their relationship is still a bit questionable, since One-eye, despite saving Lynn, still seems to have his attitude towards her, but he also does seem somewhat different. They return to the den.
== Gallery ==
File:Thereandbackagain.png
== Trivia ==
* Though not intentional, the story became a two-parter because DeviantART referred to it as being too long. 
* The title is a reference to the book the character Bilbo wrote in The Lord of the Rings.
Category:Short stories