He woke up to see her there and spent a few moments listening to her breathing and concentrating on her blood flow. She was dreaming, but it must be a lazy dream as she stretched out and yawned before waking up. She sounded healthy and it was good. She looked up at him as he was concentrating on something. Two nights of peaceful rest felt amazing and she was ready to face the day, but now she wondered what Garius was listening to. He smiled at her then he hit the log that Augustus was sleeping behind.
"Caw, caw, Augustus, Augustus, winter cold, winter cold"
"Stressful dreams my friend?" Garius laughed.
Augustus came to his senses and realized he was dreaming. "Big boom, Augustus is awake now" he hopped out and went in search of his breakfast.
She had a chuckle as Augustus flew away, then she rolled over and told Garius "You're cruel"
"No, just a bit of fun. I promise to behave this day forward. We have serious business ahead"
"Yes, we must find my family" She rolled over saying under her breath "but I feel like I already have."
Garius was not supposed to hear that, but he did. She could not stay among wolves, how could she. If she had family out there then they must find them. She was growing closer to him by the day though, but he feared that he could not always be there for her. He wanted the best for her and an old wolf like him was not the best choice. If he cared he would act in her best interest. What if he died on a hunting excursion and the whole pack turned on her? He thought of the worst scenarios she could be caught in without him around. She was strong and could do well on her own, so that did not worry him, but his pack did. He would need more time to think about this but first he must get her some breakfast. She was already out and he needed to catch up.
Once out of the roots of the tree he saw her hunched over something as she turned to face him with a squirrel in her mouth. She dropped it at his feet "Eat something, we have a busy day. I will go get another." and she was off to catch another as it chattered at her.
A squirrel, not bad he thought. They can be quite vicious and they are quick. He began to realize that he was not seeing her for who she was, he was seeing her for who he wanted her to be. She did need his help, but she did not need to be carried by him. He thought of her strengths and all the time she did survive on her own. The way she evaded the pack when they gave chase. He smiled thinking about the ways she tripped them up as she fled. Even going in amongst them to hunt was either crazy or brave….well she wasn't crazy and she was very wolf-like. Maybe the legend was true and he was just getting in the way. Either way she found a place very deep in his heart and he wanted to protect her. He was a hunter and a protector by nature, but he was learning and he enjoyed it.
True to her word she returned with another squirrel and ate about half of it before Augustus landed beside her hopping around curiously looking at her catch.
"No luck finding food?" she asked him.
"Caw, bugs are fast in the morning, bugs are fast"
She tossed over the carcass to her friend "enjoy it, Augustus" and he did.
She wandered over and grabbed some berries and dropped them between her and Garius "There is plenty here if you want".
"Thank you my lady" he replied as he had a few of them then made his way to the stream to take a drink. "Thank you for everything. It was a great start to the day."
"Well I am glad you enjoyed it, it was easy enough to catch. Shall we go on? Augustus, which way do we go?"
He hopped up and grabbed a few berries "I will fly up and scout, caw, Augustus. Follow Augustus"
So up he went, he vanished for a bit then reappeared in the distance to the north circling in the sky and cawing. They knew which direction to take so they followed on being led by a crow who enjoyed repeating himself.
They enjoyed themselves along the way as she finally had the confidence to start asking him some questions.
"How old are you?"
"Old enough"
"Old enough for what?"
He paused and looked at her "Old enough to keep myself out of trouble"
She thought that was a good answer. "No mate, or did she pass?"
"No mate, never saw the need for one, never felt the attraction"
"No children then?"
"No" he was now being short with her, but she pressed on.
"That's funny, I always thought the wolf leader thing was like….super stud, you know, breeds with everyone, has a lot of pups" now she was digging into wolf lore.
He looked at her with a sideways strange look. "We're not a cult. We marry for life. The one you bond to is the one you commit to….forever. If they die, you do not take another."
"Oooo, that's kinda romantic" she swooned.
"It's also kind of sad. What if you lose that one you are bound to, what if you never find her at all. It is serious business and we believe it builds strong children, our future."
"Do you kill the sick and eat them?"
"What?!"
"Well I have heard things and…"
"From whom?" he inquired "Because if I find them I will kill them and eat them"
"Well it was a dog, a lost farm dog. He kept pestering me when I was hiding in a log and I told him I was a wolf and that I would eat him if he would not leave"
This amused Garius, "go on"
"When he found out I was a wolf he was afraid and told me stories from around the farm…"
"Around the farm?"
"Oh yes, they said wolves can make their eyes glow, that some humans can become wolves with bloodlust. That they kill the weaker in their ranks and eat them to gain power.."
"Really?"
"Oh yes, yes." she continued "The moon gives them power and a full moon super charges them. They say they can even fly and turn invisible" She had not noticed that Augustus had landed close by and was listening intensely as she continued "they say they can be immortal and they have spirits that never die, but return to lead the pack through the earth.
"That sounds so caw, cool" Augustus had chimed in. "Caw, Can you really do all that?"
"Of course I can, and so much more" Garius said as he walked up to Nibelski, "As a matter of fact I am feeling very powerful right now." She shrank in front of him as he turned his head catching the sun in his eyes making it look like they changed color.
She shrieked and ran as fast as she could into the nearest log only to hear the deep laughs of Augustus and Garius. She sheepishly crawled out to see them falling over each other in intense laughter. At first it looked fun, then she realized it was her they were laughing at. She ran over and pounced on his chest knocking the wind out of him as he grabbed her with his paws. "My dear Nibelski, in the time you have spent with me have you seen anything like that?"
She relaxed a little "well, no"
"Farm animals make these horror stories up to keep themselves safe from the night terrors that stalk them. None of it is true. You should have told the dog you were a fox, because farm animals are scared even more of them" Garius chuckled "as a wolf or even a fox have you ever felt or seen any of these things in yourself?"
"Well…no"
"To a chicken wandering late at night, do you think a fox or a wolf is more terrifying to meet alone in the dark?"
"I guess either would be scary if you are alone"
"There are things we must all respect and learn to be careful around, unless they are your friends and you can trust them. It keeps the balance in all things. If that chicken survives he will tell the worst tales so that their young do not have to live what they lived through." Garius stroked her fur with his paw, "sorry I scared you, last time I have fun at anyone expense"
He made a proclamation for them all to follow "No more fun and games, or scaring each other, or joking at each other's expense. We will all be very far from the help we are used to and we need to trust each other from this point forward. We can enjoy our laughs once we settle the matters at hand. Let's watch each other's backs now."
"There is a small problem" it was Augustus.
"What is it?" Garius asked.
"Well the path ahead has a strong river and a waterfall we must get past. I looked upstream and it does narrow enough, but it will be an extra journey for us to caw, cross it."
"Well lead us there, I hope we reach the owl soon."
They followed Augustus and made their way up past the waterfall until they reached the place in the stream where they could cross. It was getting dark, but they thought getting across tonight would be in their best interest and Augustus told them of an empty cave he found up ahead passed the crossing that they could stay in overnight.
They slowly crossed the water with Nibelski riding on Garius' back, his strong legs holding them up as he resisted an undertown that felt like someone pulling at his legs trying to take them under. He planned each step carefully making sure he would always be stable on the other three, it was slow but he had experienced this before and knew what to expect. Soon they were on the other side with Augustus landing by the near dark cave.
Garius smelled him out and they made their beds for the night. Augustus made his bed again behind a log as Garius called out to him. "How many more days until we meet this owl friend of yours?"
Augustus lifted his head and thought. "I would say two more days, possibly three at the most. I was told he does not move far from his home. Lots of dead wood for him..chortle"
Garius lifted his head "Augustus, did you just chortle? I've never heard you chortle before. Are you OK?"
"Not a chortle, crows do not chortle….you misheard. I was blowing my beak. Now get your sleep"
Garius felt the warm breath of Nibelski move close to his ear "It was definitely a chortle" she said. He laughed and placed his paw over her. He enjoyed her being here and he fell into a very deep sleep feeling her close by breathing.
She awoke early in the morning and slipped away from Garius paw, as she decided she would head back to the river and catch a few fish to impress the two men in her life. It was not a food she enjoyed, but they needed to survive. She also hoped she might find some berries as well along the way. The air smelled rancid and she wondered if something had died close by. As she approached the rushing river it got worse, but she could see the jumping fish and it would be an easy job for her, just not stepping in the water as she did not want to have to be rescued. She put her head down and scanned the waters….fish one was caught….this was too easy. Back to the waters her eyes went scanning as she heard an enormous splash and was thrown back by a wave of water. There on the other side of the bank was an enormous old bear. He looked like he had seen many battles and parts of him were torn open. He roared so loud that she froze as he charged across the river directly at her.
Garius had smelled him and had started racing toward the bank upon seeing Nibelski was not with him. There he found her frozen in fear as the bear was almost upon her. He lunged through the air coming face to face with this ancient demon of the woods. He rammed his head into the bear's head which only served to anger it more. He looked back at Nibelski and said "run!". He knew it would take a pack of wolves to bring this monster down, yet here he stood alone. The bear gave chase again, but Garius leapt up and got the bear's throat within his teeth. He could feel all its blood flowing through his jaws, but as he bit he could not break its flesh. He remembered when he was a young pup how his father taught him how to master his bite and increase its power. He shifted his weight and corrected his bite and bit as hard as he could. He could taste its blood now pouring into his mouth, but would it be enough?
The bear stopped and screamed in pain as it reached around with his head grabbing Garius in his strong jaws. Nibelski looked back to see Garius' lifeless body hanging from the monster's mouth as he threw it to the ground and rose up to stomp on him for good. His life would end under that enormous weight and all Nibelski could do was whisper "no"