Page 4 of Wolf's Whisper

He whimpered as I secured the cloth around his leg but after I was done bandaging him, he gratefully licked my arm and I patted him between the ears.

"See, that wasn't so bad, was it?" I grinned as I realised I'd never been this close to a wolf before. Which was ironic, since my whole tribe was centred around the wolf. Heck, we actually had wolves stuck inside our bodies!

"You're a nice little wolf," I smiled and laughed as the wolf growled at me.

"Okay, okay. I'll take the little back," I teased, surprised that he somehow understood me.

He softly growled, but it didn't sound threatening. It was more a happy sound, like the canine version of a purring cat. He gave a last lick at his wounded leg and then muzzled his head on my lap. His eyes slowly closed and I could tell that he was falling asleep.I grinned as this meant that he trusted me enough to let his guard down, so I wiggled my butt down more comfortably as I let myself relax as well.

The flames in the fire were happily dancing as I watched the sparks fly around in the cold air. The wolf cuddled up against me was providing me with an extra, unexpected heat source that I wasn't going to say no to.

I patted the beast against his ears as I studied him a bit further. It was obvious that he was male. I could tell from his flat snout, his broad legs and his wide stance. He had a dark patch of fur that ran down his back and one white paw, like he had fallen in a bucket of white paint.

I knew his eyes were amber coloured and deep and although I might've been kidding myself, it seemed like he understood human language to at least some degree.He stirred in my lap and let out a little whine. Probably a nightmare.

I should probably move myself and the wolf underneath my tent, but it seemed like a cold and wet spot, compared to the dried patch of ground I was sitting on right now.

I cursed at myself for not setting my tent closer to my fireplace. Why didn't I do that? What an idiot. I should probably stay close to the flames so I wouldn't freeze to death.

The furs I brought were lying further away in my little tent, so I laid flat on my back and stretched my arms as far as I could, hoping not to wake up my new companion. I grovelled a little bit on the cold ground and waved my hands in the air aimlessly, until finally, I reached the tip of one of my blankets. I pulled it towards me and nestled myself under it, hoping that my fire would stay lit and it wouldn't rain.

With my new wolf friend wrapped around me, I cuddled under my blankets. I knew I needed to take off at least some of my clothes, but I was just so nice and toasty. So without another thought, I found myself drifting off into dreamland.

The next morning I was awoken by what sounded like barking. I rubbed my fists in my eyes as I wondered who had brought a dog with him and why the hell he was trying to wake me up. I was about ready to throw a stick towards the loud animal as I felt a wet snout pressed against my cheek.

"Ieegh!" I pushed myself up from underneath the furs and immediately regretted not moving back to the tent. The fire from last night was reduced to a barely smouldering pile of ashes that couldn't grill a grasshopper.I should've gathered isolation for my bed instead of chasing wolves into the night.

Priorities, Akira! I told myself as I cracked my stiffened back. I was about to stretch my arms when I felt a rough tongue lick my hand.

"Blegh!" I yelled again as I finally remembered I wasn't alone anymore. One by one, I cracked my fingers as I looked at the dark wolf strutting through my camp. He had a slight limp, but he was definitely in much better shape than yesterday.

"Hello, boy. I see you’re already awake," I grumbled, annoyed that he didn't let me sleep in. But then again, I probably shouldn't be snoozing in the middle of the forest.

From the moment that I slightly moved my furs, the cold air crept underneath and I shivered as it grazed over my bare legs. I groaned as I stood back up and again, cursed at myself for not taking off my jacket. I had brought enough furs with me to keep me warm enough and sleeping in all my clothes was just a rookie mistake. Now instead of having my vest to put on, I'd have to warm myself up with jumping jacks or another kind of exercise.

A howl pulled me out of my concentration and I briefly watched the wolf dribble through my camp with his snout against the forest floor, like he was looking for something. His adventure seemed to stop at my backpack and with his head tilted and his dark amber eyes peering into mine, he gave me an intense look.

I chuckled and decided that I'd warm myself up by gathering more firewood. But first, breakfast!

Shivery, I bundled up my furs and dropped them near my pack. I pulled open the strings and dug around for a chunk of bread and some of my dried elk.The cloth that usually kept it all together was now wound around the wolf's leg, so I had to dig around my belongings for anything edible.

I conjured a piece of bread and a couple of strips of jerky. I sat back down on my log and chewed on the stringy meat as I stared at what was left of my camp fire. The grey wolf bumped against my legs and let out another whine as he licked his lips, his eyes fixated on the dried meat in my hands.

I counted out all the rations I brought with me and tried to figure out how many days it would last me. I had brought enough jerky with me that was supposed to last me two full months, but I seemed to have slightly miscalculated. Because I hadn’t touched the stinky freeze-dried vegetables and only eaten meat, I had gone through my dried elk twice as fast as I predicted. After only two weeks, more than half of my meat had already disappeared in my tummy. And if I was going to share my rations with a hungry wolf, the rest of my rations would probably only last us another week.

The wolf softly whined again and as his deep eyes stared into mine, I couldn't stop myself from giving in. For as long as I had food, I would share. I knew this was stupid, but then again, I couldn’t get myself to starve another being, let alone another wolf.

I threw a strip of elk at my furry companion and he gratefully jumped at his breakfast. His long tongue snapped it from the ground and with the piece of meat between his teeth, he hobbled away and devoured his share.

The jerky disappeared in seconds and he let out another whine as he eyed my piece of elk.

"Sorry, boy. This is mine. A girl has got to eat," I said, but as he cutely tilted his head, I caved. I pulled the chewy meat in two pieces and threw him the biggest part. "There you go, but this is all you’re getting."

I quickly shoved the last piece of meat in my mouth before he could beg for more and swallowed it with a mouthful of water. I wiped my mouth with my sleeve and stowed my metal water container back in my pack.

I dusted off my pants as I stood up and gathered my furs. I approached the wolf to check on his wounds and happily noticed that they had stopped bleeding. I removed the cloth from his leg and he licked his wound a couple of times before looking at me. He looked almost gratefully.

"Come on, boy, go play!" I grinned as I jumped a couple of times up and down, hoping it would encourage him to run. But he just lazily looked at me, licked his paw again and let his head rest on his front legs.

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