Wolves and Men

But out here he knew that this wolf was watching out for him and he in turn was going to watch out for her. She had run with his pack and when he was able, he would protect her just as he had his pack. Feeling very comfortable under the gaze of the she-wolf he lied back on the soft ground and let his eyes grow heavy once more. He fell back down into a comfortable deep sleep.

His eyes opened slowly in the dark of the shelter. He could tell that it was night or at least morning was still a ways off. He lifted his head and looked around the shelter to find that his companion was gone. Probably out hunting. The thought of the hunt and red meat immediately made his mouth water and his stomach rumble. But he shook his head in disappointment. Even if the she-wolf was able to catch something, and he had no doubt that she could, there was nothing to light a fire with. The rain which had stopped, he now noticed, still had more than enough time to thoroughly soak every piece of wood in their vicinity. And even though he liked the taste of blood and the taste of raw meat he wasn’t sure about the health risks. While he was in werewolf form the meat didn’t seem to bother him. But he wasn’t sure about what it would do to his human body.

The morning was closer than he thought and the sun would soon rise over the horizon. He grabbed large handfuls of the branches that were the walls of the night’s shelter and scattered them around the forest walking as far as around five hundred yards away to mask the placement of the large amount of wood.

The sun’s rays found their way under the looming dripping tree branches, and he washed his hands in the golden glow. The sun did not have much strength yet and the light didn’t bring much warmth but after the gloom of yesterday, seeing the pure untainted sun rise and filter through the trees was a welcome relief.

When he was finished disassembling the shelter, he found a gentle sloping rock that was almost completely dry and sat down waiting for his companion to return. He inhaled the scents of the forest. It did not smell unlike his valley but there were subtle differences. He could detect no trace of cedar pines. The air smelled more earthy here than in his valley. He supposed that was because this was more of a flat expanse and the wind was not aided by the terrain so instead of being pushed along, like in his valley, the wind was more stagnant here. The standing lake might also have something to do with it. This small difference would make it harder to detect things by smell. Without wind smell would just sit in place making it harder for them to move and anticipate the movements of others around them.

He looked around himself and studied the trees and the forest. It wasn’t good to just sit here. Besides he was hungry and the she-wolf could take care of herself.

He moved through the forest, making as little noise as possible. He really did need to learn how those Native Americans did that silent walk thing. Grabbing a nearby stick, he made his way to the lake and scanning the shore and tree line to make sure he was alone he drank the cold mountain water. He took the stick and dipping it into the cold lake water he jammed it into his mouth and scrubbed his teeth. It would be better if he had some salt or baking soda but he didn’t so he had to make do with what he had. When he was finished, he rinsed his mouth out with lake water and threw the stick into the lake. He watched it splash into the gentle surface making small ripples that made their way back to the shore.

With that business taken care of, he rose off the ground and walked back into the woods a good hundred to two hundred yards away from the lake and relieved himself next to a moderate sized redwood. He began searching for more of the berries that he had yesterday and another patch of Miners Lettuce.

The rain dripping branched didn’t do much to impede his progress but every few steps or so a large drop would plop down on his head or arms. He didn’t have a fear of getting wet it was the fact that even though he had lived out among nature for so long he was still very acutely aware of just how many things out here could kill him. In werewolf form it was a different story, but in his frail human form he was just as exposed now as he had been when he first walked into his valley.

He found a bush that was bursting with those tasty berries from yesterday and he ate many of them right then. He left a decent amount on the bush. He was careful even when eating to not leave anything that might draw attention to his passing, including how many berries off a bush he ate. There are so many ways to track a person and very few of them have anything to do with footprints. If those cops ever made it out this far away from his valley, he would be very impressed but he would not allow himself to become overconfident.

With a little more searching he found another bush full of berries and was able to find a good-sized patch of Miners Lettuce. He ate his fill. A few days ago, he had eaten almost a full half of a dear and was fine. Today he ate some lettuce and berries and was fine. Did changing from human to werewolf do something to his metabolism as well?

He heard movement behind him. He dove and crouched behind a nearby tree and waited. The black and white she-wolf came trotting through the underbrush and walked around the tree to face him. She was panting and she looked at him with what might be considered a smile.