The grey wolf slept, and for the first time in a long time, he slept well. Twinges of pain in his side when he changed positions were nothing compared to the pain that had been there when he was still wounded. The pebbles in his side and arm were gone. The dark wolf had removed them, and the grey wolf could sleep.
He would wake hungry, but for the time being, he needed rest.
--
[[Jesse]]
I covered him in a blanket while he slept. When he shifted, he'd been naked. That meant the last time he'd been in human form, he'd been naked. It's hard to explain but when you shift, what you're wearing goes with you, becomes part of you. When you shift back, it's still all there, unchanged. He wasn't wearing anything at all, which made me wonder why he'd been naked before he changed. It was one of many question I wanted to ask before I left him to sleep and went back to the flock.
We all have varying levels of humanity mixed with lupine senses. It makes some of us seem more human, while others seem more like a wolf. The fiercest alpha I'd ever known still behaved more like a human than this wolf. It almost seemed like he never learned how to balance the wolf and the man.
It was late when he woke. The sheep were mostly asleep and I was dozing, my hat tipped low to keep the moonlight off my face. It was the scent of him nearby that woke me.
Grey stood in the doorway, still naked, head titled and nose to the air as if scenting for prey. Just in case I had to head off another run on the sheep, I stood. "Hungry?" I asked aloud, before remembering he didn't speak out loud. He seemed to understand better, but only when he read my body language.
He nodded.We hunt? His eyes strayed toward the sheep.
We can hunt in the woods. There are deer. I hadn't been hunting with another wolf in a very long time. I used to love hunting in twos, especially when the other wolf was in tune and in sync with me. It brought back memories I was surprised to realize still hurt.
Shaking my head I stood up and asked a question, one of many I'd been holding back. Why are you alone?
The same hurt at a not-quite faded memory that had been on my face flashed on his. Grey looked away and made a gruff sound, too rough to be a whine, in his throat. Pack left me. Too different, too much trouble. He looked up at the other wolf. You have pack, Dark One?
Too different? Before pursuing that, I answered his question. No. They moved on. I stayed behind. It was much more complicated, to much to say now. And it still hurt. What do you mean different? I had a hunch, but I wanted confirmation.
Grey shifted, as though he were antsy, unwilling to stay still when he wanted to hunt. Not like them. I change. They stay the same. We hunt now. The last bit was conveyed with decisiveness, and he shifted, saving me the effort of ignoring his nudity.
I couldn't help just staring at him anyway because he had just confirmed my suspicions. It was no wonder he seemed so removed from human speech and behavior. This strange werewolf hadn't been raised among his own kind. He'd been raised by actual wolves.
He would wake hungry, but for the time being, he needed rest.
--
[[Jesse]]
I covered him in a blanket while he slept. When he shifted, he'd been naked. That meant the last time he'd been in human form, he'd been naked. It's hard to explain but when you shift, what you're wearing goes with you, becomes part of you. When you shift back, it's still all there, unchanged. He wasn't wearing anything at all, which made me wonder why he'd been naked before he changed. It was one of many question I wanted to ask before I left him to sleep and went back to the flock.
We all have varying levels of humanity mixed with lupine senses. It makes some of us seem more human, while others seem more like a wolf. The fiercest alpha I'd ever known still behaved more like a human than this wolf. It almost seemed like he never learned how to balance the wolf and the man.
It was late when he woke. The sheep were mostly asleep and I was dozing, my hat tipped low to keep the moonlight off my face. It was the scent of him nearby that woke me.
Grey stood in the doorway, still naked, head titled and nose to the air as if scenting for prey. Just in case I had to head off another run on the sheep, I stood. "Hungry?" I asked aloud, before remembering he didn't speak out loud. He seemed to understand better, but only when he read my body language.
He nodded.We hunt? His eyes strayed toward the sheep.
We can hunt in the woods. There are deer. I hadn't been hunting with another wolf in a very long time. I used to love hunting in twos, especially when the other wolf was in tune and in sync with me. It brought back memories I was surprised to realize still hurt.
Shaking my head I stood up and asked a question, one of many I'd been holding back. Why are you alone?
The same hurt at a not-quite faded memory that had been on my face flashed on his. Grey looked away and made a gruff sound, too rough to be a whine, in his throat. Pack left me. Too different, too much trouble. He looked up at the other wolf. You have pack, Dark One?
Too different? Before pursuing that, I answered his question. No. They moved on. I stayed behind. It was much more complicated, to much to say now. And it still hurt. What do you mean different? I had a hunch, but I wanted confirmation.
Grey shifted, as though he were antsy, unwilling to stay still when he wanted to hunt. Not like them. I change. They stay the same. We hunt now. The last bit was conveyed with decisiveness, and he shifted, saving me the effort of ignoring his nudity.
I couldn't help just staring at him anyway because he had just confirmed my suspicions. It was no wonder he seemed so removed from human speech and behavior. This strange werewolf hadn't been raised among his own kind. He'd been raised by actual wolves.