This is the story of an old wolf who loves another more than life itself. Who gave everything he knew to chance. And…
Hope.
It was the perfect sunny day in Jasper.
It was one of the days you'd see on a pamphlet advertising a place with wondrous beauty and pure relaxation. The trees were high and mighty almost raining over the forest of Canada. The soil was never more nourished than today. The flowers were in bloom showing off their sweet scented, love centered petals to the sun above them. Almost everyone was happy and were sure their lives would never get better than today.
Almost everyone.
The lone gray Omega, who was always happy to see others, seemed to disappear for one day every year. Only on this day he was a stoic wolf that most would be afraid of on first appearance.
He was indeed older now. His black mane that hung around his icy blue eyes began to grey along with the rest of his fur. His bones were not as dense as they were when he was younger. He acquired a broken leg earlier which didn't heal properly due to his stubbornness to the one he loves the most. By stubbornness I mean he never left his den due to the fact that he wanted to protect his girlfriend.
Today was a special occasion for him though. One of the only days he would spend away from the pack. Although he never told, everyone knew why of course.
He would wait in the forest for her undying beauty to show itself. He would lay there and dream and laugh to himself. He would laugh so loud it could be heard through all 4 packs. Although some thought he was crazy during the day, it just proved to others how much love can be taken for granted.
"C'mon Lilly! We're gonna be late!" The Omega cried to his other.
"Okay! Okay Humphrey! Hold on!" She said chuckling at the others excitement.
"Grandpa Humphrey!" Lilly's grandchildren cried to him. He spun around to face them.
"What kids?" He asked them as they began to jump up and down in bliss.
"Can we go see Kate?" They all asked him individually.
"No kids! Not today! "He replied happily.
"Why not?" They all said in unison now, showing their disappointment.
"Because today, I get to spend time with Kate!" He said back to them. After noticing their saddened faces, he naturally put on a funny face for them. They immediately laughed in response.
"Come here Uncle Humphrey." Lilly's daughter asked him as she motioned away from the children.
"Okay kids! I have to go!" He said, as the "awed" in disapproval.
"Bye Grandpa!" They yelled at him as he went into the far corner of the den.
"Good morning Hazel!" Humphrey said to her as she showed him her toothy grin. "Boy I can remember when Lilly told me she was having you!" He replied as he looked her in the eye. Her smile seemed to get brighter.
"Oh stop uncle!" She giggled. She was about Humphrey's age when he left with Kate to Idaho. She was an Alpha and did a damn good job at it too.
"Yeah well…" He said as they began to silence. The sounds of the children playing was the only sound that could be heard. He began to look her in her violet eyes, that were much like Lilly's, while every other part of her looked like Kate. "You have your mother's eyes…" He said as he trailed his voice off.
"Yes I know uncle! You've told me every day!" She chuckled.
"I know, I know. Just don't forget it okay!" He said with a grin.
There was something about his smile that seemed to brighten up the whole den. There was something special about this omega. Many thought it was what he's been through that made his smile illuminate. But others thought it was his admiration from others that made him glow.
"Ya know it's Kate's birthday today." He said to her.
"Of course!" she gleamed at him.
The Omega looked away bashfully. "Ya know you, look like Kate don't you?" he asked her.
"R-Really?" she asked in astonishment.
"Yes, Yes you do." he answered with a smile. "In fact you look like Kate, but you have your mothers eyes…" He told her.
She began to blush.
"I was going to give this to Kate, but I think you'd admire it more..." he said as he reached into a basket on his side that he learned how to weave. He pulled out a flower that resembled the flower Kate wore on her and Garths first moonlight howl. Although he hated the scenario, he really did love the way Kate looked in it.
He reached up, and tucked it behind her ear.
"Let's go Humphrey!" He heard Lilly call from the front of the den. He turned towards Lilly and began to walk away. Before he left fully, he turned towards the happy people inside the den, and gave a warm happy smile.
And they smiled back.
Finally the Omega finally reached the forest line. Happy to see his mate again after a full year, he sprinted out into the wilderness carrying a basket he learned to weave, full of goodies.
"Kate!" He cried as he ran through the miles of brush and leaves.
"Kate! Don't worry! I'm coming!" He yelled through his excitement as a smile began to form on his lips. Panting, the Omega struggled to get over the logs and sticks that were spread throughout the forest floor due to his old age. He wasn't as fast as he used to be, but he could get around.
Finally after what seemed like hours to the poor wolf, he eventually made it to the clearing. The intense sun shone on the elder until he made it into the middle of the patch.
Kate, Winston, and Eve all laid there.
"Hey Guys!" The gray Omega smiled as he greeted his family. "Sorry I'm late! Lilly's and Garths grandchildren were holding me back!" He chuckled, as he sat behind them all. They didn't move.
"Speaking of Lilly she should be coming any minute! I'm sure!" He said as he laid there. He stood up and walked to Kate carrying an identical flower he gave to Hazel in his mouth.
He dropped it near her.
"Hey Kate!" He said. "I missed you!" He said as he sat down to talk to her.
She didn't respond.
"I wish you would talk to me again. I love the sound of your voice. I hope you remember that!" He said playfully. They sat there in silence, not saying a word but just admiring each other's company.
"Oh yeah! I almost forgot! Happy Birthday!" He exclaimed as he pulled out a caribou leg from his basket and lay down, next to all 3 of them. They lay enjoying the heat the sun gave off.
"It's amazing how the sky reflects the water… If I were a planet my atmosphere would only show the picture of Kate because I love her so much." He said out loud, and turned his head to look at her.
She didn't move.
"I know, I know… Cheesy! But hey! It's the truth!" He said chuckling to himself. As he sat there in their conjoined silence. Enjoying every second he spent with Kate.
Lilly watched from the distance, debating whether or not to go and accompany Humphrey like she promised. After all it's not like Garth wanted to do anything anymore. He would just lie in his den and relax most days, now that he was the leader of the United Packs.
In all honesty, It had been a while since Garth showed Lilly any attention at all. The only reason Lilly has been calm about the whole ordeal was because of the gray Omega.
"Hey Humphrey! Wait up!" She called to him from across the clearing.
"Where were you? You kept us waiting!" He replied happily knowing that Lilly made it. She rolled her eyes in a teasing way.
"Hey Mom! Hey Dad! Happy Birthday Sis!" Lilly replied as she got closer to her family.
Still no reply.
"I already greeted, so whaddaya wanna do?" He asked playfully as he stood up.
She looked at him. He was panting and wagging his tail. In a way, it was almost cute!
"I dunno Humphrey… I was thinking of going home. I think Garth wanted me back, he said he wanted to go to the lake." She lied to him.
His ears drooped and his tail stopped wagging. She could almost feel the hurt emitting from his body. In a way, she almost didn't want to joke with him. It pained her to see him like this. It reminded her of him when the "accident" occurred.
"Oh… Okay! Well T-tell Garth I say… uh hi okay?" He said as he slowly began to recover.
"Okay." she answered simply as she started walking towards to him. With every step she took, she felt even sadder, as she was sure he felt also.
"Why are you walking this way?" He questioned her as she was 6 feet away.
"The lake is this way…"
"oh… okay well…" Finally when she got close enough…
"Tag you're it!" she said as she took off into the middle of the clearing.
Humphrey's sadness evaporated quickly and he sprinted off after her.
"You're so on!" he concluded.
After several hours of playing games that Omegas play, the two eventually got tired and sat down next to their family.
"Hey I have this caribou leg if you wanna eat it with me!" He offered as they both smiled.
"Why thank you Humphrey!" She said in a British Accent.
"Why the pleasure was all mine, mam!" Humphrey commented in a Western Accent.
They both laughed hysterically as the dug into the leg.
He would spend most of his days with her. Whether just sitting and talking about the old days, or going on a walk, the Wolf loved spending time with her.
In all honesty… Lilly had developed a certain fondness of Humphrey. She felt that if he was to never meet Kate, and she was to never meet Garth that they would be together. It all just felt natural.
She admired the way his body looked even in his old state. Although Garth was technically the Pack Leader, he never did anything. This left Humphrey and Lilly in charge. Could you believe it? Two Omegas leading the pack! It's amazing, it was never seen before. Not to mention they were the first and only wolves to abolish the Alpha and Omega pack law! They made history. Humphrey and Lilly's way of Teaching Alphas were much different, they taught them all the previous Alphas learned, but they also taught them how to relax, and have fun.
They succeeded in creating a pack full of peace.
Nevertheless Lilly admired Humphrey. No one could go through with the torment he did and still have the time to make others laugh their butts off. Sure it took him a while to get back on his feet but he was fine now.
"I wish I could've told Kate how I felt…" Humphrey said after their intense lunch.
She gulped the meat in her mouth quickly. Humphrey never told Kate how he felt about her?
"What do you mean Humphrey? I thought you told her!" She said as she lifted her head up from the leg.
"No… I had so many chances to… I was too afraid, too scared. I wasn't brave enough…" He said as he lowered his head attempting to avoid eye contact with Lilly.
"Humphrey… You're the bravest wolf I know. You almost killed yourself trying to save her from the stampede! You damn near became handicapped because of it!" She said as she referenced his broken leg that never healed properly. He glanced to his leg as well. "Even when Kate was with the Healers you carried her on your back, and brought her to her den! When she was in a coma you stayed with her every day and every night! Sure she died. But Kate died loving you!" Lilly said as she took her paw and put it to his cheek.
"When we were pups she always talked about you, she tried to introduce me, but I was too shy to meet a boy wolf!" She said as she pulled his head to make eye contact with her. "That was a decision I regret the most in my life." She said as she gazed into his eyes once again. She couldn't help it… There was something about Humphrey.
"Lilly…" He said to her.
"Yeah?" She whispered back to him.
He reached over and licked her muzzle causing her to giggle. Sure she was shocked. She knew he loved Kate with all his heart, and he knew that Lilly loved Garth with all her heart. But there was always something with Humphrey.
"What was that for?" She asked as she couldn't keep her giggles from surfacing.
"What! You had blood on your muzzle!" He said to her, giving her his real intentions of licking her. "Right guys!" He asked the 3 graves for Winston, Eve, and Kate. No response… She knew that Kate, Eve, and Winston weren't there mentally.
And there never would be.
"Oh yeah?" She quickly said as she turned around to avoid eye contact, while licking the rim of her mouth to get all the other blood away. She quickly faced him again staring at each other.
"You know you should get your hair out of your face. It's hiding your eyes." He said considerately.
A quick gust of wind made them both shiver and chuckle. The flower on Kate's grave flew to Lilly. They both looked at the flower, and then back at each other and smiled. Humphrey picked it up in his mouth.
"I think Kate wants you to have it." He said.
"How can you be sure?" She questioned his logic.
"She wouldn't want a beautiful flower like this to die, with no purpose Lilly." He told her. She grinned.
Humphrey quickly leaned over and tucked the flower behind her ear along with her hair, revealing both of her violet eyes, as they shimmered in the day.
"There… all better…" Humphrey concluded. They looked longer at each other before turning back to Winston and Eve's graves. She rolled her eyes. Why was she always rolling her eyes? He thought.
"So what did you get Kate for her birthday?" He asked Lilly.
"I dunno, I guess I gave her my company?" She replied sheepishly realizing she went to a birthday with no gift for the birthday girl.
"Whoa! Lilly! No present?" Humphrey asked.
"Of course I have my present!" She responded offensively. "My present is my love!" She told him.
"Oh yeah? Well, she got that years ago! From me!" He teased her.
"Oh yeah!?" She questioned him, with a smile.
"Yeah!" He responded back playfully.
"Well I don't see you with a gift!" She said as she ended with a chuckle.
Humphrey didn't respond. The atmosphere around them changed… Humphrey looked at the floor.
"That's why I invited you here Lilly." He said slowly as he stared at his aged paws covered in calluses.
"Why?" She asked him. Before Humphrey could respond, Lilly's imagination came up with a conclusion. "Wait Am I your gift?" She asked in a fake offended tone.
"Lilly…" He said as his calm voice made her slow her chatter. "You're everyone's gift."
She was shocked. Humphrey always said stuff that would make blush on a day to day basis.
"Humphrey…" She replied as she failed to hide her blush… They both began to giggle as they were Omegas and couldn't take the seriousness of the moment. "Well then, what did you get Kate?" She finally questioned him.
"Lilly… I've actually been thinking about her gift ever since she passed away…" Humphrey said solemnly. He turned to look her in the eyes.
"What is it?" She asked as tears began to form in her eyes. She knew what he was going to give. She could remember Humphrey talking to Kate inside his den. Constantly telling her to wake up and that…
He would die for her.
"Myself…" He told her as he lifted his head up and awkwardly licked his lips.
"W-W-What?" She asked him as the tears that were threatening to fall finally succeeded.
"I'm gonna give myself Lilly…" Humphrey clarified. "I've spent my whole life, waiting… I know what Life means. I have so much knowledge… It's great." He paused. "Except for the fact that I never had an intimate relationship. Sure, I have you, and your kids and the pack! But… Your mates with Garth, you don't know what It feels like. I never even got the courage to ask out the girl I love." He stopped. "Kate was the only real thing I had to true love. To me it's all been one big experiment. I never had an example. I never got the chance to love my parents, or see them. I don't know where I come from. I took a leap of faith with my love of Kate, and so did she." He said as he looked at Kate's grave. "and I was the lucky one, who rose out of the dust."
He turned his attention back to Lilly. "I thought about killing myself. "He choked out. "I thought I should've died in that stampede with Kate. I was certain that my heart might as well been stomped on in that valley as it was already crushed beyond compare." He concluded.
"But your kids, you and Garth, the Pack, you all stood by me and shared my loss. Shared my love." He said as tears began to leak from his eyes now. "You guys, you guys brought me back."
Without another word Humphrey stood there. His words settled into Lilly's heart. It all made sense.
The wolf who changed everything, first had to change himself.
Lilly ran towards him and threw her arms around him.
"It's not fair! All the care you never had all the compliments you never got… All the love you never experienced, No wolf should go through their life like that Humphrey!" Lilly cried, while letting the tears flow from her eyes.
"It doesn't matter Lilly… I got all the love I ever needed right here." He said pulling one of his paws out from holding her to motion to the tombstones in the ground.
"Humphrey… They're not here…" Lilly broke to him. "They left the world when they died! They're not here anymore." She said to him. That's why she's been rolling her eyes…
"Lilly… Who told you that?" He said a little shocked that his best friend wouldn't believe him.
"I told myself that… It's how I coped with their death Humphrey…" She admitted to him while burying her head into his chest.
He paused for a while, just to let Lilly calm down.
"Well you're lying to yourself…" He answered. His voice like cotton, reassuring. She pulled her head out from his chest.
"What do you mean?" She asked him.
He pointed back to the graves.
"They never left Lilly." He said happily. "They were always with you…" He said while using his free paw to point at her heart. "They were always right with you… with us…" He finished as he held tightly to her.
She stared into his eyes. They weren't as blue as they were before. They were a more of a Heavenly gray now and matched his aging fur. Although he had a film of cataracts over a portion of it, Humphrey still had the same eyes she grew so fond of when she was a pup.
"Humphrey… I love you." Lilly admitted after years of crushing.
"No you don't. You think you love me. Sure, you love me like a brother, or a friend. But you don't love me." He said as he showed a smile.
"How could you be so sure? What if I really do love you?" She asked him.
"Then it's a bad trade. You can't change my gift Lilly." He said to her.
Lilly began to sob.
"Then what am I supposed to do! Garth doesn't love me anymore! He just lies around all day!" She told him as she leaned her head down.
"Take your love for me." He said to her as he lifted her chin to look at him. "Pretend it's a flower in your hair. " He said as he gestured to the flower that was resting behind her ear. "Now… just give that flower to Garth." He concluded.
"But it's for you!" She said as she gazed in his eyes again.
"Well… Flowers were made for the Earth. Us as a pack take such little notice, that we sometimes fail to recognize such beauty. But when we do, we pick the flowers thinking that it's beauty will be preserved, but the truth is that in time they die.. But the thing about love, Lilly, is that unlike a flower, it never dies." Humphrey paused, recollecting his thoughts. "Your love for me will never go away. But neither will your love for Garth."
"If you love a flower, don't pick it up. Because if you pick it up it dies and it ceases to be what you love. So if you love a flower, let it be. Love is not about possession. Love is about appreciation." Humphrey finished. As he looked at the ever growing vegetation surrounding him.
"Wow Humphrey... That was beautiful." She sniffled.
"You think so?" He asked her as he began to walk away, trying to lighten the mood. His sly smile showed that he was back in his old lighthearted happiness.
"Yes... how did you think of that last bit." She questioned, still awestruck.
"Oh, I read that out of a poetry book!" He said as he giggled, which in turn caused Lilly to giggle as well, as she realized that Humphrey could always pull a fast one on her. "But the rest? That was all me! After all my years alone and reading the poetry books that we found, That's the one quote that I have kept locked in my heart." Lilly stared at his precious eyes again. Although he quoted a book, she knew that he had been living by that quote throughout his life.
"Is that why you never dated any other wolves like Sweets, or Candy?" She asked. Before she could even think of his answer-
"C'mon! Come look at the clouds with me!" He shouted as he ran back to the middle of the plain and laid on his back.
Lilly saw him lay down. He never knew what love was… Yet he also knew it's nature. Probably more than any other wolf.
She pulled out the flower in her hair and studied it. Before running over to where Humphrey was.
Love was like a flower.
It was Evening now. The sun was a soft shade of orange. The kind that would make many pups 'aww' at the sight. The warm summer air, died to a cold lighted night. The two wolves lay snuggled up for warmth in the grass.
"Lilly?"
"Yeah Humphrey?"
"What do you think it feels like?"
"What feels like?"
"Death?"
Lilly didn't respond.
"Like, does it feel peaceful, or devastating, or harmful?"
"It depends." She answered finally.
"Well… How do you think it will feel, for me?" He asked.
"For you? I think it will be the best moment of your life." She answered sincerely as she snuggled into him closer for warmth.
"I hope so…" He replied as Lilly's head rested on his chest. "Hey! That cloud looks like a fish!" He replied as his thoughts began to drift.
"Oh yeah!" Lilly replied. "And that one looks like a turtle!" She replied while giggling.
"Again with the turtles Lilly?" He teased her.
"Why not turtles!" She replied as they both began to chuckle.
"I'm gonna miss you Lilly…" Humphrey said as their laughter died down.
"I'm gonna miss you too Humphrey. More than words can describe." She said finally choked out.
"You should go back home to your family." He said.
"But I don't wanna leave you!" She argued.
"Haha! You'll never leave me! And… I'll never leave you." He said as he looked down to her face.
"Humphrey… You're the best thing that has ever happened to me, to us." She said as she implied the pack. They both stood up.
"Thank you Lilly." He told her.
"No Humphrey… Thank you." She said as she kissed him one last time.
They stared at each other for a while. It was hard to describe the feeling though. It was a mix of Infinity, and Undying.
Like love.
"I should go…" She said when she turned around and walked away.
"Leaving so soon eh?" he asked her.
"I'm trying to make it dramatic!" She teased him.
"Haha… Tell everyone I love them okay!" He yelled as she got further and further away.
She stopped at the forest line.
"I don't have too." She called to him.
Finally after what seemed like ages Lilly disappeared into the forest.
Humphrey turned to Kate's grave.
"I can't think of a better birthday gift than the one I've been thinking about for the year!" He said as he smiled. His lips began to tremble. His eyes began to well up with warm, salty water.
"Mr. Winston, Mrs. Eve. I'd like to ask for your daughters hand in marriage." He asked them. "Ill be waiting for an answer. And I'll see you soon." He ended as he lay down next to her grave and got comfortable.
He was indeed going to be here for a while.
He closed his eyes, took his last breath, and fell into a blissful slumber.
He opened his eyes to see the one thing he has waited his entire life for.
"I always thought of this moment Kate!" He said as his eyes began to tear. "I thought to myself if I was going to stay old or if you were going to be young, or vice versa!" He said as the sound of plops could be heard on the invisible floor beneath them. He was much younger. Younger than before at least. He looked like he did when he howled at the moon with her.
Kate still had her wondrous orange fur, with her beautiful eyes. Most of all. She had a flower in her hair.
"Humphrey," she choked out. "I missed you so much!" She said as she ran towards him and hugged him. He gladly hugged back. Soon enough Kate felt the warmth of his wet tears on her coat of clean, perfect fur.
"Don't cry Humphrey." She comforted him.
"I know it's just… I've waited so long for this moment Kate! There was never a second of my life when I didn't think about this moment in time. I just… I never thought how I could tell you how much I love you! I could never make out the words." He finally concluded.
She looked him over thoughtfully.
"Humphrey you don't need too! Whatever you felt I felt it too! I'm just so glad we can finally be together!" She said as she hugged tighter and began to cry herself.
"Me too Kate… Me too!" He concluded happily.
It was his undying love for the wolf that lay here that kept him alive for so long. The price was large. His will to live was his reminder of his love to her and the good times the two wolves would spend when they were younger. It was his fuel. He knew once he saw her again she would know just how much he meant to him. It was the only thing keeping him striving to the end.
And now he was at peace, with his love.
Lilly came over the next day. Sure enough Humphreys cold corpse still laid there next to Kate's grave. She would tell everyone today.
No doubt they would mourn for him. But it was good.
It showed that they loved him.
Lilly walked over to him, gave him a quick lick on his muzzle and finally stood up.
"Humphrey… Me and Garth have never been happier thanks to you." She said as she stood over him. "The pups miss you a lot. So does everyone in the Pack." She stopped and let a tear fall down her face. "Thank you for teaching me about love. It's what I needed. "She paused. "You were all we needed. I told Hazel what you thought of Love. She called it Poetic But I call it the truth." She finished. "I'll make sure everyone remembers you and your teaching Humphrey."
Slowly, she pulled the Flower on her head and set it down and wrapped his paws around it.
"Undying." She told him as she turned around, and walked away.
The pack discovered the shocking truth later that day. After guiding so many people, no one knew how to guide themselves to forget about him. So they didn't.
The flower in his paws soon grew to be a beautiful, luscious garden full of many colors with roots spreading way down into the ground, that covered the gray wolf and his family.
Lilly found love in Garth again, and they lived the remainder of their lives in complete harmony and sanguine, before being buried next to Humphrey and the rest of the family.
Soon Humphreys story would be told for generations, comforting and guiding the wolves all over the world even after his death. Though some thought it sad, others loving or beautiful, they all agreed on one undeniable truth.
The wolf without love always had more than he needed.
Hello everybody! This is my First A&O fanfic, and I am pleasantly surprised with how it turned out! I really like the movie and everyone on this topic, so I thought for Valentine's day I'd make a story! I did cry while making this lol so I hope it was good!
Surprisingly I've never actually seen the movie, but I do like the portrayal of characters on this site, so I took a shot in the dark!
I am thinking about making another story for this movie and it would be a full story. Not a oneshot like this.
Anyways Favorite, and Review if you'd like! And I'll see you all If I decide to make the fic.
-Stoned Monk