By the fourth day she was able to move with only stiffness in her joints, a few twinges from badly strained muscles, and a stab or two from her cracked ribs. Simon helped her to first sit up, then stand and slowly start to move around the small cottage, providing a supporting arm and encouraging words in his strangely split voice. It was as though both Simons wanted her to get well, but had slightly different opinions on how it should be achieved.
The sound of the old man arguing with himself as he debated how to prepared herbal tinctures and whether he should let Leila out of bed, as she so desperately wanted was something that she found rather reassuring. If Simon could think of nothing worse than if she would get sunburned if he allowed her to sit outside for too long, then there was nothing worse to worry about.
She pushed herself as far as she could with her healing. There were things that she wanted to do. Firstly she wanted to scout out all the land around the cottage to see who else lived there, who might conceivably be dangerous to her, and look for some boltholes. Secondly she was determined to help Simon maintain his little holding as best she could. She knew that she was a drain on his meagre resources and once she was fully healed and back up to her normal speed, she could supplement his provisions with fresh meat and other foods of the forest. But even a wolf's endurance and stamina had limits and she could heal only so fast.
She started slowly, moving carefully around the cottage, taking care of a few small household chores, then further as her bones healed and she could move with close to her usual agility. Within a couple of weeks she had prowled around all the forest that surrounded Simon's cottage and found it to be quite isolated. There wasn't another inhabitant dwelling for at least a mile and the nearest town was more than eight miles away by river. There was no one else around who she may consider dangerous, and there were plenty of boltholes and hidey-holes within a short sprint from the cottage. The ones she marked for further investigation all had good cover leading to them and a good view of the surrounding land while being themselves completely hidden.
She loved being able to run through the forest again without any constraints, she felt safe here in the wilds, away from anyone who might have any reason, justified or not, to offer her harm. As she felt her sense of peace and security growing she found that her nightmares slowly faded and although she still occasionally had bad dreams, she didn't wake up screaming or shaking in abject terror.
Her greatest relief came at full moon. Totally healed and free from all constraints for the first time in years she was able to let her instincts take hold of her as the Wild Moon called her. She was crotchety all day, waiting for the silvery perfection of Her face to show in the night sky. Thankfully Simon fully understood what was happening to her and gave her the room she needed.
That night she ran from the cottage into depths of the forest, wild, reckless joy filling her to the brim as she ran through the trees, free as only a wolf could be. To her eyes the forest was as bright as day, painted in shimmering silvers, but to her nose there was a whole world of scents painting in bright colours, beautiful and welcoming.
She ran and ran, this time driven by nothing but the joy of the chase as she ran with the moon, playing hide and seek with the moon beams among the trees, stopping in clearings to raise her face to the moon and howl her fierce joy aloud.
The next morning Simon found her, curled up under a tree by the river, a happy smile on her lips and flecks of blood and fur around her mouth. He tutted quietly to himself left her to sleep in the sun.
Over the following months Leila made what contributions she could to Simon's provisions and helped in the running of his small holding. She hunted for rabbits and other small game in the forest, trapped ducks and geese on the wide, meandering river, and fished in the cool, clear waters. She also accompanied him on his gathering expeditions, collecting berries, nuts, fruit and herbs in their seasons, quickly learning that there was more that could be harvested from the forest than even she realised. It was a peaceful, gentle life and for the first time in a great many years, she found that she was happy and content.