The soft rumble of Anna's growl made Elsa laugh. She watched as the canine sniffed around the leaves of the shrubbery and pressed her nose further in. The sight appeared genuinely natural, if Elsa didn't know better. Since the other day, her puppy felt that all unknown things needed investigating before her master got too close. The latest victim was a potted plant with a bird hidden within. At the approach of the other creature, the bird took flight and nearly brushed Elsa's head in its escape.
The walk felt good. The close quarters of the buildings allowed the perfect amplification for the musicians in the park. The echoes of their saxophone and bass set a jazzy mood with its smooth, melodic sound. She welcomed it when compared to the silence that engulfed her back at home.
After cooping up for nearly twenty-four hours, Elsa had felt her body slowly embracing the temptation of the call again. The sensation sent another sweep of panic through her nerves and she decided to call in sick again. Surprisingly, Dawn insisted Elsa stay at home another day to get better. Elsa could only guess why Dawn would want to manage the store by herself, when she could prominently hear the deep sound of male voices in the background and accepted the day off with little argument.
"What a cute, little thing," a passerby complimented as they noticed Anna.
Elsa smiled in thanks and began walking again, with Anna following closely at her heels. Not having a particular destination in mind, she was content to drown out her thoughts and let the essence of urban living guide her.
The air nipped at her skin. People walked forward and past, left and right, occasionally brushing past her. The snow crunched underneath her boots. The roar of car engines and horns filled the streets, their sounds were brash and loud. The distinct smell of smog and overdressed humans brought her the greatest sense of comfort.
The sensations of the city vastly different than her quaint hometown, just four hours away, which highlighted Elsa's reasoning for her escape. She could regroup and devise a plan without fear of being hunted. She would have to wait out until the new wolf ran off, or prepare for confrontation again before her spirit could no longer refuse the change.
Anna stopped again, this time to bark at a cat sleeping on a floor mat behind a glass door. Elsa obliged her and looked up to see the sign beside the doorframe read: Novel Trends. Beyond the glass door, Elsa could see round tables and armless velvet seats scattered the front half of the first floor and looming aisles of bookshelves stood through out the back half of the store. Two sets of swirling staircases in the back led to the second floor, which had bookshelves reaching from base to ceiling. The storehouse declared ostentatious straight off the bat with the sign's bold lettering, but Elsa thought it might help her with her planning.
Scooping Anna up with orders to hush, Elsa entered the store without anyone noticing the red puppy in her oversized tote. She set her sights on the Biological Sciences section and narrowed the subject to Animals. She plucked the first textbooks she saw displaying wolf material and stacked as many as she could carry in her arms. She searched for a lone seat and sat down to read.
The first book proved useful enough, Biology of the Canis, offering insight into the different species of dogs. She easily pinpointed the wolves with white pelts, but knew not to take the comparisons too seriously. She made discoveries just like this earlier in her youth and just stored the information away in her vast capacity for knowledge. Though her body could transform, she could not conclude for sure that she shared the phylogenetic makeup of a dog. However, since the wolf's physical appearance looked just like her, she could start with clues as to its possible origin and where it came from.
One complication was the uncertainty if the wolf followed a particular trail or wandered nomadically through the woods. She guessed the latter since last night was the first time she had seen it. Elsa felt unnerved by the thought of its sudden appearance in the area. The wolf was sure to pick up her scent from her previous runs, so it could have easily avoided the areas she crossed if it was passing by. According to the book, the wolf was very lost indeed, since the white pelted creature supposedly populated the frozen uplands of Russia.
She wondered if she too came from Russia but her family hid themselves up in the North without any mention of relatives or native lands. Her apprehension over their mysterious isolation prevented her from taking any sort of tests needing blood work or genealogy searches needing official names. The locked doors, her limited contact with people, none of it explained. She shook her head, returning her focus to the task at hand and turned to the next textbook.
The book merely offered more taxonomy and terminology, but not enough to answer her problem. She set the book aside and picked up the next, Wildlife, but the material was limited. More photographic prints than words of multiple animals distinguished by the possession of hair and fur. She promptly closed the book once she came across an explicit photograph of a female giving birth. The next book, Mammal Zoology, proved more useful with its studies of animals living in a particular area. She knew that most wolves defended territory fiercely against other pack and they rarely traveled unless they followed prey. While they moved in packs, their social habits depended more on an organized hierarchy. She considered the wolf might be rogue, banished after a fight with an alpha.
Another complication was the wolf's odd yet mild behavior. Male creatures fought for territory, but a normal animal would have immediately switched to the offense when faced with an opponent, whether Elsa walked on two legs or four. He should have growled or barked, but he did neither. He merely watched her and only sprang into action when she fled. Though he gave chase, he still didn't switch his neutral position until he was forced to go on the defensive. Even then, he still acquiesced to her clear show of dominance and chose not to follow. But if he remained in the woods around her home, snooping until he caught whiff of them, she would inevitably face confrontation.
The more she read about the tundra wolf, she came across the unfortunate information that the predator rarely encountered human settlements in their habitat, thus seemingly have not developed fear of humans. So even if Elsa were to chase the around with a club, it would think she was merely playing fetch or outrun her with its superior stamina. She closed the book and put it beside the first.
She rubbed the itch just in the inner corner of her eye, when her phone buzzed within her tote. Anna, who had promptly fallen asleep, began to yip and chew on the device.
"Anna, no," Elsa scolded.
She tucked the dog under her arm and checked the caller ID, only to see an unrecognized number. Setting Anna in her lap and calming her with small pets, she answered,
"Hello."
"Hi, Elsa? This is Randy."
"Um," Elsa trailed off, trying to remember when she had shared her contact info with him.
"Randy. Dawn's friend?"
"Yes, of course, Randy. You just caught me by surprise."
"Yeah, I hope you weren't surprised too badly. And I hope you don't mind that Dawn gave me your number."
A nerve pinched in Elsa's temple.
"Ah, so you saw Dawn today. I hope she gave you a copy of your receipt," Elsa commented nonchalantly, believing he was smart enough to take the hint.
"Yeah, no worries. I gave her the money I owed you and she cleared everything."
"You mean, the money you owed the store."
"Oh yeah. Hah, it's funny that I can never think of the store without thinking of you," Randy commented, his tone just as nonchalant as hers. Which raised her already overloaded nerves.
"Guess that's why I was surprised not to see you at work today."
"Was there something I could help you with?" Elsa asked, softly poking her fingers at Anna's nose. Anna rose to nibble at Elsa's skin and lick her palm.
"Actually, I was hoping to drop by again tomorrow and ask for your expertise about more informational resources about town."
"Did you lose the maps Dawn gave you?"
"No, I have them. I figured with your brains, and since you live the furthest out, you could suggest better material and add your own CliffNotes version."
Elsa rubbed at the skin just above her pinched nerve.
"I hope you don't expect too much, especially from the local homebody. See you tomorrow?" She asked, wanting to return to her reading.
"Great! See you tomorrow."
Elsa tapped the End button and sighed. She leaned her neck back and rested her head over the top of the seat. Anna licked her fingers before shifting toward an approaching man in black slacks and long-sleeve button-up. The nametag on his left chest side pined to his shirt with perfect poise.
"Excuse me, Miss, but I'm afraid I have to ask that your dog remain outside."
Elsa's eyes opened instantly and narrowed at the man. He had the decency to look rebuked. She sat up and changed her expression to a gentle smile. The man gave no notice to the forced effort on her part.
"Of course. Allow me to collect my things and we'll just be leaving."
After placing Anna back in her tote and picking up the two books, she turned to the employee with the same smile.
"So sorry about the mess. Have a good day," Elsa bid and took her leave.
However, she caught sight of the employee's distraught expression at the sight of the multiple stacked books Elsa had yet to read, and she felt no sympathy for him in his task for putting the books back on the shelves. If anything, she giggled and petted Anna on the head.