A/N: Thank you to all who have read and reviewed thus far! It means a lot to me. And before the regular readers begin throwing stones and rocks of various hurt-inducing sizes, just let me say that I have been extremely busy with school lately. I have a year and change left before I graduate, so I'm workin' me little tail off to make sure I can pay off that sizable tuition I'll be left with.
If you want to see what I've been up to, check out my deviantArt account (link available in my profile.)
This chapter is short, courtesy of a busy schedule. If you ask me, I think it's a little fluffy.
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I woke up early the next morning with a curious sense of being strangely comfortable, and feeling warmer than I had in a long time. The furry, canine body beside me had something to do with that, I imagined, but whatever the case, it felt wonderful.
When I shifted my paws under my chin to make myself more comfortable, Blue yawned and, without waking up, snuggled closer to my side to take advantage of the most body heat she could. I chanced a peek over at her and suppressed a grin. Her bushy tail was swept up over her nose, making her look more like a black-furred ball than a wolf. A black-furred ball that was sleeping peacefully.
I settled back down and sleepily contemplated the entrance to the old cave we had found. Snow was blowing past in eddies, but for the most part the wind didn't blow into the cave, so we were comfortable enough. And like I mentioned before, I was enjoying the sensation of being next to another of my kind. A life in the junkyard had left me out in the cold more often than not, and I had spent more nights than I cared to count shivering under that rusted fender.
Blue stirred beside me and slowly uncurled, yawning again.
Good morning, I greeted her, turning onto my side so I could watch her stand and stretch out. She took her time to stretch each limb deliberately, spreading her toes and shaking vigorously to banish any stiffness. When she was done she lay back down beside me and butted her head up under my chin.
You're very warm, she said, and I could tell she was smiling. It feels good to be able to have someone to sleep beside.
I know what you mean. I returned her gentle head-bump. In the junkyard, there was no one else but me, and it was almost always freezing. I would wake up a lot of times with my coat full of ice, and then it would take forever to get it off, but I'd be freezing in the meantime. There were days that they forgot to feed me . . . But Ceede always remembered when he had a club or shovel handy when he thought I needed reminding who the boss was.
I had the slightest notion that I was starting to babble, but Blue just lay there and watched me intently. Sometimes, when I was lying there at night, too stiff or hungry to move – sometimes I dozed off and dreamed that I was far away from the yard, someplace that was warm and sweet, and had these beautiful trees . . . Well, it's hard to describe it. But it felt like a gentle place, like you could just lie down in the grass and not be afraid of someone driving over you or anything like that.
Aside from realizing that I had just blatantly overused the word 'like,' I found Blue's head resting on my shoulder, gazing at me as though she was drinking in every word I was saying.
You're lucky, she said finally, and I was surprised to hear the slight wistfulness in her tone. I've never had a clear vision in my head of what Paradise is like, even though I keep hearing about it.
Well, I wouldn't call it Paradise, but . . I forgot what I was saying as Blue suddenly poked her nose into my fur and sniffed intently. When she had explored the fur of my side with her muzzle and taken several nosefuls – I was meanwhile unsure if that meant I was supposed to do the same for her – she spoke up again.
You have a lot of scars, she said, her voice sounding sad. I didn't know there were that many.
You found that out by sniffing? I asked incredulously, briefly wondering how much about her I could find out by smelling her, aside from things that were obvious to a normal canine nose.
No, she replied, laughing a little. I just wanted to do that. But – she stopped laughing - I could feel them, under your fur. I'm sorry.
Don't be, I reassured her. It's not your fault, and they don't hurt anymore, so it's fine.
She didn't say anything again after that for some time, merely kept her head close beside mine, occasionally heaving a sigh or rubbing her nose with a paw.
The silence was relaxing – therapeutic, even.
And then my stomach growled. Loud enough for Blue to hear.
Ah, yes, she said lightly, watching with amusement as I turned away, groaning in embarrassment, and hastily curled into a ball to try and suppress any further outcries from my disgruntled midsection. I think it's time we found ourselves some breakfast.
I peeked over at her from behind my tail, now curled over my nose. She stood to her feet and gave my side a playful nip. Well, c'mon. The deer aren't going to wander in here of their own accord.
I followed her out of the cave, ears and tail dragging. How utterly humiliating.
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A/N: Gurgh. This is so not the best chapter I've posted. Anyway, more fun on the way!
Note: When they speak in italics, it means they're in their wolf form.
Of course, that all depends on my school schedule, work schedule, eating schedule, blah blah blah . . .
