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The 11th Morning

The wind whistled this morning, though Mei couldn't say how. It was a quiet thing, and as it blew from the mountains, there was no way to know. Perhaps it passed through a crag just the right shape to make it whistle. He tilted his ears so as to hear it as best he could, and waited. It was a warm day.

Mei tried not to sigh as he remembered all the animals Gabu had killed yesterday, and all the others he'd scarred with fear. He'd stayed away from the black voles, yes, but Mei could all too easily imagine how flurries of gossip could suffuse the Emerald Forest and make their way to every ear. If he'd lost Jenny the squirrel from the death of a single chipmunk, it was altogether possible Bepo was lost now. It depended on how things fit together.

He was just wondering how long he would choose to wait when the familiar sound came: the click of a little cheek and the shifting of little grains of dirt, followed by a chipper voice. "Hoofy happy?"

Aww. Mei smiled with relief. "Bepo! Good morning. I'm doing well, thank you."

The little rodent scrambled closer. "Last day, very tussle. All sides running!"

Mei assumed it was referring to Gabu's hunting spree. "Were they really?"

The vole nodded. "All run, all scare! Some hide. Very special day."

Mei did his best to keep a smile on his face and found it took no effort at all. "Well, that was just my friend Gabu feeding himself. I did mention he eats meat."

"Not Bepo?"

"No. He won't eat you. I promise."

"Promise promise?"

Mei laughed. "I promise promise." He turned around, presenting his rear end to the rodent. "Here—you can pull my tail. I promise on my tail that Gabu won't harm you."

Bepo took him up on this, giving Mei's tail a brisk yank, then darting back again. "Shaggy kill so many voles and mice. Not Bepo, though. Bepo special?"

"Well, yes! I suppose you are rather special. You're my friend."

"Is good feeling safe."

"I agree. You know, Gabu is right in there." He pointed to their cave. "He'd be glad to meet you. Should I call him out?"

The vole stood up straight and sniffed the air nervously. "NOT kill?"

"Absolutely not."

Bepo nodded. "Then meet."

In a spark of playfulness, Mei chose to revisit their old passphrase. "We met one stormy night~!" he singsonged.

After just a moment, Gabu poked his head from the dwelling and echoed, just as playfully: "We met one stormy night! Oh!" He'd noticed Bepo. Gingerly, his four legs carried him into plain sight and down the hill. Mei could see he was still a bit bloated from the previous day. That was a comfort to Mei, even if Gabu didn't like it.

"Gabu, this is my friend, Bepo the black vole. Bepo, this is Gabu, the wolf."

Bepo bowed for a moment, but flitted its head up immediately so as not to lose sight of the huge thing before it. "Am excited meet."

"Excited meat?" repeated Gabu, confused. "Oh—yes, it's very nice to meet you, Bepo." He bowed in kind, bringing his head almost to the ground.

"Very big shaggy. Why so big?"

"Mm?" Gabu didn't seem to know how to answer this. "Well, I guess when you're a wolf, you have to be big. We have to run fast and…" He looked askance, licking his lower lip. "…and hunt down goats, like Mei. If we weren't any bigger than they are… well, that might be troublesome!"

Bepo stared between the two of them. "Shaggy hunt hoofy?"

Gabu laughed nervously, scratching behind his ear. Mei knew he had to leap in. "Yes, in fact! It's customary for wolves like Gabu to hunt white goats like me. But the two of us are fast friends, so I know I have nothing to fear."

The rodent stood blinking, looking between the two of them. "Not afraid?"

Mei grinned, shutting his eyes. "Not afraid in the slightest!" He tried to forget Gabu's professions of fear from last night.

"Mei knows I would never hurt him," Gabu explained. "Our friendship is far too valuable! And if you'd like to be friends with me… I can promise you'll be safe, too!" That big snout did leave room for quite the reassuring grin.

"Then friends," said Bepo, lowering itself to all fours.

"Do you have a family, Bepo?" asked Mei.

The vole shook its head rapidly. "No family. Not yet."

"Well," said Gabu, taking Mei's meaning, "if you do someday, just let me know! I'll be happy for you, and I'll promise never to hunt them, either."

Bepo nodded rapidly. "All safe! Is good feel. Why eat meat?"

Gabu was startled by the sudden question, but Mei couldn't jump in for this one. Eventually, the wolf swallowed and said, "Well… it's just the way it is. Different animals eat different things. You eat seeds… Mei eats grass… and I eat meat. Um… look at it this way! If no one ate meat, then… if someone died, there would be no one to clean it up! And the land would get messier and messier… just covered with… um, corpses." Gabu looked embarrassed.

"But scavenge," pointed out Bepo.

"Um? I guess there are scavengers, yes. Still! Uhh…"

Mei chose to cut in now. "Do you know, I used to wonder the same thing when I was little. I asked my grandmother… 'Grandmother, why are there wolves in the world?'"

Bepo was erect again, awaiting a response. To Mei's surprise, Gabu, too, sat eager for the answer, ears pitched. "What did she say, Mei?"

Mei relaxed, lying down. "She said, 'If there were no wolves to chase us, life would would be too easy.' So you see… in order to keep our minds sharp and our bodies quick… we need wolves."

Gabu pulled back his head with a strange expression. "Is that true? Is that really why we exist? So the goats can be strong?"

Bepo's little round ears twitched. Then it shook its head and tail so that little clods of earth flew. "No nope. Listen. Say goat need strong. Then goat strong! If no wolf, then pretend. Still run! Still fret."

Mei hadn't expected such a long thought from the little creature. "I'm not sure I understand, Bepo."

"Not need wolf," said Bepo, staring at Gabu.

Mei chuckled. "But then, wouldn't we goats just get complacent? We'd just rest and eat all day, and never sharpen our skills."

"Need sharp skills?" asked the vole.

Mei thought. If there were no wolves, perhaps they wouldn't need to be sharp. But then again… "It's good to keep our minds sharp. There are so many things worth thinking about!"

"Then pretend," repeated Bepo. "Pretend wolf. Be wolf! Go hunt! Play and think." It tapped its head twice.

"I see what it's saying," said Gabu. "If you goats really needed to feel like you were in danger in order to keep your minds sharp, you could just play a game. Have some goats volunteer to be the hunters, and they would hunt the rest for a while. That way, everyone would have fun and stay quick, and no one would ever need any wolves." He got more mournful as he finished his thought.

Bepo nodded. "Shaggy not needed." It seemed almost like it was dismissing Gabu, telling him to leave.

"Shaggy is needed," affirmed Mei. He went to stand by Gabu. "I wouldn't be happy if he were gone. And if I'm being honest… even though wolves are terrifying creatures, I'm still very glad they exist. If for no other reason… if they didn't exist, I would never have met Gabu."

"Aww. Mei!" The wolf gave him a spontaneous slurp, which made Mei almost regret his choice of rhetoric… but only for a moment.

"So strange," said Bepo, watching them.

"Well… yes, I guess it is," Mei admitted. "But you're still willing to be friends with us, aren't you?"

The vole's tail slapped the ground. "Yes friends! Is very strange, but very special. Special is good!"

Gabu laughed his beautiful bark of discovery. "I agree! Special is rather nice, isn't it?"

Mei felt halfway full already… full of food for thought. "I suppose I am proud to be special. Anyhow… I think that may be enough for our first meeting. Gabu and I usually spend the day on our own, then come back at dusk to meet up!"

Bepo nodded twice. "Eating more meat?" it asked Gabu.

Gabu put his paw against his stomach. "Oh, uh… no. Probably not today. I ate a lot yesterday… and I'm pretty full!

"Good. Then no kills," said the vole. It sat for a moment. "Will tell others. No worries today!"

Mei and Gabu exchanged a glance. "I suppose that would be all right," said Mei.

"Yes, that's fine," said Gabu. "I don't want the animals to worry about me every day." He sat back with a sudden thought. "Mei, what if I only went hunting one out of every three days, and on the other days, the animals could feel comfortable talking with me?"

Mei marveled at the oddness of it. "I wonder if that would work. It's worth thinking about."

"Well… I'll have plenty of time for thinking today!" said Gabu. "It was wonderful to meet you, Bepo."

Bepo nodded. "Good meet. Thank you for not kill."

"Oh! Um, no problem!" Gabu started laughing nervously, and soon Mei was joining in.

"Goodbye," said Bepo, and, ducking to the grass, skittered away.

"Goodbye, Bepo! See you tomorrow!" Mei called after. Then he looked to his companion. "That went… rather well, don't you think?"

Gabu was grinning and beaming like Mei had seldom seen him. "I have to admit… my hopes are buoyed!"

"Well then. I hope they stay that way throughout the day. See you later, Gabu."

"See you later, Mei."

Mei heard the wolf's big paws pressing down the grass as he walked away. He took a different direction himself, noting how his steps made much less sound, and thought about his grandmother's wisdom. Had she been right about the need for wolves? Or had she just been telling little Mei what she wanted to be true?

With this much food for thought, Mei thought it was high time he got some food in his belly. So he grabbed a bite for the road and walked off for lusher pastures.

The 11th Evening

Mei lay, facing the cave's exit, on the soft patch of moss he'd helped Jenny put together. Had that really just been three days ago? They'd been such eventful days. Mei's life was so much more interesting now than it the way it had been, with one day, one month, one season running into the next. It was strange—he'd thought he and Gabu had finally escaped to a quiet, peaceful existence… but now that they were free of pursuit, peace and quiet were turning out to be more exciting than strife.

He'd been thinking all day. Mei had always enjoyed thinking, but he'd never known how hard he could think until coming here. He really felt like he was on a path somewhere. He felt like he mattered. It was strange, since he no longer had a herd to matter to.

Mei wondered if Mii had found someone else to be like her older brother, if Tap had found a new best friend. He knew his grandmother must still be mourning him, but he wondered if she actually thought he was dead. And yes, he mattered to Gabu… but somehow, Mei felt like he mattered in a broader sense—like all the world was watching him. He couldn't explain it, but he couldn't claim not to enjoy the feeling.

He could see traces of cloud shifting in the distance. Somehow, these seemed worth watching, as if they might tell him something he needed to know. He watched dutifully, letting his mind drift, until the entrance was filled with brown fur and the most important person in his life stood looking into the cave.

"Oh! You're already here. I didn't think I would find you at home, but I can't say I'm unhappy."

"Good evening, Gabu. It is evening by now, isn't it?"

Gabu glanced over his shoulder. "Well, it's still bright out, but the sun should be down in an hour."

"I filled up quickly at the bluff today, and I felt like visiting the edge of Tall Meadow. So I went to see if I could find any rabbits."

"And did you?" asked Gabu with interest.

Mei nodded, not exactly relishing the memory. "There were three or four, but they ducked away when they saw me. I called out to them: 'Wait, I won't hurt you!' But they wouldn't come back. I saw a couple more later on, but they wouldn't talk to me either."

Gabu swallowed a lump. "Oh no! I wonder if they think you're a meat-eater just because you spend so much time with me."

"Or just your accomplice. It's possible they simply smelled your scent on me and were afraid."

Gabu crept into the lair. "And now they know my scent is something to be afraid of. Oh, Mei! I think yesterday was a mistake. If everyone is too afraid to talk to us, how can we ever tell them they don't have to be afraid? It's a paradox."

"It's a nasty bur in the fur," said Mei. "But I did call out to them to tell them that they don't need to be afraid of you today, and probably tomorrow too."

"Oh! Well, if that's what you said, I guess I'd better not hunt tomorrow, either." Gabu patted his belly, which still seemed amply plump. "I think once every three days is enough, really."

"So that's the plan, then? Two days of friendliness followed by one day of hunting?"

"I think for now, that's the plan," Gabu agreed. He stretched out on the dirt floor. "I see you're using the moss bed you made with your squirrel friend."

Mei nodded somberly. "It's comfortable. I wish she'd come back."

"I wish for that too. I feel so… wrong. As if the way I've lived my whole life was completely wrong, only not a single soul around me realized it."

"Believe it or not… I feel the same way."

Gabu looked over. "Really? What do you think you've been doing wrong? And you can't say 'not making friends with wolves', because you know as well as I do that wouldn't have been possible."

"Honestly, Gabu? I don't know why I feel this way. Maybe we should have been trying to make friends with wolves, even if it wasn't possible. Or maybe…"

"Yes, Mei?"

He shut his eyes, and the wispy clouds disappeared. "I just feel like we could have been thinking differently."

He could hear Gabu's breaths. The smell of well-fed wolf was powerful. Whatever the rabbits might think, this was the smell of safety now.

The 12th Day

Gabu strode through the grass at the shallow edge of Tall Meadow, far from the treeline. His ears were peaked. He listened for the pouncing of rabbits through brush, watched for tall eartips, smelled the air at regular intervals. But he wasn't planning to hunt the rabbits today. He wanted to know if they were watching.

The steady hiss of yielding grass sounded suddenly behind Gabu, and he took off running. Now two sets of legs were churning tall grass beneath two chests.

"Nooo!" he cried as he fled. "Don't hurt me! I'm only an innocent goat!"

"The more innocent, the better!" yelled Mei in his most sinister voice—a voice that was still touchingly pure despite his best efforts. "The more innocent you are, the tastier you'll be!"

"Noooo!" Gabu shouted, cutting at an angle toward the woods. He saw a rabbit leap away—good. He wanted them to watch this. He hoped they heard. "I'm too young to be devoured by a wolf!"

"On the contrary!" roared Mei. "You're precisely the right age! Come back and get ready to go into my single-chambered belly!" With that, he drew within pouncing distance…. and pounced! Gabu let himself trip; Mei landed on his back. Cloven hooves combed the fur of his back, and he yowled as if being shredded by claws. This wasn't the time to tell Mei he should try and grab his prey by the nose or the neck instead.

"Taste my natural weapons, delicious goat!"

"I'm not done for yet!" retorted Gabu, bucking gently. Mei flew from his back, and by the time he'd found his footing in the grass, Gabu had darted off again.

"Every minute you evade me just makes the chase more satisfying!" yelled Mei, dashing once more into action. He licked his lips and started to gain again on his quarry.

The rabbits sat watching in amazement, stunned and baffled. This was something they couldn't ignore.

But what could they make of it?

A/N: Bepo is a cautious vole. It needs you to assure it two or even three times that you won't kill it before it trusts you. ;)

The game of role reversal in the final scene is something our protagonists discover they enjoy in the "Secret Friends" TV show. I thought it was cute, even if it went on a bit long. It's good to step out of your skin now and then.

And now, if you'll indulge me, it's time to introduce our final viewpoint character…

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