Chapter 12: Searching For Warner
Warner lay lazily on a rock, watching as the sun began to fade a little into night. His gaze shifted to the ground as a grasshopper sprung past.
Warner smiled slightly. Should he go and chase the bug? It was a bit..childish...but he had nothing better to do.
The grey-silver wolf jumped down from the rock and pursued the little grasshopper. He began to get tired, because every time he would begin to close the distance between him and the bug, it would spring even farther away!
Finally Warner outsmarted the bug. he leapt into its path, and the grasshopper bounded right into his mouth! It tickled, because the bug kept hopping around inside, trying to escape.
"Warner!" A female voice suddenly called out, making Warner spit the grasshopper out.
The grey-silver wolf's ears perked up curiously as he listened.
Then another yell rang out, this time a man's voice. "Warner!"
Warner glanced around the forest and shrugged. "I wonder who that could be calling me? It certainly doesn't sound like anyone from the pack!" he muttered, listening as his name was called again, this time by a child it seemed.
Warner decided to investigate, and try to find the source where the calls were coming from.
Was this someone's idea of a joke? Well, Warner certainly didn't find it funny!
The grey and silver wolf crouched low as he peeked out through some bushes, where he saw three humans..
"Warner!" Kia called, then waited until her voice had stopped echoing, before calling out again.
Aika giggled at the echoes. "Hey! Let me try that!" she exclaimed.
The young girl called out, then listened, giggling loudly as her voice echoed over and over again, throughout the forest.
Kia laughed, shaking her head. Aika obviously thought of searching for Warner as more of a game.
Aika looked up at Kia. "Hey, you and Kenai stay here. I'm gonna go look for Warner over there." She said, pointing to a big group of tall pine trees.
Kia chuckled. "Okay, just be careful, and don't go too far." Aika nodded, and raced away.
Kenai turned to Kia then, a puzzled look on his face.
"If he can understand us, why doesn't this wolf show himself?" he asked.
Kia shrugged. "I don't know.." she said. "Maybe he's shy..?" she suggested.
Kenai laughed and nodded. "Yeah, maybe."
In his hiding place, Warner smirked. "They are the ones looking for me? Well, I guess it's time to show myself then."
The grey-silver wolf slowly got up and walked out from the bushes.
Kia just happened to glance in the wolf's direction, and she screamed.
Kenai glanced over at Kia, a bewildered expression on his face. "What, Kia!"
Kia tried to back away from the wolf, to Kenai, but she accidently smacked herself into the boy, knocking them both on the ground.
Kenai quickly pulled himself into a sitting position and looked around, trying to see what had scared Kia so badly. Then he saw the light grey and silver wolf approaching them.
Kenai grabbed onto Kia's hands, trying to protect the girl.
The wolf laughed slightly. "Sorry to have alarmed you folks."
What d-do you want?" Kenai asked.
Warner looked in mock surprise at Kenai and Kia. "What do I want? You are the ones who were calling me!"
Kia gasped in shock. "Y-you're Warner?" she asked.
Warner nodded. "Now why are you calling me? Why-"
Warner stopped speaking as he suddenly realized something: These human could communicate with him!
"How can you understand me?" he asked, his voice soft as he glanced at Kia, his wolf eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"Because," Kenai began as he helped himself and Kia back up, "The Great Spirits made it possible. That way we could talk with you when we found you."
"Why must you attack the villagers?" Kia asked.
Warner heaved a sigh and turned his back to Kenai and Kia. "I have no choice.."
Kia put a hand on Warner's back. "Oh, please Warner! Won't you reconsider, and call off your pack's attack? I beg you! We do not want to fight."
Warner heaved another sigh, and looked helplessly at Kia. "I can't call the attack off...I'm not the pack's leader."
He lowered his head slightly. "Silver Fang is, and trust me, you don't want to talk to him...That wolf would rather rip you to shreds, then listen to your reasoning.." he muttered.
"Can you talk to him for us?" Kenai asked, walking up beside Kia and looking at Warner.
Warner shook his head. "I have already tried to talk him out of this..But Silver Fang doesn't care about humans, because..well...humans took everyone he cared for away from him...So words are useless."
Kenai and Kia exchanged worried glances. "That...could be a problem." Kenai admitted.
Warner nodded, hanging his head. "I know...I don't know how, but somehow...someway, Silver Fang has got to be stopped!"
Kia frowned, thinking hard about what they could do to stop Silver fang. Then she suddenly had an idea.
"Hey, there's no point in us all trying to stop him alone...What if we all teamed up, and came up with a plan together?"
A small smile started to form across Warner's snout. "That would be better then all of us trying to stop him alone." he agreed.
Kenai smiled. "Great! together, I am sure the three of us can come up with a good plan!"
Kia shook her head. "The four of us. Don't forget about Aika. She's part of our team."
Kenai glanced around. "Hey, where is Aika anyway?" he asked.
The girl was no longer by the group of pine trees, they soon learned.
"Aika...Is she a girl with long brownish black hair?" Warner suddenly asked.
Kenai and Kia nodded. "Yeah, that's her. Why?"
"Wait here." Warner said over his shoulder as he walked off into the bushes, completely ignoring their question.
A couple of minutes later, the wolf returned, dragging Aika by the hood her coat.
"Let me go!" Aika yelled, kicking and punching in the air.
"Here she is." Warner said, letting go of Aika's coat.
Kenai and Kia exchanged amused glances and laughed..