Chapter 4

Meeting Tim

It had been a week since we visited our parents. I was allowed to go out again. I caught some chickens. Digging a hole for the fresh chicken, I kept two aside. I put the rest in and covered it up dirt. I checked on my caches when I saw Mandy digging one up. Well, Caitlin and Dominique were.

"Hey, that's mine!" I yelled.

"Get lost, loser! I found it, it's mine." Mandy shouted back.

"This is my territory, house cat." My ears flattened.

"Whatever, mutt! It's not like you -" She said.

I tackled her and she yelled. Caitlin and Dominique dropped the food, but didn't know what to do. They were too shocked.

We grappled, rolling on the ground for a bit. Mandy grabbed my hair. Tears blurred my vision. My fist cracked her nose. Mandy scratched me. I yelped; her claws hurt. Mandy pushed me off. She scrambled away. I was faster. I pinned her to ground and made her submit to me. She shook in fear.

"Don't EVER take from my territory again. You understand?" I whispered, loud enough so her pack mates would hear it too.

"I understand. Just… Let me up…" Mandy quaked.

I let her up. I grabbed her arm before she got too far. "My pack won't be so forgiving."

She ripped her arm away. Caitlin and Dominique rushed to her side. They held her as they went north. I breathed out. That could have gone bad. Mandy's pack was all former Pets. They must have been the spoiled ones.

I reburied the food somewhere else and found the chickens back. I hoped that were still good. Making my way out of the forest, I carried them by their feet. I knew the man lived outside the forest. He had to.

The wind picked up as I walked further out. I shivered. Water was coming from somewhere. Then I came across a large clearing with bushes and trees. There was a stone pond in the middle of it. I drank. It was warm but clean. I looked at the large building. It was made of wood and very tall. Taller than the pines in the forest.

I snuck up to the window, looking in inside. There wasn't anything in the first room. It just had wooden furniture and a square thing in the middle of the room. The next room had shelves and a desk. There was someone in there.

It was an old human. He was bald and graying. He was wearing some kind of clothes. It was all black except the shirt. It was white. The man turned, he had a mustache, as someone walked around him. It was the man who saved me! He was wearing a blue sweater and tan pants. He gestured and the old man said something.

I carefully walked up to the black doors. I placed the chicken in front of them and barked. I barked until I heard someone coming. I hid in the bushes. The doors opened. The man shivered. He smelt clean with a hint of musk. He looked over the clearing. His feet bumped the chickens. He looked down, frowning.

"Hmm." He picked them up, turning to go back in.

I yipped excitedly. He took my gift!

He paused. "Hello, is anyone out there?"

My heart raced as I tried to make a decision. I was paralyzed, remembering everything my parents taught me. This human was good. He saved me from the hunters. He didn't try to take me to the city.

He turned back to go in. I wanted to thank him in person. I gathered my courage. I stepped out. He looked at me. His eyes were a pretty sea foam green. He was a hottie. But what if he already had a mate?! No, single until proven taken.

"… Hi, I'm Samantha. But uh, you can call me Sam." I waved.

"Tim, Tim Scam." He said.

"Are these yours?" He asked.

"They're for you." I blushed.

"… Well, I can't eat this all by myself. Come inside." He stepped to the side. I went inside his den.

It was so big. The floor was wood, but it was warm on my paws. I shook the snow off of me. I took my coat off. My caribou shirt would be enough in here.

"What was that noise?" The man came from the other room.

"Jerry, this is Sam. She brought me chicken for lunch." Tim held them up.

"I see. Hello, Sam." He greeted me.

"Hi." I smiled.

"May I take your coat?" He asked.

"Ok." I gave it to him.

"I hope you're alright. Especially after what happened with the hunters." Jerry told me.

"I'm fine. Tim saved me." I said.

"Follow me to the kitchen." Tim looked at us.

We went down the hall and turned into a room. It was large and had a lot strange metal things in it. I narrowed my eyes.

"You can sit. We have this handled." Tim gestured to a table.

I sat on a chair. It was wood. The men went to the cooking station. Jerry washed it down and got a bucket. Then they plucked the feathered and gutted the birds. Tim put a chicken in a bag and into the food box. I looked around the kitchen and wondered what everything did.

"So, Sam, how have you been?" Tim asked.

"Oh, uh, I've been well. The week before last, we went to visit our parents. Today, I caught some chickens then I buried them. But then I had to fight Mandy. She's a house cat. Mandy and her pack were trying to steal our food, but I showed her." I told them.

"I suppose Mandy is a stray?" Jerry questioned.

"Yeah, they used to have humans, but I don't know what happened. We aren't friends." I looked out the window. It was windy and snowing again.

"Do you live with anyone?" Jerry looked at me.

"Yeah, my pack. There's Clover, she's a cougar, and Alex, a dog, and Britney, another kind of cat." I listed.

"Tell us about them." Tim encouraged.

"Alex is the youngest of us. She still has a toy turtle from puphood. She's sporty and loves wild animals. Clover values our friendship and the pack. She's teaching Alex how to make clothes and beads. She's impulsive and flirtatious when she wants a guy, but she also loves us enough to let one go. Britney is a cheerful person and smart. She's a skilled hunter and fighter." I thought.

"They sound like good girls." Jerry commented.

"They're the best." I agreed.

"How long have you known them?" Tim asked.

"Since I was a kit. …What about you? How are you?" I realized.

"I'm well; I've been busy with human stuff. It's just me and Jerry here." Tim said.

"I take of care the house." Jerry explained.

"That must take all day." I awed.

"It does sometimes." He smiled.

Jerry had put some kind grain in a machine. My ears swiveled as Tim got out a pan. He scooped the cut up chicken into the pan. Then he put the pan on the metal box. The meat sizzled. My tail wagged. Tim cooked some kind of sauce. It smelled good. I think he added some spices to it. Then he put the chicken in the pan. The food smells made me hungry. I whined.

"Why don't you help me carry the plates?" Jerry asked.

"Ok." I got up.

The plates were made of clay. I put them on the table and Jerry put down the forks and things. He filled the glasses with water. Tim brought the food over. The sauce was yellow and had potatoes, chicken and carrots in it. The grain was white and small. It didn't have much of a scent. There was also salad and sliced up bread.

We sat. I ate a few small bites of the white grain and sauce. It was spicier than I thought. I whimpered my nose running. I drank all my water. Jerry refilled my glass.

"Are you alright, Sam? Should I make you something else?" Tim frowned.

I paused and ate some salad. "I'm good. I just didn't think it'd be so spicy."

"Try it with the apricot jam." Jerry passed the jar.

I scrapped some out and it was much better. Tim talked about his human things. Apparently, he had to deal with a "computer issue" at work and it took a long time to solve. He also had to "toss the fridge" in the kitchen. All the food went bad. I asked why somebody didn't smell it. He said people weren't in the kitchen much. I nodded. Humans had a weak sense of smell. Jerry had cleaned the upstairs and bought more food. By the time we finished eating, it stopped snowing.

"I should get going." I got up.

"Put your dishes in the sink, I will get to them later." Jerry went to go get my coat.

I followed Tim the sink and we rinsed our dishes. Then we went down the hall and to the black doors. Jerry gave me my coat back. I put it back on.

"Sam, I appreciate the chickens, but don't go out of your way for me." Tim warned.

My ears flattened a bit. I realized it must have been that he thought I could have gotten in trouble. There was a little risk getting into the chicken coop, but it wasn't too much worse than normal. I would get him something else. Maybe a coat?

"Ok." I nodded.

"Well, it was a pleasure having you, Samantha." Jerry stepped close and I let him hug me.

"See you later." I left and went back to the cave.

Tim's house is about 2 and half, 3 stories tall. The room she described was a spare bedroom. The food box is a fridge, the metal box is an oven. Tim made yellow curry and rice for lunch. Sam hasn't seen rice since it doesn't grow in her area.