Not Hard Enough
C2: Little Wolf
[Disclaimer: Disney owns KP. I own whatever I write/create. Don't steal and don't sue.]
KRA-BOOOOOOOOOM!
The thunder and rain fell down upon the earth. Ion Psymon stared out the window of her home. Her small dog, Ein, whimpered sadly and bonked his head against Ion's leg.
"I know, Ein." Ion murmured, "But Tao isn't coming inside."
It had been two years since the incident. Tao had barely moved from her stump-perch in that time. Her hair grew shaggy and wild, and her claws grew sharper than ever before. At the moment, she was five.
It was only a few days before Tao's sixth birthday. Ion slowly turned around and sat down on the floor. She wanted to get Tao to talk to her, or at least be somewhat alive again. It pained her heart to see her precious little girl so quiet and sad.
There had to be a way of fixing the chasm.
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"Well, 'lo there, Dr. Psymon." the young man, Sam Del, greeted Ion as she walked to the fenced area of the reservation, "You haven't been 'ere in a while."
"I know, Sam." Ion sighed, "Have any of them had new cubs?"
Gray wolves were inside the fence. The two observed them for a moment. Sam ruffled his own corn yellow hair and closed his blue eyes in thought. He was slightly taller than Ion, his blue jeans and gray tank top giving the look of a normal rancher.
"Oh, yeah." Sam nodded, chewing on a piece of gum, "You remember that big one named Kam-Kam?"
"The one that likes everyone?"
"Yeah." Sam nodded again, "She had a big litter about a week ago. Wanna see 'em?"
"If I may." Ion smiled at Sam warmly.
"Ah, come on, Dr. Psymon." Sam chuckled, "You're always welcome to see the Del family wolves."
He led her into the fenced area and whistled.
"Hey, hey, hey!" Sam said, calling the wolves to him, "Go! Get Kam-Kam!"
Two or three wolves bounded away to hunt down the new mother, while the fifteen other wolves yipped at Sam and ran circles around each other.
"You've almost domesticated them." Ion remarked, "But…"
Sam grabbed Ion by the hand and pulled her to him. Two wolves were fighting and would have crashed into Ion had Sam not grabbed her. However, it caused its own problem; Ion and Sam were nose to nose. Both of them flushed like they both were still school children. But they almost were: both just twenty-two.
A large wolf came slowly to Sam and nudged him with its head.
"Kam-Kam!" Sam said gratefully, "Why don't you show us your cubs? Come on, let's see!" The wolf led the two humans to a small pseudo-cave where five little cubs were whining for food. Kam-Kam lay down to let the little ones feed.
One male in particular caught Ion's eye. He was already crawling/walking around, and was rumbling at Ion. She crouched down and scratched the young wolf behind the ears.
"Have you named this one yet?" Ion asked, daring to pick the wolf up.
"Ah, no." Sam replied, "He looks like the runt of the litter. Kam-Kam ignores him a lot. Don't know if he'll really live long."
"Sam?"
"Yeah?"
"Could I…have him?"
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A small whining noise made Tao blink for the first time in an hour. A tiny little gray wolf cub was lying next to her on her stump. It whined softly, pawing at Tao's leg.
Something stirred in Tao's mind. She picked the wolf up and put it in her lap, stroking his head.
"Lobo." she murmured, "I'm going to call you Lobo."
Inside the house, Ion was standing at the window again, watching Tao pet the wolf gently. Sam stood at her side.
"So little Tao out there had to save herself, huh?" Sam asked sadly, "I'm sorry she had to go through that. Sorry that you had to go through it too."
"What?" Ion asked, rather bemused.
"Well, you got a special bond with Tao." Sam said, "She's the most unique kid I've ever seen. And you're a unique kinda mom, too. You two got something in common. You need each other. And if you had lost Tao two years ago, you'd-a gone nuts. Seeing her in so much pain, you must have gotten some-a that pain too."
The words hit home. Sam stretched, groaning as something in his back popped. He started towards the door, saying his farewells and about having to get back to the reserve.
"Sam!" Ion turned quickly and caught Sam by the wrist.
"Yeah?"
Ion kissed him quickly. Sam was taken aback for less than a second. A grin came over him.
"You're welcome, Ion." he said, "See you later, eh?"
"Yes." Ion replied, "See you later, Sam." He left, and Ion sank down on the couch with a content smile. A moment later, Tao ran inside, Lobo chasing her with many a yip. Tao jumped into her mother's arms, laughing again.
"Mama, thank you!" she said, "I love him!" Ion thought for one moment. It was Tao's sixth birthday that day.
"You're very welcome, Tao." Ion smiled, "Now, we need to have a party, don't we?"
"Birthday!"
—to be continued—