As
O'Connell walked along the track, he kicked up the smaller layer of
snow. It was very cold, but pretty as well.
"The best things
hurt most," he said. Snow was beautiful, but it was cold enough
to cause pain on bare skin. It was an interesting saying that had
just popped into his head. But was it entirely true? He loved
Hermann, but Hermann had never hurt him. Hermann was the best of
commanding officers in O'Connell's opinion, but it was Hermann's fame
that put him in the spotlight, something O'Connell didn't like.
O'Connell was a bit shy, and didn't like too much attention. And if
Hermann got attention, he got it too, for he was always around him.
He didn't like it when Hermann was fussed over and he was pushed
aside, because he felt Hermann was more interested in the others than
his little subordinate. He supposed having the best of commanding
officers did hurt more than if he had other ones. He shrugged. Why
did he always have to confuse himself?
O'Connell thought about his family. He was going to spend his whole Christmas alone, without his loving family, without his Zoids or friends, with no one. And it would be so cold, and he would have to make sure the Apple Orchard was safe. Tears welled up in his eyes. He felt so cold and alone. He couldn't take it any more. He started crying, and started wiping away the tears. He was trying to stay strong, but he felt cold, alone, upset, scared, and still felt like something horrible was going to happen to him. The tears made his face wet and painfully cold as the fairly gentle wind hit him.
It began to snow again. O'Connell sniffled, and wiped the tears from his eyes. He shook himself and put up his hood. He was glad he had brought the warm jacket with the hood, but he still felt cold. He had warmer clothes in the house, so that was something to look forward to. As O'Connell turned around the corner, he stopped and jerked his head to the left. A pair of glowing eyes were watching him intently. O'Connell swallowed, frightened. The eyes came closer, and a furry grey wolf appeared. There weren't usually many wolves around the area. O'Connell stepped back slowly. He knew wolves could be dangerous. There was no escape from this one, nothing around that could save him if it attacked.
He suddenly thought back to his own wolf, the Command Wolf he affectionately called Wolfie. Was this what Wolfie was trying to warn him about? The wolf didn't growl. It just stood, watching the soldier carefully. There was something about the wolf that felt familiar, but O'Connell hadn't met any wolves before. He had seen one once, but just a glimpse of it. The wolf gave a little bark, as if it was saying hello.
"Hi," O'Connell said softly. The wolf came closer, stepping slowly, in case it had to run away. O'Connell froze, unsure about what to do. It came closer and closer, and carefully put out its nose to sniff O'Connell's leg. O'Connell remained perfectly still, hoping it wouldn't bite him. If it did, he was a goner for sure.
The wolf looked up at him inquisitively. It yelped, then rubbed its head against O'Connell's leg. O'Connell slowly lowered his hand and gently stroked the wolf's blue-grey fur. The wolf licked his hand playfully, then rolled in the snow. It was acting strange for a wolf. It was acting more like a dog, really. O'Connell remembered the old family dog, a border collie named Skidder. Poor Skidder had died shortly after O'Connell joined the military, and was replaced by a grumpy old sod named Bourke. The family had been given Bourke from a neighbour that had moved away.
O'Connell slowly turned and began to walk along the track, hoping the wolf would leave him alone. The wolf leapt up and bounded after him playfully, before moving back into a slow walk, keeping beside O'Connell. It became obvious this wolf had adopted him, and since it had big teeth and claws, O'Connell didn't discourage it. He felt scared that such a vicious type of animal was walking beside him, yet felt safe, as though the wolf was protecting him. He didn't feel alone any more. He and the wolf walked along the track silently. Soon they neared the farmhouse and Apple Orchard, and O'Connell stopped to look. He remembered his first few winters. Everything had seemed so fun. But now, everything look dreary and cold, lonesome, depressing and even a bit scary. The wolf picked up on O'Connell's sadness, and rubbed his head against the major encouragingly. O'Connell petted the wolf, then continued on up the track to the house.