CHAPTER 4

Later that day

"Here we are, you can take the blind fold off now," Jose said from somewhere to her left.

Ariel took off the blind fold even though she already knew exactly where they were and could have returned back to the town with out looking at all. When she looked around and smiled at her favorite area of the woods where she used to always play while she was growing up. The two friends were in a small clearing in the middle of a deep green forest. There was a clear mountain stream running along the border of the clearing and weaving and twisting around the trees. A soft beam of light broke through the canopy of the forest at ten different places lending the area a soft greenish glow and giving it a harmonious sense of being.

"I will come back in seven days to get you, if you make it that long," Jose grinned malevolently.

"Whatever, just take good care of rain, he loves his oats and alfalfa." As if the horse heard her, Rain gave a mighty whiny and let Jose lead her away even though she had no bridle or even a saddle.

Ariel watched the man and the two horses walk over the hill and out of sight. She watched for a few moments and then set about collecting firewood for a fire. Starting the fire took about two minutes since there were no lighters or matches at that time. After this task was done, Ariel went over to the stream to drink from the clear blue liquid but instead of truly drinking, she looked out of the corner of her eye and just saw him watching her. Now she had sensed him the whole time she had been in the clearing and knew that he had never truly left, but she figured that she had better get him out in the open where she could keep an eye on him.

Just when Ariel was about to call Jose out into the open, two things happened simultaneously. She heard a rustling in the forest a long way off but it was coming closer by the minute. After just a few moments, the leader of a pack of wolves came ripping out the bushes to stand right in front of her. In the same instant, Ariel heard the distinctive sound of a gun being cocked.

Ariel spun around so that she was in front of the leader of the pack of wolves and right in the line of fire of Jose's gun.

"Get out of the way Ariel before it attacks," shouted Jose as he got ready to shoot the beast.

"Put that gun down right this minute Jose," Ariel shouted right back not moving an inch.

"If I put my gun down what am I going to do when it attacks you?"

"That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard," as if to prove her point, Ariel put her hand down and onto the head of the alpha male of the pack as if it where the most natural thing in the world.

Jose could not believe what he was seeing. Wolves were savage, meat eating monsters, and here his best friend was petting the largest and meanest looking one without a care in the world.

"Jose, are you going to put that gun down or am I going to have to take it from you," Ariel asked starting to get testy.

"Okay, but are you sure they will not attack?"

I'm sure, do you think I would be standing here with my hand on him," meaning the wolf at her side, "head if I was not sure it was safe? Besides, there are fourteen more of them in the surrounding woods." Ariel finished saying this but then turned to the side facing the wolf and tilts her head to the side as if she were listening to something. All of the sudden she got a happy expression on her face and says to the alpha wolf, "Oh my God! Nari had her pups? That's great!"

As Jose watched, Ariel got down on her knees right within biting distance of the wolf and hugged it, wait he could not be seeing this right! Normal wolves did not let a human hug it, yet this did not seem like a normal wolf and how many wolves did he know anyways. Another part of his mind told him, you don't know any wolves so you don't know squat. Seeing the wolf was not going to hurt Ariel, he put the gun back down in its holster on his hip but kept it in easy reach.

"I was wrong there Jose, there are twenty other wolves in the surrounding woods so if they were to attack, which they will not, we would be dead already. Trust me we are quite safe; now come over here so I can keep and eye on while I call the rest in here."

Jose was just getting over to Ariel while keeping an eye on the lone wolf when thirteen odd wolves came bounding out of the woods to crowd around Ariel in a mass of moving bodies of fur. Then on top of all those wolves, five small balls of fluff came out of the bushes but stayed away and behind another wolf.

"How did you-?" Jose began but then stopped the question to ask, "Please explain."

Ariel knew that an explanation was in order when she first spotted Jose with his gun out and Iorek out in the open. "Okay, this is going to sound crazy and you will probably not believe me but- I can talk to animals among other things," only after getting the truth out did she look up into the startled expression on his face.

"But how- no it can't be true- people don't talk to animals- but I saw you- no it must have been my imagination- but-…" he started to babble.

Ariel saw this coming and interrupted him with, "You didn't leave the horses by themselves on the other side of the mountains did you? Wait- I already know you did, I can hear Rain…" As she trailed off, she silently sent out a call to Rain and Jose's horse Thunder,- Rain, come join us, our friends are here for a visit and there are new members. Try to calm Lightning down some so I don't have to do it when you two get here. I'm going to send Dart to guide you here.

At the sound of his name, the wolf named Dart for the arrow like shape on his back dashed out into the woods.

"Where did he go," asked Jose who had not heard the previous conversation. He still did not believe that his best friend could talk to animals among other things even though she had not said what the "others" were, he was almost scared to ask.

"I sent him to go get the horses," she stated matter-of-factly as if nothing could go wrong with her plan.

"Your WHAT!- That Thing will tear the horses up or at least frighten them away! I thought you would know better then that! I-"

"For one thing that that Thing has a name, he is Dart; and he could not take down even one of the horses by himself, he would need the whole pack. And furthermore, these wolves know Rain as well as they know me and will not harm her. If you need another reason, Dart is harmless, he would not harm a fly unless they were hungry and he thinks horses are too hard to catch," Ariel stated agitatedly.

Just as they finished arguing, the sound of pounding hooves echoes in her ears as Rain, Dart, and a very white eyed Thunder came charging into the clearing. When Thunder spotted Jose, she made a headlong dash to his side but pulled up abruptly and stood stalk still when she saw the rest of the pack who were making themselves at home.

Rain on the other hand slowed down when she got to the peaceful yet tension filled clearing. Once he was in the center of the clearing, Rain lowered his massive head and gave a soft whiney who had gathered around him. The wolves took this as an invitation and started to jump of Rain and lick his face. The horse seemed to like this treatment because he nuzzled each of the wolves in turn saying hello to them.

Jose was dumb struck by the sight in front of him. He could not believe that these different species including him, where getting along without blood shed. Looking around, he spotter Thunder still shaking and trembling around the wolves and cautiously

made his way over to her as he said to Ariel, "Now you have got to tell me what in the world is going on."

"Okay I will but first I am going to go with the pack to get some meat for us. Iconis will stay and watch the pups."

"How are you-," he asked not understanding how she could go with the wolves when they can run twice as fast as she can but was cut short again when a dim blue light suddenly appeared around Ariel. The light got brighter and strips of white appeared in it. It got so bright that for a moment Jose could not see his friend, then the light was suddenly vanished, and so was Ariel. In the place where Ariel stood was a jet black wolf. It's coat was not even just black, it was that inky black that seems to absorb all light into itself.

"I've got to be seeing things," Jose said full of awe.

The wolf/Ariel stood there for a moment as if to let Jose admire her and then turned around and dashed off into the woods followed by all the wolves except a strange wolf and the pups. As he watched the pups started to curl up right by the wolf so he presumed it was their sitter- Iconis?

Shaking his head, Jose said to the wolf who was watching him, "She had better explain herself or I'm gonna go crazy!"

A/N: That's all folks, well at least for this chapter so please tell me what you think! I'm sorry it has been a long time since I updated but I just have not had the inspiration to continue, but then I looked at the three reviews who have liked this story and had to continue… Thank-you all who are reading this! Remember Please read and Review even if you hate this so I know how I can change it!