Chapter 6

Willow's Perspective. Immediately after Kate went to sleep.

I went out to hunt again, only because half a rabbit wasn't exactly enough after what happened last night, especially since I didn't eat then. I was successful in bringing back three more rabbits, which I ate two of. I just replaced the water in the makeshift bowl I made. I figure it should be fresh if he wakes up. I wonder if he is dreaming..

I don't really know what to do at this point. I'm lying next to him, just watching him breathe. Watching over him like this is making me feel like a mother, in a way. Like.. right now, I determine his health. It's strange to think about.

I wish I knew who he was, hell, even his name would do. I wish I was able to talk to him. I've thought about what his voice might sound like, what color his eyes are, and stuff like that.

Like I said, I don't really know what to do. Do I leave, and try to find my pack? Do I even risk that? Maybe I should just stay, but what if he doesn't wake up soon? What if it takes weeks? Months? Hell, I don't know much about this stuff, I'm just glad he's not dead. Thankfully, he seems to be doing okay so far. I had a thought earlier, that I got really lucky with the cloth on the train. Without it, I don't know if he'd be lying here breathing right now.

I suppose I could clean him up a little bit, I mean it's not like I have anything else to do right now. I got up and went over to the wrapped cloth and got one of them. I took it to the river and got it wet, then brought it back to him. I laid it on him so it didn't get dirty and I laid in front of him.

I started with his face, making sure to clean his ears and around his eyes. As I washed him up, I couldn't help but notice that he had a really cute face. Like I mentioned before, he has a very content resting face. This observation made me smile. I continued cleansing his face, working down his neck, chest, down his arms, paws, then going back to the water to rinse the cloth.

I returned, sitting down next to him, starting on the parts surrounding the bandage. His fur was crimson red and even blackened, so I was partially surprised to see that his natural fur color is a dark and bright grey. It suits him, very rugged.

The makeshift bandage is wrapped around his torso, so I couldn't get a lot of his underbelly, but I did what I could. As I worked my way down, I reached his sheath. I considered cleansing him further, but I don't know if that's something he'd be okay with, so I just didn't. The thought of it made my cheeks burn, I mean.. It's not like anyone would even know I did. I shook those thoughts out of my head and continued down his back, tail, and finally finishing with his rear paws.

I stood back, looking for any spots that I missed. As I looked at his body in detail, I couldn't help myself in actually taking the time to really look at him. He doesn't have many scars, if at all. His fur was slightly wet, and parts of it clung to his body, revealing a slenderly fit wolf. I caught myself checking him out, and my face definitely burned red as I swiftly exited the den to clean the cloth.

I walked into the lake; the water barely reaching my belly. I let my tail arch, dipping it into the water. I held the cloth in my mouth as I submerged my face into the brisk water. I shook my head around in an attempt to cleanse the cloth, which worked surprisingly well. I brought it back to the den entrance and hung it off of a protruding root to dry. Droplets of water fell from the ends on the cloth, exploding on impact with the ground, leaving two tiny puddles.

I returned to the lake, finally taking the time to cleanse myself. My fur has turned such a dark color in spots, you'd think I was the one that was injured. It was also severely unevenly stained. I decided to just swim for a minute, letting the water reach my entire body. I dove under the surface to swim underneath a while.

When I resurfaced, I shook my head, expelling the water from my ears as I returned to the shallow part of the lake.

Once the water was shallow enough to sit down, I rubbed the water over my arms, and chest. I also rubbed it into my muzzle. Apparently I got it deep into my fur there, too.

After taking about 20 minutes, I finally got the remains of the blood off of my fur, and I shook the water out of my fur and sat back down.

I faced the sun and closed my eyes, just enjoying the serenity of the surrounding nature. As I sat, I let my mind race. My thoughts returned to the wolf under my care. He looks like a Justin… maybe a Ben. It's hard to guess the details about a person when they're incapable of communicating with you. In a way, that makes me feel extremely glad to be the one that found him. Who knows, someone could have found him and could have been malicious, maybe even someone daring enough to end his life. That thought made me grimace slightly, but I didn't open my eyes.

I sat for a few more minutes before returning to the den and lying next to him again, just to assure he's maintaining his warmth. I wouldn't want his body to work too hard while he heals.

I laid my head over his back, and returned to my thoughts; this time speaking out.

"I wonder what your name is." I said quietly, staring at the wall, shifting my eyes around, searching my thoughts.

"Where did you come from?"

I paused.

"Were you running from something? To.. something?" I asked.

I don't expect him to respond, not that he could. But just in case he can hear me, I want him to know I'm not here to hurt him.

"It's hard to figure you out. I hope you don't think I'm trying to hurt you."

I paused.

"I'm glad you're recovering." I paused, again. "I hope you're recovering." I corrected.

Suddenly, I felt him move a muscle. I lifted my head, and my ears shot up. I glazed my eyes over him, looking for any other movement. Nothing.

Perhaps that was involuntary. I haven't felt him move anything else, though.

I watched him diligently awaiting any other sign of motion. Nothing.

My ears laid back in dismay, and I rested my head down on him again.

"I hope you're not in any pain." I said aloud, quietly.

I quickly checked his bandage, which showed no sign of blood seeping through, which I believe is a good sign. I laid my head on his neck and closed my eyes. I don't know why I keep doing that, I don't even know this person, yet I'm comfortable enough to rest on him.

I ended up convincing myself that it's so that if he moves I'd be aware of it, which in truth is true. But deep down, I'm aware that I'm starting to feel attached to this person. I just hope he ends up being okay.

Slowly, I drifted into a nap. It didn't last very long until I awoke to motion. Once I realized where the motion came from, I shot up, my ears standing on end, and I watched as he stretched his front arms, slowly opening his eyes.

Humphrey's Perspective.

"God, my head hurts." I thought. I was filled with confusion since the last thing I remember is bleeding on the train. Now, I feel like I'm on solid ground. My side kind of hurts, and it feels like something's wrapped around me.

My eyes feel heavier than boulders; impossible to open them. My body feels so sore, as I attempted to stretch my arms out. I felt my muscles stretch; what an odd feeling. I took a deep breath and finally found the strength to open my eyes. As they slowly opened, the brisk air stung them, making me blink several times.

Everything was so blurry, I brought one of my paws to my face to rub my eyes; them being the most bothersome right now. Things were finally clearing up as I realized that I was in a den, with a lake outside.

I slowly rolled onto my belly, slightly wincing as my muscles got used to the motion. I closed my eyes and rolled my head, letting my neck pop several times. I then let out a sigh.

"What's happening." I asked quietly, with no expectation of response.

"Uh.." I then heard quietly to my right. My ears shot up as I looked in the direction of the noise. My eyes laid upon a petite female with white and blue fur.

I simply stared, neither of us saying anything. Finally, she spoke.

"H-Hi.." She quietly said, letting her ears fall back.

"Hi.." I replied with a raspy voice. I looked around her, then to the box in the corner, then to the bandage on my body. I looked back at her.

"Did you do this?" I asked softly.

She looked at the box, then to the bandage.

"Yeah, I uh.. Saw you on the train." She said quietly. She seems to be shy.

"Who are you?" I asked questioningly, yet comfortably.

"My name is Willow.. what's yours?" She asked carefully.

"I'm Humphrey." I started. Her ears returned to a normal position after I said that. "What happened?" I asked softly, looking at the cloth wrapping my torso.

She pointed to the cloth.

"You were bleeding really badly on the train, so I jumped on and tried to stop it." She explained, but that only gave me more questions.

"How.. did I get here?" I asked, pointing to the ground.

"I carried you. I did what I could while on the train. I don't actually know where we are…" She said, rubbing the back of her neck.

I looked at the ground for a moment, trying to think. I then looked outside.

"How long has it been?" I asked, still looking out at the water.

She took a moment before responding, concerning me; so I looked at her.

"Uh.. roughly eighteen hours or so.. I think." She said.

"Eighteen hours.." I said, returning my gaze to the water.

"Well eighteen hours since I found you. You lost a lot of blood." She added.

I looked at the bowl in front of me full of water.

"Oh my God-" I started before drinking all of it quickly. I had my eyes closed, but I heard her giggle.

I wiped my muzzle.

"Sorry.." I apologized.

She shook her head quickly.

"No, no It's okay. It was there for you for that reason, I can get more for you if you'd like." She said, with a questioning tone. "There's some rabbit here too, if you're hungry." She added, grabbing the rabbit and a half in her jaws, placing them in front of me.

I looked at her thankfully.

"Why are you doing this for me?" I asked softly with a slight smile.

She visibly blushed.

"Oh, I-" She started, it was clear that she didn't know exactly what to say. "It felt like the right thing to do." She finished sincerely.

I watched her for a moment, taking notice of her nervous posture.

"You don't have to be nervous." I started, looking at the ground in front of her. "Thank you for saving me, Willow." I finished, meeting her gaze. My words made her cheeks blush slightly.

"Oh, you're- you're welcome, Humphrey." She said thoughtfully, shifting around her paws.

I took notice of this. I made an attempt to get up; slowly. She seemed to be unapproving of this action, but made no attempt to stop me. I grimaced slightly as I stood upright. I looked at her, as I stood taller, by only a few inches. I carefully walked over to her, and she stood up.

I wrapped a paw around her and gave her a genuine hug. She seemingly didn't know what to do at first, but eventually returned it. We both separated after a few moments and I smiled at her. She smiled back and seemed to be more comfortable after that.

"You doing okay?" She asked worriedly, which is understandable since even I know that I shouldn't be standing right now.

"Yeah, I feel pretty good, for a guy that almost bled out." I started, ending with a smile. "Thanks to you." I said genuinely. That made her blush.

"O-oh I didn't- I'm not-" She started, until I placed my paw on her shoulder.

"You must have. I mean, look, you prevented me from bleeding out, you must have washed me; recently, and you even provided food and water." I said softly. "You saved my life." I finished, removing my paw from her shoulder.

She looked at the ground and just smiled.

I walked back over to the rabbit and slowly laid down, beginning to eat.

"So, Willow." I started, grimacing slightly in discomfort. She began to slowly walk toward me. "Please, tell me about yourself." I said, enjoying my meal.

Willow laid down in front of me.

"Well, I mean.. What's to tell." She started. "I'm from the Northern Pack. I'm an Omega." She said. This peaked my interest.

"An Omega?" I questioned. "You pulled me off of a moving train and saved my life. You must be a superhero, because I've never known an Omega to do that. And I am one." I said, continuing my food.

She chuckled.

"I'm no superhero." She said, seemingly becoming more comfortable. "But please, tell me about you. I've been stuck here with an unconscious wolf for the last day and a half." She teased. Her comment made her tail wag. It was cute, and it made me smile.

"Well.." I started, but then my smile disappeared, as I then remembered why I left. My ears fell flat and I simply stared at the ground. She noticed.

"If you're uncomfortable talking about it you really don't have to, I understand." She said.

"No, It's alright. I believe you deserve to know." I started. Her interest was intriguing.

"I'm from the Western Pack. I was uh.. Running away." I said, meeting her gaze.

She tilted her head in curiosity, though she didn't ask for details.

"There was this… girl that I grew up with.. that uh…" I started, staring at the floor searching for the right words. "I ended up falling in love with. And… we both were taken by humans and relocated somewhere for some stupid human reason." I said, still staring at the ground. "She and I went on this journey back to the pack, but during said journey.. I never had the guts to tell her how I felt." I paused. "We howled together.. Which, we're not supposed to do." I added, meeting her gaze for a moment. "I thought we had chemistry, but apparently when we returned… she was getting married." I finished, finally meeting her sympathetic gaze with glazed eyes. "I guess it wasn't important enough to tell me that. Even though I've been in her life since she could speak." I added with irritation, but more than that; heartache. "For whatever reason, I couldn't handle that so.. I decided to leave." I paused. "When I tried getting on the train, a part of me didn't want to go but.. I knew that if I stayed I wouldn't have her like I always have." I finished with a single tear rolling down my face.

I broke eye contact, wiped my face quickly and tried to change the subject.

"Anyway, maybe we-"

"Humphrey.." She interrupted, before getting up and bringing me into a hug. "I'm so sorry."

Immediately, my emotions just let go. I silently wept into Willow's soft white fur, embracing her comfort. But why, of all people, would this person care? What made Willow care to sympathize? My curiosity got the better of me.

"Why do you care?" I blurted, and immediately I regretted every word. I redacted from the hug and immediately apologized. "Willow, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say it like that I-"

"No, I understood what you meant, Humphrey." She replied sincerely. She seemed unsure of what to say. "I just.. I've never felt important to anyone. Anything. I'm not an Alpha.. I don't have much responsibility." She said, meeting my gaze. "Seeing what happened to you made me feel like I finally knew what I needed to do." She added, slowly lowered her volume, almost like she retreated into her shell.

I only looked at her, contemplating what she said.

"Willow, I've known you for all of like.. thirteen minutes." I joked, earning a delicate smile from Willow. "And I want you to know that without you, I don't think I would have made it." I said sincerely. "You went out of your way to help me when, - under the circumstances-, nobody else would have stepped in like you did. You are important, Willow; you did something so risky, you ended up somewhere you don't even recognize, yet you still stayed with me to make sure I was okay." I said softly, genuinely.

She brought me into another hug.

"Thank you, Humphrey." I heard her say, muffled by my fur.

You're welcome, Willow. I meant every word." I said as we redacted from the hug. "Now-" I started. "Maybe we should figure out where we are, hm?" I finished. This event is turning out to be a lot different than I expected.

Willow, even only knowing her for a short time; I feel as though I've known her for months. She is the type of person to put others before herself, much like myself. Actually, maybe that's why I feel like I know her.. She is a lot like me.

I find it sad that someone like her is missing something about herself that she so desperately wants. I hope to get the chance to get to know her. Willow is a kind-hearted soul, deserving of thoughtful recognition. Who better to provide that than me; a fun-loving Omega?