Chapter 5 - A Visitor

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A young wolf trotted around the area during her morning hunt.

Her ears twitched at the sound of wind passing by. She looked around before putting her nose to the ground and sniffing intently, managing to pick up an unusual scent

She lifted her head. Hmm..what isthat? Rabbit? … Some kind of wild cat?

Her stomach growled harshly. She sniffed the air again and spotted the cave in the distance. It smells like it's coming from over there.

She trotted over and slowed down when she neared the entrance. She readied herself and quietly approached the entrance of the cave. She sniffed the air again. I was right about rabbit, but …. it's not a wild cat … it's a cat cat ….

She groaned as her stomach let out another sound of hunger. Getting onto her stomach, the wolf crawled into the cave and looked around.

Against the wall of the cave, Oswald slept, holding the still breathing Ortensia close to his chest. Ortensia and Kyle slept nearby.

Her eyes widened as her eyes landed on the two babies, laying close by. The wolf's ears folded back as she took a step back. I can't hurt them … they have babies …

While trying to back out of the cave as silently as possible, the wolf stepped on a lone branch, the snap echoing loudly in the cave.

Oswald jolted up first, startling Fanny awake with a loud, pained groan, which woke up Ortensia and Kyle, and thus the babies as well.

Oswald snarled as he stood in front of everyone. "You leave my family … and Kyle … alone!"

"I .. I .. I'm .. I'm … s .. sorry .." The wolf whimpered out. "I … I … I ..I didn't … didn't m .. mean to … I … I .. I just …"

She bent down into a submissive pose to show them she meant no harm. Oswald huffed and clenched his fists tightly.

Fanny weakly grabbed his arm and frowned. "Hunny Bunny … please … calm down …"

"C .. Calm down!? Oswald asked, now nearly in hysterics. "Calm down!? I can't calm down! There's a wolf in here who's trying to kill us!"

"I'm not a wol .." She stopped as if catching herself and shook the thought out of her head. "I mean … I am a wolf, but I'm not going to hurt you."

"Then why are you here, wolf?" Oswald demanded.

"First of all, my name is Aleu, not wolf. Second of all, this is part of my pack's land, I have every right to be here. If anything you're the one trespassing." She explained.

Oswald's ears drooped. "There's … there's … m .. more of you out th … there?"

"Well, yeah!" Aleu said, confused by his question. "What did you think I meant by this being pack grounds?"

Oswald took a shaky step backwards, ears still down. "O … oh … right … right …"

"I'm not going to hurt you." Aleu said, attempting to make her voice sound more gentle. 'I'm just curious what you're doing here."

"We got attacked by a group of … of …" Oswald grabbed Kyle's arm and raised it up "A group of these things, and they killed our leader! And..and they caused my poor hunny bunny to go into premature labor. Then we found this cave and decided to take shelter in it. Is that a good enough reason for us trespassing, wolfey?"

Aleu's ears folded back. "I … I'm sorry for your loss …"

Oswald was taken aback by how sincere she sounded. "Oh uh … th … thanks .. I .. I guess …"

Aleu looked over at Fanny, who was trying to lean against the wall so she could sit up.

"Is that your uh … 'hunny bunny?" Aleu asked.

Oswald's cheeks grew red. "Uh … y .. yes … she's my … my wife …"

Aleu took a step towards her, before Oswald intercepted.

"What ...What are you doing?" Oswald asked, anxiously.

"I want to make sure she's all right." Aleu reassured him. "I promise I won't hurt her …"

"But.." Oswald frowned.

"Oswald … dear .. it … it's … o .. okay…" Fanny said, with a small smile.

Oswald sighed in defeat and let Aleu pass by, but he still kept his eye on her.

Aleu knelt down to Fanny's level and gently booped her nose against her. "How are you feeling?"

"I … I don't think I'm going to … make it …" Fanny coughed.

"I think you will." Aleu said softly. "We just need to get you somewhere safe."

"Like .. where?" Fanny asked.

Aleu hesitated for a second. "... You can all stay with my pack …"

"Yay!" Kyle cheered, clapping loudly.

"R … really?" Fanny asked.

"That's very kind of you." Ortensia said, smiling widely.

"Whoa, whoa, wait a minute, wait a minute!" Oswald said. "We just met this wolf, and we're going to just go off with her? No questions asked?"

"Well when you put it like that.." Ortensia frowned.

"I already told you, I'm not going to hurt you." Aleu said, trying to calm him down. "I want to help you."

Oswald looked her deeply in the eyes. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure." Aleu said, starting to get annoyed again.

"Oswald …" Ortensia said "I think we should give her a chance."

"Yeah! Chance! Chance!" Kyle cheered in agreement.

"All right! All right, finw!" Oswald huffed. "We'll give her a chance."

Ortensia grinned widely and Fanny smiled gently.

"Hooray!" Kyle cheered, clapping his hands.

Aleu put her snout under Fanny's arm and helped her stand up. Fanny staggered a bit before grabbing onto Aleu's side tightly for balance.

"Can you walk?" Aleu asked.

"I … I can try ..." Fanny said, hesitantly putting one foot forward. She let go of Aleu's neck and her legs wobbled. Fanny let out a yelp and grabbed Aleu's neck for support. "I … I don't think I c ... can .."

"Here." Aleu leaned down. "Get on my back."

Oswald panicked and rushed over, grabbing Fanny's paw. " I can help her."

"Oswald." Fanny frowned. "I think it'll be easier if I just ..."

"Nonsense!" Oswald said. "I can carry you myself!"

He grabbed Fanny by her waist and back, hoisting her in the air. His legs shook as he tried to keep his balance, before crashing onto the ground.

"Are you okay?" Aleu asked.

"Just … peachy …" Oswald groaned.

Fanny grabbed onto Aleu and staggered onto her back. Oswald sat up and shook his head back and forth, trying to get his focus back.

"Is everyone ready to go?" Aleu asked.

"I am." Ortensia said, cradling one of the babies close.

"Ready!" Kyle said, holding the other one.

Oswald went over and grabbed the baby from Kyle. "If you're coming with us, we need to set some ground rules. Rule Number One...You stay away from the babies."

"Oswald, aren't you being a little harsh?" Ortensia asked, annoyed.

"If anything I'm not being harsh enough." Oswald protested. "We just met these two and we're going to trust them right away!?

Ortensia shrugged. "Why not? They're giving us a chance, aren't they?"

Oswald looked at Aleu and Kyle. Aleu gave a warm gentle smile, and Kyle laughed before waving excitedly.

He sighed. "All right ... I guess we can give them a chance."

Aleu smiled more. "Then come on, we should get going, it's going to be dark soon."