Chapter Two (2)
8:07 A.M.
Balto had awoken to the sound of chirping birds outside the cave. He stood up and yawned while stretching his muscles. He had also awoken to the smell of cooking meat. He was curious and stepped out of the cave to see Johnathan sitting by the campfire with his hunting rifle and a stick with 6 pieces of meat on it. He recognized the meat as chopped hare. He chuckled and walked over to the fire. Before he got to say anything, John said, "Morning Balto." Balto smiled and replied, "Morning John. You went hunting I see." He simply laughed and said, "Yeah, I figured that we should have a light breakfast before we head out. The food will be done in about, 3 to 4 minutes."
Balto looked around and took in the smell of the forest. He picked up: water, caribou, hare, and pine. He then looked at John and said, "Well the food smells good. I can tell that the forest is alive this morning." John simply looked up at the sky and said, "Yep."
They both turned toward the cave as they heard a groan from Steele. He stretched and exited the cave. He looked at both of them and said, "Good morning you two." Balto was the first to speak. "Good morning Steele. Good to see you're in good spirits." Even though Balto had forgiven him, it still felt weird to have him around. John then spoke, "Good morning to you as well. If you could be so kind as to wake everyone else, breakfast is almost ready." Steele nodded and said, "Certainly."
He went back in the cave and awoke the other three canines. A moment later they all came walking out of the cave. Auermoctoc looked at John and said, "You can't stay asleep long, can you?" John laughed and said, "Guess not." The hare had finished cooking and they were all done around different qualities. Rhondunhadaegun's and Auermoctoc's were rare, Steele's was medium-well, Kodi's was well-done, and Balto's was medium-rare.
They were all surprised at Johnathan's cooking, and how it was done exactly as they would have preferred. The canines dug in on their "light breakfast," as Johnathan called it. John was the last to begin eating. He had finished second, after Rhondunhadaegun. John asked, "Is anyone thirsty?" They all contemplated the question, and decided, without further hesitation, yes. He said, "Alright, I'll be back in a bit. I'll gather some water from that stream about a ½ mile away from here. I shouldn't be gone for more than 15, 20 minutes tops." Balto finished his hare and said, "Alright, I'll come with you. The rest of you guys wait here." They all nodded and continued to finish their meal.
Balto and Johnathan set off for the water with two small buckets John had in his backpack. Once the other canines had finished, Kodi lied down by the fire, while Rhondunhadaegun went to attend to some "business" in the bushes. Auermoctoc and Steele were left alone, as Kodi drifted off to sleep.
Steele was the first to speak. "So, how's life been to you?" Auermoctoc turned to him and said, "Not bad. Rather fortunate if you will." Steele looked over and said, "Well that's good. By the way, I never caught your name." Auermoctoc smiled a bit and said, "My name's Auermoctoc. Based on the occurrences of last night, I take it your name is Steele." Steele returned the smile and said, "Yep, nice to meet you." The two canines remained in silence for a moment, until Auermoctoc broke the silence and said, "Well, my life's been mostly fortunate." Steele looked over in surprise, "Mostly?" Auermoctoc nodded. "Yeah, I've had my fair share of problems in life, believe me."