I returned in the morning with another gift of a rabbit. It was getting to be annoying, hunting for two, But I preferred to catch two smaller things and not hunt deer. They fought back too much for my comfort.
The boy seemed to have woken in a bad mood as I saw a look of childish annoyance, twisted like many of the spoiled village children's faces when their parents actually told them no. He was sitting on a log he had dragged over to act as a chair next to the fire that was now just embers glowing in the morning light.
I looped around and stopped to get a drink of water before presenting my gift. When I began to trot up the bank I was slightly off put by the amount of rage behind his eyes. He had old eyes for being so young. He looked like he had seen too much and just wanted to wash his mind clean. I recognized the look from my own past.
I took a few steps closer to him this time before placing the rabbit down and retreating to the edge of the clearing. I had been there maybe half an hour when I heard an odd noise, like the beginning of a sob that had broken in two.
"Peter Pan never fails, and now he has." his tones reminded me of a spoiled brat again, and I got the impression that he was used to getting what he wanted. I didn't react besides swiveling my ears to face him fully.
"My own son messing up my plans. It's pitiful." his tones wavered between regretful and resentful. My alarm bells were ringing off of the hook at this point. So he had a son. I felt like my best option was to pray that I could play a dull animal so that he wouldn't pay attention to me, seeing as he was a little bit psycho at the moment, talking about some guy named Pan and having a son. I was beginning to question just how hard this kid had hit his head when he was transported here.
He had been whittling while speaking, and now his knuckles were turning white they gripped the knife so hard. He tensed his fingers and then relaxed them and repeated, seeming to be trying to calm himself down. He stood up and went towards the river, and I lost interest.
I stood and began to pad away when I realized that I was in an odd position. I could leave, which was safest, but I had gone and done a silly thing. I had gotten attached to the odd boy who acted like a spoiled boy playing king. I sighed, realizing that I had shoehorned myself into a complicated situation for the long run. Not even four full days into this and I was emotionally stuck. I didn't trust him but he hadn't tried to hurt me so I was pretty neutral on my stance with him.
Walking away I decided to weigh my options. Leaving offered safety, but also assured boredom. Staying offered the chance of adventure and friendship of some sort, but also danger to me. In the end I decided to stay, and if I was going to commit to this he would be needing some things. After all if he was a little mental then I was just going to have a more difficult job.
Loping through the forest I followed one of the old unused deer trails for about forty minutes and then took a severe right. I ended up almost tumbling into the village, but thankfully I stopped from tripping through the brambles that separated me from the road. The village was a hot spot of danger for me, with frightened parents not wanting a wolf near their children. Relax people you don't bathe them enough for them to look appetizing. Plus just no, gross. Selecting my target, a secluded cabin on a hill, I began to circle in closer.
I knew the boy would need some things and so I fully intended to get them. Plus I had watched this village and knew that there was no shortage of food and supply's. They might miss a few things for a bit but once the trader came around they would be fine.
I was able to force the door open by leveraging my paw inside and then slamming my shoulder wait into it a few times. Once inside I found a blanket and dragged it onto a thick cloak I had also found and placed on the ground. Sloppily grabbing some food items and a jug of something I placed them on the cloak and collected the corners in my mouth. Picking it up was awkward, but I managed it somehow.
Mumbling a halfhearted apology to the empty building I took off into the forest, startling a small child and it's mother. She shrieked and so I just ran faster. Eventually I made it into the clear where I knew I wasn't going to have people looking for a new rug coming after me and was able to slow down.
Making it back to the makeshift campsite was tedious and I spilled once or twice on the way there but I got the job done, with the blanket and cloak at least the boy would now have a makeshift bed. Like hell could I treat a cold if the boy got one so preventive measures it was with keeping him warm.
I placed the bundle down in a messy heap with the boy looking rather stunned at it. I tilted my head and slightly dropped it to suggest that he should come look at the bundle, and then promptly backed away a few steps.
He came forward and I wagged my tail slightly, proud of my achievement. It's a proper feat when you can be a thief without hands in my book.
"Well you're quite useful, aren't you?" he asked in a tone slightly different then earlier, lighter. People had a habit of lightening their voices with animals and so I took it as a good sign. I wagged my tail a bit harder and he smiled, and crouched down, offering his hand palm up. I humored him and did the stereotypical slow edge up and questioning sniffing of his fingertips.
He had traces of some very strange smells lingering to him, of unusual plants and lots of different people smells. Many it smelled like, were boys also, though I caught some odd harsher smells mixed in that masked many other scents.
I flinched when he moved to ruffle his fingers through my head fur, and he flinched back in response. I wasn't ready to be manhandled like a pet. That was actually a fear of mine in this. I was afraid of him thinking that he somehow owned me or could keep me like a pet.
That was an issue with humans, either they hated you or wanted to keep you locked up for their own joy and entertainment. I understood most animals didn't mind it and it's good for them to be taken care of but I still have the mind of a human and couldn't deal with that mentally.
He made a proper meal with the food I had brought, or at least a makeshift one. He put a portion of the rabbit aside though, and after he finished eating sat on the ground with his back to the log. He took the rabbit chunk in his hand and held it out towards me, and in response I over dramatically yawned and laid my head down on my paws.
I knew the drill. He was trying to gain my trust or bait me in and would probably try to pet me again. I wasn't against food or trust exercises but I just felt like petting would be wrong. I had both the pride of a human and wild animal telling me that no, petting would be disgraceful.
He made the occasional noise to get my attention and kept trying to bait me in with the rabbit but I simply ignored him. Finally he placed if down by the end of his boots and took up his knife and began to whittle.
I crept forward slowly, a step every few minutes, my belly never leaving the ground. I reached the piece of meat and decided to take it back a few feet away. No petting is going to happen today buddy. It was nice to have meat without the fluff attached, but it was also still raw and the texture made me long for it to be cooked. But I reasoned that seeing a wolf throw a chunk of meat onto the fire would make him question a few things more than I had already caused, and so I just sat and ate it.
Though careful of his shoulder he hadn't let it stop him from moving with ease. I could see that it was still bothering him by the occasional huffs of air he exhaled when he moved the wrong way and his shirt rubbed the wound. I didn't have any healing supplies to offer him, and about the only plant I recognized was if it was a dandelion, and as far as I knew they had zero healing properties.
My eyes slowly grew heavy as the dancing flames cast shadows on the nearby trees, and in the moment of peacefulness I forgot the dangers and fell asleep.