The next morning when I awoke it was oddly peaceful. A few birds were singing, the river was gurgling in the back, and the glowing embers of the fire cast a gentle warmth that drove away the morning fog.
It seemed that the boy was still asleep. I really wished to have a name to go with his face but, I couldn't do much else but bark and growl. Getting up I stretched and padded to the river to get a few gulps of water. When I returned he was getting up, hair mussed from tossing in his sleep.
I made a small noise between a whine and a strangled whimper in an attempt to say some form of hello. It was an undignified noise and awkward but I hadn't used my voice much in my new form.
"Morning." he mumbled as a yawn overtook him. Going over to the fireside I snatched up an apple I had stolen yesterday and brought it over to to him, dropping it on his lap. He winced when he felt the drool on it, but mumbled something halfheartedly anyway. He didn't try and touch me though, which I appreciated.
I went and laid down a few feet away. I didn't really have a hobby like whittling to do while sitting since chewing sticks had never really appealed to me. Too splintery for my comfort. I'm pretty damn sure that a splinter in your gums would hurt like crazy.
"Lucky me having you show up." he spoke after awhile while fiddling with the apple core. "Your like a nursemaid. Maybe you were somebody's pet before, you're not feral." his voice had a nice accent to it that made the words seem to just naturally flow.
I perked my ears and titled my head but otherwise remained still. At least it seemed the playing-wolf scheme was going with only minor suspicions. He was sitting cross-legged on the blanket I had brought, the green cloak wadded up where he had dropped it when he awoke.
He got up and tossed the apple core into the embers. The embers hissed and the apple core began to burn leaving a smell in the air that was none too pleasant. After stopping by the river he returned to the camp, hair still mussed as ever. Going over to the jug I had brought he opened it and sniffed the contents, and then took a sip of the liquid. Sniffing the air I smelled the slightly fermented smell of some form of homemade alcohol.
The boy removed his shirt and then the wound dressings and taking them to the river washed them, and upon coming back held his hand over the wound. A green glow began to heal his wound, but it seemed to only heal it partially. He then poured a small amount of the alcohol on the rags. He winced slightly when he put the dressings back on but gritted his teeth and tied them on. Slipping his shirt back on he turned to me.
"Well, if you're going to stay around, you'll need a name now won't you?" he spoke while slowly edging closed, only stepping forward a few inches at a time and only every other word. I tensed as he drew closer, and he read my body language and stopped moving forward.
"I think that I'll call you Shadow." he spoke in a resolute tone, as if he was entirely sure that the name would stick. Honestly I didn't mind the name, or well nickname, though it was a little odd.
"I've been needing a replacement one ever since I lost mine." he continued, though it was more to himself. I was mildly perturbed but took it as a cheap metaphor. Maybe he had lost a close friend or a pet that followed him closely. At least that would make more sense then physically losing his shadow.
I had phased out for a moment and when I realized it he was leaving the campsite, and so out of curiosity I followed at a distance. It was a pretty routine wandering and scouting of the land trip that I had done myself many times before, but he went slowly, as if memorizing every tree. He seemed oddly comfortable in the wilderness, not reacting to the noises, as if it was his home.
He had found some mushrooms when I got distracted by a squirrel. With the rumble in my stomach growing into a roar I decided to hunt the squirrel down, and upon doing so, promptly ate it. Perking my ears to listen for the boy I realized that I hadn't seen him in quite a few minutes.
Locating a scrabbling noise I trotted over to it, in a perfectly satisfied mood. That mood stopped the moment I say him though. He was on the ground, his skin as white as a sheet. Spasms seemed to be wracking his body and his hands were weekly clutching at nothing.
Terrified I froze for a moment. He was mumbling something about 'betrayal' and 'needing to go home' but I was pretty sure he was mentally out of it and so I wasn't paying too much attention to his incoherent ramblings.
Rushing up I began to bark and whine frantically, nudging him with my nose. For a moment he kept on spazzing, and then one of his hands grasped at my fur, and seeming to realize that something besides shadows was in his grasp, he stopped.
I made a worried whining noise and he opened his eyes slightly, though I could see that he wasn't focusing on anything and seemed to be spacing out. He looked around confused and a look of surprise seemed to be setting in.
"Felix why are you here? I took your heart." he mumbled, eyes moving frantically. I was beginning to panic since the boy seemed to be hallucinating and I didn't know how to exactly snap him out of it.
"Felix, come back here. The lost boys and I are about to start a game, aren't we boys..." the slurring of his voice continued and seemed to be getting worse. I began to nudge him with my paw, until I had both paws on his side in an attempt to shake him awake. He began to sit up and I was relieved to see that he wasn't going to die on me or something. That would have been really awkward considering that I had gotten attached to the kid.
I panted and nudge his shoulder with my nose. He didn't respond to me, but seemed to be staring off at something that didn't exist. He began to stand up with all the grace of a drunk man, and so I hesitantly nudged his hand onto my head. He seemed to instinctively know to lean some of his wait against me, and considering that my head came about to his waistline, it worked surprisingly well.
We began to move forward, him still incoherently asking questions and talking, as if there was somebody answering his questions and talking to him in turn. Several themes seemed to pop up in his ramblings, something about a place called Neverland, a group called the Lost Boys, and something about a shadow. I didn't have too much faith in this kids hallucinations and so I didn't bother trying to connect them together.
The spasms seemed to have stopped but he was starting to become tired and I could hear it slurring his occasional word until by the time I steered him into the camp he was stumbling on air.
I walked over with him until he collapsed on the makeshift blanket bed. Stepping over his long legs I grabbed the corner of the cloak and pulled it over him as best as I could.
I noticed something very peculiar about him. He had no shadow. Logically it didn't make sense since it wasn't as if the light was passing through him, but he simply didn't have a shadow. His eyes were closed and the only thing telling me he was alive was the gentle rise and fall of his chest.
With no shadow and no heart I was honestly surprised he still had lungs. The kid either was slowly getting rid of pieces of himself or was just very good at losing things.
I found a thick branch and pulled it over the embers of the fire, not getting close enough to singe my fur. The scent of burnt fur is enough to raise the dead and I didn't want to wake mr. sleeping beauty who was at least half alive. Padding over I flopped down next to him and laid my head down close to his hand, hoping that if he started spazzing again I would wake up.
The kid seemed to have his own issues and demons, and hell maybe he was a demon, but I was starting to like his weirdness, plus I would feel rather guilty if I left a hallucinating invalid alone in the woods. After all, there were more dangerous things than myself in the forest.