Chapter 5- Air
The pattern continues on for several weeks, school, home and then off to visit my wolf in the woods. The snow is deep in the woods, covering the ground in a thick fluffy blanket. It swallows the noises of the forest, muffling all the noise and leaving a thick coat of peace in the air. The pine tree branches bow under the weight of the heavy snow on the branches, the fresh flakes sparkle in the sunlight like diamonds. And for once under the warm comfort of my wolf, I am able to stay and really take in the frozen beauty of December.
Several days a week I stay out in the woods in our spot with my new friend. His companionship has brought a new kind of joy to my life, although I suppose it is odd that my only friend is an animal. I could see it now, Cassie the crazy wolf girl. The school would have a field day with that one.
"You know," I say to the wolf
" It occurs to me I have never introduced myself. How rude of me after all this time.
My name is Cassandra, my friends call me Cassie. If I had any that could talk that is."
"I should give you a name, since we have been spending so much time together."
The wolf looks over at me with amusement in his eyes and gives his head a little nod as if to say, go on.
"Hmmm what do you think of the name Rusty?" He crinkles his nose at me.
"Something less pet-like?" He nods.
"How about Raymond? He shakes his head.
"Edmond?" He shakes his head and gives me a bit of an amused and annoyed look.
"Edward?" He lets out a playful growl and shakes his head strongly no to that name. I laugh
"ALright definitely not that one then."
"How about Jacob?" He nods and lets one of his wolfy laughs.
"Alright Jacob. I like it. It suits you somehow." I giggle softly, pulling my book back up in my hands and lean into his fur.
The air was very cold today and despite Jacobs' warmth the air still bit at my lungs. Stubborn as I was, I refused to head back home even as the evening brought in even colder air. I coughed a little, and then later a little more, and then a little more. This garnered concerned looks from my wolf. As the air cooled more, the more trouble my weak lungs had bringing in air. Soon I succumbed to a full on asthma attack. It was nothing new for me, but they never get any less scary. My wolf looked panicked as the air came in in haggard gasps. I fumbled clumsily with the zippers on my backpack, dragging open the front pocket and fishing out my inhaler. I breathed in several careful breaths of the medicine. My lungs thankfully relaxed and I was able to take full breaths again despite the cold.
My wolf was looking at me with worried, panicked eyes. Relief slowly flooded through them as I caught my breath again. He carefully moved towards me and brushed his nose against my cheek.
"I'm sorry Jacob" I whispered hoarsely.
"Sometimes that happens when the air is too cold or I get too exerted. I should probably head home and avoid coming out to see you when it's quite this cold out."
He nodded his head at me and stood up. I pulled myself up carefully, using his body as an aid. He grabbed my backpack in his mouth and started walking with me towards the path.
We stopped as we approached the path, still out of eyesight. I took my bag from the wolf and turned to wrap my arms around his giant furry body.
"Thank you for coming today Jacob. I'll try to be back soon. Stay safe out there alright?"
He nudged my face with his nose gently and let out a soft huff. His eyes still full of concern.
"Goodbye" I called to him as I turned to walk the rest of the way down the snowy path home.