Humphrey had long since lost track of how far he walked. He would travel most of the evening, all through the night, than part of the morning before finding a temporary shelter to sleep the afternoon away, than start all over again. Most of his meals consisted of rabbits, squirrels, and mice whenever he could catch them, of course, and while they suited him just fine in the moment, it wasn't long before he started craving for bigger pray again. Especially once he started traversing the mountain ranges.
The higher he climbed, the harder it was to breathe, and soon, not even berries and flowers were sprouting from the ground; his last remaining food options. His reasons for going so high were to scope out the landscape better and make a decision on which direction he wanted to go in, but the longer he was up here the more evident it became he had not prepared for this journey well enough at all! When he wasn't wading through patches of snow, he was stumbling across piles of sharp, unsteady rocks. Multiple times he had slipped and nearly twisted an ankle and gained a new gash or scratch that he would have to stop to tend to before pressing onwards. He was so close though! Just a little bit farther and he could finally descent this deathtrap. He just needed to catch a glimpse. He wanted to see the world stretched out before him at its highest peak.
One paw in front of the other, Humphrey. You can do it! He encouraged himself, thinking about Barf and how easy of a climb this would've been for him. Thinking of Kate when they had been chased by bears straight off a cliff. He imagined her at the top of the crest, waiting for him. The sun on the other side highlighting her golden fut like a fallen star.
Come on, Humphrey! You got this! She would've said with a stunning smile. His inner monologue soon replaced solely by Kate's melodic tone. Seriously, slow poke? Is that really the best you can do? My gramdma could've ran circles around you!
Humphrey chuckled, breath coming out in clouds before swiftly being snatched away by the sharp wind. He dug his claws into the rocks beneath the snow and hauled his body up, stumbling as the rocks shifted beneath him and a plume of snow flew up as his body collapsed in it. Quickly, his hind paws caught traction and he pushed up at the same time he pulled, finding strength stashed somewhere deep within him.
Finally, he made it to the top, his body falling limp to the ground, his tongue rolling limply out of his mouth as he struggled for every ounce of air.
"I did it, Kate. I did it!" He panted, his chest swelling with his accomplishment even as it was empty of oxygen.
When the soreness eventually ebbed and he recaptured his breathe somewhat, Humphrey pushed himself to a sit and admired the rolling view before him. For miles he could see lush green valleys, deep, rich forests, and mighty, rocky mountains with ribbons of sparkling, blue rivers carving their way through the terrain.
"Oh, Kate." The grey wolf murmured under his breath. "It's so beautiful up here."
It was all so exhilarating and awesome. Freeing. Humbling. His eyes followed one of those veins to a blue lake of some sort, but unlike any other lake he encountered, this one had great clouds of warm steam curling out of it.
"There. There is where we should go."
Realizing at some point he was still by himself, Humphrey felt his ears droop in sadness that somehow outweighing the incredible panorama.
Stop it, Humphrey. Kate is back home with Barf, probably busy making pups and having plenty of responsibilities to even bother wondering about you. He told himself with a shake of his head as if he could shake the very image of her face out of his thoughts.
We both made our decisions. Now, we got to live with them.
Humphrey distracted himself with the consideration of which route he was about to take down when an updraft from where he came brought with it a scent very familiar and yet very distressing. He turned, his eyes searching the base of the mountain whence he just climbed and spotted three dots slowly crawling their way up the path he took.
"Persistent bunch, aren't you?" Humphrey grumbled at the humans he'd thought he'd lost a while back. What were they wanting that they felt the need to continue following him? Surely not for revenge for his prank, but if they wished to eat him, they'd had plenty of opportunities before. Instead, they acted like gnats fluttering annoyingly around his head.
Quickly, Humphrey slid down the mountainside, hoping to make it to the tree line before they crested the peak. A few times his paws skidded upon slippery surfaces and he would tumble head first down the slope, somehow avoiding knocking himself unconscious on one of the boulders, before a deep patch of snow would break his fall and allow him to regain his feet. He was almost halfway down when he heard a great rumble from above him, the ground trembling beneath him like the Earth itself was terrified for him.
Humphrey glanced up and realized it wasn't the Earth that was afraid, but him of the Earth as he saw a huge wall of snow come tumbling and roiling after him.
"Oooh, poo!" He cried, leaping with everything he had through the snow, adrenaline and pure terror pumping his tired, achy muscles with energy.
Despite it all though, the wall of angry, churning white was much faster than him, gaining yards on him with every passing second. A memory of him and Kate careening off a mountainside in a similar fashion flashed in his mind's eye. Granted they were being chased by a bear and not snow, but the result of capture was just the same; deadly. If could just fine something similar to a piece of bark they'd used. . .
Humphrey's panicked eyes frantically scanned the valley below. He had arrived at the level where growth was appearing, the trees becoming denser and denser but still the rumbling snow did not cease. No fallen trunks or broken bark pieces shown themselves either. He was so screwed! So screwed! This was not how he thought things would end!
"Oh, God! Oh, no! Oh, man! Oh—"
His exclamations were quickly cut off by the powerful force slamming through his body. Nothing but pure white engulfing his entire being, tossing him around so effortlessly he might as well have been a pebble! It felt disorienting and endless, but before he knew it, the white had abruptly switched to black.
Awakening again came as a complete surprise to the grey wolf. Surrounded by white still and unable to move with the weight of snow entombing him, Humphrey realized that was less of a blessing and more of a curse.
Oxygen felt as difficult to suck in as it did on top of the mountain, if not more. He wriggled, trying to break up some of the snow, but it was no use, the stuff was as compact as a casket. Panic seized the young wolf, but there wasn't much he could do about it. He was becoming dizzy from huffing in no air and spots were appearing in his vision. He may not have died during the avalanche, but he would be dead very soon. Buried beneath heaps of snow where no one would be able to find him. Not even the carrion could take advantage of his corpse.
Here he would remain. Forever alone and forgotten. A fitting end, he supposed all considering and yet, it felt too soon. He still had so much life left. So much to see and do. He wanted to learn to hunt for himself, find out what that steam coming from the lake was, see what other scenery there were, what other animals, and maybe eventually find a new pack, a mate, have some pups. . .
Humphrey closed his eyes despite his efforts against it, the great sleep claiming him anyway.
At least, He thought one final time. There will be no more pain.
Kate lowered herself to the hard ground till her belly brushed the gravel beneath, trying to compact her hefty stature as much as physically possible. Without the cover of tall grass and trees to shield her from sight, it was going to be much more difficult to stalk undetected.
Thankfully, the lightness of her fur blended well with the light brown dirt, aiding in concealing her. Slowly, carefully, she crept closer to her query; a group of peccary's munching away at a cluster of cactus. Off in the distance, she could see the glitter of dozens of coyote eyes in the moonlight where they watched her work from atop a large, flat boulder.
After allowing her to eat her fill of the javelina they killed to gain back the strength she needed for the amount of hunting she had to look forward to, the pack of coyotes led her to a field where an abundance of cacti produced beautiful flora and fruits. A supposed peccary's favorite feasting spot.
Sure enough, within the first few minutes they left her to it, she spotted a small family of them arrive. Now, all she needed to do was get close enough to be able to get a good solid bite in and those little animals were toast!
Right as she was about to lunge, however, an excited chitter sound echoed from the distant rocks. The peccary's heads jerked up in search of the threat and immediately spotted her large form sticking out like the sore thumb she obviously was.
"Damn you." She snarled to whichever coyote was responsible for the disruption. She should've known they wouldn't make this easy for her. As enticing as the prospect of a banquet of javelina's might be, there was obviously one who still favored the idea of eating her more.
"Oh no you don't." Kate quickly chased after the fleeing animals.
When the adults' realized running was futile, they whipped around to cover the young and began kicking their hooves. They were so small in comparison to her, but when she lunged in for an attack, the amount of force those hooves packed when they landed knocked her for a loop.
"God, does everything in this fricken place want to kill you?" She huffed shaking off the pain and trotted after the family again.
She couldn't give up now. If she couldn't hold up her end of the deal, the coyotes definitely wouldn't either and she'd much rather face the peccary's than the pack.
As the young alpha circled the family, the adults continued to defend strongly, charging after her with angry screams and aggressive stomping in hopes of chasing her off. Unfortunately for them, she was just as desperate to keep this bargain as they were about living. Nothing and no one was going to get between her and finding Humphrey.
Around and around she went, searching for an opening to the vulnerable babies within. They were the easiest pickings and once she finished with them, the grieving parents would be no trouble for her. She just needed to find an. . .
Now!
Launching between the adults, the she-wolf scooped up a baby in her powerful jaws and quickly bit down, breaking the poor things neck. Kate felt guilt tighten her chest at killing the young. It was a law amongst the wolf packs to never kill the babies so the prey species could continue to grow and reproduce, but she didn't think the same rules applied to the coyote packs. Or at least not this one.
I've already broken plenty of laws. Kate thought, derisively. What's one more?
Kate dropped her prey and ran off into the night, watching from a distance as the parents gathered their last three remaining children, trying to flee again. As long as they had others to focus on, they wouldn't cry over the one death in their herd.
Kate followed for a bit. They knew she was still after them, she hadn't claimed her ultimate prize after all, but they wouldn't know from which direction she would be coming from.
Perfect.
When the opportunity arose, the she-wolf pounced again, snuffing out yet another life, then another, and when the last child fell, the parents collapsed in their spots, unwilling to fight anymore now that they were left with nothing to protect. Kate was quick about ending their suffering.
"I'm sorry." She murmured to the fallen family. "I promise your sacrifice will not be in vain."
Quickly, Kate carried the dead peccary's to the coyotes, dropping them at the base of the boulder they laid atop like royalty.
A female hopped down followed by three pups emerging from a crevice in the rock to feast first. A much bigger pack than she first thought. That meant she was going to need to hunt more. Kate only took a moment to rest before she was back out there. Over and over this went, Kate dropping another carcass at their paws until the first streak of orange began to show above the horizon.
"Enough." The alpha finally announced when she'd brought forth yet another peccary, laying its limp body on the ground. She didn't raise her head, simply waiting for an order. She did keep an eye on his comrades though, making sure they weren't about to pounce on her next.
"I'm impressed, loba. My family hasn't eaten this well in years. Gracias."
Kate chanced a glance at the alpha coyote. To her surprise, his smile was a tad less insane and slightly more gentle.
"I assume this means you plan on honoring our bargain?"
"I'm not going to lie. I had planned to eat you after you so thoroughly tired yourself out, but I believe you've earned your reward. Whatever you're seeking in Wyoming must be worth much." He remarked, gleefully.
If she was honest, it was more of a surprise of his change of heart than his planned betrayal. She had plotted the entire night of her hunting on how she was going to escape the ambush. It was relieving she wouldn't have to implement it for she truly was exhausted.
"Thank you. It really is."
"Let us rest. We shall leave tonight."
"Tonight?" Kate exclaimed, startled. "We're not leaving now?"
The alpha snorted. "Of course not. Traveling the desert during the day is suicide! We sleep now and when the sun starts to set, we'll be strong enough to make the trip."
"Do not fight, joven. You look like you're about to fall over any second." A gentle, calm voice spoke from beside the golden wolf and she turned to face the she-coyote from before and the mother of the pups. Her clear, attentive gaze suggested she was the sane one out of the lot.
"Come. Let us find you a cool spot to rest."
Kate didn't like the thought of spending more hours than necessary with these unstable canines, let alone getting any sleep around them, but she wasn't much willing to fight them on the matter either. After another moment of hesitation, Kate decided to follow the female coyote into the large crevasse between the boulders, keeping her head down the entire way. If there was one thing she learned from Humphrey was deciding when not to borrow trouble.
Once they reached the back of the cave, the she-coyote said, "Sleep, joven. Regain your strength."
Kate narrowed her eyes suspiciously. She didn't want to appear ungrateful but she didn't trust a single soul in these parts enough to let her guard down. "How do I know you aren't going to chomp my neck as soon as I'm asleep?"
"We may be untrustworthy, but we know better than to bite the hand that feeds us. Plus, if it makes you feel any better, I'll keep guard to prevent anyone from coming too near."
"You're not sleeping?"
"I got five children to feed, of course I'm not sleeping!"
Kate chuckled and curled up in her designated spot. Despite her concerns, she found her eyes growing heavy from exhaustion and she prayed right before she drifted off that she would awaken again tonight.