With a yawn and a stretch, a black wolf rose to greet the dawn. She softly stepped to the cave mouth, pausing, her eyes scanning the area for something known only to her. When she found it, a mischievous gleam crept into her eyes. Staying low to the ground, she slunk towards her target, attempting silence. When within yards of her goal, it turned and saw her, freezing her in place.
“Nice try,” came a familiar voice, “you need to watch that dry grass, noisy stuff. Could give you away.” A little upset her attempt had failed, Rose appeared out the tall grass she had been lurking in. “Would have worked with a moose.” She muttered. Rolo made a noise similar to a chuckle. ‘I’m not a moose though, am I?”
It had been about a month since Rose’s rebellion. Luckily for her, her opponent had looked on it as more of a learning experience than something to be punished for. Choosing to forgive and forget, he had let her rest a day, and then decided to take it upon himself to teach her how to hunt. Although Rose had to bite back harsh words a time or two in response to Rolo’s frank criticism, by the end of the first day she killed a ptarmigan hen that fed them both.
Rolo nudged her. “Hungry?” Rose was surprised. This was the first time Rolo had spoken first in any of the conversations or lessons they had had. She gave him a wolfish grin. Ironically, it was the first word she had ever spoken to him. Still grinning, she glanced down where he indicated. Lying in a row were three good sized fish. She nudged Rolo back. “So where did the mighty hunter find fish, and more importantly, how did he catch it?” Rolo looked at her in mock innocence. “Didn’t I tell you I was a champion bear wrestler? No bear’s breakfast is safe from me.” Rose glanced again at the fish, then at Rolo, a smug grin on her face. “Then where are the fish?” Rolo looked confused. “Right there.”
Enjoying herself, Rose continued, “Oh no, not these fish. The fish you wrestled from the bear. You know, the bear with the long sharp claws that rip through scales like bark?” Rolo looked put out at these words. “You’re no fun.” He replied. Rose was a bit surprised. Rolo seemed the type that thought only about hunting strategies and tracking skills. The idea that he had a soft and humorous side was almost funny. Almost. Rose thought back a moon ago, when he’d had the chance to be rid of her permanently, but had not. Then he had helped her to increase her own chance of survival by teaching her how to hunt and track.
Throughout this time Rose’s irritation for Rolo had nigh disappeared. She positively adored the white wolf, and he was the loving pack-mate she’d never had until now. Finishing breakfast, she licked her chops and sat down, waiting for Rolo to finish. Once this important task was done for the day, they had little else to do. Or so she thought. Rolo glanced in her direction, then continued to look at her, which in a wolf’s body language is considered to be very rude. “I found something this morning,” he said in his low, rumbling voice. That clarified, he simply stood up and started off into the woods. Getting used to his vague system of communication, Rose followed, as she knew he wanted.
He led her silently through the forest until they reach a hidden pond. It was large, but you couldn’t really call it a lake. Rose assumed this was where he’d caught the fish. But Rolo didn’t stop there. He continued into a nearby glade, where he stopped so abruptly she nearly ran into him.
Rose looked around to see why he stopped, and immediately spotted the moose tracks. She couldn’t believe her eyes. She hadn’t seen any trace of moose or caribou for months. The branches on the trees were bent back where the animal had pushed through, and it droppings were nearby. Rose was shocked that she hadn’t smelled it. That kind of scared her, as wolves have the sharpest noses in the business. She didn’t say anything to Rolo, but simply continued on behind him as he led to where the moose had bedded down for the night.
She was astounded at how fresh it was. The moose had slept here only two nights before. They still had a darn good chance to catch it. All of the sudden, for an unknown reason, Rose got the impression that they were being watched. She couldn’t smell anything, but that didn’t confirm they were alone. Rose was not as confident after she hadn’t picked up the moose’s scent.
As she turned around to alert Rolo of her suspicions, she saw a glint of sandy-colored fur. Before she could do anything, the creature shot out of the underbrush, straight at her! It only brushed her, but its speed startled her, so she yelped. Hearing her cry, Rolo whipped around and was immediately assaulted by what turned out to be another wolf. He counter-attacked, repelling the wolf for a few seconds. In those precious few seconds, he shifted his position so Rose was directly behind him.
When the wolf came in for another attack, Rolo rushed aside, pushing Rose into the brush. This served a double purpose, as Rolo got Rose out of harm’s way but also avoided the stranger’s attack. Then he engaged in battle. As horrified as she was watching the two tangle, Rose was even more confused about their mysterious assailant. Why had the wolf tracked them? Plus, why did he attack them the way he did? While she crouched, terrified, watching the wolves fight she couldn’t shake the idea that she had met another wolf that attacked in the same way, silent and without warning.
The predators broke apart, Rolo growling in a tone that was a definite threat. He was the obvious larger of the two, but the sandy wolf wasn’t small in the least. The latter dipped his head in defeat, but Rose noticed that Rolo didn’t relax his stance. “Why?” He asked, in a way to show he expected an answer, or else. Rose was confused. Why what? She wondered. She was further confused when the sandy wolf replied.
“Did you really expect to get away so clean and easy?” he sneered, looking for the entire world as if he were in charge. “Get away?” Rolo repeated menacingly, “You make it sound as if I committed some horrible deed and left of my own accord. You know as well as I that I was not the one to be blamed.”
“Rolo, what’s going on?” Rose whispered, more scared than confused. “Shhh,” he reassured her, “it’s going to be okay.” At this the sandy wolf laughed loudly, and Rose cringed at the sound.
“Who’s the pup, and what hole did you drag her out of?” the sandy wolf said, an evil smile crawling across his face. Rolo bristled. “Get out of here.” He growled, revealing his fangs for emphasis. The other wolf mimicked shock. “Leave? But you don’t even know why I’m here. And Rolo, we wouldn’t want to repeat the past now, would we?” This simple statement seemed to hit a nerve. Rolo tensed, ready to rip this stranger to shreds.
