Wolves and Men

As he waited for his body to respond to the test, he munched on some of the miner’s lettuce and looked around at the mountain around him. It really was peaceful here. The wind had picked up since they first came here, and he felt a chill run through him. He turned his gaze up to the sky and frowned. The perfect blue of the morning sky was now being invaded by a thick front of clouds that was sweeping in from the west. The clouds were a light grey on the fringes of the front. Deeper inside the clouds turned an ugly dark grey to almost black. The clouds promised rain and not just a light autumn shower either.

He had some time but not much. He looked down at the berry juice on his arm. He wiped the juice away with his hand and studied his arm. There was no redness or irritation that was a good sign. He took another berry and squeezed some of its juice on his lips and let the juice sit.

He didn’t feel anything, but he let the juice sit for several minutes. He searched for more patches of miner’s lettuce and other berries. If the berries tested ok then he would need more, especially if they were forced to stay here because of the storm. He found another patch of lettuce and he gathered the vegetation. He decided that it had been enough time for the berry juice test and licked his lips clean.

The berries had a rich flavor that spoke of summer, the way that fresh blackberries right off the vine taste like summer. There was no trace of any harmful tangy sensation. He decided that the berries were ok but he wasn’t taking any chances out here in the wilderness. He gathered a good number of them but he decided not to eat them for at least another hour or so. If something was harmful about these berries, he would know about it by then. Gathering as much miner’s lettuce and berries as he could carry, he rushed back to where the she-wolf was sleeping.

The sky had already started to dim and the wind was picking up. He placed the food on the ground near her and began searching for fallen logs and large branches. He could make a lean-to with little problem if he could find the materials for it. The sky was darkening by the minute, and he knew that it could start raining at any time.

He searched the area. He didn’t see any sizable logs or pieces of wood at all. What he did find was a fallen tree that was resting against a small boulder in the mountain side. He dug out some earth around the boulder, clearing a floor area. Once that was done, he backed away and began to break off the lower branches of the surrounding trees, hacking them with his knife as needed. As he broke off the bigger branches from the trees, he leaned the green branches up against the fallen tree truck.

Nature never waited for anyone and as he was preparing their shelter, the sky opened up and it started raining heavily. He threw branches over the shelter trying to make it as water resistant as possible. The rain water soaked through his skins. He worked through the discomfort. They needed a shelter and a place to get dry. He finished the shelter in a short period of time but he was already soaked through to the bone.

He rushed back through the forest to where his companion and food store was. She was awake and sitting under a densely branched tree, staying relatively dry. He picked up his pile of food and motioned for her to follow him. She looked at him with the piece of denim in her mouth and came out of her sheltered spot beneath the tree. He led her to the shelter he had just prepared.

They moved through the trees as the rain fell heavier by the minute. The ground was carpeted in soft pine needles but there would soon be mud and running rainwater streams everywhere. Good for them to erase any traces of their being there, bad for them because the water was likely to go anywhere and everywhere.

They made their way to the shelter and upon seeing the dry alcove under the large tree trunk, the she-wolf bolted in front of him. She raced toward the dry piece of ground and once under the shelter she shook all the water from her fur. He dove in after her and put his food down next to the boulder. The she-wolf lay down at the other end of the shelter under the tree trunk. She wedged her body so there was very little clearance between her body and the wood. She had dropped the piece of denim from her mouth and was watching him with her head resting upon her forearms.

He turned toward the shelter opening and moved some branches around closing the entrance. It wasn’t as good as his burrow had been, but for literally throwing this shelter together he was proud of himself. The wolf didn’t seem to complain she already had her eyes closed and was sleeping peacefully. He leaned his back against the boulder and began to eat his meal.

The lettuce was crunchy and crisp even with the added water. The berries were good and he soon finished the whole pile. He wished he had gathered more food. His stomach was not full, not by a long shot and he knew that it would soon be growling again from hunger. But it really couldn’t be helped. He raised himself as high as he could off the ground and took off his wet vest. Wiping the excess water from his clothes he put the vest back on and sat down away from the now wet spot on the ground.

He found himself very close to his wolf companion and her warmth was very inviting. He slid up to her as much as possible while maintaining some distance. He knew she didn’t like to be petted and she probably liked having her personal space invaded much less. He stayed a good five to six inches away from her, but she produced heat like a radiator. He stopped moving and listened to the rain.

His little shelter was a good one even it was hastily made. The rain was not intruding on them and he was able to just listen to the storm. He allowed his eyes to grow heavy. His close proximity to the warmth of the she-wolf, the dry shelter, his belly being less empty than it had been, coupled with the last few days’ heavy exertion all worked on him and he was soon asleep.