He had stumbled into several trees on his route as a result of his depth perception being seriously impaired by the absence of that eye.
He anticipated it would get worse when the sun set and the light vanished. He still wished to continue. He would feel safer as he ventured further into the woodlandFive more kilometers had been covered when he heard a disturbance off to his left. There was something in the trees here, something bigger than a rabbit. He couldn't smell anything peculiar because the wind had died down. He paused and listened in search of another cue as to what might be out there.From a copse of undergrowth, the sound of liquid striking pine needles could be heard.As the sound faded, Damien turned his gaze toward the bushes. More rustling followed by a big object shifting against the branches. A tall human female emerged from the underbrush before he could move to conceal, still looking down as she fastened the top button of her jeans. They established eye contact as she looked up and moved a step forward. Her hands were held out in front of her as she stopped mid-step. They were staring at each other from around ten feet apart.Her fear's aroma smacked him in the face as it entered his nose. He was overcome by the temptation to grab her by the throat and rip her to pieces. In his mind, hunger was comparable to fear. He was, however, in no condition to leap at the moment. He became aware that any abrupt movement might rip his incision open once more, and he was unsure whether he wouldn't bleed to death before the meal could digest in his stomach.She emerged from the bushes, and neither of them has spoken since. She lowered her hands gradually after interpreting his stillness as an indication that an attack was not imminent. He kept a close eye on her to make sure she wasn't attempting to pull a fast one.Her voice was barely audible, just above a whisper. The expression on her face had changed from terror to pleading. A single tear flowed down her cheek. He continued to stare at her with his one good eye, not making a sound or moving a muscle. He knew how dangerous humans could be in panic situations. If she had a gun, she could really do him some major damage before he killed her. He didn't need any more damage to his already broken body today. "If I give you some food will you go away?"down. She jumped at his movement and sound. Then she looked at him closer, he watched her carefully to make sure she wasn't trying anything sneaky. "You want some food?" This time her voice had a little more authority to it, almost up to a normal level. Again, he chuffed and moved his head up and down; hoping this female would understand that he had answered her question. She got a funny look on her face and tilted her head to the side a little, mimicking the age-old posture that dogs have when they hear or see something they don't understand.He found this to be quite humorous, and he couldn't help but chuckle over and over. He suddenly halted as the pain from his wound set in, coughing up more blood. When she saw him cough up blood and then saw the gaping wound in his side, the woman's expression shifted from one of stunned surprise to concern as she observed this spectacle."Oh my God! You're hurt! You poor thing!"This time, she spoke with genuine sincerity, which Damien could hear. He was aware that she no longer posed a threat. He again cocked his head up and down while keeping a close eye on her. She carefully moved her right hand toward the bottom coat pocket. Despite not taking any action, he followed the movementHe could see that it wasn't anything dangerous as she carefully brought out a glittering red and silver envelope. While he was still observing her, he seemed to calm down when he realized it was a food packet and not a rifle. This gave her hope, so she carefully peeled open the packet and took out a dark brown bar.She took the bar with her forefinger and thumb and threw it in front of him gently. He carefully dropped his head and sniffed at the bar while glaring at her and saying, "Don't you dare move!" The aroma brought up images of girls in frilly gowns laughing as they popped little brown balls in their mouths and grinned.He glanced at her once more, and when he saw that she was still standing there, he slowly picked up the candy and began to chew it. The flavor was primarily sweet with hints of nuttiness. After swiftly swallowing the snack bar, he turned to face her once more."Sorry, I only have that with me"She expressed her regret for being unable to give him more in a very clear manner with her voice. He didn't stop staring at her. awaiting her to do the following action."At my campsite, I have more food available. I'll give you more if you agree not to bite me."She was bolder this time because the enormous wolf hadn't attacked her and it had evidently picked up on her meaning. After giving her a brief moment of attention, he shook his head from side to side while chuffing. She took a quick glance to her left before taking her first tentative step there.She kept looking at him and kept an eye out for any movement. Before moving to follow her, he let her advance a number of paces. At this point, he didn't want to scare her, especially if she was prepared to offer him more food. She walked cautiously back to her camp, keeping an eye out behind her to make sure she wasn't tripping over any branches.She carefully turned and unzipped the tent flap. She cautiously unlocked the top of a large backpack after removing it from the tent with her hand. She took some beef jerky out of the bag and threw each piece at him one at a time. By the third piece, he was within throwing distance and was successfully grabbing the pieces before they landed.He glanced at her and swung his head back and forth to indicate that he didn't want any more when the bag was halfway empty. After a few period of continued staring, he licked his chops and started to scan the campsite. He failed to spot any nearby water source. Suddenly, recognition appeared on their faces"Oh shit! I bet you are really thirsty after eating all that salted beef. Let me get you a bowl and I'll get you some water."Her voice was normal now, with no trace of fear. She opened another pocket on the backpack and pulled out a small silver oblong container. She flipped open the lid and removed all the other items from inside it and
When she didn't immediately pick up the gauze pad and her eyes glazed over like she was going into shock, he nudged her hand again and pushed the gauze pad towards her. She shuddered and looked down at her hand, picked up the gauze and then met his gaze."What ARE you? You're not real, this is some sort of fucked up dream I'm having."After this last statement, the wolf just looked at her and chuffed, blowing little flecks of blood all over her hand and arm. He carefully opened his mouth just enough to grab the edge of the gauze packet and tore the corner open. Looking down at the packet, she shuddered again and removed the gauze from the wrapper."Alright, alright! I get it. I'll cover the wound with the gauze. Now stop blowing blood all over my clothes."She unrolled the gauze, folded it into a square patch large enough to cover the entire wound, and taped it into place."I don't know if this tape will hold with all that fur, but it'll stay there as long as you don't try to get up."
As for the other, HAH! She had seized up too tight for a fart. Damn! This thing was HUGE! It must weigh 250 pounds, at least, maybe more. Its head was twice the size of hers and when it had been standing there it almost looked her straight in the eyes, and she was tall, 5' 10" without boots on. The color of the fur was strange too. At first she thought it was a solid steel gray, but the more she studied it, the more she noticed that there were several different shades of gray mixed in, and they shimmered as she shifted position. No dog or wolf breed she ever read about had that kind of coloring.After watching the wolf sleep for an hour, she realized she hadn't had anything to eat yet. As quietly as possible, she opened up her backpack and pulled out a food bar. As she sat back down on her camp stool and started to open the package, the wolf opened one eye, looked at her, then closed it again and went back to sleep. So, it doesn't trust me either, she thought. Well, I can't blame it,
The indignation in her voice made her sound almost petulant. The wolf closed his mouth, looked her right in the eye and started moving his head up and down. Now it was her turn to open her mouth and gape like a fish. He turned his head, nosed the bandage on his side then looked back at her as if to say, 'See how helpless I am, now feed me.' He opened his mouth again and stuck out his tongue. She started laughing again, shaking her head and proceeded to feed her strange companion the rest of the beef jerky. When it was all gone, he looked over at the empty water bowl and then looked back at her."Jeez! You sure are pushy!"He grunted and nodded at her again, she started chuckling and moved to fill the bowl with water."I hope you fully appreciate what I'm doing for you. I don't normally wait on anyone, especially some oversized dog!"When she said that last sentence, she heard a rumble behind her. She spun around to see if she had finally gone too far and was now about to be mauled to
She was suddenly very nervous and concerned for her safety for the first time since this morning. He sensed this immediately and started whimpering, trying to convey his sincere apology at making her afraid of him. He lowered his head, setting his chin on the ground. She understood what he was doing and relaxed, dropping her arms to her sides, but she still didn't approach him."Why did you look at me like that? Did I suddenly taste like food?"He raised his head up off the ground far enough so that he could move it back and forth, indicating that he didn't think that."Alright, then. I'd appreciate it if you didn't do that again, okay?"He moved his head up and down this time and chuffed, letting her know that he did understand that she didn't like that. With that understanding between them now, she walked closer to him, but stopped just outside what she thought his reach with that super long tongue of his could go. She raised her hand towards his muzzle, and he gently licked the end
It had been awhile since he had seen one in this part of the forest, but when the humans stopped killing them, they had slowly migrated back into the area. Now the bears were a nuisance; they were extremely territorial and they don't like to share. Well, hopefully this one will keep walking and pass them by, but he knew deep down, it wouldn't. Bears treated campsites like an instant snack source, which the foolish humans just kept providing.The bear finally caught wind of him along with the food, it started growling and huffing. Stercus! That damn thing wants to fight instead of passing by. Well, there goes the healing process. I hope this one isn't one of the big ones, maybe I can just growl a few times and it'll get the idea that this is one campsite it will have to give up on. He slowly got up and slithered out of the tent, making sure he didn't disturb her. He didn't want her to panic and scream. That usually just pissed off the bear and made the screamer a target. He wanted to
The bear shuddered and let loose one last spasm of fight, but it was over. The bear fell to the ground, carrying Damien with it. They landed with a huge thud; as almost three thousand pounds of muscle and bone combined hit the ground. Damien had twisted his body along the bear's side to keep from getting smashed. He kept his hold on the bear until he was absolutely sure it was dead. When he couldn't feel a heart beat for several seconds, he let go. There was a slurping wet sound as he removed his muzzle from inside the wound. He had done it!! He had killed the beast! Commodum habitus es Asinus! I own your ass!He was so relieved that he had killed the bear and saved her from certain death. He was so proud of himself that he went right to the tent flap and stuck his head inside to share his joy. A beam of light suddenly blinded him and then she screamed and passed out. O Stercus! He had just scared her right out of her mind. He felt like a complete dumbass, Asinus stultissimus; yep, th
"Wha-" she squeaked, cleared her throat, tried again."What happened to your wounds? They are almost completely healed. Your eye is normal. That shouldn't be able to happen over night. The hole is sealed; grown back. How?"He shrugged with his eyebrows. Still not daring to move anything more. Then she turned and looked at what remained of the grizzly, waving her hand in the general direction of the carcass."And this? How? Nothing's meaner than a grizzly."Again, he shrugged with his eyebrows. She took a tentative step towards him. He scooted back on his belly, keeping the same distance between them.That made her stop. She looked into his eyes and understood what was happening. He was scared of her, or more accurately, for her. He didn't want to show anything but utter submission to this woman. Her vision blurred as her eyes overflowed with tears. This great big giant of a wolf had not only saved her life, but he was trying to make peace with the fact that he had scared her senseless