Old Chapters

Anything in red was changed or added. Please make note of the changes, for they may be of importance later. I was brainstorming and came up with quite a few good ideas, so I changed a bit here and there to help my new ideas fit in.

Chapter One:

The warm summer day made me unusually aware of every bit of information my senses perceived. The birds singing, the grass tickling the bottoms of my feet, the rays of warm sun raining down on my face each made up a thread of the intricately weaved world around me. I whistled loudly, and a squirrel stopped and stared at me for a moment before continuing to nibble at a nut. Within seconds, Tala bounded over, licking my hands and face the moment I knelt down. She took a particular interest in sniffing my pocket, and I remembered the slice of bread concealed inside and wrapped in a cloth. I quickly fished it out of my pocket, tore it in half, and threw one of the two pieces to Tala as I munched on my own.

I started toward the road, certain the faithful Rottie would follow. The black macadam burned underfoot, and I wondered how Tala could walk so calmly across it as I danced from one foot to the other. We strolled down the street, the large oaks on either side of us creating a dappled pattern on the scene. The neighbors yapping dog ran along the length of his fence as Tala and I walked the perimeter to the worn path behind the house, where the dirt and patchy grass was a relief after the scorching road. The path led downhill to a back road, and it was hard not to run because of the slanted earth. When we reached the bottom, I touched my toe to the railroad tracks that ran parallel to the road, quickly withdrawing it when I realized it was hotter than the road.

This set up a new challenge, something harder than the monotonous trials of the cooler days before. I stepped gingerly onto the tracks, mentally counting to myself, wondering how long I could walk along the hot metal before loosing my balance. The center of the tracks sported rough wood, and the outside edges, rocks. I imagined myself on a narrow rope bridge high up, with a rushing river hundreds of feet below. I carefully stepped forward, curling my toes around the edges. I took another step, this one more confident. My third step was almost to regular walking pace, too quick. My foot slipped on the searing iron and planted itself firmly on the white and brown striped rocks to the left. At least it wasnt a rushing river. Water seemed to be on Tala's mind, too. I heard her bark and realized that she was on the opposite side of the abandoned road, sitting patiently at the mouth of the trail.

I quickly darted across the street, and Tala and I dashed down the trail a bit before leaping off our favorite rock, and into our favorite part of the river. It was just deep enough to jump into, but shallow enough as to not startle Tala, who was small for an adult Rottweiler. I bent down and swallowed mouthfuls of the crystal-clear water, sweet as any water you could ever taste as Tala lapped up water on the opposite bank the small brook. I laughed and splashed water towards the dog, and she jumped upward, trying to catch it. After a while of laughing and splashing, I lay down on the large boulder of a rock to warm up and keep an eye on Tala. The rock was extremely warm, and I imagined there would be a snake warming up on it if Tala and I werent there. But we were, so I stretched out to watch the dog, still splashing about and enjoying herself in the creek. When I looked closely, I was amazed at how simply easy it was for her on four legs, each limb working together harmoniously like a well-oiled machine. I imagined her a wolf in the wild, quietly weaving around trees, not making a sound as she stalked her prey. Completely black, with those loving chocolate-brown eyes below lighter brown spots. Her ears looked funny erect; I was very much used to her floppy, triangular ears. And that tail! Compared to Tala's inch or two, it was very long, completely black except for the brown tip, as if it had carelessly brushed wet paint. It was awfully warm on the rock, awfully warm. The warmth could put one to sleep

I awoke with a start, breathing loudly, quickly. I wasnt quite sure, but I thought I had dreamed about that wolf, Tala's wolf as I thought of her. The sun was still high in the sky, and Tala was still in the brook. She wasnt still splashing about, though. She was staring intently at bush a good ten feet away, the hair standing up on her spine, her ears and posture alert, a low growl escaping her throat. That must have been what woke me up. I looked at her point of focus, a hydrangea bush sporting large, off-white colored spheres of flowers. I heard a rustle and what sounded like a whisper and saw an animal dash out of the bush in the opposite direction. The creature was rather large, mostly black with hints of brown.

It was Tala's wolf.

Chapter Two:

I was cold and weary, but above that, I felt defeated. She had defeated me. All this work, for nothing. After that first sighting during the summer I had searched for her, coming back to the brook every day, looking, searching, but never finding. I had even done research, finding old newspaper articles about wolf sightings in the area, reading books and magazine articles, whatever I could get my hands on. I became fascinated with wolves. I drew them, I thought about them, I dreamed about them. I even gave the wolf a proper name, for Tala's wolf wouldn't do. I wanted something similar though. I chose Natala. It seemed to fit, and the way it sounded reminded me of that faint whisper at the stream when I first saw her. More than all of this, though, I wondered. It seemed she had simply leapt from my imagination. How? It didnt really matter how, though. I knew I had seen her; Tala had, too. I had searched, I had researched, and I had dreamt, but now it was all for nothing.

Someone once told me that confidence and determination were all you needed in life, that they would get you anywhere. They lied. It was winter now, and it was cold. That day I had gone farther that ever before, determined to find her, confident, even. I didnt know what I would do once I did find her, Natala, but I would find her, or so I thought. The snow was high, and the wind was bitter. Snow drifts and big piles fallen from the overladen pine boughs slowed me down often and pulled energy from every reserve in my body. I had to get home, though. I trudged on.

I finally made it past the brook to the street. They hadnt plowed yet, and still more flurries drifted into sight beneath the street lamps that broke through the semi-darkness. I was trudging through the deep snow, calling upon every bit of energy in my body when it happened. I was just so weary, and the snow was too deep. I collapsed. Lying in the snow, seeing more flurries creating a light dusting over my coat, I thought it was all over, I thought I was going to die. I could just imagine Tala at home. I had left her for this expedition, for she was still sore from previous days of climbing up the mountain that the stream ran down. No one knew where I was; no one was there to go get help. I was alone. Is this how I will die, alone and defeated? I closed my eyes, but right before I did, I caught a glimpse of something that made my breath catch. Her lean silhouette in the light of the street lamp stretched long shadows toward me. Was she angry with me for entering her territory? For frightening her possible prey? The last thing I remember hearing that night was the crunch of snow under her feet as she walked towards me. I struggled to open my eyes again, to make sure she was really there. I whispered quietly under my breath, I found you, but the look she gave me plainly said, No, I found you.

Chapter Three:

I paced back and forth, my claws clicking on the floor. I have claws? And paws andand everythings in black in white! I kept pacing. Was I really pacing? It seemed almost as if I was looking through Talas eyes, but not controlling the actions. I continued to pace, whining when I neared the door. I continued like this for almost ten minutes, an unbearable ten minutes. Something was urgent. I needed to get out now, although I wasnt sure why. After a little while, Mother came to the door. She took the leash off the hook by the door. Not that annoying leash. The thought flashed through my mind, but it wasnt as if I had thought it, it was as if Tala had. The leash was clipped on the collar around my neck and Mother opened the door. Without even thinking, without even knowing why, I bounded out the door, running as fast as I could through the deep snow. I sniffed; there was still a faint scent. I followed it down to the road and ran down the familiar path. Here I followed the scent across the street, where I smelt something else. It stirred up a feeling from far in my memory. Fear. I instinctively growled, but no one was around. Growling wouldnt do me any good. I sniffed longer at this scent. Behind the overwhelming scent of fear was a new scent, a strange one. Freedom. This scent mingled with the scent I had been following and created a trail through the woods. I followed it.

I woke up, feeling quite disoriented. I had had the strangest dream but couldnt quite remember what it was about. It was strange, though; I knew that for a fact. And where was I now? It was dark in here, wherever it was. I turned my head slightly, and fur brushed my face. Without thinking, I quickly sat up. I heard something, and sat still for a few moments, trying to peer through the darkness. I was in a cave, with rough stone walls, and in front of me there wasI gasped, but now I was unafraid. If she intended to harm me, she would have done so already. I almost wanted to reach forward, to touch her, to prove to myself that she was truly there, but I quickly reminded myself that she was not tame. She was not some puppy to be cuddled; she was a wolf, and was to be respected. I satisfied myself with sitting back on my heels and watching her.

She just stood for a while, watching me, but when she was convinced that I wasnt going to do anything more than sit there, She walked to the far end of the cave and came back with something in her mouth. It seemed she was bringing me something. I realized that it was meat, uncooked, but perhaps I could build a fire. I was hungry, and I unthinkingly reached forward. My action was quickly answered with a jump backwards. I lowered my hand and waited. No need to frighten her. After a moment of warily watching me, she lowered the meat to the ground and pushed it toward me with her nose. I took the meat and, as slowly as I possibly could, stood. I turned toward the cave entrance, which I could see by a stream of light trickling from behind a bend in the deep cave, and watched Natala, waiting to see if she would protest to me moving somewhere. She instead watched me with what I first thought to be suspiciously, but after looking at her closely, I thought I saw a flicker of mild amusement in her eyes, but before I could even be sure, she turned and walked to the back of the cave, where she lay down, resting her head on her paws.

***

After leaving the cave, I quickly gathered firewood and started a fire to cook the meat over. The cave had a ledge that had no roof over it, so I was able to build the fire there without filling the cave with smoke. It was strange, how calm I was. I had no idea where I was, not recognizing the woods where I had been taken, I had gotten there by very unusual circumstances, and my family undoubtedly worried, but I simply operated upon the information I had from camping trips with Father. For some reason I was just simply satisfied with the moment. Perhaps I was loosing my mind, but theres no way to tell when youre the one who may be crazy. As I sat on the ground chewing the meat, which tasted like it might be rabbit, I figured out what had most likely happened. (If you can even call such unlikely circumstances the most likely.) The wolf must have somehow brought me here. There was no other way. Perhaps she lived with a pack that had helped carry me, but where we they now? After mulling over the thoughts for quiet some time, I heard a twig snap behind me. I looked out toward the woods behind me, and I saw a dark shape tumble out of the underbrush. It was hard to see with twilight approaching, but after some time I realized.

It was Tala.

Chapter Four:

I ran as quickly as I could, slowing down only to scramble down the slope from the cave entrance. My legs were burning and my lungs felt like they were going to burst from my sudden change of speed from calm and relaxed to tearing across the ground. When I finally reached her, she was lying on the ground, panting heavily. It seemed there wasn't any more damage than weariness and a few scratches. I saw that her leash had been clipped to her collar and had wound itself around one of her legs. Mother had no doubt been taking her outside when she ran off. I quickly unfastened her leash and unwrapped it from her leg. "Stay," I said quietly. I nimbly picked my way back up the incline and grabbed my water bottle from where it was sitting a few feet from the fire as well as a branch I had been poking at the fire with. I ran back down and, after unscrewing the cap, tilted the bottle slightly to let some water dribble into her mouth. She started licking the end of the bottle, eager for more water. I stuck the branch into the ground to provide some light while keeping both hands free. In the light of the fire, I saw that one of her scratches looked fresh and although it wasn't deep, it ran down almost half the length of her leg. I quickly ripped a strip of fabric from the bottom of my shirt and, after cleaning the wound with the water, wrapped it. I wasn't sure if I should bring Tala back up to the cave, not knowing how she would react, let alone Natala, whom I didn't know half as well. Natala had been extremely wary of me starting a fire up there, but I didn't want to start it down in the snow where the wood might get too damp before I could even get a small flame, and after I started it, she stayed at the back of the cave.

I brought her up. Natala crept forward a little bit to investigate, but didn't dare come to close to the fire, which I was glad for, as I wasn't sure if they would get along. Tala was a bit cautious about coming up, but after repeatedly encouraging her, she came up. She seemed to want to sniff everything, as if the smell of the wolf intrigued her. After a while we both lay down to go to sleep. I thought of Mother and how worried she must be and felt a pang of guilt. I hadn't even thought of going back home. You don't even know where you are, I said defensively to myself. I don't know why I stayed, I might have been able to find the way home, and if not, some type of civilization. Natala had brought me here. She could have very well left me there, but she didn't, and for that I felt not only a strong bond with her but also that maybe I was there for a purpose; maybe I was there to actually do something...but what? Maybe I was thinking too much of childhood fairytales, maybe I really had lost my mind, but I still entertained the thought in my mind. After all that had happened in such a short period of time, I couldn't rule out any possibility, even with so many maybes. These thoughts kept me awake for a while, but eventually I feel asleep.

***