Thunder erupted across the land with a loud crack as the bear stood still. Nibelski looked around but saw no lightning. She looked back at the bear to see blood flowing from his chest and again lightning rang out, again and again. She saw the bear's right eye vanish and he finally fell on his side, roaring in pain as a human stepped out of the woods, took a shiny object from his side and pointed it at the bear's head. I erupted fire and the bear moved no more. The man knelt down and began to examine Garius and she, not thinking, charged at the man and stood there growling at him. He smiled back at her.
"Is this your friend? He is in a bad way and I am going to have to tend to him" she had no idea what this human was saying, but he spoke slowly and used a gentle hand on Garius. He put Garius on a wooden bed and began to walk off with him. He stopped and knelt down again looking directly at Nibelski he said "I have a warm place close to here and you are welcome to stay as long as you need to. It has been awhile since I have had some decent companionship". He waved his hand and she tilted her head. She decided to follow him at a distance to see what would happen. Augustus just circled cawing in the sky.
As the human walked by the corpse of the bear he spit on it "Good riddance, you murderer" and he carried on. She stopped and wanted to spit like the human did, but had no idea how he did it. She urinated instead. Augustus landed and took the other eyeball from the bear.
After a short while they came to a house made of trees and the man went into the tree house and came out with materials and a box. He opened the box and began to work on Garius as he howled from time to time. Though scared she approached him and tried her best to comfort him. Augustus landed and told her "He is a friend, good human, one of the few. Caw, you can trust". This eased her nervousness as she approached Garius and began licking his wounds.
The old man was in shock seeing this and he turned to the crow "what did you say to her?" he asked.
"Caw, caw, Augustus" was all he replied.
"Fine, keep your secrets, but isn't that the damnest thing you ever saw. A wolf and a fox together. I would love to know the story behind that one, but it appears I am the odd man out". He went back to stitching and cleaning Garius. "Well he is in rough shape and will need time to heal. I don't feel any broken bones" he said, running his hands through the wolf's fur. "He is a strong one, and taking on old bigfoot".
"Caw, bigfoot," Augustus replied, thinking of the eyeball in his stomach.
"Yes, that monster killed my dog and I have been looking for him every day since"
"Caw"
"I was a dead man to be sure until my dog took action. She gave her life for me, Tipper, she was a good dog. That monster had a few kills under her belt and the world is a better place without a bear like that running around killing." He walked over to his shed and arranged a large straw bed then carried Garius inside and laid him there. Nibelski scurried off and waited around the side for him to finish. He came out and left a crack in the door and pointed it out to her. "Feel free to come and go as you need to, I'll go get some water and food"
She rushed in to check on him. He was asleep and his breathing was very heavy.
"Caw, Augustus" he had found a hole in the roof "He will sleep deep for a long time. This human is good, he has fed me before. You do not need to hide from him. Caw, he returns with food".
He gently opened the door to the shed and was carrying two bowls and he put them down close by. One was filled with water and the other appeared to be ground meat. It smelled amazing to Nibelski and she hoped Garius would eat soon.
The man put his hand to his chest "I am Walter….Walter. Your friend is hurting and I have a friend in town who can help him. I will be back tomorrow" She did not understand him, but he seemed kind.
"He is going to bring some help, he will be gone for a while" said Augustus and now she understood what Garius said when he was talking about how smart this bird was. She snuggled up close to Garius and just lay there listening to his breathing as she quickly fell asleep.
The man looked up at the crow "That is still the damnest thing I have ever seen". He made his way out and began to prepare for his trip.
Augustus looked down on them sleeping in the hay, their breathing was almost synchronised . "Caw, the damnest thing". He decided to keep watch while they slept.
Walter had finished getting fully dressed for his trip into town and he packed up a few supplies as well to sustain him on the short journey. Trouble could always find a path to you so he always wanted to remain prepared. He grabbed his rifle and made a final trip to the she where his guests were. As he peeked in he could see them all sleeping so he decided to leave them that way and carry on into town to see his friend Grace. He hoped Grace was not too busy with her work and that she could come quickly to help in this rare circumstance. She was an animal doctor, "the best in all the land" he told himself, well there weren't many animal doctors at all, but she was as smart as they could come and she loved the work.
They had some history together, though no longer together he had learned a lot from her and it helped him when the need arose in his life. This wolf, though, was beyond him and it worried him that an infection might spread and end its life. He could not live with that, not another death at that bear's hands. He had avenged his dog, Tipper, and now he would get this wolf the help it needed. Then there was that fox, it was a larger fox, probably the largest he had seen, yet he had never seen such dedication in an animal like this and he refused to let her down as well. He picked up his pace and decided he would get to town earlier so that they could come back this very night. He started running and it felt good. He had spent so much time hiking these hills, yet he had not run in a long time and it made him feel alive.
"Hang on wolf," he cried out "I will get you help by tonight". He thought of that crow…what did it say again….Augustus….what is an Augustus?
Walter made it to town by later afternoon, the sun had not set yet and things were very busy in the streets like they always were. He ran towards her shop which was right by the stables. He passed a few people who knew him and nods were exchanged, he was in a hurry and had no time for chat. He burst into her small wooden workspace and there she was. Hair tied back, glasses on, for a brief moment he wondered why he ever left, then he realized the urgency of his visit. "I have a dying animal that needs help tonight!"
She was pulling long needles from a large dog and she jumped at the shock of his grand entrance. Walter always had a flair for the dramatic. "OK, just wait….I am almost done here". She went back to her work with her usual dedication and quiet demeanour and proceeded to remove the remaining needles one by one as the dog yelped at each one. She took out a bottle of fluid and cleaned the dog's nose and then turned to Walter giving him her full attention "What are you talking about?"
He told her the wolf story, the bear, the fox…even the crow. He told her she was needed immediately in case the wolf was infected and needed treatment. He told her how he bandaged and sewed up the wolf the best he could and how it was now sleeping in his shed. She looked into his eyes and knew how serious this was, at least to him.
"Alright, let me gather some things and we can be on our way soon. I need to find someone to take this dog home and then we can focus on your wolf. Really? A wolf?"
"Yes," he replied, "really a wolf, a very large wolf. Also bring that photo box thing you have, you may want to preserve this memory."
She grabbed her leather bag and skittishly ran around collecting things she may need, bottles of fluid, sewing supplies, knives, scissors, herbal ointments, she paused to clear her head. "Wait, bigfoot is dead?"
"Yes, he is dead, but he is the one who attacked the wolf….or I guess the wolf attacked him"
"OK, bear attack, diseases that can spread" she grabbed a few more bottles "wait….he attacked the bear? Was he alone?"
"It is a long story and I can tell you along the way, just hurry and don't forget the photo box."
"It's called a camera, and yes I will bring it with film", she had forgotten and raced over to grab the case it was kept in with its film pushing it into Walter's arms "You carry it.". She grabbed a few extra things just in case, she could always come back for more, then she leashed up the dog and they headed out. She felt a chill and ran back in to get her jacket, she hated rushing things, but sometimes it had to be like that as an animal doctor so she had learned to work under the stress of unexpected plans. She paused, looked around and noticed the stable boy cleaning up beside her shop. She approached him and offered him 50 cents to return the Hanson's dog to them. "Tell them they can pay me later, and to keep their dog away from porcupines, although I think he learned his lesson". She now turned her attention completely to Walter.
"Shall we go see your wolf?"
"Yes, I hope you don't mind a hurried pace…it will be dark soon".
They marched off together quickly exiting town and heading up the hill into the woods towards Walter's log cabin.
"So there is a fox as well?" she inquired.
"A fox and a crow. There is a bond between the fox and the wolf like I have never seen before. He attacked the bear to protect her….at least I think it is a her. You really need to see it to believe it."
"Well they can't be partners, they are different species, there is no breeding between them"
"Who says they are breeding, maybe they just found a love that the world rejected"
Grace was surprised by this statement "How poetic of you, Walter, you've changed"
"A little bit, I have been trying to better myself. It is why I had to go away, with all the mistakes I had made."
"You were the only person who couldn't forgive themselves, Walter."
"Yeah, about that, we can talk over some coffee at my place after you see the wolf, you really are not going to believe this."
She recognized the subject change, but this time he was right. She needed to focus on the task ahead and to give this wolf all her attention. The past would have to wait for another day, it just frustrated her that it had been waiting for another day for years now.