Walter was up before sunrise preparing some food for himself and Grace who arose to the smell of eggs with meat. It was nice and she also detected a hint of coffee in the air. Sleeping in her clothes felt uncivilized, but there was no other choice in this situation for her as she rose from the bed, straightened her shirt and greeted Walter.
"Good morning, that smells incredible. I am going out to check on our guests to see how they are doing."
"Sounds good, the lantern is down by the door where I slept"
Boots, jacket, lantern, and her bag, she was ready so she went out, lit the lantern and made her way into the shed to check on the injured wolf. As she went in it was quiet and she watched the fox's head pop out from under the sleeping wolf, it was very cute. The fox scampered off into the corner as she approached the wolf to check on him.
She hung the lantern to provide the best light and began to examine the wolf. His wounds were healing nicely, and he was sleeping deeply without problems.She took out her stethoscope and gave his insides and examination as well. All seemed good and as she was putting her tools away the fox slowly crept out of the darkness to her.
"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid" Nibelski told herself as she slowly presented herself to this nice human.
Grace was taken aback by this and knelt down to make herself small and welcoming. "Hello, I am Grace. Your friend is going to be ok, he just needs time to heal. I am going to add some direct fluids to his diet…ok?" Grace had been close to many wild animals, but this was so amazing to her, foxes were a rare sight and she now had one approaching her. She reached out her open hand and extended her fingers to show they were empty. The fox was close enough and began to smell them.
"It smells like Garius" Nibelski thought. This one will save Garius. She wanted to say thank you.
The fox licked her finger briefly and then went back to hide in the corner. Grace was in awe, the fox had accepted her and she was overjoyed. "Thank you" she called out to the fox as she took a fluid IV packet from her bag and hung it from the ceiling, then she checked the wolf to decide where to insert the needle. She found a good place on his uninjured leg with some fur missing so she inserted it there and tapped it off attaching it to the hose on the IV bag. She checked it and it was working fine as the fox came out from hiding again curious what was happening. Grace looked at her then pointed to the IV "this will help, don't pull it".
The fox leapt up onto the bed and sniffed the tube then licked the inserted needle. She then crawled back under the wolf with just her head peering out at Grace. The fox was so beautiful and gentle in her mannerisms and grace just sat there for a moment admiring what these two shared, then she took her lantern, told the fox "take care of him" and made her way out of the shed.
The creak of the door woke Augustus who looked around in the darkened silence yet saw nothing. He hopped over to the bed and leapt up to the edge of it and examined this new thing running from the roof to Garius. He was about to pick at it when he heard Nibelski call out "Do not touch that. I don't understand humans, but I am very sure that is to help Garius. Leave it alone."
Augustus just whimpered, his curiosity would have to wait, but he was sure if he could pick it apart he could figure out what makes it work and maybe even make it work better. He would have to let the humans have their magic for now, he had seen Nibelski get angry and he did not need to see it again. He listened to Garius breathing "how is he, Nibelski?"
"He is doing better, his breathing is deep, yet healing. There is no more drooling and his inside bloodflow is now sounding healthy." She smiled at the thought of running with him again.
"He is strong, always has been. He was hurt once before, I would visit him. He recovered quickly and his pack thought it was a miracaw. They thought I was a spirit coming to take him away, they did not like me for a while…caw." He paused to remember the moment as the memory of it played before his eyes. "Garius recovered and set them straight, told them caw was his friend and my family was pack family. CAW. Proud moment for me."
"Has he always been that way? A softie?"
"Caw, not a softie. Strongest wolf I know, very human." Augustus stopped, hearing sounds outside, once they vanished he continued. "Listen to his heart, how he comforts you and you rest. His heart is larger than other wolves, that is his soft part, but it is strong. Soft wolf can not lead pack, caw, but he is wise, caw, hides it well."
She exposed a bit more of her head, her gaze off into the distance staring at nothing "He saved my life"
"Yes, you mean a great deal to him, caw"
"But how? Why? He has not known me for long."
"Caw, does it matter? He is wise, he did not caw, chase you off, he took you back to his pack, risked everything because he saw something in you"
"But what? I am no better than any other animal out here" she offered, thinking about her interactions with Garius.
"This I do not know, caw, what I do no is that he has great wisdom that he holds within, he has a love he holds within"
"Love? What is that?" She was curious now.
"It is a human word that I learned, people attach great joy and great pain to it"
"Like the joy I feel around him? Like the pain I caused him running off to fish?"
"Caw, not your fault, he knows this, why don't you? Bad things happen, always will, caw. How you decide to treat yourself after is the real meaning of everything. Caw, I have hundreds of family members, they always take me back in, no matter how many bad things happen, but to be alone and have bad things happen is not good. It poisons the spirit and leads to death.CAW! Not good to be alone."
She worked her way back under his fur and comfort "I don't want to be alone anymore"
"Caw, good, Garius should not be alone either. You are his friend, stay with him."
"What if he does not want to stay with me? I am a fox after all"
"Caw caw, You do not worry, you leave that to me. I am his friend, but i can not give him what you can."
"What is that that you can not give?"
Augustus sat in a long silence and considered telling her, but he still needed to find that owl and have a talk. "Caw I must leave soon for a few days, I will return" and with that he flew up to the exit in the roof "take care of our friend". As the sun broke across the land and streams of light reached the shed Augustus was gone into the morning sky.
She buried herself deeply into his fur and fell into a deep sleep of better days and nice dreams. Garius was more to her than she had realized and she no longer wanted to find the home she lost, she wanted to embrace the one she found.
Walter handed Grace her breakfast as she entered and they sat at his small table with the hot coffee pot within reach to complement their meal. "How is the wolf doing?" he asked her.
"It's a miracle he is recovering so fast. It is almost like he has entered a state of hibernation that empowers a hyper state of accelerated healing."
"So, that is good?" Walter was confused.
"Beyond good, his ancestry must be very strong, very pure. There is a body of microscopic research being done in France right now and the results are staggering. This wolf is a very strong breed…and the fox. She is a fox, but wolf-like at times. In the shadows you could confuse her for a young wolf. She licked my hand!!" a huge smile broke on her face.
"Are you serious, Grace?" Walter was impressed as he knew how much wildlife feared human interaction.
"Very serious, she crept out of the shadows and I reached out to her to show my hands were empty. She sniffed them, then she licked my finger. It almost felt like she was grateful for the help I was providing. It was so beautiful, thank you again for bringing me here"
"Now you know why I wanted that photo box of yours"
"Oh, I forgot, we should take a few photos today of them together…no one is going to believe this"
"Good, but let's not spread this information around. We need to keep this between us, that wolf needs healing time and I don't want people to think their relationship is a side show."
"I agree, but the developer will have to know."
"I have money to shut him up, plus I have my rifle, I will have a talk with him."
"ok , just be nice, no mean Walter"
"I'll try. We must let love be love no matter how wild it is"
Grace looked at him "You talking about the wolf, Walter?"
"Well, yes, what else would I be talking about? That wolf attacked a bear for her, if that isn't love then I don't know what is."
"They could just be very close friends, Walter. I told you they can not mate."
"I know what you told me and what your learning books told me, but out here in nature things make their own rules."
She thought about this and turned her attention back to her plate, "These eggs are really good" she dug in and worked on finishing her food and drinking her coffee, yet Walters words kept returning to her "make their own rules", superstitions can be fun, but she knew science would win in the end, but she decided to let him keep his hopes.
Augustus knew the path before him and which way to fly, everything was mapped in his brain as he made his way up the side of the large mountain before him stopping every one in a while to grab some food, water, or just to sit on a tree top and get his bearings correct. There were so many things here he found familiar as his family followed the wolf pack on their journeys together across this vast wilderness.
He reached a spot where they weathered a terrible storm once, Garius had found them a large cave in the side of the mountain and it was the only time when the crows and the wolves camped together. It was stressful at first, but, as always, Garius laid the ground rules and no one dared to violate them. The cave provided water, but not much else in the form of food. Three days living among hungry wolves was not fun and it was here that his family had to place great trust in him and his word. He wasn't always the helpful bird he was today, one time in his past he had spent the years only thinking of himself and what he could get. When he decided to return to the old way of life he was fortunate enough to find his family again and they took him without question. He was family and he belonged, it was a good feeling, and so he decided to stay and learn.
It was shortly after this he met Garius and began chatting with him as Augustus seemed to lack the sense to stay away from dangerous creatures and he enjoyed good conversation. Garius in his kindness spent his days listening to the crows stories before he realized they could work together to support each other. The crows could be their eye in the sky and scout things the wolves could not see, in return the wolves knew what was approaching and from where. They could get a report of where other herds were hiding weak targets and they could feed on them, always leaving enough to feed the crows afterwards. Using this process both sides grew strong, and both leaders were very respected by their families. Augustus felt that he should thank Garius next time he could, Garius was a good friend to him.
Flying further he now veered across the mountain to a large valley that was split on one side, in the middle of the valley was the dead forest. Dead trees as far as the eye could see and home for many owl families. He landed down into the dead silence, just a lone crow sitting amongst hundreds of dead trees, dead trees that make perfect homes for owls. He filled his lungs and called out "Ahaz!!!" as the call rang out across the dead wood and fell on the ears of many of the owls sleeping there. One awoke and climbed out of his tree