For Walter and Grace the wolf's recovery has been nothing short of amazing. Grace had wondered if all wolves were this strong possessing an ability to heal so quickly. She knew it would still take months, but she saw such determination with this wolf, like a stubborn human who refused to give up. It was like Walter before he ran to the woods to be alone, he was still stubborn, just not in a constructive way. She really enjoyed the time they had together, but she had to return to her business and keep things running as many people depended on her. Animal doctors were few and she had proven herself as reliable to the locals. Winter brought its own set of challenges and she notified everyone that she would be taking her weekends off for winter. She wanted that time to study a bit more and to visit Walter and the animals and hopefully earn more trust and get closer to that beautiful fox.
Walter kept himself busy preparing for winter which meant tightening up his shed and his home to keep the winds out. He did his best not to bother his guests, working quickly to keep them at ease. He made sure to keep their supplies up so that they lacked nothing as he wanted to give them the time they needed before moving on. He hoped they would stay the winter at least as he enjoyed the company, yet he knew once that wolf was feeling well enough that he would be on his way with his friend. It felt good having them around, it felt even better being there for them when they needed help. He did some extra hunting so that his meat supplies would be high for him and his new guests. He was busier now and he enjoyed coming home to see his guests still there, it gave him a purpose he had been lacking.
Today Garius would start trying to walk again, slowly pulling himself up and stepping out of the bed of straw he spent so much time in. He made his way around the small shed without falling this time and Nibelski carefully watched his legs and followed him. If one leg seemed weaker than the others she would point it out so that he could focus on working on that leg. She complained about his sagging tail, yet he was not worried. "Legs first, then we work on the other areas," he told himself, "I must strengthen these legs more". He decided to work until exhaustion and improve his strength once he could walk better. Walking was a chore, but he missed running, he missed being strong. No, he would not bow to defeat, he was raised better than that. He vowed to himself to be even stronger than before. Now he had help, now he had a friend. Nibelski was an inspiration to him.
It was evening before Augustus reached the pack and he was exhausted from flying his fastest all day. No food stops, only one water break, and he could see Werson on the plains in the distance. He began to call out "Caw, caw, caw caw!"
Werson looked up and recognized him as the crow who left with Garius, the crow who would hang around from time to time. He walked forward to greet him as he landed on a small tree on the side of the path.
"Caw, Garius sends greetings"
"Wait! You can speak our language?"
"Why does this surprise everyone?" Augustus replied to him. "Yes, I speak, Garius is injured and can not return until after the snow."
"Garius is hurt? How bad? Where is he? I will send wolves to help."
"Caw, he is doing well, maybe too well. He attacked a bear and lived, the bear died. He now has ordered humans to tend to him and they are." It was only a little lie with great truths found within. Augustus was pleased with his answer.
"WHAT!? A bear? My king is stronger than I realized. Now humans help him. He is a legend among wolves."
"Cawrect, the fox stays with him and serves. He has discovered that the earth will not run away from us." August knew he stretched the truth and that Garius would not be pleased, but he felt the need for the wolves to keep their fear and respect while Garius was away. "He wants the pack to move to the lake cave and spend the winter there, he will rejoin you as soon as he can. He says the cave can soften frozen meat."
"He is correct, we spent time there once before. It was a good spot for food and water. Thank you crow for delivering this message. Does Garius need anything from us?"
"Caw, no, he has enough, and the fox helps him."
"So she lives as well, I hope she does not burden him"
"No, she has been a blessing to him. Without her he would not be as well, caw, she is good"
"I am glad to hear he has someone then. I will go to the others so we can prepare for our journey, what of you crow?"
"Caw, my kind need to leave before the cold buries this land. We have a place we will fly to that will be warmer for us. We shall fatten a bit on the meat you have killed, then be on our way."
"You are welcome to it, thank you for your message, I wish you well on your journey" Werson bowed to Augustus.
"May your journey fare well" and Augustus flew off to find his murder and get some rest for the night. Tomorrow would be a busy day.
Garius looked out at the setting sun, it felt good to be outside and walking if even for a little bit. Nibelski joined him at his side as the winds blew through their fur reminding them they were still alive. Garius watched as patterns moved through her thickening fur, "The cold will soon be upon us. Our fur thickens and will soon be as white as snow."
She looked at his large body and how thick his fur was becoming, he was a very warm place to sleep, maybe too warm soon. "We shall be ready and the humans have been kind to give us shelter and food. We owe them a debt."
"We all live in each other's debt in this life, it is not always possible to repay. We can repay them by living this life to its fullest, it is our lives they saved." He looked over her fur again "You are strong, I look forward to strengthening myself again when the cold arrives. With the human's help I shall run again."
"I will work with you and learn the ways of the wolf, where do we start?"
"Well first I must get my stride back, full strength in my legs and back. Next we shall play childhood games, chasing, finding mice, catching mice, along with jumping and other childish things. We do these things when we are young not understanding how they strengthen us for the future. You will learn to have fun and I will teach you wolf prowess so that you may win your battles."
"Yet my body is smaller, it does not compare to yours." She stated with concern in her voice.
"Size will not matter when I am done teaching you. You are strong, agile, a quick thinker, and you forget how you punished those wolves who gave chase. It amused me to watch you."
"Amused you? I was running for my life."
"I know, I also could see how you handled yourself. It was impressive and one howl from me stopped the chase immediately. You will do well, I have trained many wolves and I hope to learn something from teaching you"
"What can you possibly learn from me? Everywhere we go you know everything."
Garius replied, "It is not good to stay as a teacher, one must remain a student as well. I have trained many, yet every time I notice different strengths within that I help them develop and I commit those things to memory as well. So while others see themselves as weak in comparison they do not know that I learn more while I am teaching. That is my secret, now you know."
She rubbed her head on his side enjoying his warmth. "I am looking forward to be the student then, let us go inside for some rest, you have had a busy day and tomorrow will come soon enough."
They turned and went inside the she as Walter watched from his window. They were beautiful creatures and he hoped they would stay the full winter with him as it was nice to have some company. Grace would visit because of them as well, something he now welcomed more in his heart. He took his meat scrap from dinner with his water jug and went out to the shed to make sure his guests had enough after their busy day. Seeing the wolf walk around was a very good sign to Walter that his health was greatly improving.
He gently peeked in the shed to see them moving around the bed as if to lie down then they both turned when they saw him. The wolf made a small noise and they both bowed their heads which shocked Walter, he did not know wolf behaviour. He realized he did not know anything watching a crow, fox, and wolf act like friends. Nature always had its surprises. "Hi" he nervously said as he slowly stepped into the room to place the food items for them. "Goodnight" he waved as he stepped out closing the door almost completely.
They were starting to trust him, something Walter enjoyed immensely. He loved nature and all living things, except mosquitoes or flies, and here he was in the middle of something amazing. The wolf whose life he saved, the fox whose life the wolf saved, and the crow who would not shut up. He knew the crows could be taught to speak, but this crow said a lot and he wondered if there was even more in its caws that he did not understand. He went inside to turn in for the night and as he lay down the thought came to him "I have a wolf living with me….and a fox." His dreams would be pleasant that night.
"I think the human understands when we lower our heads, he appeared less scared and his blood did not race as much when we did it." Garius told Nibelski.
"I sensed that too, we will use it more around him so he knows that we accept him." she said as she climbed underneath his warm fur. "As our fur thickens I don't know if I will be able to enjoy your comfort for the cold season, but I will try."
He wrapped himself around her, he felt her warmth. It was a comfort and in a way he felt younger being with her, as if he had a great calling to fulfill. "You are a comfort to me as well" he told her as she rubbed her nose on him. She had become important to him, more important than he had realized. She was more than a comfort, she was a close friend, she brought him peace that he had been missing. He too would have pleasant dreams that night.