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Joh didn’t always know what he wanted, but he knew exactly what he didn’t. He didn’t want to let the human female steal his human away from him. He didn’t want to allow them off the mountain.
But… he didn’t want to further experience what was happening. Chris’ scent was fading night by night. He didn’t want to witness that. He couldn’t stand to witness it further.
For as much as he hated to admit it, the human female was right. Chris wasn’t getting better, and if Josh wanted his human to get better then he’d have to allow her to leave with Chris, no matter how much it hurt.
He separated himself from the pack for days afterwards. He’d screamed in pain up at the moon and stars, asking the spirits why they’d allowed this to happen. His sisters brushed back his hair, and laid with him, humming human songs in pitiful attempts to comfort him with human purrs.
“Where one goes, the other is sure to follow.” They whispered to him as he watched the gossamer beauty of butterfly wings twinkling in the darkness of the moonlit sky.
He took comfort in their human words. He knew them, understood them. Chris would come back to him, one way or another. Either Chris would come back for Josh; or Josh would go to Chris. Either way, they were tied together.
When Josh finally returned to the pack, he discovered that he wasn’t the only ones reeling from Chris’ absence. The other pack members missed him too.
They were angry that Josh had allowed Chris to leave. The one Chris had named ‘Gollum’ was particularly upset at him, whining over and over again about when Chris would return. Where was Chris? When would Chris be back? Was Chris off hunting? He wasn’t ready to hunt by himself yet!
Josh lasted only a few nights before he snarled at ‘Gollum’, hissing for the other to be quiet.
It was a small mercy that none challenged him, or his choices; but he supposed minor victories were still victories.
Although, since he’d allowed Chris and the female to leave, more and more humans had been coming to the mountain. That was nice.
What wasn’t nice was the fact that they only came during the day, and thus far, had refused to follow the trails that Josh left behind. They didn’t seem to be interested in the ‘footballs’. They smelled strange as well.
At their scent, the others had cringed and screamed for him.
‘Fire makers are here.’ They hissed and even Josh could understand the fear when they spoke. Fire was dangerous. Fire was one of the few things that they needed to fear, and the fear of it was set deep in their bones and souls… if they had any.
The only one who could have brought them was the female. Chris would never do such a thing. He understood that the female had brought these fire makers just as well as he understood the spirits of the mountain and the needs of his pack.
By letting her go – by letting Chris go – he’d condemned his pack and himself. One fire maker had nearly torn the pack apart. Josh didn’t even want to imagine what a pack of fire makers could do.
But, humans were dumb, even in packs. And Josh was stronger than them, faster and quieter too. He was smarter as well, and his senses were better. If these fire makers wanted to play on his turf, then he’d play.
He’d collect their heads to present to Chris when he came back – because Chris would return – and feast on their bones.
This was Josh’s turf, and he had home field advantage.
When Chris came back, it’d be to a bloody mine, water contaminated with their blood and screams, and Chris would stay with him. Chris would stay in the caves and mines. Chris would stay with Josh, and stay with the pack. Chris would hunt with them and share in the knowledge that they were pack and they were together.
And when the human female would come to drag Chris away again – because he was certain that she would – well… Well, when she came, Josh would rip her pretty little head off and present it to Chris. He’d feast on her body, and give her heart – now his as the kill, and all things in the kill, belonged to him – to Chris as a gift. And Chris would accept it as he had any other gift of meat.
But first…. First Josh had to deal with these fire makers.