Chapter Text
'Stupid laws of nature!'
'I've been running as fast as I can, but that darn wolf is still dogging me. He should have tired out hours ago! And why is he alone anyway? Wolves hunt in packs, and they go after bigger things like elk, not little rabbits like me. He must be super desperate. And out here in the open, the ground frozen, there aren't any bushes or holes for me to hide in. Besides, when I last tried that he got a good bite in on my back leg after he dug in after me, so the trail of blood would lead him to me no matter where I got to. Dang, that hurts.'
'I'm stumbling over my own feet now, and the crazy wolf is getting closer. I'm dead, I'm dead, I am SO dead! My numb legs won't move anymore. I don't want to just cower here waiting for death, but I can't move anymore. Freaking heck, he's terrifying; he's just walking now, licking my blood off his chops, intensity and pride just radiating off of him, and it's somehow even scarier than when he was running. But no way am I gonna give up and look away from him! There's always at least some chance of getting away, and I have to be aware to see it.'
Trying to look less terrified than I felt, I stared the beast down as he came up to me. He just stood over me for a moment, lording over his catch, before finally bending down towards me. 'Here it comes!' ...But nothing happened. Opening my eyes, I saw the brute laying down beside me to the right, staring straight ahead. He wasn't doing anything else, just staring at the open expanse ahead of us. 'What in the world is going on? Is he just toying with me? Did he forget how to eat?' were thoughts that swirled through my confused mind.
OH MY GOSH!!! I cowered away as he suddenly glared down at me, golden eyes flashing; I couldn't help it. I quickly peeked out from my right eye to see if his bloodied jaws were finally closing in on me, but all he was doing was glaring at me. 'What did I do? Of course I'd run if you tried to kill me, don't blame me for the long chase!' I glared right back at him. And heard a snort of laughter.
Whipping my head around, I saw mirth in those golden eyes which went back to staring straight ahead. 'What is wrong with this wolf?' I thought as I tilted my head sideways. 'Is he going to eat me or not?'
All the giant beast did was close his eyes, a look of remorse crossing his features. 'What. The. Heck?'
When he finally opened his eyes, he turned his gaze skyward and looked...determined? Something like that anyway. He then ducked his head again, and after a few seconds he opened his eyes and smiled at me. It wasn't a predatory smile, wasn't victorious, but was apologetic and hopeful. 'Did that mean I wasn't going to be dinner? I'd think I was dreaming if my leg didn't hurt so much.'
I flinched when he lowered his head to the ground in front of me. After that, all he did was sit there and stare at me, except when I tried to back away and he growled threateningly at me. As my fear slowly wore off, curiosity came to the fore. I was this close to a wolf and not being eaten, so why not explore him a bit. Keeping my eyes on him, I slowly moved towards his side. His fur wasn't very soft; in fact, not much at all on him was soft. He was all bones and muscle, teeth and claws. His long tail was interesting though. I only had a small nubby little ball of fluff, but he had a long, moving tail. I played with it a little before finally getting up the courage to get close to those sharp teeth.
I crept towards the wolf's face, our eyes locked as I touched his surprisingly wet, cold nose. 'Why was it wet?' I thought about that as I reached up to touch his ears; they weren't as sharp as I thought they would be with how pointy they looked. The wolf remained absolutely still as I explored his face, not even flinching when me wounded leg got right in front of his snout. Granted, it had pretty much stopped bleeding, but still. 'Maybe he's a vegetarian?'
After I finished my explorations, I backed away and got back into my spot, and we resumed the staring match. At least, we did for about ten seconds before the stress and exhaustion of the day caught up to me and I yawned. Before I knew it I was asleep.
When I woke up, I was surrounded by darkness and warmth. Panicking, I tried to move, but my injured leg was stiff and I ended up falling on my face. Looking behind me, all I could see were two yellow eyes. I froze, and before I could move the wolf pulled me back to his side, curling up around me after he had me settled.
'This was one weird wolf.'