The sound of birds chirping in the trees was the first thing I noticed. Along with sound came feeling...the feeling of being cold... tired...and in pain...
I didn't want to move I didn't want to open my eyes... I wanted the noise to go away, I wanted to be warm, and I wanted the pain in my leg to disappear.
As if my wishes were starting to come true the birds finally went silent. Something seemed to move against me, and I could feel something cold and wet pushing against my shoulder. I only groaned, too tired to shoo it away or speak up.
The nudging stopped for a moment before I was picked up off the ground. At this point, I was ready to voice a complaint or resist but once I was pulled against something soft and warm, I relaxed again.
Pain continued to flare in my leg as whatever held me, started to move, luckily it wasn't as intense as before. After a while, I managed to crack my eyes open.
Everything seemed fuzzy at first but I came to realize it wasn't just my vision, it was actual fur i was seeing.
I knew what it was, but I was too tired to care... Closing my eyes I continued to rest. Eventually, we stopped and I peeked my eyes open again to see we were back in the cave.
The beast set me down on the ground and curled up around me, keeping me warm. I didn't resist and simply continued to rest for a bit longer.
Eventually, I opened my eyes and started to wake up completely. The beast moved from its former position, and went to the cave entrance, away from me.
I watched it confused and it looked away as if ashamed. It was no longer bloodthirsty and trying to kill me...
Looking down at my leg I could see the dried blood and the wounds left behind by its claws. They weren't bad but it would definitely hurt to walk around on.
The creature continued to sulk at the entrance...could a creature like this even feel emotions like guilt?...
I sat there in deep thought...
I dont know what happened to it but that was not the same creature that I had been dealing with before. What suddenly changed? What caused it to lose control?
Looking up, I could see it hadn't moved from its spot, it was keeping its distance...did it truly feel guilty?
Getting to my feet, stepped towards it, and its ears twitched at the sound of my approaching footsteps.
I jumped a little as it shot up and twisted around to face me and growled. But its growl was quieter than before, with less malice.
Taking a moment I let my erratic heartbeat calm down and limped closer to the beast. I dont know why I suddenly thought this was a good idea, it had attempted to tear me apart the night before, not to mention the last time I tried to touch it before it went ballistic it nearly bit my hand.
As I got within a few feet of the creature, it started to step back, continuing to growl. It still had its boundaries. And only seemed to feel comfortable near me when I was asleep... As I looked into its eyes I could see the emotions swirling around in them.
This thing wasn't a monster...at least... Not like I thought it was... Whatever happend last night was unnatural... No animal or creature should act that way...
Even now as I push its boundaries it isn't attacking me like it did before... It didn't want to hurt me...
I could see it visibly relax as I stopped my approach. Maybe I was wrong...
I kneeled down, carefully avoiding my injured leg. And the beast watched me, this time it didn't move away and it kept its attention towards me. It laid down in front of me on its uninjured side And looked me over.
Its gaze lingered on my injured leg, and its ears pulled back. I can't seem to understand this creature...
Why go through the trouble of bringing me here? Why keep me in the cave after it just tried to kill me... Why did it seem like it's scared of me touching it?
"What do you want from me?..." The creature's eyes met mine and its ears twitched at my words. I could see some kind of conflict going on behind those golden eyes.
"Can you...understand me?..." It watched me for a moment before avoiding my gaze and looking at the ground. My heart skipped a beat as the truth started to sink in. "You can...cant you...your sentient."
It looked back up at me and I knew it was true... I couldn't believe what was happening... I thought that it might be smarter than your average animal...sorta like a dog but this...this was something I never expected...
My whole life the creature from my nightmares was nothing but a killing machine... But now I knew there was more to it than that. That thing could think...it could choose and decide... So why... Why did my home become a target of an attack... Why did they choose to kill my people...my father...
Deep down I felt like there had to be something more to these things...i knew that the attack on my village was not just random... That they weren't just some wild animals...my mind swirled with so many unanswered questions. I hugged my knees staring at the ground.
The more I learned, the more complicated these creatures got. Looking up at the beast I could see it was still watching me. Maybe I could get some kind of explanation from it...some answers to my never-ending questions... But first I needed its trust...
Carefully I stood up to my feet, doing my best to ignore the sharp pains in my leg. Taking a shaky breath I stepped closer to the beast. It let out a small growl of warning and I watched as its body tensed. Despite the fact it doesn't seem to want to hurt me, the creature was still quite intimidating.
I didn't want it to run, nor did I want it to attack me...closing my eyes I reached out towards the beast. It growled momentarily but quickly quieted down, as if unsure. I didn't move and only listened as it stood up.
I wanted to look, I wanted to know what it was going to do. But if I was going to gain its trust I needed to do something to make it understand I wasn't going to harm it.
A small gasp escaped my lips as warm breath fanned across my face. My hand brushed against fur and I knew it was standing before me. Swallowing a lump in my throat I reached out and touched it.
The creature tensed as my hand made contact with its coat and I could hear the slightest growl come from it. Moving my other hand up I ran my fingers through its coat up until I could feel a heartbeat.
I'm was strong and despite all the muscle and fur, it felt like it was in the palm of my hands. The mere thum of the heart was strong enough that even if it was shot through with a bullet, I had a feeling it would somehow keep on beating.
The sound and feel of the heartbeat calmed me for some reason, and I was able to relax. My own heartbeat seemed to react and was in sync with the beasts.
With my other hand, I reached up, tracing my fingers against the creature's neck. I could feel my fingertips brush up against the cold metal of the collar it wore, and I hesitated. It didn't seem right for the beast to have a collar...
I was brought out of my thoughts as a low rumble came from deep within its chest. Moving on my hand moved to the creature's face. Everything seemed to stand still and I held my breath, hesitant to touch it. Was I going too far? Should I just stop now?
My hand pulled away from its chest and I was ready to step back when it suddenly leaned into my touch. My eyes shot open as I looked at the creature before me.
Its golden eyes bore into me as it tilted its head into my open palm.
It closed its eyes before nuzzling closer, seeming to enjoy my touch. My stomach fluttered at the sight before me.
Before I knew it the beast laid on the ground and I followed it down, not once taking my hand away from its face. It rested its head in my lap and kept its eyes closed as it seemed to finally relax. I waited a moment before bringing my other hand to its head. And I started putting it.
I couldn't help but smile at how much it seemed to enjoy the simple action... I even went as far as rubbing its ears, and in turn, the wolf beast let out a huff of air and looked at me.
It looked tired... Glancing at the beast's shoulder and side, I could still see the deep claw marks. It got injured because it saved me from that bear, and my heart ached just at the thought of it.
I continued to pet the beast's head as it closed its eyes and slept...i was right...
This wasn't a monster...