Lupine Dreams----Chapter 2    Author:  Islador

She was sitting on a campstool looking at the giant wolf as it slept.  What the hell was this thing?  This wasn't just an oversized example of the breed; this thing had intelligence, a frightening amount of it as a matter of fact.  She was trying to come up with an explanation for what had happened over the past three hours, but nothing made any sense.  She finally discarded the notion that this was some sort of elaborate hallucination from some plant she might have accidentally eaten.  No, this was real.  There really was a giant wolf sleeping in front of her.

Then she remembered some twisted science fiction/horror novel by that Koontz guy about a genetically altered dog and a twisted mutant gorilla.  Was this thing an escaped government experiment?  Was that why it had been shot?  Maybe they tried to get rid of it but it had escaped before they could put it down and get rid of the evidence?  No way!  That crap only happened in books and movies.

This was REAL!  R-E-A-L REAL!!  It was lying right in front of her.  Then what?  Reincarnation?  That dopey professor in college said that many religious groups throughout the world accepted reincarnation, in one form or another.  But weren’t one of the things about reincarnation, the fact that the previous life was forgotten and the wheel of life turned again?  Or was she mixing religions?  She wished she had paid more attention in class, but that professor was creepy and she had never really wanted to know that much about religion.  The only reason she had taken the class was because someone had told her it would be an easy A.

	She finally decided she would have to find out more about this amazing animal before deciding what it was or might be.  Well, at least it wasn't going to eat her.  It was a good thing she had just emptied her bladder before stepping out of that bush, otherwise she would have pissed herself right then and there.  As for the other, HAH! She had seized up too tight for a fart.  Damn! This thing was HUGE!  It must weigh 250 pounds, at least, maybe more.  Its head was twice the size of hers and when it had been standing there it almost looked her straight in the eyes, and she was tall, 5' 10" without boots on.  The color of the fur was strange too.  At first she thought it was a solid steel gray, but the more she studied it, the more she noticed that there were several different shades of gray mixed in, and they shimmered as she shifted position.  No dog or wolf breed she ever read about had that kind of coloring.

	After watching the wolf sleep for an hour, she realized she hadn't had anything to eat yet.  As quietly as possible, she opened up her backpack and pulled out a food bar.  As she sat back down on her camp stool and started to open the package, the wolf opened one eye, looked at her, then closed it again and went back to sleep.  So, it doesn't trust me either, she thought.  Well, I can't blame it, really.  Looking at the wound in its side, it was obvious what had created it.  Nothing else tore up animal flesh like that but a high power rifle.  Somebody had shot this magnificent beast.  She didn't remember hearing any gun fire earlier, so it must have happened several miles away.  To think that this animal had walked that far with that horrendous wound in its side was simply hard to believe.  She suddenly realized what she had just said to herself and snorted, hard to believe!  This whole situation was hard to believe.

	She started chewing on the high-energy food bar and mulled over her options.  I can just sit here and wait for it to heal enough to leave, or try to sneak off while it’s asleep.  The last option didn't seem like a very smart one, especially if this thing's awareness was sharp enough to hear her open a food wrapper.  She didn't really want to think about what would happen if she made it angry.  No, she would just have to be patient and wait to see what this thing would do.  After finishing her food bar, she decided that perhaps this thing had the right idea, take a nap and decide later.  She slowly got up and moved to the tent and crawled inside.  Lying down on top of her sleeping bag, she stared up at the colors of the fabric and let her eyes lose their focus.  She slowly slipped off to sleep as she relaxed and let the stress drain from her body.

	When she opened her eyes again it was almost too dark to see.  Damn!  How long was I asleep?  She lifted her arm up over her head and looked at her watch.  5 o'clock! She had slept for almost 6 hours!  Well, I must have needed it if I slept that long.  She sat up and rubbed the crusties from her eyes and yawned.  Stretching out her arms, her neck and back popped several times from sleeping in the same position for that long.  She slid forward and pulled open the tent flap.  There it was, still lying there.  Nope, it hadn't been a dream.

She slid out of the tent and stood up, her joints popping in protest as she stretched some more.  This time the wolf opened it's eye, looked at her, then went right back to sleep.  She slowly approached the sleeping animal and examined the bandages.  Well, at least they stopped bleeding, she thought.  When she looked over to it's head, she noticed that it was looking at her.  It was simply watching her.  She really couldn't sense what it was thinking; it just lay there with a completely passive expression.  

"Are you hungry yet?"

This time it did shift and he raised his head and chuffed.  

"Is that your version of 'Yes'?"  

Smiling at her, he did it again and moved his head up and down.  

"Well, I guess it is.  Okay, then.  What would you like now?  Another food bar or some beef jerky?"

  Not expecting anything more than another huffing snort, she was completely unprepared for what she heard next.

	"HOEFFF HOEKHHH”

The last sounds were produced by what looked like the wolf was going to swallow it's own tongue and gag at the same time, then it spit it's tongue back out and then 'grinned' at her.  It's mouth was open and she could tell it had pulled it's cheeks back as far as they would go, showing every fang and sharp tooth in its huge maw.  She just froze for a second then started laughing.  Was it her imagination or did this monster just try to say 'beef jerky' with a mouth that was never designed for speech?  She stopped laughing, but the smile on her face didn't go away.

	The wolf simply looked at her then stopped grinning; trying to use those muscles like that was extremely uncomfortable for him.  He liked it that she smiled at him.  It gave him a warm feeling in his chest and a slight buzz in his head.
  
	"Okay, then.  I'll get you the beef jerky."

He chuffed his approval as she opened the bag and pulled a slice out.  He opened his mouth and stuck his tongue out for her to put it on.  She took one look at the gaping mouth full of razor sharp teeth and shuddered.  Then slowly reached out her hand and carefully placed the slice of salted beef on his tongue.  He waited for her hand to pull back before closing his mouth and chewing on the meat.  Once he swallowed that piece, he opened his mouth, waiting for her to do it again.  After she had fed him several slices of beef jerky like this, she stopped mid motion on the next slice. 

"Wait a minute!  Do you expect me to hand feed you like I'm some sort of servant?"

The indignation in her voice made her sound almost petulant.  The wolf closed his mouth, looked her right in the eye and started moving his head up and down.  Now it was her turn to open her mouth and gape like a fish.  He turned his head, nosed the bandage on his side then looked back at her as if to say, ‘See how helpless I am, now feed me.’  He opened his mouth again and stuck out his tongue.  She started laughing again, shaking her head and proceeded to feed her strange companion the rest of the beef jerky.  When it was all gone, he looked over at the empty water bowl and then looked back at her.

	"Jeez!  You sure are pushy!"

He grunted and nodded at her again, she started chuckling and moved to fill the bowl with water. 

"I hope you fully appreciate what I'm doing for you.  I don't normally wait on anyone, especially some oversized dog!"

  When she said that last sentence, she heard a rumble behind her.  She spun around to see if she had finally gone too far and was now about to be mauled to pieces.  When she made eye contact, he gave her a look of hurt, and then stuck his nose in the air and snorted.  She relaxed as it dawned on her that he was pouting.  Then she smiled at him and got his water.  

"I'm sorry.  I didn't mean to imply that you were a lowly dog." 

As she set the bowl of water in front of him, he pushed his muzzle in her face and licked the side of her face, from jaw line to her forehead in one long swipe.  She jerked back and started sputtering and wiping her face with the sleeve of her coat. 

"AWWW!!  Gross! Now I got wolf germs all over my face and you just got the last of the fresh water."

 She looked down at the wolf and she could swear he was laughing at her.  

"Alright funny guy!  You enjoy that while I go refill this jug."

He chuffed at her once more then proceeded to do just what she said.  He began to slurp up the water at a very fast rate.

	As she walked out of the camp with the empty jug in hand, she had a little spring in her step.  She was quite pleased that the wolf had shown some affection for her at last.  The wolf finished the last of the water in the bowl and watched her walk away, mesmerized by the swaying of her hips.  He could still taste her on his tongue.  She tasted GOOD!  Not food good, but friend good.  The sudden thought of ‘friend’ in his mind made him stop for a second.  It had been so long since he had had any friendly interaction with humans; he had almost forgotten what it was like.  He was so used to hiding from them and sneaking away whenever he sensed one nearby.

Now this female!!  OH!!  She was beautiful.  That long dark auburn hair that cascaded down her back; swayed as she walked.  Those long slender legs, and that butt!!  WHEW!!  He hadn't seen a butt like that in a long time.  He hadn't been able to tell how large her breasts were yet, that big fluffy coat hid those rather well.  He laid his head down and closed his eyes.  Flashes of distant memories and times cascaded through his mind.  However, every time he thought ‘friend’ the image of her slender face or that swaying backside would float up in his mind's eye.  Leaving him with a very warm feeling in his belly and chest.

	"What are you grinning about?"

He snapped his eye open and jerked his head up, looking right into her face, which was just inches away from his.  How had she entered the camp without his noticing it?  Was he slipping?  He thought about it for a second, and then realized, he did hear her enter the camp, and he had just let it happen because he now thought of her as a friend, not a potential threat.  The grin slowly returned to his face.  The woman watched the entire thought process work its way over the wolf's face, amused by the whole thing.

  It happened so fast she didn't even register the movement before she had a giant wet tongue in her face again.  He had already started licking the other side of her face before she was able to jerk back out of range and started cursing and sputtering again.  By the time she had wiped off the slobber, the wolf was sitting there with an even bigger grin on its face, looking quite content.  Then the look changed from contentment to something she hadn't seen yet.  The wolf rolled his tongue inside his mouth like he was savoring some juicy piece of meat, and an intense look of concentration came over him, like he was drinking in her image, one delicious drop at a time.  Then it hit her, she had seen that look before, but not on an animal’s face, but a man’s, a very horny man.  She didn't know what to think now.  She started to blush; a very bright red started creeping up her face, all the way to her forehead.

	"Stop looking at me like that!  I am NOT dinner!  So, stop it right now!" 

She stamped her foot and looked away from him, hiding her blushing face from the very intent looking wolf.  He was still savoring her taste on his tongue.  Sweet and salty at the same time.  He could taste the sweat from her pores, but underneath that was something else, something entirely female and that was VERY good!  The fading sunlight made his eye shine that special way that only canines have, but instead of yellow or green, his was red, blood red.  This gave him a decidedly evil countenance and when she looked over at him, and saw this, she shuddered and wrapped her arms tightly around her chest.  She was suddenly very nervous and concerned for her safety for the first time since this morning.  He sensed this immediately and started whimpering, trying to convey his sincere apology at making her afraid of him.  He lowered his head, setting his chin on the ground.  She understood what he was doing and relaxed, dropping her arms to her sides, but she still didn't approach him.
  
	"Why did you look at me like that?  Did I suddenly taste like food?"

He raised his head up off the ground far enough so that he could move it back and forth, indicating that he didn't think that. 

"Alright, then.  I'd appreciate it if you didn't do that again, okay?" 

He moved his head up and down this time and chuffed, letting her know that he did understand that she didn't like that.  With that understanding between them now, she walked closer to him, but stopped just outside what she thought his reach with that super long tongue of his could go.  She raised her hand towards his muzzle, and he gently licked the ends of her fingers.
  
"Apology accepted.  Let's both try to get some sleep now.  I know I'm drained and I can only imagine that you aren't feeling all that great either."

  She pulled her hand back from his tongue, which had not stopped licking the tips of her fingers the entire time she was talking.  It had started to feel really good there for a second, almost erotic.  She clamped down on those kinds of thoughts and turned towards her tent.  She heard a shuffling noise behind her and turned to see what he was doing now.  He had started to push and inch his way along the ground behind her, heading for the same thing, her tent.

	"Oh, no, you don't!  I may have forgiven you for giving me that awful look, but you are NOT sleeping in my tent tonight."

His face just sagged when she said this; he looked so hurt by her tone and flat denial.  He lowered his head and whimpered, looking up at her, begging her to give him the chance to make up for it.  She felt really bad about talking to him that way, the guilt coming on strong.  What am I doing?  Why am I even thinking that I would let this monstrosity into the same tent with me?  It wasn't that big of a tent to start with and if she let him inside, it would barely fit the two of them.  But the totally pathetic and hurt expression on his face was too much for her soft heart.  

"Oh, all right.  You can lay down next to me if you want."

 He shot to his feet and walked right into the tent, walked around in a circle three times and then laid down with his nose sticking out the tent flap.  She could hear his tail thumping against the ground with a dull thud each time it hit.  

"OH!  You faker!  You sneaky RAT!"

  She stood there with her fists on her hips, tapping her foot on the ground rapidly.  He just inched his head out the tent flap far enough to make eye contact and then grinned up at her.  Giving him back one of his characteristic chuffs, she shook her head and proceeded to try and squeeze into the, now, very cramped tent.

	"Scoot over so I can at least get into my sleeping bag."

He rose up far enough for her to slide the edge of the bag out from under his belly and then he flopped back down and settled in.  She opened it up and then sat down and started taking off her boots.  When she had removed them both and set them at the entrance of the tent, he sniffed in their direction and then turned to look at her and he wrinkled his nose, and snorted.

"Oh, Shut up!  My feet don't stink that bad.  If you can't stand it, maybe you should go back outside and sleep."

  At this last comment, he whipped his head back around and put his nose out the tent flap, resting his head between his outstretched paws. 

"That's what I thought!  Now, go to sleep." 

She was grinning at him, even though he couldn't see it, she knew he could tell.

	Laying her head down on her tiny pillow, she began to replay their interactions in her mind.  The biggest question that still bugged her was; what is he?  There is no way this is some mutant wolf with the intelligence, and wit! She couldn't forget the humor this animal had shown her.  There were times when she completely forgot that she was talking to a wolf.  She was still trying to figure out what to think about this animal when she drifted off to sleep.