Atrox

Page 5

When I wake next I'm still nice and warm but I open my eyes and the awareness of my body say I've shifted in my sleep. That's not unusual especially since it's winter. I was probably getting cold so I shifted in my sleep. How I was cold I didn't know because I was tucked tightly against a very warm, a very huge, body. He'd shifted as well. When I curled tight I would get small. Small enough that his huge body curled all the way around me. His nose was near his back feet. His tail was up and over his nose, laid over my with the fluffy end over my nose. Was he warm enough. I was, most definitely. I see his eye, not far from my face crack open. It closes and he doesn't move an inch.

'Are you warm enough?' He asks me mentally.

'I'm warm and comfy, completely. What about you, are you okay? It's cold isn't it?" He tipped his head so it rest against me easier.

'No, while you were asleep I rebuilt the extra wood into a barrier between us and the entry. With the fire going the barrier up and blankets curled around us, I'm nice and warm. Are you comfortable. I sort of just curled you up when I laid around you.'

'Oh, yeah I'm nice and comfy. For a guy with such hard muscles you are super soft to lay against. Is the storm still going?' I ask and tip my head, cocking my ears. 'Yeah I can still hear it. That's a good excuse to snuggle and sleep some more.' I wiggle just enough so my head was closer to his. I curl up, his body around me, tail over me, and just sink right back into sleep.

The next I wake I'm still furry. My first thought, was, wait the fire went out then I realize that both blankets were over me and blocking out all the light. Where was Charlie? Hmm, should I go back to calling him Charles. No, I wanted to think of him still as my Charlie. Uncurling I wiggle to find the edge of the blanket but am having no luck when I hear laughter and one side lifts up. Charlie peaks in.

"You look like a puppy lost under a rug." If I'd been human I'd have laughed but as a wolf I snort. I wiggle to the edge and shift back to human, just my head sticking out of the blankets curled around me. He was completely dressed again.

"What time is it?" I ask.

"About seven pm. I've got some nicely cooked goat with a side of really cold cave stream water?" He holds up the canteen. Must have found that in the plane stuff. "Either thing sound good?"

"Both actually. Know where my clothes ended up?"

"They are under the blankets with you. That way you aren't sliding into ice cubes."

"Thanks. I'll be back." He hands me his flashlight while chuckling. After shimmying around and getting everything back on I pull the blanket back and sit just with it around my shoulders. He holds out a hunk of cooked goat and sits the canteen close to me.

"I have some good news." He says, I raise an eyebrow. From the other side of him he lifts a satellite phone. I gasp hard.

"Where did you find that?"

"Wrapped in some gauze and rags in the bottom of the emergency first aid kit. I was sorting through and repacking so we could carry it easier while hiking down this mountain. The storm is disrupting the signal but when it stops I can call the emergency line and get us rescued. They can triangulate the sat phones location. We'll be out of here a few hours after that." I nod.

"Wow. I um, I'm not sure what to say. It's great." But there's a part of me that wanted to stay here with him for a little while longer. "We get home I'm buying us both hot coffee and big steaks. While goat is okay I'm not really going to miss it." He laughs with me.

"You spring for the steaks and coffee. I'll spring for some scotch as a night cap." I eat my food while watching him. I can't ignore the need to question him so I clear my throat after a swallow of water. He looks over at me.