The Crescent

Chapter 38, The Human Colony

Chapter 38

The boy was staring at me, his face not telling me he was afraid yet as I held my head down low, trying to look smaller than I was, I was bigger than this kid after all.

The boy slowly pulled his arm up from his side, his finger now pointing at me.

‘Doggy’

I didn’t understand why this boy wasn’t afraid, he was too curious for his own safety.  It wasn’t everyday a huge wolf was standing before you, blood probably stained on my lips.

The weird jumpsuit setup the boy had going on made it harder for him as he now took a step forward, coming closer as I stood there in awe, amazed at this kid’s courage.

He let his arm fall to his side, as he slowly pulled himself over a small branch, his form stopping maybe two metres from me, his eyes now looking up at my sheer size.

‘You’re pretty doggy’

Honestly, I was fascinated by this buy, I had never seen a small human child up close and they were so interesting, they seemed almost identical to the way wolf children acted.

Taking a small step forward, I didn’t want to scare the child, one of our most respected laws was not to harm humans and that was just one of the many reasons why my father had hated me so much.

The boy matched my step with another of his own, his arm now reaching out as he tried to touch my head; his body trying its best not to get too close like his instinct knew I was danger.

Reaching my head forward, I had it low enough that the boy could pet between my ears and that was exactly what he did as he was close enough.

Technically I was breaking our laws by letting this human see me so freely but I was so damn fascinated, it was stupid we weren’t around humans often.

His hand making an almost slapping motion as the boy attempted to apt me, I sucked in a breath of his scent, the smell still seeming very foreign to me as I gave him a gentle nudge; a small giggle escaping his lips.

‘Bad doggy, stay’

Tapping me on the head, like I was going to stay, the boy began running in the opposite direction as I registered the sound of footsteps, knowing I needed to leave.

‘Mummy; there’s a doggy, look, look’!

Pointing at me, I knew if the parents saw me they’d freak, so I decided it was best to duck off further into the trees away from the water as I stayed close enough to see what would happen.

The kid was practically dragging his parents up the small hills, his enthusiasm making me feel all warm inside until he got close to where I was, now running forward.

‘Look Mummy, see, it’s a doggy’!

Now looking to where I’d been, the kid’s face immediately showed how hurt he was.  His Mother looked around, scanning the forest, seeming a lot more alert than her child had been as she tapped his shoulder.

‘It probably ran off sweetie, let’s go back to the campsite you can tell Daddy all about the doggy you saw’.

The kid’s eyes began to welt up as he started crying, his face looking so sad, I just wanted to go back there and prove he was right but I knew his Mother wouldn’t react quite the same way he had.

‘It was here Mummy, you scared it away’.

The boy’s crying didn’t cease as the Mother picked him up, her arms now cradling him against her chest as she headed back the way she’d come.