How I Met my Kidnap-I Mean Your Father

::24:: Wolf Pup

               Sorry it's such a short chapter, but I haven't been able to post for a while and I feel bad that everyone's waiting for it. So even though it's short hopefully no one will complain because then I'll feel worse XD 

              -Mooneh (Alexandria)

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               My hand trembled slightly as Tyson and I peered into the blackness that surrounded us on all sides. The forest was pitch dark around the clearing that we had stopped in because the moon could not touch the ground with all of the tree branches in its way. We were pretty much blind, and that was not a very comfortable situation to be in when you’re already lost in some forest in the middle of nowhere with only swimsuits on. Definitely not my idea of some kind of a weird twisted vacation.

                Tyson was fixed on the area where all the sound of snapping twigs was coming from. And the muscles in his arm were tensed as if he would be able to fight off whatever animal was making the noise. Which, I hate to be negative, he probably couldn’t do. Especially if the noise was being made by a large carnivorous bear, who was already feeling rather agitated today. He wouldn’t be able to fend something like that off with his bare hands, not in a million years.

                Suddenly, a small leafy green fern began shaking back and forth just before the animal decided to come out. My eyes began focusing in, and my hands gripped a little bit tighter as I got myself prepared for whatever I was about to see.

                A small gray wolf pup poked its nose out into our clearing, curiously looking for the animals that were making such a noise. It sniffed curiously and wobbled into the clearing. I squinted my eyes to get a better look at the pup because I had never seen a wolf cub out in the wild before. Its big golden eyes peered at me curiously, and came forward to sniff my leg, but when I knelt down to pet him he whimpered and backed away.

                “Alli, I’m not so sure that is such a good idea…” Tyson trailed off warningly.

                “Oh hush, if you mean that her pack they probably won’t come to get her,” I said whispering calmly in order not to scare the pup as it slowly inched its way closer to me. “She’s injured, and probably from being chased out for something. I’m surprise that she made it away with some more serious damage.”

                It was true. The pup had some bite marks around her neck and along her side. Some parts of her fur was getting matted thick and crusty from the blood that leaked out from the wounds. She sniffed my hand and I gently reached out to pet an unscratched part of her fur, but she flinched away.

                “What if that thing has rabies or something?” Tyson questioned, sounding more and more weary of the small creature.

                “Well then I guess that’s a risk that I am willing to take,” I said stubbornly. He wouldn’t be able to change my mind when it came to something like this. I love animals. Of course I’d take whatever chance that I had to pet a wolf pup. I would be against every cell in my body to try and not pet the little pup. “Come here girl.” I cooed gently. Slowly the pup approached me and allowed for me to touch her.

                “See? Animals love me, even the ones that can grow up to tear me to pieces.” I turned around to grin at Tyson, and he was just sitting there staring at me with an unknown look on his face. My heart throbbed, and I felt blood rush to my face as I looked away.

                “Yeah, you seem to have that strange power to attract dangerous things,” He said jokingly as he stood up, “but I don’t really mind all that much. That strange quality of yours is probably reason that I got to meet you.” Tyson turned around and gave me that unknown look again.

                “Would you stop that?” I blurted out, unable to take the feeling that was building in my stomach. I hadn’t quite hit the realization that I was alone with Tyson, and now I seemed overly aware. Resisting the urge to look away after my strange outburst I stared at him evenly, willing myself to keep a composed face.

                He looked at me startled, “Doing what?”

                “Looking at me with that face.” I said beginning to feel embarrassed.

                “Sorry, this is the only one I have. I left my other one at home.” He said with a sarcastic eyebrow raised.

I shook my head at him unable to fight off the grin that made its way onto my face, “You know what I mean. Don’t be a smart ass.” The wolf pup crawled into my lap and curled up. I couldn’t hold back the ‘awww’ that came out of my mouth. She was too cute. I felt bad though; the only reason that she seemed to trust me was either because her pack hadn’t kept her long enough to teach her, or this was the first gesture of affection that this cub had ever been exposed to.

“I thought that they would have found us by now…” Tyson trailed off looking back out into the dark forest.

“Well, if they don’t find us tonight, I don’t think that we should sleep on the ground, or at least out in the open. Who knows what other animals we’ll attract when we’re sleeping.” I said absentmindedly stroking the grey pup.

At my comment, Tyson lifted up the lower branches of a bush to expose a little bit of an area that we would be able to crawl into the give ourselves a bit of shelter. “Ladies first.” He gave me a little bit of a smirk.

My face burned at the realization that since there would be a small amount of room, Tyson and I would have to be pretty close so we’d both fit. I couldn’t stop myself from getting a bit of an excited feeling. Maybe I was slightly interested in Tyson after all. That would be the only reason to get excited over something like this right? Or maybe it’s just because I’m a girl and he’s a boy that I’m getting all excited.

“Don’t worry, I won’t try and squeeze underneath that bush with you. If someone does come by they’ll need to see one of us to help us. And besides, I’m not that desperate right now.” He grinned mischievously.

My thoughts were crushed as my stare turned into a hard glare. His comment hurt a little bit, I wasn’t going to lie. But I refused to try and retort or comment, and kept my mouth closed.  Somehow the little wolf didn’t mind me gathering her up into my arms, and kept her eyes closed seeming to trust me completely, but the second that I went to stand up her eyes snapped open and she seemed to panic. Her untrimmed claws dug a little bit into my skin, before I managed to calm her down with a comforting voice and by petting her gently.

“Alli, you’re bleeding. Put that animal down.” Tyson was by my side suddenly, trying to take the pup away from me.

“Please, you don’t have to worry about me until you’re desperate,” I snapped walking over to the bush. My retort might have seemed childish, but for whatever reason Tyson seemed to think that it was the funniest thing that I could have said because he burst out laughing. “What?” I glared at him as hard as I could to show that I was most definitely not amused. He shook his head and leaned against an oak tree.

I rolled my eyes angrily and managed to crawl under the brush with the pup in my arms without her clawing my arms any worse. The second that I laid down, she seemed to relax completely and snuggled up against my stomach.