Whiskers

Realization

(Fanart by @VanishingWinter )

After getting himself a clipboard, pen, and a small bag of cubed raw meat, Jared made his way to the wolf's current holding enclosure. Setting his things down near the double-wired barrier, he checked that the electricity running through the thin metal rods stretching across the area was off, then took down a pair of disposable rubber gloves from a cabinet and pulled up a chair near the wire. 

His eyes scanned the dim area that made up the holding enclosure as he pulled on the gloves. There were a lot of potted trees and fake hide areas to make sure that whatever animal they used the area for could feel comfortable, but it also made it hard to find them, even if they were a giant wolf. 

"I've got some food for you if you'd like to hang out with me for a bit." Jared said, his eyes and ears focused intently on any movement or sound within the enclosure. 

The first thing that caught his attention a few minutes later was the sound of deep sniffing, likely due to the wolf picking up the scent of the deer meat he'd brought with him. He had intentionally left the bag open, allowing the scent to drift through the air. 

When the beast peaked its head out from around the corner of a large steel crate, the remained of the chain hanging from its collar rattling slightly, Jared couldn't keep his jaw from dropping slightly. His brother hadn't been joking. The wolf was easily twice the size of a normal one. 

After a few more moments of hesitation, it began to slowly stalk toward him. Jared made sure that he didn't tense and just remained relaxed in his uncomfortable metal chair as he watched the animal move. To any normal person, it would seem like it was confident and aggressive, just waiting for the target of its gaze to make a mistake. Granted, it likely wouldn't hesitate to attack him, even through the barrier once it got close enough, but Jared could tell right away that it wasn't going to be aggressive simply because that's what it was naturally. 

He's just scared. 

One would think that it would be easier to get the beast to listen to him and calm down if he showed it that he meant it no harm, but that was rarely how it actually worked. Scared animals were always more dangerous than simply aggressive ones. You knew what the aggressive animal was going to do. What it's intent was. With one that was simply scared out of its mind? There were no cues to read. A scared animal could go from quiet staring to snarling and lunging within a second if it were triggered. 

And with you being so big and clearly already so worried, there's no way you're going to be safe to be around for a while. 

Of course, he knew that it was a shifter without needing it to confirm such a thing. Wolves didn't just get so incredibly big. Honestly, neither did shifter ones, but there was something off about this wolf that he couldn't put his finger on, but it wouldn't stop nagging at the back of his mind, either. 

Jared snapped himself out of his thoughts as the large animal stopped about five feet away from the barrier. It didn't sit down, nor glance away for even a second. His hackles are up, eyes are dilated, and his upper lip is twitching. He's just waiting for something bad to happen. 

"I just want to get a look at you and make sure you're doing as well as you can be at the moment. We're going to get that collar removed as soon as it's safe to sedate you again, then do a once-over to make sure you aren't hurt anywhere else." 

Leaning down, he picked up the small bag of deer meat and took out a piece with his gloved hand. Lifting it slightly near the double reinforced chain-link, he made sure that the wolf could see it, then very carefully threw it just a foot or two inside of the enclosure.