It was just an ordinary day at Junk 'n' Stuff. The door was open for customers and a nice breeze was blowing in. Jasper was sitting at the desk eating a ham and cheese sandwich and watching Dog Judge.
Henry was coming up out of the Man Cave. He had a feeling that something was about to happen. He had been so focused on that feeling that he had messed up on operating a very complicated machine that Schwoz had created. Ray had wanted him to get some air and sent him up the elevator.
He was on his way into the store when his anxious feeling increased. He wondered why he kept getting this feeling. He was just trying to do his job, and this feeling kept on nagging at him.
He walked into the shop and went to the seat beside Jasper, startling him and making him bite his tongue.
"Hey," Henry said, sighing.
"Dude, seriously, stop sneaking up on me. You made me bite my tongue."
"Sorry, I guess working with Ray on stealth missions lately has made me quieter."
"It's fine, what are you doing up here?"
"I might of messed up a very complicated machine, so Ray sent me up."
"Oh, that sucks man."
"Yeah, and the reason I keep messing up is because I keep getting this weird feeling."
"Is it a good or bad feeling?"
"That's just it, I don't know."
Just as they rapped up there conversation, a harsh wind started to blow into the store.
Henry was starting to get up out of his chair to go shut the door when all of a sudden a big dog appeared.
The dog... correction, wolf was a beautiful silver, with a black cape of fur traveling down its' back. Its' eyes were a deep forest green and almost seemed to glow.
It stepped forward, head level to its' shoulders. It walked almost silently towards the pair of boys, eyes darting back and forth.
It was about five feet away when it jumped up on the desk. It looked between the two and grabbed the unfinished sandwich out of Jasper's hand.
The wolf ate the food in two bites. It jumped down, went to the couch under the fire-breathing dinosaur, and laid down.
Henry quickly hit the store emergency button, notifying Ray. He hoped he would get here fast.
In a few minutes Ray had gotten up the elevator and into the store. Both boys were petrified behind the desk and had barely moved an inch.
"Why the hell did you press the emergency button?" Ray asked.
All the boys could do was point to the wolf laying on the couch. The wolf was just laying there watching the exchange.
Ray slowly walked over to the wolf, watching it to make sure it wasn't going to move toward the boys and attack them. The wolf sat up and was watching Ray step closer. Its' chest was facing the door, meaning it wasn't looking for a fight. At least that's what Ray thought.
He was finally only a foot away. The wolf had made no move to run or fight. It just watched him silently. Ray reached out his hand, careful to leave it open and facing upward. The wolf lowered its' head and carefully sniffed his hand. Satisfied with it not biting him, he reached out to pet the wolf's head. The wolf leaned into his hand as he started scratching its' cheek.
Ray laughed at the wolf's actions. He wanted to know why the animal was even there in the first place. Swellview hadn't had wolves around in 50 years. He finally concluded that the wolf had probably escaped from some smugglers and considering its' behavior had been very well treated.
"Hey kid," Ray said. "Get your butt over here."
"Are you sure that would be safe?" Henry asked.
"It's fine, look at her, she wouldn't hurt anyone. Isn't that right girl?" At this point the wolf had flopped onto her back and was letting Ray scratch her belly.
Henry slowly walked over, cautious of the wild animal. As he got closer the wolf rolled back over onto its' belly, watching him approach.
When Henry was about two feet away the wolf jumped down from the couch. Henry stopped and watched the wolf approach him. The wolf sniffed his pant leg and slowly pushed her head into his leg. Henry squatted down and slowly began petting her. As he got more comfortable he saw she was wearing a color.
This collar wasn't like others though, it was made of a silver material that slightly shone. A name tag was in the shape of a crescent moon. On the tag was a single word.
"Arian."
