Before The Mask

Chapter Four

The trek to the strange family's woodland camp was a difficult one. Wolf did everything in his power to make the walk aggravatingly troublesome for the man dragging him along. He would dig his heels into the dirt and plant his feet firmly on the ground, refusing to walk on his own. He would throw off his own weight, attempting to make the children's father lose his balance. Wolf would even kick the man and growl at him like some kind of vicious animal. The two children and their mother followed nervously behind while keeping a considerably safe distance between themselves and the continuous scuffle in front of them.

Once they had finally reached the camp, Wolf was released and shoved roughly to the ground.

"Stay put." The man warned, glaring at the young boy in front of him.

The family's camp was just that and nothing more; a camp. It appeared to be a long term living area yet it was painfully obvious that it was put together in a hurry without care thought out for it's construction. Two worn tents stood unzipped to reveal two sleeping bags in each tent along with several blankets and pillows. There was a meek campfire left smoldering at the center of the campsite with several pots and pans strewn around it. Various articles of clothing laid about the ground around the campsite and Wolf couldn't help but notice it was a bit of a dump to put it gently.

"I'm not staying here I have to be home by 4:00." Wolf snapped at the man as he turned his back to the boy.

"You'll do what I say you're going to do. I think you have bigger problems to worry about than a stupid curfew." The children's father rolled his eyes, turning to his family.

"You can't keep me here and I'm not going to let you get me in trouble. Who are you people anyway?" The tone in Wolf's voice was as sharp as a knife's edge and his expression was even more hostile. To that the man glanced back at him and let out an amused laugh. Before he could reply, the woman standing beside her two children cut him off.

"That's enough out of you, dear." She scolded him delicately. The woman approached Wolf who knelt on the grass, ready to either fight or run. "Wolf, was it?" She asked with a gentle tone and a soft smile on her face. He didn't answer. She slowly knelt down to his level and reached out her hand as if she were coaxing a wounded animal to come closer. Wolf snarled at her and quickly smacked her hand away. Her soothing expression didn't falter and she sighed slightly. "My name is Halla. These are my children Faelen and Ayame. That brute over there is my mate, Conall. He isn't so bad once you get to know him, he's just protective." Halla gestured to her family behind her. Wolf's aggressive display was unmoved as he glanced at the two children and their father. "Something about your scent is so intriguing. I have never smelled anything like it before. Tell me, Wolf... What are you?" She leaned closer with an expectant look on her face.

Wolf remained silent for a moment before answering. "I don't know what you mean." Some of the hostility had left his tone and his expression yet it was still obvious he was not relaxed in the presence of these strangers. Wolf was all too familiar with identifying scents. His entire life, he had possessed an incredible sense of smell beyond what an average human could experience. This special trait was accompanied by his unusually heightened senses of hearing and sight. Out of pure curiosity, he discreetly took in a deeper breath of these people's scents. They each had a slightly different unique scent yet collectively they smelled of morning dew, deep earth, the greenery of the forest and strangely something else that reminded Wolf of the scent of his wolfdog, Jacob after he had been playing in muddy water. Ayame still had the strong scent of berry juice on her skin and Conall had the scent of old blood on his clothes. Wolf could smell the details of their past couple days in their scents. For instance, Halla bore the scent of meadow flowers on her clothes which likely came from waking through a patch of blossoming wildflowers the day before. Faelen carried the scent of mossy bark which likely came from his morning spent searching on his hands and knees for suitable firewood.