Lone Wolf

             A black lone wolf sat in the middle of a clearing. It was burned by the last forest fire, and the ground was still a little warm in places, even though the fire had been gone a week. The rain had taken care of it before it had spread too far, but the water had made the ash and coals turn into a very deep dark black. The wolf’s pelt was streaked with the inky charcoal, and there were scars across his face, some new and barely scabbed over, but others old and worn into his face. His golden eyes were dark and hiding a lifetime of pain. His ribs showed through the thick fur of his pelt, and his tail curled around his paws protectively as he howled at the sky. Black shards of glass surrounded the wolf in a circle with him as the origin. His paws were cut and bleeding by the glass they were resting on.

Nevertheless, when a small brown wolf pup stumbles out of the burned forest limping and yipping, the wolf springs into action. He walks gingerly across the glass minefield, barking at the pup to keep her on the outside of the danger zone. He bends down and licks the burns and cuts on her sides and face. The freshest markings on her are not that different from the ones on him. She nudges his side and he growls at her. She tumbles backwards before coming back at planting herself in front of him, growling. His ears go up and he nods at her before walking away. He pauses at the edge of the clearing to wait for her to follow him. The pup bounds after him a few steps before stumbling and limping after him much slower.

He led her a mile away until he found a rock outcropping near a stand of oak trees. He growled at her to stay and left to go hunt for food. He went and checked for the pup’s family, but soon found that they had fled the fire, leaving her for dead.  He killed several rabbits, bringing them back to her. He knew it then, when she growled at him when he got back before playfully attacking him and nipping his ear, that he had found the beginnings of a pack and could not be a lone wolf any longer. The thought was confirmed when she curled up against his side that night, shuddering breaths shaking her frame.