Chapter Four

She carefully turned and unzipped the tent flap. 

She cautiously unlocked the top of a large backpack after removing it from the tent with her hand. 

She took some beef jerky out of the bag and threw each piece at him one at a time. 

By the third piece, he was within throwing distance and was successfully grabbing the pieces before they landed.

He glanced at her and swung his head back and forth to indicate that he didn't want any more when the bag was halfway empty. 

After a few period of continued staring, he licked his chops and started to scan the campsite. 

He failed to spot any nearby water source. 

Suddenly, recognition appeared on their faces

"Oh shit! I bet you are really thirsty after eating all that salted beef. Let me get you a bowl and I'll get you some water."

Her voice was normal now, with no trace of fear. She opened another pocket on the backpack and pulled out a small silver oblong container. She flipped open the lid and removed all the other items from inside it and set the bowl on the ground.

Reaching inside the tent again, she pulled out a large jug and filled the bowl with fresh water. He waited for her to back up; once she was several paces away from the bowl, he stepped forward and began to lap up the cool water. He emptied the bowl, and then stepped back. He looked at the bowl and then at the jug in her hands.

"You want more?"

He chuffed his response this time and waited for her refill the bowl. She slowly walked up to the bowl and refilled it. After she stepped back to where she had been before, he walked forward and lapped it all up, leaving the bowl slick with his saliva and blood. Now that he had sated his hunger and thirst, the pain from his wounds returned full force.

He decided he would trust this female human. Slowly, he lowered himself to the ground, grunting in pain as the shattered ends of his ribs shifted in the wound. Finally resting on his side, he laid his head down and closed his good eye. Several minutes passed before he heard her move. He let her get within arms reach before he opened his eye and looked at her. He didn't move his head; he just laid there looking up at her.

"What happened to you? That looks like a bullet wound. Did someone shoot you because you attacked them?"

Her questions just streamed together in a rush as her anxiety showed through. He continued to just look at her, not moving. Finally, realizing that he wasn't going to do anything but look at her, she calmed down and took a closer look at his wound.

"How are you still alive with that gaping hole in your side?"

This time her voice had true emotion in it, she was really concerned and in awe of this giant animal.

"You must be as tough as you are big."

Taking one more look at the wound, she met his gaze and seemed to come to a decision.

"If our agreement still holds, I'll bandage your wounds."

For several seconds he looked into her eyes, consciously noting they were deep green with flecks of gold. There was no deception in that gaze; just a deep concern for another living being that was hurt. He took a deep breath, slowly releasing it though his nostrils, creating little bubbles of blood. Taking this as a sign that he would let her treat him, she reached for her backpack and removed the first aid kit. He watched her intently as she removed several packets and tubes. She opened one package of gauze and tentatively reached towards the wound, watching for the first sign that this giant wolf might change its mind about sitting still for this. When he didn't move, she touched the lower edge of the hole and began to soak up the blood. When the gauze caught on the edge of one of the shattered ribs, he grunted in pain, but didn't move his head.

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to hurt you."

She continued to clean the wound with the gauze, taking extra care not to get the loose threads caught on the jagged edges of the rib bones. Once that was done, she opened a tube of antibiotic cream and carefully rubbed it into the edges of the wound.

"I don't know what to do with this size of wound. I've never had to deal with anything like this before. There's too much missing for me to try and stitch it back together."

She was kneeling there next to him with her hands resting on her thighs staring at the wound with the look of utter desperation on her face. He slowly raised his head and carefully inching his muzzle closer, he licked the back of her hand. She jumped and jerked her hand away from his mouth as she suddenly realized that he had moved. Her attention had been so centered on the task before her that she hadn't noticed the movement. When she realized that he had simply licked her hand and hadn't tried to bite, she relaxed a little and met his gaze.

"I don't know what to do."

The desperation in her voice was clearly matched by the look on her face. He moved his muzzle under her hand and lifted it, slowly shifting it back over to the largest packet of gauze that she had removed from the first aid kit.

Her first reaction was to jerk her hand back when he made the move with his muzzle towards her again, but something in the look he gave her made her pause. She let her hand be moved and when he laid her hand on top of the extra large gauze pad, her reaction was one of utter amazement. This wolf seemed to know exactly what she had laid out and knew what it was for. How could this be? What sort of wild animal could ever learn what a first aid kit was, let alone have any knowledge of medical practice. It had responded to her voice and questions as if it understood perfect English. Was this some sort of bizarre dream? Had she accidentally eaten some bad mushrooms and this was the result--a freaky hallucination?