IX

Greyson found that familiar scent trail he'd been looking for. It had taken longer than he'd first guessed, but that was okay. He was here now. Greyson followed the trail and made the trek to a small homestead. There was a faint light in one of the windows, indicating an obvious human presence. This was definitely it. The scent here was too strong not to be.

Greyson crept closer until he stepped onto the front porch. He sat right in front of the door and laid himself down. This was where he needed to be. This was the place his presence was required the most. He didn't mind, all was perfect as it was at the moment. He was fulfilling his purpose. The spirits will look over him and reward his obedience as was ordained by their superior. Whatever lay ahead, wherever he was headed from here, he was prepared to face it head-on. His heart's desire would be obtained in proper time. That, he had total faith in.

Calef stared out his window. Still, the night had not been kind to him. The sense of danger from earlier had gone away, but there was still a strong desire to stay awake that his body refused to let go of. It were as if it were waiting for something. No... waiting for someone. Someone very special and just for him to relish in. He watched the storm rage and beat down on the land that seemed to spread out infinitely.

Greyson!

Where was he? Calef couldn't help but wonder if the storm had gotten him. No, he was on Tarrok. He had to have gotten back into town before the storm became this bad. There was just no way he didn't make it. Wasn't there? What if there was? Just...

What if?

A wave of panic overcame him. Before he could have another thought, he layered up as much as possible and threw the door open...

...To discover his previously unnoticed, and most certainly uninvited, guest.

A wolf, light grey in the coat and deep blue in the eyes, had sprawled out in front of his door in what was about the comfiest manner. It lazily picked up its head and looked at him with a leisurely gaze. At first, Calef was startled, for obvious reasons. But then the wolf began wagging its tail as if it were a sheepdog seeing its master after being way at the market for the day. Was it possible that this wolf was either raised by a human being, and thus acclimated to being around them or was it one of those half-breeds that sometimes pop up so that people could have an animal closely related to wolves without as much of the inherent risk if they tried taking a wolf straight from the wild. In any case, this wolf, or wolf-dog, was acting very friendly. Well, he wasn't being immediately hostile at the very least.

The wolf sat up and looked Calef in the eyes. There was something else in the wolf's face that slightly confused Calef. Was it... endearment? Maybe. He couldn't shake the feeling that there was something familiar about this animal. Calef stared the wolf back and found what struck him as the light of a human soul.

Calef dismissed this as a trick of the firelight. There was no way an animal could possess the qualities of man. It was simply impossible. End of story. But it does seem pretty tame. Perhaps someone might come looking for it, in which case I will return the beast to it's proper owner and everything turns out okay. If no one comes, either it wasn't important to them or I'm letting a wild animal into my home. I just hope this doesn't turn out to cause anything too bad.

Greyson proceeded with caution. The human seemed friendly enough, but they were still fairly volatile. Jus the wrong move and he could be in serious danger. The human closed and latched the door, then looked at him as if it were sizing him up. The human then went to to another room and came out with a couple of chunks of meat. The human placed both chunks in front of him and backed away. Greyson sniffed at the meat, trying to discern where the meat came from. As he took in the scent, he immediately knew what meat this was. It was beef. Quite the quality as well. It would definitely sustain him. He didn't pick up anything foreign in the meat, so he went ahead and ate it thankfully.

Once he was done, Greyson carefully approached the human. It backed up at first, but it eventually let him get close enough to get a scent.

It was him. It was Calef.

Greyson's tail began to wag and he began to lightly lick Calef's fingers. Calef seemed to be getting a little more comfortable with Greyson's new appearance, but obviously didn't know the connection. Truth be told, Greyson wasn't even fully aware in this form either. All he really knew was that he had to get to Calef, and now he was here.

Hesitantly, Calef reached out. Greyson rested his muzzle there, letting Calef stroke under his chin. Greyson's wagging became much more exaggerated, getting to the point to where his behind was wiggling as well. Then, Calef moved on to petting the top of his head. Greyson got a little too excited and ended up pouncing on Calef and licking his face while playfully gnawing at his nose without actually biting down on it. Calef freaked out at first, but the nature of the move took over and Calef quickly soothed himself and allowed Greyson to show his playful side.

Calef was taken by surprise when the wolf pounced. At first, panic seized his mind and he tried to find a way to free himself. It was the sensation of the wolf's warm tongue and his gentle nips that gave him reason to stop. The wolf wasn't attacking him, at least... not with hostile intent. This attack was friendly and meant to show that he had the wolf's trust. Calef had no idea how he knew this, but he felt it deep within him that he had no reason to fear this wolf. Tame or no, this wolf saw Calef as one of his own kind. He didn't know it yet, but Calef now had family he could rely on.

It was morning and Greyson still silently watched over Calef as he slept. With an arm wrapped around him, Greyson felt at ease. It was apparent he had trouble sleeping before he got there... but now that he was here, Greyson's presence made it easier to fall asleep. Perhaps he just needed someone there to help him feel safe and watched over. Greyson couldn't help but think that Calef looked quite marvelous when he was asleep. There was something about the peaceful look on his face that made him so much more endearing than usual.

Trying to remember the events of the night before was rather difficult. All he really recalled was that the cold was putting him on what he knew to be the cusp of death and that he woke up here.  Some fragments of memories still remained, but nothing provided concrete answers. The only thing he could firmly grasp was that whatever happened, it caused much joy in his heart. Moving Calef's arms in a way that wouldn't wake him up, Greyson let his feet touch the floor. The wood creaked a little, but it didn't disturb Calef. Greyson stood up and realized... He was entirely nude.

Panicking, he looked around. Taking an extra set of clothes from the perch, Greyson dressed himself in the borrowed cloth. It all fit tighter than his own clothes, but they would work.