Chapter 5

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'Yeesh! Ruuuude!'

'Yes I know, but... look at him. Poor thing!'

'I thought wolves were able to eat carrion.'

'They are, but only when they have to. I mean, we rather eat fresh fish than dead meat as well, don't we?'

'Sure. Man, how do you even know so much about wolves?'

'Just observe. Be quiet for once in your life and use those peepers. It would do you good. We have the sharpest eyes of all animals, don't you know?

'Of course I do, smartypants.'

'Hm... What I see right now is that this poor bastard can't breathe with his snout underwater.'

'Jeez Louise, you're right! We gotta do something.'

'I have a plan. Come on!'

'Right behind you.'

Chapter 6

When the little wolf opened his eyes again, he was treated with a magnificent view of the winter forest. The trees with their snowy tops were nothing more than a messy painting made with white and black paint blotches. The winter forest had never looked so vast and menacing.

'Hey there, little dude! Welcome back.'

The unknown voice brought the little wolf out of his musings and back into the here and now. The here was no longer the stinky bog, but a steep plateau on the side of a mountain.

'You looked like you were in a bit of a pickle down there. How are you doing now?'

Two bald eagles stood in the nest with him. They were enormous, full-grown birds with sharp beaks and sharper eyes. They were bent over him, looking as surprised as he was.

For a moment the little wolf considered what to say. He wasn't too keen on saying what was on his mind to these deadly predators at least three times his size. In his mind, he could easily imagine how they had snatched his limp body up out of the bog and flew all the way to the top of the mountain. It was a good thing he hadn't been conscious during that trip, or he might have gone crazy with fear.

The biggest of the two eagles bent down even more. 'It seemed a little weird to us seeing a wolf pup wandering the forest all alone. We got curious and followed you for a while. Oh, and we cut a little breathing hole for ya back when you went for a swim. Hope you don't mind.'

There was something about the way the eagle talked. Despite the rough and raspy timbre of his voice, genuine concern resounded as well. It was then that the little wolf noticed the eagles were a couple. Indeed, despite his huge stature, the eagle sounded like a father.

His suspicions were confirmed when the eagles introduced themselves. 'I'm Chuck,' the male eagle said, 'and this is my wife--'

'Hazel,' the female eagle said. 'And what's your name, wolfie?'

The little wolf stood up straight. 'I'm Charlie. Nice to meet you two.'

'Nice to meet you too,' said Hazel the mother eagle. 'Now that we're no stranger to one another anymore, would you like to tell us your story?'

'Yeah, we're dying to know,' said Chuck the father eagle. Both eagles cocked their white-feathered heads to show that, despite their ears not being visible, they were definitely paying attention.

'I... I can tell you,' said the little wolf, Charlie, 'but only if you promise not to laugh.'

Both eagles unfurled their wings. 'Cross my wings, hope to fly, a predator's honour will never die,' they chimed.

That was quite a promise! Charlie took a deep breath and told about how he came to be alone in the forest, the challenges he faced during his ordeal, and how he ended up fainting in a stinky bog. He resisted the urge to glorify his adventures to make himself look at least a little more like the action hero he figured himself to be. Instead, he told the eagles exactly how it was. He didn't know how long the eagles had observed his ordeal, and besides that, it just felt better that way.

The eagles were left with their beaks agape, when Charlie shut his muzzle. 'I never knew adult wolves were like that!' said Hazel.

'It seems a bit... cruel,' added her husband. 'What do you think about it, little dude?'

Charlie shrugged. 'It's a rite of passage I suppose.' Then he asked, 'Don't you eagles have the same kind of thing?'

'We do,' said Chuck. 'We throw--um... I mean gently encourage our youngsters to jump out of the nest so they can fly all by themselves for the first time in their lives.'

Charlie's eyes grew big. 'That sounds fantastic!'

'It's a magical moment,' said Hazel. 'But of course we wait until we're absolutely sure our little ones are ready. If we were to throw them out of the nest as chicks, they would fall to their deaths!'

'Makes sense.'

There was a small silence, broken only by the whistling of the wind, a sound unfamiliar to Charlie as he had never been this high up a mountain before. For a moment the two eagles glanced at each other, then added to the whispering winds by uttering a deep sigh. 'What's the matter?' Charlie asked.

'Oh, don't mind us,' said Hazel. 'We were just remembering.'

Chuck shuffled his talons a little. 'To be honest, we are a little sad they've grown up and flown away.'

'It's great that they are able to set out and experience the wonders of life by themselves, but... they always grow up too fast,' Hazel explained.

'Huh? I don't understand,' said Charlie. 'I mean, now you have more freedom, right? You have nothing to worry about, like how you're gonna feed seven hungry beaks. And besides that, your kids have to prove that they are big bad wolves--err, I mean big bad eagles--eventually.'

The two eagles chuckled, brought out of their moody reverie by Charlie's adorable question. 'But feeding seven hungry beaks is part of the fun of being a parent, Charlie,' Hazel said. 'We look after our children and protect them. That's how nature works. We know them leaving the nest is how nature works too, but still... It leaves a hole in your heart.'

'You'll understand when you have kids yourself,' added her husband.

Charlie hoped so, because he still felt utterly puzzled. After a little 'Okay,' he sliced another subject, for he figured he could learn a lot from these two great predators.

The three predators spent a long while talking about their lives, habits, challenges, and greatest achievements. When the sun crept beneath the horizon and the northern lights flowed into the night skies, Charlie made ready to leave. He had to go, he said, because there were too few opportunities for him on the mountaintop to prove himself. Only with the greatest difficulty did the eagle couple convince him to at least stay the night.

Charlie curled himself up inside the nest and quickly fell asleep. As evening matured into night, a wind started blowing across the side of the mountain. Charlie grimaced, shivering from head to tail. Both eagle parents glanced at each other, nodded, waited until their guest had dozed off once more, and then spread their wings around him. The fluffy ball at their feet started snoring loudly, and the two eagles smiled.