Life From a New Perspective -Chapter Five - Back For More
#5 of Life From A New Perspective
Life From a New Perspective -Chapter Five - Back For More
YAY the last chapter is up. I finished it this morning, but then IT GOT DELETED!!! (Damn apple ipod touch) So I spent the next two and a half hours writing my tail off to get it re written. I want to give a special thanks to ZypherKronic for providing me the final push to finish the series, and if it weren't for him, I would've given up on the story for a while (It's absolutely devastating to lose hours and hours of work in a second). THANK YOU ZYPHERKRONIC!!! *Hugs*
As the dawn approached I was cleaning my fur when I saw Reenin's eyes open. When he saw me he bolted up and started jumping around the den and yipping madly.
"Damn it Reenin shut up!" I said to him, but he kept jumping around.
"What's going on in... Oh Leandra, you came back. We all thought you had left for good last night." Baldur said as he poked his head into the den to see what caused the commotion.
"Yea, I guess my shoulder still hurt too much to go yet." I lied. My shoulder was fine; it was just that being here was... different, better even, than staying a lone wolf. Baldur nodded and left to go check on other things. Reenin finally had stopped jumping and yipping, but he still had a giant friggen grin on his face.
"Stop that!" I said.
"Stop what?"
"You know, smiling, it's making me uncomfortable."
"I can't, I'm just so happy that you came back!" He said excitedly.
"Well, just stop."
"Why don't you make me?" He said jokingly.
"Don't try me, I'll demolish you." I said.
"Hey, follow me, I have somewhere I want to show you." He said before heading out of the den. I followed him, not really having much else to do. We headed out into the woods, getting a few looks from a few pack members who thought I'd left, some smiling and some greeting me. We broke the tree line and continued onwards.
"So where are we going?" I asked him multiple times.
"I can't tell you yet." He said with a grin. I finally gave up trying to figure out and just followed him.
The flatter ground turned uphill slightly and the trees were becoming less and less. The dirt ground started to have more and more rock in it. Reenin leapt up on a stone platform that went up even higher. I jumped up to him as he walked a little bit further before lying down at the edge, which was overlooking a giant field. I laid down near him and looked up at the sky, wide open with clouds lazily floating on.
"You can really just lose yourself up here can't you?" He said, staring at the sky.
"M-hmm." I grunted in response, too lost in the beauty of the earth and sky.
"Once I spent almost two days up here just clearing my head and enjoying everything. I probably would have stayed longer if my pack hadn't been looking for me." He said. We just sort of laid there for a long time, enjoying the way the sun warmed the rock and our fur, the subtle breeze slipping under our fur and bringing the sweet aroma of the plants that were below us. We lost track of time and before we knew it the sun was passing directly above us, now beginning its long journey down. I stood up, Reenin doing the same.
"Hey, can we go get a drink? I'm kind of thirsty." I said, beginning to turn.
"Sure, I was going to ask you the same thing anyways." He said, taking lead once more.
We made our way back down the hill towards the river. Reenin was still smiling slightly with the grin he wore on his muzzle. To be honest, it was kind of cute. Not like he would ever know that from me.
The sound of rushing water and the distinctive aroma of fresh water breached my nose. I suddenly realized just how thirsty I was, so I dashed over to the bank, bringing in as much of the cool water I could. Suddenly I felt something ram into my side, sending me crashing into the cold river. I stood up in the sandy rock bank, water up to my chest, sending chills down my entire body.
"REENIN! Now I'm soaked!" I shouted to him, climbing out of the river.
"I'm sorry, it was too perfect of an opportunity to pass up!" He said, breaking down in laughter. I stood right next to him and shook out my fur, trying to get as much of it on Reenin. He chuckled as I laid on the bank, the sun slowly warming my body and drying my fur.
Reenin went to the bank to drink, completely oblivious to what I was doing. Perfect. I charged over to him, slamming my shoulder into him and sending him flying into the river. When he broke the surface it was now I laughing it him.
" I'm sorry, it was too perfect of an opportunity to pass up!" I said mockingly. He got up on the bank and walked over to me. Suddenly he shook out his fur, sending cool droplets onto me.
"Ohh, so that's how you want to play huh?" I said, ducking low.
"Bring it on!" He replied, taking a defensive stance. He charged at me, undercutting my stance and taking me off balance. I jumped backwards and lunged at him playfully, sending him stumbling to his side. He grinned and charged once more. I side stepped him, then rammed into his side, knocking him onto his back and pinning his chest on the ground.
"Hmm, touché." He said, rolling to his side. I laid down next to him, smelling his slight musk while the sun beat down on us, the welcomed rays warming our chilled bodies.
"Hey, one of the pack's mothe... Ohh, was I interrupting something?" I looked back tot he tree line to see Baldur standing there, shifting nervously.
"Nope, we weren't doing anything. What was it dad?" Reenin said, standing up.
"Well, I was just saying that one of the mothers gave birth, and I was wondering if you wanted to go congratulate the mother and welcome the new pups into the pack."
"Leandra, wanna go see the pups?" Reenin said, looking back at me.
"Sure." I said, standing up as well.
The three of us walked back to the dens to see a small crowd surrounding a den. When we got there, most of the pack had gone back to their own business. We moved to the front to see an exhausted looking mother with nine pups nudging each other to get closest to their mothers warm belly.
"Wow, nine of them, that must have been quite an experience." Reenin said, looking at the little pups.
"Oh yes, it was a very tough challenge, but I would do it over again in a heartbeat." She said, looking behind us. A large male wolf walked between us and licked her muzzle and laid next to her, nuzzling her slightly and looking at the pups.
"How are you holding up, my love?" He said, admiring his newborns.
"Just fine, my dear." She said as she laid her head on his chest and closed her eyes sleepily. Reenin nudged me and started walking back, wanting to give them some quiet. I took one last look at the small pups before following him.
The rest of the day went by without anything else major really happening. Reenin would ask me some questions about myself, and I would only answer a few of them. We went to get another drink, and then visited the pups again before lying back down. All of a sudden, Reenin was smiling again.
"Why are you smiling again?" I asked him.
"You just wait." He said.
"Whatever." Then, I heard a young pup cry out and leap into the air. He landed on my back and playfully tried to wrestle my onto my side. I stood up and started walking, the pup still clinging to my back. I stopped walking and laughed a little when he slid off my back and smiled at me.
"Hi Leandra!" The small one said. "One day, I'll be as big as Reenin, then I'll be able to beat you at this!" He said.
"Ok then, little one, I'll be waiting." I said back to him.
"I think it's about time you run off to bed, don't you think?" Reenin said to the pup.
"Ohh, yea, that's right. Goodnight Reenin." He said, giving him a lick. "Goodnight Leandra." He then licked my chin before scampering off to a den, his mother smiling towards us.
"About ready to call it a day?" Reenin asked me. I snapped out of my daze and nodded, heading towards our den. Reenin walked in and laid down in his usual spot and closed his eyes, falling asleep instantly. I started to walk towards my usual spot before stopping. I looked at Reenin before walking over to him and lying next to him. It felt nice to be able to sleep next to someone and share warmth.
My eyes were closed, but sleep would not come. My mind was reeling with thoughts and confusion. I stood up and headed out of the den, desperately needing to clear my head. I headed into the woods and thought I heard something behind me. It was probably my imagination. I moved at a quick pace through the trees. The ground began to slope upwards and the dirt started showing more and more rock. I leapt up on the rock that lead further up and laid down on the edge and looked out, instantly feeling more at peace. I ran thoughts through my head, wondering why I was so confused. I wanted to go back to being a lone wolf, but I felt different here, wanted almost. I hadn't felt love or compassion or caring before in my life, and it felt... good. Why did I want to stay so bad? Was it the way Baldur treated me, taking me in just because I needed help, or was it motherly instinct that took over me when I saw the amount of love being shared by the two new parents? Or, was it ultimately by chance, Reenin that caused me to want to stay the most? I heard a twig snap behind me, confirming that someone was following me.
"Reenin, I know that's you." I said. The sound of a wolf leaping through the air and landing on rock came from behind me, and Reenin laid down near me.
"So, what brings you out here?" He said.
"I just had to clear my head." I said. "I-I don't know what to do really. After feeling loved and cared for the first time of my life, and seeing how much the two loved each other after having pups, and, I think I want to be part of it all."
"Well, maybe you can stay, and someday we can have pups of our own and you can really see what it's like." He said, readying for me to hit him.
I moved closer to him and nuzzled his neck before lying my head down on his chest. "Yea, I'd like that."