*Tyler was running, he didn't know what or who from, but all he knew, was that something was chasing him. His boots pummelled the ground as he ran, yet the thing behind him sounded like a bulldozer was smashing it's way towards him. the boy kept going as fast as he could, even if he could hear the unknown assailant getting closer every second, until he made it into a clearing and almost falling of the edge of a cliff, a sheer drop in front of him with a waterfall to boot.
He spun around to see..... the thing. It was the very same black wolf creature that tried to kill him the day before, Tyler begun stepping back, before nearly falling backwards of the cliff. He quickly regained his footing, only to look up and see the back beast take a swipe at him with one of it's giant paws, while it didn't hit him, it sent him falling backwards and the the side of the cliff, falling straight down into the murky water below*
Tyler shot up, gasping for air and clutching his chest. Small trickles of tears fell from his eyes, it felt so real, he could still feel where the thing had very nearly hit him. He tried to wipe his eyes with the sleeve of his shirt, only to realise that he didn't have his shirt on, just his brown t-shirt. As he sat there, he realised that his boots were not on as well, as he looked to see them sat neatly in the corner of the tent.
"Hang on" Tyler thought, "I don't remember getting in my tent last night".
just as Tyler was pondering his thoughts, he heard someone walking round his tent, his breath got caught in his throat as he saw what looked like a person through the wall he was sitting next to. The person walked to the front of the tent, pulling the zipper down and opening the flaps to reveal..... the wolf. Tyler, now that it seemed to be day outside, could now see it clearer, it's fur coat was a mix of orange and yellow, shining like gold from the sun glaring at it, as well at the wolf's eyes, which caught Tyler of guard, they held a sense of power and authority, but held kindness in them as well.
"Good morning" the wolf said, with a small grin on it's muzzle, from the voice alone, Tyler realised that it was female. It moved into the tent, shutting the zipper behind it before turning round to the boy, who was clinging to the sleeping bag so hard his knuckles turned white.. the wolf's smile faded, it's face showing genuine concern, "Please don't be scared, i don't want to hurt you". the she-wolf reached for it's bag, opening it and pulling out a knife scabbard, handing it to Tyler. "I believe this is yours, sorry i took it from you". Tyler reached for the scabbard and took it from the wolf.
"Th-Thank you" Tyler spoke in a low voice, he placed it down next to him, propping himself up more, bringing up his knees and wrapping his arms round them. the wolf too set itself down, sitting with it's legs crossed, bringing it's bag round and putting it down. The wolf's ears perked as they listened to the boy's breathing, how it picked up in pace as she sat down, she saw his emotions clearly, and smelled it too. Tyler was still weary of the wolfess, but at least he was more calm.
"Wh....What are.....you?" Tyler spurted out, almost loosing his sentence, the wolf looked up from rummaging in it's bag to Tyler, who was nibbling on some of his crackers.
"what am i?" she responded, Tyler nodded.
"Well, i'm a wolf of course, but not the same as the ones your probably familiar with"
"Ya think?!" Tyler thought.
"my kind has lived across these lands for a very long time, there were many tribes, but as of lately, there hasn't been many of us left" said the wolfess, her once perked ears falling to her head as she thought deeper about it.
"Wait, there was more of the wolf's like you?" Tyler said, close to shouting it out.
"Yes there is" Athena said, before continuing," My tribe specifically was once a weak and very small tribe, but eventually grew to the point where it was the size of several". While Athena was telling her story, Tyler sat there, listening intently.
"Wait, so did your tribe, or kind ever come into contact with, ya know, the native Americans?" Tyler said.
"Yeah we did, but it was rare, we often helped them with certain things like other tribes or food shortages, other than that, we tended to leave each other alone". Athena said.
Tyler nodded, "So, how many of your are there now?"
"Well, there use to be many tribes, but when the other humans came from across the ocean, we got hunted like any other animal, the human natives that tried to help us fight them off got equally wiped out as well, there was nothing we could do but hide and hope they didn't find the rest of us."
Tyler's heart dropped after hearing this, it made him feel bad for her. "I'm sorry that happened to them"
"No it's okay, but thanks anyway" Athena replied. Athena noticed something as she sat there talking to the human boy, he was still a bit nervous around her, but he was at least warming up to her.
"I need to get that fire up again, it went out the night before, would you care to assist me?" Athena said as she made her way towards the tent door.
Tyler couldn't think of what to say, he had just met something that he could only imagine in his artwork, and it was right in front of him, talking to him, meaning him no harm, actually wanting to help him.
"Um...yeah sure" Tyler said as he stood up and made his way over as well.