Story (c) Belic and K'gra 2003

"Ow! What the-- Stop!" the bear growled as he wriggled upon the comfy pile of leaves he had been sleeping on, trying to escape whatever was thumping his head. "That’s enough!" He struggled to get a paw up to protect himself. "Princess! My head is not a drum!" Something clamped onto his ear. "Yow!"

As he bolted upright, Belic looked over his shoulder, gently rubbing his ear to make sure it was all there. A young wolf stood behind him, its tongue lolling playfully out the side of its mouth. Their eyes met steadily for several long moments before the obese bruin blinked. "Greetings," he finally spoke.

The wolf’s tail wagged slowly but he did not speak.

Frowning in confusion, the knight turned all the way around and plopped back down with a grunt. "Are you lost?" The tail stilled. "Do you need help?" The ears perked. "Are you looking for someone?" The tail rose again, waving energetically, and the ears swept back as the wolf’s tongue lolled once more. "I take it that’s a ‘yes’?" the grizzly grinned. The wolf jumped up, his forepaws sinking into the upper curve of the bear’s gut, and licked Belic’s muzzle wildly, tickling the surprised knight until he laughingly tried to fend off the canine. "Whoa there, young pup!" The wolf took a fold of the bear’s fat in his jaws, gently worrying it as he growled playfully. Then, rather abruptly, he dropped back down to the ground.

Chuckling, Belic patted away the creature’s drool and folded his arms over his chest. "You are a playful one. And you like to lick, gnaw, and slobber. We’ve established that. But I still have no idea who you’re looking for," he mused, staring down over the curve of his belly. "You’re looking for someone in these woods?" His mouth open, the wolf leaned back so his hindquarters rose in the air and his front legs splayed out before him. "Someone in particular or just someone to play with?" Again, the wolf launched himself at the bear, rebounding off the soft fatness of his belly. "Yes yes, you said that already," he grinned and rolled his eyes. "You weren’t looking for me, were you?" His folds were gently mauled again. "Does that mean ‘yes’? Do I know you?" he furrowed his brow, leaning over to study the canine. "My memory is terrible." The wolf growled and latched onto Belic’s right ear again. "Yow! Now that one’s gonna leave a mark!" As he reached up to cup a paw over his stinging ear, the young wolf released it, sliding back down to stand in front of him. At that moment, Belic heard pawsteps crackling through the leaf litter as K’gra and Beareth appeared through the trees.

"Puppy!" K’gra exclaimed, wading quickly out of the tangle of leaves and twigs to lick and nuzzle the wolf’s cheeks.

"Puppy?" Belic repeated, frowning as he tried to match that name to the full-grown wolf before them. He glanced at the dragon who shrugged and shook his massive head.

"Of course it’s the puppy! Remember? The wolf puppy you found at the beach? Those flying lizards and the whole thing with those two wolves and seeing Pilo again? I know you haven’t forgotten that!" the princess laughed. "It was only about two years ago!"

The memories were easy to dredge up, but the knight still was not sure that this wolf was the puppy they had fostered for that short time. "Are you positive?"

"Yes. He’s certainly a lot bigger, but he looks the same. And the scent is his too."

"What's he doing here?" Beareth asked.

"I don’t know. Why don’t you ask him?" she grinned.

But before he could speak, the animal trotted over to a thicket of large, bushy plants and growled at the foliage. The bear, dragon, and leopard blinked. However, their confusion was soon dispelled as a young female wolf peered out of the greenery. The pair touched noses briefly and then the male trotted towards the trio. Seeing his ease, the she-wolf followed.

The knights and princess stood very still as the female approached and examined them. She sniffed Beareth’s paw for a long time until the dragon began to look uncomfortable…and guilty. Blushing, he opened his loosely curled fist to reveal a squished donut. Belic whimpered jokingly and then nodded in approval as his friend tore the sweet in two and offered the pieces to the wolves. The male snatched his eagerly, but the female ate hers with a bit of caution, gingerly licking the frosting a couple times before taking it daintily from the draco’s pads.

"We have better food at our den," the leopard offered the two wolves.

"Better than donuts?!" Belic’s jaw dropped. "We do?! Where?!" The Kodiak snapped his maw shut and eyed the cat and dragon suspiciously. "Have you two been hiding things on me again?"

"Beareth," she indicated the brown drake with a wave of her paw, while shushing his obese friend with the other, "and I were just coming to wake Belic," she pointed to the cinnamon-brown bear, "so we could have lunch. Would you like to join us?"

The wolves touched noses and then trotted in single-file ahead of them.

"Don’t mince words, do they?" Belic laughed as he was pulled to his hindpaws.

"The puppy probably remembers the lunches from our journey."

"Like anyone could forget the Princess’ basket of goodies!" Beareth exclaimed as they waddled after the pair.

"You know, we’re going to have to find names for them so we don’t keep calling them ‘Puppy’ and ‘The Other Puppy’."

"You don’t think they appreciate those?"

"Probably not. Though we should ask."

K’gra laughed. "Who knows? Maybe they’d prefer ‘Stinkbottom’ and ‘Scruffy’?" She stopped abruptly as she realized that the wolves were staring pointedly at her. "Is that a ‘no’? How about ‘Flopsey’ and ‘Poopsey’?" She coughed nervously as their ears swept back. "‘Oopsey’ and ‘Doopsey’?" They pounced, knocking the leopard onto her rump. "Hey! I was just kidding!" she yowled as she was drowned in wolf licks and playful nibbles.

After a few moments, the wolves abandoned their play and looked at the two males.

"Let me guess," Belic smiled. "You want to see if Beareth and I can come up with something better? Don’t get your hopes up."

"George?" the dragon ventured to no response.

"Herbie?" Belic’s attempt was met with more silence.

"Sam?"

"Mitch?"

"Xavier?"

They tried a different tactic.

"Gray?"

"Mist?"

"Fog?"

"Vapor?"

"Fume"

"The Drizzle"

"Hmm. Those aren’t working either."

"No. Not at all. In fact, it looks like they’re contemplating a pounce."

"I agree." Belic swallowed nervously and tapped his head with a chubby paw. "Think, bear, think!"

"Lakota."

For the first time, the male wolf’s ears swiveled forward in interest.

"I think we have a winner," Beareth murmured.

Belic grinned. "Either that or he has ear mites."

The wolf growled.

"What about his friend? Something pretty and feminine?"

Belic winced. "Careful. You know how K’gra is with things like that."

"Hmmm . . . you’re right. This wolf might be a fellow member of the Anti-Bow Brigade." Beareth leaned down to whisper a name in Belic’s ear. "Is that any good?"

"Why are you whispering?"

"Well, if she was a very feminine wolf, I didn’t want her to be hurt that we think she could be so… uh…unfeminine. Should we try it?"

"What have we got to lose?"

"Arms, legs, wings, and blood."

"Oh, is that all?"

"Probably not."

"You’re not making this any easier, you know."

"I just wanted you to know what you’re getting yourself into."

"Me?!" Belic choked. "You’re the one who thought of it!"

"Yeah, but you should tell her. It’d be safer. You are, after all, the elder beast."

"Just barely!"

"Yeah, but—"

"Ehem!" They were interrupted by the leopard. "Anytime now, boys. Some of us would like to have our lunch. Today. And sooner rather than later."

"Oh! Um…well…okay. You first, Beareth."

"Me?" he squeaked. "I-I-I cou—" He saw the leopard’s claws unsheathe. "Windchaser," he blurted in a panic, ducking his large head behind the grizzly.

Lakota obviously thought it was a hilarious choice and started prancing around his partner and pawing at her sides. She withstood his silent teasing for a few moments before tackling him with a rather ferocious growl. He stood his ground but dropped his head and tail, acquiescing to her reprimand.

"Well, what do you know. She likes it, Beareth."

"She does?" He peeked out from behind his bear companion. "I wasn’t watching."

>>>>><<<<<

Later on that evening, after a huge lunch and dinner, the wolves curled up near the pile of bedding, showing no signs of leaving.

"I suppose that answers any questions we might have had about whether they were staying the night," K’gra joked as she tucked in the bear and drake.

"I love it when visitors make themselves at home," Belic yawned as he watched the wolf-mates sleeping peacefully.

>>>>><<<<<

Gentle moonlight dotted a bear and the ground around him as he sat next to a circle of foot-high stones, his head bowed. A nearby shadow separated itself from the others and approached silently. The grizzly looked up as a snout nosed its way beneath his dangling paw. He turned his head and saw Lakota looking out from beneath his arm. Belic’s tear-filled eyes met the wolf’s.

"I miss my Tama girl so much," the bruin whispered hoarsely as his paw absently stroked one of the stones of the memorial. "She was my Guardian and best friend for so many years. So many difficult years. She helped me through an impossible time in my life and gave me the strength to go out into the world and become a Knight. Losing her is the worst pain I’ve ever known. A part of me never wants to love like that again because saying goodbye hurts too much. And yet, it’s almost unbearable not having a presence like her in my life. There’s such an emptiness inside. I feel like I would be dishonoring Tama if I brought another dog into the den. After all this time the pain still hasn’t gone away. Maybe it never will. I don’t know what to do, Lakota. I don’t know how to live without her." He fell quiet as the wolf leaned against his bulk.

They shared the silence of the night for a long time before the bruin shook himself out of his sorrowful reverie. With a great sigh, he wiped away his tears and rose to his hindpaws. "I’m glad you and your mate are here," he smiled, tenderly scratching the wolf’s chest. "You are welcomed here, always."

Lakota whined and nuzzled Belic’s cheek, his paw resting lightly on the grizzly’s bulging belly.

>>>>><<<<<

A few days later, the wolves decided to take their leave. After a long goodbye, the bear, leopard, and dragon watched as the pair loped into the forest, their effortless strides covering the distance between the den and the next foothill quickly. When Lakota and Windchaser’s melodic howls echoed off the hillsides in a lighthearted farewell, the three beasts roared in return.

With the wolves out of sight, the trio made their way back to the cave. Before stepping inside, Belic turned towards the trees once more, his eyes searching the hilltops for one last glimpse of his friends, but they were gone. With a heavy sigh, he trudged after the leopard and dragon.

>>>>><<<<<

The three companions lounged around the pond all day, splashing through its cool waters to relieve them of some of the midsummer day’s heat. Once the sun was halfway to the horizon, the princess herded the two knights together, and they waddled up the gentle slope to their den.

Waiting at the entrance were Windchaser and Lakota.

"You’re back!" Belic roared happily.

But before the trio could move forward to further greet the two wolves, a whimpering and yammering tsunami of puppies surged out of the cave entrance.

"Puppies!" K’gra laughed, crouching down to pet them all. The leopard was knocked onto her rump and vanished beneath the furry tide, only to be fished out by Belic, one puppy clasped to her chest and another clamped onto her paw. "Oh, they’re so beautiful! And strong." She proffered her paw to Windchaser who removed the puppy by the scruff of its neck. "Thank you. They’re adorable!"

The bear and drake oohed and aahed as they slowly knelt to get a closer look at the little pups. One of the brood became lost beneath an overhanging fold of grizzly blubber but was soon found again, much to everyone’s relief. As the youngsters were lifted and cradled in the trio's arms, they began to settle. Then, as if some inaudible signal went out, all the pups squirmed free and ran over to their parents. The leopard, bear, and dragon rose to their paws and led the group inside, laughing at Lakota’s attempts to herd the pups after their mother.

"It’s not so easy, is it?" Belic teased. "You should try it with winged hunters chasing you!"

>>>>><<<<<

Despite the loss of sleep, the wolf family brought a lot of joy to the den, and the bear, dragon, and leopard were sad when the time came for them to move on.

"Oh, do you have to?" K’gra sighed, gazing tenderly at the wolf pup cradled in her arms.

With sorrow in his eyes, Belic knelt down to hug and nuzzle each of the wolves. "You have a beautiful family. Take care of one another. And please come back soon. Remember, you always have a home here." Pressing his body against Belic’s sagging paunch, Lakota leaned up to lick his muzzle one last time. The Kodiak wrapped his arms around the canine and squeezed him tight. "Thank you, my friend."

When the pack had gone, the trio returned to the empty stillness of their den.

>>>>><<<<<

Belic sputtered awake in the middle of the night as he found himself being relentlessly trampled and licked. "Ack! What the-- Help!"

A lantern glowed to life, revealing the laughing face of a single wolf puppy.

>>>>><<<<<

An adult wolf stood in the darkness next to a circle of stones, the ephemeral shape of another canine beside him. With a nod and a touch of noses, the two parted company, the wolf vanishing into the underbrush and the German Shepherd walking a circular path within the stones and then lying down to sleep.