Far across the lands Augustus was enjoying his winter vacation. His old friend was spoiling him with so many amazing foods and even sometimes enough to take back to share some samples with the others. He had begun to spend more time with his family, but would still make time for his friend occasionally. He had even learned a new word, "damn". He was not sure what it meant, but he knew its usage after watching his human friend break something.
He also enjoyed spending time with Angus who was now part of the family. Angus was looking better in his health although he was still old, but at least he was being shown respect by the crows and he was learning much from them. The younger crows found him fascinating as he always had a new magpie trick that he enjoyed showing off to them. Augustus enjoyed watching them all play together whenever he had the chance to.
Sitting there among his family, Augustus thought of Garius and Nibelski, how they were stuck with humans throughout winter. He hoped they fared well as next his thoughts ran to the wolf pack that Garius had to leave to winter alone. He hoped that they were doing well under the leadership of Werson. He decided that upon their return he would check on Werson once they were close enough to make a day flight to that cave. Most of all he wanted to see his old friend.
Garius found Nibelski in the shed still shaking from the trauma of being captured by a human. He curled himself around her and whispered in her ear, "You are safe now. I would have killed that one, but our friend had other plans. You are under our protection, just don't take easy food, always be on your guard."
"I was stupid, I was so easily fooled. Now I am terrified to go anywhere, no matter how much I try I am still just a scared little fox." She began to cry.
Garius lifted her chin and kissed her tears. "You are more than just a fox, you are a wolf of blue and grey. Be strong, and be proud."
She looked at him, "what does that mean? I still don't understand."
Garius sighed and began to explain. "It is an old saying I was taught as a child by my grandfather. He said that one day a special wolf would appear like none other and they would be important for the future of life."
"Do you think that is me? Because of my fur? I am no wolf."
"How do you know? Is it just what we see with our eyes that makes you who you are or is it something more, the heart that beats life into the body. You are a wolf, you just don't see it yet. When the time comes you will see in the still waters. On the outside you may look like a wolf, yet deep inside you are a wolf. The more you understand this, the more you will change. You must accept who you are."
"You accept who I am?" she asked.
"I do, I did from the moment I saw you. You were like no other."
"I was afraid that I would die today. It felt like the end of my life, then you came out of nowhere to save me." He was, to her, the one that she wanted to be with forever.
Garius looked into her eyes and realized how much she meant to him. "You will not die, I will be here to watch over you."
She nuzzled her nose into his chest, "I want to stay with you always."
Garius realized that he almost lost her today and he felt the walls of his heart begin to drop as he told her "And I want to stay with you, you are the one I would give my life for. If I were to lose you there would be none who could replace you." They lay close together listening to the winds blow by outside.
Walter had spent the rest of his day cleaning a few old guns he had put away in preparation for anything Bill might try. Normally Walter would have traps out in the field that would provide food and protection, yet he could not do that this year as he did not want to harm his guests. He decided to leave them alone for the rest of the day so that they might have some comfort with no people around. He felt that time alone would be best for them today and he noticed that they did not venture out of the shed at all.
It was an awful day and Walter was surprised at how evil a man Bill really was. He had heard that money corrupts and Bill was too rich with too much time on his hands. He strapped on his extra gun, grabbed his rifle and decided to head into town. He wanted a word with Grace about today's events and it would give him an opportunity to check in on her. He also considered a visit to the sheriff to inform him about Bill's activities.
As he made his way towards Grace's place he found himself always looking back at the trail he arrived from. He knocked on her door and she was surprised to see him standing there looking off into the distance. He turned to her with a worried look in his eyes. "Are you OK?" he asked.
"I am fine," she told him, "but you don't look so good."
"I'm not. Can you take a walk with me? Bill was at my place."
Shocked, she replied "oh my, yes, just a minute" as she raced around getting dressed for the winter weather.
Bill walked around outside waiting for her to join him. As he kept looking back at the trail he noticed the snow by her place. It was all flat right up to her window, yet all around the rest of the building the snow drifts remained. She came out to see him looking at her window. He pointed to the ground, "Did you do this?"
"Do what?" she was now looking at the ground, "no, what is this?"
"It looks like someone was around your window and decided to clean up afterwards."
She looked at the ground and became angry at herself for missing it, there was so much on her mind. Her anger only increased as she realized who had done this. "Bill."
"Yes, Bill. I almost shot him this morning."
"What?! How? Why?"
"He was on my property. He trapped the fox and ran off with her."
"That bastard! Where is she? Is she ok?"
"Yes, she is back in the shed. The wolf caught him and damn near killed him."
"Ok, wait here for me, I am coming back to your place with you and we can talk along the way." She ran back inside to quickly pack up her back grabbing everything important including the things Bill might be interested in. She grabbed a small trap and set it under the window then made her way outside locking her door. She noticed the boy who worked the stable and approached him to tell him that she would be gone for a while if anyone asked. She gave him a coin and asked that he keep an eye out for Bill.
"Mr. Whistler?", the boy told her. "He was around here the other day."
"Well he is not wanted here and if you see him please keep an eye on him."
The boy looked at the coin, then back at Grace. "I sure will ma'am."
She thanked him and walked off with Walter towards the trail. "So what happened, Walter?"
Walter used the long walk back to tell her the whole story of how the wolf once again had saved this fox and the full encounter with Bill. How the wolf probably broke Bill's leg, their conversation and if he should tell the sheriff.
"Oh no," Grace said, "don't do that. There was an incident with Bill's father years ago and the sheriff did nothing about it."
"Money?"
"Yes, probably. If Bill is injured he is probably at home crying like a baby and the stable boy is going to keep an eye on my place for me."
"That is good. You should have a dog or some sort of beast to protect your place while not at home."
"I have considered it, but I was always afraid it may scare some of the animals I work on. Maybe I can borrow your wolf."
"You would have to ask that young fox for permission to borrow him. He protects her like no other and I expect him to be even more defensive after this. I left them alone for the day so they could have some peace."
"That is probably a good idea, Walter, I will check in on them tomorrow after they have had some rest. I am looking forward to some coffee and jerky at your place."
"They will be glad to see you, Grace." Walter was glad to see her too.
It had been a long day for Garius and he wondered if their human had gone off to kill the man who attacked them. He hoped so. He patrolled a bit of the area, but mostly stayed close to his friend Nibelski. She was still shaken by the day's events and he wanted her to know that he was close by to protect her. He walked in to see her lying there as she looked up to him with a look he had never seen before. "Please, stay with me," she asked.
He went to her and wrapped himself around her. "I want to stay with you forever," he told her as he could feel her press deeper into his fur.
"I do too," she told him, looking into his eyes. There was a hope there that they felt in that moment looking into each other's eyes. There were no more words to speak as their hearts found they now were beating at the same pace. All fear passed away in this moment as they gave of themselves to pledge to each other a life together. No matter what storms may come their way they would have each other to weather it all. Their bond would be eternal, not even death could break their commitment. They embraced the ways of the wolf and this night true peace and comfort would be found with each other.