Chapter Six: Innocent and Guilty

The next morning was very calm and peaceful. David could hear water running in the river, birds singing in the trees and see beams of sunlight shining through the cracks of the windows. Even though he had a really good night sleep and what not, David was still very emotionally tired from completely spilling his guts the previous day.

His little friend, on the other hand, was very anxious to get the day going. She tried to do everything: nuzzle his face, lick his feet, try to pull the covers off of him, but to no effect.

“Please,” said David, “just a few more minutes.”

Beginning to get frustrated, the vixen shifted forms once again, got a firm hold on his ankles and yanked him clear out of bed. David hit the floor with a thump.

“All right, all right all ready,” yawned David, “I’m getting up, just give me a while longer to make breakfast and get my things together.”

In spite of his unexpected wake up call, David decided to take his sweet time. Clearly annoyed by his little game, the vixen paced back and forth around the cabin with it’s arms crossed, stopping on occasion to tap one of it’s paws on the wooden floor.

“You should have thought about what I might have done after you woke me up the way you did.” David had a teasing smile on his face. She just gave out what sounded like a light pout and continued pacing.

While the food was cooking, David turned to the vixen. “I’ve been wondering, do you have a name?” She nodded. “Well, could you at least write it out or something? I’d rather not just call you ‘hey there’ or ‘you'." She kneeled next to him with David’s hunting knife in hand and began to engrave something into the floor. Leaning over her shoulder to take a look, David saw what she had written: Wyanet.

“You know how to write? But how?” She got up and continued pacing without an answer.

Deciding that he had had enough fun at his friend’s expense, David scuffed down the rest of his meal and got ready to head out. It was, yet again, a beautiful and perfect day for hunting and any other activities that they had in mind.

David had a hard time keeping up with Wyanet. She was so swift, running up hills faster than David could run down them. However, David wasn’t surprised, she had a slim and mildly muscular build of a fit predator. Whenever David’s hunting partner had to stop and wait for him, she would give him a look that said, “Could you please keep up?”

“I’m doing the best I can,” said David, out of breath, “maybe if I had the traits of a natural predator like you, then we wouldn’t be having this problem. But since I don’t, you’ll just have to suck it up and deal with it.” Wyanet’s pace slowed down enough for David to be right behind her from that point on.

After about an hour of walking through the wilderness they came to a knoll overlooking a pasture with a huge moose. David took out his binoculars to get a better look. It was the biggest animal he had ever scene, besides the bear from the spring of course. Its antlers seemed like they could knock down a small tree.

As he was putting his binoculars away, his friend grabbed his arm and pulled the ocular device toward her. Gently grabbing the device, she examined it. When she looked through the scopes in the same manor as David, her face expressed much bemusement. David could see a smile show on Wyanet’s face as she was using them. It was amazing how something common and simple for him was so foreign and amusing for her.

“They’re binoculars,” he pulled out the neck strap, “you hang them from you neck, like this. So you’re hands are free while you carry it.” She put it on and wore it like a medallion. This caused David to laugh a little, embarrassing the vixen.

“They suit you.” She looked away as would a blushing person, displaying her shy side.

Getting back to business, David took hold of his Winchester rifle. But before he could take aim, Wyanet lowered it and shook her head.

“What do you mean ‘no’?” said David, with a puzzled look on his face. “Do you want to take a shot?” He offered up his rifle.

Instead, Wyanet took David’s hunting knife and pointed to herself, then at the moose.

“You’re insane! That thing will trample you to death. I don’t want to risk you getting hurt.”

Ignoring him, she took off and headed straight for her prey. David was so sure that he would loose yet another friend. However, this would only be the case if his friend was the moose. Wyanet attacked flawlessly and without any hesitation. Before the moose was able to look in her direction, she flew through the air and sunk David’s knife deep into the moose’s temple, causing it to instantly go down. Seeing this amazing performance, David’s jaw dropped, he just never would have though Wyanet to be capable of using a knife so well.

Anxious to see the dead moose up close, David sprinted as fast as he could. There was no doubt; it was definitely dead. Taken out in one swift stroke.

“Wow,” David was beyond impressed, “How did you… where… that was so awesome! I wish I could do that, then nobody would have every given me crap back at the orphanage.” He was, though only just a little, upset that she had taken his kill.

Wyanet took a little victory pose, as if to brag about her more than exceptional hunting skills, and walked over to David with a little skip in her step, holding out his knife with the handle towards him. David took it, still staring at what they were going to eat tonight.

Snapping him out of it, Wyanet gave him a tap on the shoulder and pointed at their bounty. It took a while but David eventually understood what she was trying to tell him.

“Oh, so that’s why you wanted to kill it. So that I would have to do all the dirty work.” She nodded. “Next time, I get to take the shot.”

Deciding to start with the upper arm, David knelt next to the moose and got to work. But before his blade could touch any flesh, Wyanet stayed his hand and shook her head.

“What? I’m doing what you asked.” Again, she shook her head.

She placed David’s hands around the handle with one had pointing it in the right direction and the other steadying the blade. Making sure that he had a firm grip, she brought the knife over to moose’s hindquarters, showing him how to easily get a great amount of meat with such little effort. David had never thought of doing it that way. When it seemed like he got the concept, Wyanet let go, sat back and let him finish the job on his own.

David was able to get a lot more meat than he thought possible. When he had gathered all that he could carry he picked up the rest of his gear and stood in front of Wyanet and held up his palm. “Give me five.”

Not knowing what he was doing, she awkwardly held up hers as well. David reached for her palm with his free hand and clapped it against his. “It’s called a high five.” He let go and put up his and again. “Now you try.”

Wyanet clapped her palm against David’s. With in seconds, David’s hand was throbbing with pain; he didn’t expect that she could deliver such force in a simple gesture of friendship. A look of concern appeared on Wyanet’s face.

“I’m okay, but we’re gonna have to work on that.” David rubbed his hand to dull the pain.

Having finished hunting for the day, and becoming even closer, David and Wyanet went back to the cabin to feast.

As David was preparing the moose, Wyanet took a big mouthful of raw meat. It was obvious that she didn’t want her share cooked, but David couldn’t tell whether or not she had ever even tried cooked meat. He held out a small slab of meat cooked to rare. She looked at it and continued on with her own meal.

“Give it a try, I made this especially for you.” In hearing this, Wyanet decided to go ahead and take it. It wasn’t in her nature to be inconsiderate when offered a gift. After giving it a good smell, she took a small bite, and then scarfed the rest of it down. Wanting more, she handed David the rest of her raw meat.

“See, I told you you’d like it.” David prepared some more food. By the time that they were full, all of the meat had been eaten away.

“Damn,” said David, as he put away his tin plates and cooking equipment, “you can really eat.” Wyanet was sitting in the armchair, looking relaxed as ever.

“However, I think that we’ll have to split up tomorrow if we want to make at least a half way decent food stash.” Wyanet didn’t like the idea, but she knew that David was right and nodded her head in agreement.

Tomorrow was the first time that David had left a friend; it wasn’t easy. He had enjoyed the past few days with Wyanet more than anything he had ever done. However, he knew that this wouldn’t be the first time that he would be away from Wyanet. Still, he wanted to get back to the cabin as soon as possible, but not without anything to contribute.

The way that Wyanet had used David’s hunting knife yesterday got him wondering if he could do the same. Although he wanted to be able to take down a moose or some other large animal, smaller animals seemed like the logical choice, knowing how they wouldn’t bee able to do much more than scratch and nibble.

David soon realized that this was easier said than done. There was nothing to conceal his movements after getting less than twenty feet away. And with all the twigs and leaves on the ground he wouldn’t be able to sneak up on a something already dead.

Hours had gone by and David had not caught a single animal with his bare hands. Giving up, he took out his rifle and put away his knife. Maybe it would be better if Wyanet had taught him the proper method like she did with getting the meat from the animal, rather than wasting his time getting nowhere.

After David had obtained his fair share of bounty for the day, David headed back home. On his way he saw his chance for one last attempt at using his knife instead of his Winchester. A huge, fat squirrel was sleeping on a tree’s lowest branch. David removed any gear that would hinder him and climbed. Having reached the same branch that his prey was resting on, David found his balance and quickly reached around for its neck. Feeling something furry squirming in his hand David knew that he had succeeded and jumped down with his trophy in one hand and his knife in the other.

Strangely, David found it difficult to do so much as point his knife in the squirrel’s direction. Why? He had accomplished what he had been trying to do all day, and yet he couldn’t find it in him to go any further, to kill an innocent creature with his bare hands. Choosing not to finish the job, he loosened his grip and let it go. Never again would he try. So he picked up his stuff and headed out.

When the cabin had come into sight, David saw no sign of Wyanet. However, as he came around from the back of his home he saw a giant animal. Not a bear, not a moose, nothing David had ever scene before. It was a huge red wolf, like Wyanet but even bigger, with long arms and fingers, and it was standing up on its hind legs as if it was natural. Its muscles were bulging through its thick coat.

Judging by its similarities to Wyanet, David thought that it was a friendly and gentle giant like her. He began to come out of hiding, but not before being pulled back. Wyanet cupped her hand over David’s mouth, brought her index finger to her mouth, telling him to be quiet. David nodded to show he understood. They began to slowly back away from the wolf’s direction and into the woods, only to turn around and see the beast standing right in front of them.

“YOU,” he said, pointing at David, “You’re coming with me.”

“No he’s not,” said Wyanet, putting David behind her. Finally she had said something.

“So Wyanet,” said David, poking out his head, “you can talk.”

“Of course I can, you just never asked me to or even if I could.” David tried to deny it, but he knew it was the truth.

“This doesn’t concern you, Tokala. He belongs to us.” The wolf began to approach him.

“Excuse me,” said David, “I belong to nobody except myself. And what the hell is a Tokala?”

“Me and my kind, David,” said Wyanet, “we are Tokala.”

“Okay, then what is he?”

Wyanet turned to face their enemy. “He’s a heartless monster.”

“Which is why you should give up the whelp if you want to live,” said the wolf, “What chance would you have against me anyway?”

“I don’t know,” answered Wyanet, “but there’s no way I’m going to just hand over my friend to you.”

“Your friend? How can he, a human being, be your friend?”

“A pathetic excuse for a living creature like you could never understand.”

The wolf shook his head in disappointment. “You know that the rest of your tribe will never accept him as one of their own. They’ll treat him like scum.”

“If I can see the goodness in his heart, then so can they.”

“ENOUGH!” the wolf was really angry from all this talking, “He’s coming with me.”

“You’ll have to kill me first.”

“If that’s the way you want it, than I’d be happy make it so.”

Wyanet and the wolf lunged at each other. It was the most animalistic and frightening thing that David had ever seen. They were constantly giving and receiving attacks. Wyanet might have been faster and more agile, avoiding all but a few of his attacks, but her strength was no match for his. Nothing seemed to phase the beast, not even a direct punch to the nose.

“DAVID, RUN!”

David couldn’t; he wouldn’t leave his friend who was risking her very life for him. There was no way in hell he was going to loose yet another friend, especially one as special and loving as Wyanet.

The battle continued, but when the wolf had his opponent pined by the neck against the tree, it seemed like all hope was lost.

“Don’t worry,” he said, in a mockingly reassuring tone, “we’ll take good care of him.” He pulled back his other arm preparing to deliver the final blow.

“Not before I take care of you,” David jumped on his back and stabbed him in the neck, causing him to roar in pain. David was so sure that he had the monster’s life in his hands. Just one more strike and it would all be over.

The wolf reached behind him and grabbed David’s hand before he could finish the job. He was now face to face with the giant brute. “I can’t believe a weakling like you was able to even make me bleed.”

Disgusted, he threw David with enough force to dislocate his shoulder. David slammed into a tree, breaking a few of his ribs and leaving a gash on the right side of his face.

“DAVID!” Wyanet cried out in terror. David didn’t move.

“You’re turn.” Once again, the wolf prepared for the final blow. Then, Wyanet noticed that David’s blade was still lodged in her enemy’s neck. She reached for the knife, sunk it deep into the heart of the beast and looked him straight in the eye.

“I can’t believe that even a beast like you would harm an innocent being.”

“You think he’s innocent,” the wolf began to cough up blood, “you think just because you’ve been with him for a few days, that you know his true nature. One day you’ll see just how dark his soul is, how much he is like the rest of us.”

“He is nothing like you, and it will be a cold day in hell before he is.”

“If that’s the case, then prepare for hell to freeze over.”

The wolf took its last breath after saying those words, and then chocked to death on his own blood.

Wyanet hurried over to David; he was just lying there contorted and unconscious. His breathing was heavy, and the cut on the side of his face was bleeding, badly. Taking off David’s shirt, Wyanet ripped it and wrapped a strip of its cloth around his head to stop the blood. Wyanet would have to hurry if she were to save his life.

Slowly and gently, she picked up David and was headed for help. Wyanet would not let David die after he had saved her life.