35 Ch 35 Lobo (1/2)

Jacob hung around for awhile. When I had a few moments he and I would discuss the different moves the fighters used. We were interrupted by some shouts from upstairs.

Someone opened the door to the basement to holler for Mac when a big dog snuck down. I had to laugh when I saw the yellow wolf with the black back. He sniffed around, easily avoiding the hands that tried to nab him.

\”My fault,\” I laughed, \”I bet he heard me howl earlier. I'll get rid of him for you Mac.\”

\”If you can catch him,\” said Jacob as he watched the four legged intruder make a circuit around the basement.

\”Easily done,\” I said. \”Clear the steps please,\” I hollered out, \”and every one hush.\”

I stalked him, giving some playful whines and barks, acting like I did at storytime. I huffed, moved toward the steps, then added some more wolf sounds. Lobo came over and I herded him up the steps with another playful growl.

\”I'm surprised to see you here,\” I told him once we were outside and out of view. He shifted in the bushes briefly to talk with me.

\”Unexpected for both of us. I was on my way to meet a friend when I heard you howl. I couldn't resist when I came across this place. Such a good place to practice tracking people. I was surprised to smell you in the mix.

I had to laugh. I had never really thought about tracking the guys as they moved around.

\”Would you like to run together tonight? If you don't mind waiting?\”

\”I would enjoy that,\” he said as he shifted back to wolf.

Going back in, I made sure Doc had me cleared just in case. Mac gave me this look when I went back down. I'd explain it to him later. I heard him tell Jacob that Little Wolf was a good name for me. Some of the guys had laughed at my antics, but I didn't mind. I just grinned back at them.

I did my usual for the rest of the night. I got a fair bit of attention now. Usually I went through the night mostly ignored. I saw a level of respect from them now, as well as the promise of a bit of teasing about me being wolffish.

I held Mac back at the end of the night. It was easy to do because he had the same idea.

\”Quite a night,\” he said.

\”Understatement,\” I chuckled back at him. \”Who is Jacob?\”

Mac gave me an appraising look. \”He'll tell you in his own time, same as you I suppose.\”

I couldn't argue with that.

\”That was a werewolf in here tonight?\” Mac asked.

I laughed reassuringly. \”That was Lobo. He's a wanderer, loves to travel. He was nearby and heard my howl. We're gonna run together tonight.\”

\”Look, I wanna apologize,\” I said seriously. \”Dad had mentioned when I first moved out that I would run into things out in the world that never occurred at home. It never occurred to me that my howling would bring someone in. I'll be more careful in the future.\”

\”I sure the hell hope so,\” said Mac, \”don't mind telling you I was more than a little nervous tonight, on a few counts.\”

\”Mac, about the drugs,\” I said hesitantly.

\”Nah, you did good pointing it out. That thing you said, about smelling, it's a real thing?\”

\”Yes, a well documented human condition. I wanted to ask,\” I hesitated again because the request sounded weird even to me. \”Do you know anyone who can train me?\”