Welfpack Chapter 5

**They will return, this forest has good hunting,** Beehive said. She was more concerned than worried, and certainly more concerned over Patch’s excited retelling of their story to the others over time. She liked telling stories, which was good. But why did she have to choose such a subject every time! Patch almost wanted this contact with the Humans… Or perhaps almost wasn’t even a good word to add. She did want that contact. She was curious, as was Star.

The Humans that had crossed the big Pack’s territory were varied. Black and the other elders’ stories ranged from young Humans being abandoned to die by their elders, to wild attacks that left wolves dead, to distant sightings with no contact at all.

It was as if the Humans just didn’t notice things around them, unless it suited them to do so.

Which greatly intrigued Patch.

Of course, the other thing that greatly intrigued Patch was Sly. By the time their first year had elapsed, if Patch wasn’t somewhere visible around the male, she must have been asleep or just out of view. Sly didn’t mind, in fact he rather enjoyed it. Since it looked like the other females weren’t going to be expressing interest in him, he may as well pay attention to the one who did!

**I know they will.** Sly replied, nibbling at a flea. **I have been trying to figure out their traps, they use those vine-things. They have arrows and knives and spears, but the hunters still use their hands and their minds to trap deer.**

**Other Human traps are not so kind,** Black reminded the younger light-colored male. **They dig holes in the ground. Holes meant for much bigger prey but catch littler things – like us.**

**Well these don’t seem to want to do that,** Patch said, still gnawing on a bone from the rabbit she caught earlier. **The tribe of these Men seem… kinder.**

The Humans near this great forest were few in number, but seemed a bit more at ease with life in the wilderness. They built homes, true, but as the little pack had noticed they buried their waste, and they cleared leaves and branches before making their fires. They seemed wiser than some.

Which also, greatly intrigued Patch. She’d followed some around, on her rare jaunts alone – and would be scolded every time by Tarfoot or even Notch about being alone. They sternly warned her away from only bringing Star with her: between the two of them they still weren’t even big enough to brush up under Black’s belly. Small wolves would be easy prey even by accident.

Beehive followed her niece one day to see just where she’d been going. Though Patch knew she was being followed, it was almost as if she was happy about it. Perhaps she wanted to share. Beehive caught up with the brightly colored wolfess, and sat looking down the nearby hillside.

The woods were deeper where the pack denned this summer, filled with birds and small animals. This area was a little more sparse, a crater of sorts where the land was dipped and had never quite filled in with large trees. Newer life grew, but nothing very tall. It was an ideal place for a Human village, really – they could see around them on all sides, though they were on lower ground. A pond probably overflowed with some frequency, the two houses which the wolves could see near the water’s edge were built up on tree trunks.

**This place makes me tingle a bit,** Patch commented, **I like it here. It makes me feel good.**

Her voice was very clear in Beehive’s mind, and that struck the higher-ranked wolf as both odd and intriguing. **It seems to have a strange effect,** Beehive thought back. Distantly she felt the others, and to one she called with a direction. **Black, could you sniff us out? Patch and I are looking at this Human camp.**

Of course his first thought was of worry: two females off by Humans! But by the time he got there, he realized what they already were feeling: there was something distinct and odd about this location. He tilted his head, sitting on his rump lazily scratching at his shoulder.

**So you feel it too,** Beehive asked him, and he mentally nodded. They rarely performed Human-like motions such as shaking their heads or nodding, but … they’d developed those same efforts mentally.

**Strong here,** he commented, **Maybe that’s why the Humans act the way they do.**

**I think it is!** Patch said, excited that she wasn’t being punished for coming here. Her emotions carried stronger than ever over to Black, who glanced at her with those deeply green eyes of his.

**Patch, I won’t chide you for coming here alone, but I will if you keep bubbling like a hot springs at me like that.**

Beehive gave off a mental giggle, Black playfully nipped at her, and Patch bolted between them as they ran back toward the dens. That evening would be devoted to discussion about this new wrinkle in their forest.

Sharing the mental image, Patch could flesh out better what the lay of that land held. She’d walked the rim, never once daring to enter the crater itself. It was wide, not very deep, but the edge of the crater was higher than the tallest of the trees within it.

There were good hiding places for wolves to watch over this Human encampent, and it was decided to set a guard there, just to see what they did all day. The Humans were few in number, and didn’t have any trade between there and any other tribes nearby. There had to be some, occasionally troupes of them would blunder through the woods or along the waterways into the bigger Pack’s territory to the north-west. This camp was isolated, perhaps by choice.

They had more males than females, and few children. But they all smelled healthy, they didn’t disturb the surroundings with too many fires or too much digging. They had a hut which always smelled of smoke and fish, which drove Red to distraction – he had to be warned not to investigate too closely.

As time passed, and Summer ran slowly into Fall, the Humans below had established more than just fish in their smoke-house, they had rabbits and deer haunches, they took a bit from each kill it seemed, and placed them aside for later. Very wise, according to Tarfoot. **They will not starve, times will be lean and they still have something to eat.**

The back of her mind suggested a similar idea: they were all good hunters here, but Winter could be harder here than they expected. There were no sleeping snakes or easily caught fish under frozen waters. Perhaps the wisdom of the Humans could be shared.

**But they … keep it with that smoke, meat goes bad after a while, doesn’t it? You taught me that,** Star commented, unsure what to do with his fresh-killed rabbit. Tarfoot blinked, looked away.

**You are correct, it does… But during Winter the ground is cold, things do not go bad as quickly.**

**When first snow comes,** Notch decided, **We will put aside some meat. Small things, because anything too big will attract those long-tooth cats.**

The cats… Had been a bit of an annoyance, but nothing more before then. Surely though, the scent of already-dead deer would be too much for them to resist, even with a pack of wolves to defend their kill.

The problem started, though, when the first snow – expected for many days – didn’t come. There was a chill on the wind, certainly, but the warm desert air to the east kept real snow from falling here on this area of the great forest.

**What will we do though?** Star begged, **the deer have already started moving south, and the birds too!**

**It is true,** Black said, **even if Winter hasn’t dropped onto the forest, the forest is prepared for it.**

**I wonder… if this is normal, or not,** Beehive thought. Distracted, she let her mind wander to the Humans. It was clear that others were doing so as well.

Sly was the one who rose first. Notch didn’t stop him, when he picked up the last kill they’d wanted to freeze – a young badger that wandered too far from its burrow. Wordlessly, Sly began to walk toward the Human crater.

The others hesitated, but followed none the less. Notch more closely than the others, and Tarfoot behind the rest. Sly came to the crest of the crater soon enough, and didn’t stop walking. The others remained on the hill, worriedly pacing.

**What is he doing?** Star asked, but Notch quieted him with a quick bark.

**Watch and learn,** the Alpha suggested.

The Humans took note of the wolf coming down from the hill, and also of those still waiting. One or more of the females shrieked and took their children inside, but the men gathered. From above, Black and Red recognized the trio of hunters they’d encountered before, careful to watch them above all others. Would they recognize Sly?

It appeared they did, even if they only had a brief glimpse of him in their worried fray early in the year. More likely they spotted Black and Notch up there on the hillside, both of whom stared intently as though they could see right through the world.

Sly came up to the bigger hunter, who was not wearing his scented hunting clothes nor did he have a weapon visible. The grey and black wolf walked up to the smoke house, turned his head – still holding the badger carcass – and carefully placed the dead animal on the step of the building.

He sat down, watching.

If the tall hunter was the chief of this group, he would have commanded the youngling children to back away. Or perhaps, he was their chief, and he purposefully didn’t do so.

One of the younger Humans approached Sly – he smelled just as much of smoke as the building behind him; he tended the fires and herbs there. The words he said didn’t make any sense to Sly, but their tone was soft, gentle, and curious. He reached down for the badger, and Sly merely watched.

>>The wolf brought his own food!<< The boy announced to his tribe mates, with a laugh, he opened the hut’s heavy hide door, and began doing whatever it was that Humans did.

The rest of the Humans were muttering among themselves, none daring to raise their voice too loudly. Sly sniffed at the door of the hut, looked at the tall hunter carefully, not in challenge, and then walked back to his pack on the hillside.