Winter Wolf

Part 7

It was peaceful outside, as if they were the only things alive in a snow globe wonderland. It was more exquisite from close up, and even Leander made some appreciative noises about it. They walked side by side, gloved hands clasped behind their backs, and quietly surveyed the changes in the landscape.

"It's like everything's made of sugar," Leander marveled, "Horrible largely inedible sugar that can kill you in large enough quantities."

"So just like most sugar, then," Axton said, tromping along joyfully, "I have a tree with a spigot somewhere if you want to do maple snow cones."

"Of course you do," Leander said, "And you probably know how to build an igloo, too."

"Not an actual igloo," Axton said, though he was sure he could figure it out, "But snow shelters, yeah. Sometimes you get caught far from home."

"How do you do that?" Leander asked.

"You dig," Axton said automatically, because that what was he did, with his great big rough paws.

"Uh-huh," said Leander.

"And you..." Axton sketched vague shapes in the air, "Build walls and..." Humans, humans, how did humans do it, "...it's better if you can use water."

"Oh?" Leander said, "You'd use up your water to build shelter?"

"Staying hydrated is the most important thing to do," Axton said, "But not freezing to death, as you like to point out so much, is important too."

"On that note," Leander said, "I propose heading back to the cabin, eating again, warming up, and then going to the lake."

"Deal."

++

Of course, once they made it to the lake, they pressed on a little further, just a little. Leander did seem to enjoy walking a lot, and Axton was ever ready to oblige. They trekked out to the foothills of the closest mountain.

"I can't even tell where anything is," Leander marveled, "Everything looks entirely different."

"I guess it does," said Axton, who had no such problem with the terrain, "I've just been here too long."

"Or maybe the problem is that everything looks the same," Leander mused, "That is: covered in snow."

"Well," Axton said, "Don't get lost."

"I have an excellent plan for that," Leander said, "It consists of following you around."

"If you do get lost," Axton said patiently, "Just look for the sun. You know how to navigate."

"What if I get lost at night?" Leander asked playfully, because he was the type to ask difficult questions.

"Don't," Axton warned, and he was serious, "There's no reason for us to be out at night in this weather."

"So we'll be going back soon?" Leander asked. "I thought we were going to that waterfall we like."

"No, we can make it back in..." Axton trailed off. No. He could, as a wolf, sprint back to the cabins with time to spare before dusk. But the gentle, meandering pace that humans took through the snow was an entirely different and much slower creature. It had been years since Axton had stayed human for such a walk in the snow, and he'd forgotten the human timescale for so many things.

"Mmm," Leander said, "Maybe we should hit that waterfall and head on home, eh?"

"We should skip it," Axton said shortly, "We should skip it and head back now."