"What?" I pulled out of the hug and looked at his cute wolf face. "Did you really think I'd be scared of the big bad wolf? Hmmm? It's not like I don't trust you. And even still, if you did go wild it just meant I'd be a werewolf too."
Ethan continued to look at me. He sat with all fours on the ground with his tail wagging. It was clear that he understood what I was saying, I just didn't know how much. Maybe it was just the fact that my voice was praising him, but he seemed calm and attentive. Something about him still seemed human. It must have been something in his eyes. Somehow, they looked so expressive. "Soo... I guess you can speak?"
He let out a loud bark.
"Not what I meant," but a smile still creeped onto my face. His tail started wagging faster as he had done it. "One second," I held up my finger and pulled the notebook out of my backpack. Another idea had wormed its way into my head. 'There's a beautiful pond in a secluded part of the trail that nearly no one goes to. It's deep enough to swim in, but no one who goes ever litters or does any damage to it. Ethan is really excited to show me it.' The words glowed in the darkness, then turned back into normal ink. Just as the ink dried, Ethan's posture changed. He jumped up closer to me, rubbing his snout and shoulder against me. Then lowered his back to the ground.
I looked at him. "Do--Do you want me to ride you?" I asked.
Borf!
"Okay?" My heart started racing a bit faster as I put the notebook back into my backpack, then put that on my back. I wrapped my arms around his neck and held on tight. Just as I did so, Ethan leapt into the air. "HOLY--!" I gasped and buried my face deep into his fur, holding on for dear life. Nothing prepared me for the amount of wind blowing against my body as he jumped what felt like 20 feet into the air and then dropped back down to the ground. Even with my 140 pound body, I figured there'd be at least a little bit of pressure slowing him down, yet, he jumped like I was nothing more than a cape blowing from behind him. Before I knew it, we were stopped.
Ethan nodded his head then lowered down. I was still shaking. My hands were holding as tight as they could. Borf! I still couldn't let go. He started to shake. I eventually fell off on my butt. "Hey..." I tried to yell but my voice felt lost in my throat. Ethan dropped on all fours and nodded to the left. In my fear, I completely forgot that he wanted to show me something. It didn't matter that that's what I wrote, anything other than pure survival was on my mind.
"Right," I said as I stood up and brushed the dirt off my butt. He nodded over his shoulder again. Then pressed his snout against my back and pushed me. My anger quickly dissolved as I saw what laid before me. A large clean pound with a few fish swimming around in the moonlight. The full moon reflected off the still water filling the area with a dim cool light. Trees and bushes lined the rocky shoreline. But we were standing nearly 15 feet above it all on a rocky cliff face. I stepped closer to the edge. "Woah..." It was better than I had imagined. The notebook seemed to defy even my expectations.
Woof!
One of Ethan's fingers wrapped around my backpack and pulled gently. "Hey..." I turned around to him still pulling at it. The straps fell off my arms and he slid it back. I accidently let out a gasp. I hadn't actually seen him at his full size in the full moon's light. When he stood up, he towered over me, making me feel impossibly small. I barely came over his waist and every part of him bulged with this unbelievable amount of power. The strong muscles were covered in a dense black fur, but that only made him look all the bigger. "What--" I barely asked before he ripped the flexible shorts and underwear off of his body. He pointed at my own. "Wai--" One of his claws slid down the side of my shorts and they dropped around my knees. His patience was running thin.
Woof!
He nuzzled his snout against my chest and in a single movement hefted me up in his arms. I couldn't do anything. His strength was immeasurable. I was barely even a baby in his strong grasp, perfectly cradled on his forearm. That's when he started running towards the cliff face. He bent down and then jumped. The force was incredible as we reached the peak of his jump. And for a second, we were taller than the trees. I grasped onto his fur even tighter. The force changed direction as we plummeted down. Full on free fall for what felt like an eternity. Then a massive splash. Cold water shocked my system. But then my head breached the water again.
Woof!
I glared at Ethan. "You ass," then added a splash. He happily splashed me back, not fully recognizing his size and just how much water he'd displace. It was nearly a tidal wave as I fought to swim to the surface again. I grabbed onto his shoulder for support. He practically could have been an island to himself. I continued to swim around with him throughout the night. Making sure to use him for support whenever I needed it. He only seemed to love it as I'd climb onto his thick back and he'd swim around doggy style.