Max ran along in his wolf form, breathing in the fresh air. He had never ran so fast in his life and he was growing ever more excited with his new form. Miles past by in minutes, and when he moved from running on two legs to all fours, he went faster.
During his run, Max found a small cave in the woods. He explored it for a while, marking it as his territory, and made a note on his phone so that he could come back to it later. It was going to be his secrete hideout for when he was in wolf form. From what he saw off his phone’s maps, he was far into the state’s land now, and only the most experienced of people would come this far. As it was, there was a large river and massive hills that would make it difficult for any non-animal to make it that far.
Seeing that time was starting to get away from him, Max then starts his way back to the trails that he came from. Running though the woods, his tail flapping behind him, a strange noise catches his ears. He stops for a moment, turning his ears and head to find the location of the noise.
“Seems to be from this way.” Max says out loud before heading to the noise.
As he drew closer, Max recognizes the noise as a child crying. This confused him, as he was still a ways in from the main trails. They were too far from the hunting grounds as well. the only thing that he could think of was that the child was with their parents who went hunting to close to the trails. The area was blocked off by signs and ribbon, but if you are a novice, you may not know.
Max quickly finds the child, a little girl of about five or six. She was dressed in hunting gear, with the reflective material. At least her parents were smart enough for that, Max thought. But now he had a dilemma. He could change back to his human form, and walk the girl back to the trails, but then people would be asking how he got out that far. The other option would be to show the girl his wolf form and carry her close to the trails. But then the girl could tell people of the big wolf that was in the woods.
Wolfs were not common in that part of the forest, so Max knew he could start a hunt. Add to the fact that his new neighbor was a professional hunter and that his Big Bad Wolf powers were already giving him bad vibes with him, that could turn problematic. He would have to stay out of his wolf form for a while, but how long did he have before the forced transformation from not changing?
While thinking, the girl’s cries started to go down. She started coughing, Max knew what he had to do.
Max gets close to the ground, trying to hide his full size. He then slowly walks up to the little girl. The girl is startled, but Max talks to her. “Calm, girl.” He says in a soft voice, well as soft as a wolf could be. “You are safe. I will take you back to people.”
“I want my daddy.” The girl says, tears still coming from her eyes.
“I can’t take you to him directly, but someone will help you. Let me take you back to people.” Max was trying to get the girl to understand that she needed to go with him without talking too much. He could guess that everything was scary to her.
“Are you going to bite me?” the girl asks.
“No,” Max replies, almost offended.
The girl hears the offended tone. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be. You are lost and sacred. I understand.” Max replies as he draws closer. He starts to wag his tail, hoping that the girl knows that this means dogs are happy. “Hop on and hold on to my fur.”
“Okay.” The girl replies. She slowly walks closer, placing her hand out. As her hand draws closer to Max, he slightly moves to make her hand touch his fur. The little girl is shocked at first, but then she starts to run her fingers through Max’s fur. “So soft.”
“Thanks.” Max replies. The little girl pets him for a few minutes before climbing onto his shoulders. “Are you ready? You need to hold on tight.”
The little girl forms a death grip on Max’s fur, almost making him cry out. But he bites his lips to hold in the howl of pain to not scare the girl. “I’m ready.” She replies with a little confidence.
Max starts off slow, letting the girl get used to riding before picking up speed. He listens for the noise of people in the direction of the trails before he hears the sounds of sirens. They were to far away for the girl to hear, but Max could tell that they may have been in the parking lot for the trails.
Max guessed that the cops where there to start the search for the girl. Max now wonders how long she had been out alone. He also hoped that it meant that her father and any other family member was safe.
Max came up to the level 3 trails quickly. At this point, the sirens could be heard by all, and most of the visitors had already left the area. He could hear officers making their way along the trails and decides this would be the best spot to drop the little girl off.
“Alright girl. This is where you get off.” Max says softly.
“Aww,” The little girl replies. Max wondered if she was starting to have fun riding him.
“Come now. There are some officers coming up that will help you find your Daddy.” Max replies.
“Okay,” The little girl says before sliding off his neck.
“Just stay on the trail and the officers will find you.” Max adds.
“Okay, bye puppy.” The little girl gives Max a hug before running off along the trails.
Max smiles as he watches the little girl run along. He starts to make his way along the trail, making sure he was out of sight. He slowly starts to revert back to his human form, going from all fours back to two feet. As the last of his human features return, his clothes reappeared, covering him back up.
Max had a large smile on his face the whole walk home. As he passed his new neighbor’s house, he saw that the doors are all closed up and the moving truck was gone.
Max opens his door, walks upstairs, and goes straight to his room. Dumping his clothes into his clothes basket, he sends his mom a text before starting a shower.