Mary is a good horse and despite her size still young and very playful. She seemed to relish the attention the pages gave her. Mary had been raised by Red from a foal and she was a page herself. But, Mary now a mom, proved very protective of Nudge. She made sure that Nudge didn't wander far from her. They would gallop up and down the field and stop frequently for a break to allow Nudge to lie down. When Red finally put Mary back on tasks that Nudge could stay with her, which meant no patrol duty in the forests, but a lot of pulling.

Red took the time to acquaint Nudge to some of the camp dogs especially the Border collie. She managed to get the dog to sleep with Nudge at night. It worked since Mary often had dogs nearby and getting her to allow one near Nudge had been just a matter of time.

Red had to get the dog and Nudge to play together. They were two different types of animal and didn't have the same interests. Red came up with the idea of using a soccer ball. The dog took to it immediately and would return the ball by butting it with her head every time red or Nudge kicked it. Nudge would kick the ball and he and the dog would chase it. If the dog got the ball first he would try to keep it away from Nudge, but if Nudge got the ball he would kick it and the chase began. There were always a few pages trying to get in on the game. Mary at first took a dim view of this game, but rapidly gave up trying to stop it.

Red finally had the pieces in place. First she had Wolf use an old blanket for Shadow to sleep on, taking care to rub his fur down frequently. Then Wolf would rub the collie with the blanket to transfer the scent. This and the scent of Shadow that Wolf carried on his hands and clothes acclimated Mary and Nudge to the presence of the wolf. The next step would be the most difficult. It involved Shadow actually meeting Mary without mortal combat. Mary may be the gentlest of horses, but she could deliver a deadly kick with her huge sharp hooves.

Wolf spent all his spare time trying to acclimate Shadow to a collar and leash and he had to lose his fear of being near horses. The boy used Pinto Bean and Easy Rider as test subjects. Up until now Shadow had followed just out of sight whenever they were out on patrol and as a rule had stayed away from the horses. Red and Wolf would arrange meetings between Shadow and one of the horses in an open space where neither would feel threatened. Soon it came down to the animal's trust of the humans.

The Bear provided invaluable help in training the wolf. The animal took to him instantly and they spent a lot of time playing together. The Bear managed to got a collar on Shadow, if only for a few minutes. The boy had not seen such a reaction before and asked the Bear about it.

"The wolf knows I am his friend. He sees a part of himself in me. Are there other people he is friendly with?"

"A couple of students, my tent mates, but mostly he seems to ignore any attempt to pet him. He just gets up and walks away from them," the boy replied.

"He may be a better judge of people than you or me. Everyone emits an aura or personality and he picks up on it. It is you whom he identifies with and I believe he thinks of you as a puppy."

By now Wolf had learned that what a knight said could be trusted as the truth. "How can this be? I'm older than him, and almost as large as he is."

"What you say is true, but the wolf still sees you as a puppy compared to other people. The wolf also sees that you do not have the necessary survival skills to live on your own in his world. He is trying to teach you and you must learn from him before he will let you really teach him."

Wolf shook his head in bewilderment. He realized he not only had a lady knight for a mother, but a wolf for a teacher.

Wolf explained the Bear's plan to the Raven and asked permission to take a day and night's leave. Carrying only his knife, he entered the woods to be greeted by Shadow who started running. Wolf followed at a smart pace for an hour or so until they came to a large glen and the wolf stopped running. The boy's lungs felt as if they were on fire. Shadow waited for him to catch his breath.

Once the boy stopped breathing hard, the wolf started trotting back and forth in the field sniffing the ground. Wolf got the idea right off and started a search pattern like Shadow's and soon found signs of rabbit. He recognized their paths, and where they were digging for food.

Wolf followed a heavily traveled rabbit path until it merged with another path and then another until he came to a hole in the ground, the rabbit's warren. Now Shadow nudged him to a place next to the hole, but not in front of it. Shadow circled around several times until he found another hole and started digging with vigor.

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Wolf got the idea and pulled his knife from its sheath. The first rabbit to leave the hole completely surprised him. He regained his composure and stabbed at the next rabbit to leave the den. He missed this animal as well as the following one. The next rabbit was slower and he managed to come down on it, stabbing it through with the knife.

Wolf saw the hand holding the knife, and the hand holding the rabbit. Blood seemed to be everywhere. It took a second for the shock to set in and it slowly dawned on him what he had done. The rabbit was dead and he had done it. He had hunted rabbit by hand, and without a bow.

He looked up to see Shadow sitting a meter away with another dead rabbit in his jaws. The wolf looked at him a few seconds, then started tearing his rabbit apart, ripping and biting, pulling off pieces of meat.

Wolf used his knife to gut and skin the rabbit, cutting the meat into bite size pieces. The Bear had warned him this would not be pretty, and he proved right. Raw rabbit left a lot to be desired, it was chewy and relatively unappetizing. Wolf found it easiest to cut it into small pieces and just swallow. He decided he needed to learn to cook rabbit as well as Red could.

After eating their fill, Shadow led Wolf to a stream where they both drank and washed up.

When Wolf had finished washing, Shadow started running again. There didn't seem to be any urgency this time, and Wolf frequently took breaks to catch his breath. Before the day ended they had hunted rabbit again. Wolf liked his new found skill.

As they were running Shadow suddenly stopped and sat down. Wolf drew up short and almost bumped into Maud. "Whoa Caleb, or should I call you Wolf now?"

The boy gaped at the woman, wondering how she happened to be here. "Wolf, Ma'am."

Maud smiled at him, "What has Shadow taught you?"

"Taught me? Say, how do you know his name?

"He told me. Now what has he taught you?"

Wolf had a hard time trying to figure out if he could believe her, "He's taught me to hunt rabbit."

"It is a most useful skill. He will teach you other things if you let him."

"Ma'am?"

"He is going to teach you loyalty and responsibility."

"Oh."

"Please call me Maud."

"Ma'… Maud, I saved Shadow's life."

She smiled broadly, "Yes, you did well. Why don't you give this old woman a big hug? I could use one."

As Wolf embraced the woman, she bent down and kissed him on his forehead.

As soon as they broke their embrace she told him, "Wolf, it's going to get cold. You need to make a shelter. Look after Shadow."

Wolf turned to look at Shadow. The animal stood there, so he stroked the wolf's head, and got his hand licked in return. When he looked back at Maud, she had disappeared.

The sun started to set and the air started to chill. Wolf, who thought he had become used to the cool nights in the high country, suddenly became aware of being very cold. He hadn't brought the heavy sheriff's coat or even a light page's jacket, and his shirt had been soaked with sweat from all his running. Shadow had fur and did not mind the cold, but Wolf knew that he had to do something quickly to keep from freezing.

Having only his knife and his experience from the Raven's survival class; he started cutting long thin flexible branches from some bushes. Stripping them of their leaves, he weaved them into a small dome. He then cut more branches, leaving the leaves on and weaving them into the dome's framework until he had a thick layer of leaves. As long as he kept his legs folded he could fit inside. He left a small opening to crawl into and made a small bundle of leaves to act as a plug for the opening. Just in time, the last twilight left the valley.

Satisfied with his work he crawled in. Shadow, who had watched the whole process, came up and looked it over. It met his approval and he crawled in. Wolf closed the opening, curled up with Shadow and tried to go to sleep.

The moon had risen and he had no trouble following the wolf. He could feel the cold on his cheeks, but he remained warm. They were following a narrow path zigzagging through the trees at a speed he did not believe possible. It seemed he flew among the trees and the path seemed as wide as a highway.

He looked behind himself and saw a massive horse with a small hooded rider, virtually a skeleton, chasing him, hooves pounding, tossing up clods of earth.

When he looked ahead, the wolf had disappeared. He entered an open field. He stopped and yelled at the hooded rider, "Who are you? Why are you chasing me?"

The hooded figure pointed a bony finger at him and demanded, "Who are you? What have you done with him?"

"It's me! Don't you see?"

Again the rider pointed at him, "What have you done with the boy?"

He looked down at himself, and saw that he was the wolf. He looked back up at the hooded figure and saw the horse charging him, the rider clutching a lance. As the lance penetrated his breast, he saw that the riders cloak bore the insignia of a fox.

Shadow woke the boy by licking his face. The sun had arisen. Wolf realized his shelter had been reduced to rubble, a pile of sticks and leaves, and the bitter cold had him stiff and shivering. After stroking Shadow a few times on the head he stood up and started to trot towards camp.

Camp turned out to be a lot closer than he had thought. As he crested the hill, he saw Red sitting on Easy Rider, holding her lance upright, waiting for him.

Red grimaced, "You sure look the sight. Why don't you get up behind me and ride into camp?"

"I would rather walk if you don't mind."

"When you get back, go clean yourself up and put on fresh clothes. We have a lot to do today." Red left, riding at a canter.

Wolf walked into camp and made a beeline for his tent with Shadow walking beside him. Almost every page and squire stopped what they were doing to stare at him and Shadow. Not until he reached his tent did he realize he had two bloody rabbit skins tucked in his belt. As he started to wash up he saw his clothes were splattered with blood from the dead rabbits.

Tired and sore, but ready to start a new day, Wolf washed up, changed into a clean uniform and reported to the Raven's tent. While brewing the coffee he had a talk with Red. "I know what your sign will be. I mean what you will be called when you become a knight. I saw it in a dream."

"Don't tell me; I'll find out for myself when the time comes. What you saw is yours to know. Every knight has had a similar experience. If you must talk about it, talk to the Bear. He is our interpreter of dreams."

She continued, "I hope you didn't waste those rabbits needlessly when you took their skins."

"No, I ate them."

"How did you cook them?"

Wolf quietly said, "I didn't."

Red glanced briefly at the boy, not quite sure if she believed him, "So how was it?"

Wolf snapped, "About as good as yours."

Red's head jerked up and she saw the biggest grin on Wolf she had yet seen. "You're getting pretty big for that uniform aren't you?"

The boy snapped, "It's just payback for the coffee gag."