Here he wasn’t getting rained on. He huddled in on himself and shivered against the wind and cold. It didn’t take long for him to realize that he needed to take off his wet clothes. The small rock outcropping offered little enough protection as it was but he needed to get dry. As he was taking off his vest and squeezing water from his pants, Aceso came out of the darkness and sat down next to him. He didn’t look at her for a long time. She shook herself dry and sprayed him with more rainwater.
“Thanks, Aceso.”
Aceso was the only thing close to being dry in the small shelter. He didn’t have any room to lie down, so he sat there with his back pressed against the rock. Aceso sat there next to him offering her warmth to his naked skin.
The run had left him exhausted, and the wind still ripped through him, chilling him to the bone. Aceso’s body heat helped but he couldn’t stop shivering. Even though they were out of the direct rain, the shelter was small and the wind brought sprays of water in on them with every gust. He felt Aceso radiate heat but he was still cold. He was exhausted but he couldn’t sleep. He was hungry but he didn’t even want to eat. Not that was anything available to eat but if there had been he wouldn’t have felt like eating.
He put his damp vest back on to help protect him against the wind. His teeth were chattering and he couldn’t make himself stop. Aceso moved over to him and pressed her warm body against him. The heat her body gave off and the comfort of having her there with him did wonders for him. He stopped shivering. His teeth stopped rattling, and the gentle weight of sleep eventually settled on his tired, hungry body.
He found himself looking out over the rain and the valley they had crossed. The storm had erased all signs of their passing and he smiled. Rain is good for something. That was the last thought he had before he surrendered to the blackness of sleep.
It was dark but warm and he was smiling. There was a light somewhere, but he couldn’t tell where it was coming from. He groped around in the darkness and felt hard shapes all around him. He opened his eyes to find the sun was already rising in the east. He could see its bright orange light reflected off of the rocks surrounding him. The sunlight was warming him and the surrounding rocks nicely.
He was surprised to see Aceso asleep next to him. He removed himself from the small shelter and stepped out into the direct sunlight.
They must have been sleeping for a long while because there were only a few remaining storm clouds way off in the distance. The wind had remained almost constant, and it was carrying the storm away from them. He stretched in the warmth of the morning sunlight. He found himself thanking whatever gods that had made all this happen now. If it was a little later in the year the sun would bring no comfort to him this early in the cold autumn or winter mornings.
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Throwing his fur vest on around his shoulders, he walked down the mountain and hid behind some rocks to relieve himself. He hadn’t had anything to drink or eat in a few days and his urine showed that neglect. The short dark yellow pee stained the rocks and had an odor that he was embarrassed by. He finished and turned around.
There had to be some water around here somewhere. Now that he was warm and his clothes were being given the opportunity to dry, he could give his rumbling stomach the attention it demanded. Rubbing at his mid-section he walked back to his sleeping alpha. She really was a beautiful animal. Even when she was sleeping, her ears remained standing straight, two proud triangles that crowned her head. Her mouth was closed, and she breathed through her very sensitive wet nose. Her forepaws were stretched out in front of her and her tail was curled around her body like a blanket.
He smiled. After so many days of her waiting on him, he was ok with waiting on her. Or he would have been. Just then his whole body was racked by an explosive sneeze that immediately shook Aceso awake and she was on her feet in an instant looking for danger.
He wiped the snot from his nose and rubbed it off on a nearby rock. “Jesus, I’m sorry Aceso. I didn’t mean to wake you up.”
The wolf looked at him with confusion and concern in her eyes. He looked back at her. She shook her head and stretched her body. She disappeared around some rock, and he was left there to wait for her. He knew what she was doing and the guilt of waking her up weighed on his mind. He waited for Aceso to return from relieving herself. He became aware of how thirsty he was. He looked around his surroundings. On a nearby rock in a depression on its surface, a small puddle of water sat there drying in the sun. He trotted over to the rock and lowered his lips to the puddle. He inhaled sharply and drained the puddle. The slightly warm rainwater felt amazing going down his parched throat.
Aceso walked out and around the various rocks and outcroppings toward him. He was still thirsty and looked for other puddles that had collected on the rocks that surrounded them. Both he and Aceso walked from puddle to puddle slowly quenching their thirst.
When he was satisfied, he looked down at the wolf. She sat there looking up at him. Her gold eyes stared at him unblinking. Her black fur shined in the morning sunlight. Her white starburst reflected the sunlight making it seem like she was glowing. The look in her eyes was solemn and quiet. She looked up at the mountain for a moment then back toward him.
“Well, we finally made it here, now what?”
Aceso didn’t answer. She turned up the mountain and walked. He looked up at the snow-covered peak of the dormant volcano and wondered how they were going to climb to the top. They had no climbing gear, no boots, no packs; they didn’t even have a rope.
Aceso wound her way up the slope of the foot of the mountain, around the various rocks and outcroppings. He shook his head and followed after her. The slope steepened and he had trouble keeping his footing. Aceso cut across the incline in a wide serpentine pattern. Even so, his feet slipped constantly on the loose gravel and rocks of the mountain. Aceso maintained their slow pace and he began to wonder if she was doing it out of more than just caution.