After a brief pause, Aithne nodded once. Though knew full well that
this human had saved her life, the mere fact that he was indeed human
was making it very difficult to like him.

Jerry took no notice of the wolf's attitude towards him. He'd dealt
with worse hostile cases. The main thing now was to ensure her
survival. He was so concerned with her that he did not notice Birdy
until she exited through the flap back into the other room.
"So...would you like to talk about what happened to you?"

Aithne wrinkled her muzzle. "I would think that was obvious," she said
scathingly.

"The general is obvious, but not the specifics, my friend."

"And why should I tell you the specifics? I've never shared my past
with anyone, and I don't have any damn reason to begin with a human."

"I can't force you to tell me anything any more than I could force you
to go back into that pen. All I can do is offer you my friendship and
help as you recover. I would hope that that would form some bit of
trust in you." Jerry continued smiling that warm, unassuming smile.
He'd been dealing with canidae for a large part of his life now, and
he'd heard all the anti-human venom before. He didn't even try to
argue it anymore. Most humans were scum. That was why he was glad to
live in Alaska: less dense scum.

Aithne glared at him a moment longer, then turned her attention to the
ice box. She'd seen him take food out of there, and assumed there must
be more. "Give me food," she said dispassionately, chosing to ignore
the human's statement.

"I suppose I could be wrong. Wouldn't be the first time." Jerry
realized how ridiculous he'd look if someone who didn't speak lupine
were to walk in, as the gruffing and other such sounds escaped his
mouth. He took another hunk of meat from the icebox and placed it
before Aithne. "Eat up. I've got plenty stored."

As she took the meat in her jaws, Aithne glanced at the door to the
main room. "Is Artanis still here?"

"He's gone. I haven't heard from him in some time now. Last I saw of
him he was returning to his pack with a black wolf that came to fetch
him." Jerry scratched his grey hair. "More than that, I don't know."

Aithne thought about this as she gnawed. This meant that all the
canids in this building were strangers, an idea that hardly appealed
to her. Nevertheless, she doubted that any dog would attack her while
she looked as wretched as she did - instinct would tell them that the
risk of getting whatever she had was too great. She finished downing
the meat and licked her muzzle clean. "How many dogs are out there?"

"I couldn't say for sure. I know that Taryk and his sled team are
milling about. And Steele and Belisarius. And, of course, that dog who
was just in here. She's a bit hyper..."

If the names meant anything to Aithne, she didn't show it. Instead she
stalked towards the door, head low, and sniffed the flap that lead
into the next room. With her ears flattened, she poked her head
through the flap experimentally, then pulled back. Casting Jerry a
dull look, she ordered, "Open the door."

"Alright. If you really want to go in there." Jerry opened the door to
allow her into the common room where the great fireplace burned brightly.

With her tail almost erect and hackles raised, Aithne strode stiffly
into the room, sizing up her new surroundings. The first thing she
noticed, apart from the dogs, was the fire, and her ears flattened
against her skull. The fire crackling inside seemed horribly
unnatural, and she almost expected it to spread through the room.
Every dog in the room looked up; the wolf looked like some emaciated
monster, and smelled strongly of blood and waste and sickness. She
stared back at each one of them, daring them to make an agressiv move.
It was plainly obvious that she was ready to fight if any dog moved
towards her too suddenly.


~Zeki and Sparf