Doctor, doctor

Today is a day like any other. The sky is blue, the wolf is sleeping by the entrance, and the breeze hits softly against my face. My days have been like this ever since The Fall took place, and I'm pretty sure that this is what the team had in mind when we decided to throw it all upside down.

I've got to admit, it's a really peaceful life. No people complaining about their rights, no people complaining about taxes, no people complaining about their awful lives,... No people complaining, in general! 

-Woof!-Dani barks as he sees me coming down the stairs, like every day.

Just like always, I kneel in front of him and scratch the back of his left ear, and he in response, wags his tail. Due to his big size, his tail hits against the floor and the walls, which produces loud noises. But, we do not worry about that, after all, we're the lords of this land.

-You want to go for our morning stroll, buddy?-I suggest as I pick up the house keys and pack up my weapons: A gun, a knife and the scimitar that my best friend made for me.

The wolf stands up at my words and starts to lick my hand, rushing me to open the door while whimpering with impatience. Same as usual, I laugh at him and kiss his head before opening the door and watching him run in circles like crazy. He might belong to a dangerous and mighty species, but he's still a puppy in heart.

After finishing his routinary laps, he begins to bark to get my attention and tell me to go where he is, and after checking the bullets on my gun and securing it into its holster, I walk to where he is. I don't mind that he runs far ahead of me, because I know that no one is capable of taking him down. 

To sum up: Life right now and its routine,it's really perfect. I'm glad that we were able to achieve this.

-Hey, Dani! Come back here! We have to hunt!-I yell before hearing a howl that approaches me quickly.

-Awwoo?-Dani "says" before picking up a big stick with his mouth and bringing it to my hand.

-No, no.- I laugh before taking it and placing it on the ground-I said hunt, not play.

-Oowww…-he whimpers in response while moving his ears down, trying to make me pity him.

I stand my ground and repeat the order, but this time, I pat the side of his stomach so he knows that I'm talking about food. This isn't something that I have to do everyday, but when I do, I always make sure that I do it properly so the wolf is in a good mood to hunt.

-Woof! Woof, woof!-he barks enthusiastically, his tail wagging with the same energy as him.

-Yes, pal. Woof, woof. Food!-I laugh before entering the woods with him beside me.

With everything that we have back home, I don't have the need to hunt on a daily basis, but I do it mostly because of Dani's wellbeing. Since he's originally a wild animal, I can't have him locked up on a house, but because he refuses to go into the wilds and always comes back to my side, I have to become a member of his pack and hunt like he'd do if he lived in the wild.

-Do you see it, boy?-I mumble by his ear as I point at a hare. They've been an invasive species in this area even before The Fall, so I don't feel so guilty by hunting them.

Before I have time to give out an order, the wolf begins to walk slowly towards the rodent, and before attacking, he calms his wagging tail, giving me the signal to stay alert too. I nod in response, picking up my knife and aiming it towards the hare in case Dani fails.

-Ok, boy… One, two-

BANG

The sound of a gunshot scatters through the air. It doesn't come from anywhere close, but it doesn't seem to be too distant either.

-Woof!

-What, boy?

Dani gets my attention by barking and scratching the grass where the hare was. It seems like both of us turned around to check on the origin of the gunshot, but the rodent fled instead of standing still like us.

-Woo?-Dani whimpers as if he was asking me "Now what?"

-I don't know, boy.-I said before putting my knife away and taking out my gun-But we should check on that, just in case. We don't want intruders in our area after all, don't we?

I kneel in front of him and start to scratch him. Just because I don't want him to get too attached to me so he can live in the wild, it doesn't mean that I can't be nice with him.

-Ready?-I say with a smile before patting his back twice-Come on, lead the way!

Dani is a really smart animal, and he will always understand the assignment. This time isn't the exception. 

Every time we've got an intruder (invasive species, strangers, …), he tracks them down and, if he's given the chance to, he also takes them down. Neither of us want foreigners in our land, so we always do everything in our hands (or paws, in his case) to get rid of them.

-Grrr…-the wolf growls as he stops before going into the road.

I crouch beside him, looking at the direction where he's growling. It's hard to listen with him by my side, but I do my best to focus and listen.

CRACK CRACK CRACK

Hmm? Are those… human footsteps? I mean, they're heavy enough to break the stick and the leaves on the ground, so those definitely belong to a person. A heavy one, to be more precise.

-You know the drill, don't you?-I ask my partner before standing up and scratching the back of his ears. He looks into my eyes and starts to pant with his tongue out, but a small smile forms on his mouth.

I walk a long distance away from Dani, checking on the footsteps every few steps so I don't lose track of them. Once I'm in position, I wave at Dani, and the "strangers obliteration plan" begins.

OWWWOOOOOO

A loud howl travels in the air, alerting everything and everyone where Dani is. This isn't an alarm or anything like that, this is just the distraction. I come out of hiding and slowly walk in the stranger's direction, watching him as they get distracted by the wolf. He's a grown man covered in blood, and on his shoulders he carries a woman and a child. Are they some sort of family? If they have something valuable, I can offer to treat their wounds and then kick them out, but nothing more than that.

He's not aware of my presence yet, so I'll just aim my gun at him for now, and wait for his next move. The stranger clicks his tongue and with a worried face, he puts the bodies on the ground and takes a gun out. But something's off about him, why did he lick their faces before putting their bodies down.

-Come at me, dipshit!-he yells while aiming in Dani's direction-I'm gonna make a fucking jacket with your damn fur!

I decide to approach him slowly since I haven't been spotted yet. As I walk, one of the bodies gets my attention.

-Layla?-I whisper as I look at her face, remembering a person whose face I haven't seen in ages.

The stranger, finally hearing me, rotates his body in my direction and aims at me, but before he can do anything else, I put a bullet right between his eyes.

-You can come out now!-I inform Dani as I put my gun back in its holster and kneel to pick up the stranger's arm.

Coming out of the trees, the wolf quickly comes by my side and starts growling and barking at the 3 bodies. I laugh at his doings and plant a kiss in his head, calling him a good boy before standing up and walking in the direction of the unconscious woman.

-So it is you…-I mutter before crouching beside her and picking up her body, carrying it with my arms-It's been a long time, you know?

It seems like she's been losing blood for a long time now, but she's somehow alive. Maybe I can patch her up and catch up with her, it'd be good to know what happened to her after Noah broke up with her. As for the kid… Let's hope she doesn't bleed out on the way home. I don't know her, so I don't owe her anything. Still, since they were captured by the same man, they might be related in some way.

-Be careful with her, boy.-I tell Dani as I put the child's body on his back-Come on, it's time to go home.