Half of You

The Pens - Chapter Six

Payne sticks his hand into the bale of hay, pulling some out and dropping it next to the rabbits, who immediately turn their attention away from him and begin eating. It's easier for me to turn my attention to them. The one on the left is white with little black spots all over, and the other is a mix of grey and brown.

"This is Tuxe," he points to the one on the left, then the one on the right. "And Boe." He drops another handful of hay down. "They're really cute." All the rabbits I had come across as a kid were hunted and eaten, usually by the juveniles. Seeing them with no intent to hunt, enjoying life, I simply want to hold them and brush their undoubtedly soft fur. Their tiny tails twitch as they pay us no attention, muching away at the hay.

"They are. We have more here and at the other pens, but these two are by far my favorite." He smiles again, before picking up the bale of hay and moving it down to the next pen in line. He drops the same amount of hay for these rabbits, a pair with silvery white fur. Then the next, a chestnut brown and black one. All greet him the same way, lobbing up to the fence and standing on their back paws.

"How do we make sure they're taken care of properly?" I make sure I ask so I know everything I need to do with them. He stops at the last pen to take hay from the bale and give it to these rabbits too. "Well, the basic things like food and water of course. Rabbits graze constantly in the wild, so we have to make sure they have a constant supply of hay. They also eat vegetables twice a day. Water, of course, should always be full." He holds what remains of the hay bale with ease as he looks over at me.

The sun catches the bridge of his nose and twinkles in his eyes, and it reminds me of when sun peeks through a canopy of trees to light the forest floor. It reminds me of home.

The pain goes to start up again... I look away.

There is an uncomfortable moment of silence before I find something to say. "That should be easy enough. We only ate wild rabbits at home, never kept any. For some reason I expected it to be harder." He chuckles a little and shrugs, picking up the bale and beginning to move back towards the barn. "We eat these too. It's more sustainable for the wild population if we keep at least some of them at the pens. Besides feeding them, we also sweep out their cages as needed, brush them, and check them for any abnormalities. Cuddling them is just a bonus."

It's strange to think of an Alpha wolf cuddling with rabbits and enjoying it. But Payne doesn't really seem like other future Alphas that have came to the pack. He seems like the Luna. Down to earth.

"We don't expect much, but if we take care of the rabbits, they in turn take care of us later." At least in the pens they don't have to be worried about every predator in the forest or survival their entire life.

"I like that. We never kept any animals at home." I would have loved to have hands on experience with them other than killing. I think it would have been good as a pup to understand the value of every life.

"As large as our pack is," He's not trying to boast. "The wild populations would be hunted to extinction if we didn't. Even now we're planning on spending the time and materials to expand. Maybe even build another location or a second garden."

He looks proud to talk about his pack, given the way his shoulders shift back and he walks a little taller. "More resources never hurt, especially if the pack is going to continue to expand." I say, and we reach the shed. I pull one of the doors open and dust swirls around us as we step inside.

It's seems more spacious than it did before. There are bags of feed, hay, halters, and other various items stacked neatly, leaving enough room to walk. Payne sets the remaning hay down in the designated spot, before brushing his hands together. He then leans down and grabs two pails, offering one to me. I take it and we turn around to leave.