The Beast and His Tamer

Chapter 9: Grumpy

His smell was the first thing to come back. He didn't feel as tired as he normally would. The part of his mind that had woken up first knew what had happened, and it forced his heart to beat faster, desperate to get a grasp on his surroundings. It was scared, afraid that something had happened this time. Something that was worse than all the other times.

But a smell calmed him. It was an earthy scent that grounded him. It was light, and herbal, much like all the plants that grew in the forest. It reminded him of a summer day in his childhood, with the sunlight shining through the trees. It was never hot when they had ponds and lake's they could just jump in. They would do that in between practice and runs. It was one of the fonder memories he had of his childhood.

A buzz caught his attention, as his ears slowly started to work. It sounded like static to him at the moment, but he knew that wouldn't last. His whole body felt heavy, but his head felt better. He felt something warm and comforting going through his hair. He never wanted it to end. It massaged his head and took all the pain away.

That mixed with the smell helped calm his fears. Perhaps he was safer than he thought. The part of him that had woken up already seemed to think so. It was completely comfortable staying right there were he was.

Then that warmth that he had ahold of started to pull away. He didn't want it to. He wanted to be around it for the rest of his life. It brought him peace as he tried to gradually wake from his slumber. As it tried to pull away, he realized just how much he needed it even more. He didn't know that his arms were around the warmth until they tightened, not willing to let this go. It was slim and made him worry that it could easily slip away. He never wanted it to slip out of his grasp. He wanted it to wrap around him forever.

"I think he's waking up now," a distant voice was heard through the static. That hand came to massage his head again, healing him from his strife. The bad memories could never resurface with those delicate fingers relaxing him so.

"It's going to be a record if he wakes up this soon," another voice said. He recognized this voice from the many summer days he would run through the forest. He was another one who would jump into the ponds, laughing as the others screamed about how cold the water was. There were so many good memories that he hadn't had the chance to look back on. He missed those youthful days.

"It took him hours to wake up the last time," the first voice told him. "Your Alpha's a strong one, though. It doesn't surprise me that he's waking up this fast. If anything, it could mean that he is healing from this ailment."

"I thought you said that he was cured?"

"I thought he was," he told him. That voice sounded new, but it helped the static go away, and he enjoyed it. "You see, he's supposed to be completely cured from it."

"Should we try and move him again, Beta?" another voice asked. It was familiar, but it only brought bad memories of what had happened in the present. He didn't want to come back to the present. He wanted to stay in the past where all the good times were.

He was so tired of all the trials.

"I don't think that would be a good idea," the first voice advised, moving the hand to the back of his neck and forth to the top of his head again. "If he's already waking up, a change of location might confuse him even more."

He wasn't confused. He was just blissfully unaware at the moment. He didn't want to remember everything. He wanted to stay where this warmth was, bringing all the good memories back to the front of his mind. Nothing in the world mattered other than those hands and that lovely smell.

But his soul soon became heavy as he soaked in those words. Even though he wanted to be selfish, he couldn't. He had a responsibility, and a purpose to his life. That purpose might be questionable at the moment, but it was still there. And he was still urged by the rest of his mind that was slowly waking up, to open his eyes and come to terms with what had happened when he blacked out.