War Dog

Chapter 69

Inside the room that Dr. McKenzie had set up for himself, Lilly sat on the bed reading a book and I wondered where the hell they'd gotten a kids book from. Ben sat in one of the chairs, looking up from his phone as we came in. "Ceri." He looks over her with a concerned expression and standing up. His fingers expertly detach the lower jaw of her mask and then slips the top of the mask off and examines her carefully. 

"Is that your name?" The sweet little voice of Lilly asks as she cranes her neck to see what Wolf looks like under the mask. Wolf turns, her eyes lighting up, "Yes."

Lilly gasps, eyes wide as she stares at Wolfs face without the mask in place. She stand sup in the bed and leaps towards Wolf trusting that my War Dog will catch her. That trust is well placed as Wolf reaches out with practiced ease and catches the little waif of a girl. "You're like me!" The little girl squeals. Her hands run over Wolfs face, fingers twisting in her fur. 

I wonder how the little girl had missed that earlier considering Wolf was covered in fur but dismissed it as one of those things that kids did. The short barking laugh Wolf let out in surprise bought my attention back to the two girls. Dr. McKenzie watched on in a smug satisfaction.

"I told you, Lilly that she was like you."

"I sure am." Wolfs ears flicked up from hiding amongst her loose hair and if possible Lillys eyes got even wider. 

"You're ears are so big!" She reaches up to run her hands against Wolfs ears, and I notice Wolf suppress a shudder as Lilly runs her hands over a sensitive spot. "Where were they before?" She asks trying to figure out how Wolf was able to hide them. 

"It's a trick. I can pun them down, see?" she says laying her ears flat against her head. "The fur blends in with my hair, and if I ruffle my hair just so," she shifts her hair slightly. "If you know to look for them, you can see them, but most people don't look, so it's like a magic trick."

I watch from my corner arms crossed as Lilly attempts to pin her own ears barely managing a twitching motion. She growls in frustration, the sound reminding me eerily of Wolfs growl. 

"It's ok Lilly. It took me moths of training to learn how to move all those new muscles. Same with my tail," She says pulling her tail from around her waist to show Lilly. Lilly sinks her hands into the fur and begins playing with Wolfs tail almost delicately. "Your so soft!" She sighs and rubs her face against the fluffy fur. I notice Wolf shift from foot to foot, uncomfortable having the little girl rubbing her face against her tail. "Lilly?" She asked, her voice strangled in discomfort. "Can you stop please?" 

"But you're so soft," Lilly whines. 

"Lilly." My deep grumbling voice forces the little girl to stop and look up. "You need to do as Wolf asks. Please stop rubbing your face against her."

Lilly drops Wolfs tail like she'd been scolded, her expression guilty. "Sorry Wolf." Her voice small and dejected.

"Thank you Lilly. I appreciate you letting go of my tail. I don't like it being touched a lot."

"OK." She gives Wolf a tiny smile, hesitant as if afraid I'd growl at her again. 

"Now we have to go find Kate. We need to decide what to do with you." Wolf sat down on the bed and encouraged Lilly into her lap. "Do you have any family Lilly?" I watched in awe as the little girl crawled up into Wolfs lap without hesitation and snuggled in against her body like she'd never belonged anywhere else. "No." She responds quietly and Wolf nods as if she'd somehow expected the answer. 

"What do you want to do?" Wolf asked, and I startled, shooting Wolf a glance wondering is she knew what she was doing. 

"I... Don't know." The little girl said hesitantly, looking away from both of us. She was lying, didn't want to say what she really wanted. Wolf snuffled in her hair as matted and messy as it was, she could not have been enjoying the smell of the child who had been left to rot in a cage for two years or more. It did however make the little girl laugh as Wolfs nose tickled her. "Don't lie to me, little one." Wolf murmured. "I know you know, so tell me. You won't get into trouble."