Whiskers

Pay Attention

Everyone jumped back, as was the protocol they had decided upon before starting the exam. Anything but absolute calm needed to be reacted to immediately. 

The vet moved to the monitors, focusing all of his attention on them as Jamie hurried to take a body condition score, feeling along the wolf's side and shoulder to see how underweight it was. 

"He probably has some worms in him. Once we get rid of those, I bet he'll pick up weight fast." He said as he took a small plunger from the bag that was already loaded with dewormer. They had intended to give it to him either way, since it wouldn't hurt to do it. 

"Mouth, bro." Jamie said, getting his brother's attention immediately to switch to helping him give the wolf the dose quickly. 

He wasted not time pushing the device into the back of the animal's throat, then pushing the plunger after testing the wolf's swallowing reflex. It was clearly awake enough when he did the tiny trial dose, because it had swallowed immediately. 

"Alright. Let's do one more sweep real quick. He's about to wake up." Jared said as he returned to the spot he'd been looking at before he'd been asked to help with the dewormer dose. 

Jamie was about to start packing up what they'd already used when Jared spoke. "Get me the electric razor." 

Without a second thought, Jamie grabbed the razor, which was battery powered, and handed it to his brother. They normally used it to cut through bad matting, which the wolf definitely had, but he really didn't think now was the time. 

Jared grabbed the razor and flicked it on, then immediately went to town on one of the giant mats stretching along the wolf's side. He seemed to hit a firm blockage leading around the back of the shoulder, though. The clippers also appeared to be having trouble in general, almost like the fur wasn't even fur. 

"This is really strange." Jared mumbled as he moved the clippers around, but kept hitting the same block. 

After a few more tries, he turned them off and handed them back to Jamie, then reached forward and ran his fingers over the odd fur. He stopped after a moment, his fingers clearly caught. 

"I think this might be one of the bad parts, let me see those again." Jared said as he reached back for the clippers Jamie was already handing him. 

Once he had them back, he quickly cut through the mass. Instead of acting like matted fur and just dropping away, it actually made a quiet snapping sound and sprang away. They looked at each other for a moment before Jared reached forward and grasped what they both assumed was more matting. 

"Wait..." Jamie whispered as he reached forward, too, pressing his fingers against furry-looking... feathers. 

"What in the world?" Jared asked as he held the limp wing while it slowly drooped down along the side of the beast, finally free of the rope he now realized had been holding it tied tightly against the wolf's body. 

"Guys, three minutes, max. His upper lip is starting to twitch and his respiratory rate is increasing." The vet said in warning. 

Jared nodded as he leaned over the wolf with the razor. The sound of another rope snapping rang out at the same time the beast took in a particularly deep breath, then let it out on a drowsy growl. 

He could tell that Jared wanted to figure out what the hell the wolf was doing with wings, but Jamie knew that the beast would wake up at any second. Without waiting for his brother to act, Jamie grabbed the razor with one hand and switched it off, then took Jared's wrist and pulled him toward the exit door. 

The rest of the stuff they'd been using had been cleaned up by their techs, and the wolf was removed from the anesthesia machine the moment everyone else was out. The vet go that out a few moments later, allowing Jared to force the heavy door shut before locking the three locks on it. 

They all stood back and turned their attention to the couple of video monitors placed in each corner of the room they were now in that hooked up to the cameras in the holding area. 

"He's waking up." One of the techs said. 

No one replied to the obvious statement. Their attention was completely focused on the large wolf as it slowly got to its feet. It didn't take long for it to realize that something was very different. 

Its giant head swung to the left as the wing laying limply against the floor on that side rustled, the sound of its feathers echoing through the monitors. When it turned to look at its other freed wing, it tried to lift them both at the same time. 

There was barely any response. 

"He can't use them? Are they vestigial?" The vet mumbled the same question Jamie was wondering. 

"I don't think that's it. They wouldn't have tied them up if they weren't functional. I think he might not have had use of them for so long that his muscles might have degraded and he can't lift them well..." Jared said, making Jamie nod in agreement. 

They watched him for another fifteen minutes before yawns began making their way through the room. Jared and Jamie dismissed everyone for the evening. They really wanted to feed the wolf and get it some blankets, but it was clearly stressed, panting heavily, and it wasn't a good idea to feed it right after being under anesthesia. 

"Sleep over in here, bro?" Jamie asked as he pulled down some blankets from a cupboard and pulled out a cot they kept in the room for those staying overnight for timed observations. 

Jared was already dropping down onto it with a yawn. "Yeah. I'll be the first one up, in about four hours? I don't think he has any severe health issues, so we should get some sleep." 

Jamie nodded as he sat down next to his brother on the cot and yawned. "Okay. I'll check him after eight, then." 

They both turned their attention to the monitors for a few more minutes, watching the wolf quietly pace slowly around the small room. 

"He's going to be pretty damn cool once he's all healthy again." Jamie mumbled, earning a chuckle from his brother as Jared mussed up his hair, then flopped over on the bed. 

"Go to sleep, dork." He mumbled, making Jamie grumble and lie down. 

"Whatever. I know you're totally in awe of him, too." Jamie said. 

Jared was quiet for a while before he replied in a sleep voice. "We didn't get to the hawk today." 

Time had really gotten away from them. 

"We'll get it tomorrow. He looks like he's in much better shape than this guy had been, so I don't think it will be a problem." Jamie replied. When he got a simple grunt from his brother, he yawned one more time, then fell asleep to the faint sound of heavy paws echoing on the hard floor.