Edit: I'm not much of an artist 👩🎨 as I am a writer ✍️, but I did enjoy enjoy drawing this sketch above.
Happy read✌🏻
🐺❤️🐺❤️🐺❤️🐺❤️🐺❤️🐺❤️🐺❤️🐺❤️🐺❤️🐺❤️🐺❤️🐺❤️🐺❤️🐺❤️🐺❤️🐺❤️🐺❤️🐺❤️🐺❤️🐺
The day is almost at its end, and yet, the comforting glow of the city lights make the dark-blue sky with shades of purple, all the more appealing to the eye for a pleasant evening. The consistent chatter of crickets, illuminating lampposts, and the big buildings far beyond, highlighted a cozy atmosphere. Stunning nightfalls like this, almost feel like you're in a whole different dimension away from the crude realities of the world.
"Hey, Wolf?"
"Hmm?"
"Where'd you park? I couldn't find your car earlier."
"Right over there," The anthropomorphic wolf pointed his finger through the dusk-lit trees. His Camaro was parked at least twenty-five spots away from Myla's Mercedes.
"What the—How did you park so fast?! I didn't see you get here!," she exclaimed.
"Speed, Myla. It's all about the speed." Wolf smirked at her. "Plus, I waited for you for like, what? Ten, eleven minutes?"
He checked his watch. "I didn't hear you coming till I was in the bathroom, so I was able to navigate to you by using your scent. You know how well-advanced our snouts are," Wolf said as he put on his white fedora hat, and brown tinted glasses he carried with him.
He highly doubted other people would be around in a public forest place at sundown, but this was just in case other passerby's were around. "but then again, if I had already been there when those guys were giving you trouble, I probably woulda had to give them the good ole, "unprotected sheep in the fields treatment", if ya know what I mean, Sweet Cream."
Myla rolled her eyes, from both the nickname he gave her yesterday over having whipped cream on her nose, and his mischievous chuckle. She pushed him away by his shoulder when that cheeky smile didn't leave his face. This made Wolf laugh since she had little muscle mass compared to him.
Earthly smells of the grassy green fields that lengthened throughout the park, greatly filled Wolf and Myla's noses. Well, the aroma of mother-nature is more sensitive for Wolf's snout, but it did indeed bring him warmth and comfort in a way he rarely feels whenever he's alone or with someone else. It reminded him of the time he use to be a little, young country wolf pup who lived with his family before moving to the city as he got older.
Neither of them admitted it, but the evening walk in a park gave the two individuals a sense of peace: Being away from the city, away from the crazed circumstances that go on in L.A, and overall, just peace and quiet.
"Also, a little tip: Maaaybe don't shout back at strangers next time," Mr. Wolf said, referring to the hippies who nearly tried to gang up on Myla earlier. "You never know what weird guys like them are ever gonna do. The Big Bad Super Wolf isn't always gonna be around to save the day."
Myla chuckles before saying, "The Big Bad Super Wolf, huh? Well that's kinda a pristine name, don't you think, Mr. Furbaby?" She smirked up at him.
Mr. Wolf paused strolling down the trial to glance down at the human woman. He glared at her for the damn nickname again. She giggled as his narrowed eyes made a failed attempt to give her a quick scare.
"You're, never gonna stop calling me that, are ya?," he assumed.
"Nope! And hey, if you're gonna keep calling me 'Sweet Cream', then I'm not gonna stop calling you Furbaby! We gotta keep things even, you know?"
Wolf stared at her until his glare shifts to a humorous grin. He was unaware of his tail wagging as a slight blush crossed his fuzzy face. He couldn't help but think the way she gazed at him with a plastered smile across her cheeks, looked absolutely adorable.
"You're pretty ballsy, you know that?," Wolf chuckled as he and the human woman continued walking through the park again.
"Oh, trust me, if you wanna see ballsy, you shoulda seen me back when I was a little kid, I caused all kinds of trouble!"
"Let me guess: Protecting wanted thieves from cops?," Wolf playfully predicted with a laugh. "Like—like the kinda thieves who are handsome guys like me in sharp uniform?" He dipped his glasses, and gave her a wink.
Myla crossed her arms, a devious grin traveling from ear to ear. "Mmmm, no. It was a bit more than that actually . . ." She adjusted her brown bag as she reflected back on the days when her elementary-school self would (sometimes) get caught stealing coins, treats from her foster parents, experiment with knives just for fun, or hell, even stealing a stuffed animal from a toy store during Christmas back in 2011!
She was about to tell him the story of that last part when they suddenly spot a tall, scrawny elderly man strolling opposite of them.
They both grew quiet.
Mr. Wolf elbowed Myla with a naughty smirk. She shook her head with a warning look on her face. By the time the gray-haired man drew closer, Wolf reached his paw inside the older man's back pocket, but right after he pulled out his wallet, a clinking sound followed. His eyes widened in alarm.
Oh sh—
"What the—hey! Are ya tryin to steal my money?!?," the old man lashed out as he grabbed ahold of Wolf's arm and held a strong grip on him, which honestly surprised him considering this old guy is seemingly built like a twig.
Wolf's fur bristles up in horror just as he discovered he accidentally pulled out a pocket chain secured to the wallet, made to either look cool or alert the owners of their possession about to be stolen.
"Woah, woah, hey, hey! Take it easy, I wasn't trying to steal anything, good sir," Wolf said in a gentleman-like defense as he forcefully pulled his arm away, dipping his hat.
Despite knowing he's treading savage waters, Wolf still enclosed his fist around both the seven-inch-chain and the wallet, then secretly slipped both items into his own pocket.
The anthro grey wolf was so thankful he chose to wear accessories on his face this evening.
"Oh yeah, like hell you weren't!! I'm gonna call the cops!" The old man fumbled with his phone with shaky fingers.
Mr. Wolf was about to grab hold of Myla's wrist, and make a run for it, when—
"Oliver! Why are you messing with this guy?!," Myla intervened. She pretended to be angry as she slapped Wolf's chest. "You know it's not nice to mess with old people!"
"Excuse me?!?"
Myla turned towards the elderly stranger. "I am so sorry sir, please forgive my . . . friend here, he doesn't get out much," she said as Wolf gave her a confused look.
"But he tried to steal my money—!"
"Do you have your wallet, sir?," Myla asked calmly. She tilted her head to the side, an innocent twinkle appeared in her blue eyes in order to make her look harmless. "Do you have your wallet? Because I think you should double check to make sure."
"Myla, what the hell are you doing??," Mr. Wolf whispered through his canines. He genuinely appreciates her for trying to help, but how's he supposed to not get caught if he already stole this old dude's wallet!?
"Oh ho I'll check!," he aggressively reached into his jeans. "Because I know damn well it's not—" He pulled out his wallet with the small chain attached to it. The same items Wolf just pickpocketed. "There . . ."
Both he and Mr. Wolf stared at it with eyes the size of golfballs and a gaped mouth.
Mr. Wolf quietly pat his back pocket. He felt nothing in there. His ear twitched, confused as all hell.
His confusion increased even more when Myla privately winked at him.
/////
After a heavy moment of cautiously convincing the old man that "Oliver", didn't pickpocket him, the young duo eventually escaped the situation, and get back to walking down the trail again with ease.
They find a park bench that overlooks a glistening, soft stream that'll soon reflect the starry night. They decide to sit down to let their legs rest for a bit from a lot of walking. The wolf and human sat only a few inches next to each other, Myla's purse sat between her feet.
Myla's relaxed posture felt content with the quiet atmosphere surrounding her. She inhaled the sweet smell of delicate, but strong nightfall aroma as she eyed the calm river flowing by, mentally admiring the water's endless soft sounds. In comparison to the city, the company of nature parks are always a hundred times more better than the mixed sounds of people and turmoil traffic she'll hear every night in her little apartment.
The bewildered canine however, kept darting his gaze back further down the trail where they just came from.
"Alright, is it just me, or did I try to steal a wallet that magically grew limbs just now?," he asked out of the blue, making Myla giggle. "Because unless we missed the opportunity to witness history, and it can do parkour somehow, then it's justified, but in this case—"
"You mean something like this?," The young woman cut him off as she held up Mr. Wolf's own wallet.
His jaw dropped. Her smirk insinuated the fact she re-pickpocketed the money and chain Wolf stole, just to sneakily give back to that stranger . . . or did she?
Mr. Wolf stared at her with shock on his face. He patted down his suit as if he just heard someone said they saw ants crawl all over him. "Wait . . ." He looked back at her. "how-how did you—?"
"Your not the only one with quick fingers, Wolf," Myla smiled, handing his wallet back over. "I thought about stealing his money too, but people who wear those chains in their clothes are pretty hard to pickpocket, so I try to let them be . . . even if the challenge is pretty tempting. Or, at least that's what I try to tell myself once in awhile."
"Huh . . . well I'll be damned," Wolf nodded slowly. He never thought there'd ever be a time he would conveniently meet someone who's also a stealth robber, much less a human woman who's not afraid of him.
He exhaled a relaxing sigh, internally grateful the weight of that recent predicament is lifted off his shoulders. "I guess we're not that different, huh?" Mr. Wolf leaned back into the bench with one leg crossed over his other one. "A wolf and a human?"
"What do you mean?" Myla tilted her head.
"Well, you know . . . depending on what group you're in, both of us can form pack leaders, families, friends, mates, or in our case; two people who are goal-oriented enough to pickpocket old geezers." Wolf winked at her.
"Kinda like you?," Myla teased.
"Hey! First off, I'm in my early thirties, I ain't that old," Wolf said defensively, he scooted closer to the human blonde. "and second; I'll have you know these fingers right here—ya see my hand, Myla? You see this hand?" Wolf held his paw up in front of them.
"Yeah . . . ?," Myla grinned while Wolf went on with a mix of both amusement and seriousness in his voice.
"These are man fingers, I always keep them agile by playing a cool instrument. And this suit? This is a man suit, so I can keep jewelry hostage, and their owners don't need a ransom call over some stolen diamonds. And this face—?" Wolf took off his fedora and glasses. Muffled giggles escaped Myla's mouth. "—this is a man face. And a wolf man's face is always serious. Never underestimate it, Myla . . ." He stares at her with a blank, resting bitch face on his muzzle. The kinda face in which the other person wouldn't know what thoughts are on their mind.
"Boop!" Myla tapped his cold nose.
Mr. Wolf eyes widen again, slightly taken aback.
"That's called a furbaby face, Wolf," she said.
Myla couldn't tell if he was trying to playfully intimidate her in some way, but since he's facing eye level with her rather than towering over her skinny frame, which is something her ex, Devin would do to intimidate her anytime she said something he didn't approve of, her body didn't sense the need to back away.
And she felt glad she didn't need to, a small part of her does kinda like him anyway.
Mr. Wolf sighed. "Every time . . . ," his tone came off as frustrated.
A part of him is still getting use to the fact that out of a million people in the city, one person doesn't flinch at the sight of him, but how come it didn't bother him that much though?
Myla tried hard to stifle her laughter. Even though he was irritated, she could hear his tail slightly sway behind him.
"And this makes me wanna know why I can't scare you . . . ," the grey wolf said as he made a not-so-good attempt to prevent his tail from wagging by pinning it to the seat.
"Well, you are kinda more cute than scary to be honest. Especially when you're annoyed, Wolf, no offense," Myla stated, resisting the urge to boop his nose again. "Now come on, I want to see where the stream ends, lets go!" She eagerly grabbed Wolf's arm, and pulled him off the bench to lead him down the trail once more.
Myla's childlike enthusiasm made her blissfully unaware of Mr. Wolf's tail puff up, along with a huge blush creeping it's way to his furry cheeks right after she called him "cute".
Wait—Since when would anyone ever refer to him as cute, and not scary?
That felt weird.
Well, on the bright side, it did feel good to break away from his chaotic friends for once. He loves them, of course, but like any other person who lives with his friends who are more like siblings, they can be a handful, so this is a nice change.
A few minutes flow by with another moment of a comfortable silent walk between the two individuals through the woods till they eventually exit out into a more greenery grass field with vast rows of plants of all kinds. Two crickets could be seen hopping flower to flower, a frog croaked before splashing into the river, and finally, what was once a concrete trail Wolf and Myla strolled on, transitioned to a cobblestone path.
This gave Myla some brief time to recharge. She may have an introverted side, but it didn't mean she loved being alone all the time, so strolling with the one person she feel she can get along with just fine since her interaction with Mr. Wolf at Milo's cafe yesterday, shifted her to step out of her comfort zone just a bit. Maybe a foot more.
Occasionally, they'd sneak quick glances at one another. Usually, Myla's expression being more curious of his anthro, facial-like appearance up close while Wolf would give her a small smile, a flirty look, or vice versa.
"You said you play an instrument, right? What do you play, Mr. Wolf?," she asked curiously.
"I play a piano," he replied thoughtfully. "Well, I'm not that good—I mean, I am good, I can beee pretty good at anything, but not pianist level good. Like I said, I typically just play to keep my fingers light."
"Let me guess, for pickpocketing?," Myla chuckled.
"You know it." Wolf smirked.
"So you guys have a piano at your place?"
"Yep. And we didn't have to pay a huge currency for it, so that's a benefit for us."
The young woman raised an eyebrow. "How do you steal a piano . . . ?"
"A criminal leader never spills out his secrets, Sweet Cream," Wolf stated lightheartedly.
"Haha, well that's kinda've a coincidence, I play a piano too," Myla informed.
"Really?" His eyes lit up in curiosity.
"Yeah, but I don't really play it that much anymore."
"How come?"
"Well, for one thing, I don't live in a big place where I have room for one, and I haven't played in awhile, so I doubt I'd be much of a good piano player now," she explained. "But I did use to take a few lessons when I was a kid. Mostly from my dad."
"That's interesting," Wolf tuned in. "did ya win any recitals?"
"Not really. Even when I was younger, I wasn't that good, but I still enjoyed playing, you know? I like piano music. And it especially feels good if you can play something that comes from your heart and your fingers. If you play the right keys of course," she laughed. "Although, even if I didn't win a recital, I remember my dad taking us out for ice cream afterwards, so that was always nice."
"Hmm, he sounds like a good dad," Wolf remarked.
Myla's eyes dimmed from those words. "Yeah, he was. He was always good to me . . . ," she lowered her gaze to the cobblestones, deeply resisting the urge to recall the day of the grim boat accident forever tainted in her memory box.
Mom was too
She looked back at Wolf to hopefully change the subject, but she caught him facing the other way instead, not saying a word. His ears were slightly drooped. "Hey, Wolf. Are you okay... ?," she said, her gaze showing an empathetic approach.
Unbeknownst to her however, Mr. Wolf was thinking about the times his own father was practically the polar opposite, especially during his childhood. He clutched his fist with a low growl. He envy's those who had good fathers. Apparently, his only wanted a tool just to continue the killer bad guy heritage, and nothing more beyond that.
"Wolf, did-did I say something . . . ?," Myla asked carefully.
"Huh?," he snapped out of his thoughts. Wolf turned back to the human woman walking alongside him. "Oh-oh no! You didn't say anything, I . . . I was just lost in thought I guess." He laughed nervously.
"Are you sure?"
"Of course I am, Myla! I'm the best thief the world's ever seen! Hell, practically one of the most infamous ones actually! Why wouldn't I be okay?" He propped his arm against a lone tree, a striking smile spread across his face.
She cleared her throat, unimpressed. "Maybe second best, but alright." Myla continued down the path along the untouched river.
" . . . . I beg your pardon?"
"Second best, Wolf," Myla paused walking four steps to look over her shoulder with a teasing smirk.
Mr. Wolf still had his arm propped against a tree as he just stared at Myla for a moment, then began to wheeze.
He leaned forward as he slapped his kneecap. Wolf tried to catch himself from falling to the ground, but he ended up laying on his side, his laughter getting the best of him. His hat and glasses came down next to him.
Myla drew closer to the wheezing wolf. He continued laughing like a hyena as her shadow hovered over him.
Wolf wiped away his teary eyes once his laughter escapes out of his system. His breathing eventually goes back to its normal pace as he sighed. He rolled onto his back, and gazed up.
Myla stared at him. Her blank face showed no reaction.
"Oh shit, you're serious!" Wolf scrambled back up and grabbed his items. "Alright, so, if I'm "second best", then what are you supposed to be?"
"Wellll, other than the Crimson Paw, I'd consider myself the best."
"Ohhh? You think you're a better thief than me? Or than the Crimson Paw . . . ?"
"Just you."
"Reeeally?" Mr. Wolf crossed his arms, a sly-grin stretched his lips as he cocked his head to the side. "If that's the case, theeen, how come I hadn't heard of a sneaky beauty bandit, like you before?," he asked in a flirty manner.
Myla shrugged. "Simple: I prefer to steal in the shadows. The lesser the people who don't know about you, the better," she explained, though she failed to conceal her blush from his unexpected, but yet, deep, alluring voice that could attract a lot of women if he were a human playboy.
"That's understandable." Wolf gave her a simple head nod. "but, if there's nobody to chase you from behind after you robbed a bank or a house, then where's the fun in that if it's only a secret?," he asked, making her laugh again.
"Because I like doing things in private, Wolf." She winked at him.
"RIGHT THIS WAY CHIEF!!! THE THEIF AND HIS GIRLFRIEND!!!"
"I SWEAR TO GOD IF IT'S WOLF OR NIGHT WIELDER!!!"
Ah, crap . . .
Both the woman and the wolf's blood run cold as distant, thudding footsteps came sprinting from the woods, followed by the familiar sounds of the police chief's strong ambitions to catch which-ever criminal is lurking nearby.
"Is it seriously the old guy again?!?," Wolf spoke in disbelief.
"Yep, and it looks like he's got company too!!," Myla said as she yanked Mr. Wolf's arm. She wasted no time charging down the cobblestone path like lightening speed to head to another abroad set of woods down a slope to get away from both the chief and the old man's line of sight.
However, shouts of aggressive determination by the police chief and jogging footsteps, nearly close in while Wolf and Myla are just near the edge of the park woods.
"Wait—Why are we running?!?," Mr. Wolf yelled. "I can just put back on my disguise, and say everything the old guy said was false!" He vigorously pulled his arm away as he sprinted alongside Myla as if they were trying to flee from a serial killer. "You gave the wallet back to him, didn't you?! You snuck it back into his pocket, right?!"
Myla didn't say anything. She just gave him an awkward side glance. She breathed nervously as she ran with all her might.
"Right?!?"
"Sorry . . . ," She murmured under her breath.