Feral
Feral took more care of Ricky on the trip back. Feral did not fully understand autism but he was coming to understand the boy. The boy very much wanted to fly yet he was hindered by the sensory issues that plagued him. Just as he enjoyed watching the fireworks but was hindered by the loud noises. The things that hindered the human did not prevent him from doing things it just made it a little more difficult.
So as they prepared to leave, Feral explained to Ricky what he was going to do when he was going to do it. Feral watched as the boy braced himself both physically and mentally and did not take flight until the boy gave him the okay.
As he hoped, Ricky relaxed a bit more though he refused to open his eyes. Feral chuckled to himself. In time, he thought, the boy would become more used to flying. That thought led him to wondering how much time would there actually be?
As he had learned yesterday, the boy lived in New York. He would go home eventually. Would there enough time? Feral shook his head, refusing to think about how the thought of the human leaving was making him feel.
So instead, he asked, "How are you doing human?"
"Fine," came the squeaked response. "Better."
Feral kept low to the trees and whisked them around and through the dense foliage, keeping careful to avoid the light or clearings. "Open your eyes at least once human," Feral encouraged, wanting the boy to experience, at least partially one of his lifelong dreams. "I am holding you securely. I will not let you drop." he promised.
Seconds ticked by with no response. Feral waited patiently, hoping the boy would at least take a peek. A slight gasp, alerted Feral. An awe inspired whisper of, "Wow!" confirmed for him that the boy had risked a peep, as Feral had known he would. He dealt with a lot of issues but the kid did deal with them. An admirable trait, Feral thought.
"This is awesome!" the boy said. 'And terrifying!" he squealed in the next breath as Feral barely skirted a large pine.
"Are your eyes closed again, human?" Feral asked.
"Uh huh!" the boy responded, his chin tucked in low to his chest.
"I have not run into a tree in many, many year human," he assured the boy. "I will not run into one tonight. Open your eyes again and enjoy the view. We are almost back to your home."
Feral watched as the boy slowly raised his head and seemed to peer forward through have closed lids. Feral heard an, "Oh geez!" and an, "Oh my gosh!" float up to him as time passed. Feral stayed silent and let the human process the experience on his own terms.
In no time they were back at the boy's home. Feral lowered the boy gently and silently to the ground. He held onto the boy's shirt until he was sure the boy was steady on his feet before releasing him. Feral eased himself to the ground to stand directly in front of the boy.
Feral looked up at him. The human's face was pale but he had a smile on his face and his eyes shown with excitement. "That was cool!" he exclaimed in a quiet whisper.
"High praise indeed," Feral teased.
Feral watched as the boy ran his hand through his spiky hair. 'Oh my gosh, Feral. Thank you so much!" Before Feral knew what the kid was going to do, Ricky had wrapped his arms around Feral's next and squeezed tightly in his excitement. "That was the best gift ever!" the boy whispered into his ear.
Feral stiffened at the initial contact. He was not used to being touched. It felt strange and unusual but also oddly warming. A gamut of emotions ran through Feral as he tried to process how the human's hug made him feel.
The last thought made Feral freeze for half a second as sudden realization struck him. The boy and he were not so different after all. They were not "normal." They were both atypical. There were things in each of their lives that did not come easy to them that they had to deal with. They had to process. In order to face these things they had to manage them to the best of their abilities. And they both did this, or at least tried to. Feral slowly lowered his head and rested his chin on the boy's shoulder as the realization turned to acceptance and to this moment. A moment of mutual affection and friendship.
They stood like that a few more moments before the boy finally released him and took a step back.
"Sorry," he mumbled. "I know you don't like being treated like a dog."
Feral shimmied his shoulders and fluffed his fur. He was uncomfortable with the moment and did not know how to handle it. Being nice and saying nice things was something he had never tried. Instead he said, "You should go inside before we wake your uncle."
The boy nodded his head up and down and glanced over towards the house. "Lights are still out," he said. "Uncle Steve is definitely still sleeping. He would have a search party out for me if he weren't!" the boy said looking a little guilty.
Feral watched as the boy started walking backwards toward the house. "Thanks again Feral. So much!" he was saying as he stepped carefully rearward across the yard. He suddenly stopped and stared anxiously at Feral. "Will you come back tomorrow?" he asked.
Feral knew he was probably making a big mistake. Becoming friends with a human had disaster written all over it. But despite that eminent fiasco, he heard himself say, "I will come back."
Feral watched as the boy nodded at him, turned around, and quickly walked into his house. Feral stood there a few more moments before flying up into the sky. He was passing by the garage and noticed the door was standing open. Out of curiosity he coasted into the garage and saw that the door was still as the human had left it for him earlier today so that he could make his exit. Seeing that he could reenter the home without detection, Feral decided he would spend the night here again instead of making the trek back to his cave. He was still a bit tired from the silver and the long flight tonight with the extra weight. Feral carefully made his way into the basement and settled on the cold cement floor. In minutes he was fast asleep.
Feral was woken by the sound of heavy footsteps clumping down the basement stairs. Feral could tell that they were not the footfalls of the young boy. He shrank back into the darkness and sat quiet and still as he watched the boy's uncle enter he basement. The older human rifled through a basket and pulled out a plaid blue shirt and threw it over his shoulder, as he made his way back up the stairs.
Feral stayed seated in his hiding place and waited for a few minutes to make sure the human man would not return. "Human?" he called. "Are you awake, human?"
"Feral?" he heard the boy ask tentatively. Feral knew the boy found it more difficult to converse with Feral when they were not in the same room.
"Yes," he answered quickly. "I am in the basement. Your uncle came down here, but he did not see me. Tell me when he leaves for work," he ordered.
"Not good!" he heard the boy gasp.
"Do not panic, human. He did not see me," Feral repeated reassuringly.
"Okay, okay," he heard the boy repeat.
"Be calm," Feral urged. "He suspects nothing and he will continue to suspect nothing as long as you remain calm!" Feral ordered sternly.
Silence met Feral's words. He did not know what the boy was thinking and he was no longer talking to him. So he waited. As he sat in the darkness of the basement, he had no idea how much time passed. The sudden creaking of the door at the top of the stairs reached Feral's sensitive ears, finally alerting him to the boy's arrival.
"Feral?" he called down.
"I am here," Feral said, stepping out of his hiding spot so that the boy could see him.
"That was close!" the boy declared as he stood at the top of the steps looking down at the wolf.
"He did not see me," Feral repeated before quickly adding, "Are you coming down?" He hoped his question would distract the boy from his continued fretting.
The boy twisted his lips and screwed up his eyes, obviously thinking. After a second he asked, "Do you want to come up here today?"
Feral didn't hesitate nor did he verbally answer. He started forward and trotted up the stairs, letting his actions speak for themselves.
The boy stepped aside so that Feral could pass through the basement door. "I didn't know you were going to stay in the basement last night," he said as Feral passed by.
"It was a last minute decision," Feral answered stepping into the brightly lit kitchen. He hurriedly stepped back into the shadow of the basement door and turned to look at the boy. "It is bright with sunlight in all of your home?" he asked.
"Oh gosh!" the boy exclaimed, forgetting Feral became weakened by sunlight. "No, no" he said. "The living room stays pretty dark because of the trees. The kitchen is bright because of the swimming pool is on this side of the house and the lack of trees lets a lot of sun in. Let me run over to the door and open it and you run through into the living room. Will that work, okay?" Ricky asked, looking down at Feral in concern.
"That will work," Feral nodded.
Feral watched as the boy scurried across the kitchen floor and swung open the door that lead into the next room. Feral could see from where he stood that it was indeed much darker in the next room.
"Hold on a minute!" the boy ordered. Feral waited as the boy dashed into the next room, letting the kitchen door swing shut behind him. Feral cocked his head trying to figure out what the he was doing.
"Human?" he questioned.
"I'm closing the blinds," the boy answered. "It will make it even darker in here," he explained.
Feral waited patiently for the boys return, standing still atop the basement stairs. After a few moments the boy came crashing back through the kitchen door. "Sorry I took so long. I turned on some lamps, so it won't be dark for me," he explained. "Come on!" he invited.
Feral raced across the slick tiled floor of the kitchen and into the living room. The room was bright but with artificial light. It was a cool and inviting cave, he thought. Feral walked through the room and over to a soft leather couch.
"Sit down," the boy invited, holding his hand out to indicate the couch the wolf stood next to as the boy sat in another similar, but smaller seat.
Feral hopped up onto the couch and sat, still favoring his sore back paw.
"Does it still hurt?" the boy asked, noticing Feral's careful leap.
"Some," Feral answered, sniffing at the sofa. "This is made of animal," the wolf said looking suspiciously at the human.
The boy shrugged and chuckled a little. "I guess. It's leather," he explained. "Some people like leather. It's not my favorite but I don't judge other people's choices."
Feral wrinkled his nose, but he lowered himself onto the supple softness, until he lay on his belly, his head and shoulders up, facing the boy.
"What do you usually do when you are in this room?" Feral asked.
The boy sat back and propped his feet up on the ottoman. "I watch television or read or get on my tablet and play a game or search the web."
"Search the web?" Feral asked. "There are spiders on your tablet?" he asked, confused.
"No, the internet," the boy explained with a laugh. He got up and walked to the small table by the window, picked up his tablet and walked back over to where Feral sat. He carefully sat down beside him and showed him the screen. "See?" he asked pushing the button twice bringing the screen to life. He pushed another button, typed on letters that appeared on the screen and another screen appeared with pictures of wolves.
Feral watched as the boy swiped his finger in an upward motion making more and more pictures appear on the screen.
"You do that all day?" Feral asked. "Does that not get boring?"
"Not at all," the boy explained. "I don't just look at this, there are all kinds of things I can look up. Movies, music, games, school work, history, anything that I am interested in pretty much," he explained. "There are all kinds of websites I can look at, hence by the way, why I said web."
"This is very different from how I spend my days," Feral commented.
"What do you do?" the boy asked curiously.
"I fly mostly," Feral said. "Of course I guess you can say I like to explore and my ability to fly allows me to go most anywhere."
"Cool," the boy said nodding and smiling. "Like last night."
"Yes," Feral acknowledged. "I see in the light of day that your memories of last night are pleasant ones," he commented.
The boy sat back on the sofa, laying the edge of his feet on the table in front of him. "Oh yes! I mean," he said looking at Feral. "Don't get me wrong. I was terrified. It will take a little getting used to but the flight home was pretty amazing... at least the parts I opened my eyes for!" he admitted.
"Then we must do it again," Feral decreed.
"Cool!" the boy exclaimed, obviously thrilled at getting another chance to fly. "So you explore?" he prompted Feral.
"I like to know where I am and I like to know who is around me. When I arrive to a new location I scope the area and learn the lay of the land and any inhabitants."
"That makes sense," the boy said. "Do you meet the inhabitants?"
"Not at all," Feral said. "I stay to myself."
"You must get lonely," the boy commented.
"I have never thought about," Feral answered and it was the truth. Until he had met the boy he had never desired to be around others. "I explore and hunt and sleep. It is a wolf's life," he said.
"A lone wolf's life," the human corrected. "If you had a pack you wouldn't be alone."
Feral ignored this and instead distracted the boy by asking him more questions about his tablet. Thankfully it worked and they spent the afternoon talking about all sorts of things. When Feral had questions the boy would pull it up as a picture and show him things. As it was sometimes difficult to follow the boy's explanations the tablet turned out to be a helpful tool for them to use. Feral could tell the boy enjoyed showing him things and in turn Feral took pleasure in sharing his life and knowledge with the human. Friendship was a new concept for Feral. He was not one to share anything about himself but he tried for the boy. He thought he was adjusting well as the days passed by.
Some days they spent in the woods adding to the boys map. The boy had several specific locations to he could now travel to and from without worry of getting lost. Each path was depicted by a particular picture on the trees. Feral showed the boy places that he found particularly interesting. The bot had loved one spot that had several boulders, one on top of the other. He claimed it as their clubhouse. A flag symbolized this path.
As they wandered the woods they talked of this and that. Each shared with the other stories from their past as well as thoughts of their future. The boy always had more to say when it came to talk of what was to come. Feral didn't think about that much. He lived in the moment. His future always seemed long and drawn out and non-ending. He found it hard to get excited about a never ending life.
He did however, have a lot to say about the past. As he had been around for such a long time he was able to tell the boy many stories. The boy, always full of questions, pulled long forgotten memories out of Feral by incessant questions.
On rainy days they stayed inside the boy's house. Often times they sat in the living room. Sometimes the boy sketched. Other times he read a story out loud for Feral. A particular book about wolves entertained, Feral. Though humans had a lot right about the wild animals, they also had some things wrong.
The boy watched some movies on these days as well. Feral had difficulty following the story line. He was not particularly interested and would often nap during them. He had assured the boy the first time he had fallen asleep that his watching a movie was okay. The truth was Feral usually slept more than he had been during the past several weeks because of spending time with the boy. He needed the extra sleep.
Some days they just talked and talked and talked. The boy was fully of history and facts about the cultures that interested him. One afternoon he spent telling Feral about a festive holiday in Mexico known as Dios De Los Meurtos which translated meant Day of the Dead. It was the Latin-American version of Halloween except that it was a three day celebration and not just one. Feral was fascinated as the boy explained it was a celebration of the dead. People built shrines in honor of their dearly departed loved ones with decorations. They also made foods like colorfully, decorated sugar skulls that were inspired by culveras or human skeletons. The people also dressed up as the culveras. Feral found it all... cool.
Of course there were days the boy's uncle was home and Feral would remain in the basement while the two of them went on excursions or hung around the house. He was careful to remain hidden at all times. Thankfully the boy had finally gotten used to this and he no longer worried of his uncle finding Feral on these days. Feral had gotten very good at not being seen over the years, staying, hidden, he had assured the human, was his specialty
And most days, most days they flew. Even if only in the yard for short trips, Feral took the boy on daily trips. It had taken several lift offs before the boy could endure one with his eyes open. He still became very tense and his heart raced with each flight, but despite these things, he loved flying with Feral. Every day the boy trusted him more.
As for Feral, he found that he in turn trusted the human. He would never have believed that he could not only enjoy the company of a human but also trust them to act in good will towards him. And he did trust this boy. Even to the point that he allowed the occasional petting. He still did not call him Ricky, though. Calling him by his name would solidify this growing bond and he had not been able to make himself make that final step. He was not sure what held him back, keeping his distance while feeling the trust grow between them made no sense, but Feral was not ready to embrace this new insanity yet if he ever would.
As for today Feral thought, coming back to the present at the sound of the boy's voice calling his name, it was raining out which meant they were sitting on the couch in the living room.
"Hey Feral?"
"Yes?"
Feral was currently sitting down beside the boy as he typed away on his tablet. The boy was lifting the device up and showing him a picture of crystals on a rocky wall of some sort.
"Have you ever seen these before?" the boy asked. "They're crystal caves."
Feral cocked his head to the side. He hummed as he looked at the picture. "I have." Feral answered after some thought. "They are called crystal caves?"
Ricky nodded as he scrolled through all the images that popped up. "Yes we learned about them during science class once. I heard they have caves like this in Colorado. Have you ever seen any here?"
Feral nodded. "Yes. They are located over the hill to the west," he told the boy.
"Oh cool! Were they like these?" he said pointing at the images on the iPad.
"Very similar," he admitted. "They are extraordinary but I could not make a cave such as this my home."
"Why?" the boy asked with genuine curiosity. "Seems like it would make a beautiful home to me," he said.
"Well for many reasons really, human," Feral explained. "They have too much light for one thing. For another, bats gravitate to this particular environment. I do not like bats. Two winged creatures in the same dwelling is not a good thing. Lastly, humans tend to explore these caves so they are not the safest places for those like me that are trying to remain hidden."
"Oh..." the boy nodded seeming to understand. "I can see why that would be a hassle for you."
Feral sighed. "I am not choosey Ri-," Feral started to call the boy by his name but quickly stopped. It was getting harder and harder to keep the self-imposed distance he had created between the boy and himself. "As long as it is well hidden then I am fine wherever I am," he hurriedly finished, hoping to disguise his near lapse.
The boy seemed oblivious to Feral's internal battle. He continued with the conversation without pause. "You're right," he agreed. "You're safety is more important."
"NightLupe!" the boy suddenly, randomly said into the silence as if he had just made a discovery.
Feral blinked at the human. "I do not understand this NightLupe you speak of," Feral said. "Is it in these caves?"
The boy giggled. "No," he said and laughed again. "For you," he said, pointing his finger at Feral. "You're not a vampire and you are not just a wolf. You're a new breed altogether," he explained to Feral. "You're actually a new species!" the boy insisted. "A new species needs a new name. So what about NightLupe?"
"Not cool," Feral answered, feeling smug, turning the boys favorite word back on him as the boy rolled his eyes back at him in response.
Feral shook his head in fond exasperation. The boy had offered up other names over the last few weeks but often threw them at Feral in unexpected ways as he had just done. Feral did not understand the need for this new name. But the human insisted and continued to search for the proper term to describe the new creature Feral had become. Feral knew he would continue to humor the boy. The human's intentions were good after all.
"Not that I don't appreciate the effort Ri-human, but I do not need this name you keep insisting on," Feral said, talking right over his near slip yet again.
"Then what am I supposed to call you?" Ricky asked, his tone sounding exasperated.
"Call me Feral. It is my name after all."
"I know it's your name Feral," Ricky said. "But what are you? I'm a human," the boy said, pointing a finger at himself. "You remind me often enough," he added with a touch of sarcasm before continuing on about the name. "I think you deserve your own identity!" he declared in frustration.
Feral's eyes widened slightly at this. The boy's words reminded him of his mother's from years ago. She had told him then that he could be his own wolf. This boy was telling him the same thing, only referring now to the creature he had become. There words were similar. Just as Feral was about to make a comment, the boy spoke up, setting his tablet aside.
"Sorry Feral, but I'm not giving up," he proclaimed, standing up and walking towards the stairs. "I'll be right back," he told Feral over his shoulder. "I just need to grab something!" he said as he carefully made his way up the stairs.
Feral watched the boy make his careful hike up the stairs until he was out of sight. Curious as to what the boy was doing, Feral decided to follow. At the top of the steps he listened for a second to locate the boy and heard muffled shuffling sounds coming from his left. Stepping toward the half shut door, he nudged it open with his nose. The door's hinges made a small squeaking noise, alerting the boy sitting on the floor of his presence, causing the boy to whip his head around in surprise.
"You startled me!" he said putting his hand over his racing heart.
"I became curious," he admitted. "What are you doing up here?" he asked as he stepped into the room. "This is your sleep," he commented.
"Yes," the boy answered with a look of confusion on his face. "How do you know that?"
Feral realized his mistake too late. "My apologies," he offered, deciding to confess. "Before my second injury, I would wait here in the mornings until you awoke so that I could watch over you when you were wandering around in the woods by yourself," he admitted.
Feral waited for the human's response, hoping that he would not be angry about the invasion of his privacy. The boy's face wore a look of surprise that slowly changed to one of gratitude.
"Aww," he said. "Even though you didn't know me you protected me," he said to Feral. "Thank you," he offered. Suddenly, the human pressed his lips together and hung his head for a second before lifting his face up to meet Feral's golden gaze. "I guess I need to confess something, too," he admitted. "I wasn't just out there looking around for something to sketch. I was searching for you. I hoped you would show up if I kept venturing out."
The wolf huffed a chuckle. "It seems we both had secret agendas," he commented, stepping further into the room to stand over the boy's shoulder to look curiously at the bag laying forgotten in his lap. "What do you have?" he asked. "Is this what you came up here to retrieve?"
The boy glanced guiltily down at the bag in his lap and then back up at the wolf. Taking a deep breath he reached inside and pulled out a thick silver chain with what looked like a shiny red fang dangling from the metal. Feral took a quick step back at the sight but realized almost instantly that though the chain was silver it was not the hated substance that could debilitate him.
"What is this?" he asked stepping forward once again to take a closer look at the item swinging from the tip of the boy's index finger.
The human held the chain up closer to Feral. Feral stared at it before turning his attention back to the boy who he suddenly noted, looked uncomfortable. "Human?" he prompted.
The boy bit his lip, an indication Feral had learned, that he was nervous. "Human," he repeated, nudging the hanging chain with his nose, setting it swinging again.
The boy took a deep breath and launched into a lengthy and somewhat garbled explanation.
"Yesterday, when Uncle Steve and I were out, I was wandering around a store that we were in, looking at stuff while my uncle spoke with the clerk to see if an antique box he had ordered for my mother had come in. While I was looking around there were these chains that caught my eye. As I was going through them I suddenly saw this!" he said indicating the chain in his index finger with a little shove in Feral's direction. "And it drew me," he admitted. "I thought of you instantly. I thought how nice it would look against you black fur. So... I... bought it," he slowly and finally confessed.
Feral's eyes widened. "What? For me to wear?" he asked, unsure what to think or say. No one had ever bought him a gift in his entire life. He did not know the appropriate way to respond. He didn't even know how he really felt about the object dangling in front of his nose. Nor was he sure where he was supposed to even wear it.
The boy started talking again, explaining his choice. "Well you know," he said anxiously. "You have large fangs and you drink blood like a vampire," the boy's eyes widened even further. "Oh my gosh! I didn't mean to say that!" the boy swore. "I'm sorry Feral! I know you hate that word."
He stopped talking and covered his face with his free hand. "Ugh!" he groaned before quickly lowering his hand from his face and looking up at the wolf. "See!" he demanded. "This is why we need a name for you," he declared pointing his finger at Feral's nose. "So I don't slip and say dumb things like that!" he argued. "I don't know if you have noticed but I don't always say the right things and it is even harder with you sometimes because you don't always understand what I am talking about to begin with," he ranted before suddenly running out of steam, his head lowering, sagging on his thin shoulders. "I'm sorry," he reiterated, lowering the chain and closing his palm around the cool metal. "This was a stupid idea. I bought it on impulse. It was supposed to be a gift, not an insult," he finished sadly.
"Human!" The command wasn't harsh, but it was loud and stern enough to get the boy's attention. Feral had initially been confused about how to react to such a gift but after listening to the boy's mini-meltdown he knew exactly what to say and do.
The boy raised his head to look at Feral.
"I am anything but offended, human," he said.
The boy looked up at him hopefully. "You're not?"
"Not at all," he assured him. "I am humbled by your offering," he admitted. "I see the symbolic value of your gift," he paused, searching for the right words to convey to the boy his appreciation, realizing after a moment that mere words would not nearly convey what a simple action would. "Please put it on me," he instructed.
The boy's dull, unhappy eyes brightened the instant Feral asked the boy to put the chain on him. The human lifted himself up onto his knees and started to hold the chain out toward Feral but stopped himself and drew his arms back into his chest asking, "Now are you sure? Because you don't have to wear it," he assured the wolf.
"I want to," Feral reassured him. And surprisingly enough, Feral found that he was being honest. He really wanted to wear the gift. An odd and foreign emotion swept through Feral at that moment, but he locked it away to think about later.
Instead he watched the boy raise himself back up onto his knees and lean forward, lifting the chain up with both hands over Feral's head. It was then Feral realized that he was to wear it around his neck. Lowering his head to assist the boy, Feral felt the cool metal chain pass lightly over his ears and settle around his neck into his thick fur.
Lifting his head back up, he stared at the boy. "How does it look?" he enquired, expecting and receiving the only possible answer that this human could give him.
The boy, still on his knees, wearing a grin from ear to ear replied, "Totally cool!"