Chapter 37

Sunlight glinted in from the boarded up window as Natalie awoke. The dream she had from the night before slowly coming back to her in pieces, she rubbed her eyes as they adjusted to the light in the room. Sitting up, she noticed that the only other two in the room that seemed awake were Edwin and Lucille, still keeping a lookout on the door. Lucille looked over at her for as she attempted to climb around the pile of canines surrounding her. 'Morning' was sent to her by the female coyote, but Nat just grunted in response. It was too early in the morning for this. She managed to extract herself from the dog pile of a bed with only slight difficulties. Turning back to look at the giant bunched of fur, she noticed that Bryden was sleeping with everyone else now. Leaning over to take a look, his wounds had already completely closed, as well as the signs that fur was growing back were starting to be visible.

As Natalie got changed into new clothes, the rest of the wolves started to stir. Most of them quietly got up and stretched, working the sleep out of their muscles, but Spirit yawned loudly causing the rest of the pups to jolt awake. All of them except for his sister, who just opened one eye to look at him, before doing her best to return to sleep. They all started running around the room, full of energy. When it seemed that they realized that there was not much room to run, all of the active pups ran into the Soulscape and started a giant game of tag. Smiling at their antics, Natalie walked over the two coyotes and thanked them for their work. They briefly nuzzled against her, before going into the Soulscape to start directing the pups into hunting practice. Meanwhile the adult wolves started moving items back into Nat and tried to clean up everything that they had brought. They were the pack's items, and they were not just gonna leave them for anyone else.

After everyone and everything was safely inside, Nat made her way out the door and back down to the gym. The sight that met her greatly contrasted with the day before. People had smiles on their faces, kids were running around laughing, and the smell that came out from the canteen was delightful. Noticing Gertrude sitting at the same table they were at the night before, she headed over to rejoin the elderly woman. Sitting down, she looked up to see people coming up to them. Startled, she looked at Gertrude as to ask what was going on, but all that she got was a smug smile. Turning back to the people that approached her, nothing surprised her more than the parade of thanks and appreciation that bombarded her. Apparently Gertrude had told them that she was responsible for getting a restock of supplies, let alone the constant ability to resupply. Some even broke down into tears of joy, happy that they would not have to watch their children starve as they waited for help to arrive.

While this went on, a couple of the kids that were helping out the night before brought her multiple plates of food. There was a plate piled high with bacon and sausages, while another had a mountain of scrambled eggs. Both paled in comparison to the third and final plate that was brought to her. It was piled high with pancakes that were topped with multiple varieties of fruit and whipped cream. Natalie did not remember there being any cool whip in any of the supplies, so it must have been made and whipped entirely by hand. As she turned to look at Gertrude, the woman finally gave an verbal response, "They are grateful for both the supplies and knowledge you gave us. And I already told them about your canines, so feel free to store these for later. I know that I did." As the words left her mouth, three wolf heads popped out of Nat before she could communicate anything and grabbed the plates. As quick as they appeared, they disappeared back into her before promptly returning the plates back out, still loaded with food. Peering inside the 'Scape, she saw that there was only one plate actually being eaten from, and it was getting devoured at an incredible pace. Apparently wolves liked the taste of the three pigs worth of pork.

Some people around her gasped, while other leaned in closer with sounds of awe and curiosity. Not used to being the center of attention, Natalie started chuckling nervously while scratching the back of her head. Noticing the body language, Gertrude shooed everyone away so that she could have room to eat and enjoy her meal. As everyone left, Natalie picked up her fork and started eating, trying to brush aside how uncomfortable the whole thing made her feel. She was used to the small town feel, being an outsider and only interacting with a couple people each day. The sudden praise and recognition from such a large group of people threw her through a loop. The food however was incredibly delicious, and served as a wonderful distraction from the feelings that she had. Though she could swear she heard the sound of a couple wolves giggling ringing through her head.

After finishing the food, Natalie thanked Gertrude for all of the hospitality while insisting that she had to head off. There was no attempt to stop her, just a hug shared between the two, before they both started to head out of the gym. When people noticed that she was leaving, they all called out goodbyes and well wishes. The feeling of community here was strong, and the thought that so many people sincerely wished her well touched her deeply. A smile forced itself onto her face, unable to be contained. Quickly they walked out and down the halls, though Gertrude was giggling the entire time. After one final farewell from Gertrude and everyone keeping watch at the barricade, Natalie headed back out onto the road and eastward. While the friendliness of all of them helped improve her spirits, it also made her ache to see Shannon all the sooner.

Huge thanks to my Elder Wolves Jake, Viktor, Nikolas, Saganatsu, Lachlan, Coen, Adam, John, and Kevin for supporting me and my writing! Remember that I keep Patreon ten chapters ahead at all times.