35 Ch 35 Lobo

Jacob hung around for awhile. When I had a few moments he and I would discuss the different moves the fighters used. We were interrupted by some shouts from upstairs.

Someone opened the door to the basement to holler for Mac when a big dog snuck down. I had to laugh when I saw the yellow wolf with the black back. He sniffed around, easily avoiding the hands that tried to nab him.

\"My fault,\" I laughed, \"I bet he heard me howl earlier. I'll get rid of him for you Mac.\"

\"If you can catch him,\" said Jacob as he watched the four legged intruder make a circuit around the basement.

\"Easily done,\" I said. \"Clear the steps please,\" I hollered out, \"and every one hush.\"

I stalked him, giving some playful whines and barks, acting like I did at storytime. I huffed, moved toward the steps, then added some more wolf sounds. Lobo came over and I herded him up the steps with another playful growl.

\"I'm surprised to see you here,\" I told him once we were outside and out of view. He shifted in the bushes briefly to talk with me.

\"Unexpected for both of us. I was on my way to meet a friend when I heard you howl. I couldn't resist when I came across this place. Such a good place to practice tracking people. I was surprised to smell you in the mix.

I had to laugh. I had never really thought about tracking the guys as they moved around.

\"Would you like to run together tonight? If you don't mind waiting?\"

\"I would enjoy that,\" he said as he shifted back to wolf.

Going back in, I made sure Doc had me cleared just in case. Mac gave me this look when I went back down. I'd explain it to him later. I heard him tell Jacob that Little Wolf was a good name for me. Some of the guys had laughed at my antics, but I didn't mind. I just grinned back at them.

I did my usual for the rest of the night. I got a fair bit of attention now. Usually I went through the night mostly ignored. I saw a level of respect from them now, as well as the promise of a bit of teasing about me being wolffish.

I held Mac back at the end of the night. It was easy to do because he had the same idea.

\"Quite a night,\" he said.

\"Understatement,\" I chuckled back at him. \"Who is Jacob?\"

Mac gave me an appraising look. \"He'll tell you in his own time, same as you I suppose.\"

I couldn't argue with that.

\"That was a werewolf in here tonight?\" Mac asked.

I laughed reassuringly. \"That was Lobo. He's a wanderer, loves to travel. He was nearby and heard my howl. We're gonna run together tonight.\"

\"Look, I wanna apologize,\" I said seriously. \"Dad had mentioned when I first moved out that I would run into things out in the world that never occurred at home. It never occurred to me that my howling would bring someone in. I'll be more careful in the future.\"

\"I sure the hell hope so,\" said Mac, \"don't mind telling you I was more than a little nervous tonight, on a few counts.\"

\"Mac, about the drugs,\" I said hesitantly.

\"Nah, you did good pointing it out. That thing you said, about smelling, it's a real thing?\"

\"Yes, a well documented human condition. I wanted to ask,\" I hesitated again because the request sounded weird even to me. \"Do you know anyone who can train me?\"

\"Train you?\"

\"Like police dogs are, to sniff out drugs. I just need to know what they all smell like. I think someone is doing something out at Yellowstone.\"

Mac looked thoughtful for a moment.

\"Let me make some calls. I know someone who has a fifteen day training course for handlers. You'd probably learn everything you need doing that. I'll work it out with John to get you the time off.\"

\"My boss?\"

Mac chuckled.

\"How you think Derrick got that job? He can be gone for a few days or a week on a mission and it'll be called training for something or another.\"

Surprised as I was, I told myself I shouldn't have been. Derrick had already gone to different training sessions, or been sent to help out at another park system like we did during the wildfire. Or so I'd thought.

Mac laughed at my dumbfounded expression. He gave my shoulder a solid slap before heading to lock up. I was in the buff having just finished putting everything in my saddlebags when he came out.

\"I'll wait,\" I said softly from the far side of my bike.

\"No, go ahead. I'll stay dry,\" he promised.

I stepped out so he could watch. I started with my feet, set for running, arms becoming front legs as they dropped down. Lobo was staring at me in disbelief from the bushes. I knew what he was thinking; revealing ourselves to people was taboo. I set my throats for words.

\"Mac is Lone Wolf's friend,\" I told the yellow wolf, \"willing to risk hell itself if needed to help his friend. You should have seen Lone Wolf first time I saw him. He held back that night at the pointe.

Lobo gave me a nod, that might have been a bow. I couldn't easily read his emotions. He was good at controlling himself.

Mac on the other hand was smelling of fear and nervousness. I looked at Mac. Suddenly I knew what to do. I jumped on him suddenly, knocking him down, and started carefully slobbering all over his face, licking his cheeks.

\"Damnit Little Wolf, stop that!\"

He had his hands on me, pushing me back. I sat down on his belly, laughing at him. A little bit of irritation coupled with friendly dog behavior went a long way in dispelling any fear. I was content that he'd called me by name and was able to touch me as a wolf. It spoke of our growing familiarity and friendship. I was still laughing as I headed into the bushes to join Lobo.

Lobo and I took off into the night. It was fun to run with him. He was steady, fast, and a good tracker. We spent most of the night with him teaching me how to track in a city. Food for him in the city wasn't a problem. He stopped to dumpster dive whenever he smelled something he wanted.

We followed all sorts of trails. There was a cat, a few different people where we played a guessing game of what was in their pockets, even some cars that had distinctive smells from leaking different fluids.

Lobo was fascinated with cars and told me he was a decent backyard mechanic, for the old cars at least. He found his way to three small car repair places. At two of them he pointed out the things he looked for, like an obvious line of cars waiting on repairs, or a few older models, that would give him a chance to pick up some work and make some under the table cash.

We scrounged through a junkyard. Shifting to men, we talked cars. He knew makes, models and engine specs. He told me how he often used the deserted cars for beds, sometimes finding things of interest.

He took what he wanted, never stealing outright from people. He said people in America threw away enough to make him rich.

We passed a thrift store with stuff stacked outside. Lobo picked up a pair of sweats.

I had to smile when we were back at the gym to pick up my bike. Lobo had proven he was able to function as a wolf in the wild. He was an old fashion tramp as a human, making his way in the human world as he needed to. He preferred to move through the streets as a wolf. People saw him as a big dog.

He lived content and free. I watched fondly as he disappeared into the early morning. I didn't ask what friend he was going to meet, even though I was very tempted to. I knew trust earned begins with trust given.