The next morning I awoke to the sounds of the rain falling, pattering onto the leaves of the canopy above before racing downwards. The cave that we three were in provided adequate cover from it. Everything soon became blanketed in the water hailing down from the sky giving it this dark looking air, and although it was heavily laden with foreboding, the essence of those darkening shades made my mind feel at ease. The rumblings of some soft thunder sounded in the distance.  The wind whipped across the stretch of forest before my sight, bringing the natural debris of leaves and various weak branches with it, as it whistled its way around. A thick howl sounded, as it snapped into the air and broke off into the din of the rain with such artistry, that I beheld it almost as though it was a symphony of nature itself. The songs of birds had been silenced, now to be replaced by this other wonder of nature.

No one would have beheld such beauty in nature in the human world. Oftentimes, humans were likely to lock themselves away from it behind the doors of their houses. Rain was regarded as a depressing occurrence, one that ruined any chance of outdoor activities. It was especially disliked during the summer as it currently was. If only they were allowed to hear the melodies that whisked by on the air now, I thought perchance, that they would take an entirely new perspective on the event. Where was disappointment in such a joyous event? It granted to the parched land the water it so intensely craved, and allowed for life to continue. I watched as the moisture healed the deep cracked wounds of the pathways, and moistened them with joy.

Jackson awoke and came beside me with his typical degree of silence. It was only after I caught sight of him that I ever knew that he was awake. His stealthy approaches spoke well of his prowess at fighting, for he was likely to be able to surprise enemies with his ability to remain so quiet while walking. As the rain trickled down off the leaves, and slapped down upon the ground, a partial branch dropped down into a small ravine just in front of me. Being that the water was suddenly displaced, it came forth at me like a playful splash, and hit me in the face lightly. It was cold, yet at the same time, a refreshing escape from the immensely humid air inside the cavern. “This is a good day for us.”

“Good day you say, for what? As far as I can tell it is just a good day for the plants,” Jackson could not help but chuckle a bit at my last remark before continuing himself. He seemed to be in a pleasurable mood today even after being awoken in the night by the slightly mad dog who was still asleep.

“Well… it is a good day for the plants, that is for sure. Today is a good day for fishing, my friend. With the rain, so too comes their livelihood in the water. They will be plentiful and far easier to catch on this day. We cannot waste time here, we should not delay in reaching the river.”

“Why would that be? Why are the fish more lively when it rains?”

“That sounds like something a human might say… I don’t know. I don’t care either, and neither should you as long as helps feed us.”

“Truer words may never have been spoken,” still my curiosity was about me. I wanted to find out the reasoning but it was unlikely that I would ever know because what Jackson said was indeed truthful. It was the kind of thing a human would want to know, and dogs… well as long as it helped get them fed, the question would remain unanswered. I got up warily, as Jackson was already up upon his feet starring at me with ambition. I had never been out in the rain before… Benson would never let me. He said something about it being damaging to my health. Now that I think back on it… Benson sure was cautious about me and water. He was always telling me that it would hurt me in one way or another, but ever since I had turned up in this forest it had been the only thing that was keeping me sustained.

As I made my way from the cave, I felt the first drops of the rain upon my fur, and at first it felt incredibly cold, so cold that I felt like perhaps it was the wrong choice to have ever left the comfort of shelter even if there was a wealth of food awaiting me. By the time Jackson and I had actually made it to the river I was nearly completely drenched, although I felt cold, the feeling was passing. I became acclimated to it more suddenly than I would have anticipated. The water felt like it had released me from a layer of filth that had built up in my fur those past few days of lounging around in that small cave. I liked the rain, I didn’t see what Benson was all uptight about keeping me out of it for.

The river did not appear any different than it had been any other day of the week, but I supposed that it was unlikely that Jackson would have told me anything that was a lie. I felt like he had mentioned something of the sort the first day that we had met. He said that humid days and rainy days were the best times to go fishing. Night wasn’t a bad time either, except sight soon became an issue. I looked warily into the water to notice that seeing anything was definitely more difficult.

“Your visibility is even worse on a rainy day. The rain also brings sediment down into the river with it which makes it all murky and harder to see. The sunlight is also a lot weaker. The fish take it for the cover of night… they really aren’t all that bright though. When they go looking for dinner that’ll be the time to strike. You’ll have to rely on vibrations more heavily than normal. Hearing is a lot harder in a storm like this. “

I had remarked upon the noise earlier, and it only felt all the louder when the rain was falling right down upon your ears, and leaving you completely soaked in the process. It was one thing to watch the rain, it was an entirely different thing to be in it. Looking down at the river with a stern face, I had little idea of how exactly it was supposed to be easier to fish like this. Jackson insisted it was, yet I kept feeling more doubtful as a I aligned myself by the lake waiting for the chance to strike. Still, even the vibrations were interrupted by the storm, as it clamored to the surface of the water and reverberated back up to my feet. It was nearly all I could feel. Somewhere in that darkness I perceived a figure and launched out upon it, and clamped my jaws around it. Whatever this thing was… it was not happy that I was trying to make a meal out of it.

Still I could not see it though, as it began to thrash wildly and pull me downriver. It was obviously larger than myself for I could not subdue the creature by merely a flick of my jaw. I kept my mouth shut, pulling harder, trying to make sure that whatever it was that was pulling me would not get away. Jackson began to race down the river as he saw me get pulled away by this enormous monster of a fish. He was running nearly alongside the racing speed of the fish, even with the current moving as fast as it was. I could just barely see him as he leaped out to join me in the attempt to wrestle the fish into submission. We two sat tugging at the back of this monster fish , trying to do it in, but still it charged forward, faster and faster. It was unwilling to give in.

I began to worry for our chances. This fish could have easily led us straight to a very dangerous rapid that would cause us to be unable to survive bringing it to shore. I tried to sink my teeth in deeper, feeling the harsh scraping of the scales in my mouth as the oily taste reached into the back of my throat. I had to will more and more of myself into keeping hold in order to ignore the harsh feeling of being smashed against the surface of the water only to be raised into the air and smashed hard again. It was similar to the feeling one experiences when one is being hit by a torrent of bricks while running. Every moment it became harder to hold on. Was this thing even worth it? My answer would come soon, as the violent thrashing came to an end. Our foe had been silenced, the enormous fish had fallen. It was no consequence of the rain that had created our luck in this find. It merely happened that such a large beast as what we slew that day went by as my sight was damaged sorely. If I had been able to see clearly, it was likely I would not have lunged for such a gargantuan catch.

Jackson and I fought against the current to bring the thing to shore. As Jackson surfaced first, I kept my teeth firmly lodged into the creature’s side to keep myself from being dragged away. The current was surely stronger where we were, or maybe this was only an illusion created by the wear I had experienced upon the monster fish’s back as it tossed me around like a useless rag. Gradually Jackson was able to beach the creature, as I pulled myself out of the water. The fish was even larger than I had originally imagined. It was about twice the length of me, and quite wide as well. I would have guessed that the fish was at least around the area of 50-75 pounds. Jackson looked at me in disbelief. “What the hell is this thing? I’ve never seen a fish this large before…”

The creature had a few whisker like protrusions from its face, and a large toothless mouth. Its eyes were small and peered out forward. I myself had never seen the fish before, but I had not seen many fish in all honesty. Even the smaller fish I had been eating were not known to me, they were just food, nothing more. “It is still edible…” I reminded Jackson as I dug my teeth into its side and began to drag it through the slowly muddying ground. Jackson did the same as we traced the length of the lake back from our original position. Thankfully the image of the forest was beginning to become fused into my mind, and I was actually learning its bends. This plot of land was actually known to me… and it had only been a few days.

“You were right,” I mumbled as I stopped dragging the fish for a brief moment of relaxation. Jackson followed suit as though it was something that I had implied was a good idea. Well, in a way, it was a good idea anyhow so I did not make any comment on it.

“About?”

“Well, you said that I needed to get to learn this land. I doubted myself, and yet I am doing it. I have you to thank,” I paused almost unsure what to say next. “So… thank you.”

“You are welcome. Come… we should continue dragging this thing. Tasting its flesh is making me all hungry. You made quite the catch today.”

“Thank luck, not me.”

He gave me a grin before we both continued to drag the fish. I had half a mind to turn the thing over to allow it to wash off in the rain, as the mud was massing on the back of the fish by the minute, and I could not bear the thought of consuming dirt. It would be a useless idea until we returned to the little cavern anyhow. Our further dragging would just make the other side all dirty in the process.  The rain pounded fiercely even as we traveled back, feeling as though at times it was slapping upon me mercilessly. I began to fear for the intensity of it, for it bore a token that there would be more in store for the both of us. It made the already drab task of dragging all the more difficult. I could feel the mud clinging to my formerly white fur, dirtying it, and ruining the color turning me into one giant brown mass, the rest of my fur darkening in color by the waters of the rain.

Never before had I regarded the sight of the cavern with such feelings of relief as I had now, my back beginning to feel this dull aching pain over the course of the long journey back. If anything, adrenaline surged through me at the sight, making me feel lively as the idea of respite crept into my mind. I pulled harder than I had before, and almost left Jackson in the dust… or mud rather, as a result of my sudden dramatic flux in energy. Pulling it across the threshold of the cavern, the fish made a giant ‘thwap’ upon the ground. The frenzied black and white dog looked at the enormous catch with complete disbelief. I was just as incredulous as he was in all honesty. I still regarded this as some sort of messed up, lucid dream. He could only look on at the massive meal before I began to speak. “You haven’t eaten in a while…”

It was easily possible that he had not eaten before we had taken him in. His countenance spoke volumes about his past already. It was a miracle what could be deciphered from someone merely upon interpreting their expression, and this one spoke of this dog’s lack of food in a manner more pronounced than any I could remember previously seeing.  There was this spark in his eyes at the sight of the meal, and that envious expression as though it was nothing but a taunt, and he looked away just then as if he knew he was to be denied next. “Eat,” I nearly commanded him, as I looked straight at him and spoke firmly, my tone not showing an ounce of wavering thought or sarcasm.

Still the dog did not seem to believe what he was hearing and just barely managed to move his head to look at the giant feast before him. “This changes…” For some reason I could sense the content of his next sentence, it was likely nothing more complex than what I had heard from the dog the night before. I interrupted him before he had a chance to rave on madly about that savage beast that was told to me as being after him. “No, you will eat. It is that simple.”

I walked over to the fish and managed to tear a portion of the copious meat from the bones of the enormous fish with relative ease. I placed it in front of the dog, and sat nearly directly before the meat and starred into his eyes icily. I could not help but pant, I was incredibly tired from all of the work it took to not only to keep the fish from killing me earlier, but also from the amount of labor required to drag the thing back. My legs and jaws reminded me of this painfully, not allowing me any moments of peace, pulsating with agony in a near constant. Still the dog made no move to begin eating. I was becoming tired of this dog’s obstinacy. Was he completely unwilling to accept a free meal?

“What is your problem? Do I need to cram that into your mouth before you will eat?!” My patience was beginning to run thin. Even after all of the things I had done for this dog, he still proved unwilling to trust me with anything, even giving him a free meal. With a final glance the dog looked at me and then finally began to eat. I let out a mild sigh of relief, but it was barely audible.

“We may as well gorge ourselves… fish goes bad incredibly fast, and needless to say… we are never going to finish this entire thing,” Jackson commented as he ripped a piece of his own from the fish and sat down between the two of us to form a sort of triangle.  “That is a depressing thought really,” I replied. I was in truth a bit put down by that thought. We had gone through all of that struggle for a single day’s food. At least there was an abundance of it… in fact it was the largest amount of food I had ever seen at one time. Benson always made huge meals on Sunday, but I rarely ended up getting much of it, even if he was only feeding himself. I could still recall the smell of a turkey breast being heated in the oven, and the warm gravy being crafted in a pan above as it drizzled warmly down. Benson liked salty things apparently, as he always had super salty gravy. It was one of those irksome things I detected in his food at times. There were few things more painful than being directed to a crudely washed food bowl full of strangely shaped, oddly colored  kibbles when your owner was sitting nearby feasting upon turkey, gravy, and on occasion some stuffing.

I don’t think many people could blame me for resorting to starring enviously at that food after I finished my less than tasty meal. Benson would often return the look with a glare, but on occasion, the plan would work, and he would surrender some of his delicious dinner out of a sense of guilt. That was part of my artful day before I had marched out here into the wilderness, banking on human emotions to fill the odd social gaps they created for the creatures they kept as pets.  Out here, things were more like a buffet, you would find food and then simply eat it. There was no manner or etiquette to it. Why place stipulations on your food? These thoughts were slightly poisoning to my meal. Turkey, gravy, and stuffing sure tasted a whole lot better than raw fish ever had. In the days since my arrival I had grown accustomed to the near tastelessness of it all, suppressing these thoughts while eating in the future would probably be a good idea. I imagined for the other two this was a lot easier. They could not likely recall ever being in the hospitality of a human, or in the presence of their delectable choices in food.

The black and white dog was still almost completely silent, even as he ate. “This stuff actually doesn’t taste half bad either…”Jackson proclaimed as he continued to eat rather quickly. I had found that the fish was incredibly oily, and it was coincidentally fairly salty as well. It was a bit odd considering the fresh water, but it spoke well of the fish’s health. “It is certainly better than the rest of the things I’ve eaten this week,” I said in response.

The thunder sounded loudly in the distance as I watched little bolts of light dance in the clouds before descending upon the Earth. I still had no idea precisely what it was, I had witnessed few storms in my life, so to me it looked rather supernatural at this time. “Tomorrow will be a great day for hunting… the birds will be looking for insects who have surfaced as a result of the moisture,” Jackson informed me. I had always noticed that on those overcast mornings just succeeding rain, large groups of birds would gather and poke at the ground, presumably searching for worms or other sorts of typical insects in the moist ground. It had never occurred to me that it would bode well for the possibility of hunting.

“It might be a good idea…” The black and white dog intervened in the middle of his sentence and began speaking wildly as though he had something important to impart. “To leave? He is still coming. I know he is. You know he is. We all do. You’re just ignoring the inevitable,” for some indescribable reason I became furious at the dog. Maybe it was a result of the past few days, but I considered the dog’s interruption of Jackson incredibly rude. I looked at him angrily, my stare becoming this intense glare. “How dare you?!” I barked through the air, the mood suddenly changing into his sort of sickening hatred. For some reason I completely snapped. I rose to my feet even though I was completely exhausted, feeling energized by my sudden ire.

Whatever it was I did, the menacing expression on my face terrified the black and white dog, as he looked at me with fright and began to cower. I wasn’t even sure he knew why I had suddenly became angry at him. I moved forward, only slightly, and slowly. “What has you so afraid of this guy? Is that all you think about!? You are alive! Rejoice for that! Stop living in the past!” Still incredibly annoyed, the sour expression on my face did not disappear. Jackson looked on with a mix of confusion and shock, apparently he did not expect me to defend him so quickly in the face of disrespect. Suddenly, the black and white dog resumed that cold and emotionless stare, it was almost like he was being possessed.
“You’ll see, he’ll be here. Then you won’t think I’m stupid. Then you will wish you listened to me. I am trying to warn you. I am trying to help you. We need to get out of here,” I had put up with all I could take, I rushed forward and locked my jaws around the back of his neck pinning him to the ground. “Just shut up about that other dog! It isn‘t that hard…” I had no intention of hurting him. I was hoping to play on the dog’s incredible cowardice, and being able to fake him into thinking I would. Jackson then stood himself and spoke. “Karu… stop it, now.”

“Why? This is a bunch of nonsense. Nothing he says makes any sense.”

“Maybe that is because you aren’t hearing him out, you are just trying to interpret all of it,” I felt almost branded by truth. I let go of my hold on his neck and stepped away almost instantaneously. I fell back, and looked at the dog with apologetic eyes… considering the situation though, I was assuming that forgiveness would not really be hard to come by. The black and white dog resumed his babbling after that. “The fish… the fish will lead him here. You were dragging it through the mud. I watched you. He’ll follow it here,” he explained, in a rapid, almost hard to understand voice.

“He goes through the woods every night. We have to leave. He will find us. If he finds us… we are dead. It isn’t only him you see. He has followers. He has a lot of followers. He’ll come with them all. He’ll take your meal and then he’ll kill you both and resume his quest against me. Don’t you see? We have to leave… now. Now!” The explanation the dog made had a lot of sense in it… and he apparently knew the fiend better than ourselves. I was not about to take his opinion completely out of my thoughts. “Where will we go though?” There was a brief pause before it looked like Jackson was ready to respond.

“We… can go back to Blaze’s pack… We’ll be safe there.”

“That deranged maniac? He’ll want me dead! I embarrassed him in front of his whole pack. There is no way he would let me be.”

“I have a feeling that I could persuade him otherwise.”

“How is that? You left him too.”

“Yes, but we go back a lot further than that pack Karu.”

“I’m not sure that will be enough.”

“You don’t understand.”

“Oh really? Then enlighten me,” Jackson seemed unwilling to tell me why he felt as though Blaze would not hold any further grudges against me. I had respected his privacy on matters this far, but I was not about to go marching to my death without some confidence that it would ‘not’ be precisely that. He looked to the ground for a moment before looking with those sympathetic eyes straight at me.

“Karu… Blaze is my brother.”