As Grace arrived Walter was just coming out of the shed after feeding the animals. "How are our guests?" she called out to him.
He smiled and approached her, "They are doing really well. They are always outside playing and hunting, even though I put food out for them. They are eating less of my food and more of their own, it is a great sign and I think as soon as spring arrives they will be off on their own again. It is strange no pack ever arrived looking for them."
"Well the pack has to keep moving for winter, but I am sure they can find them. They have a keen sense about them that we still don't understand." She paused and looked at the shed. "I am going to quickly look at the wolf and I have some news you may find interesting. It is a bit of a mystery."
"I will go inside and make a pot of coffee and wait for you. I have another mouse if you are hungry."
She laughed and asked him "Our guests again?" He nodded and laughed. "I'll be inside soon," she told him, making her way to the shed.
Once in the shed she could feel the difference being around these wild animals. They were more accepting and more forgiving of her presence. She knelt down by them and ran her hand through the foxes fur without any objection from her. This really was one of the reasons Grace kept visiting. She loved this fox and she would miss her so much when the time would come for them to leave. She had been around animals her whole life, yet this fox found a way deep into her heart. She opened her bag next and turned her attention to the wolf. He was so much larger and intimidating. Every time she had to check him she was nervous so she gently checked his heart and then began to look for his wounds. She could no longer find them and his external healing was finished. She wondered how much longer until he knew it was time for them to leave. She thanked him then packed up her bag.
"Thank you, you are doing great. Your recovery is a miracle. Walter has really helped you so much, please watch out for him when you can." She thought that the wolf smiled at that moment, but that is impossible and it was probably the early morning and her desire for coffee. She turned to the fox "and you have been a big help as well" she said as she began to look her over. She looked like she was larger now and with her white coat she was intimidating in her own right, very strong and very beautiful. Grace just sat there in awe of them there together, they were close friends and you could tell. It was captivating, then the wolf rose up looking even larger now that he was standing. "Of course, you too must begin your day." She apologized and left the shed to join Walter in his house to tell him of the news she had received.
Walter had already finished the coffee and was filling the two cups on the table as Grace walked inside the small log house. It was warm with a large fire burning so she took off her coat and boots to join Walter at the table. She grabbed her coffee cup, warming her hands, then looked at Walter and said "You will not believe the news I received from France. I mailed the samples of the fox's fur to him and I received his reply yesterday."
Walter sipped on his coffee and replied, "Really? What did he say?"
She dug through her bag, then realized she had forgotten the letter. She could see the image of it sitting on her desk as she became frustrated. "I forgot! I can't believe I forgot it."
"That's ok, Grace. You have an excellent memory. What did it say?"
She grumbled a bit then told him, "Well at first he did not believe the samples were all from the same animal. He said there were differences between them that should not be, but..." she paused, forgetting her anger as her emotions from first reading the letter were revived. She continued, "They believe that there was once and original species that both foxes, wolves, dogs, and many others all descended from. Our fox may not be a fox, but something else. A rare animal that should not exist, where foxes and wolves came from...or so he says. Walter, she may be a miracle in the animal kingdom. She should be protected."
"No!" Walter interjected immediately, "No, she should not. I have seen what protection efforts done to many species in this world. If you think about it, you probably know more horror stories than I do. Everything in the name of research and study at the expense of the animals' health and life."
Grace looked off into the distance out the window to see the wolf and fox run by. She sighed and thought of what they would do to her.
"You know the best thing for her is to be around her own kind. In nature itself. If she was born a miracle then she is their miracle.Maybe she was created to heal the land, or the beasts that roam it. Maybe that wolf knew better than we do as he gave his life to protect her. You know I am right."
Grace had never seen this protective side of Walter and it gave her pause to all her research ideas. "You are right," she said. "We need to protect them, then help them get back to their own."
"You know it is for the best, especially in your life and what you have seen. Now tell me more about this mixed breed and its importance."
"Well she is not a mixed breed, she is more like a pure bred ancestor that should not exist. This area of research is still new and we are still discovering things everyday. She really confused the professors in France and now they have to figure out how she is even here."
Walter rubbed his brow, thinking deeply, then he asked Grace, "What do you think? What is your opinion?"
"Well, I think she was the product of the perfect parents, we may never know. We say her as a fox, yet is she? I wonder if, because of her miracle birth, that she is maybe more fox on the outside, more wolf on the inside, or even a mix of various animals. Like her original ancestors that created many breeds of animals.'
"Fascinating, like a perfect animal sent to heal the land. It is strange that the wolf is with her, that crow as well. Can she breed with the wolf?"
Grace did not consider this question at all, but now that Walter mentioned it she lost herself in thought, sipping her warm coffee. "Maybe, if she is like her ancestors, it is possible. I don't know all the science behind it, but maybe it is possible. They have been together for awhile now out there and I know she has not become pregnant"
Walter laughed, "Well maybe they are just friends. If you were a strong wolf like that and you had a desire to protect her then maybe you would behave yourself, just saying."
She thought about if her scents were different and how the wolf might interpret her. She had no idea how a wolf would think. She decided to change the subject, "Did you see how large she is now, and with that coat. She is starting to look very wolf-like."
"She is indeed," Walter said as he finished his coffee. "Animals are so amazing, there are so many things we can never understand. They see things we don't and trust in ways no person ever could. Those two out there really trust us, it is rare, and I don't think they will ever forget us. We did a good thing here."
"We really did, didn't we? It feels good," she said as she finished her coffee and stood up looking out the window as the wolf ran by with the fox nipping at him. Fox? Could she even call it that now? "Look at them play, oh Walter come look!"
He stood up and looked out the window at their two guests having fun outside in the snow. He took Grace's hand and told her "Thank you, for everything."
Nibelski was pushing Garius the best she could on his runs. A nibble here, a nibble there. "Faster!" she told him, "I know you can go faster." He was working on it, but there were still some pains that hindered him and at times his legs felt stiff as they had not been used for so long. He stopped, panting heavily. "What?! No stopping." she told him. He turned his eyes towards her and made his best angry wolf face. "Doesn't work" she told him. "I've seen it before."
"Fine," he replied. "We will do more runs, but tell me what face will work to get some mercy?"
Nibelski thought about it and told him "A sad face, a face that has had enough of working."
He thought about this. What is a sad face? He knew how to hang his head, but to make his face sad? He had no idea so he would stick to his tough guy face and begin to run again. Back and forth, over and over, only this time he chose a more complicated path that involved large leaps and quick twists. She could handle the twists, but some of the jumps were almost too high for her. She knew what he was up to, so as he went over another large jump she ran with all her strength and leapt off not seeing what was on the other side. It was Garius who had stopped and she landed on his back, flattening him where he stood. She got up off him to see him completely buried in the snow. As the sight of it hit her she started laughing so hard that she could not stop.
He pulled himself out of the snow to see her there rolling in the snow in laughter. He turned his back and began to dig quickly burying her in mounds of snow. This cooled her down as her head popped out of the mound she yelped "stop." It all looked so silly to Garius that he was now the one laughing at her.
She dug herself out and approached Garius with a smile on her face. "Ok, you win. Let's take a break, then move on to other work." He licked the snow off her face as she snuggled into him to steal some of his warmth. It felt so nice.
Grace looked at Walter, "Ok, they are intimidating, but at times they are so cute together." They watched them for a while longer as Grace informed Walter she would leave after lunch to get back home to prepare for a job tomorrow. He let her know that he would make her lunch first before her departure and that he had another mouse that had to go with her as well.
With the day half over now she prepared to head back home, much to Walter's displeasure. He felt that his responsibility had increased now that he had a miracle fox close by. He would keep a watchful eye. Grace grabbed her bag, thanked Walter, then headed out to travel home. He had decided to walk with her part of the way to make sure she got out fine, plus he wanted to observe the land for predators as he carried his rifle. He got her to the edge of the woods, wished her well, then traveled back home alone to spend time with his guests.
Grace pushed her way home so she would still have the light of day to aid her for tomorrow's preparations. She exited the woods and crossed the busy town in the direction of her home. Bill watched her come out and once she was out of sight he walked up to the woods. The path was well trodden and he walked it for a bit. He saw it would be no problem for him to follow and he returned home to prepare for tomorrow.
Grace finally arrived inside her house, took off her winter cloths and began to gather the tools she needed for tomorrow's horse inspection. She went to her desk to check for the letter, she was still paranoid of the last event and she was glad nothing was disturbed. She grabbed the letter to go over it again in case she missed any details. There was one detail that stood out, cigarette smell. She did not remember it smelling like cigarettes and she did not remember any professor smoking except for one who had a pipe, yet this was not pipe smoke. It was like the cigarettes you find in town. Just like the ones that Bill smokes.