Rhys was having trouble sleeping. His dreams seemed to be a repeat of Agent Peters shooting him in the gut and forcing him to watch as the Agents systematically slaughtered his pack. In the end, it kept returning to Aru demanding that he be let out and Rhys suddenly was thrust awake as he felt himself involuntarily shift. He jerked in his bed, shoving at the blankets and propping himself half up on his elbow. It was then that he noticed a pair of bright green eyes watching him.
Analise's wolf sat at the edge of the bed, offering him a wolfish grin while her spoon shaped tongue hung out and panted slightly. "Aruuu" she let out in a happy yelp.
Rhys was a bit alarmed. Not only had Analise shifted (probably without her consent) but her wolf was eliciting an involuntary shift out of him. Rhys swallowed hard as he fought Aru back down using every compromise and promise in the book. "... Analise what are you doing?" He let out in a tired sigh as he pushed the blankets back and swung his feet over the edge of the bed. It had been a long and stressful day, and even the pleasant dinner he had with Harvey and Clarise wasn't taking the edge off of his worry. That Analise in wolf form was sitting in his dark room staring at him didn't make him worry any less.
Of course, this wasn't Analise, per say. This was her wolf and Rhys didn't actually expect the animal to understand him. The dog moved to stand in between his legs, nudging his abs gently with her snout before looking up again at him with an expectant doggy smile. This wolf was far more docile and domesticated than any he knew, probably owing to Analise not being a true werewolf but a turn.
Rhys was tired but offered the creature an amused smile. He pushed his hands over her head, rubbing behind her ears and petting her precisely how he would any friendly dog. "You silly dog," he told her in a kind voice. "She's not going to be happy that you did this. You should head back before she figures it out."
To his surprise, the wolf jumped up, resting her paws on his legs, and smothered his face in dog licks. Analise's wolf, though she clearly thought otherwise, was not a tiny little lap dog. The weight of her landing on him and the force of her snout in his face was enough to push Rhys backward, even with his attempt to resist it. Still, as unexpected as it was, Rhys found himself chuckling in response, still petting the side of her head as he tried to push her away.
"Aruuuu," she let out again. This dog was just as persistent as Analise any day of the week. It was no wonder that they were constantly butting heads.
"Ok, ok, I'll let him out," he told her through his own chuckles.
The wolf jumped down and did an excited swirl, like a dog happily anticipating her owner to throw her favorite ball. She yelped and yipped happily as she waited for him to give her what she had come for. "Just one thing," he told her as he pulled his tee shirt off. "What's your name? What I should I call you, girl?"
"Rheaaaa," the dog yelped at him, clearly excited that they were talking and very happy to introduce herself.
"Rhea, huh? That's a very nice name. Did Analise give that to you?"
The dog yelped happily in the affirmative.
Interesting,
Rhys thought as he pulled off his shorts. Apparently Analise had at least taken that much of his advice. It was also interesting to him that Rhea seemed to be understanding him pretty well. It usually took wolves years to figure out human speech well enough to carry on a conversation of this level. It was impressive, actually, that Rhea was such an effective communicator. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you Rhea. I'll have Aru to you in just a second. Can you show me where you got in at?" It was another piece of the puzzle.
Rhea trotted over to the open window and yelped at it. Rhys frowned slightly at this. He was on the second floor and there was no fire escape for Rhea to climb. He thought about asking her how she managed this, but Aru was starting to claw at him from inside. This would be a discussion for another time, he figured. Rhys cast Rhea a pleased grin and made his way over to the door. "We're probably going to have leave this way," he told her. "Aru isn't a great jumper. There are doggie doors like this all over the den; you can use these instead of the window if you want in the future."
Rhea cocked her head curiously at the doggy door and trotted forward to examine it. She sniffed at it and resumed her wolf grin. "Aru!" she yelped happily, obviously picking up his scent. Next she pawed at it and then jumped backward as the flap swung slightly. Her ears folded backward but then pushed forward again as she continued her exploration of the apparently interesting contraption. Rhys had to chuckle at her. Rhea was easy going and constantly happy. He instantly liked her and figured everyone else would too.
"I might have to have you meet the pack before Analise does," he said happily, crouching down to rest one arm over her back, scratching behind her ear, as he lifted the flap up for her to see past it. "See? Just the hallway over there. These are all over the den. You think you could come in and out this way?"
Rhea barked again in the affirmative and then spun happily, licking Rhys's face a few times and then again insisting for Aru.
"Ok, ok, here you go," he let up in false retreat. In an instant, Rhys shifted and in his place stood a large grey wolf. Rhea barked and yelped happily, doing her spinning happy dance as soon as he was there.
"Aru!" she announced happily. "Come! We run!"
"Yeah!" Aru let out just as happily as she was. What almost no one knew was that Rhys hardly ever let Aru out, particularly for something as pointless as running around. For the most of their shared life, Aru remained sadly caged away, silently sighing because he had no one to play with. Once Rhea started to assert herself, though, he demanded that Rhys let them play.
Rhea barked and then pushed through the doggy door, quickly followed by Aru. Given that Rhys had been in the den, no one questioned a pair of wolves trotting together through the hallways of the den. In fact, several people smiled at them and held the doors open as they made their way to the exit. Each time, Rhea let out a grateful and happy yelp, eliciting smiles and chuckles for those who assisted them. As Rhys had predicted, Rhea was instantly likeable. While no one recognized Rhea, more than a few people recognized Aru and the sight of their alpha running around frivolously went a long way toward calming high strung emotions in the pack.
Within a few moments, the pair made their way outside and were trotting to a nearby glade. "Aru we run!" Rhea proposed happily as she trotted in a circle around Aru.
"Yeah!" He answered again, nipping playfully at her tail as she passed by.
