Liza and Duke: Introductions

Liza:  Liza was a dog. But, not an ordinary dog, Liza was ¼ wolf. Ever since she was only 4 wks. Old, she had shown some signs of her wolf ancestors, such as excessive howling at the moon, weariness around humans and a strove crave for meat all the time. It was certain, some of her mother’s wolf had been passed down onto her generation. Liza, now, about 2 yrs. old, was fully grown and was able to look after herself. Since she had never come to trusting people, she lived as a wild dog, in a large, abandoned barn, on the edge of a small town. Liza was an all white wolf/dog with gray chest fur. Lucky for her, her looks didn’t give away any of the wolf she had in her. The only looks she possessed that were not husky-like wer a slightly above average height and a gray stripe running down the middle of her back. Liza had never even taken much interest in becoming a mail dog or a working dog of any kind mainly because she avoided all contact with other canines, afraid that they might find out about her wolf blood and turn on her. But one day, this all changed, all changed when she the wolf named Duke. It all happened one morning, while hunting for her breakfast. She had chased some prey a little farther into the woods than she had intended too. It ended up being a young mouse, which was easily devoured in seconds as soon as Liza had caught it. “MMMmmm, that was the tastiest meal I’ve had in days”. She mumbled to herself. Then, she had realized how far she had wondered into the forest. “Wow, maybe I should just go back , no telling what strange creatures live out here”. She said to herself. “Well, what could be stranger than you”?! A voice replied close by from a large bush. Liza froze, wondering what had possibly said that. Then, the bushes rustled, revealing who her follower was.

Duke:  Duke had been born into a pack of only about 15 wolves. His father, being the alpha, expected best from his only son, for Duke only had two older sisters. Duke was a young wolf, only about 2 yrs. of age with a lean, muscular body. He generally was very outgoing, instead, he preferred to eavesdrop on other’s conversations. His coat was black with tanish neck fur and belly fur. Despite his young age, compared to all the other more expierenced, older wolves, he was the best hunter in the pack. His skills had earned him his nickname, Hunter, in the pack. But recently, he had deserted his pack, for he was very angry with them. They were forcing him to take a future alpha female, Betsy, as his mate. He liked Betsy, but wanted to have his own choice about which mate he would have, so he then left the pack behind him. Currently, he had picked up a strange new scent of a female dog in the woods, close by from the scent of it. Instantly, he began to walk lightly, as he wanted this to be fun, the thought of scarring the doggy made him jump with excitement. Then he saw her, not the little doggy he had imagined. She was a large husky, almost wolfish. Then she caught a mouse. Now Duke realized that her excellent prey hunting skills, the powerful, lean body, were those common traits shared by wolves.  This was a wild dog, or wolf, or whatever she was, he had to meet her. “Well, what creature could be stranger than you?!” he asked, replying to a question she had asked herself, and then stepped out of the hiding place to reveal who had spoken to the frightened dog.

Liza:   The animal that had spoken to Liza had now revealed itself. It was a wolf, a young male to be exact. He wasn’t hostile, for Liza could tell because the fur on the back of his neck was lying flat. He actually seemed friendly. Maybe this wolf could help her get out of the woods. She would have to be friendly, in order to not scare him off. “Um, hi.” She began awkwardly. “ What are you doing here doggy, shouldn’t you be at home with your little human family?” he questioned rudely. Liza was taken aback by his response, she had thought this wolf would be friendly, but was turning out to be more and more unpleasant by the minute. “ I’m sorry if im bothering you but, I …well…..kinda got lost  while tracking a mouse, and was wondering if you knew the way back to town.”  She said. “Your lost doggy, aww what happened to your humans, did they not take care of you”? He asked with a mocking tone. That was it, this wolf was making fun of her, how dare he say she lived with people, she didn’t even like people, much less trust them to take care of her. Liza decided to reply with a comeback just as sly, “One, I don’t even live with humans and, two, DON’T call me doggy”. “ok, whatever, I’ll just go, and you’l stay lost forever.” He replied smugly. “Wait, no, I didn’t mean it like THAT.” She shouted. “And I’m not even entire dog, I’m part wolf.” She added.

Duke: Duke suddenly felt closer to this wolf-dog. After all, she was part wolf, maybe he should be a little nicer to her. “Ah, part wolf?” “Is that why you catch live prey and live without humans?” He asked. “Well, yeah, I guess so.” Liza said. “Tell you what, you tell me where your den is in the town, and I’ll walk you all the way there, just to make sure you don’t get lost again.” He added with a grin. “You know what, I don’t even know your name yet, what is your name anyways?” Duke asked. “Im Liza, you?” “Duke.” He replied simply. “Cool, my youngest brother’s name was Duke.” Liza said. “Really, awesome”. Duke replied. Hey, maybe she’s not the soft-coated doggy after all, Duke thought to himself. As Duke and Liza walked, they told each other a little more about themselves and Duke also realized that her personality was more wolfish that husky too.  Before they knew it, they had arrived at Liza’s den. “here it is, I know its not much, but its big and warm, and I like it here.” She said happily. “you can stay for the night if ya want to, I know how long a walk it will be to get back to the woods.” She offered. “Hey, thanks, I appreciate it.” Duke said gratefully.

The next morning, Duke was surprised to find Liza not in her nest anymore. Must have gone hunting, he thought. After all, she’s no house pet. Duke sniffed, the air was fresh, Liza had only awoken very recently. Duke hoped to return to the woods soon, for the old barn Liza had made her den did not suit him. Yet, he couldn’t bare to see Liza’s sad face when he told her he had to leave. It seemed to Duke that she had never had a friend before in her life, and seemed so happy to finally have one. Maybe, she would give up her old barn and come into the woods with him. Being part wolf, she could hunt for her own food and be able to survive the rough terrain because of her muscular body. That’s it, that’s what he would do, he would ask Liza to come along. But first, I must find her, he added. Duke searched for about an hour before he had caught another fresh scent of Liza, fresher than he had smelled earlier when he had first awoken. I’ve found her, her thought happily. Then, a few minutes later, he saw her white fur shinning in the sun. “Hey, Liza, wait up!” He called. She turned around to see who had called to her, but then she smiled. “Hello Duke, whats up?” “Well you see, I needed to ask you something, but you had left, so I tracked  you down.” He began. “I needed to ask you if you would come into the forest with me.” He added. “Will you?” Liza remained silent for a while, but then looked up at Duke confidently and said “I’d like that Duke, I’d like that very much.”

        To Be Continued……