(Untitled)

[hereand_now]

Wolf has found the big bouncy thing near the Compound.

Now that he's here, he wishes he would have found it earlier, because it's the very best thing on the island. Besides the good people, of course, and maybe the cows. They're all pretty great, but this is fun. This is the most fun he's had since Jack and that nice man let him ride in the back

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[piemakerprince]

Ned, having just finished up his shift at the bakery, was only just relishing the freedom of being on the porch of the bakery instead of in the back rooms, when Digby let out a few barks and took off down the path and around the side of the compound.

It was the sort of bark that said something interesting was just down the bend, and Ned would do best to follow his beloved friend, for it was the little things that kept the days from being a blur of baking and caring for Eli.

With a sigh, Ned followed Digby.

As he rounded the corner of the building, he could hear it - someone yelling, practically howling in joy. The man jumping on the trampoline caught Ned's eye immediately, and he couldn't help but smile. Digby, who'd stopped right in front of the trampoline, turned and barked at Ned as if to say, See? I told you so.

[hereand_now]

"Dog!" Wolf says happily when he hears the bark. He slows his jumps, nearly tumbling straight off the trampoline in his attempt to get down, then crouches near the dog, holding both his hands out for him. There's a man, too, and Wolf raises his gaze, smiling.

"Hi!" he says, because anyone who comes with a dog is his friend, right here and now. "Hi, dog! What's your name?" He knows the dogs on the island can't talk, not like the Wolfs back home, but he asks each one anyway, just in case, never wanting to appear rude by asking their master instead. "Hi, mister! What's his name? And what's your name? I'm Wolf!"

[piemakerprince]

Digby, to his credit, made his best attempt to tell the man his name, but he was unfortunately constrained by the language barrier. He looked at Ned, then tentatively licked the hands presented to him.

Seeing Digby take to someone so quickly put Ned at ease, and he lifted a hand in greeting. "Hi, Wolf. I'm Ned, and that's Digby. I think he's pleased to meet you."

[hereand_now]

"Hi, Ned. Hi, Digby," Wolf says, running his big hands over Digby's ears and through his pretty fur. He's never seen a golden red like that, not back home and not yet on the island, and he can't help but stare at the way the sunlight hits it. Wolf are never red -- only their eyes and only when they change -- they're always brown.

"You sure are pretty," he says to the dog, then smiles up at Ned. "Wolfs aren't coloured like this back home."

[piemakerprince]

"Wolfs?" Digby tilted his head in unison with Ned, interested in hearing the story of his brand new friend.

Ned moved closer to the trampoline, pressing a hand on the stretchy material. "Where are you from?"

[hereand_now]

"Jack called it the Territories," Wolf answers, still rubbing Digby's ears happily. He loves that there are so many dog cousins on the island that he can play with, even if they don't understand him like they once might have.

"It's a place like Jack's world, like America, but different, too," he explains. "The air is clearer and there are men with wings. And Wolfs. Jack called them werewolves."

[piemakerprince]

"Oh." Well, the pie maker could hardly fault a man for being from a world where he was some sort of werewolf, considering his own previous talent for re-animating the dead for sixty seconds at a time.

He hardly ever saw men with wings, however.

"So, you were a Wolf?"

[hereand_now]

"Am a Wolf," Wolf corrects, because even if he can't run with the moon anymore, he'll always, always be a Wolf. They all return to the moon in the end.

"Was Digby your dog before here or did you get him when you came here?" he asks. "He sure is nice! I wish I could have a dog."

[piemakerprince]

Ned nodded, taking in Wolf's large form. It was easy to picture him as someone who'd change form during the full moon, and while he felt as though he should be intimidated, the pie maker found it hard to feel so.

That, perhaps, had to do with how enamored Digby seemed to be.

"We've been friends for a very long time," Ned replied. "Since we were both young."

[hereand_now]

"Really?" Wolf asks, delighted. He knows that dogs in Jack's world don't get to live as long, not like Wolfs, who have life spans just like humans, and he loves the idea that Digby might be old.

"How young?" he asks. "How old are you? I'm sixteen. Is Digby older than me?"