(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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[island_anne]

Anne isn't too far behind, but once she sees where the noise is coming from she feels comfortable letting Matthew run on ahead to the edge of the trampoline, looking up up up at the man jumping on it then throwing his arms in the air like he is either celebrating or asking to be flung up into the sky too.

Probably the latter.

[hereand_now]

"Hi, Matthew! Hi, Anne!" Wolf shouts in the middle of a jump, grinning and waving when he sees them. Anne's nice to him and she takes care of the cows, which is what Wolf used to do back home and so he feels a kinship with her. Not the same as the one he feels with the other Wolfs, a very different sort, but an important sort. Being a shepherd is an honour he takes very seriously.

"Hi," he says again, panting as he slows his jumps. "Do you want to bounce with me?" He looks from Matthew to Anne. "Little bounces."

[island_anne]

"Very small bounces," says Anne firmly, but Matthew is already grabbing hold and trying to scramble up over the side of the trampoline before Wolf has even come to a complete stop.

Well, if he falls or gets his little fingers caught, he'll learn pretty quickly.

"Bounce high!" he insists, though at least he doesn't try to throw his hands in the air this time, what with how they're gripping the side of the trampoline.

[hereand_now]

"Small bounces, your mom said," Wolf answers, reaching down to help Matthew up onto the trampoline. He likes Anne Shirley, he sure does, and he doesn't want her to be upset with him if he gets little Matthew hurt, so he won't. If there's anything a Wolf can do, it's take care of little ones.

"What's this called?" he asks Anne, getting up onto his knees as he holds Matthew's hands. If he stands up, he'll be too tall, but this is just as fun. "I never saw nothing like this back home, not once! It sure is fun!"

[island_anne]

"They call it a trampoline," Anne told him as Matthew did a very impressive somersault onto the trampoline and grabbed Wolf's hands for support. She briefly wondered if they was anyone teaching children's acrobatics on the island. "Hardly a day goes by when I don't see someone bouncing on it and having the time of their life, so you're in good company. Be careful, Matthew."

Matthew was being anything but careful.

[hereand_now]

"Trampoline," Wolf repeats, still doing his best to hold onto the little hands so that Matthew doesn't fall off. Falling down isn't so bad, the material is springy and doesn't hurt, but Wolf sure doesn't want him to fall off the side.

"He's real good at bouncing," he says, beaming at Anne. "Real good! I bet he could've been one of the men with wings in my home. Bet he's just the kind of person to like flying!"

[island_anne]

"Do they truly have men with wings where you come from?" said Anne, trying to imagine such a thing but able to think only of the unfortunate Icarus. "Matthew seems to excel at anything that requires physicality, though his dexterity can often be questionable." Hence her insistence on very small jumps, which so far Matthew is heeding.

[hereand_now]

"They really do," Wolf answers. "I think it hurts them to fly a little bit, but they do it anyway. Like that one thing you know you're built to do, even when it doesn't always feel right."

Like what he'd done in the Sunlight Home. Wolfs were built to protect and he has no regrets, but he doesn't like to hurt people. There's no pleasure in it.

[island_anne]

"Sometimes it hurts to be so beautiful," agreed Anne, still fixated on the image of men flying in the skies under their own power. Matthew was squatting down as low as he could in order to push himself higher into the sky, but Wolf was doing a good job of keeping him steady. "And sometimes it hurts even more to be true to one's self."

[hereand_now]

Wolf has never thought of it like that, because there is only one thing that Wolfs do and he's never questioned it, but Anne is right. Even in the end, it hurt to be true to himself in a way.

"You're real smart," he says. "You would like my friend Jack. I wish you could meet him."

[island_anne]

"I wish I could meet him too," said Anne, "especially if he's as kind and thoughtful as you are. Matthew, please don't try to somersault, you'll hurt yourself!"

[hereand_now]

Wolf laughs, partly out of surprise, but mostly out of joy when Matthew tries to flip over, still holding his hands. "He's real good at it," he says, even though Anne's told him not to do it. "I won't let him get hurt. Not ever."

The promise isn't confined to the trampoline. Wolf won't let anything happen to Anne or Matthew while he's on the island.