"Well," the girl sniffed, the firmness remaining, "if you really wanna know, it's nothing serious; she just sprained her ankle the other day, and it's kind of hard for her to get around."
"Sprained ankle?" the wolf winced. "I've been there; how's she holding up?"
The girl gulped; why was he showing so much concern for her? "Just fine; she's uncomfortable, that's all." Her eyes narrowed. "Why do you care? Besides that, who are you? Why aren't you wearing any clothes? And why do you have glasses?"
The wolf laughed nervously, holding up both of his hands. "Whoa, kid, one question at a time." He thought for a second. "Then again, I probably could have explained a few things." Clearing his throat, he began answering her questions.
"First off, my name's Janus. Pleased to meetcha." He held out a hand. "And yours?"
The girl eyed his hand suspiciously for a few seconds, only reaching out once she'd stared at it for a bit. "My name's Red. I…guess it's nice to meet you, Janus."
Janus grinned, exposing his sharp teeth and causing Red to flinch a bit. "That wasn't so hard, was it?" Without waiting for her to answer, he immediately picked up on her second question. "Why aren't I wearing clothes? Um, please note…" he gestured to his body. "Notice the fur. Notice the paws. Notice the tail and ears. Notice the freaking muzzle. I'm a wolf; why would I bother with clothing?"
Red shrugged. "Well, I wouldn't have a problem if you walked like a normal wolf, but you're standing up like a person. Wouldn't people see…certain things?"
Janus groaned. "Oh, c'mon! It's not that bad! Seriously, I don't get what it is with you humans and your obsession with covering up your bodies. I mean, yeah, clothes do look snazzy, but the minute they come off, you're running and ducking for cover." He grunted, folding his arms. "And anyway, you can't see anything; if you can take your eyes off my handsome mug for a second, you could plainly see that I'm decent, so to speak."
Raising her eyebrows skeptically, Red nonetheless slowly moved her eyes from Janus's face all the way down to… a certain point on his body. A jolt of dread slinked up her spine. He'd better not be lying about this…
Fortunately, he wasn't, and Red breathed a quiet sigh of relief; true to Janus's words, his fur covered his body in such a way that specific sights were hidden from curious (or insane) eyes.
Janus smiled. "See? Didn't I tell ya? Nothing to see here." He chuckled, scratching the back of his head. "And before we get too off-subject here…you wanted to know about my glasses, right?" The girl nodded, now more curious than anything. "Well, it's simple, really; I can't see a damn thing without 'em."
Red blinked, confused. "Don't wolves smell their way around most of the time?"
Janus shrugged. "Well, admittedly, I do use my nose a lot, too, but there are some things that are best experienced with these." He pointed to both his eyes. "Besides, if I just used my nose, chances are I'd come across a few too many…unpleasant… smells, if you catch my drift."
The girl grimaced. "I'm not sure I want to…"
The humanoid wolf waved a dismissive paw. "Eh, I don't blame ya; some things you just don't wanna hear about." He chuckled, but quickly froze as he took in another whiff of the cookies. "Oh man, those smell so good. How'd you make them?"
The girl opened her mouth, but quickly shut it. "I-I'm sorry, but I don't know if my grandma would appreciate me sharing her recipe with a stranger. She's had it for years, you know."
Must be a heckuva recipe, Janus mused, brow furrowed in thought. Still, it makes sense she wouldn't wanna share it. But man oh man, I want those cookies so bad…ah!
A grin slowly spread across Janus's muzzle as a light bulb flashed in his mind. "Say, kid," he began, his smile slowly widening. "If I asked her nicely, you think she'd be willing to share her recipe with me?"
"H-huh?" Red snapped to attention, instantly on guard. "Well, I dunno; I mean, it's not like it's a jealously guarded secret or anything, but I don't know if she'd want to share it with someone who…erm…"
"Might wanna eat her?" Janus spoke up, finishing her sentence. "Relax, I don't plan on eating anyone today; I'll just make myself a bit more presentable, head off, and hope she doesn't mind me dropping in." His ears twitched. "Oh, that reminds me: where did you say her house was again?"
Red narrowed her eyes. "I didn't, and honestly, I don't know if I feel like telling you. I mean, you seem nice enough, but I don't wanna take the chance that…"
"I just keep following this road until I come across a little cottage, right?" Janus butted in, startling the girl.
"Y-yes…how did you know..?"
The bipedal wolf shrugged. "Eh, I've passed by it a couple of times in the past; never really gave it much thought, though." Upon catching her wary look, Janus sighed. "Look, kid, I give you my word; I'm not gonna hurt your grandma, OK?"
Red glared at him, but nonetheless nodded. "Alright, if you say so. You'd better not be lying, though…" Keeping her eyes on Janus, she slowly strolled past him, heading on her way down the dirt road.
He watched her go, blinking. "Well, she didn't seem too happy; maybe I should stay off the road." He rubbed his hand-paws together, a smile quickly forming on his muzzle. "Anyway, first things first; gotta find me some clothes, first." Tail wagging, he darted back into the trees, peering out at the road from behind a large pine tree. "Should be easy enough; just gotta wait for an unsuspecting passerby to stroll by, and then I can jump 'em, take their clothes, and be on my merry way." He grimaced. "They're probably not gonna be too happy, though...." he shrugged. "Ah, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. Besides, it wouldn't be the first time I've gotten humans pissed at me…" He winced as he remembered the sight of an angry lumberjack, axe in hand, chasing him through the woods.
In spite of his trepidation, Janus snorted. "Hey, it was his fault for making such delicious-smelling flapjacks…" He grinned, rubbing his stomach. "And man, were those worth the effort!" He could almost taste it as he thought back to it: the fluffy pancake, the butter and syrup slathered across it…
His ears perked up suddenly. "Eh?" Snapping out of his reverie, he looked up…and grinned as he spotted exactly what he'd been looking for.
"Nothin' personal, stranger," Janus muttered as he tensed, ready to pounce on the young man that strolled, unsuspecting, across the dirt road. "But I need me some duds…and you've got exactly what I need."
Later...
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
