Fox Afield (Madison Wolves)

by Robin Roseau

  I listened. I heard the normal forest sounds and nothing else. I walked down to the lake then turned to the boathouse with the kayaks.

  I didn't know the protocol, but I really wanted to head out onto the lake. I ran up to the lodge and found a female wolf I didn't know. She was puttering around the outside of the lodge but stood up as I approached.

  "You must be Michaela," she said, holding out her hand. "I am Simone. Welcome to Colorado."

  "It's beautiful here," I said.

  "Were you looking for breakfast?"

  "No, I was looking for you," I told her. "I wanted to know if the kayaks were available to take out onto the water."

  "Of course," she said. "I'll go down and show you where everything is."

  We walked back down together. She asked me about the wedding, and I gave her the highlights. We arrived at the boathouse before I was done, so I hurried the telling.

  "We don't lock anything," she said. "This is always open." We stepped into the small boathouse. "Paddles, life jackets, the rest of the gear. Have you been kayaking before?"

  "Yes, on Lake Superior."

  "Do you need a safety course?"

  "I teach them."

  She laughed. "All right. Then everything should be familiar to you, but there is a river leading away from the lake at the northwest corner. I do not recommend you get too close."

  "I saw that stream. I don't have much whitewater experience, and those rapids are well above anything I would normally do."

  "We have fishing gear, but you'll need an out-of-state license. I can sell you one, if you want."

  "I'd like that, next time," I said.

  "Just stop up at the lodge, we can do it whenever you like. There are rainbow trout in the lake. We stock it. Our hooks are barbless, and we ask you to be gentle on the smaller fish."

  "We will."

  "The lake is deep in most places, with a very rocky bottom. But that also means if you tip over in the shallow places, you can hit your head. Helmets are mandatory."

  I nodded. "Wet suits?"

  She smiled and shook her head. "Sorry. Everyone who comes here is a wolf and would be offended at the suggestion."

  "I'll make sure I don't tip over," I said, returning her smile. They wouldn't have had my size, anyway.

  We collected the gear I would need. I pulled on a helmet and a life jacket. She had to help me find sizes that would fit. Then we stepped outside, and Simone helped me with one of the kayaks. We brought it down to the water and lowered it next to the dock. I slipped in and grabbed my paddle.

  "Thank you," I said. "I almost went nuts when I saw these last night."

  "Enjoy your ride," Simone said. "Are you sure you're okay alone?"

  "Yes," I said. "I will avoid the stream and I promise not to tip over."

  She laughed.

  I paddled easily, the kayak cutting through the glassy water smoothly. It felt good to loosen my shoulders, and I loved the peace and quiet. The water was smooth and clear, and when I dipped a hand in, cold. I was used to clear, cold water in Bayfield, but Lake Superior was rarely this glassy smooth. I decided I liked that.

  It was phenomenally beautiful and peaceful.

  I did a slow, easy circle of the lake, and as I drew closer to the lodge, I saw Lara and Elisabeth standing on the dock, both with their hands on their hips, glaring at me. I drew closer, but stayed offshore.

  "What?" I said. "Like you didn't know where I would be."

  "That's not the point," Lara said.

  "Michaela," Elisabeth added. "We are in another pack's territory. We have no particular reason to distrust Brooke or Daniel, but Glenn is another matter. Do I need to say more?"

  I sighed. "What do you want?"

  "Lara or I with you 100 percent of the time," Elisabeth said. "She and I will decide from there."

  I felt like a little kid who had been caught sneaking out of the house. "All right," I said. "Are you making me come in?"

  "We weren't sure if you were done," Lara said. "How are you feeling?"

  "My leg is fine. Hip is a little stiff, but it's fine. Shoulders are loose. I would really like you guys to join me for another trip around the lake, but if you're hungry or I am interfering with plans, I can come in."

  "Stay close," Lara said. "We'll join you."

  We had a nice time out on the lake, paddling around for another hour before heading in for breakfast.

  * * * *

  After breakfast, we gathered together. Everyone seemed to know what the plan was, but no one would tell me. Brooke seemed particularly concerned about my leg and hip, but I assured her I was fine and up for anything short of a full marathon. She finally believed me.

  After breakfast we climbed into the cars and took a twenty minute drive. We pulled into a small parking lot to find Simone waiting for us. "Gear in these packs," she said, gesturing to four heavy backpacks. I walked over to one and tried to lift it.

  "I think, Michaela," Brooke said, "that perhaps this is a time you let wolves be wolves." She lifted one of the packs and set it over Serena's shoulders. Karen got one, Gia got one, and Brooke took the last one. Simone checked everyone then set off down a trail, the rest of us following.

  We hiked for an hour. It was a nice hike for me, even in the mountain air. The heavy backpacks slowed down the wolves, but no one complained.

  I spent the time looking around. We traveled through a valley, the ridges and peaks towering above us, and it was beautiful. To our right was a small lake, and I detected a stream feeding into it. I heard a small herd of deer, or deer-like animals, but I never saw them. There were other small animals and a variety of birds, and it was nice to be outside.

  We reached the end of the valley, and it turned out to be a canyon, terminating against a sheer rock face. I stared at the rock wall, looking up to the top. Brooke stepped up beside me.

  "It's a hundred feet," she said. "Straight up. It's not a difficult climb. Well, not for a wolf. Maybe for a fox." I grinned at her.

  Lara was standing on my other side, and I leaned against her, pulling her arm into place around my shoulders. I looked up at her and said, "Please kiss me."

  She did.

  Brooke and Simone began helping each of us put on gear. None of the rest of us knew what we were doing. They had climbing shoes for us; Lara had shared our sizes ahead of time. We each put on a helmet and slipped into a harness around our legs and waists. Simone checked all our gear, then Brooke came along behind her and checked again. Then they both slipped into their own gear.

  Simone and Brooke gave us a lesson in climbing.

  They taught us about all the gear and the terminology, then gave us lessons in the basics of climbing. We learned how to find toe and footholds. After that we learned how to belay. When one person is climbing, the other person is their safety net, so to speak, managing the free end of the rope.

  "Simone," Brooke finally said. "You are in charge." Simone nodded. "I'll free climb this."

  "Go ahead," she said. "I'll give them the rest of the lesson."

  Brooke found a small backpack, checked the contents, then approached the rock face. I watched as she began climbing. Once she started moving, she didn't stop, and it was a joy to watch.

  Simone encouraged us to practice short climbs, no higher than ten feet. We each practiced climbing a short distance and moving back and forth, left to right. She encouraged us to experiment. I slipped once but caught myself with my fingertips in a narrow crack. I climbed back down and healed the damage. Gia fell from ten feet, but bounced to her feet and blushed. "I missed that hold," she said.

  "If you were human," Simone said, "You would be roped up for this."

  From above, Brooke yelled down at us. "Beware the rope!"

  Simone pulled us all well away from the face of the cliff, then Brooke dropped a rope down to us, maintaining possession of one end. Brooke dropped another rope as well, so there were two, side by side, with one of the ropes being one length, one of the ropes we had both en
ds.

  Simone gathered up one rope then said, "Who wants to belay Brooke for her descent?"

  "I do," I said.

  Simone took one look at me.

  "I'm small," I said. "But I am still a were."

  Simone nodded. She had me sit down then buckled me into a harness attached firmly to a rock outcrop. "This is standard," she said. "If Brooke were going to belay Michaela, she would still buckle in." Simone again went over how to belay properly, including how to control Brooke's rate of descent. When she was sure I had it, she waved to Brooke.

  "On belay!" Brooke yelled down.

  "Belay on!" I yelled back.

  Simone watched me carefully, and she also fed to me the rope I was letting out. If I had made any significant mistakes, I was sure she would be able to handle it. Brooke backed slowly off the crest of the cliff above, and I began lowering her down slowly.

  "She wants you to go faster," Simone said. "Almost a controlled fall, but maintain control, and slow it down near the bottom."

  I let the descent speed increase, then once I was sure I still had control, even a little faster.

  "That's good," Simone said.

  As Brooke neared the bottom, I slowed her down, and a few feet from the ground, I slowed her descent to a crawl. She drifted gently to the ground.

  "Off belay," she said after a moment.

  "Belay off," I replied.

  Simone and Brooke took control of the rope, I unhitched, and Brooke told me, "That was perfect. Oh, that's fun!"

  After that, it was time to climb. "Who is first?" Simone asked.

  Everyone turned to Lara and me.

  "I want to watch," I said. "I'll go last. Am I strong enough to belay?"

  "Yes," said Simone. "But you need to focus on your job when you belay."

  So Brooke hooked Lara up to the ropes, then hooked herself. Simone checked both of them, then I hooked up for belay and Simone checked me. I thought I would belay Lara, but she gave me Brooke's rope and she took Lara's. I glanced at her.

  "Brooke isn't going to fall. Lara might. But we'll give you practice handling falls."

  "You're the boss," I said, smiling. "But Lara isn't going to fall."

  She chuckled.

  Lara walked to the cliff face, eyed it for a minute, then began pulling herself up. Brooke scrambled up next to her, eight feet to the left. She spoke softly to her, explaining how to exert her energy more efficiently, helping her find finger and footholds, and otherwise cheering her on. I listened to every word.

  Three quarters of the way to the top, Lara fell. I screamed and immediately tightened the belay on Brooke. Lara fell a very short distance before she was caught by Simone.

  "The scream wasn't necessary," Simone said gently. "But good reactions. Let Brooke loose, she'll probably descend back down to Lara, but let her climb down and don't drop her."

  I relaxed on the belay, and Simone held Lara until she could grab hold of the rock face and support her own weight. I heard Brooke asking Lara if she was fine.

  "Just embarrassed. I tried to do what I'd seen you do, dangling from one hand, but I slipped."

  "For now, keep at least two points of contact."

  "Right," Lara said. And then she began climbing again.

  They made it to the top without further mishap, disappearing over the lip of the cliff together. Then they both turned around and waved to us.

  I couldn't hear their conversation, but they reappeared after a moment and yelled down, "On belay!"

  Simone and I both answered, and they slowly stepped backwards off the cliff.

  "Watch them," she said. "Now, try to lower Brooke about the same rate I am lowering Lara."

  I don't think Brooke had as pleasant a ride as Lara did. I kept speeding her up and slowing her down, but I kept her by and large next to Lara the entire way down, setting her gently on her feet at the bottom.

  As soon as I was off belay, I unhooked and threw myself into Lara's arms, hugging her fiercely.

  "I'm okay, Little Fox," she said. "Embarrassed. Please don't do that when it's your turn."

  Elisabeth and Simone climbed next with Brooke and me on belay. Elisabeth slipped badly once but caught herself. I tightened the belay for Simone, and Brooke was ready to catch Elisabeth if necessary.

  Karen went next. Before they began climbing, Brooke asked Simone, "Is she ready?"

  "Yes," was the reply.

  Halfway up, I watched as Brooke peeled off the cliff face and began to fall. I caught her immediately.

  "Good," said Simone.

  "That was intentional."

  "Yes," she said. "And you responded perfectly."

  "What if I hadn't?"

  "If I didn't think you would, you wouldn't be on belay in the first place."

  Next up was Gia. Brooke moved me to Gia's rope and she had Elisabeth belay for Simone. She watched us both carefully.

  Then Serena climbed beside Brooke. She fell twice, and I caught her both times. The second time, Brook peeled off as well, and Elisabeth caught her.

  It was my turn.

  There was a dispute over who would belay for me. Brooke ordered Elisabeth to do it. Lara ordered Brooke to.

  "Lara," I said. "Could I have a hug before I start climbing?"

  She glanced up then crossed over to me. She pulled me into her arms, and I said, "Let Elisabeth. Trust the experts."

  She kissed me and ordered me not to fall, then asked Elisabeth to belay for me.

  Brooke invited Serena to belay for Simone. I walked over to Elisabeth and said, "Give me a little slack on my way up. I won't fall."

  Then I walked to Simone. "Will there be handholds for someone my size?"

  "Yes," she said. "Although there are a couple of tricky spots for you."

  "Warn me before we get to them." I grinned at her. "Try to keep up."

  "Safe is better than fast," she said.

  I eyed the cliff face, walked up to it, and said, "On belay!"

  Elisabeth gathered most of my slack but left me with a little and then said, "Belay on!"

  I began to climb.

  I am a werefox. I am tiny and much weaker than a wolf, but I am still a were. I weigh barely a hundred pounds, but I have the upper body strength of a human male. All the wolves were much stronger than I was, but they were also carrying more weight. Furthermore, my hands are smaller, which means I can use smaller handholds. And this particular wall offered plenty of places to grip.

  It wasn't the same as climbing a tree, not at all. When climbing trees, I always have something very obvious to grab. The rock was different, very different.

  I began to clamber up.

  Simone didn't have any trouble keeping up with me, but she'd been up and down the wall multiple times. I hadn't. She was were, of course, so she had far more endurance than a human would have, but she had still been up the wall three times. I had hoped she would be tired out and that I could leave her behind, but she seemed quite relaxed.

  "Difficult point coming up," she said. "Please slow down and be deliberate in your choices."

  I worked my way through the difficult point, moving slowly, and Simone told me, "Well done."

  In another twenty feet, I got stuck. I had a firm hold of two good handholds, and my feet were jammed into a little crack. But for the life of me, I couldn't reach the next handhold. I looked around, wondering if I would have to travel to the side. Simone had found a resting point and was watching me.

  "Do you want me to tell you how, or do you want to figure it out?"

  "Figure it out," I told her, grinning.

  "I wasn't expecting you to get stuck here," she said. "It might be a dead end for you. The rest of us can easily reach that next handhold, although this is where Lara fell."

  "She ordered me not to repeat that."

  "Elisabeth will catch you if you fall," she said. "But it's best not to."

  I looked around. "There's another path over there," I said, gesturing to my right.

  "Yes," she said.
"And either Brooke or I could get to it, but I doubt you can."

  "I could crowd you," I said, "but I bet that is frowned upon."

  "It's not your first choice."

  "Right." I looked at my choices. My left hand was hanging by the fingers in a crack. The crack was wide enough I could slide my hand all the way in. The handhold I wanted I could reach with my right if I could just raise my body high enough.

  I jammed my left hand firmly into the crack and made a fist, which caused my hand to become firmly lodged in the crack. I leaned away from the wall, testing it, and my hand stayed firmly in place. Then I began moving my feet up, pressing my feet against the wall, giving them friction, my butt hanging well away from the wall, my feet edging up, and my left hand the only thing holding me to the cliff.

  I worked my legs up as far as I could, bent over, then I pushed with my legs, held on with my left hand, and my body levered up. My right hand reached and readily clasped not the handhold I'd been after, but the one immediately above it. I hung on that way for a moment, made sure I was secure, then pulled myself up by my right arm, finding hand and toe grasps for the rest of my appendages.

  "Well done," Simone said.

  The rest of the climb was easy, and when we were both at the top, I hugged Simone in jubilation.

  We looked around for a minute, then after making sure we were well-belayed, we took our rides back down to the bottom.

  We switched sides. Brooke told us both routes were about the same, but of course the handholds would be a little different. We all went up the left side, Brooke and Simone taking a break, and once I was firmly on the ground, I grinned and said, "So, time for some races?"

  "Definitely," said Elisabeth. "Ready?"

  I laughed. "I just got down, but I'll be ready for the next one."

  Simone and Brooke sighed. "Fine," said Brooke. "We'll handle the belays. Anyone who falls is going to lose ten feet. And no interfering with each other or we'll stop this cold."

  "No screwing around," Lara affirmed.

  Gia offered to race Serena, betting a favor to the winner. Serena won, but it was a close race.

  "I want to see the sisters race," I said. "So Karen, that means you and me."

  "All right," she said. "If I win, I want your chopsticks."

  "Really?"