HOARFROST. ā poly!141 x reader
[wolf shifter au]
ā cw: Wolf Pack, Wolf Instincts, Werewolves Turn Into Actual Wolves, Pack Hierarchy, Pack Bonding, Werewolf Courting, Mating Cycles/In Rut, Mating Bites, Mating Bond, Scent Marking, Marking, No Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Polyamorous Task Force 141 (Call of Duty), Military Inaccuracies, Military Backstory, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Possessive Behavior, Protectiveness, Knotting, Eventual Smut
AO3
Named in a will of estranged grandparents that you never met, you bequeathed a generous inheritance and a property out in Alaska; in a small town called Coalition. With city life slowly whittling away at you, you decided to take time off of work, flying out to Alaska. Partly to prepare the property to be sold before winter and to enjoy the wilderness in the meantime. There you meet four mysterious ābachelorsā of the town who not only took interest in you, but you in them. But you soon realize something wasnāt quite right about those men or the pack of wolves, with their strangely intelligent eyes, that frequented the woods surrounding your property. Curious, you're determined to get to the bottom of it. But as the saying famously went⦠curiosity kills the cat.
[2]
You awoke to the sound of birdsong.Ā
High-noted, sing-song chirping that was more akin to a cacophony of noise than a delicate melody. In fact, it was more of a warbling dissonance that grated against your eardrums, pulling you from your sleep and right out the middle of your action-packed dream just as it was getting good.Ā
But it wasn't unlike what you were used to back home. Being woken up for work, not usually by your own volition, but to the dreaded jingle of your phoneās pinging alarm clock and the sounds of city life from outside your apartment. An early morning commute full of traffic jams, impatient honking and wailing sirens. Now, instead it was the incessant chirping and chattering of songbirds outside the bedroom window from all around the forestās treetops. Both had indications of morning in their own conventional ways you supposed, the city and the forest. Although one could argue that birdsong was moreā¦Ā organic? It was natureās alarm clock after all, and relatively easier on the ear. Annoying, yes, but to be expected. To not hear it would be abnormal. Regardless, you were up now and there was no use trying to fall back asleep no matter how much you tried to block out the choir with the covers and a pillow over your head.Ā
Defeatedly, you tossed your pillow aside and sat upright, moving towards the edge of the bed. Letting out a yawn and stretching a bit. You only had a few hours of sleep you think. But just like birdsong was to be expected in a forest, the same could be said with insomnia and new surroundings, especially sleeping in an unfamiliar bed, and worst of all, being in a new time zone. Even with your exhaustion from travel. It was really all thanks to those wolves howling. Something about their night song was calming and comforting, almost homely like a motherās lullaby. Much needed after such a restless night.Ā
Even so, you didnāt feel as tired as you thought you would with only a few hours of sleep. But it was only when you stood up, raising your arms above your head in a final stretch, did you feel the timezone difference hit you like a full-throttled train. It was almost like a hangover the way your head was both heavy and foggy. Your limbs felt like there were invisible weights attached to them. Worst of all, you were lethargic. The sudden impact of it made you waver on your feet until you lost your balance and fell back onto the bed like the world was tilted on its axis. It felt too disorientating to stand and along with the fogginess in your brain, you felt a heavy headache coming on. You turned and rifled through the nightstand next to you. Maybe there was something in there to help? Inside there was mostly junk. But you ended up finding a few things: an empty bottle of prescribed sleeping pills with the prescription label peeled away from its side leaving a smear of sticky residue and torn label paper, an old book, and a small, over-the-counter, bottle of acetaminophen.Ā
You tossed the book onto the top, grabbing the acetaminophen bottle and closing the drawer. You took a dosage, plopping the capsule in your mouth and washing it down with a drink from your water bottle from your bag. You gave time for the medicine to kick in before attempting to get up again. When you did, slower and more careful this time, you didnāt feel as bad as before. Made your way to the walk-in bathroom. Your bare feet, the socks you had worn lost somewhere in the blankets during sleep, padded against the icy bathroom floor. The contrast in temperature felt like cold knives stabbing into your soles and heels. You practically bounded like you were walking on ice, and landed on the bathroom rug. Right near the toilet and a wall-mounted sink. The sinkās metal piping was visible and curving out from the wall underneath. It made you uncomfortable for some reason; it felt like you were seeing something you shouldnāt be. The external workings were supposed to be internal, hidden away, like innards. But it was where you aimed for, deciding after to take a shower to feel better and refreshed.
You walked back out and grabbed your TSA-compliant shower supplies from one of your bags. This time with your slippers in tow. It was only when you walked back underneath the warm albeit dim lighting of the pendant light fixture that you realized that there was nowhere to put all your shower stuff. There was no shower cubicle or shower-tub combo that had built-in shelves or shower caddies. Instead all the bathroom had was an old clawfoot iron cast tub and an add-on shower head mounted on the front of it, with a plastic shower curtain liner hooked on the curtain frame.Ā
The tub was situated against the left side wall across from the sink. The bathroomās only window was above it, a long transom window with a curtain that nearly touched the ceiling ā an arms-length away but only if you stepped on your tippy-toes and reached. The clawfoot tub was a bit rusty, the thick flakes of rust reminded you of scabs on the skin. It was also crusted with residual limescale and a growing grime. You didnāt get a look at it yesterday. Being mostly occupied with cleaning the living room and kitchen. And getting situated after your arrival. But now it was just another thing to deep-clean later.Ā
With a grumble, you went up to the tub anyway. This time trying to find some place to put all your supplies. You had thought to just leave it nearby on the floor until you had the idea to use the windowās bottom sill as a makeshift shelf. You turned on the tubās faucet. Hearing the valve squeak and squabble as if in protest of being switched on. The connecting pipe trembled. With a wailing groan, the house pipes soon rumbled to life. It took long seconds before anything came out of it. But instead of coming out clean and clear, dirty colored water poured out, splashing against the basin like a muddy stream. Seeing it made you grimace, thinking of skipping the shower entirely until you saw the color of the water begin to fade as it continuously spouted out. It took a full minute for it to become fully clear. Even then, the water wasnāt heated much, barely warm to the touch and not enough to produce any steam.
Realizing this was the best it was going to get, you carefully stepped into the tub and made use of what you had. But your hesitation soon washed away down the drain along with the suds as you stood under the water spray. It relaxed you and helped a bit with the jet-lag and your grogginess. Then the barely warm water disappeared and the showerhead spouted icy cold water. The shock of it made you almost slip and fall in the tub. But it definitely woke you up. You quickly finished up. After your impromptu cold shower, with your microfiber towel around your wet hair and a cotton one around your body, you stepped in the bedroom to get ready for the day ahead.Ā
Only when you were getting dressed did you realize you were missing one of your suitcases. A small one packed full of well⦠your unmentionables: all your undergarments and even your socks. Then came the realization that, knowing your luck, it was more than likely back at the airport in Fairbanks and your lost suitcase was still turning on the designated luggage carousel alone and unclaimed. But you couldāve sworn you grabbed it all. You even did a personal census for your luggage just to make sure before leaving for your terminal gate. Huffing out a frustrated groan, you fell back onto the bedcovers, splaying yourself out on top of it.Ā
With a drawn out sigh, you lolled your head to the side and towards the window, peering out the splitting between the curtains. It was still dark outside but there were no traces of sunrise kindling on the horizon. Odd to say the least, but it was expectant for this time of year from what you researched beforehand. The changeover of seasons and diurnal courses; when the late summer was slowly withering away, turning to the fledgling of fall and the days grew all the more shorter.Ā
It was usually right around this time that you would be up and dressed already. Your bag thrown over your shoulder, buttered ā and sometimes burnt ā toast in one hand with a bite taken out of it, keys in the other. And usually a travel tumbler full of freshly brewed coffee balanced in the crook of your elbow if you didnāt decide to grab a coffee on your way to work. It was strange to you now to be so unhurried in a strangersā house out in the middle of nowhere. But the need to follow your established routine was still there in the back of your mind. As was the alarming feeling of being late to leave the house to make itĀ on time for your 9-to-5 job. But it wouldn't take long for such habits to die hard or even for your routine to be de-established. You gave it a few days give or take before being on leave, well more like a vacation that wasnāt quite a vacation, would fully sink in.Ā
Initially you had tried to think of it as a really extended weekend, or needed time-off to take care of family matters ā more like family that you never knew. But something inside prevented you from fully accepting it. Now it only left you feeling unsure. Cross-examining everything in your life even when you tried not to. Questioning everything about your family, your parents, and even yourself. All the newfound realizations. All the secrecy, all the lies, all the cover-ups⦠and for what? Why?Ā
All because of strangers you never even knew existed?
You gritted your teeth, rubbing at your temples. All your overthinking was starting to make your already afflicted brain hurt. Not wanting to mull it over anymore or cause your headache to come back, you derailed your line of thinking and focused your brainpower instead on what you came all the way to Alaska for: to sell the house, land and all. And to do so, you needed to establish a set of objectives. A to-do list, so to speak. Already you had some things that needed to be put on it. Deep-cleaning the tub for one, but now that you thought about it, it should be deep-cleaning the whole entire house that supposedly had sat vacant for innumerable months. Your shallow cleaning yesterday was minimal despite all the layers of dust and grime. Still you only scratched over the surface.Ā
Closing your hand into a loose fist, you decided to use your fingers to count out the things for your new to-do list. Not in any order of importance or priority, mostly to just keep track. You lifted your pointer finger, counting the addition for deep-cleaning as your first objective:Ā
TO-DO LIST:Ā
Deep clean house
Then you lifted up another finger, your middle one, to denote two, as you remembered the waterās temperature and the nasty brown color of it earlier. Concluded then that the water heater and the house piping to be one issue for the second objective and added it on. Assuming that it was solely the issue and the cause:Ā
TO-DO LIST:
Deep clean house
Fix water heater and piping
As you lifted your ring finger, you struggled to find the next thing to put on the list. You hadnāt really had the time to fully analyze the houseās interior for issues and things to be addressed let alone the entire exterior of it. With your mind made up ā deciding to go around the interior and exterior of the house today to find new things to add to your to-do list ā you got up and got dressed. Deciding to just re-wear your bra, underwear and socks for the time being. Besides it wasn't the end of the world, there should be a washer and dryer somewhere in the house ā hopefully. Until you can somehow get your suitcase back. Perhaps filing a missing luggage claim should be the third on your to-do list. So you did just that.Ā
TO-DO LIST:
Deep clean house
Fix water heater and piping
Get missing luggage back
You went out into the cold, dark hallway. Wrapping your cardigan over yourself more. Slow and soft steps of your slippers echoed as you headed to the kitchen. Although you knew you wouldnāt find anything suitable to have or make for breakfast, you still instinctively made your way into the kitchen. There was a protein bar you always kept inside your handbag just in case you needed a quick snack or couldnāt grab something to eat beforehand. It was more than likely stale by now but you were hungry so it would have to suffice for now.Ā Now with something to eat, it was only the matter of finding something to drink along with it. Preferably something with caffeine.Ā
You searched the pantry shelf that held the jar of chamomile flower heads for something to catch your eye. The glass jars clicked as you shifted them around, taking some of them out to read their dust-covered, fading handwritten labels and putting them back. You found more jars full of other loose leaf teas: green tea, jasmine, mint, lemon balm, and lavender. Even some spices and herbs like cinnamon bark, star anise, cloves, dried rosemary, thyme, sage, basil and parsley. It looked like you had the necessities to season food but just were missing the main ingredient: the food itself.Ā
But between them all, in the clutter of mason jars, you struck gold. Towards the back of the pantry was a mason jar less than half-filled with coffee grains. But it was only when you fished the jar out did you better look at its contents underneath the warm lighting of the kitchen. At the dark granules that shifted around inside as you wiped dust off the front of the jar to see its label. And you realized then that you had struck pyrite rather than gold ā foolās gold was now in your hands. You frowned. The label where ācoffeeā was handwritten in faded, neat calligraphy was false advertising. Not self-prepared coffee grounds but instant coffee. The cheap kind no doubt. Old and more than likely expired. But it was the best you would get at the moment. And beggars couldn't be choosers as the saying went. So begrudgingly you began to heat the same kettle from last night, letting it boil over the stovetop flame as you opened the protein bar.Ā
You stared out the kitchen window above the sink as you ate, to the curtains still parted from yesterday. Towards the coniferous treetops, where the horizon above was starting to brighten up. In the background the old grandfather clock ticked away throughout the dormant house like a steady heartbeat. Counting down the onset of daybreak. You flicked the crumbs from your fingertips into the sink as you stuffed the last bit of the protein bar into your mouth. Chewing slowly as you leaned against the counter, thinking. You had managed to scrounge up something for last night and for breakfast today.Ā
But what about later on for lunch and dinner? Or for the rest of your stay here?Ā
The fridge had expired and molded food. But there was some canned food in the pantry you saw yesterday that you never looked through thoroughly. While the water was still heating up, you began to sift through the pantry. Quickly sorting through the canned food. A majority of them were past their expiration date, some of it by decades. From what you remembered reading randomly sometime ago. From a random fact that popped up in your algorithm, it was apparently still safe to eat. But being all the way out here and in this cabin, you didnāt want to risk it and put them aside to be thrown away along with the ones that were rusted and dented. That left you with only an armful of canned goods left: a couple cans of baked beans and of corn, three cans of green beans, a tinned salmon, two cans of sardines, a can of soup, a can of fruit cocktail and a big tin of Spam.Ā
It would last you a few days, maybe a week if needed and you were deliberate with your eating portions. But either way youād inevitably need to go grocery shopping, eventually. The main problem was your lack of transportation and without any ride share apps or home-delivery options like you were used to having in your own city, your only option really was to walk to town. You could manage that, you were in the outskirts of the town but it was a doable distance.Ā
Then you remembered what your pilot, Nikolai, mentioned yesterday. Those recent wolf sightings. Of a pack not people-shy like usual but bold from what he told you. It was one thing hearing them in the distance, out of reach. It was another actually seeing them in the flesh, face-to-face. With the changing of seasons, they might not be getting a lot of prey. If wandering so close to the town was any indication. You didnāt want to risk bumping into them on your way to-and-fro town. It looked like walking was no longer an option so you crossed off the idea of doing so. Regardless, you added it to your to-do list. You would save all that thinking for later on and figure out the logistics of how to get groceries.
TO-DO LIST:
Deep clean house
Fix water heater and piping
Get missing luggage back
Get groceriesĀ
The whistle of the kettle caught your attention. You flicked the stove dial off before grabbing another random mug from the wall cabinet ā this one: a navy speckled enamel coffee mug with a bearās silhouette on its front ā and poured some of the instant coffee grains inside. With the addition of the boiled water, the grains began to disintegrate. Disappearing completely as you gently stirred, coloring the boiled water with a rush of dark umber. Steam rose from the mugās brim, bending away with your long exhales as you carefully blew against the hot surface. Trying to cool it enough to take a quick sip to taste.Ā
When you thought it was safe enough, slowly you brought it to your lips and took a small sip. The taste of it filled your mouth and you instantly recoiled, appalled by the aftertaste of it on your tongue. Too artificially sweet and without that authentic bitter, earthy taste of grounded coffee beans that you were used to. But it was the best you were going to get in this neck of the woods. Your disappointed sigh blew off more of the mugās rising steam.Ā
You pulled the sleeves of your knitted cardigan over your hands holding the mug, insulating the ceramicās boiling touch from your skin. You walked forward, standing in front of the sink and out the kitchen window again just as the sky was set alight with the warm hue of sunrise. As you took another reluctant sip from your mug, you were half-tempted to pour such an atrocity down the sink. But you knew you were going to need its caffeine for the day to come. So you continued to nurse your cup of instant coffee even though you detested every sip of it. Watching the sun incline above the surrounding trees and up higher. As the birds loudly and relentlessly rejoiced at another day. And the morning light began to stream through the curtains and into the cold cabin, warming up the interior.Ā
After finishing your coffee, you got ready to head outside and pulled on your shoes. With such a clear sky, you expected the morning to be fairly mild and the weather pleasant. But once you stepped outside onto the porch, it was anything but. If the sting of your face from the fresh air and the puff of white when you exhaled was any indication. The morning was cold and there was a thin layer of morning frost on everything, despite the unobstructed shine of the sun above in the clear sky. Causing you to tremble from the sudden temperature difference.
You were quick to head inside and change into warmer clothing, replacing your cardigan with a jacket. Inside still had that layered smell of dust and must but it wasn't as potent as yesterday but after walking outside in the fresh Alaskan air, it was still heavily lingering and too much to ignore. You went around and opened all the curtains, letting the sunlight in, and opened all the windows in an effort to air out the cabin more before you went back outside again. More prepared this time. Standing by the doorway where the wooden chairs were on the patio. Next to dead perennials and other potted plants grouped along the railing. Noticing that the early morning sun did in fact concentrate there.Ā
You stood on the porch, looking out at the land ā your land. To the wide clearing before you. Your front yard you supposed would be the equivalent term in a suburban way. It was more like a meadow. Where a mix of wildgrasses, weeds, and wildflowers grew freely. From your estimation ā well more like your best comparison measurement wise ā your āfront yardā was around the same length of a soccer field but a little longer and a bit wider at its sides before it hit the treeline in the distance. Where wild weeds, shrubbery, underbrush, briar and young tree saplings ate away at the perimeter, pushing the treeline further in. Creeping closer onto the landscape and towards the cabin.Ā
You wondered how much the forest gained ground with the property sitting uninhabited and its land unkempt for so many months. And how much work it took to keep it bay for so long, for the upkeep and maintenance of the land in an never-ending battle between nature. Would you have to do the same? Would you need to do some landscaping? Or would potential buyers like the wildness of it? It fit the context as it wasnāt a suburban house you were trying to sell but a cabin out in the middle of nowhere situated in a small town, a tiny speck on a map, in the Alaskan frontier.
You sighed, turning your head towards the rest of your property where other interesting things were that you wanted to check out. It was mostly to the left side of your cabin, perpendicular to where the gravel driveway was. Situated more towards the clearing, there was a large fenced off rectangular area from what you could tell from afar. In the distance, at its end, was a small greenhouse. Its opaque glass panes reflecting off the sunrays and directly into your eyes.Ā
You blinked rapidly before you crushed your eyes shut. Squinting now, you lifted a hand up to shield your eyes and noticed a wooden structure nearby which, too, was surrounded by thick overgrowth, practically swallowed by. You looked away to the other buildings to the left, next to your cabin. The largest of them caught your immediate attention, facing towards the clearing. A prefabricated metal garage set on a concrete foundation. Longer than it was wide, reminded you of a small barn by its size. The other two were more of sheds, vastly smaller in comparison and made out of wood. You didnāt know where to start and what to check out first. Everything seemed to have some sort of intrigue to them, something to itch your inner explorer. You could start out to whatās closest then work your way out to the farthest; to the garage area right next to your cabin then to the area in the clearing. Or you could start in reverse. You thought about it for a moment before deciding to do just that. Start out in the clearing then work your way back towards the cabin. Felt more inclined to check out the greenhouse than the others.Ā
Mindful of the thin frost on the steps, you made your way down the porch and towards the clearing in the distance. As you delved further in, the wilder and thicker the verdure was. Patches of wildflowers and flowering weeds dotted throughout the meadow of willowy wildgrasses tall enough to reach past your knees, some up to your midcalf. You had to wade through it all, pushing and pulling aside stems and leafage to see where you could put your feet safely. It took a bit of force and some yanking attempts, but the chain link gate to go inside the gated off area, where the greenhouse was at, eventually opened, uprooting some plants growing along its edges in the process.Ā
You walked inside, taking a second to look around before following a footpath marked with slabs of slate and some gravel, leading from the gate and all the way to the greenhouse. From what you could tell it was a backyard garden. The space was filled with sections of raised garden beds ā the wood texture of it partially hidden underneath the overgrown mass of accumulating weeds. You walked through the spaces between the raised beds, just looking around. Whatever crops were being grown were already dead. The only recognizable plant you saw was mint that completely overtook one of the raised beds near the fencing. One that you assumed was dedicated to growing other herbs as well, not just mint.Ā
You went back onto the footpath, going straight for the greenhouse. Upon closer inspection, you realized that the greenhouse wasnāt made of glass but rather it was more like those large event tents. The canvas material was made of a thick opaque plastic pulled over a metal framework like a ribcage. Inside it was more apparent, skeletal scaffolding ran through the upper part of the pointed ceiling with what looked like ventilation fans toward the front and the back of the structure. It was all supported by the framework of poles and columns extending down and into the concrete foundation. It was warmer inside compared to the cold morning outside. But here, unlike the outside, the raised garden beds were full of dead plants. It almost felt like you were walking through a graveyard. The most noteworthy were the dead sunflowers, large and tall corpses no longer facing upwards towards the sun, and the rose bushes that had no flowers or leaves. Only their thorns remained.Ā Ā
Did your grandmother plant them by seed and nurture them herself? Or did your grandfather plant them for your grandmother? Or was it in fact a mutual interest? You couldnāt really decide.
Towards the back, next to a rack of various gardening tools and accessories, there were some potted fruit trees, wilted and neglected. The leaves shedded all on the ground. Their branches were full of curled leaves. From their written name tags on their pots, there was a lemon, an orange, a crabapple, apricot, plum, and mulberry. The tallest one of the bunch was an avocado tree. Expecting a crunch from touching the remaining leaves on the branches, instead some of them still felt somewhat elastic but on the verge of drying out dead. Somehow enduring despite not being watered or pruned after so long.Ā
You unfurled a garden hose, hung around a hose reel. You couldnāt help but scoff as the garden hose immediately spouted out water without having to wait.Ā Unlike what you dealt with earlier. You gave the dehydrated trees a deep watering. Hoping they would bounce back and recover. But you couldnāt say the same for the rest of greenhouse plants. While you watered, you couldn't help but think that completely cleaning out and weeding the garden should be something on your to-do list. But would it be feasible in such a short time that youād be here when you had other things to do as well. It was the end of summer and the beginning of fall. Winter was coming. The changing seasons would take care of the overgrowth in no time. You began watering another one of the trees, looking towards the dead crops in the garden beds. Itād probably be better to let winter take care of the outside and you should take care of the inside of the greenhouse. You had the means to do it. Youād estimate itād take an entire dayās work to do ā maybe a day and a half. You noted it down as you finished up watering.
TO-DO LIST:
Deep clean house
Fix water heater and piping
Get missing luggage back
Get groceriesĀ
Clean out the greenhouse
You left the greenhouse and went out of the garden area. Making a quick detour to check out the other structure in the clearing just a few feet away from the garden. Noticed it was elevated on stacked cinder blocks. Chicken wire was off from its poles of a once enclosed space and was now laying on the ground. A coop and a chicken run. But with no signs of any chickens. From the faded pawprints in the dirt and piles of feathers scattered around, you understood why. You made your way back towards your cabin through the meadow. By the time you got back, you were already working up a sweat.Ā
Your footsteps crunched underneath the gravel driveway until you stopped in front of the garageās steel roll up door. Thinking about what could be inside. Some power tools and storage boxes no doubt. Maybe a workshop. You didnāt know whether it had to manually be opened or electronically. But from the looks of it, there had to be a button, a passcode, maybe a remote switch somewhere. You looked around the front of the garage a bit before going around the sides of it. There was a locked side door and long horizontal awning windows on either side of the walls. Behind the building, the thick treeline was closest there, only a stroll away. You looked into the density of the forest, between the pines, birches and evergreens. Stared into it as it seemingly stared right back at you. An intrusive thought came and went and, with it, came a compulsive urge. An ache in your limbs to slip between the tree trunks and wander off into the forest. You narrowed your eyes at the intrusive thought. But other than that, you found nothing else noteworthy. Decided then to just go back to the front.Ā
You crouched down and tried to tug the roll-up door up but it didnāt budge. Obviously locked but you tried a few more times just to make sure. It worked for the garden gate after all. You got up, your knees aching, and dusted off your hands before putting your hands on your hips, thinking. Your eyes went to the other door next to the roll-up. Deductive reasoning told you that it had to be locked like the other was but that didnāt stop you from trying anyway. You stepped forward and turned the doorknob but it was, as to be expected, locked too. You sighed and took a step back. Disappointed but not surprised, yet another thing to add onto the list. There should be useful stuff in there that could help out in the long run.
TO-DO LIST:
Deep clean house
Fix water heater and piping
Get missing luggage back
Get groceriesĀ
Clean out the greenhouse
Open the garage
You went to check out the two nearby sheds parallel to the garage. Gravel crunched steadily underneath your feet, sounding your approach and cutting through the absence of birdsong. A silence that you just took note of. Finally, you think. One of the sheds was locked close with a chain and padlock and the other, once you opened it, was coincidentally a toolshed chock full of well⦠tools. From the basics, ranging from landscaping and farming. And only a small selection of maintenance tools. Cluttered but organized and all covered in a thick layer of dust. Hanging up on a tool rack, you found an old bolt cutter. Despite feeling like youāre about to commit a crime, you grabbed them and went to the chained closed shed. It took effort on your part and multiple tries, but eventually there was a snap. The padlock fell from around the door handles and onto the ground with a plop then the sound was followed by another, a clink as the cut chain followed soon after, spiraling down to the ground like a slinky.Ā
Opening the doors, you expected something interesting to be inside, given the whole chain and padlock, but when you opened the shed doors and light flooded inside you realized what it was for. A woodshed. There was a small stack of wood logs tucked along the wall, enough for two bonfires you think. Splinters and sawdust covered the concrete floor. Propped upside down against the wall parallel to the doors you found a wood-axe, one fit for a lumberjack. You carefully picked it up and stepped outside in the sun to give it a clearer once over. It was heavy in your hands and well-maintained from the looks of it. The curved axehead was still sharp, gleaming at you in the sunlight. You stepped back inside the shed. Placing the axe back against the wall where you found it and closing the woodshed. You turned and headed back to the toolshed to put back the bolt cutters, pulling the doors that you left ajar back open.Ā
You went inside then noticed a gleam of sunlight focused by your entering silhouette. Against one of the walls, having been hidden behind a barrel holding shovels, rakes and other long tools that made you miss it the first time, was a metal ladder tucked in the corner. You looked at it then hummed as an idea came to mind. You could use it to get into the garage by climbing through one of the windows if you wanted. The ladder should reach high enough based on your estimations for you to do so. It was risky, likely unnecessary. You could probably find the key or remote or whatever was required to get it open without feeling like you were breaking and entering. Even if it was now yours to do with as you pleased, being your own property and all. In the end, you decided to not go through with the impulsive idea. But you were still curious about what was inside. So instead you decided to use the ladder to look through the awning window and peek inside to see what was there.Ā
With a huff, you took the ladder out from the corner, narrowly missing knocking over the barrel holding all those tools. You took it outside and brought it with you to the garage. You went around, leaning the ladder against the wall. You took a breather, wiping away the sweat on your brow and opened up your jacket to cool yourself down. You hadn't noticed before, having been too busy looking up and around the walls for some way to open the garage door. Below, all in the surrounding patch of dry dirt, were paw prints and hoof marks.Ā
Old, some of them mostly overlapping each other. Evidence of forest animals wandering onto the ā your ā property. Rabbits, deer, squirrels. A fox or maybe a lynx. From what you could make out in the imprints being all layered. It was to be expected living in the middle of the woods but something about seeing it was somehow equally eye-opening as it was uneasy. Perhaps the reality that you werenāt in the suburbs anymore. In a civilized, carefully human-curated world. Now you were in Mother Natureās domain where only the strongest survived against the fickleness of nature; where it was eat-or-be-eaten.Ā
Here, you were definitely out of your element in more ways than one.
You lifted the ladder away from the wall, opening it up, steadying it out with your hands. Angled it where it faced parallel to the wall. Upon your first step, the ladder wobbled and you immediately got off. You took a deep breath, trying not to get discouraged. The ladder wasnāt going to tip over, the ground was pretty even. But you couldnāt help yourself with what-if scenarios: What if the ladder was faulty? What if the ladder did fall over and brought you down with it and you broke something. Who would help you? Would someone be able to hear you scream all the way out here? Being cautious was good, recognizing any potential risks was something to keep in mind. But it didnāt help with keeping your focus. You wouldnāt doubt you would have to use the ladder for other things in the future. It was best to get used to climbing it. You wouldnāt fall off, you told yourself while resting a foot on the first rung and tested the ladder.
It wasnāt that far up, it wasnāt like you were trying to climb the roof. Now that would be different. You were just looking through a window real quick, but not in a creepy way, and come right back down. You brought your foot on the first rung to the second and replaced your other to the first. The ladder wobbled underneath your feet as you began to climb up, stopping right where you were face-to-face with the window. Repeating to yourself not to look down like it was a mantra and trying to ignore the feel of vertigo with your feet not on the ground, you leaned forward and peered inside. It was dark inside and hard to see but from the sunlight from the windows, you could make out shapes and silhouettes but nothing distinguishable. You squinted and pressed your face closer to the glass to see if that would help but it only fogged up the glass too much.Ā
At least you knew that the garage wasnāt empty.Ā
After climbing down and almost plummeting back down to earth after a misstep, you folded up the ladder. You were just about to carry it to put it away when you noticed something just underfoot. A single paw print set deep into the dirt next to the ladder. Undisturbed, surprisingly intact even with your use of the ladder. Only unnoticeable by the fact that it had been concealed by the extension of the ladder itself and by its shadow. Otherwise it would have been very hard to miss. You placed the ladder aside, leaning it against the wall away from your new discovery, before crouching down to inspect it better. You narrowed your eyes at it. It didnāt look old but not so old that the mold of it had faded away. You werenāt an expert by any means but the paw print looked canine-like. However it was definitely not from a fox or a coyote or even a dog. It was way too huge to be either or. In fact, it was way bigger than your hand you realized as you leaned forward and hovered your palm over the paw print, measuring it. Astounded by its size and how little your hand fits inside.
Then came a sudden epiphany as a shiver shot down your spine. Like before, you immediately remembered Nikolaiās words again. His warning of wolves. An uneasiness began to brew. It couldnāt be a wolf, right? It was much too big. Like a bear paw. Was it a bear? No, it couldnāt be. Could it? It had to be. Wolves grew large but you didnāt think that theyād get to that size to make a print that big. In that case, it had to be a bear after all. But even then that didnāt make you feel any better, the notion that it was wandering onto your property right outside your cabin. You stood up, looking out into the forest ahead of you that still looked right back at you. You tore your eyes away from the trees, glancing down at the paw print on the ground, before grabbing the ladder and walking back. That feeling of uneasiness never went away long after you put the ladder away, lingering at the back of your mind.Ā
Though it wasnāt midmorning, you decided to head back inside and check if anything in the cabinās interior needed to be added to the list. You started out in the living room, looking around here and there for anything worthy to put on your to-do list. But no initial issues stood out besides everything, especially the couches and the cushions, needing a deep-cleaning. It was much the same for the kitchen. The faucet was leaking when you looked underneath the sink but you considered it to fall under the same category as number two of your listing. You moved on to the hall. There was a deep scuff mark in the wood in the hallway, leading to a big wardrobe at the end of the hall. It wasnāt hard to put two-and-two together, the scuff marks from dragging the wardrobe inside. Negligence, deliberate or an accident, you couldnāt tell. You could probably get away with buffing it out without having to replace parts of the flooring.Ā
You moved on to the extra bathroom in the hall that you peeked at when you shallowly cleaned it yesterday.It was a bit bigger but had relatively the same layout as the one in the master bedroom. Having a wall-mounted sink, a toilet and clawfoot iron cast tub with the same add-on shower head mounted on the front. But again, you didnāt notice anything major or critical. The tub seemed to work fine, besides the discolored water and water temperature like the master bathroomās tub, and it wasnāt as rusted. The sink and toilet seemed to be working without any problems as far as you could tell. You were getting hungry as the early afternoon rolled around so you took a lunch break. Decided on getting it over with and grabbing one the cans of baked beans to eat. It was overly sweet and slimy but it was better than starving. But as you took another bite, you began to doubt that initial notion.Ā
After lunch, you went into the bedroom to continue on with your inspection, already having seen the bathroom you didnāt bother going there. From what you could tell, there was some scuffing on the floors here too like in the hallway. But still nothing that caught your eye even untrained. Surprised yourself that you didnāt need to add anything else to your to-do list. But you couldnāt help but still feel like you were still scratching the surface, you were only seeing superficial wounding. Only looking skin-deep rather than delving past the skin into flesh and bone. But for now, you couldnāt complain. Maybe you could find a professional or someone with experience to survey your cabin. All the way out here, you doubted it. But maybe you could ask around the town, maybe even Nikolai.
After surveying both the interior and exterior, you didnāt know what else to do. It was late afternoon already and you had planned to start your to-do list the next day, thinking that you would be too preoccupied and finding issues left and right. You decided to get a head-start anyways, starting with deep-cleaning. Easy enough to do and not much prep work to do. And it would lessen your workload in the long run. There were cleaning supplies underneath the kitchen sink and cleaning essentials, even some gloves to protect your hands from all the chemicals. In the back you found a rust remover. The broom and mop from yesterday were still in the foyer. You started in the hallway bathroom. Scrubbing, wiping, washing, sweeping,mopping, disinfecting, de-rusting. Surprised how much grime and dust was still left over even after your initial cleaning. You wanted to get started on the kitchen too but you underestimated the amount of time and effort needed. Deep-cleaning the hallway bathroom took the rest of the afternoon and into the early evening.Ā
You were tired when you were done but you were glad to get it out of the way even if you didnāt get to the kitchen. You cleaned yourself off, deciding not to take a shower, especially now with the sun setting and night on the horizon. For dinner, you ate one of the cans of corn. It was sweet corn. Not artificially sweet as the baked beans for lunch or as slimy. It was far more welcome and a good meal to end the day with.
You changed and got ready for bed. It was already so cold in your cabin and you found yourself shaking and shivering. You were tempted to light the wood-burning stove in the living room but that, too, needed to be cleaned thoroughly. It was too full of ash, soot and cinder. With no central heating from what you could tell and major drop in the temperatures with the changing of seasons, it would be vital to prioritize cleaning out the wood stove. Something to do tomorrow. For now, you would have to smother yourself with blankets. By the end you felt like a cocoon, waddled up in the bed with so many blankets. Even the ones you had peeled off the bed yesterday. But it was better than shivering all night. Just like last night, insomnia beset you. Restless, unable to get yourself to fall asleep.Ā
For a bit, you scrolled on your phone with what little reception you had. Which quickly turned into doing some research about animal tracks. You sifted through articles, even some research journals. From what you learned, a wolfās paw print, on average, was twice the size of the largest domestic dog breed (unless it was a wolf-dog hybrid of course). But from the attached figures and pictures included, a human hand would still be bigger ā not by a lot in some cases. Granted, most of the hands used for measurement were the hands of men. But still, it would be able to cover over the track. A wolf paw would never be larger, a wolf paw print would never be able to completely fit a humanās hand inside it. So it had to be a bear then. You didnāt know if that was better or worse.
You put away your phone, deciding that you should try to get some sleep at least. But still to no avail. Still tossing and turning for hours. Removing some blankets when you got too warm only to put them back when the cold started to crawl through the layers. Soon there came a recognizable sound just like last night. The howls of wolves in the distance. A nightās call, a haunting symphony in the night. Like you had last night, you listened to the howling. You let out a deep exhale, bone-deep, feeling yourself relax with the release of breath. You snuggled in your cocoon of blankets, listening, memorized by the harmony. Letting it lull you to sleep.
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