A Wolf and Her Boy

By: Dark Lord Kyuuketsuki

Richard quietly slipped into the tent, the dim light of a lantern guiding his eyes as he rummaged through the grass green backpack, producing a pair of loose jeans and a thick white diaper, pulling powder and baby wipes from a side pocket as he slipped off his jeans and underwear.
Richard took his time getting the things out--something that turned out to be a big mistake on his part. Just as he was reaching for a wipe, a firm hand clamped down on his arm, stopping him entirely.
Richard froze up, his body going rigid with fear--he had some suspicion that his parents knew, having almost been caught by his mother several times in the past few months, but what would they do?
"It's alright, you're not in trouble." His mother's giggles silenced his fears.
"What'r you doing?!" Richard grunted, anxiously moving his arm out of her grasp.
"The leaks tipped me off long before I ever caught you, Rich," She explained, blowing a stray strand of auburn hair out of her eyes as she reached for the wipes and took the diaper from him "Clearly you're not old enough to do this right--and laundry was bad enough as it is!"
Richard offered her no resistance, his cheeks growing hot as his mother wiped his backside and gently rubbed the powder over him before finally taping up the diaper and buttoning his jeans.
"Well, off you go!" She slipped the things back in the backpack, tossed it to him and gently shoved him out. "Kids today..."
Richard frowned, thinking it all over as he made his way to the edge of the campsite, his father pouring over some book or another at his makeshift desk.
"Don't wander too far from the camp now." His father warned as he trotted off. Richard only pretended to listen.

* * *

Stumbling through the misty forest, Richard found himself tripping over not just his own two feet, but an endless network of roots and rocks, the grass seeming to cling to his shoes, the occasional mud puddle dirtying his ankles.
"Why'd I ever bother to come out here?" Richard pondered aloud, staring up at the thick impenetrable canopy of green, only the weakest sunbeams breaking through to mock him.
Suddenly, the silence of the forest was shattered by a single twig, and a seeming spontaneous breath. Remembering something his mother had told him, Richard stayed very still, daring not even to draw in air as the heavy breathes and padding of paws drew nearer and nearer still. A muzzle, with a nose like polished coals, followed by a face full of thick silvery fur, then two gleaming golden-orange eyes, followed by the elegant body of a fully grown female wolf, the powerful, slender muscles rippling with life as she drew close to him, her muzzle reaching up to lick at his knees.
Go away, Richard hissed at it mentally PLEASE go away!
The wolf nudged at his side, as though to will him foreward. When he did not move, the she-wolf snapped at his legs, instantly sending him running.
A branch snagged on his leg and he found himself falling, blood trickling forth as a sharp rock pierced his ankle. The she-wolf caught up easily, gently nudging him up and leading him at a much slower pace in the direction she wanted, every so often glancing back, as though to make sure he was safe.
Finally, the forest gave way to a mountainside, opening up to a cave, lit somewhat by the sunlight. The she-wolf got behind him, gently nudging him towards it.
Her den? What's she going to do, feed me to the pack? Richard thought with disgust as he followed the she-wolf into the den.
It wasn't too large, and to his surprise, it was largely abandoned, the she-wolf being the only resident aside from him. The wolf took her place at the back of the cave, lying on her side to reveal a set of six teats--not exactly the first thing on Richard's mind.
"What, do you want me to play puppy?" Richard scowled, more at the situation than the wolf. Her response was something between a growl and a death threat. "Yeesh, you're like my mom..."
He took a few tentative steps foreward, slowly lying down on the cavern floor next to the wolf--truly his most awkward moment. The she-wolf tapped him lightly with her nose, as though to nudge him towards the nipples. Finding his face suddenly hotter than ever, he brought himself lower and gently began to suckle, finding the milk coming easily to his lips. Desparate for some consolation, he tried to think of some excuse--the nearest thing he had was the story of Romulus and Remus. Not exactly comforting.
A sudden pressure overtaking his stomach, Richard got up to go take a leak, to be met with the fierce, angry growls of the she-wolf.
"But..." He trailed off, realizing the stupidity of trying to reason with her. Mentally grumbling, he got back down and resumed suckling, the wolfs fine warm fur pressed against his face.
After mere moments, the she-wolf stood, padding over to his legs and licking at his wound.
"That's right, I forgot about that..." He said, surprised with himself even as he spoke. Slipping off his backpack, he shuffled through it for a moment before pulling out some bandages. Stripping away his jeans--he wasn't too concerned with a wolf seeing him pant-less--he rapped the bandages tightly around the wound, managing to tie a tight knot.
The she-wolf apparently satisfied, she again sat down. This time, Richard moved closer to her, the chill breeze of the night sending shivers down his spine. Hugging close to the she-wolf's warm body, he found his lips again drawing the rich milk out, and to his own surprise several minutes later, finding his diaper soaked.
The she-wolf yawned and licked his face several times--he was guessing this was her way of saying "good night"--and she promptly dropped her muzzle on his shoulder. Hugging her tight, he nuzzled her thick furry neck for several moments before resuming his odd meal.
I guess I can share a den with a wolf for a night.
 

~~~

Richard opened his eyes, squinting at the bright sunlight as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.
"Oh, thank God, Rich..." His mother sighed with relief as she gently wiped his bottom with a baby wipe.
"Huh? What happened to the wolf?" Richard questioned aloud.
"We found you in the cave with the wolf...when it went off to find food, we snuck into the cave and got you out, then brought you back to the camp." His mother explained.
"Oh...you didn't hurt the wolf, did you?" Richard questioned.
"No, we didn't. Why do you ask? You're not hurt, are you?"
"No, I'm okay, just a bit embarrassed." Richard's face flushed crimson as his mother thoroughly rubbed talcum powder over his genitals and taped a clean diaper up around him.
"Young man, if you're going to be wearing these, you'd better get used to be changed by someone else, because thanks to you wearing a messy diaper all night you have one heckuva rash!" His mother put her hands on her hips and stared him hard in the face.
"I couldn't change it, it was too dark!" Rich whined. Sighing, his mother lifted him up into her arms, rubbing his back.
"It's alright, Rich, just make sure to come to me whenever your diaper's wet, alright? Now, what happened last night with the wolf?" His mother inquired.
"Well, I wandered farther from the camp than I'd thought, and...well...I got lost. Then the wolf found me and kinda' forced me to follow her to her den. I'm not exactly sure how, but I ended up lying down next to her and nursing." Richard blushed an all-surpassing shade of crimson as he recounted his night with the she-wolf.
"The wolf must have lost pups recently." His father spoke up from behind, apparently having observed the whole exchange. His mother nodded, agreeing.
"When she saw you so helpless in the woods, her maternal instincts kicked in and she treated you as one of her pups." His mother concluded.
"Rich, do you feel attached to the wolf?" His father questioned.
"Just a little..." Richard admitted. "I mean, she kept me warm on a cold night. How can I not?"
"Right," His father flashed his mother a wink, met with her giggles "Warm on a cold night."
"Rich, how would you like to see the wolf again?" His mother questioned.
"I'd like that. Why?"
"Well, I was thinking that, perhaps we could capture the wolf and bring her into a confined pen of sorts, and then observe your interactions with her. You know, make a documentary out of it." His mother explained.
Rich shrugged. "I guess that'd be okay. But why?" He knew his parents were wildlife researchers--that much had kept him from living anywhere permanently and had brought him here in the first place--but he didn't get why they'd want a human in the video.
"It's already known that animals can care for other animals, and even humans. But in all the cases so far, the interactions have been between animals caring for newborns for most of their lives--there's no case in which an already 'civilized' human is brought up for even a small time by an animal." His mother explained. "You're already comfortable with the wolf, so you'd get to be with her and we'll get to document it--something like this can get us a big amount of money, enough that we might be able to keep her or at least start a program to domesticate wolves."
"I...I guess that makes sense. It's just kinda' uncomfortable."
"Don't worry, Rich. Just do what you did last night and ignore the camera--let the wolf mother you."

* * *

Several hours later, the she-wolf was prowling about an enclosed metal fence, looking for some weakness in the structure--it clearly wasn't meant to be permanent, but she still couldn't break it.
Richard leapt over the fence of the pen, landing on his feet, knowing that the camera was probably rolling.
The she-wolf whirled on him, expecting a foe, but her expression softened when she saw the boy. Slowly, the wolf lay on her side, exposing her teats to the boy as she had done the night before, inviting her human pup.
Richard walked towards her slowly, blushing as he lay down on the ground next to her and hooked his lips over a nipple, hugging her neck as he suckled her rich milk. How pathetic he must have looked, wearing only a T-shirt, a diaper and sneakers, hugging a wolf like a teddy and nursing from it's breast.
Honestly, Rich couldn't understand how real wolf pups stood this--sure, suckling from a wolf could be fun, the milk was good, and time consuming to boot, but aside from this, all real wolf pups did was sleep--how did they stand such a thing, he would never know.
Up on a platform above the pen, Richard's mother smiled as she videotaped her son's interaction with the wolf. Secretly, she wished it was her down there nursing her boy, but really, she was glad he was bonding with animals--maybe he could be a researcher someday.
"You know, I think I have the perfect title for the movie." Richard's father whispered.
"Oh? And what's that?" She whispered back.
"A Wolf and Her Boy."

The End...? Or just the beginning?