Todiah

Steam from his breath clouded his vision for a brief moment, then vanished into the early morning chill. The reddish hue of the cloud dusted sky heralded the rising day. Today would be a good day for the hunt. Already the scent was fresh in the air and he was impatient to get on with the tracking.

The sound of snow crunching beneath heavy winter boots alerted him that it was time. He didn't bother to turn and look, since the scent had told him who it was.

"Today will be a good day, eh Todiah?" Looking up at the man, he took a single step forward.

"Ah, I see you too are anxious," the man replied to his movement. "That is good. We will need all your abilities this day. Our quarry is said to be a wily one."

The man slung the pack he was holding onto his back and cinched the fur lined collar of his heavy buckskin coat, to ward off the cold. Todiah urged him on by walking slowly ahead. After a few steps, he looked back to ensure the man followed, then began a steadier pace onward.

As he followed the trail down the side of the slope, he picked up the prey's heavy scent. There was the smell of bitter oil and unwashed dirt. An easy thing for Todiah to track. His heart raced with each closing step. The object of their search was slowing down.

Soon, Todiah thought. Then suddenly the trail turned back up the mountain and swung wide around behind them. And grew cold. Todiah turned left and right, but there was no trace. He stopped in his tracks. He had to warn the man, whimpering once.

The man following him stopped and looked around.

"What is it, boy?"

There was an explosion of branches and a crashing from above.

Their prey. And he had landed on the man. He pointed something and there was another explosion. Snow erupted beside the man's head, narrowly missing him as he rolled away. Todiah launched himself at the attacker, snarling his fiercest growl, knocking him off the man. He turned to leap at the prey a second time. The prey turned and fired again.

Todiah felt something heavy hit his chest and fell back into the snow. He knew he shouldn't show pain, but this hurt too much. He tried to scratch at the burning in his chest as he whimpered. The pain would not stop and he saw the sky growing darker. He felt confused. It was too early for night to come. Too early. The cold seemed to seep into Todiah's fur, even as the burning bit deeper into his chest.

Then the man was there.

"Oh, Todiah," he said sadly. "Lay still. This will hurt." The man started rubbing something into his neck and then wrapped bandages all around him. It hurt to move or be touched. Then the sky grew so dark, he could not see the man. Nor could he hear or smell anything.

"Wow, is that the dog that saved your life, Lone Wolf?" Todiah opened his eyes to see many men staring at him. Looking around, he saw it was the man's home. He did not remember getting here.

"Yes," the man replied. "And he helped capture your prisoner, Sheriff." The man looked back at him with smiling eyes.

Now the warmth Todiah felt was not the burning, nor the furs heaped on him. Panting into the chill air of the waning day, Todiah once again slept. Happy that the man was happy.