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“Wait, really? It’s that far?” she asked, eyes widening.
“Not too far, but I want you to have some energy left in you when we arrive.”
I shifted effortlessly, letting the pads of my paws acclimate to the snow before lying down. I looked up at Marley, and she hesitated for just a moment before climbing up onto my back.
Once she had a good grip on my scruff, I stood and started weaving through the trees at a faster clip than we’d been moving before. Marley held on a little tighter as I sped up.
“So, is this where you reveal some sort of wolf den you dug out of the base of a tree?” she asked.
I turned my head slightly to look up at her with a gaze that said really?
She laughed. “I guess that’s foxes, huh? Or is it bears?”
I snorted indignantly, and she laughed again.
“I’m just kidding,” she said, releasing one of her hands and giving me a scratch behind my ear.
God, that felt good.
It was only a little while longer before we finally arrived to the frozen pond I’d set up for our arrival. I’d already set out a few thermal blankets and arranged the firewood so it’d be ready to be lit. I lay down in the snow again to allow Marley to get off of my back, and she did while looking around a little distractedly.
“It’s so beautiful here,” she said, gawking at our surroundings. “It’s so well-lit by the moon.”
I did a little shake of the wet snow off my body before shifting back into my human form. “It is, right?” I said. “Originally, I was going to set up battery-operated lights, but I figured between the moon and a nice big fire, we’d be alright.”
“So, what are we doing? A winter picnic?”
I nodded over to the blankets as I knelt before the firewood and fished a lighter out of my pocket, striking the flint and producing a flame to light the bits of tinder I’d set up. “Take a seat, and I’ll tell you what we’re doing.”
“Alright,” she said a little skeptically, but she settled in on the blanket.
Once I was sure the fire took, I stood up and walked over to the pond, brushing away some of the soft powder to reveal the box I’d hidden a few days earlier. Marley scoffed from over my shoulder.
“So, you do have an underground den! You made me feel like an idiot for suggesting it.”
“I’m going to make you dig up an underground den if you don’t watch it,” I warned as I pulled out the wrapped gift I’d hidden in the box.
She was still laughing as I returned with the gift. “What’s the occasion?”
“Me loving you,” I answered honestly as she plucked at the ribbon around the box.
“It’s heavy. Did you get me a bowling ball?”
“No.”
“A brick?” she asked as she ripped the paper.
“Why would I get you a brick?”
She shrugged. “Maybe it’s a special brick. Okay, okay, one final guess. It’s...a rock.”
“Now I’m starting to worry I got you the wrong thing,” I said. “Who’d have known you have such an affinity for large, heavy objects with very little use?”
“Hey, a bowling ball is useful,” she pointed out.
“Yeah, for one thing. Bowling. Which we have never done.”
“Maybe you have a dream to be in a professional bowling team.”
