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She told hihts of different birds, anticipate their paths, and be aware of their habits and natures Some of their calls he found quite easy to learn, but others were more difficult Lesya worked on these with hi more and ic at all, however, and it was always the s click into place Think of butterin a pan, she said, and the next ti a northern shrike’s call, he could have been the bird itself Sested, and as he whistled, he heard yelloarblers answering fro

They walked into the forest and she taught hiar Some he found easier to imitate than others, but it was never the shape of his uided hiiven hiht hi to her voice to guide his way, and sometimes the contact came quickly Once that touch was made, he would s across the ground seeking its prey’s trail or crunching tough grass between its grinding teeth He would see it in his e of the creature would utter its own roar, whine, or growl He could reach out and feel the touch of its fur or pelt on his hands, and at the same time his own skin seeround beneath his feet

Other ti out an animal was much more difficult, and he soon realized that it was some ani tiar, and as the sun dipped toward the forests and hills in the west, he began to despair of ever realizing one He had uttered the roar of a grizzly bear and the mournful howl of a wolf, but such incredible feats suddenly seear He felt like a fool for thinking that way, and perhaps arrogant in his newfound talent, but the sense of failure at the end of that day did not sit ith him

"Perhaps they’re too far away," he said "Maybe there aren’t any close enough for , because he did not really know

But Lesya shook her head, her lovely hair swaying as it caught the dusky light "There’s one watching us right now," she said

Jack caught his breath, staring at her "Where?"

Lesya closed her eyes and whispered, "Find it without with his senses, and this ti, he probed deeper Lesya closed her hand around his, he felt her claws, and then he touched the cougar, growling low in his throat, looking down into the valley fro and the people there

He gasped, opened his eyes, and sat back against the tree

"So you see," Lesya said, but she said no"But I’m still not sure I believe"

"You wait here," she said "I’ll go and cook dinner Solass of wine to seal e have becoo What we have become, she’d said

Jack frowned, chilled

What we have beco and watched the sun set All the while he was thinking about what had happened to hier, s he had achieved were aht, but that idea did not concern hi to share, an ability to wear on his sleeve and boast about on cold nights around warm fires This was intensely personal, and it reinforced his connection to the wild

As the sunlight splashed across the wooded, hilly horizon, broken into shards by trees and ridges, he cast histo sense past the forests she inhabited He felt a thrill of fear doing so, because in all her teachings she had never gone beyond a certain point It’s dangerous, she would say, or, It can’t work that far But Jack was a s for himself

Even Lesya’s as not the same as experience

So he probed outward, eyes half closed and half open so that he could watch the cabin The oil lamps were lit in there, and he saw shadowytheir ht But he could not let that scare him off Part of what he felt for her was fear, yes, and there was still so about her that he could not quite perceive as clearly as he’d have liked…but he remained his own man

He pushed out, out, past familiar forests to less-known lands And then somewhere before him was a presence he kneell--the wolf! It started at his intrusion, howled; and it was so far away that he could not hear it on the dusky air

Jack shted, and tried to connect with the uide But then he frowned The contact re back and forth across histhe boundary of Lesya’s domain as if keen to enter but unable He sensed concern and fear, and a pent-up frustration that was almost violent in its potential

"What is it?" he rowled

"Jack!" Lesya called

He sat up and opened his eyes fully, looking across the clearing at the cabin

"Jack!" Her voice sounded urgent

"Yes," he said, trying to affect tiredness "I was dozing"

"Dozing," she echoed "Well, the food’s ready now, if you’ll rouse yourself" She disappeared back into the cabin

Jack stood, stretched, and tried to feel his way back toward the wolf Perhaps because he’d been disturbed, or due to the fear of discovery, he felt somehow blocked now, unable to probe with his senses anywhere beyond the boundary of this sic that Lesya had put inside him were not within his control

Why don’t you corowl, and its pacing, and he realized that was exactly what it was trying to do

Lesya had prepared a dish of fried h he had seen no sheep in the area--with roasted vegetables It was exquisite, and his stomach rumbled as they sat in the chairs and ate Lesya was quiet, contemplative She even looked beautiful like that, and Jack knew there was no expression that would ever steal her beauty

"What is it?" he asked at last Plates es by the open fire, leaning in to each other They were both staring into the fla this ti to s spat with a loud snap

"Jack," she said, turning to him at last "I love you"