As dawn turned night into day, Griffin awoke, surprised that his wolf friend hadn't woken him up.
[How much you wanna bet that there'll be something to clean up?] Kael said smugly.
"Nothing, because I'm sure he wouldn't do that," Griffin retorted.
As Griffin got dressed for the day he couldn't help but feel uneasy that there might be some truth to Kael's words.
To his surprise, as he stepped out into the main room, he saw the fire was still burning. A glance at the wood bin showed a decrease in size since the night before.
[What…? How on Nerda did a wolf not only have the capabilities but also the knowledge to keep a fire going?] Kael spoke, stunned.
"You're asking me? How would I know?" responded a dazed Griffin.
Another look around the room also showed that the front door, which he was sure he had fully bolted the night before was only half done now. "Did he also manage to unlatch the door and let himself out? This is too weird."
[You're telling me.]
A quiet yip drew their attention back towards the rug the wolf had claimed as its own. It watched Griffin with its head slightly tilted. As Griffin continued to stare silently at it, its ears slowly lowered, making it look like it thought it was in trouble.
Seeing the wolf's subdued reaction, Griffin finally forced a small smile on his face, greeting the small beast.
"Good morning, boy. How'd you sleep? I see you figured out how to keep the fire going. Great job. Did you let yourself out too? You could have just gotten me to open the door for you."
As he spoke, Griffin made his way over to his chair resting his forearms on his knees. As soon as he sat, the wolf rose from where it'd been laying and moved to sit in front of the dragon, its ears up again, head still slightly tilted.
Griffin, moving slowly and giving the wolf time to move away if it wished, brought his hand up and gently placed it on the wolf's head.
"Oh my Goddess. He's letting me touch him! He's never let me touch him before!" Griffin exclaimed as he gently petted the wolf's head before softly stroking its ears, causing a low, rumbling purr to start in its throat.
[Congratulations,] Kael said dryly. [I never knew you were that desperate for a pet.]
Kael's humorless remark made Griffin's hand pause. The wolf, clearly displeased by the lack of attention, butted its head against his hand, urging him to continue his ministrations. Griffin resumed, almost on autopilot as he processed Kael's words.
"It's just nice to have another living creature around. I would never consider him a pet." Griffin felt almost offended on the wolf's behalf at being called a pet.
Gazing out the window, Griffin noticed that it had started raining sometime during the night. "Well, boy, it looks like we'll be spending the day indoors. Can't really go hunting in this weather."
He watched as the wolf turned its head to look out the window before looking back and rolling its eyes.
The look it gave Griffin seemed to say, 'Well duh. Who'd be willing to go hunting in that downpour?'