Authors Note: Charlie is absolutely my favorite character, and one that I have been falling for just as much as Max has. With that being said, welcome to his world, and thank you for reading! If you find any grammatical errors, please leave a comment and I will make sure to edit it. Thanks for all the votes and comments!
-Saturn
Charlie had never been one to avoid animals. This didn't seem to stop him when it came to wild ones as well, apparently.
The butcher didn't seem to mind him buying his scrap. If he had known how cheap he sold it for, he would have bought it sooner. Then again, he never really had the ingredients to cook anything himself.
Charlie sighed at the thought. His feet led him to the forest that surrounded the city. He barely had any time off to do something like this. Even with all the shifts he took, he barely made enough to pay his rent, let alone buy food.
At least the restaurant gave him a free meal every day he worked.
Even with his lack of money, he still wanted to give back to the wolf pack that decided not to eat him the day before. He knew that wolves were aggressive when anything crossed into their territory. And, with how big those wolves were, he didn't think he really stood a chance against them.
The leader of the group even helped him find his way back to the city. How could he not thank them?
He loved all animals, even the wild ones. He loved learning about them. It was also pretty useful to learn about them when you were lost in the woods.
No sudden movements. A calm demeanor. And making himself as small as possible. It was the best way he could show them that he wasn't a threat.
This time, however, he would be stupid if he tried to go to that exact spot again. That was too far in the woods, and he was sure that they wouldn't be as generous as they were the last time.
They were wild.
Even if one of them started acting like a big puppy around him. That was something that still made Charlie smile. Hopefully he'd be able to at least get a glance at him today.
Gila City had an interesting history with wolves. As much as they warned people about them and the dangers of them, no one hunted them. They all just lived in harmony with each other.
It was something Charlie admired about the place. They even put up warning signs by the forest paths that people liked to walk down.
The forest was always so calming to him. He walked by the trees in silence. It was nice to be able to slow down and enjoy beauty for once. Usually he was so busy working and running around that he just couldn't stop and enjoy anything.
He stopped for a bit after walking a ways. They probably wouldn't appreciate him coming back.
He quickly took the package and placed it on the ground. Opening the wrapped meat, he hoped that they would smell it. If he wasted his money though, he wasn't worried. At least he tried.
Charlie heard the sound of sniffing before he saw it. He had barely stood back up and the red wolf was there, coming out into the clearing.
"Hey, Big Guy," he said. Purple eyes peered down at him. Much like last time, they looked cautious, but curious.
"Don't worry," Charlie assured. "You won't have to deal with me on a regular basis. I just thought I'd give you guys a thank you gift. Since you didn't, you know, tear my guts out and all that." It was strange that he was rambling on to an animal. But he did nonetheless. It helped him stay calm. And, he might be fooling himself on this one, but it seemed like it calmed the wolf down as well.
The wolf ignored the meat and came closer to him. Before he knew it, he was down on the ground again with a big fur ball licking his face. He couldn't help but laugh.
"Okay, Big Guy," he finally was able to sit up after a few minutes. "You're absolutely adorable when you're like this," he started scratching the wolfs neck. "If you weren't wild. I'd probably try and take you home with me. If I had the money at least."
He tried to stand up to leave, but the giant puppy nudged him back down, forcing his hands to scratch his neck again.
"What, am I being held hostage now?" he laughed at the wolf's antics. "Am I your personal neck scratcher now?"
His fur was so soft for a wolf. He always thought that wolves would have more coarse fur. The wolf seemed to understand what he said because his tail started wagging. Charlie's face was soon covered in slobber.
"Well aren't you a love bug?" he talked to the wolf some more. "Alright, I'll stay a bit longer. But I need to head for work soon."
The wolf whined a bit at that. He had never thought he would ever hear a wolf whine until this one showed up.
"Hey, you should be happy that you're a wolf and don't have to work to survive. You think I have survival instincts? I wouldn't have come back here if I did."
Another whine came from the wolf, followed by a lick to the face.
Charlie grabbed his cheeks with both hands and looked into his long face. The purple eyes seemed to have their full attention on him.
"You are making it so difficult for me to not come back here, Big Guy. What about your pack? I don't think they're very human friendly â do you?"
The wolf's only response was to lick his nose.
"Do you realize how adorable you are?" All Charlie could do was laugh at how cuddly this wild wolf was. Maybe they weren't as threatened by humans as he thought.
Is this why the city lived in harmony with the wolves? If so, Charlie could definitely agree with them.
Who would want to kill these guys?
He wound up staying there for a few hours just babbling and rambling on. The wolf peacefully laid his head on his lap. Charlie pet it as he talked. He could have sworn the wolf fell asleep at one point. But whenever he would stop talking, those purple eyes would be looking up at him, as if wondering why he was quiet.
Looking at the time on his watch, he knew he was going to be late if he stayed any longer.
"Alright, Big Guy," he sighed. "Looks like I gotta go now."
The wolf looked sad, but got off him.
"It's okay," Charlie pat his head. "I'll come by tomorrow to talk with you some."
His tail wagged a bit at that.
Charlie gave him a few more neck scratches before saying goodbye. This time he wasn't followed as he walked back to the forest path.
He hadn't had a good start to his day in a long time. Charlie was glad that he could go to work with a real smile on his face.
Gila wasn't the city he was born in, but he considered it his home. The lovely small town was full of different kinds of buildings, both small and large. They all had different shapes and sizes. From businesses to houses, each place had its own unique charm.
His work was smack dab in the middle of it all. Right in the center of downtown, where the old and run-down met with the brand new. It always made him happy when he stopped and enjoyed the sites a little. Usually, he was in too much of a hurry. There was just something about starting his day in the forest that made him slow down a bit to enjoy the cool breeze going through the bustling city.
It was lunch time and everyone was rushing to grab something to eat before their breaks were over. There were even some people shoving others out of the way. One man that he saw get shoved seemed more than annoyed by the rudeness. He looked like an important business man with how he dressed. He had the walk too. Charlie liked watching body language. It helped a lot in his line of work.
It wasn't until he reached the spot where the business man had been that he spotted something on the ground. It was a slim leather wallet, being ignored by the other people who were too important to notice it. Charlie didn't waste any time picking the wallet up. The ID was easy to find so that he could see who it belonged to.
He looked up from the ID. Thankfully the owner was still in his sight. He was going the opposite way from his work, but Charlie was sure that he could still make it on time if he hurried.
"Sir!" he started running towards him. He was always a fast runner. It helped in situations like these. "You lost something!"
It took him almost reaching the man before the brunette finally realized he was talking to him. He looked a bit confused as he patted himself down. Charlie finally caught up to him right when he started to realize that he didn't have his wallet.
"Hi," Charlie held out the wallet, panting a little. "I'm sorry, but I think this belongs to you."
"Thank you," the brunette took the wallet and looked inside. It was probably to see if he had taken anything out of it. Once he was done looking to make sure the important cards and cash were still there, he smiled at Charlie. "I'm glad that you caught me so quickly. I was about to leave the city before you came yelling."
"I'm glad I did too, then," Charlie laughed. "Have a great day, sir. Safe travels."
There was something strange about this man. He must have had contacts on or something. His eyes were dark purple, even with the sun being bright in the sky. He had never seen someone with that color of eyes before. But he liked the man. He reminded him of the wolf in the woods that seemed to love neck scratches more than anything else.
"Hold on," the man stopped him again. "Is there anything I can do to return the favor?"
"Oh no, sir," Charlie shook his head. "I'm just happy that it didn't get swooped up by someone else. I'd love to talk to you some more, but I really need to make it to work before it's too late."
"Then I'll drive you," he told him, motioning him to his car. "It's the least I can do for someone who's as kind as you."
"I'd hardly say that," he shrank a little. He liked kind strangers, even if he wasn't used to them too much. "My work isn't far from here anyway. You probably have much more important things to take care of. I'll make it just by walking."
"Ah," the brunette waved his finger. He really did seem like a dad when he really started talking. "That's where you would be wrong. Any time is a good time to spread kindness around," he walked over to his car. It wasn't too far from where they were. "Besides, I wouldn't want you to be late just because of me."
Charlie looked at the time. At this point, he couldn't afford to keep this argument going on. He liked to keep the notion that he was never late for work, and now it seemed as if running was his only option for that if he didn't take the man up on his offer. As much as he was a good runner, he didn't exactly enjoy doing it all the time. Especially with how much running around he was going to have to do when he got to work.
"Alright," Charlie agreed. He got in the fancy car with him. He wasn't surprised that the man had an expensive car, but it looked like it was meant for practicality rather than just to show off. That said a lot about a business man. Charlie quickly gave him directions to the place he needed to go to. It only took a few minutes to drive up there, but walking always tripled that time. Walking was always slower, but he thought it was better than taking the bus.
"'Riley's Restaurant' huh?" the man raised an eyebrow. "You know, I was just looking for a new place to try out."
"You should stop by sometime, then," Charlie smiled. "We have the best pies in the state." He opened the door and climbed out of the car. It seemed as if he was having a lucky day. Everything was working in his favor this time around. "Thank you for the ride, Sir. I hope you have a safe trip."
"Wait," the man stopped him for a second time. This time it was just from closing the door. "I'm afraid I didn't catch your name."
"Oh, I'm-!"
"Hey!" he turned to see his boss screaming from the front door. As soon as they met each other's eyes, he started motioning for him to get inside quickly. There was probably a rush that he was lucky enough to begin his shift in the middle of.
"Sorry," Charlie gave him a sheepish look, "I have to go. It was nice meeting you, though!"
He shut the door and waved before running inside. He hoped the man wouldn't be mad at him. He didn't really like telling strangers his name, even if they were nice to him like this one was. He'd probably never see him again, anyway.
Charlie still went into work with a true smile on his face, though. It was going to be a good day. He could feel it.