I didn’t expect to meet anyone that day​—I certainly didn’t expect to meet her. But fate is a  fickle thing, and love comes from unexpected places. To this day, I still can’t fathom how I fell in love with someone as loud, as boisterous, and as outgoing as she was. I can’t even understand  why, or how, I fell in love, but who am I to question it, when Forest is the perfect one for me? 

I didn’t know him. I mean, he was just a stranger I saw in the woods that I called my home, one I wanted to say hello to. I didn’t see strangers in these parts often, and I was excited to meet someone new. I enjoyed the company of others, and they enjoyed me, if I dare say so myself. I didn’t think that wolf, Shadow, would be any different.

That day I met Forest, I was alone, as I had always been. I didn't mind the lack of  company, because I had never known what it was like to be with someone else; I had been  abandoned as a young pup, left to fend for myself. The memories of a mother’s warmth and love were lost to me, and because of that, I always kept to myself. I was not a stranger to the quiet  darkness that being alone often brought.   That day, there had not been a single whisper in the breeze, something I appreciated.  The trees were quiet and the grasses were still as I crept through the forest, foraging for food. I  stuck to the shadows and kept my belly close to the ground, not wanting to be seen. I was in a  new territory, a vast and mighty forest that whispered of many untold secrets and promises.   At the same time, I felt the tingling sensation of eyes on my pelt. I was wary; I was  threatened. I looked around, but I could only see the hints of someone’s presence: a crushed leaf  there, a snapped twig a few paces off, the rustle of wind when all was still. My surroundings were  suddenly so much more forbidding.   I felt my hackles rise as my ears began to flatten. I crouched closer to the ground, lips  beginning to rise in a snarl, teeth bared. And then​— 

“Timber!” The howl was my only warning before a body came flying into me.   I threw myself at him—well, maybe thrown isn't the right word. I flung myself at the black wolf in front of me, with a happy bark. I had been so ​ bored​ , and in need of company. The trees just didn't make the cut anymore.  “Timber!” I howled as I crashed into him. 

I was smashed into the ground, my muzzle pressed against the earth, my paws flailing. I  pushed myself to my feet, shoving the attacker off of me. “Who are you?” I hissed. I took in the  mess of green in front of me. Green fur, green head, green tail, green everything, except the  paws that were splashed with a bit of blue, and the brown that was prominent here and there. It  looked like a tree; no wonder why I hadn’t seen it.   Even the eyes were green, I noticed, as they greeted me with a bright gaze. The creature  plopped onto the ground, tongue lolling in amusement. Now, with my snout no longer mashed  into the ground, I could tell that the creature was a wolf, a female wolf. 

The wolf quickly shoved me off him. It was obvious that he didn't have a sense of humor. This wasn't going as planned; I'd thought that maybe we could introduce ourselves and then play afterwards. Yeah, that didn't happen.  “Who are you?” hissed the wolf. His fur was all fluffed up threateningly.  
No need to get worked up,
​I thought. I decided to introduce myself to him. 

“Hello!” yelped the wolf, sending a toothy grin my way. “I’m Forest. Saw you walkin’  around, and I didn’t recognize you. I wanted to say hi!”   I didn’t relax, but instead retreated a few steps. “Did you consider,” I growled, “that  perhaps I would have rather not had the pleasure of your company?” 

His reply wasn't the kindest, but I decided to be the better wolf. “Why would that be?”

Good heavens! Was this wolf daft? “I don’t know you, and you decided to crush me to the  ground? What were you thinking?”

This was not going as planned. He was supposed to laugh and be happy, and not look so threatening and unapproachable! I couldn't help but feel insulted. Here I was, trying to be nice, but this wolf… This wolf wasn't having it! He wasn't like everyone else, not at all!

The female wolf had the gall to look hurt. She was about to reply, but I couldn’t have  cared less. I turned and began padding away.  

Then, the wolf began to walk away, as if he were no longer interested in talking with me. “Hey,” I yelped angrily. “Where are you going?” I suppose I wasn’t surprised when I was met with silence. 

I didn’t reply. I didn’t want this wolf who talked a mile a minute to follow me any longer.  

I decided that I didn’t want to leave this touchy wolf just yet. “Well,” I said, “I’ll just follow you then—”

I whipped my neck back so that I could meet her eyes. “Get lost,” I hissed.” Unfortunately,  she didn’t listen, and as I picked up my pace, she did too, matching my gait.

The wolf didn’t appear to like my response, but no matter what, I’d still do what I wanted to do. This wolf was too funny, if I were being honest. From the way his hackles were raised, to his fluffed up fur, to his ice-blue eyes glaring at me with as much disdain as I could imagine, it was obvious he didn’t exactly enjoy my company. ​ Ah, well,​ I thought, ​ I definitely enjoy yours!
But seriously, I was being honest when I said that I really did enjoy his company, despite his touchiness. I wasn’t crazy or anything at that time, I swear. He was just someone unique to me, with an interesting personality.   “Heyyy,” I yelped again, “where are you going? Stop giving me the silent treatment. I want to knowww!” 

The nerve of this forest-wolf was indeed irritating. “Why,” I growled under my breath, “why  did I ever decide to come to this forest, of all places?” 

Ah, I couldn’t resist teasing him when he said that. “To meet me, obviously!” He glared at me again, but I was having too much fun. This grouchy old wolf… I sent him a toothy grin.

“I take it you won’t be leaving?” I demanded.  “Of course not! You’re the closest thing to a wolf I’ve seen in years!”

I wouldn’t have been able to resist teasing him, no matter how much I tried.. “I ​ am​ a wolf,” he snarled. A chuckle rumbled in my throat. Did he truly think I didn’t realize that?

“I know, silly!” Her grins were beginning to unnerve me, and I wanted to place as much  distance between us as possible. Once again, I quickened my pace, until I was sprinting. Yet, no  matter how fast I ran, she kept pace with me, almost like she was my shadow​—​ironic, since ​my  name was Shadow. 

He ran like he wanted to lose me. It wouldn’t happen; this forest was my home, and I knew it like I knew my own pelt. I knew all the hidden paths and nooks and crannies and hidden holes.  “By the way…” I panted. “By the way,” she panted, catching up to my side as I ran deeper into the forest, unsure  where I was headed, “did I tell you that my name was Forest yet?” 

I didn’t get any more responses after that. He basically just turned into a dead rock. The silence was boring, but strangely, I didn’t mind… too much, at least. 

I decided then that there was no point in arguing. Later, when the annoying ball of fur  tired, I’d be able to slip away like a shadow, and I’d be able to leave her in the dust.   That didn’t happen. Wherever I went, she followed, almost as if the forest itself told her of  my whereabouts. The only thing I could do, I decided, was humor her and keep her away from  me. That didn’t happen either, for instead, something else happened, something that made  me wonder if my arrival at this forest had been pre-planned, if it had been fated.

I can’t even begin to count the attempts he made to lose me in this forest after that. None of them ever worked, because I stuck close to him like a burr. Often times though, I wondered why he didn’t just ​ leave​ the forest if he really wanted to get rid of me. I couldn’t help but wonder if maybe he secretly enjoyed my company? Because, even if he resented me, I was beginning to enjoy this more than I should have. I began to admire him, despite his prickly attitude. Even if, at first, he wasn’t familiar with this forest, he knew survival like an old friend. I liked him. I think I was the first one to admit that. It’s been a long time since then, but I remember I was the first one to say so.. I wasn’t the first one to admit the even deeper feelings that we shared for each other, though. 

For you see, she began to grow on me​—​at first, all I felt for her was a tiny flicker, a lost  seed. But as time passed, that seed found its way into my heart, and from there, it took root. And  as I spent more time with her, learned more about her, I found myself caring more and more for  her. That seed that had buried itself into my heart turned into a young sapling, still untested by  the world, and from there, it grew into a vibrant and blazing oak, full of life. My love for her was as  strong as an oak in its prime, with its branches reaching out to the sky, the sun, continuously  climbing.  

And despite our more than interesting beginning, we found something. Loneliness just wasn't a thing anymore. I knew that no matter what, I would always have Shadow with me. 

But it didn't end there. That oak soon turned into two oaks, into twenty oaks​—​more, until,  soon, I had a forest of love in my heart. And this love was a love that was timeless, one that would
never die out, for if a tree were lost, a new one would quickly take its place, once again young  and vibrant and filled with life. It was something that I could have never imagined, truly. It was a miracle.  

​

A Forest and her Shadow. Fitting end, isn't it? I think so—I know so.

For the first time in as long as I had known, I wouldn't be alone anymore. I had my Forest  beside me, always.  

And I couldn't be happier. We​ couldn’t be happier.
 

How They Met