OMINIX

CHAPTER THIRTEEN-PART ONE-THE JOURNEY

Sirius and I have been on the journey now for about 3 days. We've managed to reach Ireland.

We still had a while to go.

Most thought we were someone's pet because of the harnesses. We had a boat journey from England to Ireland.

Now, Sirius and I walked side by side along a dirt road. The sunlight was beating down on us. It was pretty hot.

The bottom of my paws were sore and blistering. I hung my head low as we walked.

Finally, I heard the rushing sound of water.

I eagerly listened, pricking my ears up. I began trotting toward the sound. Sirius bounded after me.

I found a small stream and crouched down and began thirstily lapping up water. Sirius right beside me. I dipped my paws into the cold water and cringed. It felt so good, but painful at the same time. I was able to stay transformed for a long time. I managed to control it and right now we needed to be in this form. It was to save Remus and possibly others.

After I had my fill of water, I just collapsed by the stream.

Sirius nudged me with his snout anxiously, but I was too exhausted to even move.

Alarmed, Sirius went off barking, hoping to find someone to help.

I was so tired to even raise my head. I just laid there with my head buried between my front paws. Each time I exhaled I blew a small cloud of dirt away from my nose.

To my surprise, a few minutes later, Sirius came galloping back with a woman in her early 20's and a man.

Sirius stopped by my side and whined.

"The poor things!" the girl cried as she dropped to her knees beside me.

"Careful, Lizel," the man said warningly. "That's a wolf...how on earth did a North American Gray wolf get all the way here to Ireland?"

Both had the beautiful Irish brogue.

"She's a white wolf though," the girl said.

"Doesn't matter...she's still a wolf," the man replied firmly. "Seems like these two are together. What I don't understand is why they've got harnesses? They can't be someone's pets."

"So what if they are? They're exhausted and probably hungry," the girl said angrily.

"Well, take the black dog. I'll handle the wolf. I don't want you getting bitten," the man said as the girl gently took a hold of Sirius' harness and began leading him away, but Sirius pulled against it, keeping his eyes on me.

The man gently lifted me up and then began following the girl.

They brought us into a warm brick cottage with a chimney that thick clouds of dark smoke billowed out from.

The girl went and got a large bowl of cold water for Sirius. He thirstily lapped up water. The girl put a bowl in front of me. I too, began thirstily lapping up the water.

"The pads on her feet are torn and raw," the man said gesturing to my paws. "They've traveled very, very far."

"Can we help that?" the girl asked as Sirius finished drinking water and playfully began jumping on the girl.

"I've got a special salve I could put on them, plus the booties for Jynx that we could use," the man replied.

He got up and went into the kitchen. He came back with a small bowl filled with a white colored cream and four small socks that were even smaller than a baby's.

He sat down beside me. I had my hind legs tucked underneath me and my front legs stretched out. The man reached for my front paw, but I let out a warning growl.

"Um," the man said looking nervous. "Easy girl. I'm not going to hurt you."

"Let me try, Dad," the girl said as she took the bowl from the man and put some on her fingers. She gently reached for my paw. I watched her, but made no movement.

"A woman's touch huh?" the man said grinning.

The salve felt cold and warm at the same time. My paws started to feel better already.

"These are special booties we made for our dog, Jynx, but he passed away several weeks ago. They should fit you," the girl said softly as she put one bootie on my paw, and then the others. "Plus the heat will help with the salve. You should be fine in no time."

The girl went and got Sirius some dog food. He looked at it for a moment before looking at me.

I barked at him and wagged my tail.

He lowered his head and began eating.

"I'm afraid we've only got dog food," the man said to me. "No raw meat."

The girl placed a bowl in front of me as well. Sirius raised his head and watched me. I knew he was grinning. I hungrily began eating as well.

After that, the man and the girl let us lye on the floor in front of a crackling fireplace. Sirius walked over to me. I was lying with my hind legs tucked under me again and I just stared into the fireplace. My snout was buried between my front outstretched legs. His hind legs buckled beneath him and he stretched out his front legs as well. He was lying against me.

I raised my head and looked at him. His brown eyes caught the orange glow of the fire. He gently nudged me with his nose. I gently laid my head against his. He seemed a bit shocked at my affectionate gesture but didn't move nonetheless.

Pretty soon, I fell asleep that way.

In the morning, I found Sirius' head against mine as we slept. The man and girl entered the living room.

"How sweet is that?" the girl said softly not wanting to wake us up.

I opened my eyes and then yawned, stretching my front legs out at the same time. Sirius woke up and also stretched. Then stretched out his hind legs.

Sirius ran over to the girl. I shook my body before walking over to the girl also.

"Can I pet you?" the man asked extending his hand out.

I allowed him to scratch and ear.

My paws felt so much better now.

"Let's take a look at those paws, shall we?" the man said reaching for my left hind leg. I let him handle my leg. He gently pulled off the bootie and fingered my paw, rubbing the pads and digits.

"Well, I think she'll be fine," the man said scratching Sirius' ear.

He removed all the booties and stood up.

"I think its best that they go on their way. I'm sensing they're on a journey," the man said.

"Are you sure Dad?" the girl asked sadly.

"Yes, Lizel," the man replied gently. "We've got to let them go now. Good luck."

Sirius and I licked their faces before we took off heading north still.

We reached a fishing village. We carefully scanned the boats until our eyes landed on one particular large one.

It was called the "Ice Wolf". Sirius and I looked at each other before carefully making our way over to it. Apparently, it was an expedition to the antarctic. The local college was doing the expedition. We snuck on board.

Shortly after that, the ship pulled out of harbor and we were on our way.

The men and women on board found us and kept us entertained.

Sirius and I stood on deck and watched the waves crash against the bow of the ship as it cut through the arctic water. A bit of the frigid water sprayed up and hit Sirius in the face.

Laughter rang out as the students saw it. Sirius shook his body and bits of his fur stood on end from being wet. I barked at him.

At night, while the students slept, Sirius and I changed back into our human forms, careful not to let anyone see us.

We were sitting in the galley, where the kitchen was. I sat across from him.

"This is hopeless," I muttered dropping my head into my arms. "We're never going to be able to find that flower. Remus is as good as dead."

"Stop," Sirius scolded leaning forward. "I'm not about to let you give up or have anything happen to you okay? Remus will be fine."

I raised my head and stared into his dark eyes.

I felt a twinge of attraction toward him. I cleared my throat.

"Thanks. Same here," I said softly.

Suddenly, Sirius leaned forward and kissed me. I was shocked. After he pulled back, he seemed embarrassed and upset.

"I'm sorry...I shouldn't have done that," he said quickly.

"It's..." I began but Sirius had already changed into the black dog and he took off galloping out of the galley.

I sighed. I also changed back into the wolf and followed Sirius.

SIRIUS.

I felt embarrassed after kissing Hillary. I knew how much she loved Remus. It was stupid of me. But I realized new feelings began surfacing toward her...ones that I knew meant I started to like her more than a best friend.

I slowed down to a walk along the deck with my head down. I heard toenails clicking on the deck behind me. I arched my head around. It was Hillary in wolf form. She came up along side me and nudged me with her snout. I just gave her a half hearted glance and kept walking. The next thing I knew, she let out a snarl and jumped in front of me, blocking me. She pulled back her lips exposing the white canines and incisors. She snarled.

I tried to go around her, but she jumped into my path each time snarling.

I changed back into my human form. She did also.

"What's your problem?" I asked angrily. "I'm trying to go back inside. I'm freezing."

"That's not the only thing that's cold," Hillary replied shrewdly. "What's wrong? There's something bothering you."

"I don't want to talk about it," I muttered.

"We're in this together okay? If there's something bothering you, I have to know about it," Hillary said.

I sighed. How was I going to explain this to her? It's driving me crazy as well. I'm torn here.

Hillary stepped closer to me and put her hands on my shoulders.

"Please, Sirius," she pleaded searching my face. "If it's about the kiss, don't worry about it."

I sighed again.

I began telling her about my feelings.

HILLARY.

I was completely stunned as I listened to Sirius. I had no idea how he felt.

"So I mean, I know how much you love Remus," Sirius continued shuffling his feet. "So that's why I haven't said anything before. I didn't want to interfere."

I sighed.

"I understand if I put you on the spot," Sirius said. "But we should worry about getting that flower right now. Can I please go inside now?"

He changed back into the dog and stood watching me.

"Yeah sure," I muttered.

Sirius trotted around me and disappeared below deck. I changed into the wolf and followed him.

In the morning, the college students fed Sirius. As soon as I entered the galley, they plopped a bowl down in front of me. It was fresh beef. Raw. I'm guessing they realized I wasn't a white dog.

I just sat on my haunches and stared at the bowl. Even though I was a wolf, I totally despised raw meat. I looked over at Sirius, who was hungrily devouring his dog food. I went over to him. He raised his head. I nudged the bowl as if asking him if I could have some of his food.

He went back to eating. Taking that as a sign that it was okay, I stuck my snout into the bowl. That's when he clamped his jaws around my snout and bit down. I felt warm blood rushing down my snout.

"Hey!" one of the students cried as she ran over.

Another student yanked Sirius' jaws off of mine. I had several cuts on my snout and muzzle.

"You've got your own food, you silly wolf," the female student said smiling. "That's dog food for dogs."

That only seemed to make Sirius angrier. He snarled and fought against the male student.

The male student got a good hold on Sirius' harness.

"I think its time to chain him up," he said as he dragged Sirius away snarling and fighting.

The female student tended to my cuts.

When she was done, I was free to roam around the ship. I found Sirius chained on deck. He was just sitting on his haunches with his head down. The frigid temperature went through him. Since I was wolf, my fur was thick and insulated so I didn't feel the freezing temperatures. But Sirius was only a black dog. He felt the cold even more. I could see him shivering. Large ice bergs loomed on either side of the ship. We weren't too far from the Antarctic.

When I exhaled, my breath rose from my black nostrils and ascended to the sky. Sirius was breathing heavily because each puff of steam that rose from his nostrils wasn't that far apart and I could see his sides expanding. I wasn't sure if he was still angry for some reason or it was the cold.

I took tentative steps toward him, keeping my jaundice eyes locked on him.

I checked to make sure there wasn't anyone around before changing into my human form.

"What is your problem?" I hissed at him. "You almost took my face off!"

He didn't even raise his head.

I went over to him.

"Why are you acting like this?" I snapped bending down.

I grabbed Sirius' head in my hands. He jerked his head out of my grasp and let out a low warning growl.

"Fine. Freeze out here then. I was going to keep you company, but forget it now," I snapped as I quickly changed back into the wolf. I stuck my tail in the air and trotted back to the warmth of the galley.

SIRIUS.

I sat on my haunches in the freezing deck just staring down at the deck floor board. Blasts of cold air ransacked my body forcing me to shiver violently. I was sure there were icicles hanging off the small bit of whiskers I had on my muzzle...among other areas.

I felt awful but I was feeling that I was never going to find someone. That all I was was just a 'black dog'. Hillary was a beautiful girl. Remus was lucky to have her. I would've gladly shared my food with her and now I was feeling even more worse for biting her.

The students fed me though. So I was grateful I wasn't going to starve out here. Hillary was going to keep me company and I blew it.

I swear I couldn't feel any worse if I tried.

I began coughing.

I felt awful...sick, cold and wet.

Night time came again. The students were nearing the Antarctic. It was about another day more. The icebergs looked like frozen goliaths floating in the water. I sensed someone coming up the deck. I slowly raised my head. A pair of jaundice eyes glowed in the full moonlight. Hillary.

The white wolf slowly began walking toward me. I was too sick to even argue. Hillary came closer until she was right next to me. I collapsed and began coughing. Hillary began howling until someone came up on deck.

"Good God! The dog's sick!" a female student cried as she un-tied the chain from the harness. She picked me up and carried me below deck to the hospital ward. Hillary right behind her.

HILLARY.

I followed the female student down to the hospital ward. Sirius was laid out on a metal examining table and quickly covered with blankets and sheets. He was lying on his side with all four paws stretched out.

"Who tied him out side?" the doctor demanded.

"I think Jake did," the female student replied. "Him and that wolf had a bit of a disagreement earlier. He did it to separate them."

"Well, he gave the dog pneumonia," the doctor replied irritably. "I'm not a vet, but I recognize the signs and symptoms."

"Can you help him?" the girl asked.

"I'll try," the doctor said.

I jumped up onto the neighboring exam table that was inches from the one that Sirius was on. My nails clicked on the metal and my paws slid. I sat on my haunches and watched every move the doctor made.

"Don't worry girl," the doctor said softly to me. "We'll do everything we can. Why don't you get down from there?"

He went to shoo me off the table, but I just bared my top canines and incisors and snarled.

"Okay missy," the doctor said smiling. "You can stay. Here."

He folded up a blanket for me to curl up on and placed it at the end of the table.

The doctor began administering some kind of liquid into Sirius' mouth.

After about an hour or two, the doctor gave me a pat and left the hospital ward. I sat and whined. I curled up on the blanket and I didn't fall asleep right away. I was too worried about Sirius.

The doctor kept Sirius warm. Right now, only time would tell if he would be alright.