Phillipe sat on the couch and watched the wolf pup. He had been struggling with a name for the animal ever since Christmas day, when Aj had given him the pup. But so far, nothing he had thought of seemed to fit.
"I haven't got a clue pup." he said aloud, and the wolf pup cocked his ears and tilted his head, watching Phillipe. "I don't know what to call you."
The puppy barked once, and Phillipe chuckled. "Sorry, but I can't even pronounce that, let alone use it as a name."
Phillipe stood and walked to the window and stared down at the street. Down below a small group of children were heavily involved in a snowball fight. It made Phillipe smile a bit watching them. He had never had the luxury of playing when he was young. He had been too busy trying to survive on the streets alone. Now here he was, a husband to be and a foster father of sorts. He thought about Alex and hoped he was doing the right thing with her. "She sort of grows on you." He said to the wolf without turning around. "I hope I don't mess things up with her."
"Altor"
Phillipe spun around at the sound, but no one was there. He walked over and looked in the kitchen, and then the bedroom. No one was around. He returned to the couch and sat scratching the pup's ears. He wasn't going crazy. He had heard someone say 'Altor'. It had been a young male voice, like a little boy's, and it had a strange accent too.
"Altor..." he mumbled, and was startled when the puppy gave a sharp bark. "What?" he asked, looking at the wolf. The puppy just wagged it tail and cocked it's head.
"Altor." He said again, and to his astonishment, the wolf pup barked again, spinning in a circle and then looking up to gaze at him again. He thought about it for a few moments. He had no idea what the word meant, but it had a good sound too it and the wolf pup seemed to respond well to it.
"Okay. Your name is Altor then, unless I find out it means fairy or stupid or something. If that happens then we are changing it, deal?"
The pup promptly barked and went after Phillipe's shoe.
"Oh no you don't!" He cried, snatching up his footwear. "You leave the shoes alone!"
The wolf turned and watched him intently as if hoping he would throw the shoes back down. Phillipe went to the kitchen and returned with a cloth bag. He opened it and pulled out a large rawhide bone, dropping it on the floor. "Here. Aj got this for you so you wont need to chew on shoes anymore. You ruin another pair of Alex's shoes and she'll have you for a throw rug!" The pup grabbed the bone and carried it to a corner of the room where it sat down and began licking and chewing.
Phillipe glanced around the room again. He was clearly the only one home right now. So where had the voice come from? And what did Altor mean, anyways?