Driftwood err Driftwolf?

It was true, if he died he’d be doubly a liar and failure.  He had promised to become leader of the pack and he hadn’t yet.  He had promised to give her adventures and he hadn’t yet.  He had promised to protect his family and that was going to be a failure to if he died.  Three times a failure then.  Could willpower alone keep someone alive?  Could the decision not to sleep keep him from passing out?  So far in life that had worked but Rudy was damnably tired and not just in a sense of his body being tired.

She didn’t understand the danger she was in.  Rudy’s eyes searched the area, his nose working but no sign of Oxx.  He hadn’t expected to see him when he was hunting either.  At least she had sent Reddy off for help again.  
At the mention of her being surprised he hadn’t passed out Rudy snickered as if it was somehow a funny joke.  It shouldn’t be funny but right at the moment it seemed like it, the shot of pain from his tail bone at the slight movement was enough to stop the laughter.  “Guess I’m too stubborn.”  He had faded in and out more than once but thankfully the moment he shifted new waves of pain came to demand he wakes up.  Sure, he could sleep despite that if he let himself and probably would regardless eventually but pain was acting as his doctor at the moment.  The smile fell off, “my tail is gone,” as if she wouldn’t have noticed.  “He took my tail.”  They needed to get out of here!

Could she really support him?  They didn’t have time to argue so if this was the only way Rudy imagined they’d try it.  ‘Hop on’ though?  Rudy used his back feet, good leg, and elbow of the bad one and felt his world shift around him, head reeling as the pain cut off all focus.  This was enough to make him nearly pass out.  Rudy paused to breathe then imagined Oxx nearing them and attacking Fern.  He somehow got his front good leg under him to help push himself onto her.  The world spun again as pain overflooded his senses and he couldn’t even pinpoint where it all revolved from.  Even what Oxx hadn’t done rocks going along the water had banged him up with bruises here and there.  

“Hurry,” that wasn’t very fair he knew.  He’d be heavy for her and awkward but Oxx was out there somewhere.  Rudy wouldn’t forgive himself if she become his next victim because of her desire to help him.  Closing his eyes he tried to stop the world spinning, “Art will come.  Art always comes.”  That wasn’t fair on his brother.  Art had to many important things to do to keep saving Rudy.  He’d need to be smarter in the future.  Why was he such a damned idiot?  This time it really hadn’t been his fault as far as Rudy could imagine but this was one time of the many rounds it had been his fault.

Rudyard Carpathius