Sam practically bounced out of the Land Rover when they reached the dig site. He knew
today just had to be the day. A student had found bone fragments at site 8-C and the big
wolf had every indication that there would be more found today.

As far as dig sites go, this one was pretty convenient. Just ten minutes outside Centro
Loboria, Sam could actually spend the night in a hotel rather than a drafty tent or leaky
yurt. There had been stories about the place. Lore passed down through the residents over
the centuries. Stories about gigantic dire wolves that ruled the land thousands of years
ago.

As a pup, Sam had read these stories, nestled in bed as the night grew darker. He dreamt
he'd found them, their gigantic paws taking his and welcoming him to their pack. These
dreams never left him, even as he graduated with a Masters degree in Anthropology.

The hot Iberian sun had begun to warm up the landscape. Sam casually removed his shirt
and began to carefully remove the soil around where the student had found artifacts the
day before. Brush and chisel. Surgical work, to be sure. More bone. A larger surface.

His heart skipped a beat.

He began to measure it. Occipital lobe. Curvature was... just a little too large. Sam
gasped when he roughed out the calculations in his head. It had to be.

Dire wolf.

Skipping lunch and ignoring everything around him, he removed more and more earth. The
skull revealed itself in all its glory. The beast must have been nine feet tall, he
reasoned. He was as giddy as a wolfcub on Christmas morning as he began to photograph
the find.

Tablet in hand, he began firing off photos and data to his colleagues back at the
university. The group of students and instructors at the dig site were hurrying to do
the same. When legend becomes fact, there is much to talk about!

Bzzzt.

No doubt it was a professor, Sam reasoned as he pulled his phone from his shorts. There
would be much to discuss and he was glad it was Skype as he'd be able to share the...

It was Sam's boyfriend.

"Hey honey! It's so exciting! You will never, ever believe what we found!"

"Sam, my darling! I'm sure it's grand, but would you lower your phone a bit?"

"Um, sure." Sam was perplexed.

"There, that's better."

"Er, can I tell you about the...."

"Just let me ogle you for a bit. You look just incredible with your shirt off."

Sam lowered the phone some more. Just enough to make sure that his boyfriend couldn't
see him roll his eyes.

--

Commissioned by  fatwolf Character belongs to  fatwolf Art and story by me.