Practice Writing A-3: Lost Pup

Writing Practice(s): File A-3 Date Published: 8:39 28 January 2013 (Minnesota Time) Category: Drama/Tragedy Title: Lost Pup

Writing Practice(s): File A-3

Category: Drama/Tragedy

Title: Lost Pup

 

      “Wake up sleepy head, time to get up,”

      I groaned tiredly and shifted slightly on my bed of soft bison and rabbit pelts.

      “Come on sleepy head, time to wake up,” my eyes fluttered open and were instantly greeted by a smiling blue female hedgehog with sparking cerulean eyes. Mom.

      I smiled slightly. I always liked to tease her that her smile was contagious because whenever she smiled it always seemed to make other people smile. At the very least it always made me smile. And her sparkling eyes always made my heart soar with happiness. They reminded me of the ocean at sunset, even though I’ve never seen it with my own eyes, but I imagined them to resemble my mother’s beautiful cerulean eyes. My mom used to live by the ocean, and sometimes she’ll tell me of her home by the sea and its legends and tales of fantastic creatures like mermaids and leviathans and powerful gods that ruled the great waters, but my favorite is when she tells me stories of Atlantis, a great white city with grand rings and enormous ports. She once told me how as a “rite of passage”, each able bodied teenager of the age of sixteen would perform incredible jumps over charging bulls and feats of courage and agility. It never ceased to amaze me how someone could jump ten feet into the air, perform fantastical flips in midair, and land safely behind the bull and how they would do this over and over and over again. I had asked my mother if one day we could go and take a trip to the ocean, but she said it was a long ways off and would take weeks, but promised someday we would.

      “Just five more minutes,” I moaned heavenly and slowly drifted back to sleep and lowered my head back into the bison pelt.

      “Fine, just five more minutes, then I expect you to get up and give me a hand with the chores, OK?” her tone was motherly and kind, not at all like the harsh tones of the other mothers in the Pack. I saw the way the other parents treated their children and counted myself lucky that I had been paired up with such a tender and loving soul.

      “OK mom,” I replied softly and yawned, shaking my fur slightly before falling back into a deep sleep. I had been dreaming about the sea again and was eager to return to the wonderful reverie. I was sailing in a sailboat in the middle of the ocean to Atlantis. I turned into one of the five large ports that surrounded the great white ringed city. Above my head stood tall and powerful-looking gods, some I could name like Poseidon and Titian and Neptune and others I couldn’t quite recall. I gazed on in sheer amazement at their size and stature. They seemed so sure of themselves, so confident, as they held their weapons and tridents triumphantly in the air as they made enormous walls of water rise from the depths and crash down back into the sea.

I smiled and looked on ahead of me. A mermaid jumped out of the water and splashed beside me. I jumped in surprise, startled by the unforeseen creature, and laughed in sheer delight as tens of mermaids jumped out of the sea and plunged back into the sparkling water with a splash. One of them jumped up and leaned on the side of my boat and smiled brightly at me, waving in a friendly manner and flipped backwards into the water with a joyful laugh.

I looked onwards and my jaw dropped in amazement at the sight before me. Atlantians, all appearing to be around the age of sixteen, performing fantastical jumps over charging bulls and landing gracefully behind them. I gasped at the sheer beauty of them soaring through the air, their bodies like surging currents of rushing water weaving through the air. I leaned my head in my arms over the side of the boat, watching them jump and flip and twist and turn with such grace it was almost hard to believe such a feat was even physically possible. A heavenly sigh escaped my mouth. It all seemed so perfect, so amazing. I never wanted to leave...

“Birch, honey, wake up, it’s been five minutes, time to get up,” I groaned slightly as my shoulder was shaken gently. My eyes fluttered open to my mother leaning over me and pushing my over-grown bangs out of my eyes. I knew I had to get up and make myself useful, but my muscles simply didn’t want to correspond with my demands. I suppose it was just one of those days when you just don’t want to get out of bed.

“Come ‘on, up and at ‘em,” she urged and gently pulled the covers off my body. I groaned louder and covered my body with my arms and curled up into a ball. I reached down where the blanket should have been, trying to pull it back over myself.

“Birch, now you’re just being silly. You said five more minutes and I gave it to you, now get up and eat some breakfast,” she patted my shoulder and stood up to eat some breakfast.

I leaned against my elbows and yawned, scratching my chest. I smacked my lips and sniffed the air. It smelled like fried rabbit meat and parsnips. I smiled and stood up, walking over to my mother and giving her a hug while her back was turned and her attention on the food.

She smiled and touched my hand as I nuzzled her affectionately and created a series of affectionate noises in the back of my throat.

“Someone’s hungry,” she commented and scratched behind my left ear. I made another affectionate noise and my crooked tail began to wag. I love it when she scratches behind my ears.

“Well, we don’t have meat very often, what’s the occasion?” I asked. Meat was a rarity for us, since we didn’t do any of the hunting ourselves and I suppose we didn’t have a very high rank either, so we usually only had it on special occasions.

“Oh, no reason, I just thought you’d like to have some this morning,”

I licked my lips and my mouth watered at the sight and scent of the delectable meat. I picked up a plate and started piling it with extra rabbit meat and parsnips. Just as I was about to sit down my mother stopped me and put an extra parsnip on my plate. We smiled at each other and sat down in the center of our small teepee to eat our breakfast. I bit into the juicy meat and smiled. It was so good; it made me wish I knew how to hunt so my mom and I could have it more often. I had asked my mom time and time again why I couldn’t learn to hunt with the other teen males in the Pack but she said the Chieftain simply wouldn’t allow it, which never made much sense to me. I mean, it’s not like I’m any different from the other teenagers. I always felt like my mom was hiding something from me but the subject never really came up.

I took a deep breath. “Mom?”

“Yes?” her ears perked and she looked up from her food.

“I was wondering,” I began, playing with the parsnips on my plate. “If maybe I could learn to hunt with the other teenagers?” I asked hopefully.

She sighed heavily and her ears drooped. “Birch, we’ve discussed this,”

“I know, it’s just...” I hesitated, staring down at my food as if it would give me the words for my mouth to form. “I’m almost fifteen now, and I’ve been practicing-“

She dropped the parsnip in her hand and stared unbelieving at me. “You’ve what?”

I smiled a little triumphantly. “I’ve been practicing in private and-“

“You’ve been practicing? For how long?” she demanded. She seemed more alarmed than happy.

I rubbed the back of my neck. “I’m not sure exactly, but I think I really started when I was about seven,”

She dropped her plate and stared at me, shaking as if I just told her I murdered someone.

“Birch you can’t do that!”

“But why not? I’ve never done anything wrong and I’m just like other teens,”

She rubbed her temple with her fingers. “You’re more different than you can imagine...” she mumbled half to herself.

“Maybe if I could just talk to the chieftain-“

“No!” she shouted sternly at me. I flinched and my ears flattened against my head. Mom’s never shouted at me like that before. I stared down at my plate, disappointed and downhearted at her response. I hadn’t meant to upset her; I thought she would be excited that I was practicing my hunting skills. Apparently not.

She sighed heavily and gandered at me with a sympathetic look. Her hand rested on my shoulder. I looked up into her loving cerulean eyes boring down on me.

“Birch,”

“Yeah mom?”

“I’m sorry, I just lost my head there, but you have to promise me you’ll stop practicing, and that you’ll never, never, talk to the chieftain under any circumstance, do you understand?”

“Yes,” I locked eyes with her. “But why can’t I practice hunting? Why can’t I learn with everyone else?” I asked earnestly.

She sighed and rubbed her temple with her hand. “It’s complicated,” she firmly placed both her hands on my shoulders and looked straight into my speckled green eyes. “Promise me that as long as we’re here you will not practice hunting, or speak a word of it to anyone,”

My shoulders slumped and I stared down at the floor. “I promise,”

Her eyes shined with imminent tears as her arms wrapped around me in a loving embrace. “Dear, you know that if it were up to me I’d let you hunt and practice to your heart’s content, but it’s just not safe here,”

“But why not? Everyone else hunts, and nothing happens to them,”

She squeezed her eyes shut and clutched her shell necklace tightly, something she always did when fighting back impending tears.

She looked at me with saddened eyes. “I know it’s hard, but one day you’ll understand,” she smiled weakly and tapped my plate with her fingers. “Finish your food, dear. We’d best be off soon,” and with that she stood up and put on her coat and scarf and prepared the baskets and animal skins.

I obeyed and wolfed down the rest of my food and quickly washed my plate in the bucket and went to join my mother at the entrance to our small abode. My mother peered outside, checking to see if anyone was around. I never fully understood why she did this, I mean, it’s not like anyone would try to stop us from leaving, but I suppose my mom simply didn’t want to come in contact with any of the other Pack members. They were all pretty rude and mean and snappy.

She looked back at me just as I had wrapped my blue scarf around my neck, attached my animal skins to my belt, and slung my empty sack over my shoulder. We smiled at each other and exited our dwelling, first my mother and then myself. I sniffed at the cool morning air. It was before dawn so everything was still dark and no one stirred. I stole a quick look around the encampment before racing off to follow my mother into the thick forest.

*****

      It was some time after dawn when we returned back to our tribe and the camp was now bustling with busy warriors preparing to head off on patrol of the territory and merchants preparing their carts and donkeys and mules and horses for their journey to other tribes and Packs and traders to exchange goods with. I craned my neck to see the hunters gearing up for the upcoming hunt. Some were sharpening their weapons while others saddled up their horses. I could feel my heart rate quickened in anticipation of the hunt, even if I wasn’t to be a part of it. I had never even watched a hunt take place before but just seeing them prepare for the hunt and then later returning to camp with large bison and bucks with enormous antlers and gophers and beavers. It never ceased to amaze me the amount and size of the prey they brought back with them.

      Maybe someday... I reassured myself in hopeful wonder as I watched the hunters mount up on their horses and gallop off into the forest and towards the seemingly endless prairie lands beyond the thick grove of trees.

      ...That’ll be me. I smiled entered our small home on the edge of the camp with my mother to help organize the roots and berries and herbs we collected. It was our job to supply the Pack with roots and wild berries and edible (and sometimes healing) herbs.

      “Dear, could you please distribute the herbs for me and deliver these wild onions to Mr. Takus?” requested my mother and held out a basket of our gatherings.

      I smiled at her. “Sure mom,” I took the basket from my mother and began to distribute everyone’s share of the gatherings. I left some of the vegetables and herbs outside of people’s huts in baskets because I didn’t want to disturb them or get yelled at for coming too close. Everyone else I handed them their share and they snatched them away from me without saying “Thank you,” and shooting me hostile glares.

      I stopped outside a large tent with colorful cloths and quality furs draped over the sides and large piles of dead animals with small swarms of flies and dried herbs and baskets full of wild berries and vegetables. I cautiously knocked gently on one of the wooden supports.

      A loud crash sounded from inside along with a series of loud and angry curses. My ears lowered and my teeth gritted together. That didn’t sound good. So now when Mr. Takus came out to collect his onions he would be extra grouchy and snappy. Well, I mean he’s always like that, but I was at least hoping I could catch him at in one of his better moods and he would take his share without yelling and screaming at me.

      “What?! Who is it? What makes you think you can just barge in and-!” screamed a large, fat werehog carrying an over-sized butcher knife. He stumbled out of his tent wearing a furious expression on his face looking like he was about to stab whoever had the audacity to interrupt him. I laid my ears flat against my head and hunkered down, taking a step back to keep myself from being flattened by the massive werehog’s weight. Just as he was about to stab at the ground he saw me and paused.

      “What do you want?” he demanded with his knife still raised.

      I held out the basket of onions to him. “I have your onions, um, sir,”

      He snatched the basket from my hands and quickly examined the vegetables. He glared at me. “Where are the rest?”

      “The...rest...?”

      “Yes! Where are the rest?!” he screamed at me and grabbed my chest fur.

      “T-That w-was all of t-them, sir,” I answered and stared up at the impulsive cook with pleading eyes.

      He threw me on the ground and pointed his knife at me. “You worthless mutt, I expect more next time, and fresher one too!” he kicked me in the side and stomped back inside his tent with the onions and the basket.

      I watched him disappear in anger, wiping my lip and sauntered away with my back slightly hunched. I just didn’t understand it; why does he hate me so much? Why is he always so mean to me? I never did anything to provoke his behavior, unlike other Pack members that have raided his food supply and stolen his furs and even “borrowed” his weapons, but he never treated them the way he always treated me.

      I rubbed my forehead and took a deep breath. I needed to calm down. I need to talk to someone.

      “Tell another one Teacher!”

Yeah, tell the one about the deer and the fox!”

I paused and looked up. Up ahead about forty feet was Tascaki’s tent, the Pack’s star gazer and Omnash, or story teller. He was in charge of teaching the children history and moral lessons and the old legends.

Tascaki is an old friend of mine, next to my mother he was the kindest person I had ever met and the only one (outside of my mother of course) that didn’t treat me like a pile of stinking dung (sorry for the curse).

I’ll talk to him about it; he’ll know where I’m coming from.

I stepped up to the tent and parted the fur covering the entrance slightly, and was immediately greeted by a small snarl and a snap from a set of little teeth. I stumbled back in shock and stared down at a young brown werehog with red markings. He snarled up at me and nipped at my heels.

“What is going on out here?” an elderly red werehog stepped out from the tent with a grouchy expression. As soon as he noticed me he smiled warmly and held out his arms at his sides in welcome.

“Birch! It’s good to see you,” he wrapped me in his warm embrace. I smiled and hugged him back, taking in his musty and smoky scent. He always reminded me of a campfire.

“Get outta here malcaldah! Get lost!” snapped the small brown werehog and nipped viciously at my ankles.

“Dayton! Enough!” scolded Tascaki and stabbed the brown werehog’s tail with his wooden staff. The brown werehog yelped and hunkered down on his belly with his tail in between his legs and his ears flat against his head, staring up at the Omnash with confused eyes.

“That is no way to treat your elders, or anybody else for that matter!”

“But Teacher, he’s a malcal-“

“I don’t care, nor do I want to hear it. Now go tell everyone else that class is dismissed for the rest of the day and night,”

“But-“

“No buts now go!” he ordered sternly and pointed to the entrance to his tent.

He stared down at his feet in submission. “Yes sir,” he sauntered inside to deliver the news, but not before he shot me a death glare and disappeared inside.

Tascaki turned to me and smiled sympathetically and rested his hand on my shoulder. “I’m sorry,”

I shrugged. “Don’t be, it wasn’t your fault-“

“But his behavior was still unacceptable, and for that I am truly sorry. Are you alright?”

I looked down at my ankles. Small drips of blood oozed from the tiny puncture wounds. I looked up and smiled at him. “I’ll be alright,”

A second after I answered a throng of at least eight pups between the ages of five to eleven sauntered out of the tall, red teepee, glaring flaming daggers at me before running off to different parts of the camp.

Tascaki wrapped his arm over my shoulder and led me into his home. The inside was decorated with soft furs, animal bones and teeth, feathers, and elaborate designs carved into wooden poles and slabs of stone.

I sat down crossed legged by the fire pit in the center and waited patiently for the elderly Omnash.

“So what can I do for you, my boy?”He grunted and gently lowered himself onto a pile of soft buffalo and rabbit skins.

He eyed me carefully. “You seem downhearted, what is it that troubles you?”

I looked up from the floor and locked eyes with him before turning to stare at the floor again.

“Come on lad, speak up, my hearing isn’t what it used to be,”

I sighed. “Why is everyone so mean to me? If I did something wrong I wish they would tell me what it is so I could make amends, but it just doesn’t make any sense, what did I do to deserve their wrath and hatred?” I locked eyes with the old story teller, my eyes pleading for him to give me an answer.

He sighed heavily. “My boy, I want you to know that it is nothing you’ve done to provoke their anger,”

“But then why? Why are they treating me like this?”

He opened his mouth and then closed it and looked at the ground.

There was something he wasn’t telling me.

“Well?” I beseeched the desperation obvious in my voice.

He pursed his lips and locked his now solemn amber eyes with mine. Whatever he had to say had to be very important.

“Birch, I want you to promise me something,”

“Anything,”

“And you cannot speak a word of what I’m about to tell you to anyone, under any circumstance,”

“Not even mom?”

“She already knows, I’ve spoke to her about this,” he took a long deep breath. “If anything were to ever happen, I want you to find the Fire Wolf,”

“The what?”

He snatched up a handful of ground up herbs and threw them in the flickering fire. The flame exploded in a squall of green fire that gave me such a fright I fell backwards shaking in fear. The green inferno swirled and gathered into a discernible shape. It looked like a vicious, snarling wolf, staring down at me with fiery white eyes.

“The Fire Wolf. She’s a vicious, merciless female with the power to burn down a hundred forests and bring entire armies to their knees, and the fire in her eyes burns brighter and more fiercely than a thousand suns,” the fiery green wolf jumped and snapped at the air, its eyes seemed to glow even brighter.

I gulped. “So if something were to happen I’m supposed to find this, this,” I frantically searched for the right word. “Creature, that could obliterate me at any moment, and might possibly be mentally unstable, and I’m supposed to go to someone like her for help?!”

He held up his hand to stop me. “While she is powerful, she is also someone you want on your side. She is a refuge for the unwanted and a protector for those who need her. She will help you as she has helped countless others,” the fire suddenly gathered into the shape of a small shivering pup, and what happened next shocked me. The fiery green wolf, which had been snapping and snarling with such ferocity, suddenly knelt down and began to lick the defenseless pup with such a tenderness and love I thought I felt my heart wrench. It locked eyes with me and I suddenly felt...at ease. Peace.

The fire was abruptly extinguished along with the fire wolf and the pup.

“What did you do that fo-“

“Birch, relax, it was merely an image recreation of the real Fire Wolf,”

“What about the pup?”

“That little fellow was merely an image of one of the many others she has helped,”

“But then, how do I find her? I don’t know where she lives or what she looks like, because I’m fairly certain she isn’t a wild green wolf on fire,”

“Not necessarily, but she is a wolf,”

“But how do I know it’s her?”

“You’ll know by her eyes, they say it burns with a deep and powerful blazing green flame,”

He reached into his cloak and pulled out a beaded blue and green armband with small teeth and feathers hanging off the side.

“I want you to have this, it belonged to a good friend of mine and he gave it to me shortly before he died. It means the world to me and is my most prized possession, but you need it more than I do,”

“You’re most prized possession?” I was bewildered. He would trust me with his most prized possession that had belonged to his deceased friend? And let me keep it? Tascaki tied the armband around my left bicep and smiled. I looked down at the finely woven band in awe. Running across the side was a powerful-looking white wolf with bright green eyes.

“You’re just going to give it to me?” I asked, baffled at this change in events.

He nodded. “Yes, while this band means a lot to me you mean even more, and it would mean even more to me if you had it,”

I stared down at my gift in wonder and gratitude. “Thank you Teacher, this is amazing,” I wanted to cry I was so happy. I never got gifts, and that Tascaki would want me to have such a wonderful present was almost impossible to believe.

He chuckled. “For the last time Birch, call me Uncle Task, no need to be so formal,”

I shrugged. “I just wanted to be polite,”

He smiled warmly. “I know, and that’s what makes you so special; even in a place like this you still want to be respectful and kind to others,” he chuckled and shook his head. “Though at times I don’t know how you do it; I can’t be in the same tent with some of these, these, buffoons without raising my voice or thwacking them on the head or something,”

I giggled. “You made that word up,”

“What word?”

“Thwacking, that’s not even a real word!”

“Well that’s how angry I get with some of these imbeciles that it forces me to make up new words to shut them up,” we both laughed heartily. I understood where he was coming from, I had a hard time to on occasion keeping myself from lunging at some of the people here, who were almost always rude and impulsive or just plain mean.

He patted me on the back and wiped a joyful tear from his eye. “Now you’d best be off my boy, your mother must be wondering where you wondered off to and must be getting worried,”

“Yeah, probably,” I stood up and helped my mentor to his feet and hugged him. “Thanks for the gift, Uncle Task,”

He hugged me tighter. “Of course my boy, you’ve always been like a son to me, and I thought it would make a good early birthday present, it’s tomorrow you know,”

“Oh yeah. That’s tomorrow right? I almost forgot,” I laughed. In all the excitement I had forgotten that my fifteenth birthday was just around the corner.

I let go of Tascaki and smiled brightly. “Thanks again, for well, everything,”

“Of course lad, now go, I don’t want to worry your mother if I don’t have to,”

I nodded and left the tent and ran back to my home on the other side of the Pack with high spirits.

*****

      “My darling, wake up,”

      I groaned tiredly and tried to pull the covers over my head.

      “Birch, this is no time for games, get up, now,”

      My eyes fluttered open and I lifted my head to be greeted by my mother’s cerulean eyes. But something was off. She was wearing her coat and scarf and had a pack that appeared to be full of supplies strapped to her back.

      “Mom, what-“

      “Shh!” she silenced me with a finger to my lips. “Dear, we need to hurry, we don’t have much time, I’ll explain on the way,” she pulled the covers off of me and urged me to sit up and handed me my blue scarf and my armband. “Hurry darling, we must move swiftly, quickly, quickly, put your stuff on,”

      I obeyed and quickly wrapped my scarf around my neck and my band around my arm and slipped on my torn pants and tattered boots while my mom quickly packed more supplies into packs and peaked outside to make sure no one could hear or had noticed.

      I stood up and touched my mother on the shoulder as she was peaking frantically outside our tent. She squealed for half of a moment at my touch and then covered her mouth. I took a step back, shocked by her reaction. What was going on?

      “I-I’m ready,” I said solemnly with nervous eyes. I wasn’t sure what my mom was up to, but she hadn’t led me astray yet. I guess this was one of those times when you just had to take a leap of faith.

      “Good dear,” she handed me a pack filled with dried meat, vegetables, furs, matches, rope, a compass, a knife, and healing herbs.

      She draped a large bison fur cloak over herself and put the hood up over her head and handed a larger one to me. “Put this on, dear, and quickly,” he whispered urgently and stuffed more furs and food and matches into the pockets of her cloak.

      I lifted my cloak (it was really more of a hooded cape) and noticed the inside was sewed with a patchwork of rabbit, lynx, and even beaver furs. I was perplexed. What was going on?

      I looked up at my mother just as she had stuffed the last of her valuables into her cloak and adjusted her pack.

      “Mom, please! What’s going on?”I pleaded in a hushed whisper, so as not to alarm her.

      She whipped around put her steady hands on my shoulders. I could tell by the look in her eyes that it was very serious and very important.

      “Dear, I’ll explain on the way, right now we need to focus on getting out of here before the others awake,”

      “What? On the way to what? Why can’t anyone notice us?”

      “I don’t have time to explain, you’re going to have to trust me,” her eyes pleaded for me believe her conviction.

      I nodded. “OK mom,”

      She smiled weakly. “Good, now let’s go, before we’re noticed,” she urged in a hushed whisper and grabbed my wrist, checking to see if the coast was clear, and then pulling me outside and into the shadowy forest.

      Leaves quietly crunched beneath our feet as we made our way through the dark forest. I stole a glance behind me, at our home, before turning my head and following my mother.

      We passed by the lake my mom used to take me to when I was little and she taught me how to swim. Images of us playing the water, splashing each other and laughing flashed through my mind. I smiled. Those times were much better, nobody yelled at me the way they did now.

      “So mom, where are we going?” I inquired carefully, hoping to receive an answer.

      She turned and smiled at me. “Home,”

      I was puzzled. “Home? Didn’t we just leave home?”

      She shook her head. “No darling, that was never home. We are going to our real home,” she paused to smile. “To Atlantis,”

      I couldn’t help but smile and wag my tail with excitement. “Atlantis! We’re really going to Atlantis?”

      She gasped and quickly covered my mouth with her hand. “Not if you don’t keep your voice down. Now come, we must be off Emerald Pack territory by dawn,” her voice was hushed and urgent. I nodded and she lifted her hand continued forward.

*****

      The edge of the horizon was a lighter blue, signaling that dawn was nearly upon us, and my mother seemed to be in an even bigger hurry than before.

      My feet ached from the long trek and my eye lids felt heavy from my lack of sleep. “Mom, can we take a break, I’m tired,”

      “Not until we’re off of Emerald territory,”

      I yawned and rubbed my sleepy eyes. “What’s so important about getting off the territory?”

      “Because until we’re off of it we can still be captured and taken back to camp, but if we’re off of it they cannot pursue us,”

      “But what’s the big deal? I mean, it’s not like they’re going to hurt us or anything,”

      My mother sighed heavily and placed her hand over her watery eyes. “You have no idea...” tiny sobs racked her thin form as sparkling tears cascaded down her grime coated face.

      I put my pack down and knelt beside her. “Hey, mom, everything’s OK, please don’t cry,”

      She let out a muffled sob. “I just - I don’t know what if �" I don’t know what I’d do if anything were to happen to you,”

      I smiled reassuringly and placed my hands on her shoulders. “Mom, nothing’s going to happen to me, I promise,”

      She looked up from her sweaty hands and stared at me with teary cerulean eyes that reflected the coverlet of endless stars. I wiped the tears from her eyes and nuzzled her affectionately, creating a series of loving noises in the back of my throat. She laughed lightly and smiled, scratching behind my left ear. My smile grew and my tail wagged slightly. I loved it when she did that.

      “Alright dear, but we must hurry; dawn is nearly here and we are behind schedule, we don’t want to run into a patrol,” and with that she stood up and continued walking.

      I picked up my pack and hurried in step behind her.

*****

      The border of the Emerald Pack territory was in sight, just across a small stretch of golden grassland.

      The sky was now turning a lighter blue and the edge of the horizon was yellow. Dawn was just at our heels. Others in our camp would be beginning to stir by now.

      Just as I was about to place my foot onto the grasslands and step out of the forest my mother put her arm out in front of me. I turned to her. Her ears were perked and her body was tense. And I suddenly knew why. About five hundred meters away was a patrol of about four large warriors. And they certainly didn’t look friendly. They’d drag us back to camp in a heartbeat.

      “How are we going to get around them?” I whispered into my mother’s ear.

      “We bide our time and hope that they move quickly so we can make a run for it,”

      “But it’s almost dawn,”

      “I know, but it would take a little while for them to notice our going and come to the border to pursue us. So we have a little time,” she looked worried though, despite her reassurances. “I do hope they move quickly though, I want to be far away from here before they realize our absence,”

      I nodded. “Right,”

      Thankfully the patrol did move quickly and were out of sight within a few short minutes. The tip of the sun was just peaking over the horizon.

      “OK, they should have noticed we’re missing by now, but might suspect we’ve gone out looking for herbs and whatnot, that should buy us some time. But we must hurry; it’s now or never,”

      Grabbing hold of my arm we dashed across the field, hiding in the cover of the shadows on silent footsteps. My mother let go of my arm and I dropped down on all fours and raced along beside her, careful not to dart too far ahead of her.

      “We’re almost there!” she huffed and ran even faster. I glanced at her and picked up the pace. The border was only a hundred meters away, just beyond the pile of boulders and the dying spruce tree. A hundred meters before we were home free and towards Atlantis.

      “YA!” bellowed a strong sounding warrior. I heard my mother gasp and a brown horse suddenly materialized in front of me. I screeched to a halt, somersaulting over myself and stopping only a few feet from the beast. It neighed and stood on its two hind legs, kicking at the air in front of it with its front legs with massive head high in the air in wicked triumph. I gasped and staggered backwards in a sloppy crab walk, narrowly avoiding being crushed under the weight of the massive animal as in slammed its hooves down on the ground only a few inches away from my feet. My breathing came out in panicked breaths. My body trembled with fear as I looked up with scared eyes at the face of the rider. He smiled sinisterly and pulled out his hunting knife (it was more of a machete or a small sword), the shadows of the early morning concealing his identity.

      More horses with vicious-looking riders circled around us, trotting circles around us so we couldn’t escape without getting injured.

      “No,” breathed my mother in a terrified whisper. Her body began to tremble and she reached over for me and wrapped me in a protective hug. I hugged her back and squeezed tightly. Whatever their intent they weren’t going to separate us.

      “Aw, well isn’t that cute; mommy comin’ to her little boy’s rescue,” the first rider pointed his blade at us and laughed. “How sweet,”

      My mother stood up and pulled out a very lethal-looking dagger. I couldn’t help but stare at it and then my mother. I could hardly believe my mother would own such a horrible appearing weapon, or any weapon outside of a small knife.

      “Let us pass, Naoke!” she shouted in a tone so fierce I blinked in surprise. Naoke! That was the name of the Chieftain’s eldest son! He led most of the hunting parties that went out in search of big game and was one of the Pack’s toughest warriors, and the biggest jerk on the face of the Earth. He always ruined our food, stole our meat, soiled our furs (mine especially), and just made life hard for us in general. Often he would trip me or something while I was delivering everyone’s vegetables and then accuse me of being a clumsy idiot. I don’t hate very many people, but I can honestly say I despise Naoke.

      He only laughed at my mom’s command. Everyone else joined in, everyone except us. From the sounds of their laughter I had to guess it was a group Naoke’s friends (more like thugs), the ones that usually went on the hunting missions with him. If you want to talk out “dim witted” just go to Naoke and his pals, I’ve never met such a group of inane morons.

      “Where’re ya off to so early in the mornin’?” inquired Naoke, the venom in his tone palpable.

      “That is none your concern, now step aside,” demanded my mother. If didn’t know any better I’d think from the tone of her voice and the way she was looking at him I’d think she was preparing to use the dagger she was clutching.

      One Naoke’s friends knocked the dagger out of my mother’s hand with the butt of his spear in one rapid motion and out of her reach. It landed about ten feet away from her, stabbing into the ground outside the circle of horses.

Naoke smiled wickedly and his horse took a step forward. “Actually, it is my concern, and you two are coming with me,” he pointed his blade at my mother’s neck. “I’m sure my father would love to speak with you,”

My mother glared at him and then gasped and fell in an unconscious heap of blue fur on the ground. Sticking out of the back of her neck was a homemade sleeping dart.

“Mom!” I shouted and rushed to her. Something small pinched into the back of my neck. My eye lids suddenly felt unusually heavy and I felt very fatigue. The last thing I remember is reaching my mother and everything going black.

*****

      I groaned. My head hurt and my body ached and I felt unusually dizzy.

      “Mom?” I moaned into the darkness surrounding me. A stab of pain pierced my flesh and I gasped in agony and collapsed back down onto the ground.

      What’s happening...? I wondered. Where in the world was I? And where was my mother? Was she alright?

      A fly landed on my forehead and I move my hand to shoo it away, but for some strange reason my arms wouldn’t respond. I tugged harder but still nothing. I peeked over my shoulder to see what the matter was and realized my wrists were tightly tethered together by leather bindings. I tried to kick and realized it was the same case with them as well; the only difference was my leg bindings were tied to a short rope staked into the ground.

      My breathing quickened and my chest swelled with panic.

      What’s going on?

      I tried to sit up but something restricted me from doing so. A leather collar had been buckled around my throat also attached to a short rope that had been staked into the ground.

      “Help! Somebody help!” I cried with everything I had in me, but it only came out as a hoarse whisper. Tears streamed down my face as I struggled in vain to escape my shackles.

      No one came. I sat alone in the dark, agonizing sobs racked my painfully thin body.

      “Mom, help me...” I whispered, hoping desperately that she would come and rescue me from this horrible nightmare. That somebody, anybody would come for me to take me away from this place.

      “Someone...” I moaned pitifully, hot tears spill from my eyes and onto the dirt floor. “Anybody! Help me!!” I screamed my voice hoarse and painfully fraught and desperate.

      My only reply was the dark, cold, dead silence of my prison.

      I buried my face in the dirt and wept. It wasn’t but a few moments after that I heard the sound of a door opening and the sound of footsteps against stone echoing throughout the room. My ears perked and I looked up and I felt my heart soar. Light.

      I couldn’t help but smile and lifted my head out of the dirt and sat up as well as I could with the bindings. Stepping down from the light were two tall figures in red. They opened the barred door to my dank cell. I smiled hopefully at the pair. They loomed over me and my smile disappeared when I saw their faces. It was the warrior twins, Jack and Dagg. They were the Pack’s torturers. They often dragged prisoners to the chopping block to be beheaded or to punish those that had stepped out of line. Their favorite method was the whip.

      My once hopeful expression vanished and turned to one of dread. Jack kicked me hard in the stomach while Dagg grabbed by my hair and yanking me up, wrenching the stake out of the ground to use as a leash. I cried out in pain at the sudden kick and the unexpected jerk.

      “Oh, shut UP!” roared Jack and slammed his iron fist into my stomach. I gasped as the wind was knocked out of me and nearly fell over.

      “Come on! We need to get moving, grab him!” barked Dagg and yanked on my leash. Jack nodded and grabbed hold of my collar, pulling up the stony steps and closer to the light. I tripped and stumbled many times, and each time I was rewarded with a kick to the stomach or a blow to the face. I forced myself not to cry. Blood dripped from my nose and my eye swelled and my cheek throbbed. And I wasn’t even out of the cave yet.

      I stumbled up the stairs as best as I could, it wasn’t easy, seeing as how my legs were tied together and I was being driven at a difficult pace, but I was eventually blinded by the onslaught of light bombarding my eyes. My vision was blurred for a brief moment before it adjusted and I could see clearly. Sounds of angry shouts and raging roars pounded against my eardrums. I ducked down and my ears flattened and squeezed my eyes tight. But it didn’t matter. I opened my eyes and lifted my ears to the scenery around me, and I was both shocked and terrified by what I saw.

      I was back at camp. All around me were my former pack mates, all shouting curses and angry cries. Some of them even threw rocks and rotten food at me.

      I ducked my head in shame as tomato juice dripped down my face. Jack grabbed hold of my collar and I was dragged forward while Dagg yanked at my leash and shouted curses at me to move faster.

      I was led to the entrance to the camp and thrown onto the ground by the twins. I squinted and coiled up to shield myself from the sunset’s dazzling rays. A tall shadow loomed over me. I looked up with fresh tears streaming down my face.

      My heart skipped a beat. It was the Chieftain.

      “Tie him to the pole,” he ordered with his dark and ominous tone. Jack pulled me up by my collar and dragged me to the foot of a tall, wooden pole that served as a whipping post.

      I began to tremble as they threw me forward, forcing me onto my knees and started to tie my hands around the pole with my back against the post. Jack grabbed my collar and tied a rope to it and pulled back, hard. My head hit against the post as he tied the knot to secure my head to make sure I didn’t try to bite or escape or move. Dagg tied my legs to the pole and pulled tight to ensure I couldn’t escape, and finally he bound my tethered wrists to the pole with thick rope and tied the knot tight. I looked out at the crowd that loomed a good ten feet away from me, mocking and cursing at me, one of them spit and a big glob of saliva splattered in my face.

      I wanted to cry. I had never felt so low or so hated before in my entire life.

      “Good people, today we have gathered at the Pole to rid ourselves of this cursed malcaldah!” cried the Chieftain in a booming voice.

      The crowd cheered.

      I couldn’t look.

      “Today, we can finally rid ourselves of the curse that has walked among our people for fifteen long years!”

      More cheers and howls of joy and triumph rung throughout the crowd.

      “Before the sun sets on this day, this Pack will finally have purged itself of this unspeakable evil!”

      Tears leaked from my shut eyes.

      “We will finally be rid of this deformed freak! The pup with the twisted claw!”

      My eyes shot open and I stared at the Chieftain in confusion. What did my claw have to do with any of this? I thought I was being punished for trying to desert the Pack. The sound of the roaring crowd pounded in my ears, their cheers of joy tearing away at my insides.

      The Chieftain flicked his tail and Naoke stepped forward. My eyes widened in horror as his sinister grin grew. In his hand he held the same knife my mother had threatened me with. And it had fresh blood on it.

      “No...” I whispered, trembling in terror.

      “Where’s my mother?!” I demanded, my eyes filled with fear and my voice still hoarse.

      He smirked. “That traitor? She’s over there, waiting her turn,” he nodded towards the crowd and it parted. There was my mother, on her knees with her hands tethered behind her back and cerulean full of terror. Behind her was a very powerful-looking warrior with one knife pressed against her back and the other uncomfortably close to her throat. We locked eyes for a brief moment before Naoke punched me in the face.

      I coughed and drops of red liquid splattered onto the ground. My mouth tasted like blood,

      I looked up at him and he held the tip of his knife against my chin, forcing me to crane my neck upward. He laughed and punched me in the stomach. I coughed and again the ground was stained with drops of dark scarlet like roses sprinkled on a battlefield.

      He leaned into my face just as tears leaked from my eyes and dripped down my face.

      “Aw, what’s the matter? Does the little puppy have a boo-boo?” he mocked and punched me again in the face.

      Sobs racked my body as I looked up at him, blood dripping from my mouth. “Why are you doing this?”

      He grinned and grabbed hold of my chin. “Simple; you’re a malcaldah. A cursed freak that needs to be purged from the Pack,” he lifted his knife. “And until now I didn’t have the means to do so thanks to Pack Law, but now you’re mine,” he lashed out and grabbed my ear and pulled back, yanking it off and tossing its bloody remains behind him.

      I screamed in agony as the crowd screamed their approval and howled in delight at my torment.

      “NO!” screamed my mother, but I barely heard her. My head pounded, it was as if someone was using my brain as a celebration drum rejoicing in my execution.

      He tore off my ear. He tore off my ear.

      I stared at it, laying in a bloody clump of red fur, staining the ground. I wanted it back. A part of me wanted revenge.

      The Chieftain smiles at his son and drew his sword. My heart seized. I didn’t need to look at him to know what he was going to do.

      I witnesses in horror as his shadow lifted its shining sword over my shadow’s head, preparing to impale me with its silver tongue. I closed my eyes and my one ear flattened against my head, preparing for the inevitable.

      Excepting my fate.

      Just as the last drop of sunlight dipped behind the horizon I was a aware of a pinching sensation in the top of my head and everything went black and still.

Author's Note

I post these practice writings every two weeks. Let me know if you have any requests.

Reviews

[She With Eyes Like Unsh..]

Wow, I haven't been on here in AGES! But I just had to read some of your stories again. I remembered this one. It's still sad, haha!

[She With Eyes Like Unsh..]

Great job! It was really interesting, but why does the pack consider a twisted claw to be worthy of death? Just a question, because it wasn't clarified in the story.