To Heal This Broken Heart

As night crept up across the lands, a single being roamed the orchid. She brushed past the dew covered bushes, shivering as the liquid soaked into her skin. With the arrival of winter, cold air chilled the night and blew harshly against her now damp fur. The wolf's head lifted, gazing into the endless sea of stars. She sent a silent prayer to Turpa, praying to the Goddess that spring would come quicker. Ekko longed for the warm spring nights where sleep would easily find her, instead of soaking through her medium length hair and right into her skin. She shuddered at the thought of it, her fur doubling in size as it stood on end to warm her up. Sleep was never her friend on these cold nights.

Ekko's pale blue eyes scanned across the horizon, all traces of the sun gone. The moon stood high in sky as she paused, her eyes roaming the place that she now called her home. A huff of breath turned to mist in front of her, her rump connecting with the land. She had wandered towards the orchid, away from the others to see if she could find rest. Maybe the calming colours would be able to soothe her into sleep. Thoughts of her pack brought her mind towards her Alpha. Her Mistress was a different one indeed, treated her much better than her last master had. She flinched at the memory, but refused to let it haunt her at the moment. Ekko would never be able to fully get rid of the experience, no it would certainly be with her forever. But from what she could tell, no one would harm her here. She felt safe, a feeling that had not made itself known for quite some time.

Wrapping her wiry tail around her paws, Ekko looked into the sky as she went over her encounter with the other wolves. Her mind lingered on what Beck had told her. "Don't hide yourself. Not for anyone," he had told her. What did he mean by that? Was it because she was constantly trying to hide her scar? Or was it the fact that she rarely talked? Whatever the cause, they still rattled around in her head. Beck had never said much to her, but he seemed to be a caring wolf. Maybe he was right, maybe she should stop trying to hide what had happened to her. It was rare that wolves would ask her where her scar came from, because of her position it was often assumed. Sighing, she realized that she didn't really have much to hide at all. She use to be so strong, so wise. What was hindering her now? No one but herself... She missed Beck, and she hoped that he got away from the fire that had torn through their homeland, that he was safe as she was now.

With the realization dawning on her, she knew that it was her who had given herself a stutter. She was so afraid, still scared that speaking was hard. She could have most likely train herself out of it, but a Goddess had blessed her by taking it away. It had been just about a year since the stutter had started, and she thought that it would be a hard curse to break. She was blessed by the Wolves in the Sky, they helped her get rid of it. But way was it that she was now just realizing that it was her own fault? She was strong, she had a tough heart beneath all those layers of hurt. Ekko was still the female she was born as, just hiding behind walls. She was afraid of getting hurt again, but who was here to hurt her? In these lands there was no one, no one! She was free; as free as a slave could be. Maybe it was time to stop lingering in the past, and take some steps towards the future...