You Look So Worn So Thin

His stomach cramped painfully as he ate, aching as it was filled after being empty for so long. He chewed on the berries his mother had brought and winced at the sour taste before swallowing. It would take time for them to work but he took solace in knowing they eventually would.

All around him there was clamor that barely scratched the surface of his consciousness. Amid the frantic voice of his brother and the soothing but wavering hum of his mother he croaked an answer to a question no one had asked, but an answer that was owed to them nonetheless.

“I…Had to…” His voice was barely a whisper and his fading mind was far too occupied trying to align his own thoughts to tell if they had noticed.

“I needed to know…who I am…” His chest heaved and he momentarily needed to rest his head on his paws. He felt like he was going to vomit and he was unable to suppress a bodily heave, his jaws flailing; it had all been too much. For a brief moment he lapsed into sleep then wearily lifted his head again to eat, his mind layered with a fresh fog of grogginess. He doubted he could muster the strength to speak again, but he could feel the effect of the berries beginning to work, and quietly began to eat again.