Tic Tock [ All Welcome ]
02-22-2019, 05:33 PM
TAKTUQ
the only disability in life is a bad attitude
the only disability in life is a bad attitude
The air here was cold. Taktuq hated the cold despite being born into it. His earliest memories were that of ice and hunger. And now that same frigidness in the air, Winter as the Outsiders called it, was back again. The young wolf walked down the old path with his nose practically dragging on the ground in the dung and mud. Outsiders, his mother told him. Not like us. Taktuq’s chest heaved suddenly, causing his wet nose to plunge into the muck of the well-used trail. He rubbed his face against his leg, pressing the grime into his thin fur. Taktuq didn’t know if his loneliness or the wind was to blame for the shivers that racked his small frame.
You might as well be one of them. Your mind is of fog. She had sneered as he spasmed in the dirt before her. Her disdain seemed amplified by her lack of one eye and her cleft palate. Perhaps they will find more use of you than us. Taktuq’s eyes burned as his mother’s voice flooded his brain. The stinging traveled up to his ears as they pressed tightly against his head and then sprung forward on their own accord. He was not they, nor us. He did not belong. Taktuq had not yet found a way to cope with his exile and alienation. Akna was all he knew. He had never met an Outsider. He did not belong to either side.
Tears dribbled down his muzzle. Mama, I want to come home. He thought helplessly. A loud grumble filled the young wolf’s ears and Taktuq sighed softly. His belly clenched painfully, causing his ratty tail to gently tuck between his legs to rest against his sunken paunch. Raising his head and momentarily clearing his thoughts, Taktuq carefully gauged the forest he stumbled upon. Surrounding him were deeply rooted maple trees that seemed to thin in the distance. A clearing? Picking up his paws, Taktuq’s thin legs carried his scrawny body onwards. Soon enough he reached a meadow, the grass an ugly brown. Small patches of snow collected in the shadows of the trees along the perimeter.
The wolf lifted his head and inhaled deeply, squinting into the overcast clouds. He focused on identifying the scents that invaded his nostrils; mud, rain, moss, voles. Taktuq’s belly grumbled again at the thought of crunching on the small rodents. Perhaps he could try to catch one. Melted snow - or was it rain? - suddenly seeped from the leaves above and landed squarely between his shoulders. The cold bite caused his back to hump aggressively and Taktuq struggled to reach the trunk of a nearby tree to hold himself up while his body spasmed. The young wolf collapsed against the bark and twitched for several minutes. His mind relapsed with images of his family and fresh tears sprung to his eyes as his muscles calmed. The sickly wolf covered his face with his paws and softly sobbed to himself, grieving the loss of both his family and his god. Perhaps he wasn’t very hungry after all.