Tic Tock [ All Welcome ]

Taktuq’s spine tensed and his fur bristled as he wept. The gravity of his situation weighed so heavy in his chest he felt as though the ground would swallow him whole any second. His heart howled for his family, for the All-Mother, for his mother. While Nini had stripped him of his faith and pack, he still longed to bury himself in the comfort of her belly and inhale the scent that had consoled him his entire life.

The wolf took a trembling deep breath, hoping by some miracle that he would smell his mother. Mice, dead berry bushes, mud, and the sickeningly sweet stench of rotten leaves. The unfamiliar scents did nothing but add to his distress.This did not smell like home. Taktuq’s paws began to tremble and he quickly tucked them underneath himself to stop their motions. His head dropped heavily to the ground, exhausted, defeated. Taktuq focused on the scent of his fur, the only thing that reminded him of home. However, the scent of himself was overridden by another. Wolf.

Taktuq’s heart stopped. He could see it. It was walking towards him. The young wolf’s vision blurred as his adrenaline burned through his veins and clouded his sight. His body began to tremble. He had never seen an Outsider, never spoken to one. They looked so...normal. And it terrified him. Normal was impure, the creature nearing was not blessed by the All-Mother. Neither were you. His mother’s voice scolded him. He shook feverishly the closer the wolf got and when she spoke he backpedaled so violently that he felt a sharp twinge of pain through his legs as they twisted unnaturally in his effort to put distance between himself and the stranger.

He couldn’t hear. The deafening ringing in his head became unbearable and he squeezed his eyes in pain. “Pl-ple-please.” His voice was so soft he couldn’t tell if he actually spoke. “Please don’t.” Don’t what? Don’t touch him? Don’t hurt him? Would death be easier than exile? Taktuq’s ears flattened against his skull and then sprung forward. They repeated this action for several seconds before the young wolf forced his eyes open to look at female wolf. Taktuq curled into himself in a blatant act of submission. He wanted to cast his gaze to the ground but was both marveled and terrified of the beast standing several yards away. He couldn’t bring himself to look away. “Please don’t hurt me.” The male managed to say in a voice barely above a whisper.