Don't Cry Snowman

Things had been quiet lately, peaceful, he assured himself, but a sense of foreboding always seemed to hang over him. He blamed his mother for it, for poisoning his mind, or perhaps cursing him with whatever demons had lingered after her coupling with his father. His mind wandered to how frail and weak she had looked and quickly pushed the thought away. He wouldn’t think about it. She had sealed her own fate.

He trudged through the shrine, stopping once to watch the puffy flakes as they drifted from the sky, his eyes focusing on his nose as a single fleck came to rest on his snout. He sneezed and shook his head before carrying on. His ears lifted, catching the distinct sounds of a child at play and couldn’t help but smile. His own children were swiftly growing but where nowhere near old enough to leave his den or their mother’s side. He may not have had the best opinion of Hannibal or Thys, or really just Hannibal, but children were innocent, and these cubs had no say in their sire or dam.

He watched the pup frolic for a time before moving closer, his head low and his eyes wide and welcoming. “A future infantry officer I see.” He said with a slight chuckle, the end of his tail raised in a slight curl. The boy was the same one he had noticed carried his mothers unnaturally long tail on the day of his birth. He had coiled the appendage around his neck in a way that Tyranis had to admit was resourceful. Distantly he played with the idea of mimicking the concept with a fox pelt to keep his neck and nose warm.