Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

ORWYND
everyone who isn't me is an enemy

The air was sharp under the midday sun. With every deep breath, the frigidness stung the wolf’s throat as he sought out the scent of ptarmigan. He had seen the little bastards scatter at the sight of him atop the neighboring hill and now his belly rumbled in a haunting song. The wolf will feed today. Orwynd followed both the tangy earthy scent of the birds and their footprints in the snow until they lead him to a massive shape deeply embedded in the ice. The male stopped and squinted against the reflection of metal and blindingly white snow. A human creation. He knew of stories of the two-legged creatures but had never come across a structure as big as the one before him.

Weak. Orwynd thought as he approached the ship. Surely they had to be weak beings to have been wiped out from these lands with nothing but decaying erections of stone and rust. Hieroglyphics and tombs of what once was. Wolves rightly ruled now, and while Orwynd often rejected structure and law, he could agree with the notion. The massive craft dwarfed the wolf as he neared, and his neck ached as he craned his head to take in the sheer size of it. At least here the ship blocked out the radiant sun.

Orwynd peered into the snow and quickly realized he was not alone. The prey in which he hunted has passed here, their footprints disappearing into a small rift in the ship’s hull. Smart, the wolf mused as he approached. Utilizing the seemingly impenetrable walling of the craft was canny, but that meant there was only one way in and one way out. The wolf promptly pushed his head into the small dark opening and was greeted with an abandoned nest. Orwynd groaned. He would have to search elsewhere for the birds. Taking a step back, the wolf moved to pull his head out and found himself caught. “What the fuck?” He grunted aloud. He planted his feet firmly and yanked back, but his head did not budge. A surge of both annoyance and panic surged up his throat and erupted from his lips in a moan. Orwynd would continue to try to pry his head out from the hole, hoping by some miracle he could free himself before someone stumbled upon the embarrassing sight.