Soothe My Soul

Aslatiel lay on one of the larger platforms that her father had built for the barracks. The lower platform was under water as the tide had come barreling in. Soon it would be gone, but for now the small wolf was glad to be stuck out here alone. Already the depth of the water was sinking. It was a good thing that she was less afraid of water than she had been when she was younger, for she was thoroughly surrounded by it. Paws hung over the side of the platform and the girl looked down at the water that rocked gently back and forth with the churning of the oceans breath. She was upset and this place and predicament suited her just fine.

The child was feeling ugly. For quite some time now she'd been focused on the fact that her brothers were unique and pretty while she was ugly and boring. Mort had his wings and his vibrant blue against all of the black. Azure had his blue against brown and also had saber fangs and spurs. And Indigo... don't get her started on Indigo. Her amaranthine brother was breathtaking. He was easily the prettiest wolf that she'd ever seen.

For a time, Aslatiel believed that female wolves were simply supposed to be plain. Her mother was very plain, but at least she had horns. Aunt Iolaire was fairly plain. Io's mother was plain. Even her own mother's handmaiden was plain. Maybe that was just how it was supposed to be. And then her father had introduced her to Aerndis... and all of those beliefs came crashing down. The woman was stunning. It was as though the stars that Aslatiel loved so much had come down and blessed the woman by pressing themselves into her coat. It wasn't fair. She had tried her best to be nice to the woman even though she was terribly upset during their entire interaction.

It was one day later that Aslatiel had gone off on her own. Now here she was. There were tears in her eyes but she refused to let them fall. She knew that it was wrong of her to hate another for their looks, but inside she hated Aerndis for having the stars on her skin. She hated that the stars hadn't blessed her so. Instead, she was ugly and tan. Boring and ugly. Burying her face into her forelegs, Aslatiel breathed deeply, still trying not to cry.