The Little Mornings

Sure, she’d been a little aggressive, lately, and snapped a few times at Mortis when she didn’t mean to, but everyone had their bad days, right? So her birthday had been around the corner, fine, but it didn’t mean that her coming of age was. Some wolves got it later, after all. As it was, Mal was perfectly average in that department.

The unfortunate truth was that Malalia was still young enough for that “not like other girls” phase to rear its ugly head. She’d felt mildly confused, growing up and seeing the older females suddenly close in on themselves when they started to smell a certain way. Couple that with her mother’s matter-of-fact approach concerning the birds and the bees, and you got a young woman, wholly unprepared for the raging freight train that was her first season. She'd thought it would be a simple, natural bodily function, as easy as breathing, but... well.

Her eyes opened in the darkness of her den, squinting at the entirely new pain in her gut. Friggin' ouch. And the smell of her... gods, was it really that strong? The poor girl could only curl in on herself as yet another cramp rippled through, and silently begged forgiveness for the sin of ever thinking that this shit “wasn’t that bad”.

Mother Nature was probably laughing her ass off at her idea of a birthday present....

Malalia flopped over onto her belly, scrambled to her feet and emerged from her den, grateful for the breeze that ruffled her fur. Without even a cursory stretch, she bolted across the plains. It was slow going, but once she passed the border, a sense of relief took hold of her. No one had to see her like this, not until she could... get a hold of herself. The night wore on, the sky growing lighter as dawn approached, and she eventually found herself at the south bank. She paced the riverside, contemplating sinking down between the slippery stones to lower herself into the sluggish current... Mala really didn't want an ice bath, though. Plopping her rear on the shore, her eyes looked forlornly over the waters. Maybe she could just hide until it was over...