Admitting Failure
Suku comes to terms with the fact that he can't protect Suji alone.
09-20-2020, 07:07 PM
(This post was last modified: 09-22-2020, 11:12 PM by Suku.)
Dammit! No matter what way Suku turned, it seemed that the truth of his failure was there, staring him in the eye like a disturbed reflection of himself. Suji was sick, sicker than he'd seen her since they were pups, and this time no amount of rest was making it better. She was only getting worse, and he circled around her prone form lying in the shelter of the small rock outcropping they had found, pacing with nervous energy. She wouldn't get up to eat, and even when he managed to goad her into taking a few bites, she couldn't keep it down for more than a few hours. She was weak with fever, so weak that she couldn't even argue with him as she usually did - the lack of, 'I'm fine!' or 'Stop worrying about me!' made the makeshift shelter feel empty and quiet. There was just the sound of her shallow breaths as she slept, and the almost distant calls of birds and the occasional wildlife. The worst part was, Suku didn't even know where he'd gone wrong. They hadn't been caught in the rain, nor had they come upon any strangers on their way recently, and so it was hard to imagine those were the causes of her illness. Suji had always gotten sick easily, sometimes for no perceivable reason at all, but usually when she got as sick as this, it was because something had happened to exacerbate the illness. There was nothing like that now, no possible failure on his part to keep her safe this time. And even if she - no, when she recovered, if it happened once there was always a chance it could happen again. Did this mean there was nothing more he could do to protect her? That she would simply get worse and worse, no matter what he did? He feared more than ever that this was the end of his precious sister. NO! He would not - could not - let it happen. He'd promised Suji they'd be together forever and ever and ever, and he wasn't about to go back on his word now. The other day, they'd stumbled upon a scent border of a pack in the region. At the time, they'd turned around and left to avoid a confrontation, but a pack could be useful now. Packs had healers more experienced than Suku was, for he'd never had a good teacher to show him the ways of medicine, and barely even knew that herbs could be used to treat illnesses, beyond fuzzy puppy-hood memories of the family friend they'd visited who told them of Suji's condition and gave her strange plants to make her feel better. But he'd seen pack wolves with severe injuries return to the battlefield much faster than he thought possible, for although he tried to avoid fighting whenever possible to protect Suji, he'd witnessed quite a few from the protection of shadows and dense foliage. It was only a natural assumption that they must have some sort of healing abilities that Suku himself did not possess. So he had only one choice. He'd have to leave Suji here - as much as it pained him, she was unfit to travel. And besides, it was too dangerous when he didn't know how the alpha would respond to his plea. He'd travel to the pack border as quick as he could and request an audience with the alpha, and hopefully return with help soon. He halted in his pacing and circled around back the few paces to where Suji lay, nudging her with his stout muzzle along her shoulder. He thought she stirred slightly, but he wasn't sure if that was just baseless optimism or if she had actually moved. He exhaled softly and spoke warmly to her, "I'm going to get you some help. I won't be long, I promise." He wasn't sure if she was awake enough to hear him, but if she wasn't then it was unlikely she'd wake anytime soon on her own, anyway. He gave her one last lick on the cheek before turning around and setting off at top speed for where he remembered the border to be. They hadn't traveled far since then, especially after Suji had gotten ill, so it wasn't long before he began to scent the smell of pack-wolves floating in the air. He slowed down to a loping trot, panting for breath but refusing to stop and rest. He continued on at that slower pace until he could make a clear distinction between the unclaimed territories he now resided on and the border of the pack territory. He stopped then, a few paces from the border, and allowed himself a few moments to catch his breath before lifting his voice to the sky in a deep, keening howl that spoke of his request for urgent aid. When he was finished, he sat back on his haunches and waited, although it was not long before his distress had him pacing the edge of the border nervously, his wary gaze watching the surrounding trees with a sense of anxiety. He did not know anything of this pack, least of all their willingness to provide aid to a stranger. He could just as easily be attacked for daring to request such a thing, and who would protect his sister then? |
Suku is almost always with his sister, Suji.
Current time: 11-03-2024, 06:43 PM
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