be as you've always been
Epitaph He wasn't left waiting long, thank the sky. For the precious moments he had, before he was discovered, he had set to work cleaning some of the congealed blood from his fur. He heard heavy pawsteps approaching, and the scent of a female wafting towards him. The dense thicket changed the way scents and sounds travelled, with the shifting air currents. It wasn't until he heard a harried cry of ”Uncle Taphy!” that he found himself choking back a thick lump in his throat, and the tears welling in his eyes threatened to fall. That was very much the voice of a grown woman, but there was no way... He fought his exhaustion back to rise to his paws again, nosing his way through the foliage until he caught a flash of grey and alabaster. He couldn't push himself any faster, with his limp hind leg bogging him down in the close quarters. "I'm here," he rasped, keeping his voice as steady as he could. He should keep calm, there was no need to worry anyone further. Carefully, he picked his way ever closer. He knew who it was, deep down, but he couldn't make himself believe that he'd been away for so long. Finally, a break in the thicket, and he could see her. He pushed his way through, and he felt a pang of sorrow in his chest. There she was. "Poem," he breathed, a sad smile coming to play at his dark lips. Tattered auds tipped back to his skull, not quite flattened. He couldn't help taking a moment to look at her, and the woman she'd become. She was big, in more ways than one. He found himself tilting his chin up to see her face, and the way the soft markings of white and black from her girlhood had become defined and elegant in adulthood. He had missed out on so much of her life, and her sisters. They were young women now, and Poem was very clearly about to become a mother. "you've grown." was all the dark waif could muster up to say around the tightness in his throat, rasping vocals grown even more hoarse with emotion. He blinked back his tears. There would be time for those soon enough. |