Trying To Find The Words

The contact with her was a wonderful, precious thing.  His tail did a slow swaying wag being sure to lock this precious memory in his mind.  Likewise locked in was her voice, the pitch the words, nothing could be forgotten.  Rudy backed up reluctantly as mom pushed them back.  The moment in time gone and once more seeing her as she was instead of his memories view.  Did he even want to remember her like this?  That was a thing to be torn on.  

Their birthday?  Rudy had remembered it at times when traveling in a sort of bitter fashion but certainly, it hadn’t been on his mind for the hear and now.  Mom had remembered it though.  Even with her memory, a mess, even with all the horrible things she was going through mom had thought of their birthday.

Rudy was in shock as she mentioned the presents and turned his attention to them.  Mom’s bracers?  While new ones would have been fine this was so much better.  Rudy would have something that had been mom’s to clutch onto.  The grey-motley wolf chastised himself for feeling so clutchy but how could he not with the current atmosphere?  

He made his way over to the bracers looking at them with rapt attention, only turning his gaze away to see Art get his sword.  A memory struck Rudy of them searching for a great stick in the woods that he could use for a sword.  They had been small, naïve and so happy back then. Shaking his head he put a paw on the bracers, just touching it for a moment.  With a deep inhale of breath to collect himself the boy put on the bracers before turning to look at his mom.

Rudy took a few steps nearer but didn’t move in for a hug this time, he’d let Art have his moment first.  “So, what do you think?  They feel great.” The boy managed to sound chipper even as his heartfelt heavy, Rudy was good at fake cheer after all.  He gave Art to a count of ten before Rudy went over to push his own muzzle into mom’s cheek, gently just rubbing his forehead against her.

Rudyard Carpathius