Do you believe in Ice or Fire
Joe
06-05-2021, 10:03 PM
The brooding pup sighed, and looked out across the expanse beyond the pack. Just one step, one step and she would be in trouble, but the whole world would be open to her. Of course, she didn’t have to cast her mind back far to remember that creatures like sabercats lived just beyond those borders, too. Death, death waited out there for the foolhardy. Maybe that was why she wanted to cross it so badly, to prove she wasn’t afraid.
She sighed, shaking her head, and began to walk along the length of the border again, casting another quick glance out before turning to head back into the heart of her home. Only, what was that? She did a double take, turning her attention back, and squinting into the distance.
Just across the stream, where land hit swamplands, there was something white and dark lying against the shore. Was it some sort of weird debris? A strange shaped fish? Curiosity got the better of her, and with a quick glance back into Ashen lands, she border-hopped and trotted towards the stream. Plunging into the cold water with a shiver, she walked across the shallow river and to the other side.
The form was growing in detail before her, taking on the shape of a wolf as she approached. She felt sick in her stomach as she realised a dead wolf had washed ashore. She thought of calling for her pack, and then remembered her fathers cold eyes. No. She would bury him alone.
She reached the wolf, and placed a paw sadly against his cheek, looking down at his strange, exotic features and brushed at the funny shaped seaweed clinging to his face - only it wasn’t seaweed, it was antlers. She squinted at the pale blue adornaments on his face. They were almost the opposite of her own fire horns. Her heart felt even heavier as she finished patting his check, and… wait. She placed her paw back on his skin, surprised at the warmth of it. Surprised at the flutter of a heartbeat she felt beneath her fur.
But he wasn’t breathing, how could he be alive?
He must have swallowed too much water! She realised with a start. What could she do? How did she fix this? She thought of the stranger that she had been forced to kill because she couldn’t save him and tears welled in her eyes. No, not again! She roughly shoved his larger form to a better position to clear its airways, tilting his head back. She pried open his muzzle, and pushed a breath of air into it. Was she doing this right? Or was she supposed to block his nose first? She screwed up her muzzle in frustration as she tried to remember. Living on a little island, the pups had been taught cpr. She should have done a better job of listening. Wait, compressions! She scrambled to his side, and began pushing onto his chest, counting as she went. Once she hit a certain count, she breathed another breath into his mouth.
"Speech"
She sighed, shaking her head, and began to walk along the length of the border again, casting another quick glance out before turning to head back into the heart of her home. Only, what was that? She did a double take, turning her attention back, and squinting into the distance.
Just across the stream, where land hit swamplands, there was something white and dark lying against the shore. Was it some sort of weird debris? A strange shaped fish? Curiosity got the better of her, and with a quick glance back into Ashen lands, she border-hopped and trotted towards the stream. Plunging into the cold water with a shiver, she walked across the shallow river and to the other side.
The form was growing in detail before her, taking on the shape of a wolf as she approached. She felt sick in her stomach as she realised a dead wolf had washed ashore. She thought of calling for her pack, and then remembered her fathers cold eyes. No. She would bury him alone.
She reached the wolf, and placed a paw sadly against his cheek, looking down at his strange, exotic features and brushed at the funny shaped seaweed clinging to his face - only it wasn’t seaweed, it was antlers. She squinted at the pale blue adornaments on his face. They were almost the opposite of her own fire horns. Her heart felt even heavier as she finished patting his check, and… wait. She placed her paw back on his skin, surprised at the warmth of it. Surprised at the flutter of a heartbeat she felt beneath her fur.
But he wasn’t breathing, how could he be alive?
He must have swallowed too much water! She realised with a start. What could she do? How did she fix this? She thought of the stranger that she had been forced to kill because she couldn’t save him and tears welled in her eyes. No, not again! She roughly shoved his larger form to a better position to clear its airways, tilting his head back. She pried open his muzzle, and pushed a breath of air into it. Was she doing this right? Or was she supposed to block his nose first? She screwed up her muzzle in frustration as she tried to remember. Living on a little island, the pups had been taught cpr. She should have done a better job of listening. Wait, compressions! She scrambled to his side, and began pushing onto his chest, counting as she went. Once she hit a certain count, she breathed another breath into his mouth.