A New Friend

The sun beat down on the small grey figure, his fur felt uncomfortably hot, paw pads felt like they were burning, mouth dry. He had been walking for...well, he couldn't tell really. All he knew was that the sun was relentless today. Or perhaps for the whole summer...he wasn't sure. He wasn't from these parts, and most of the time he didn't know how hot it could get outside...though he had been through worse. Locked up in a dark den with nothing but the silence, the beating of his own heart, and the desolate despair that always clenched his heart. When he was locked up during the summer, heat would be trapped in with him, and the earth would heat up, making it feel as if he would cook alive sometimes. When he was finally let out after god knew how long, he would do whatever he could to stay out of the way of his parents, and be as obedient as he could...but it was never enough. They would always find an excuse to punish him...each punishment different, sometimes worst then the last. When he was locked up during the winter, or forced to sleep outside in the snow and ice, he had at times, almost never woken up. The cold practically freezing him over and nearly stopping his heart. How he had survived such miserable conditions, was beyond him. He didn't understand why he was made to suffer in such a way...why the Gods above would let such things happen to him, or why they didn't just let him die. But each time he was close to that realm of darkness, he was brought back to push on and endure.

At some point, he had escaped from that life and went on the run. In the dark of night, he had made his escape. He knew his parents would come looking for him...unless they found his dead body, they would hunt him until they found him just to bring him back into that life of misery. He couldn't take it anymore. He refused to return to that life again...it was something no wolf should ever go through. He wouldn't wish it on his worst enemies!

Paws stopped on the hard baked ground. He looked up, ears half perked with weariness as he saw a body of water in front of him. He had little strength to even wag his tail at the pleasure of finding some kind of salvation. Slowly, he made his way to the water and stepped into it. His small and ragged pitiful body barely making a ripple on the surface. He lowered his small head, his tongue breaking the surface of the clear water. After a couple laps, it felt cool in his throat, and so began to drink greedily. He couldn't remember the last time he had drunk anything fresh. Or eaten anything fresh for that matter...he couldn't hunt, didn't know how to. So he would scavenge remains from others, and drink from silted puddles that he would find, afraid of being out in the open for fear his old pack was looking for him. After several minutes of nonstop drinking, he raised his head and sighed a little. Water dropped onto his forelegs as he looked around hesitantly for a place where he could cool off. Just a few yards away, there was a fallen log that was resting halfway on top of a rock that jutted out from the ground. He wandered over and went under, laying his body down and resting his head on his small paws. His dull eyes roamed the surface of the lake. He could see other wolves on the other side, and he hoped they didn't see him. He sighed, the damp floor cooling his body, his tail tip touching the very edge of the water as it lazily rippled with the warm breeze. Why couldn't the world be as peaceful as it was now?