Lo, There Do I See My Brother

Ricin does not expect Chade to be enthusiastic about talking to the moon and he is not disappointed. The look that the lighter hued boy gets reminds him so much of a look his father would often give the fanciful pup. Ricin had a penchant for coming up with strange, make-believe stories and their father always listened to them. The pup’s eyes would be bright with curiosity and wonder as he would weave his tales, adding voices and acting out parts. The entire time, his father would sit patiently, allowing the pup to build his story while giving Ricin that exact same smile. It is a mixture of skepticism and good humor, not patronizing or mean, just showing that he may not believe the tall tales but he is willing to allow Ricin the chance to try things out.

A pang of sadness hits the lighter boy as he looks at Chade and realizes just how much the darker pup reminds him of their father. When his brother glances to the sky and says hello to the moon, Ricin smiles at his brother, his strong, grounded brother that is growing into the wolf their father wanted them to be. Ricin allows Chade to ‘talk to the moon’ and then sit. His brother’s words cause the smile to as Chade’s little display adds another layer of their father to the darker pup. Words fail Ricin as he tries to think of how to tell Chade that their father would be proud of the darker pup.

After a moment of studying his brother, Ricin decides to tilt his head back and instead, look up at the moon. Folding his back legs and coming to rest on his haunches, the lighter pup ponders exactly what they are supposed to do to ‘talk’ to the moon. After a long moment, Ricin looks back down to his brother and shrugs his shoulders. Finally, he says, “Well… Auntie Vela didn’t offer any precise instructions other than, ‘talk to the moon’…” Another shrug of his light shoulders and cracks a lopsided grin before adding, “Maybe you offended her when…”

His voice trails off as something tickles his mind. It feels like a voice, like when Auntie Vela spoke to him without Chade hearing. Yet… the words are so soft he cannot make them out. Confusion furrows Ricin’s brows as his head once more tilts back to look directly at the moon. Something keeps trying to speak in his mind but the words are indistinct and light, like a gentle breeze on scorching day. Head still back, eyes on the moon, Ricin says, “Maybe we need to wake her up.”

With that, light colored eyelid close as he inhales deeply. Tilting his further back, ears pinned back, Ricin releases a long, low howl. In it, he pours his desire to speak with the moon, to hear her secrets and her stories. He continues to howl, hoping Chade will raise his voice with him and they can sing the moon awake. Perhaps their voices will rouse the sleeping goddess as they send up a plea to be heard. Ricin howls until he has no more breath to offer. Closing his mouth and lowering his head, Ricin opens his eyes and looks to his brother. A small smile appears as he says, “Now we wait.”

"Speech"