Getting by

Rudyard was sick of resting and waiting on his body to slowly heal.  He had started trying to spar again but he had a long way to go.  The missing toes and missing tail were throwing off his balance and he didn’t have the strength built back up for the stamina, strength, and quick turns in hunting.  Rudy was fighting an inner demon that had nothing to do with the recent sickness.  The haunting feeling of having been a victim, the realization he had been helpless in the end.  The nightmares that remained when the sickness ended and Rudy was just glad he didn’t share his den with anyone so they wouldn’t know.

He wanted to be useful again so even if he couldn’t take down deer or even rabbits then at least he could catch some fish.  The shimmering shore was a spot that had pleasant memories and only a rock’s kick away from the official pack line.  It was a surprise when he reached the beach he spotted another wolf a short ways off.  Who was this so close to his home.  Rudy didn’t go close to the wolf right away, quietly just watching her as she watched the horizon.  The motley wolf remained still for several minutes before moving towards her.  They weren’t that far from home even though she wasn’t on their turf.  Might as well see who it was.  Rudy paid attention to how he walked, focusing on making sure there was no sign of a limp or hesitancy to use one leg.  His paw was still sensitive to the touch on the ground, whether it was real or a phantom pain was unknown nor did it matter.

He was self-conscious of the lack of his tail, imagining how sad of a sight it looked.  Rudy had never realized how much he had cared about his appearance but now that there had been changes his mind imagined the entire world noticing.  His eyes flicked to the water even as he approached, watching for the sparkling scales dancing under the water’s surface.  He spotted the promise of food, at least he wouldn’t need to backtrack after meeting her.  The fish seemed in good supply today which had him wonder if they had also been affected for the temporarily-eternal night.  "Hello," he spoke up as he neared the stranger, "Can't say I've seen you around here before."

"Speech"