What Wonders The Night Holds

The sight of so many hermit crabs scurrying about under the moonlight has Strix completely enthralled, his mismatched watch the creatures with wide wonder. He does not notice that there is another nearby, a fact that his father, Chimera, would undoubtedly have reprimanded him for… if he knew. However, his sire is not here and the boy of clouded gray and black is fully enjoying the time away from his family. Suddenly, a loud yelp cuts through the air, startling the young boy and causing him to snap his head toward the source of the noise.

Instinct kicks in, making his hackles raise and lips pull back to reveal his deadly teeth… until his eyes land on the wolf that had made the sound. Mismatched eyes blink owlishly as Strix sees a wolf, not much older than himself, bathed in the colors of sand and autumn leaves. On their paw dangles one of the red creatures and the boy gives a sharp bark, in an effort to get the angry thing to release the wolf’s paw. Legs carry him up to the wolf in trouble, the small boy saying, “Oh my gosh. Okay, let me see if I can get it off.”

The bark did nothing to make the crab release its grip and, in the span of the few seconds it took for Strix to see the hurting wolf and make it over to them, the thing seems in no hurry to let go. Mismatched eyes look at the crab and up to the wolf, the small boy, never having seen one, is uncertain how to proceed. It seems to be hanging on by sort of claw and Strix looks to the stranger with wide, worried eyes. The boy has no clue how to handle the creature so he says, “Hold still! I’ll try to hit it!” He lifts a black paw, aiming to smack at the red crustacean while, hopefully, avoiding the wounded wolf in the process… hopefully.


"Strix Klein"