Your Inheritance

Freedom was exhausting. There was a big wide open world to see and explore, and yet Vanta could not properly see it no matter how hard she tried. The light of day was excruciatingly painful and made navigating difficult beyond belief, but that was when the pack was active. Nothing was the same when she barreled down the steps into the valley at dusk - voices were more hushed and less animated, the pawsteps she had come to recognize were far and few between. The atmosphere changed so drastically, leaving Vanta always wondering. She wanted to see the light of day, and not in a way that was blinding.

She was not the only child of her litter to be born a bit different and had found comradery in her sister who shared her disability. Kite had chosen to have a sort of blindfold made to protect her eyes, seeming to embrace the struggle easier than Vanta could manage to. She did not want to hide her eyes, she wanted to adapt to the disability and overcome it. Though it was easier said than done. It had seemed as well that karma had blessed the other blind girl, gifting her a companion that had found it’s way into their den and chosen Kite as her own. Why hadn’t a friendly cat chosen her?. It wasn’t fair - and the whispers that reached her of her older brother’s opinion of her only solidified that the reason she hadn’t been chosen in that way was because she was undeserving. Wallowing in her self-pity while Kite was embracing her differences.

Her mother’s call rang out gently through the Col and Vanta wormed her way out from the pile of sleeping puppies to answer. Making her way carefully down the steep slope and toward the obelisk, squinting against the firelight and positioning herself so it was at her back and not impeding her vision too poorly. “Yes, mama?”