What We Do in the Shallows

Thus far, Sephiran had found that leaving the comfort of his home to travel alone wasn’t so intolerable after all. It was a hard adjustment at first, given that he had grown accustomed to having his every desire fulfilled within a moment's notice. But, given his age, it was time for the teenage Saxe to venture into the unknown to make a name for himself. Only a month prior, he had separated himself from his immediate family and had spent the last season training with his father, having only one goal in mind for his future. On the most lonesome nights, when he was lost in the silence of his mind, he often remembered his father’s words, which fed his appetite for chaos and tyranny. You will become a king, whether it be over my kingdom, or one you forge on your own. There was nothing more Sephiran wanted in this world than to exceed the expectations that had been cast over him.

These thoughts weighed heavily within his mind as he walked along the shore of the nearly deserted beach. He had been drawn here by the scent of a rotting carcass, which was intertwined with notes of sea salt and fish that radiated from the sea life that flourished here. Thick saliva that created strings as it dripped from his jowls had already collected inside of his jaws, as he could almost taste the flesh of what he assumed was a deceased seal. Of course, he would have preferred to slaughter the mammal himself, but he couldn’t be so picky given his circumstances. Playing the role of a vulture would have to do for today.

The scent was nearly intoxicating as he finally stood atop the last sea dune that had separated himself from the carcass. And, what he saw several yards below him, made his stomach churn with disgust. A red fox, who was gnawing ravenously on the blubber of a seal, had beaten him to his meal. He didn’t even ponder his actions, nor did he hear the guttural snarl that erupted from his gaping jaws. He was sprinting down the small dune side, charging full force at the smaller canine, who barked a warning before bristling its pelt and rushing away in the opposite direction. Which, unbeknownst to Sephiran, was the same direction in which another wolf was swimming within the ocean’s waves. He didn’t even notice the she-wolf as he rushed passed her just as she broke the ocean’s surface and was shaking the water off her pelt. He was too consumed by the heat of the chase as he snapped at the fox's hind limb, slicing into its hock and causing it to tumble into the sand.


”Speech”