Call me Immortal

Night hangs overhead, stars studding the sky and the darkness feels like a thick, stifling blanket hanging over the pup’s head tonight. Jack shifts from side to side, trying to stave off the chill in the winter air while keeping his gaze locked on the body in the boat. Pyralis had been a friend in the way that older wolves often find friends in the younger pups. If she had considered him such, the patchwork pup will never know. That, and all her secrets of what had happened, lay dead in the boat along with her empty shell.

A shiver races along the pup’s spine and he wonders if it is from the cold or the fact that she is so… still. Even with her advanced age, she had been able to keep up with the youngsters and it seemed few and far between (if any) that he saw her sitting still. A small sigh rolls out into the chilly air, the pup holding tight to the bottle of liquor his mother had given him for the funeral ahead. The torches flicker and dance with cold the breeze, sending shadows to dance across the beach. Yet she remained unmoving.

Death is not a foreign concept to Calico; he and Nico had hunted together and he knows the exact moment when life leaves a creature’s body. Foolishly, the pup had never thought that it would come knocking for one of them and never so soon. His mother finishes her speech and the area grows quiet for a moment, a lull as everyone waited for the next wolf to speak up. Eyes lock on the body that will never move again, the pup speaks up, saying, “Pyralis was old but still had life. I will never forget her. She was my friend and I hope she finds peace on her new journey.”

It is short, maybe sweet, but more than that, it is the truth. Lifting the small bottle, he was holding between his toes, Jack takes a long slug before following Sparrow’s example and pouring the rest over Pyralis. Once finished, he allows the others to do the same before the boat was gently pushed out into the tide. He moves to the water’s edge, allowing the waves to brush over his toes as he watches Pyralis boat drifting further out and he knows that she is leaving his life. When the boat began to lick with flames, Calico Jack tipped his back and howled a sad, soulful tune one last for his friend.

His mother returned and the party started, the pup quickly to assemble near the food and pile a plate high with steaming meats. There will be stories told, of the dead woman and the fun times that each wolf had and Jack will have a few to add to the mix. Laughter will do them all some good.


"Calico Jack"

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