Bittersweet

The Tar Pits stir memories from painful times that came before and Enki is reminded of just how far he has actually come in life. One large pool, bubbles ominously in the center of the land while several smaller ones, made of that same natural asphalt, pockmark the open areas around it. There are some safe pathways across the pools made by rocks jut up through the black, vicious liquid to offer themselves paw holds for those bold enough to try crossing.

However, the more he scans, Enki realizes that some of those ‘safe rocks’ glisten in the wintery light and he knows that the bubbling liquid around the stones have popped and splashed across the porous surfaces, leaving them slippery. If a wolf were to try and traverse those specific areas, well, they would be lost to the perils of the pits, their bones just another set added to the unnumbered dead dating back to times long before this one. Eyes draw up to the jagged walls that cut this land off from the rest of the world acting as a natural deterrent to try and preserve the lives who those who might seek to try and conquer the pits.

Enki is lost in his own silent musing and so, misses the approach of the small pup until she speaks. Eyes widen as he jumps slightly up and to the side (luckily there are no pools directly beside them), hackles raising momentarily before falling back as he finds that the voice belongs to a wayward pup that stands beside him. Blinking, he realizes that she is part of Insomnia, from the family that had mostly gone missing and he frowns, realizing that she had wandered away from the pack’s lands to a potentially hazardous place on her own.

Her question lifts one brow as he blows out a breath and softly says, “You shouldn’t be out here alone. This place is extremely dangerous.” The question she poses has Enki’s blue eyes slowly moving out to watch the dark swirling pools not that far from them and he knows that this mysterious land is enticing to any who wish to know secrets. Watching the familiar pools that had been his home for some time, he says, “Well, believe it or not, those pools are filled with a dark, sticky liquid called asphalt. If an animal falls in, that liquid coats them and makes it so that they cannot get out. Basically, whoever falls in would die.”

Was this too morbid a subject for the girl? Enki isn’t entirely certain but he knows it is important for her to understand the dangers of these pools.


"Enki Klein"

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