Loneliness

Clove couldn’t help but smile when Art rubbed her head with his paw, showering her in fatherly love and affection. She used his shoulder as a pillow, basking in the comfort she felt in her father’s presence. He was a pillar of strength, a source of knowledge, and a testament of strength- Clove looked up to him with every fiber of her being.

With a nod and a soft sigh, Clove feels some of her anxiety start to melt away. “Okay, Tati. And I will do my best to stay away from those wolves.” She says, trusting her father wholly; if he said the Syndicate was far away and would never lay a paw on her or her family, she believed him. In Clove’s mind, there could never be a world where her father wasn’t there to protect her - sure, it was unrealistic, because Tati couldn’t live forever - but those thoughts never occurred in her mind. Tati would always be there. He would shield her from the darkness of the world, and he would keep their family safe. Clove wholeheartedly believed that.

A short spell of silence settled between them, and Clove took that moment to look out across the ocean, watching the last beams of sunlight disappear beyond the horizon. She already felt better having told Tati about her feelings. But being the devout father he was, Art was thinking of solutions to Clove’s loneliness.

She hardly noticed the ravens circling the castle’s spires, but Tati certainly did. He asked if she was good with animals, and Clove looked up at him with sparkling, curious eyes. “I… I think so! I still have the lizard I caught with Mama.” She says, memories of her first hunting adventure coming to mind. “An extra special job?” She’s even more curious now. “What is it?” Her tail thumped against the ground, her smile widening as she looked up at her father.

"Clove Carpathius"