The Other Side
12-05-2013, 07:02 PM
| Cormalin |
|
Cormalin could see the mixture of awe and fear as the youngster stared at the fox?s cooling body, before he came to ask a question, looking up at Cormalin for confirmation. The Valhallan smiled gently. ?In a way.? He hoped it was true, dreaming forever after you died. If it was, then Akana was in a happy place, and he would find her when he too joined the earth. The pup shook himself of the remaining clumps of snow, stepping back to fully gaze up at Cormalin. Was I really that small, once? Cormalin wondered, gazing down at the pup as the little one gave a little grin, the exact look a pup held on his face when he might have snuck out from under his mother?s nose. Cormalin listened to the pup?s explanation, unable to repress the low chuckle at the child?s last few words. Out of his own litter, Erani had been the good pup. He, Anali, and Norik had been the real troublemakers, though as soon as his mentor, the Beta he would have taken the place of, had begun training him, his own maverick streak had died down. Erani, though, had always been the quiet one. The watcher, the listener. The stern one whenever he or their siblings cane back from play with scratches. He grinned down at the pup, tail returning the wag with two slow sweeps, tips of his fur dragging the dewclaw deep snow. Dewclaw deep to him at least. On this pup, it was up to the foreleg joint. ?I?m sure you are a wonderful pup.? And hopefully, he wouldn?t grow up to be yet another problem for Valhalla. Right now, this pup was like any other, innocent, sweet, and trusting. Malleable. The smallest things would have an impact on his future psyche and personality. In Valhalla, his surrounding would have molded him into a kind, generous wolf that loved his family and pack, yet wouldn?t hesitate to help a stranger, but he?d be unique enough to have his own quirks. Azalea, was an example of those quirks. Surreal, being the daughter of his sister, and his niece and pupil, was growing into a wonderful strong personality, with all the soft gentleness of a kind wolf. With one eager mind for learning. Cormalin gazed down at the pup before him, feeling a note of sadness creep into his heart. What other path was open to this little one but a path of hatred and condescending for Valhalla, with a father like his, who would, no doubt, teach his offspring that Valhallans were weak, and to be spit upon and disrespected? The pup?s question brought his mind back to the situation, and he chuckled. ?Yes. I think that?s big enough.? It was tempting to nose the pup playfully, as he would have with Surreal or his other nieces and nephews when they?d been this age, but he forced himself not to. The less of his scent that hung around the general populace, and the less they recalled of him, the more likely he?d become a background prop. Unmissed if he was suddenly gone. And he would be, at some point. He was old, as was Bronze. He wanted to die with his family and pack around him. He wanted to assure that Surreal took his place when he stepped down. And he wanted to see, hopefully, grandchildren. Cael and Imena were the most likely candidates for that little hope. The spar between those two reminded him of himself and Akana. He saw the adoration in the pup's expression, and wished that he could have seen that look in his own children's eyes at that age. He also knew there could be problems with this adoration. The pup would look for him is he vanished any time soon, and pups had a surprisingly strong memory for the things or wolves they liked. And to tell their mothers all about it. |
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