Steel had never expected this moment -- he'd never been prepared for it. His parents' age had been the elephant in the room, a topic that was rarely discussed and yet always present, lurking in the back of his mind. It'd be there since he'd first been introduced to the concepts of mortality, since learning that he had siblings far older than himself, and since learning that one of them had died when he'd been just a child. But still this moment gripped him by surprise, stunning him into a dazed silence as he wandered, his head spinning with confusion and rage and unfathomable sadness.
Even the night sky above could not steal his attention. The night was dark, though the billions of stars that twinkled and shone seemed to cast a great light over the plains; it was not difficult to see where he was going and it was with a desperate sort of hurry that he moved, as though he might somehow escape the pain that had suddenly found him. Though his crimson eyes were wide, his cheeks stained with tears, he saw little more than his own two paws as he trudged on. Two hundred and eight, two hundred and nine..., counting his pawsteps as though he might somehow forget how to return to the den he had come from if he did not pay close attention.
The boy hardly noticed he had encroached on the space of another until he heard a voice, feminine and delicate, though the words she spoke were foreign to his ears. Quickly his frantic pace slowed to a halt, the fur on the ridge of his back bristling at her sudden, and admittedly unwanted presence. "What do you want?" came his sharp inquiry, his voice small and quivering with emotion that he didn't have the energy to hide. Though she didn't seem threatening, he noticed quickly as he turned his head to eye her, though he realized suddenly in his panic that he had lost count of his steps. This realization only made him more agitated and he found himself quivering as he watched her, at a loss -- where was he going? What was he supposed to do now?
|
