the times are a-changin

Fall Reflection: solo
word count: 809

Ruin wandered away from the hustle and bustle of her pack and found herself in the company of fast flowing water. It hissed in her ears as she settled atop a rock that was far larger than herself and curled her fluffy tail around her flank to ward off the chilly breeze that ruffled her coat.

Spring, then summer and now autumn. Abaven was changing and Ruin wasn't yet certain of whether it was for the better. On one paw she loved that she had new lands to that she was free to explore, that they were deemed as safe and thus she could come and go as she pleased. But on the other she was starting to resent that she needed permission at all. It was an amazingly impressive show of self restraint that she'd only snuck out twice but even with the changes of scenery Ruin still found herself struggling, wanting more that what Abaven could- or seemed willing to-provide. It was a strange line of thought, more than a simple case of a pup with itchy paws and poor impulse control. But that seemed a given, since that Ruin just wasn't content to sit around and play happy family. She loved Abaven and the wolves that called it home, that couldn't be understated, but this peace and quiet just wasn't her scene. Even puppy mischief didn't shake things up enough to suit her tastes. She wanted more more more.

Well maybe it wasn't Abaven that was changing, perhaps it was her.

She was growing, changing, developing right under her very nose. Except that Ruin didn't feel any bigger. She glanced down at her paws, from the darkness of her front to the white of her back. She was still soft and pudgy with puppy fat, but still so tiny. It had dawned on her some time ago that try as she might she'd never grow to be as tall as either one of her brothers; the only saving grace being that Suspense was smaller than her still. The thought that she'd take after her mother came as no surprise to Ruin and yet again she found herself dwelling on the ways she could take full advantage of what she had. Of what needed to be done, to itch her scratches.

If things in Abaven bored her then what was stopping her from doing as she pleased? Her respect for her parents ran only so deep and Ruin was not a people-pleaser in any sense of the word. She felt a little stupid actually, that she'd spent so long playing along, that all of her schemes and plots thus far had been small-time at best and unnoticeable at worst. She grimaced. Looking back she recalled a lot of happy memories, fun times wrestling and playing with her siblings, so it wasn't as though she was unhappy with her lot in life. Just unfulfilled in a way that really counted to her, like she'd been missing out. So what if she got in trouble? At worst she'd been grounded and even then that would never be enough, nothing could deter her from her true nature. That much was obvious to her now.

It was a lot to take in and her expression remained remarkably blank as her mismatched lingered on the rush of the rapids. There was a lot she could to do make things better, nothing was a lost cause just yet. The vast potential of it was too much though, the horizon was so broad and Ruin wasn't sure where to begin. The light bulb moment had come naturally to her but what came after was far more complex, a long road that stretched ahead with many branching paths to take. It was a good thing then that Ruin was a thinker, a schemer and a plotter. If anyone could press the advantage after such a revelation then it would be her, for sure.

Ruin climbed to her paws and looked to the sky, Lyre was circling overhead and she grinned at the thought of dragging him into this. He had chosen her, thus he was her accomplice whether he liked it or not. Though maybe it was time that she get another friend, another ally to draw into the fold. To be one of us. She knew if she asked her Dad reeaaal nicely he wouldn't say no, that he'd probably see it as a good thing, that he wouldn't think to look at the storm looming on the horizon. She clambered down from her perch and took one last look at the rapids, watched the flow of water spit and crash against the rocks where the river thinned. One misstep could an unsuspecting wolf's doom and Ruin wanted to follow suit; to be a menace no one saw coming.

Ruin would earn her name.