Sex: Male
- @Borlla :3
The exasperation in his sigh was enough to melt the powder around him.
His face was planted in the snow. Again
Awkwardly, he pulled his left leg out from under his body and set it in front of him. With a heave, the snowy boy rocked forward onto his only useful front leg. A small frown tightened what was usually a good looking face as the boy stared out across what, for a normal wolf, would have been a short stretch of snow separating them from the the river. But to Kyros is was a vast plain of frost that was proving to be impenetrable. Everyone was whispering that the snows had come early this year. They seemed frightened. Kyros could see why: it was nearly impossible to get anywhere when all this white stuff was brushing against his belly. It was heavy snow, with a thick, frozen crust that tripped him up and had rubbed his legs raw. He might as well have been sloughing through a bog. He didn't dare look back the way he had come — he would have been deeply embarrassed to see the signs of struggle in the laughably short distance he had managed.
He just wanted a drink. That was all.
So determined to reach the creek, however, Kyros hadn't been able to spend much time thinking scientifically. On some level, he was aware that snow was rain that had been frozen, but he was failing to connect that to the gurgling brook he had grown up with. Somehow he still figured that would be as it always had been. When he finally arrived at the bank though, he found himself gaping in horror at the glassy, immobile surface of the creek. He gasped. No wonder all the adults seemed so scared.
They would all die of thirst this winter.
Mournfully, the boy tipped his head back and began to cry.
Somewhere in the back of her mind, Borlla registered the sound of excessively crunching snow. She thought little of it. Magnolia Glen was not devoid of wolves. But...Did they move about so loudly in the snow? Her mind wandered as she dug until she had gotten so deep that she began to dredge up frozen dirt. The woman grunted as she bounced up, packing down a layer of snow into the little ditch she'd dug up. Coming around the den, she spotted Kyros, struggling through the snow to the creek. She watched him for a few silent moments, her heart aching slightly watching him struggle, but at least he didn't give up. But the mother nearly tripped running towards her son as he began to cry.
<b style="color:#32527a">"Darling! Darling!" She cooed, coming up beside him, drawing a foreleg around the boy. <b style="color:#32527a">"What's the matter?" The woman tipped her head down to look at him, and pressed her nose against the top of his head. For the past few months, she hadn't been the best mother. No piddling little cold or sore muscles could stop her now. <b style="color:#32527a">
"Darling, Darling."
And suddenly his mother was there, her muzzle pressing against his head as she pulled him into an embrace. Not knowing what else to do, the boy leaned into her body, though he found it awkward to be putting all his weight on his right, but his mother was there. She could be his crutch. Truth be told, Kyros hadn't been sure how to feel about his mother. She had been a very busy woman before... but she was a leader, that was how it was supposed to be. But when she had gotten hurt, for a moment Kyros had barely been able to contain his glee — mum would have more time for them! But the humming excitement he felt in his heart was more complicated than that, and he was ashamed to think about it. When Mum had hurt her leg... well, Kyros was excited. Excited to have someone else like him around: someone who couldn't use all their legs. His heart went out to her, for sure... but he misunderstood her pain, he imagined it was closer to his. At last there was someone to understand him.
He hoped she would stay that way forever.
But his mother was miserable with only three good legs. She didn't seem happy, her health wasn't good. While Kyros was more or less mobile, his mother couldn't find the strength the move around much. Kyros began to regret having ever wished for someone to understand him. This didn't seem right at all. Sickened by his selfishness, Kyros found himself withdrawing from his mother, from the pack out of guilt. He could never let them know about those dark thoughts he had borne and could still feel.
Perhaps he would never be able to stifle his disappointment.
"What's the matter?" his mother whispered soothingly.
"The water's frozen!" he cried, turning his head so that he could bury it into her shoulder. "We're all going to go go thirsty and dry up and..." His voice was broken by sobs. "And.. die! Is this why everyone is so scared? Cause we're going to die?" Suddenly he found himself growing angry with his mother, with his pack mates. Why had they hidden the truth from him? He pulled back and stared defiantly up into his mother's eyes. "And you've all been keeping it a secret from me!"
As he leaned into her, she let herself support him. An immovable wall of strength, that is what she would pretend to be. No, this is what she was. Withdrawing her nose as Kyros burrowed into her shoulder, she realized how big he'd gotten. So fast...Swallowing, she gave the boy a careful lick beside his eye. The woman did not flinch as he pulled back from her suddenly, angry. His fears were justified, of course. This would be their first winter, and likely the worst that this land had ever seen, at least as long as she'd been alive. But she would not let him believe that any of them were going to die, especially if that wasn't truth. Holding back a cough, she stared back at him, a serious gleam in her honeyed eyes. <b style="color:#32527a">"Kyros, no one is going to die. It's just cold, and when it gets cold, the creek will freeze. You need to break it, that's all." She stepped away from him, breaking eye contact. Coming to the very edge of the creek, the woman let her forepaws slide onto the ice, brushing away a wide circle of snow.
A mild uncertainty settled over her however, for she could tell, just from looking, that this ice was thick. Wrinkling up her nose anyway, the woman reared up and slammed her whole weight onto the ice. She had to clench her jaw at the impact as a sharp pain ran up both of her legs and down her torso. There was a deep, resounding crack, but the ice did not give way to water. Sighing, she took a step back from the ice back to less frozen earth. <b style="color:#32527a">"Well, it takes a bit of effort, but it'll break. We won't die, alright? Why would you think I'd let you or your sister die? And no one has been keeping secrets." Her tones were deathly serious as she turned her eyes back on him again, months of regret and guilt building up behind the bright globes. Taking a deep breath, the woman tried to put a smile back on her face.
<b style="color:#32527a">"Ya know, snow is made out of water." She said, voice quiet. Crouching down, she let her rump stay up, her tail waving behind her. <b style="color:#32527a">"It's perfectly edible!" The woman stuck her nose into the snow, jaws wide as she began to snap erratically at the thick white powder. Lifting her head after a moment, she couldn't help but sneeze, a cloud of clumbed flakes erupting around her head.<b style="color:#32527a">
"Kyros, no one is going to die— " His stare was even, he found it pretty hard to believe her. How were they going to survive without any water to drink? How would he survive when all he could do was flounder helplessly in the snow? He was just going to be a burden. "— It's just cold, and when it gets cold, the creek will freeze. You need to break it, that's all. " Oh. The dose of reality his him hard, and suddenly he was ashamed with himself and the stupid conclusions he had leaped to... and — he wobbled slightly as his mother broke away from him— oh no. Suddenly he realized what he had done as he watched her walk away. His assumptions had made him look her in the eye and yell at her — his mother— and make accusations that he was now sure could never have been true. Though his mother didn't seem nearly as bothered by his atrocious behavior, Kyros felt himself overwhelmed with guilt at his capacity for harm. He was such a terrible son.
"Mother I'm — " The words caught in his throat as he fumbled closer to the creek, distracted by his curiosity. That ice looked pretty thick, and Kyros couldn't imagine how she intended to leave even a mark on it. Without any warning, however, his mother reared up on her back legs jumped, aiming herself down at the ice. The young boy found himself wiggling backwards, slightly startled but interested. But the ice had refused to give way. His stomach churned with uncertainty. His mother sighed, and Kyros looked up at her plaintively. "Momma I'm so— "
"Well, it takes a bit of effort, but it'll break. We won't die, alright? Why would you think I'd let you or your sister die? And no one has been keeping secrets."
Secrets. Her voice was so stern that Kyros mistook her attempt to instill courage into her son for trying to get him to talk. The boy's ears fell back against his head and his heart started to pound. Secrets. Kyros wouldn't know anything about secrets, would he? He was a good boy. He didn't keep secrets. Frantically he searched the snow at his feet for an answer. He couldn't tell her — she didn't need another reason to be disappointed with him... but... but keeping secrets was wrong. He fumbled for the words to tell his mother what had kept the two of them at a distance... "Mother— "
"— Ya know, snow is made out of water."
His eyes flicked back up,"Whaa— " His mother looked so silly chomping at the snow before him that Kyros found it hard not to laugh. A small giggle bubbled from his lips before he stopped himself. No, he shouldn't laugh. He had been a bad boy. His snowy white head slumped down again.
In her playful attempt to bring a smile to her son's face, she'd missed his attempts to grab her attention. Pulling herself up into a sitting position, still dappled with snow, she cast her honeyed gaze down upon him, smiling widely as he giggled. But it was short living. Her smile turned to one of worry. Sliding her front paws forward, she laid down before the boy, inching forward to nudge his chin with her nose in an attempt to get him to lift his gaze. <b style="color:#32527a">"What's wrong?" She asked, corners of her lips pulling back, distressed. Both of the children were aging, reaching yearling status faster than she could have ever imagined. As much as she felt like a horrible mother, she couldn't baby them now. That time was gone. A warm embrace couldn't stop the impending reality.
<b style="color:#32527a">"I just want you to be happy..." She said quietly, not entirely speaking to him, eyes dropping towards the snow for a moment. <b style="color:#32527a">"But sometimes life is hard and we can't always smile. But I wouldn't make a promise I can't keep." Her eyes lifted then, now fully speaking to him. <b style="color:#32527a">"If there's anything troubling you, I want you to tell me. Or tell your father, alright?" <b style="color:#32527a">