Alone

@Phineas!

“Maaa!” Silence. “Aaash!” It engulfed his home. “Naaaamara!” It swallowed him up. “Steeeel!” It chewed on him hungrilly. “Ro!” It refused to spit him out. For the first time in his life, Elliot Moon was scared and, more importantly, alone. Not the comfortable loneliness where he was reminded of his family being near, no. It was suffocating. No matter where he ran, no matter how loud he cried for an adult to come and lick away the salty pain that lingered in his chest, it was always there. Waiting. Dirty paws wandered the same tired path over and over, his young voice a croak from calling their names far too much. Their smells were fading. They had gone. His mother, his lifeline, his security … gone! Ash, too, was gone. Namara, Steel, Aphrodite—all gone without a word! Had he done something wrong?

They were supposed to love him. He loved them. He hadn’t hurt them, had he? If he had, he didn’t mean it! “Ro, stop playin’ games,” he whined, trembling as his tired legs struggled to keep moving, “not funny!” Finally, Elliot collapsed into a snivelling heap of dark fur, nose buried into the grass. It didn’t tickle him like it used to, didn’t make him laugh. “Ya got me. ‘m scared.” He wasn’t a baby, he didn’t say things like this. They were just playing a really mean prank on him, weren’t they! They had been for a while now. Long enough for his tummy to rumble with an uncomfortable hunger. He’d devoured what little he could, though the cache was empty and slim pickings from rabbit carcasses was hardly enough for a growing pup.

Maybe the big, scary wolf had come back? What if he had hurt his family? He couldn’t smell the man with the scary words. No, he definitely couldn’t. “Ma,” he croaked again, curling his body up as tightly as possible. Why had they left him? What had he done wrong? “You win, okay Aphrodite? Just please stop playin’ this game. I don’t like it.” Pitiful whines escaped him as he tucked himself into the grass, tired and scared. His little legs hurt from all the searching he had done and that awful, awful pain in his heart just wouldn’t go away.

No need to match length!

It was rare he came to linger on the mountain – rarer still, since he had left the lands of Magnolia Glen behind, especially with the scent of the cougar he and Inkheart had come across. His intentions had been to avoid the feline for now, until they gathered the members of the pack to perhaps eradicate the beast.. or at least scare it off. His intentions for leaving the pack lands also hadn’t been to seek out their neighbors, though as he climbed the mountain, the scent of a pack was strong nearby. Such political matters were going to remain for another day, and instead, the regal leader was hoping to gain some insight of the lands he called home.. even if that meant clambering to higher grounds.

There was a lake – the scent of water was hinted within the scent of pack, and as the male found himself on the borders, he was about to simply turn away, leaving a meeting between pack leaders to a time when Inkheart was at his side when a shrill voice echoed across the sky. “Maaa!”

He paused, one paw lifted to the air, his body turned toward the sloping hill that would lead him down the ledge and away from whoevers lands these belonged to, his ears perking instantly. It was the cry of a cub, as such was apparent. A part of him remained indifferent to the pleas, for they were not of his own son or daughter. Kyros and Hypatia remained his primary concern, and always would. Instinct fueled his belief that survival only belonged to the fittest.. and yet the tiny voice continued its pitiful wail, gleaning for attention. “Aaash!”

He shifted himself then, his eyes narrowing as they scanned the lands before him. Trespassing was such a taboo in his mind that had any strange wolf sauntered upon his own lands, he would have felt no remorse in dealing a fate of death to them. And yet something pulled in him as the tiny voice continued.. echoing across what almost seemed to be an empty mountain. “Naaaamara!”

Instinct gave way to pity, and in that moment, the alabaster male strode past the borders, slinking low to the ground in hopes he would not be spotted. This was far from a child’s cry for attention.. it bordered on desperation, and had the situation been reversed… had Kyros or Hypatia been crying for him in such a manner and he could not respond, would he not be grateful to one that did?He did not need to go far. The cries had led him straight to the boy – his pumpkin eyes falling upon an ebony form, slumped in defeat. The soft croak of words were heartbreaking, and taking a step forward to reveal himself from the foliage, the male slid himself down to his belly in hopes of appearing less intimidating, certain the boy’s parents or pack members would come any second and reprimand him for his trespass. “Where are your parents?” His voice was soft, uncertain how his presence would be taken.

The silence was suddenly disturbed, the sound of footsteps causing the young boy’s head to turn upwards, orange eyes opening so that his blurry gaze could try and see who it was. A white wolf. Elliot only knew of one white wolf and that was his mother. His heart leapt briefly; was it his mother, his dearest mother? Had she finally come back? He tried, desperately, to blink away the fog that seemed to have suddenly fallen over him and, surely enough, focus returned. Elliot’s tiny, broken heart sank to the pit of his stomach once more when the realisation that this wasn’t mother hit him. No, those strange squiggles on his mother’s face weren’t on whoever this was. The stranger had similar eyes, yes, but everything else was wrong. Too tall, too big.

Whoever they were, they crept forwards, Elliot now realising this pale figure was, in fact, a male. He was still scared, shaken to the core, but maybe now he wasn’t as alone. Whoever this man was, he smelt not of home but of foreign lands, far from Elliot’s lake. “My ma, she’s … and my da …” Elliot had never known his dad. Ash had tried to be a dad, but he was just like Elliot’s real dad. Gone. He wanted to look tough and brave for the big man, just like Ash and Steel, but the Moon boy found himself whining again. “I dunno.” The dark coated boy’s face twisted, scrunched up as if he were in physical pain and a little sob shook him.

It dawned on the youngster that maybe, just maybe, this man knew his ma, or even Aphrodite. Biting down the desire to whine again, Elliot did his best to press onward. “Do you know—” he hiccupped “—where they gone?” Gone. It stung him to say it, just like it stung him to say he didn’t know where. They boy hadn’t realised how dire his situation could grow to be, that he could die from being without them and their care. “Ash ‘nd Namara too?” His croaky, desperate voice matched his pleading gaze. Did this man know where his family was?

The sudden urge to stand up and walk over to the boy was strong – to bend his muzzle down, and have his tongue soothe away the fears that shook through the cub. The tiny hiccup squeezed at his heart, and Phineas Argyris only realized now how having children of his own had changed him. He had never been soft like this. A gentleman, surely, but such matters as these.. where a cub had lost his parents.. they had never twisted his gut in such a way before.

He shifted his weight then, taking in the words, his eyes worriedly glancing over the boy as she tightened himself. He looked uninjured, and the Glen Leader only realized then that the conflict he felt now was from the boy’s raw emotional pain rather than physical. Lifting himself, his nose lifting to the air, he suddenly realized the scents might have been staler than they were supposed to be.. as if this land was now lost.

“I don’t know who your family is, I’m sorry,” he murmured, his eyes falling back upon the youth. “Was this your pack once?” There was a small pause as he began to close the gap between the two slowly, his nose bending down to nudge at the dark fur of the boy, as if to double check that he was not physically harmed. “What’s your name, boy?” He lifted his muzzle once more, eyes seeking out the pup. He had only ever come across one she-wolf who spoke of living atop the mountain, though she did not scent of the pack that had seemingly disappeared. He wasn’t even sure if the tawny lady had even been from a pack.

Written to Valtari by Sigur Rós.

A spark of hope lit up in Elliot’s heart as the man lifted his nose, briefly, to check the dying scent of Poison Path. Would he recognise one of them? Any of them would do! Please, please, please let him remember someone, let him give a name that Elliot had known since he was but a suckling pup. There weren’t many, but they were his entire life up until this point. They were the most important wolves he would ever know. And this man, he … he …

He didn’t know.

A painful little whine escaped the eldest son of Athena Moon, his mouth opening and closing, desperately searching for something to say to make the burning sensation go away. Luckily, the stranger interrupted the hiccupping sobs of the lonely little Moon and Elliot gave a meek, little nod in response as he squeezed his eyes shut. Was this your pack once? It spoke of the past, it spoke of forgotten things. Poison Path was gone. Suddenly, just like that, the realisation washed over him. The life he had known had shattered into pieces, like dropping a glass vase onto the harsh ground. The pieces scattered. Poison Path. Gone. A nose prodded him gently, soft and familiar in the way it searched over him but different to his mother’s gentle caress, and Elliot went to scoot a little closer into it, though it pulled away before he was given the chance. He had forgotten how good the warmth of another wolf felt.

His name? Swallowing the lump in his throat, the dark boy struggled to summon up the strength to speak. “Elliot. Elliot M-Moon.” He stumbled over the last name, as if he wasn’t really sure if he should be using it. Maybe there were trying to tell Elliot he wasn’t part of the Moon family anymore, wasn’t the son of Athena or the brother of Aphrodite. They’d been gone for so long, after all … maybe Ash, Steel and Namara had gotten sick of him too? Would this man get sick of him and leave him soon? “Are … are you gonna leave, too?” Please don’t leave me alone again.

It was eerie how trusting the boy was of his presence – it only claimed his desperation had peaked, and as te youth took in his words, Phineas watched the cub’s jaws work silently, swallowing the fact that his family was, very likely, gone. Already a wash of thoughts overcame him – who left a pup this young alone in pure abandonment? He would not be able to fend for himself, and if anything, he was lucky that the Argyris male had come across him so soon, lest a bird of hunting nature snatch him away instead.

It was the tiniest of questions, and yet the world as he knew it tilted then. Did he bring this boy home with him? How could he not? Yet it meant his own cubs had more competition for food, and he was uncertain of how Borlla would feel of it. Should his mate not accept the boy, who had called himself Elliot.. he would find one who would, of that he was certain.

Once more his nose swept down, maneuvering the boy to his paws with a gentle nudge, his tongue smoothing across his crown as if the ebony pup were of his own blood. It was strange how paternal he had become, given his previous mate had duped him in to thinking her litter had belonged to him. Yet in such short time, he felt more of a bond to this broken spirit than he had to Desdemona’s, and with reservation, he gave a nod. “I am leaving,” he murmured, but was quick to subside any thoughts of dread the swarthy pup would have. “But you’re coming with me.. if you want. My pack is a days travel away.. We can figure out what to do from there.”

The white man’s head dropped to him again, nudging the small black boy to his tired paws before his salmon tongue swept gently across Elliot’s head, soothing him in the darkest moment of his life to date, a moment far too soon for a boy so young. Wobbling a little, the Moon child’s eyes darted to his saviour. How trusting a scared child could be. “I am leaving.” Elliot’s body immediately froze, his eyes locked on the strange man as if he was a hare staring at the talons of a hungry hawk. Questions began to whizz around his head, far too overwhelming for him to process. “But you’re coming with me.” His heart fluttered wildly in his chest and the young boy didn’t feel so alone and helpless anymore. This man, whoever he was, had saved him.

His pack was a day’s travel from here and the prospect of no longer dealing with the suffocating loneliness that Poison Path had become infected with caused Elliot’s slumped form to perk up ever so slightly. There would be warmth with this man, kindness and care. The chance of a decent meal was wherever this man was, too. Not the kind of food a scavenger would turn their nose up at, though. There would also be a family. Not Elliot’s family, but maybe something he could replace the gaping hole in his chest with. The piece wouldn’t fit perfectly, nothing but his own blood probably would do that, but it had to be better than lying to rest with the bones of his fallen home, didn’t it? The dark coated boy looked briefly to the lake. It didn’t seem as crisp anymore, as clean and as inviting. It was empty to him now … empty and cold.

He looked away from the lake and back to the tall, white man before him. “I … I’ll come.” Elliot never wanted to see the lake again. As for his mother? Well … she probably didn’t want to see her little Elliot Moon, anyway.

Despite how young, despite how broken.. the youth looked up to him, seemingly ready to take on this new challenge. The slight perk in his stature was answer enough for the ivory Leader, and with a soft chuff, he gave a nod, his paws beginning to trek back the way he had come, through the foliage of the land that had once homed the Poison Path pack, where he wondered if the boy would have any regrets in such a decision. Perhaps his parents would come back to that very spot, looking for him.. Phineas did not know. Perhaps, at the end of the day, he was making the matter far worse.

‘No,’ he gently reminded himself, as his eyes strayed to the little legs that now followed him. Had any form of hungry predator come along before he had.. that would have been far worse. He allowed the silence to envelop him, and as he came to the borders of the pack, where the scent truly began to fade, his eyes strayed to the pup once more, wondering if he needed a moment to himself. The pause in his step allowed such to happen, if needed, and as a few moments passed, Phineas once more picked up his pace.

The day travel might take a little longer, given his pace had slowed down quite a bit given the size of his new companion. His eyes also strayed to the lands around them, seeking any form of easy meal he could catch for the dark Moon. It was unlikely on the mountain, but perhaps when they were closer to the forest below, he would be able to do so. “So Elliot,” he rumbled now, hoping to distract the boy from whatever thoughts he might hold. “Why don’t you tell me about yourself.”

As soon as Elliot agreed to follow the stranger, the man turned and began to walk. The Moon boy followed him, head low and eyes trained on the white paws that caused the grass beneath to bend and fold. He would be leaving so much behind, wouldn’t he? He’d be leaving Poison Path just like he had been left behind. Sorrow churned in his gut, brought up a bitterness he didn’t quite understand so early. Did he hate them? No. Did he like them? Not particularly. The bitterness made his mouth taste funny and his heart didn’t burn so much. It simply itched.

The white man stopped near the border and Elliot cast a glance over his shoulder. His ears flattened and a soft whine escaped the eldest Moon child. He half expected to see his dearest mother come running, kiss him and make it all feel better but, alas, no white figure came charging towards the two completely different wolves. No scarred lady of the lake called his name and whisked him away from the side of the stranger. Nothing. A brief, fleeting moment passed before Elliot’s saviour began to walk forward again. “Bye,” he whispered, turning away from his home and scampering to catch up with the white man and remain at his side. At least Elliot had said goodbye.

His stomach felt empty and his feet burned with each step but it would be worth it, in the end. He simply had to push forward, grit his teeth and deal with it despite how tired he was, despite how his heart itched and his throat hurt. “Uhm,” he looked down at his feet, “I’m … I have a sister. Aphrodite. She’s …” Gone too. “She’s smaller than me.” By smaller he meant younger but, yes, she was smaller too. Truth be told, Elliot didn’t know what to say about himself. “What’s your name?” All guardians had names, right?

He quietly worried how the boys little paws would do upon the steep slopes of the mountain, despite the ebony youth’s heritage within the very heights of it. He did not voice this worry, did not pester the boy to be careful – instead, his fiery eyes calculated each step the youth took, his own remaining a pace ahead to catch Elliot should he ever fall. He could do nothing to help him emotionally.. only time could heal those wounds. But he could help him from not hurting himself physically, at the very least.

As the Moon child asked his name, Phineas allowed the corners of his muzzle to lift in a small smile – so strange this child had trusted him before even knowing his identity. So trusting they were.. it was a harsh reminder of how easily something could happen to them. “Phineas Argyris of the Magnolia Glen pack,” he rumbled in return, allowing his muzzle to dip in the normal cordial nod he offered to all.

The boys sister had been nowhere to be found, and the male only assumed she had gone with her family.. or had been eliminated by the harshness of nature during their long absence. His stomach clenched at the thought of anything happening to the somber child by his side, already attached. In the end, he doubted it would do him any good.

“I have two children your age,” he offered, hoping the thought of peers might perk the cub up. “Kyros and Hypatia.” Their names, part of his own heritage, came so easily to him, he did not stop to consider that perhaps the boy would have trouble pronouncing them. He could not help but wonder how the Argyris pups would take to Elliot. As another paw lead him a step down, he cleared his throat. “We’ll stop at the forest for the night.. then we’ll continue the rest of the way come morning light.”

(This post was last modified: Aug 24, 2013, 01:37 PM by Phineas.)