Abidemi awoke and realized that she had fallen asleep next to Xanthus. When had she dozed off? She couldn’t really recall, all she remembered was that they were watching the stars and now she was waking up. It was still early though and the sun had yet to rise. She could feel the weight of one of his legs draped across her shoulder and she turned her face to look at the sleeping form beside her. She couldn’t help but smile as she watched him sleeping. She noted how his eyes were fluttering back and forth and realized that he was dreaming. His body twitched every now and again and she wondered what it was he was dreaming about. He wasn’t moving that much, but it wasn’t that little either. She didn’t want to wake him though so she continued to watch just to see what might happen.
It was dark and it was dirty. He remembered he was frightened. Where was his mother? Let alone his father? His little heart was racing in his chest as he tried to cram himself farther into the nook in which he was hiding. That was what he was doing right? He was watching it as if he was there and as if he wasn’t. He knew well enough that he was dreaming but there wasn’t anything he could do until it had ended. He knew how it would end. It ended the same, every time. No matter what. Mainly because it was a memory, not just a dream. His red eyes glinted in the little bit of light that shined through and all he could smell was earth and dampness. It bothered him. He was a highborn, a well bred son to a well-bred family and he was now shoved into this dark little space. Where was everyone?
He remembered, vaguely, his mother shoving him into here and telling him to go as far as he could and stay for as long as he could. He wasn’t sure why she had sounded so panicked or frightened, but he could see it in her eyes as well. It had disturbed him but he knew better then to disobey his mother. But where was father? Shouldn’t he be here to show mother there wasn’t anything to be afraid of? He did has his mother bid and he had scrunched himself as far back as he could go and after a few moments of shivering and shaking he had fallen asleep.
Now he was still here and he felt cramped and achy. He had to get out. He was hungry and thirsty and wanted to know where his mother and father were. Let alone everyone else.
Slowly he inched forward, one small paw at a time. His body seemed to have expanded to the crevice and he became almost panicked as he inched himself out as quickly as he could. As his face finally peeked out from the crack in the cave dwelling he could smell everything then. It was a mixture of a lot of things, none of them he liked. It made him afraid, more than what he was already and he slowly crawled the rest of the way out and slumped onto the ground to allow his legs to stretch.
After a moment he stood up and looked around. No one was present and he stayed quite. The eeriness surrounded him as the light from the entrance to the cave made everything appear to be swallowed by shadows. Slowly down the rock shelf he moved until he came to the soft earth of the cave floor and he slowly padded towards the entrance. Where was everyone?
The smells got stronger and he felt himself slow but then he realized that he had other things to worry about. Like finding his family. With renewed strength and courage he made his way out of the cave to a sight that wasn’t meant for the eyes of the young. Apparently a pack war had erupted that had been long time in the making.
There were bodies, familiar and unfamiliar laying in shreds. He immediately recognized the corpse of his father laying across what appeared to be his mother. Upon walking a little closer he could smell the familiar scent of her and stopped. He didn’t need to inspect closer. Did he die trying to save her? His mind wasn’t sure how to process all of this. He felt something within him shatter and he, for the first time in his life, felt what loss was. He wanted to cry but he remembered how his father had always told him that there was a time for mourning and a time for being strong and right now if he succumbed to his sorrow he knew he probably wouldn’t live to see the end of the week.
Night was coming and he needed to go. There was nothing left for him here. It had appeared that if anyone had lived, they had gone with whomever had done all this. The smells had told him who it was. He knew of the pack, for ambassadors had often come and he had seen them with his mother and father. It was then that he felt anger for the first time in his life as well. He let out a growling like howl of anger and sadness into the fading light.’
Abidemi chose then to wake him. He was starting to make sounds in his sleep and she didn’t like what she heard. She nudged the side of his face with her nose and felt him jump to his feet and look around for a moment. She didn’t move and she didn’t say anything. She wasn’t sure what to do in this moment. After she watched his breathing slow she stood up and watched as he wiped his head and eyes to look at her. She couldn’t quite describe the look that she saw, but it was a sad and horrible look in his eyes. What had he been dreaming about? She inched forward slowly and put her head underneath his jaw and leaned into his chest. ”Tell me what it is that troubles you strong one.” She was worried and she wondered if it was more than a dream that troubled him.
He was unaware of where he was for a moment. Then he realized who was beside him and where he was. Her voice and scent soothed him and her warmth made him relax. He leaned into her let out a sigh. ”I was dreaming about my family…” He said softly. ”I’ll tell you about it in time. For now let’s go back to sleep Demi.” He laid down and looked to her to join him.
She nodded and listened. She wasn’t going to push him with the subject. For this was the first time in a year that he had ever mentioned his real family. His blood family that is. She laid down beside him and he rested his head upon hers in a protective stance and the two fell back to sleep in the early morning rays.
[Word Count: 1191]