Blinded

1

"Stars burn bright but the brighter they shine the faster they burn." ~LNF

------------------------------------------------------------‐--------

It was December when his parents abandoned him in the barren forest that was heavy with snow. A kit born with cloudy blue eyes, sightless but not deaf to the abandonment of his parents. He wailed when the quiet of the forest drowned him, the cold causing him to shiver and shy away in fear of the unknown, of the cold lifeless forest, but then there was warmth.

Fur brushed against his frail, shivering, form. The scent was that of his older sibling, a person who was always there to comfort and protect him, a person who cared more for him than their parents ever did. "Oli, it'll be okay. We'll live in the forest, even though it might be hard we'll be able to live happily." His older sibling said, their voice steady and calm. He nodded at the thought of a happy life with his older sibling, a life without abandonment. "Okay, but only if I'm with you Kate." Oli said happily.

Or at least that was what was supposed to happen.

The siblings lived in a hollow that the eldest had dug out on that frigid and cold night in December. Two months had passed and the forest began to thaw, the grass began to grow and the trees sprouted verdant leaves. The air warmed considerably and animals of all species returned in abundance. Kate knew that although their brother was still too young to catch his own prey, it wouldn't hurt for him to learn how to stalk and hunt early. Especially since he was blind and wouldn't be able to rely on the sense that most predators used primarily.

"The time for you to learn how to hunt and stalk starts today." She said, nudging her brother awake. It took a few more nudges before Oli began to stir, his reddish-brown fur sticking up everywhere.

He yawned before perking his ears towards his sister. "You look like a hedgehog." She snickered and he pinned his ears back in embarrassment before licking his fur. "Why am I learning how to stalk and hunt now? I thought I was still too young to hunt my own prey." He asked, curiosity laced within his voice. "You are still too young to hunt your own prey but it won't hurt for you to learn how to stalk and hunt, let alone you aren't able to see, so we have to train your other senses." Kate responded and watched as her brother nodded in nervous understanding.

"Now come on, I know the perfect spot for you to train your other senses." She spoke, getting up from where she was sitting, and headed out of the hollow with her brother following after her.

They walked in silence and away from the hollow that was their home until they reached a natural clearing where the grass was long and wild. Blackberry bushes grew just on the outskirts of the clearing but they wouldn't begin to bear fruit until later that spring. The two siblings sat in front of each other. Kate neatly tucked her bushy yet slim tail around herself, whereas their brother let his small tail sit out behind his.

"I want you to take in a deep breath. Breathe within the forest and tell me what you can smell." She said, watching as her brother inhaled deeply and exhaled softly. "I smell blackberry bushes but they are not as sweet smelling as they are in late spring. I can smell the birds that are high in the trees and the squirrels that are just barely coming out of hibernation. I also smell wild mint and fennel growing just past the blackberry bushes." Oli said and Kate smiled even though her brother couldn't see her. "Very good. It's amazing that you can smell wild mint and fennel that are just past the blackberry bushes." She said and he smiled before asking, "You can't smell the mint or the fennel?" "Nope, the blackberry bushes just are too strong but this means that you have a more sensitive nose than I do." Kate responded before taking a deep breath. "Anyway, tell me what you hear." Kate instructed watching as her brother obliged, their ears perking up and swiveling around to get a better range of hearing. He did this for a minute before responding to his sibling's request, "I can hear the river that's just beyond the tree lines. It's moving swiftly but not quietly. I can hear the songs of many birds and the bickering of squirrels. There's also, in the distance, a deer running from what I don't know." Kate had no words, she stared in astonishment at her brother, his hearing was impressive and his sense of smell was impeccable. He'd make a great hunter in the coming year.