Mutatio

Chapter 10 NightSky

I wasn't allowed to leave the Theta Den, so my pups stayed with me. When I woke up, ShadowChirp was still curled up next to me, and our puppies were curled up in between us, shivering in the cold winter air. I looked outside. It was nighttime, and snow was falling, turning the ground white. I wrapped myself tighter around my babies, licking each of their small heads in turn. I still couldn't believe what I had overheard about the smallest pup... Had she really been dead? Beside me, ShadowChirp stirred. He raised his head and smiled at me. He licked my muzzle and my tail thumped happily.

"We should name them." I whispered to him. He nodded.

"Alright. What do you want to name them?" I looked down at our puppies. I nuzzled the boy with black fur and he pawed at me in his sleep, his tiny claws nicking me. I wriggled my nose in surprise.

"Ouch! Those are sharp!" I exclaimed. I thought for a moment. "How about BriarPup? Or is that too cliché?" ShadowChirp laughed softly and shook his head.

"No no! BriarPup... I like it." He agreed, licking BriarPup's head. I looked at the other small wolf. Her fur was brown like Alpha's, speckled with grey. I tilted my head to the side.

"She kinda looks like a leaf." I said. ShadowChirp looked at me with a weird look on his face.

"You sure you're feeling okay?" I rolled my eyes and nipped at him playfully.

"I'm serious! Her fur looks like a frosted leaf, or something!" I defended myself. ShadowChirp smirked at me.

"Alright, then, LeafPup." He suggested. I nodded in agreement, touching my nose to her ear. ShadowChirp chirped looked at the last puppy.

"What about our little miracle?" He asked jokingly. I looked at the small pup, whose white fur turned gold on her paws and the tips of her ears, nose, and tail. She yawned and opened her eyes, something puppies didn't do for a while. They were iridescent, like mine, only...they were glazed over slightly. I waved my tail in front of her face, but she didn't respond. She sniffed the air and dragged herself closer to me, whimpering. I buried my head in ShadowChirp's shoulder, despair washing over me. "NightSky, what is it?" He asked. I shook my head pulling myself together, refusing to be so selfish.

"It's okay. She's alive. That's already more than we could ever deserve." I told myself. I looked at ShadowChirp. "She's blind." He checked for himself. We took a second to let that fact sink in.

"She's still our child." I told him. He nodded in agreement. "And I think I have a name for her." He raised an eyebrow.

"Alright, what is it?" He wondered.

"Kiseki. It means 'miracle.' And like you said; she's our little miracle."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Mommy mommy come look!" Three moons had passed since my three pups were born, and the Winter snow was finally melting. The season had been a long and cold one. Kiseki, being the smallest, almost didn't make it. FlamePaw was only a few days away from becoming a Delta, and WinterPup and JunePup had long since become WinterPaw and JunePaw, with QuickStep as WinterPaw's Mentor, and TearClaw (A/N:TearPaw as an Eta) as JunePaw's mentor. I sighed as I walked over to LeafPup, thinking about how much had changed since FlamePaw nearly burned down the forest. There was a pang in my chest as I remembered my sister, but I pushed the thought aside and smiled down at my pup.

"What is it, LeafPup?" I wondered. She pawed at the wet ground, her paw coming up muddy. She grinned at me widely, showing me her paw.

"Look! It's brown snow!" Her brother, BriarPup, ran up to her.

"Don't be stupid, LeafPup, it's obviously poop." LeafPup made a horrified face and shook her paws out.

"Ew ew ew! The ground is covered in it!" She exclaimed. BriarPup rolled over laughing as LeafPup danced around. I rolled my eyes and calmed LeafPup down.

"It's alright sweetie, it's just mud. Wet dirt. It's normal. It's not poop." I said with a pointed look at BriarPup. He attempted to keep a straight face, but soon failed and started laughing agin.

"You're a jerk!" LeafPup declared as she tackled her brother. I shook my head, laughing. I sat down to watch them. Something small touched my back and I saw Kiseki. I picked her up by the scruff of the neck and placed her down in front of me.

"Everything smells different now that the snow's gone." She complained. I licked the top of her head.

"I know, honey. It's alright. You'll get used to it." I assured her. She sat at my paws, her unseeing eyes staring off into space.

"Mom, do I have a weird name because I'm blind?" She asked. I cringed. The only reason we had been allowed to name her Kiseki was that Alpha believed that a blind Mutatio wouldn't be able to be an Eta or a Kappa, so there was no need for a pup name, apprentice name, then final name. She could just have the one. I shook my head. Kiseki was only a few moons old and she was already better at reading a situation than someone who could see. I guess it was true, what they said about disabilities causing other senses to strengthen. Kiseki could always tell when something was wrong, and she had a way of sensing movement that relieved the rest of the pack from many awkward situations. Kiseki turned her head to me when she felt me shake my head.

"You have a different name because you are special, Kiseki, okay? I don't want you to think that just cause you can't see means you are just as special as your brother and sister." I told her. She frowned, then looked up again, her glazed-over eyes missing me by a few degrees.

"If I'm just as special as them, how come I won't get to be an Eta or Kappa?" She asked, fixing where she was looking as she talked. My heart sank.

"What makes you say that?" I wondered. She sighed.

"Come on, Mom, I wasn't born yesterday. I can tell by the way everyone acts around me. They're always super nice and animated, like they want to give me everything I want. The only person who treats me normally is FlamePaw, but he's always out running around with WillowTail or talking to KindleFur." She grumbled. I furrowed my eyebrows.

"KindleFur? You mean TearClaw's Socius?" I clarified. Kiseki nodded. I pursed my lips. Now that they were both apprentices, FlamePaw and WinterPaw spent more time together, but they weren't as good of friends as FlamePaw and KindleFur. I just hoped that their relationship remained at "good friends," for FlamePaw's sake. Then I remembered FlamePaw's power... If TearClaw attacked FlamePaw like he did back when FlamePaw was a pup...we might have another forest fire on our hands. Kiseki nudged me with her head and I looked down at her.

"Did FlamePaw melt away the snow?" She asked. I furrowed my eyebrows, confused by the strange statement.

"Uh...no. FlamePaw didn't melt the snow. That's an odd thing to ask." I replied. Kiseki shrugged.

"I was just wondering. I mean, it'd make sense. He is a Fire Legendary after all." She said nonchalantly. My eyes got wide.

"He's a what?" I inquired. Just then, there was a shout from across the clearing.

"Hey, Kiseki!" SkyPup shouted. "We're having a Mud War with the apprentices! Wanna join?" Kiseki leapt to her feet and followed the sound of SkyPup's voice. I was overwhelmed with joy that the others were including Kiseki, but I was also worried about her. How did she know about FlamePaw? This wasn't the first time she's done stuff like that, either. She started calling KindleFur by her Kappa name before it was even given, and the other day, out of nowhere, she started talking to ShadowChirp about the Hawk Mutatio. Her brother and sister probably didn't even know the Hawk Mutatio exsisted! As I watched the young wolves play, I wondered how she knew so much. Was there more to Kiseki than just being our little miracle?