In Dark August

Chapter 11

My wolf struggled towards the metal cap. Each limp seemed like a lung to her, like her injured right paw was a ponderous weight that she held, trying not to drop it. Although her determination glowed the most, doubt and embarrassment clouded the edges of her thoughts. She felt silly, limping clumsily across the clearing like some weak pathetic animal. But she continued on.

Liam, the light brown wolf, was a few paces ahead of her. He kept glancing back at her, checking to see if she was struggling. But she kept her sluggish pace.

When she arrived to the clump of ferns that covered the metal cap, she didn't dare stall. Without a breath, she dived under the plants. She kept her injured paw away from the ground, the metal cap was inches away from the tip of her nose, but refused to waste time.

She shifted all of her weight to her injured paw. Pain bit her limb like little daggers. She took only one moment to gather up her strength, then lashed out her good paw.

The edge of the cap lifted upward, and spikes jutted out viciously, trying to attack it's victim. My wolf was too brisk for it; she lunged back quickly, tumbling back into the clearing. This time there wasn't any intense pain, only in her injured paw.

She rolled onto her side, heaving great gasps. Her injured paw pounded.

The light brown wolf came to her. He kneeled down to her lame paw, and gave it a few sniffs. His nose lifted in a sneer, wafting a bitter scent. He then came to her face and asked what to do.

It seemed to be a few minutes until she moved. Lifting his head and standing up, he helped her stand. She leaned against him, taking a troubled time to keep level. 

When she stood perfectly stable, she turned her head to Liam and grunted. His head perked to the side in question. She grunted again, then turned her attention to where the metal cap was. She sniffed the air and found the sign she was looking for: a warm, meaty rabbit smell.

Liam's tail went up a bit in happiness. He took only a few paces forward before diving into the ferns. His hindquarters poked out, his back legs and tail lulling back and forth. It made me want to laugh at how this wolf was so happy for only two tiny rabbits. It also made me want to laugh at how much I wanted them also.

Not long after, he was scooting backwards. He edged to the side and faced us, with two rabbits dangling out of his mouth. His eyes sparkled and his ears were perked up. My wolf was happy also, but mostly amused at the 21 year old man prancing around exuberantly with two dead rabbits swinging from his mouth. 

Liam trotted to her and dropped the two rabbits. He scooped up one of the now stiff creatures in his jaws. He looked up expectantly, waiting for her to pick one up also. But my wolf hesitated.

She leveled her green eyes steadily on the young wolf. She studied his bright expression, which was now changing in worry. Was she really willing to let this wolf down, let alone me? Was she reconsidering as to why she was doing this. Was she looking for the purpose in the matter?

She then drew in a hefty sigh and dipped her head, gathering the second rabbit neatly into her jaws. After she had a certain grasp on the rabbit, she looked to Liam to show the way. Liam adjusted the rabbit then turned. She stood up tensely, her muscles locking up from the pain in her paw. Her jaws clenched around the soft flesh more firmly. 

They were off; two wolves with rabbits in jaw and the forest, which seemed to watch the stressful situation unfold. The trees had the best view, by far, watching the puny animals striving for success. 

I imagined being a tree, tall and intimidating like a strong built pillar that held the sky, observing everything in it's view. It must be a very slow task, waiting for something interesting to appear from the brush. Waiting for the moment the sun arises from the east and sets in the west. Waiting for the night creatures to creep and crawl. Waiting for when the snow falls or when the sun blazes. Waiting for the time animals mate in the spring or the offspring leave to start their own fight. Waiting for that unlucky animal to come limping and collapse onto the forest floor, every organ in it's body slowly failing. It'd be the most restricting job, but being a tree, you don't have to worry about when there is danger or have any strong feelings what-so-ever. Or to feel the need to find a purpose in life. You're job was to stand tall, hold up the sky, watch over the forest, and to simply be. 

But Mother Earth chose us to be half human, half wolf, and to share the suffering with the rest of the creatures. There was never a difference of suffering between our species, never a reason as to why one creature couldn't ever suffer while the other endured. We are all the same that way. However, we have a tendency to choose to avoid it. That's just the way Mother Earth turns her wheels, how she wants it to be.

I guess my wolf and our ally were trying to avoid the suffering and despair as well, but something I couldn't exactly comprehend was why I felt like I disagreed with that. Was it that I felt too confident and ignorant that I assumed suffering wasn't really life? Or was it that I was riddling out something deeper, something that was true yet hidden from plain site? It felt odd, not normal than what I was used to, but it was there and it felt like it made sense.

I just couldn't give it a name. 

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"So, wait, what were you feeling?"

A young man with dark brown hair had his hand briskly in the air, yet never gave me a chance to speak. His eagerness amused me.

"Well, you see Oscar, that's something that you will have to find yourself. You've heard of this story many times, haven't you?" I tell him.

His hand gradually slid down to his lap as he spoke, "Yes, Naomi. Must've heard it a thousand times."

His head bowed in a shameful way, which made me frown. This boy made me feel like a punk kid who took candy from a baby. He knew how to get his way.

"Then you should know what I felt, if you've heard the story a thousand times."

His head jerked up in protest, "But there are so many different versions of it! You are the one that made that story, I guess, happen! You know it better more than anybody! You know what you felt!"

The other children were starring at him now, some with irritation and others with curiosity. They all still wanted to know the same thing.

I lay back in my newly claimed rocking chair, and give it a few good rocks. My soft aged hands were gripping the arms of the chair. My tired feet bouncing slightly from rocking. I sighed.

"Children, you all must know that I wasn't the only one in this story. You remember my brother, my sister, and my most trusted friend? I'm not being modest, it's the truth. We were all the ones who created your future.

"Now, back to what I was feeling. Oscar, remember I told you how Mother Earth liked the balance? Well, I had finally understood what that meant at the time. 

"I didn't want my pack to fall. I didn't know it at the time what my sad excuse of an Alpha had in store for us quite yet, but I did realize later on what that feeling meant for me. How important it was for my family and I to survive. I realized then that I had to do something about just that.

"I had to save my pack."    

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As you can already tell, for those who have been tracking my progress in this project, I've taken a break. I have so many other hobbies, and responsibilities like school. I'm also expecting a job.

Another reason why I've stalled on this project was that since I've been showing so many more people about this story, they've encouraged me to publish it as a real book. I like that idea a lot. But I've already written some of it on Wattpad, what do I do with that? People already know what happens in the beginning of the story and are already introduced to so many characters.

I've decided I'm going to change a LOT of things, which means I am planning to publish, which also means, sadly, that I wont be adding onto this story anymore, which ALSO means I can't tell you what's going to happen because I'm planning to use the ending in the real book.

Though, I can tell you this: You will see the same three main people, Naomi, August, and Titan. What happened to Taby-Cat you may ask? He'll be apart of another reality.

For now, I'll name this project as finished, though it really isn't. 

I hope you will look out for this book one day in a book store. I hope you'll remember that one story you found on Wattpad that inspired that book to become published in the first place. I hope you remember you made it happen.

Until next time,

Aries