Eclipse Child |✔|

|12|

He lulls me to sleep 

and kisses my eyes

Don't tell anybody

that the big bad wolf 

is a puppy in disguise 

-author unknown

***

Blood stain the wolves as they retreat from their kill.

Nothing is left. Everything that could be eaten is devoured in one sitting.

We all walk away with full bellies and a satisfied attitude in our steps from the successful hunt.

I flinch when the male's tongue darts out to taste the red that colors my face. He looks taken aback by my actions as I mimic his own features.

We both stare at the other until he cautiously moves forward, repeating his movement.

I'm still. Not moving as I allow him to clean me.

The red did not show so easily on my dark fur, but he doesn't leave anything unnoticed.

Ears, nose, face, even neck.

All he cleans.

I watch as other wolves around us repeat the act.

It was something they did after every hunt.

But I could sense a satisfaction running through the male. Satisfaction maybe, that he wasn't alone to watch anymore. Now he could fully participate with the wolves. Now he had his own partner to clean and complete the ritual with.

He stops after a while and sits. Waiting.

I cautiously move forward and repeat his actions. It feels strange. New. Something about even venturing to do this has me shivering in excitement at the bold move on my part. At least it seems that way to me. To the wolves, this is just a matter of family and taking care of one another.

And maybe that is why the male curls up next to me afterward, a content sight leaving him.

Because he finally has someone like him.

Because he finally has someone to take care of.

Because he finally, was not alone.

*   *   *

I forget the time.

I forget the days and how many have passed.

And I forget the skin.

I forget what it is like to walk on two feet.

I forget what it feels like to sleep in a bed, eat the food that Sandra cooked, or the different luxuries that now seem so distant and vague.

I forget the worries of the world.

The anxiety and constant need and pressure that I had put on myself.

I forget it all.

Instead, I let it all go and fully consume myself with the wolf.

There is no connection or difference between the two sides now.

It used to be very clear to see- one part of my soul was skin; the other was fur.

Now the wolf within me had taken over, washing away the thoughts that traveled through my mind when I was consumed in the affairs of the world.