Dance, my little puppets,

Aut/1.1/02  

     Autumn was flourishing. Leaves had begun losing their bright green hues and darkened to shades of gold and red. It suited Nakki well. The death of summer was her favorite time of the year. Since the cool weather rolled in, she no longer felt as if she’d die of heat stroke during the day, and thus was happy to be awake during the “normal” hours of other wolves. Today, the sun was hidden behind a gray dusting of clouds, but the overcast sky had little effect on the pleasant temperature.

     It was a perfect day to go out and do things… which was exactly why Näkki was going to take a nap. Let the other wolves work today, because they would, inevitable, be about enjoying the day and finishing missions for their leaders. In essence – they could do the work she could be doing today, because they were motivated to. And why not let them do the work while she enjoyed the pleasant archives of her fine mind? … Probably because Andras would want her doing things, like finishing her mission. Siren. Näkki’s ear flicked in annoyance. The pup had been occupying every thought of her mind lately.

     She was really should just beat the little rebel. Well… maybe not. Näkki really didn’t enjoy beating things, but that was maybe why her life was always so difficult. She never wanted to do what was easy. It was in her base nature – she liked chasing, and hardly understood why she should ever want to catch anything. She caught prey because she had been taught to, and her vicious streak had been groomed and praised so that it had become a part of her. She had hoped the same method would work with Siren.

     But if it was having any impact, she couldn’t tell. The damn puppy had a good streak, and that will was so strong that Näkki couldn’t think of another way besides complicated schemes of plotting to have multiple friends betray Siren and try to kill her. No… a beating would probably be best. Or torture? Maybe she should have Siren torture someone. Maybe that would crack her youthful mind. Or you could just beat her, Näkki heaved a sigh of disgust at the reoccurring thought. She wanted to do Andras proud, but she was becoming impatient…

     And thus the spiral of thought and debate continued as Näkki sprawled out across the ground under the shades of low foliage. Her matte black fur melded with the shadows and her camouflage was so complete that any wolf not actively searching wouldn’t notice her hidden sleeping place. She didn’t expect her snooze to be disturbed… well, expect for her troubled thoughts. It would be a long time before she actually found any sort of peaceful rest.

Näkki