They had just let me sleep through the whole thing. It wasn't the deaf kid's fault for not waking up, surely- and in the commotion of it all I had been left slumbering within the den. Perhaps it was due to my deafness that I was such a deep sleeper, but not even the vibrations from the fight and subsequent gathering of wolves had woken me. And so when I had finally wandered out, bleary eyed and confused, I was left to deal with a dead bear and two dead uncles. I wasn't sure how to feel. I was young, and I hadn't known my uncles well, though I was slightly satisfied that it was not my father who had died. Perhaps it was the selfishness of children that created this thought, or something deeper, maybe.
Regardless, the smell of the bear was pervasive, and I found myself quite disgusted by it. I had a good sense of smell and it was usually pretty useful, but not right now. I felt... overwhelmed, and not for the first time I found myself glad that I was deaf. I felt like it might be too overwhelming to experience this with all of my senses.
My head swung around as I looked at the wolves who had gathered- several of them I didn't know. I tried to take them all in but it was hard, I didn't like these big groups and I don't think that I ever would. I could perfect lip-reading, but I would still have to focus on one mouth at a time to understand. I sat in front of my father so I could look at him, my head cocked curiously and my tail curled neatly around my paws. I was a good son, I was. Attentive, quiet. Of course, only by necessity.
I narrow my eyes as he begins to speak, clearly talking to one of the strangers that I didn't know. My gaze drifts away and settles on the pup sitting near my father's feet. Something about him feels... familiar, but I can't quite place it. Perhaps it's the way he seems to pay no mind to my father's words, or the way his ears flop uselessly like mine. I decided that if he was deaf, I didn't very much care.
I glance back up at my father and catch his last words. "La-ven-der." I sound the word out, it's unfamiliar to me. "What's...that?" My voice is slow, monotone- I sound a complete idiot (at least, to the ears of others) and it pains me that I can't get my thoughts across in that way that I intend.
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