fiammetta
by fire be purged
The world was cold and bitter, but its heart burned just as bright and fiercely as always. That was one of the wonders of nature, and it warmed Fiammetta to know that the bonfire in her heart had its match beneath the mantle of the earth, where lava bubbled and coiled and ate into rock. If she listened hard enough, kept still for long enough, she could almost feel its movement beneath her fur. The idea warmed her even more than the watery rays of the winter sun, and she flexed her muscles, deliciously content, all thoughts of desire, Atlas and undesirable current affairs pushed from her mind. While she lay, eyes closed in contemplation, the wind changed and she caught the aroma of a wolf she didn't know. Immediately she was on hyper alert, and every unfortunate happening from her past whirled through her subconscious so that she growled and slavered, only ceasing her frightful display when it became clear that the one who stalked her was young, a pup from the self-same winter or the previous, perhaps. Unlike her late grandmother, Fiam bore little patience for the busy curiosity of youngsters and she hoped he would grow bored and leave her be. Instead though, he shuffled ever closer to her, his noisy pup-paws crushing the grass so that it sounded as though a herd of bison approached her, not a single, troublesome child. With a sigh, she got ready for his assault and was disappointed.
The boy had mistimed his leap, and landed upon her rock for but a second, his jaws clacking together painfully on her fur before he tumbled back into the snow, the air escaping his lungs in a loud rush. Fiam narrowed her eyes angrily, glaring at the white boy as he rolled over, although even she could not stay mad at his innocence for more than a few heartbeats. In a voice too gruff, she sharply reprimanded him, “Now what would your mother think, you attacking strange wolves while they nap? If you were mine I'd give you a sound nipping, or let Tobias eat you.” She needed her sentence with a growl, and immediately regretted her harsh words. It was not his fault that he was born of the enemy, and lived in enemy grounds. Harming him would do nothing but cause her to sink as low as her enemies were in her eyes. Her annoyance died and she tried to patch things over with the male, “It sounded to like a whole pack of wolves was trying to sneak up on me. How would you like a stalking lesson?”
It was, in all honesty, the last thing she felt like doing, but Fiam's guilt wouldn't let her rest until she had done something to amend her earlier, grouchy behaviour. She didn't think Atlas would see it as her fraternizing with the enemy by choice, and she didn't see anything too wrong with it either. Mind made up, she pulled herself to her paws, enjoying the last vestiges of warmth soaking up through her pads while she waited for a reply, wondering what the reaction of the little one would be now that he could see her damaged body and missing eye.
No Home - No Family - 5YO - 28 in, 32 lbs