fiammetta
by fire be purged
Blinded by her lack of insight,she did not see the indifference in the pup's curious gaze as he destroyed the butterfly beneath his clumsy paw. She saw only what she wanted to see; youthful abandon masking a kindness inherited from his mother no doubt. The thought pleased her greatly, and her grin was resilient even as the pup seemed not to understand or take much heed to her words about his dam and sire. Instead, he focused on destroying his delicate prize, wholly absorbed with the task at hand, so that she wondered if her next words would simply pass him by.
They didn't.
The boy glanced at her as she spoke of the meaning behind the word poisonous, tripping over her own tongue as though it were a foreign body placed in her mouth by a callous god. He didn't seem to notice her difficulty, however, and continued to listen intently as she imparted a few gems of wisdom to him. He soaked up her words like a sponge, beautiful eyes narrowing as he watched her, his jaws parting to repeat her words in a manner that she had begun to grow more accustomed to. “Yes, little one, very good! Bright can be bad. Poisonous makes you sick!” Her own tail set to wagging as she considered the progress the boy had made in one meeting with her, and her lipless jaws split in a grin that warmed the damaged side of her face.
Singe approached her then, and the vague scent of Tobias preceding him put Fiammetta on edge. Her tail ceased its motion and her single ear slicked against her skull, but she did not move, reminding herself that blood did not necessarily make a murderer. He pressed ever closer until he stood directly before her muzzle, and rose up onto is hind legs to peer into her single eye. It rolled in her head as she moved to stare at him, wholly confused. The innocent words that fell from his haunting mouth, however, served to explain his disconcerting actions and Fiam sighed, a bubble of laughter bursting into the air. Between chuckles, she tried to enlighten the boy to his error, but wasn't sure just how she would manage to do so, “No, no! Eyes not poisonous. Eyes see. Bright colours on other animals mean poisonous. Not eyes.”
Growing weary of explaining, Fiam lowered herself into a sphinx position where she stood, although her muscles remained taut lest she need to spring to her feet. The sun was setting at her back, and she could feel the delicious rays stroking her bare skin and pelt with soothing fingers, “It gets late. Won't mother of Singe be worried?”
No Home - No Family - 6YO - 22 in, 32 lbs