Existing was difficult. Not in the whiny, spoiled child kind of difficult. I had a real reason to believe so. My eyes, if only I could see them, were so beautiful in their intensity and yet they would never see the golden light of day – or the silver of night for that matter. Yet in their depths there is a sun even more brilliant than that of this world. I have, perhaps, transcended existence upon this feeble planet. Though my family would never let me know it if it were true.

Esdeath always picked on me and finding my way through the den grounds was hard enough already. Today was a bit different, however, in that Abel had disappeared. His scent was not as strong as normal and through an intense bout of nosing around the den I found that he was not anywhere near. A grunt of discontent was mumbled in the darkness before I gracelessly bumbled out of the den and into the day.

I care not for my own safety, only that of my misplaced brother, and so I go wandering off at an ungainly pace in his wake. His scent was not a difficult one to pick up – he had not been gone for long after all – but it took me far longer to reach him than I had hoped. Sometimes the shift of wind would frighten me into stiffening up, or the sound of something in the trees. I was learning with each day that I stepped out of the den but it would all never be enough.

The solid ground soon turns to mush beneath my small paws and I pause for a moment in shock. I feel the granules shifting beneath my weight and for a moment I am afraid of what I may have stepped into. The sounds of the waves crashing in the distance blocks out any other noise that may try to pierce the air and as such I do not hear the gleeful cries of the girl beyond. I wait there in awe for a moment longer until I determine that this warm, mushy stuff is safe and continue to tread upon the fading trail of Abel. It is only when his scent becomes ever stronger that my hope returns and my pace quickens. I jog unsteadily, sometimes tripping over the mounds of sand, until I bump into his ribs. ”Oof.” It is mumbled as I take a few steps back and generously wag my tail.

The scents of the two other girls blow in with the sea breeze and I turn in the direction that it had gusted from, my face full of curiosity. ”Who are you with, Abel?” I speak to the only pup that I know there, trusting what he may say.