Silence hung heavy in the air, and for a moment Cartel wondered if he had imagined the light voice. Or, his mind shifted back to his sisters, and he thought maybe they had imitated the sound from somewhere else. He imagined them creeping ever closer, preparing to shove him backwards onto the ice. Nervously, he took a step back and felt the cold sand shift beneath his paws. He was very close to the shore now, only one more step and his paws would break through the ice that he did not realize was growing thin as spring drew near. He swallowed hard, trying to stand tall and staring off in the direction that the voice had come from. Once more the ice groaned and he couldn’t help but flinch, the hair along his spine standing on end as his nerves washed over him like the waves that crashed against the southern shores. But then she spoke again, and as his ears strained forward he thought that there was no way that either of his sisters could convincingly imitate such a voice.
Samia, she said her name was. He tried to remember if he’d ever heard of her before, but he did not know any wolves beyond his littermates, mother, and elder siblings. The smallness of his world seemed to press down upon him, but the more she spoke the more relaxed he felt. He’d never heard a voice like hers before, so soft and friendly and light and good. He imagined that if the sun had a tone, it would sound like her voice. And yet, as she asked about his sight he felt his guard pop back up, prepared for the ridicule and derision that was sure to follow after he answered. But without sight he hadn’t the opportunity to learn the ways that facial expressions gave away emotions. So the way his brows pulled together and his nose lowered in a protective way revealed how defensive and withdrawn he suddenly felt. He’d been told what a horrible liar he was, but he didn’t realize it was because the truth was always written plainly on his face. ”I…well...no, I can’t.” He said, huffing under his breath, not even attempting to hide the obvious from her. What was the point?
A single white paw lifted, slowly tracing a circle in the sand. Did he want her to go? The part of him that only associated female pups with his sisters’ horrendous treatment of him made him want to snipe at her and tell her to go away. But the part of him that was reminded of the summer sun each time she spoke wanted to beg her to stay. Each thought ran across his face as plain as day and his ears drew back before they pricked forward again. ”Do what you want,” he settled on, his voice somewhat hurt and vulnerable, expecting her to not want to be around a blind kid. Who would?
The ice groaned again, this time carrying on until it gave way to a clear, booming crack as the very center of the channel finally gave way to the rush of water beneath and opened up. Startled and overwhelmed by the roaring sound, he spun and stepped back. To his dismay, he had misjudged how close he was to the ice’s edge, and a single hind paw crashed through the thin ice, plunging into the icy waters. He yelped pathetically at the freezing cold and withdrew it quickly, stumbling back inland and feeling completely disoriented. His head swung back and forth, trying to get his bearings, but the clashing of ice and the rushing of water threw him off. He knew the water was at his back, but he had lost his position along the beach. Even if he wanted to in his extreme embarrassment, he wouldn’t know where to run to hide himself from Samia, the girl with the golden voice.
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