We are all broken
That’s how the light gets in.
-Ernest Hemingway
‘I’m not… I… I would never do that. Please don’t think that…’
She stumbled over her words almost as much as he did, which gave him a little peace of mind, a little shred of confidence that she meant what she said - that she would not hurt him. She did not seem to mind his company… Well… She did seem nervous and unsure, but if anything, she seemed to not want him to get closer, rather than the alternative that he had been worried about - that she would injure him. He wasn’t sure why that had immediately jumped to his mind - after all, he had never had a bad experience with another wolf. Maybe it had something to do with all of the stories that Macaria had told him. But it was this ess’ smile that truly erased all thoughts of harm from his mind - it was such a soft, beautiful smile, it was like the smile that Macaria gave to her pups whenever they had a nightmare - reassuring, calming. Still, he was cautious in his approach, but now it was mainly so as not to upset her. She seemed flighty, like a bird who had not quite decided whether or not to stay or fly away, and he couldn’t understand why. After all, he was the pup and she was the adult - what did she have to fear from him?
“What a lovely name Evandros. My name is Arcadia.”
Evy was excited to have finally met someone who was not his family, someone who was willing to talk to him and interact with him. Evandros had stumbled over his words, his tongue feeling fat and slow in his mouth as he thought with what to say. He had never struggled like this whenever he spoke with his mom or his dad or siblings… And he had never found occasion to talk to Kershov himself any of the times that he had met him a few times. The little brute immediately became self-conscious, his towers pinning themselves down in embarrassment and shame, but it lasted but a moment for Arcadia reassured him once again - he had done nothing wrong, it was perfectly natural to mix up his words every known again. That led to his tail wagging, happy, relaxed again. It had been speedy from the start, but as soon as Arcadia accepted his outreached paw and nuzzled against it and then put a little caressing embrace onto his shoulder, it was something harder, like it had a heartbeat of its own, doubling his power and speed. And he felt a lightness of this trust, a happiness. Was this what it was like to have a friend? Someone who you could talk to without fear?
That was why he had not been afraid to mention his family - how they were sleeping soundly. And he was confused by her response – after all, to him, vampirism was normal. He understood that not all wolves did that, and that the majority of them were not vampires, but in his mind, vampires were just like any other wolf… Except that they only drank blood for carnivores, could not go out in the sun… Those minor details. She seemed to get over her initial shock, and his confusion was fleeting, given his young mind and his short attention span he soon forgot any concern she had shown. And then, she was questioning-why wasn’t he with them, why wasn’t he sleeping? Evandros blushed and look down, one of his paws drawing little circles in the salt of the shore. “I… I like the sun. It’s so warm and makes everything so pretty looking. Even you with your dirty, mussed up fur, you’re so pretty because the sun is making yours all sparkly and stuff. But in the night, under the moon, you would look more of a dull gray or maybe more brown color? I get that my mommy can’t go out, and I love my mommy and I love spending time with her and my siblings, but… But I just don’t want to only be out night. So I usually slip out for a few hours, then sleep for a few hours, and then I’m up all night! I get the best of both worlds!”
The conversation had switched to her coat, and he saw her eyes get all swirly with water, like his dad or his siblings did when one of the others played too rough, or when they were overly tired or overly hungry, and a soft whine pulled itself from his lips. “Are you hungry Miss Arcadia? Mommy and Daddy usually have a little food left over if you want me to go back and get it?” But his voice trailed off as she spoke to him about her own family - they weren’t from here… And she was all alone. His whine only intensified… He had only spent a quarter of a day alone, and already he had been home sick. “Why are you here if your family is not here? Are you looking for a new family? I bet Mommy would adopt you! Even though… You… you are both adults… Maybe she could adopt you as a sister! Is that a thing? Mom is really nice! So is Daddy! You could be Daddy’s sister!”
Evandros thought carefully about his next question - would his parents be worried? “I… Well I suppose if they woke up and found that I was gone, they might be concerned. But I’m usually careful to get back in time before that happens. Although… I’ve never left the pack before, this was my first day. But mommy does let us explore… She lets us be pretty independent. But I guess… I guess I should’ve told her where I was going. I just wanted to see what was outside… I just want to see the rest of the world…”
Evandros | pup | Wudubearo | no love | no kin