fiammetta
by fire be purged
The cold water dripped from the end of her nose, while the rest of its breathy kiss evaporated into the warm atmosphere, called from her by the beckoning rays of the spring sun. She soaked in the delicious feeling of it as it soothed her weeping sores, and only let her red eye flicker open upon hearing a splash from the pool at her paws. There, standing before her chest deep in the icy bracket of water, was Atlas. His magnificent, monochrome pelt with its spatterings of red glistened and sparkled with the reflection of the water, but she grimaced as she noted the gobbets of pus coating his guard hairs where they pierced the blue skin. Embarrassed and suddenly weary, she turned her face from him, although her keen ear caught the ripples and soft splashes as he emerged from the pool to lie beside her, his pelt cooling her hot skin where it pressed against her.
She turned to him, about to speak, but let her expression of dissapointment, weariness and affection do the talking. He, in his turn, watched her with concern, no hint of judgement clouding his eyes, before he nudged her muzzle so that she turned her good eye away from him. With expert gentleness, he began to scour the puncture wounds that opened into her eye socket, scouring away the debris and infection. She leaned into his touch, red eye half closed and breath coming slower with contentment. Somehow, despite it all, Atlas made her feel whole where, without him, emptiness would have bounded. She knew he was younger, perhaps more naïve, yet his presence soothed her like no other's could and she suddenly felt a rush of fondness and gratitude towards him. Pulling away from his rhythmic licking, she turned to nuzzle the fur of his chest and paused there a moment, breathing him in, before pulling away and allowing him to clean her afresh.
Struggling not to fall asleep beneath his expert touch, she parted her dark lips to talk for the first time, although her voice was drowsy, “Thank you for coming, Atlas. Without you I expect I would have eventually succumbed to infection.” and then a deep sigh, “I am truly sorry, for failing our cause again. I thought myself stronger, more adept, and yet I feel the fire may have made an error in choosing me. I could not beat Tobias and I could not beat Eden either, so I do not know how it expects me to clear the world of the dark ones. I couldn't even stop them from reproducing. The nameless witch has puppies now you know, and Tobias imprint does as well. I met one, his name was Singe, and I should have killed him but he was too smart, too gentle, and...” She broke off, aware she had been talking too much, and let her gaze rest on the horizon, struggling to squelch the emotions of inferiority that plagued her.
When the sentiments refused to leave her, she suddenly shook her head and moved away from the male, slipping like a seal into the pool so that only her head and her neck remained above the water. She watched him for a moment, letting a grin warm her face, before using her muzzle to splash icy water at the other, the wagging of her tail stirring up the sand at the bottom of the pond. Fiammetta did not often play, but her need to distract herself from her most recent failure brought out a side of her Atlas would not have seen before, although she hoped he would accept it as easily as he seemed to accept her ravaged face.
No Home - No Family - 6YO - 22 in, 32 lbs