The large male said he wouldn’t hurt him. But, his father wasn’t supposed to hurt them either. And he did. He warily eyed the large male, not wanting to risk his own safety. The male was still an unknown to him, and that wasn’t something he knew how to deal with. His thoughts kept coming back to him, making him wonder if he should be back at the waters edge, if by any chance she’d made it from the current. But in his heart, his gut, he knew she’d never return. He wrinkled his nose, curling it as the discomfort crossed his soul.
His eyes pulled back to the large black male, who had asked his name. It made him pause, wondering if he should trust him. The male spoke more, of not being able to help with milk, but to be a friend, then speaking of protecting him so he could rest.
The urge to say yes was strong within, but he wondered what Mother would want him to do. She taught him to have manners, so he knew she’d be upset if he was rude. “I’m Lucà. Honestly….I don’t know what to do. She was right behind me most of the way, pushing me towards the shore, but then the current got really strong, and she was gone just like that.. What do I do?” His voice started out strong, unwavering, but by the end it was getting higher pitched, stressed and whiny. He dropped his head, his nose almost touching the grass. No interest to eat, but the guilt was hitting him hard. He lifted his head back up, looking towards the shore briefly before looking back to the male.
His gut was torn in two ways, one to trust him, but the other didn’t know if he could ever trust an adult again after what the rest of the herd had done to Mother. How was he supposed to trust a stranger when their herd had caused the injuries that led to his mother not making the swim?