A Marvelous Return

Venema Ikaon · 04-19-2011, 04:07 PM

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OOC here!

Venema somewhat startled when Ookami mentioned his mother. He was about to explain, but then he started apologizing for it, saying he didn't have to answer the question. "Why are you apologizing? I'm honored that you want to know more about my mother," he inquired, cocking his head slightly to the side, then sighed. "I think it would be best if I explain everything from the start. I was not born into a family, I was born into a unit. We were at war with another rival pack, and when I say war, I mean war. These were not petty squabbles, or honorable one on one duels. We lived in constant fear and awareness of our own mortality, and eventually became completely nomadic. The newborns never played, never laughed, and we most certainly never smiled. From the day we could walk, we were taught how to fight. We were bred for war..."

"I, however was a very special pup. I was fragile and cowardly, and refused to fight unless my life depended on it. At first, the worst that could happen was a lecture and a round of teasing from the other pups, but soon the pack leader found a better use for me. I became what we called 'The Whipping Boy.' If anyone broke the rules, instead of punishing the wolf who committed the act, they would punish me. They believed that by punishing the other wolves, they were weakening them. After that, no one would talk to me, or even look at me, and those who did, did so with either smug amusement, or sheer disappointment. My mother was the only exception."

"She would comfort me after every beating, sing me to sleep, and she almost always smiled, despite her own scars from my father's abuse. She was kind and loving, and taught me that physical strength is not the only kind of strength. She was the only ray of sunlight in the endless black void that was my life. I knew my life was not a good one, but it seemed to me that it was still better than death. For four months life went on like this. But then, the pack began to crumble."

"It was very clear that the pack was falling apart. The constant strain of war, and the rising wave of lawlessness had driven us to almost nothing. Instead of questioning their leader, the pack decided that I was to blame, and that I had to pay the ultimate price: death. My mother, upon hearing the news, took me and fled, knowing that this place was only a couple hours away from our current position. She told me where to find it before we left, just in case, and for a minute, we almost thought we had escaped. But then we were spotted by the guards, and they began pursuing us. We ran our fastest, but neither she nor I could match the speed of the guards. She shouted for me to keep going and stopped. Thinking only of myself, I continued running, and for a few minutes, all was silent. I kept looking back to see if she was coming up behind me. I kept telling myself that she had beaten the guards, and that she would catch up any second, and we would both come here together," he paused, a whine growing in his throat. For a moment, he sat breathing deeply, and then once he was sure he would not cry out in anguish, he continued. "But she never came. I ran along a river, to help the guards lose my scent, and then veered off in the direction my mother had told me to go. I found a cave that smelled thickly of bear along the way, and, having run for a very long time, I sat and rested. As I was sitting in the cave, I heard voices. The guards passed the cave, not knowing that I lay inside. I heard them talking about my mother, and I could see their beige muzzles caked in blood. '...the bitch had it coming to her too. Always smiling. Annoyed the f*** out of me,' one griped. 'Well now that we've wiped that f***ing grin off her face, we've got to find her f***ing kid...' the other chuckled. After that, they were gone, and I sat for another minute before dashing out, and heading here. That's pretty much when I met you Dominick," he concluded with a sigh, and then looked to the two listeners. "To answer your question in a nutshell, Ookami, she gave her life for me. The reason I'm here is because of her," he said carefully. He let out a sigh. He felt like a great weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He hoped, though, that his story would not scare off his new friends.

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