The Trouble with Kids

Skoll Haskel · 01-24-2012, 12:36 AM

[html]

sswm 332

The lithe coywolf stretched, and Skoll realized for the first time that he was nearly her size already. It made him feel—surprise surprise—even more like a big boy rather than the little pup she’d playacted stories with only a couple of months ago. He would probably get bigger than her; the hybrid vigor of wolf-dog mixes usually resulted in large animals, and already he had proven to be the largest of the litter. Whether or not he would absolutely dwarf her was yet to be seen, but the thought of looking down at everyone he used to have to crane his neck upwards to look at was a little overwhelming. For all his promises to grow huge and strong and be a good protector for the pack, he was understanding—just a little—what his father meant by enjoying his time as a puppy. For the most part, though, he was like every other kid—wanting to get the growing part over with so they could be like the adults, and like his role model the King.

His mouth gaped at her offer, and excitedly he rose back onto all fours, tail wagging at a commendable tempo. “Yes, I’d like!” he burst out. He gave his head a disbelieving shake. “All the other grownups are boring; they don’t wanna teach me cool stuff or help me fight anything.” And it was probably for the best with his overeager attitude, but to the boy, it was only smothering his chances at being a good warrior when he matured.

Her question about the tiger caught him off guard, and he watched the sweep of her tail while his tongue fell from his pale jaws. Tigers had long stripe-y tails, right? He cleared his throat, his green eyes darting left to an empty patch of air.

“It was um—bit off. By a…by a bear. Or a coyote warrior.”

And Skoll grinned again. He couldn’t get enough of how awesome he was.

Login




Remember me Lost Password?