597.
Kaena was no stranger to death. She had inflicted it on many others in her time without hesitation; life was a fickle and fleeting thing anyway. It was not as if the silver-furred woman had never experienced that desperation; she had viewed it in the eyes of many of her prey. For an ancient thing like Kaena, full of fear and aggression and violence, one would think death would get easier—sadly, it did not. This particular incidence of it was worse still for Kaena, because she knew there was truly nothing that she could do for Sofia. If she had been a herbalist, she might have concocted something to lull her to sleep, something to dull the pain. If she had known any comforting words of religion, she would have spoken them for Sofia. There was nothing more the silvery Centurion could do for the young canine but lament her imminent passing at far too young of an age.
Kaena regretted not knowing her better, not feeding her better or caring for her in some manner, but her own drama had seized hold of her, and if Sofia knew the depth of the hybrid's issues, perhaps the Tirones would not hold it against the silver-furred elder. Painfully slow, the woman's eyes fluttered open again, those vivid green eyes cloudy and dimming quickly, their strength and vibrancy appearing to Kaena to be virtually sapped. The woman spoke the hybrid's name, and the silver-furred Centurion tilted her head to the side to better catch the soft, raspy whisper of the other canine. The hybrid settled back on her haunches next to the younger coyote hybrid, at once incredibly grateful and incredibly guilty. It was not right that a creature as old as Kaena would continue to enjoy this earth and one as young as Sofia was passing on, but as selfish as the monochrome coyote was, she would not have traded places with anyone in their dying throes. Her live was hers; she had fought viciously for it and killed for it in the past, and she would enjoy it as she saw fit. Still, she could not shake that lingering feeling of guilt, even as she placed a paw delicately on the other canine's ribcage, hesitant to even lay such a gentle touch on her in case it caused more pain.
The coyote suddenly wished she had hands, and she began to shift, her body growing larger by the minute, appendages growing more delicate and dexterous, losing the raw power of the wolf's limbs in favor of the ability to manipulate objects in the world around them. In that moment, Kaena required hands to comfort Sofia, not paws that were clumsy in such delicate situation, liable to lean too heavily or even scratch with blunted, non-retractable claws. The other canine spoke, and Kaena laid her hand against the other canine's head, stroking the top of her skull even as she coughed and labored through her words. "I do. I will take you there. You will rest with your family," the silver-furred woman promised, having every intention to keep true to this word. The hour meant that no one would miss her for several hours, and though the journey very well might take her until tomorrow, the silvery coyote did not want to disappoint Sofia. She owed it to the pale-furred hybrid, more wolf than coyote but stuck in between somewhere anyway like the rest of them. "Is there anything else?" Comfort, unfinished business, a way to roll back time and just steal a little more of it.
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