High pitched wails woke the sleeping mother, and her sapphire eyes cracked open. At only nine days old their eyes were still closed and their hearing was very limited. When they were born, Kiara had refused to name them. It was a long-standing tradition of her birth pack. Most puppies didn’t make it through their first few weeks of life, and because of that her birth pack had created a naming tradition. Puppies only received their names after they had lived for two weeks.

Blues watched as the young wolves crawled slowly around. Their whines and yips sounded through the dark den and brightened Kiara’s world. They had all gained a considerable amount of weight and had tripled in size. The proud mother gently leaned down to lick her puppies and lovingly nuzzled each one in turn. None had names, despite the fact that Ichika’s tradition was to name all puppies, living or dead. Kiara didn’t understand it, but she finally decided to proceed with their naming.

Kiara sat and though carefully about the names she would bestow upon her children. Names were important, and a good name would ensure a healthy and happy life, or so said the tradition. As per tradition, she started with her oldest, her first-born son. He was a mix of colors similar to his father, although their placement was different. The white wolf ran through a series of masculine names, and rejected all of them immediately. She thought of her father, Chogan, the parent she identified with the most and loved with all her heart. But she hated his name. That’s when her thoughts strayed to her grandfather. Although she had never met him, he was supposedly a wise and caring individual with enough strength to take down a bison single handedly. Kohaku, it had a nice ring to it. Kiara smiled and lowered her maw, whispering the new name to her son. She repeated it three times before she licked him on the head and proceeded onto her next puppy.

Her eldest daughter was next to receive a name. Again, the young mother thought through several female names before discarding them all. Alonso’s face appeared in her mind, and she looked down at her daughter. She was a wonderful blend of both parents and she was an adorable child. Alonso had been from Mexico and Kiara thought of the only two relatively Mexican names she knew: Lucia and Anabell. Kiara took a liking to both names and she just couldn’t pick one. So in the end, she decided to use both. The arctic wolf leaned down to her eldest daughter and whispered her name, ”Lucia. Lucia. Lucia.” Then to the youngest daughter she bestowed the name Anna, and whispered it three times as well.

When Anna’s name was bestowed, Kiara couldn’t help but notice her cries. They were much softer than the cries of her siblings. Kiara’s ears flicked back in worry as she gently licked Anna. ”Please be okay sweet heart. You are my darling, my life.” The young mother’s body wrapped around all of her children, as if she could protect them from the world. She gently moved Anna away from the others and licked the puppy until all four of them fell asleep.

It was morning when Kiara woke again, and her mouth opened wide in a great yawn. Bleary eyed she stared down at her children and smiled. Kohaku and Lucia were tucked into her fur and happily sleeping the day away. Anna, on the other hand, wasn’t moving. Suddenly worried, Kiara gently nudged her daughter with the tip of her nose. ”Anna, my heart, wake up…” Kiara paused, the stark reality not setting in. ”Anna, c’mon. Move for mommy…Anna…Anna!” Kiara grew frantic and her voice raised in pitched as she nudged the still puppy. Harder and harder she pushed, her long tongue running over the still child over and over again.

Horror slowly engulfed the new mother as she stared down at her dead child. She had been moving just the other day. There had been life in the small, plump form when she had fallen asleep. Kiara gingerly picked up the rigid form and placed it in-between her paws. She laid completely still as the hours ticked away. Her hunger was forgotten, her other two children safe and warm next to their grieving mother. After a long time, Kiara stood. The dead puppy hung from her jaws as she moved slowly out of her den. Kiara moved towards the river and her sad eyes scanned the landscape. A large tree perched on the riverbank caught Kiara’s attention and there, she buried her daughter.

Sorrow filled the young mother and crushed her spirit. She raised her maw to the sky and sang to the heavens. Pained grieving tones filled the air, along with anger. For several minutes her song rang out and raged against the heavens for taking her Anna away from her. Weary and tired, she returned to her den where her remaining puppies resided.

Table by: Cait