Nothing like Manual labor

[Caillen Winters]

[html]

table © Noelle
SoSuWriMo: 382

There was something so wise about the other male, although he didn't look particularly old. Caillen figured that it was a sort of wisdom that sprang from the self-assurance he so desired; Saluce seemed pretty grounded in who he was. The boy respected that greatly, for it was a rare thing to come by these days, and he had been brought up with a shifting and unstable sense of self-worth. But he could see now the value in perseverance, and that brought a strange sense of calm to his previously frustrated mind.

He nodded to the man's words, accepting them for the truth the bared. He would carry these words with him for a long time, mulling them over when times got tough again. "Yes, sir." He replied respectfully, before taking up the axe and continuing on with the job.

Saluce was watching him still, but now that he had broken through his failures, each axe-swing hit correctly. He was not quite as good at it as the grey male, as he lacked the experience. But each swing brought him a little closer to the final goal, and so the boy continued. When his new-found guide asked a question, the tall wolfdog took a short break, finding that he was panting slightly from the continuous effort. He wiped the back of one hand across his brow before answering. "I... I did something, something bad." He frowned, clearly troubled by the memory of yelling at his mother and Sylvie. "It felt right tae me at the time - I was just so angry, it seemed like I had no other options. But now, I'm dinnae know anymore." Startled with his own blatant honesty, Caillen gazed quietly at Saluce a moment. For some reason, he found that he had no desire to lie to the male.

Hefting the axe back over his shoulder, he continued to speak between strokes. "I think that I-" CRACK! "-have hurt the ones I love-" CRACK! "-and now I am afraid-" CRACK! "-that I cannae make it right again." With a mighty splintering sound, the log finally broke clean through. Pleased with his accomplishment, but nervous that he had spoken too much, Caillen's sky-blue gaze returned to Saluce, and he held out the axe to be taken from him.