12-31-2008, 03:53 PM
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It was time. Tayui did not know how she knew, but realized soon enough that such knowledge was irrelevant. She had not expected this so soon -- no, she thought she still had a few days, maybe even a week? Pause, inhale, exhale, breathe. No. Not a week; that was too generous, too long, too far away. You could not touch it, could not see it in the distance. A week was the continent across the sea, not the gently rolling hills that led to the edges of the land.
She had found her den soon enough, as she had not dared venture too far from the reserve. And then, before she knew it, it was over. She smiled at the four puppies that grinned back at her, four little heads, four little bodies, and sixteen little paws. She said nothing to them, knowing they would not hear it, and instead spoke to them in her head, welcoming them to the world. It would be just over a week before they could see or hear, but that would not stop her from addressing them. One puppy attempted to wobble over to her, but tripped, falling on one of his siblings. She smiled, thinking of the books she had read on the Roman Empire, of their Emperors and people. He would be Claudius, the unsuspecting Emperor who swept into power from behind a curtain, limping and stuttering. The one he fell on would be Attila, her brave warrior from beyond the safety of the Roman Empire. There were two girls, one whose colouring seemed to mimic her own, a stripe of fur down her back and a mix of cinnamons and browns. She would be Noir, her mixed princess, a melody of greys and browns, cinnamons and cocoa's. And the last would be Ocèane, her name a mix of Greek and Latin heritage, of the Green Okeanus, son of Uranus and Gaia, the personified ocean, the encircling body of water. She would be the water that surrounded these lands, the girl with the soul of the sea. At last, Tayui smiled, content.
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It was time. Tayui did not know how she knew, but realized soon enough that such knowledge was irrelevant. She had not expected this so soon -- no, she thought she still had a few days, maybe even a week? Pause, inhale, exhale, breathe. No. Not a week; that was too generous, too long, too far away. You could not touch it, could not see it in the distance. A week was the continent across the sea, not the gently rolling hills that led to the edges of the land.
She had found her den soon enough, as she had not dared venture too far from the reserve. And then, before she knew it, it was over. She smiled at the four puppies that grinned back at her, four little heads, four little bodies, and sixteen little paws. She said nothing to them, knowing they would not hear it, and instead spoke to them in her head, welcoming them to the world. It would be just over a week before they could see or hear, but that would not stop her from addressing them. One puppy attempted to wobble over to her, but tripped, falling on one of his siblings. She smiled, thinking of the books she had read on the Roman Empire, of their Emperors and people. He would be Claudius, the unsuspecting Emperor who swept into power from behind a curtain, limping and stuttering. The one he fell on would be Attila, her brave warrior from beyond the safety of the Roman Empire. There were two girls, one whose colouring seemed to mimic her own, a stripe of fur down her back and a mix of cinnamons and browns. She would be Noir, her mixed princess, a melody of greys and browns, cinnamons and cocoa's. And the last would be Ocèane, her name a mix of Greek and Latin heritage, of the Green Okeanus, son of Uranus and Gaia, the personified ocean, the encircling body of water. She would be the water that surrounded these lands, the girl with the soul of the sea. At last, Tayui smiled, content.