A wandering wolf pup stumbles upon some items that bother him for reasons he can't quite remember.


A rather short story, probably the shortest I ever published. Completed within a single 24 hour period with sporadic additions during that time.


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He wondered how he got here, underneath the berry bushes and covered in falling leaves. He didn’t quite remember, but at the same time he didn’t care. The dark clad wolf pup darted out of the brush and splashed into a pile of leaves.

With a happy cry, he rolled himself back and forth in the pile, scattering foliage in every direction. Smells that felt fresh and new to him tugged at his nostrils. The sensations were good, he couldn’t remember a time when he felt anything like what he did right now.

Yet, one stench that he encountered did not feel at all enjoyable. His senses told him there was a danger. He tumbled upright and darted away from the pile of leaves, wanting to leave and get away from an unknown threat.

He dashed off past the brushes and down some clearing before settling on hiding underneath much larger bushes. He turned his gaze toward where he came from, hoping what he detected would not come.

Why was he afraid of that smell? He couldn’t remember. It was dangerous, he knew, somehow.

Once he decided he was free of the unknown menace, he decided now would be a good time to continue playing again. He stuck his head outside of the brush and continued off in some random direction, wondering what he could find.

His eyes caught onto something, shiny and gleaming up ahead. That told the pup everything he needed to know. Something was interesting, he just knew it. He traveled towards the source of the gleaming and saw something funny, yet vaguely familiar. It was like a stick, but it appeared to be in some sort of funny shape with a shiny tube up top.

He sniffed the top part, noticing a weird stench that felt funny against his nose. He was sure he hadn’t seen it before, whatever it was. Which made him all the more curious.
The little wolf bit down on the shiny end, that part interesting more, only to let go once he decided the funny taste wasn’t worth the effort.

Deciding that he was still not done with that thing though, he moved towards the other end, the part that looked like a stick. At least that part tasted good. He bit on the smoothened wood, determining to test his teeth against it. He bit and he bit, moving slowly closer to the middle section and-

BOOM!

The little wolf darted away, scared and frightened at the sudden thunderous noise coming out from his find. He whimpered, scared and no longer interested in biting.

A minute passed and the funny object just laid there as though the pup never touched it, whatever happened seemed to be a one time affair.

Daring himself a little, the puppy moved up closer to that object and sniffed it. Everything felt… warm about the thing, like fire or lightning really came from its mouth. He whimpered, honestly, he should have known.

Still, the little wolf no longer cared for it, planning to dismiss that frightening find utterly. His attention was caught by something odd nearby. He rushed towards that, bringing his nose to bear.

Unlike the last item, this time, it was something soft, smooth, practically a sheet with an odd color, like the sky. There was some sort of opening in it, too like a miniature cave he could just dive into. The smell was odd, bringing all sorts of funny ideas into his head. The pup wondered for a moment what it might have been like to wear it… though he wasn’t sure how he got that idea.

Nearby, the pup saw other items, similar to the last one, but all in slightly different colors, all lying scattered on the ground. They all had that funny smell on them that the pup didn’t have any idea of what to do with.

He sniffed at them again, curious, his tail wagging. He wondered who could have left these things. He was sure they were very important but he wasn’t quite sure how.

A single chill went up the little wolf’s back and then he realized that he wasn’t alone anymore.
He tucked himself into the nearest “cave”, hiding himself beneath the sheet. He wasn’t sure of how he known, but he did know of the danger that was nearby. The little wolf then stuck his head out and looked at the newcomer, fearful.

Standing at least a dozen feet away from the little wolf was a larger and older wolfess, her gaze focused intently onto the small wolfling.

Though she didn’t utter any growls or barks, the little wolf had a strong sense of dread looking at the wolfess, as if she radiated an aura of danger around her. He whimpered and cried, afraid and fearful for a reason he couldn’t fully understand; she was dangerous.

But the wolfess simply choose to lay down where she sat, as if inviting him over, waiting for the pup to come nearer.

The pup felt his heart pulsing. He knew something was about the happen, something bad. He wanted to run, wanted to bolt for freedom… yet an urge elsewhere in his chest kept him from escaping.

His stomach growled… he felt hungry.

The wolfess yawned, as if not noticing the pup’s odd behavior.

But the pup felt like he was fighting a losing battle against his own urges.

He left the safety of his small shelter and slowly stepped forward one step at a time towards the wolfess. He tried to turn himself back, turn himself free, but his feet wouldn’t respond. He was terrified of what would happen next, he was sure of it. Yet all he could do was step forward.

With each step, the little pup began to feel his will breaking, his ability to resist failing him. Yet at the same time, his legs felt proportionately weaker, as if slowly tiring from the effort of just stepping forward. In fact, he was losing far more than his ability to resist his urgings and stand. The pup was shrinking, his legs growing shorter and stubbier and his length rapidly shrinking.

He didn’t understand anymore about what happened around him; in fact, he didn’t even recall what it was that made him so scared of the wolfess in the first place. Why would he be scared of his mommy?

By the time the little wolf was within the last foot of the wolfess, he was barely capable of standing. His legs wobbled and his progress slowed dramatically as he kept trying to stand on no longer capable legs.

The wolfess looked upon him with what some might call a look of satisfaction. She turned her body enough and exposed her undersides to the rapidly declining cub, as if waiting to accept him.

The pup’s mouth watered, the promise of feeding, spurring the last of his failing strength. He waddled forward and tumbled towards his mother, landing just outside of range. He pulled himself, his limbs far too weak and small to stand now and crawled up to the nearest place where he might feed.

The wolfess licked her new cub, satisfied with the results. It had taken her a while, but she had finally finished what she started yesterday. Now she was left with a newborn pup that needed caring for.

Her new son’s eyes began to close, his ability to see things weakening, vanishing as every other capability he once had faded away; he was no longer able to fend for himself. But he didn’t mind, he had his mommy.