FSE

Furry search engine

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*****

Chapter Seventy Five

*****

"No! Stay out of that water. Do you want to go back in the cave?" Revaramek glared at his son from a short distance away, trying his best to act angry. But the hatchling didn't even seem to notice him. Instead, he trotted back and forth, muddy paws slapping against the damp shoreline. He stared at the black water, and the tiny things that darted about just below the surface. When he reached towards it, Revaramek growled. That gave the hatchling pause. "Korakos! No!"

Only when he called the hatchling's name did Revaramek get his attention. Korakos lifted his head, stared at his father, and put his forepaw in the black water.

"You little brat!" Revaramek hurried back to the hatchling.

"Burblelurp!" Korakos pulled his paw back just as quickly as he'd put in it.

"Oh no, we both know I saw you."

Korakos lifted his forepaw, staring at it as if trying to understand why it was suddenly tingling. He moved it towards his muzzle.

"Don't you even think about it!" Revaramek snatched the hatchling up and licked his little forepaw clean before Korakos could do the same. The black film coating it made his tongue tingle. Revaramek scrunched his muzzle, then licked at his foreleg scutes to try and clear the taste. Better his mouth than the hatchling's, at least. "You can't put your paw in that water. And you certainly can't lick your paws clean when you do!"

"Braaaaaahhh!" Korakos held his tiny paw up to Revaramek's muzzle. He spread it out, displaying the webbing between his digits. "Blaaaaaaaarrrrrrh!"

"Yes, I know you have webbed paws, but we were made for a world with _clean_water. You can't swim in that filth. At least not until you're our age." Revaramek nosed at the end of the hatchling's tail, lined with dark nubs. "Your tail webbing won't even come in till your spikes start to grow. And until then-OW!"

The hatchling smacked him on the nose with his tail. "Grraaarrrrrrrrhh!"

"He takes after you, you know." Nyramyn lounged nearby, her emerald wings splayed out across the mossy hillside.

"You mean he's resplendent and everyone loves him?" Revaramek set the hatchling back down, away from the shoreline. "You stay out of that water or you're going back in the cave."

"I mean he's a huge brat." Nyramyn snorted, tossing her head. "But at least he listens better than you do."

"Of course he does. He's a good child." Revaramek barred the hatchling from the water with a foreleg, then scooted him back. "And I listen just fine."

"Sure you do, Love." Nyramyn turned her head, regarding her wings for a little while. "And at least until he starts talking, I won't have to worry about him sassing me with you."

Revaramek laughed and flicked his tail against the shore to splatter some mud in her direction. "Oh, I'm sure he won't sass you that much."

"He certainly won't sass and backtalk me as much as you do." Nyramyn pulled a blob of mossy earth from the ground and tossed it right back at him. "Because that would be impossible."

Revaramek glared at her a moment, then lowered his head to whisper to his son. "Come along, Korakos. Let's go around to the other side of the hill. I'll teach you how to patrol and guard your homeland like a proper overlord." He gestured with his wing towards Nyramyn. "There's a cranky old swamp monster over here, anyway."

"What was that?"

"Oh, just stories, love."

"Mhmm." Nyramyn swept one of her wings towards the burbling mire. "Just kept him out of that water, or I'll drown you in it."

"You hear how she talks to me?" Revaramek nudged the little hatchling towards a dryer section of mossy ground. When the hatchling was ahead of him, he glanced back at his mate, and made a show of hoisting his tail to flash himself to her. "Drown these!"

Nyramyn cocked her head. "Are they getting smaller?"

"What?" He glanced back at himself, and when Nyramyn laughed, he growled. "Oh, shut your snout."

"Abadabbaburplelurp!" Korakos stomped his fore paws against the moss.

"Now it's two on one?" Nyramyn gave a mock sigh. "That's just not fair!"

Revaramek smiled as he walked with his son around the island on which their cavern was located. It was a very small landmass for a full-sized dragon and he could walk all the way around it in a couple of minutes. But for a hatchling, there was plenty of room to roam and explore and run. Even as quickly as Korakos was growing, he would have lots of space to play and exercise for at least a few more years.

As they wandered along, Revaramek kept himself between Korakos and the water. Now that the growling hatchling had his balance and his footing, keeping track of him was a full-time event. He could dash across their whole cave in a matter of heartbeats. When they walked around outside, he could get down to the black water just as fast. So far, they hadn't had to fish him out and rinse him off in the cave, but he'd come awfully close. And the older he got, the faster and more agile he got, as well. Revaramek feared it wouldn't be long before he started leaping to the various logs and rocks nearby, and from there he could get to all sorts of dangerous places.

"Going to have to teach you to stay out of that water." Revaramek flicked his tail tip back and forth, gazing down at the little dragon. "And also not to panic if you do fall in. Have to teach you to swim but..." He licked his muzzle. Hazy memories drifted through his mind, learning to swim in both the swamp, and the marsh. Two versions of himself learning two different things. He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head, trying to clear the muddled images. "We'll figure out how to teach you without-hey!"

Korakos dashed for the water again as soon as Revaramek wasn't paying attention. Revaramek snatched him by the tail, and dragged him back. Tiny black claws cut teensy ruts through green moss. The hatchling yowled his frustration, and whirled around to attack Revaramek's paw. He swatted it and bit it and tried to wrestle it into submission.

"Yes, yes, you're very tough." Revaramek waited until his son had temporarily tired himself out, then hoisted him up and deposited him further up the bank. "There. You can run and play all you want on that side of me, but if you go for the water I'm going to have to keep snatching your tail again."

"Naazahbaableaaayleabin!"

"Yes, snatch your tail again." Revaramek laughed, rustling his wings. Sometimes he wasn't sure if Korakos was just babbling hatchling nonsense, or if he really was trying to emulate his parents words. Quick as he was growing, it probably wouldn't be long until he started speaking. He cocked his head. "Korakos, can you say, Father? Father?"

"Arbledurble."

"No, Father. Try again. Fah-ther."

"Arbledurble!" He hopped a few times.

Revaramek narrowed his eyes. "Are you doing that on purpose?"

Korakos stretched his neck towards his father, tiny bronze eyes narrowed right back at him.

"Hmmm." Revaramek tapped a claw against the ground. "Let's try another one. Can you say...Momma?"

Korakos tilted his little head. "Amma!"

Revaramek blinked, jaw hanging open. Surely that was just a coincidence. "Yes, let's...not tell her about that. I'll never hear the end of it. Can you say...Benevolent Overlord?"

"Baabadabe Abergurgle!"

"Yes, Benevolent Overlord!" Revaramek clapped his paws, then pressed one to his chest. "That's me! That's your father!"

"Arbledurble!"

"Yes." Revaramek chuckled. "Your arbledurble is a benevolent overlord! Just as you'll be, someday. I can already tell, you'll be a great, Benevolent Overlord, and all this..." He swept his paw across the swamp beyond them. "Will be yours." Revaramek blinked and set his paw down, his ears dropping a little. "Erm, sorry about that."

A fat, brightly colored insect buzzed above them. Revaramek glanced up at the buzzing noise. Korakos looked up too, and soon he was running around in circles, chasing after the thing. Revaramek let him pursue it as long as it stayed well out of reach, and didn't lead him into the water. To Revaramek, the bug looked like a cross between an orange hornet and the great, paw-sized spiders that lurked in the marsh. Nyramyn just called then stingbugs, and they built nests akin to the bee swarms he remembered from those brightly hued marsh hornets. He didn't know if their sting was as bad as that of the scorpion-toads, but he had no intentions of letting his son find out.

"That's a stingbug, Korakos." Revaramek followed his son on an aimless path.

Korakos paused to glance back at his father. "Ing-ug!"

"That's...actually quite close." Revaramek gave a prideful rumble, flaring his wings a little bit. "So you can almost say Momma-"

"Amma!" Korakos hopped on his paws. "Amma, Amma!"

"And stingbug."

"Ing-ug!" The little dragon pursued the insect once more, growling at it. He jumped and tried to swat it with its paws, but it was well out of reach. "Iiiiiiing-ug!"

"And Father..."

"Arbledurble!" Korakos giggled and ran in a circle, snapping at his own tail.

"You are doing that on purpose, aren't you?"

Korakos stared up at him, innocent as could be.

Revaramek rubbed his head with a paw, and the hatchling gave a happy purr, nuzzling into his touch. "Your mother's right. You do take after my mischievous side."

"Abbleblap!"

"I know, I know, she said brat. But I prefer mischievous." Revaramek set his paw back down, straightening his neck. "So! Basics of patrolling. The idea is to roam your lands, and look for any threats to your domain, and those under your protection." Revaramek circled his paw in the air. "You know, your villages, peasants, old grans, slack-jawed yokels and the like." The hatchling gave him a blank look, and Revaramek chuckled. "Don't worry, you'll learn all about those in the stories I tell you, once you're old enough to remember them. Your mother doesn't think a hatchling's long term memories truly start developing until they start talking. But I think you'll remember all these important lessons. Since you've no old grans to worry about, you'll just be protecting your domain."

"Ommanaaaim."

"Close enough." Revaramek opened a wing and swept it across their little island, capped in stone slabs. "So all of this is your domain."

Korakos looked back at his wings. They twitched, and then one opened and fell limp across the ground. He gave a victorious sounding chirp.

"Yes, very good, very good." Revaramek chuckled, folding his own wing back. "Don't worry, you'll get better control over those after they grow. Now." He took a few steps, then waited for Korakos to follow him. "While on patrol, you must be wary for any threats to your domain. Like stingbugs."

"Ing ug!" Korakos hopped and stomped his front paws against the moss.

"For now, you'll let your mother and I deal with those. But, you can still keep an eye out. You must look high." He turned his head up, looking at the sky. Ashen clouds swirled far above them. "And low." He scanned the shoreline, looking for any signs of poison salamanders or anything else he didn't want to go near his hatchling. "And you've got to patrol all around your lands on a daily basis. And you can't take backtalk from any farmers with pitchforks and..." He shuddered. "Pygmy goats."

"Ibbyboats!"

"No." Revaramek flattened his ears back. "Let's not even start with that." He walked forward again, swishing his tail. "So, always be watchful for any threat."

Korakos gave a tiny hatchling roar, then pounced on the other dragon's tail.

"ACK!" Revaramek laughed, glancing back at him. "No...No, Korakos, my tail is not a threat to your domain."

"Arrrbubbaburble!" Korakos must have disagreed, as he wrestled and waged a valiant war against the oppression of his father's tail.

Revaramek lifted his tail, and the hatchling stubbornly clung to it. He paddled his little hind paws in the air, biting at Revaramek's spines and webbing. Revaramek walked a few steps with the hatchling clinging to him before Korakos seemed to realize he wasn't on solid ground. He yelped and yowled, and with a laugh, Revaramek eased him back down to the ground.

"There you are, little one, back on safe earth."

Korakos took a deep breath, and gave a longer sigh of relief than Revaramek ever imagined a hatchling could. Then he yawned, his tiny pink tongue curling in his muzzle. When his yawn ended, he padded around to his father's front paws. Then he walked up and butted his against Revaramek's foreleg.

The hatchling nuzzled his leg, purring. "Ahber."

Revaramek blinked, sucking in a breath. "What...what did you say? Did...you say-"

"Ahber." He flopped down over Revaramek's paw, one of his favorite sleeping places.

Joy and pride tightened Revaramek's heart. Maybe it was just his imagination, but he was sure his little son just tried to call him Father._His throat tightened up, and he lowered his head to nuzzle and lick at the sleepy hatchling. If that was true, then he really had tried to say _Momma earlier, too. Revaramek half thought he was just repeating sounds, but now it suddenly seemed like so much more.

Revaramek scooped up the little dragon. Korakos gave a frustrated whine, batting at his father. Revaramek waddled around the hill on three paws. "I know, I know, I'll let you lay over my paw in a moment. But first we have something wonderful to share with your mother."

As he rounded his domain, Revaramek realized Nyramyn was fast asleep. She now lay half curled upon the moss, her head tucked beneath an outstretched wing. Her green body rose and fell in slow, even motions. Smiling, Revaramek crept towards her, whispering to his wriggling son.

"Looks as if you're not the only one all tuckered out and ready for a nap. Alright, Kor." Revaramek settled alongside his mate, and let his son get comfortable draped across his paw. "Make yourself at home. We'll tell her about your attempted first words when she wakes. She's going to be so proud."

Revaramek lay his head down next to Nyramyn, happy and content just to watch his beloved family sleep.

*****

Vakaal trudged through the snow, shivering. He didn't know where to go or how to survive in this world.Could he survive here? Was there food? Shelter? Or was there just...snow? The pup was so cold. Biting winds whipped blinding snow against him. Even through his fur, he was freezing. Vakaal lifted a trembling hand towards the sky. Surely, he thought, he could shape away the snow, shape away the cold. He could make himself clothes, and shelter...

The pup hesitated, pinning his ears_. No. His shaping did this, his shaping brought him here._

He dropped his hand, and wrapped his arms around himself instead. He curled his tail around his body, and flattened his ears to protect them from the bitter wind. His feet ached and burned. Vakaal half-wished he'd just freeze to death. Maybe then he'd get to see his Father again. Another part of him hoped his Father survived whatever happened, hoped his father could fix that world. Could fix what he'd broken.

It was his fault. It was all his fault. This world, this frozen place, it was his punishment. Until he found clothes here, in this place, until he found shelter, he would go without. Vakaal would not use his shaping to cheat his punishment.

Don't do that to yourself, Pup. Father's voice was still so familiar, echoing in his head. How Vakaal missed him.

"I have to! I...I did this. I deserve this. I abused my power, I ruined our stories, and now..."

It's not your fault. You don't have to punish yourself.

Vakaal swallowed, unsure if he was imagining it, or if the voice was really there. Memories tumbled around his head, his own and yet not his own. Familiar and somehow alien. He saw himself through his father's eyes, sobbing and scared while father bled. Vakaal squealed and dug his palms into his eye sockets, grinding them.

"Stop! STOP!" He didn't want to see that. He shook his head, talking to his memories as if they could hear him. "Leave me alone!"

His voice sent ripples through the snow. The world shuddered.

Now's not the time for feel sorry for yourself. If you don't want to use your shaping, then you gotta find yourself some shelter. C'mon, Pup, I know you can do it.

Vakaal flattened his ears. "Okay, Father..."

He had to stop talking to his memories. But they weren't his memories, they were...father's memories. Or were they...? Vakaal squeezed his horns. Gods, what had he done to himself? His mind felt like a puzzle put together with the wrong pieces. He wrung his ears, brushing away snow that hadn't melted yet. His father was right. Or...his father's memory was right. He had to find shelter.

Vakaal looked around, using a hand to shield his eyes from the falling snow. In the distance, something dark drew his attention. A stony overhang sheltered a cavern entrance, halfway up a mountain slope. He decided to trudge in that direction. If he was losing his mind, he may as well lose it somewhere out of the snow.

It took Vakaal over an hour to reach the cave. The snow was deeper than his knees in many places, and it took all his strength just to wade through it. By the time he finally made it to the cave, he was ready to collapse. His legs burned, and his lungs ached. Needles pricked his fingers and his ears. His foot pads burned horribly. Everything else was numb. He flopped onto his hands and knees, and crawled across the frozen stone until he was out of the snow.

With a weary sigh, Vakaal rolled onto his back. The cavern wasn't that big, but it had enough room to keep him out of the storm. Not that such solace would be long lasting. He didn't have to be in the snow to freeze to death. The lingering pain in his toe pads drew his attention. He settled onto his rump, cross-legged, examining his foot. It was dark in the cave, so he decided it wouldn't hurt to use just a little of his shaping. He touched a stone with his power, and bid it to glow. The stone lit up, shedding soft blue light.

Vakaal's foot pads were blackened and blistered. The sight made him grimace. Yet even as he inspected his feet, his exposed skin regenerated itself, and the pain eased. For the first time, the pup wondered just what it would take to kill him. Maybe there was a cliff he could throw himself off, if he wanted to end it. Surely whatever world he was in now would be better off without him.

Don't think like that, pup. The gods spared you for a reason.

"The gods?" Vakaal snarled at the voice in his head, jumping to his feet. "The gods?! I don't wanna hear about the gods!" The pup threw his arms out, hurling aside the very notion. The air rippled, the world shuddered, and the cave doubled in size around him. "I dunno which memory, which version of him you are, but wake up!" Vakaal pivoted, and cracks spider-webbed through the stone beneath him. "We're the gods! We're the gods!"

With a furious cry, Vakaal leapt across the room, propelled by angry shaping. He slammed his fist into the cavern's stone wall, half-terrified he'd break his hand and too angry to care. Instead, stone shattered like glass, blasting apart. There was no pain. Fractures ran all the way up the cavern's wall, spread across the ceiling, and the floor. Vakaal stared at his hand, jaw hanging open. He flexed his fingers. Somehow, the fact he hadn't even injured himself made him even angrier.

"No! I don't...I don't wanna...be...this!"

Screaming, Vakaal pounded both fists against the wall. It cracked and broke, massive chunks of stone fell away. Every blow shook the mountain. A boulder tumbled towards him, and Vakaal batted it aside without even thinking. It exploded into a thousand pieces, scattered across the broken floor in glowing embers. Outside, snow rolled down the quaking mountainside, cascading in a rolling avalanche, shearing away tree and stone alike. The snowy debris buried the cavern entrance even as it kept roaring down the slope.

Some of the snow that fell through the entrance twisted across the floor in a whirling spiral, and in a flash, built itself into an urd'thin. Built itself into Vakaal's father. Snow became fur and flesh. Father put a hand on Vakaal's shoulder.

"That's enough, Pup. That's-"

Vakaal pivoted and slammed his open palm against Father's chest, hurling him across the cave. Father hit the far wall and erupted into a spray of white powder and golden sand. "You're not him!"

The snow built itself back up again, and Vakaal hurtled across the cavern in a single bound. He slammed both fists into the center of the snowy mimic, and smashed through it into the other side of the cave. This time, the whole mountain roared as if in agony as the pup rained blows upon it, every strike like a hammer against a new pane of glass. As the stone gave way, chasms split the cavern above him, crevasses opened beneath his feet.

Stop, pup! That's enough! You're gonna bring the whole mountain down on top of you!

"Good!" Vakaal bared his fangs in a furious snarl. "I hope it kills me! Things will-"

It won't.

Vakaal froze in mid-strike, his arm cocked back. The simple, harsh finality of that statement stunned the pup. His Father's voice echoed in his head, as if his father, his real father was right there, glaring down at him. As if even now Vakaal was just a pup who'd done wrong, and earned not only his father's ire, but his disappointment.

All the anger drained away. His arms fell limp, and his ears drooped. "I'm sorry, Father."

It's alright, pup. It's alright...

"I wish you were here..." He sniffled as his fading anger quickly twisted into rising sorrow. "I ruined everything, didn't I?" Truth was, he didn't know what happened to his world. Maybe he'd started things over for Father after all, and it was only Vakaal's story that burned, and sent him here. "I hope...I hope I set it right for you, Father. I only wanted to set things right..."

You have to worry about yourself now. So fix the mountain before it collapses.

"Why bother?" Vakaal tilted his head back. What was once a small cave now looked like it had been excavated by the claws of unfathomable monsters. Chips of stone fell from trembling walls. Chunks of rock dropped from the damaged ceiling, clattering across the floor. "It'll all come down, soon. And maybe you're wrong. Maybe it'll kill me." With a sigh, Vakaal dropped to the floor and pulled his knees up to his chest. "Look what happened when I tried to make things better. I ruined all our stories! I don't...I don't want to ruin this place, too. Maybe...maybe I should just let myself die. I think my story was meant to end with you, Father."

No, Pup. You were meant to live. One day, I'm sure...I'm sure you'll know why.

"I don't care anymore."

But you care about me, right?

"You're just..." Vakaal sniffled, wiping ice born from frozen breath off the end of his muzzle. "A voice in my head." Another block of broken rock clattered against the floor and rolled away.

And I'm going to be a sad voice if you die. Then I'll really drive you crazy.

Vakaal managed a giggle. "If I'm dead, how can you drive me crazy?"

Good point. Guess I'll just have to pester you till you're gone. So first, fix the mountain. Then you can get warm. You want that, don't you? To get warm? ...Get warm. Get warm. Get warm. Get warm.

"Shut up!" Vakaal laughed a little more, waving his hand as if to shoo away the voice.

Not till you...fix the mountain! Fix the mountain! Fix the mountain! Fix the mountain!

"Fine! Just...shut up already." Vakaal glanced up just in time to see a large, jagged chunk of stone tumble down through a chasm above him. The stone fell straight towards him, only to freeze in the air just above his head. "But how?"

Now you're just being difficult.

A smirk twitched at the pup's muzzle. He flicked his fingers, and the stone buried itself in the snow covering the cavern's entrance. He grasped his shaping, and sent it out into the mountain, into all the cracks, into all the damage he'd done. "The mountain was whole."

Once more, the world shuddered around the pup. Stone knit itself back together. The mountain's wounds healed, damaged rock solidified anew. The cave shrank back to its original size, and all the snow blocking off the entrance fell away. Fresh, cold air blew in, snowflakes swirling in the wind.

The pup sighed, rubbing his arms. "There. Happy?"

No. Because now you have to get warm. Get warm. Get warm. Get warm!

"How? There's no wood, other than those trees I passed an hour ago. I don't have anything to chop them with. And I don't have any spark-stones to strike, either."

You have everything you need, pup. Just tell your story.

"It's not my story anymore."

But it is! Every place you'll ever go, the story will always be yours to tell.

Vakaal snapped his teeth. "And what if I wanna tell a story where they aren't any..." He waved his hand again, growling. "Men in robes!"

Then you'll tell it. But first, you have to survive, and to do that you have to-

"Don't say it."

Wouldn't dream of-Get warm! Get warm! Get warm!

"Fine! Fine!" Vakaal rose to his feet, half snarling, half laughing. "Gonna have to shape your muzzle shut."

You wouldn't dare! Besides, you're only pretending you don't know what to do because you like talking to me.

The pup grimaced as he looked around the cavern. Father's voice hit a little too close to home. Plenty of loose stones shaken free by his temper tantrum were scattered across the floor. He gathered them up in his arms, shivering as the rocks' chill sunk through his fur. Vakaal carried them closer to the front of the cave, then dropped them into a pile. Kneeling alongside them, he put a hand against the rocks. He took a breath, and let it out slow.

"The stone was not stone. It was wood."

The rocks all shimmered and rippled. Their color changed, their texture next, and in moments, the stone became wood. Vakaal smiled. At least his shaping was still good for something besides ruining lives and breaking mountains. He brushed a finger back and forth across a chunk of wood at the bottom of the pile.

"Fire sprang to life, to keep Lonely Vakaal warm."

Flames licked the top of the wood, and soon they spread across the pile. The fire's warmth was heavenly against Vakaal's frozen fur. He held his hands out to it, and gave a long moan of relief. He turned around to warm his back, careful not to put his tail in the fire. The thought made him giggle.

"See pup?" Father's voice echoed around the cave. "I knew you could do it."

Vakaal glanced over his shoulder. A whirling spiral of embers wove his father into existence, from nothingness. His head was already formed, and as Vakaal watched, the rest of him came into being in an instant. The flame's sparks painted Father upon the darkness, and just like that, Father was there.

The pup grit his teeth, turning back to the fire. "You're not really here. You're...you're in my head. Or I...Or I shaped you."

"Either way, I'm here when you need me." Father settled next to the flames, and held an arm out in invitation. "And right now? Right now, you need me."

In that moment, Vakaal didn't care if Father was real, or not. Vakaal flopped down next to him, wanting nothing more than to be held again. Father was warmer than the fire, his fur was soft, his scent familiar in a way that made the pup's heart leap and ache at the same time. He couldn't be real, and yet, what did it matter anymore? Vakaal wrapped his arms around his father, and pressed his face to his fur, whimpering.

Father put his arms around the pup, hugging him. He rubbed Vakaal's back, murmuring. "There, there. What's all this Lonely Vakaal nonsense?"

Vakaal gulped, pressing his muzzle to his father's shoulder. Real, imagined, or shaped, Vakaal didn't care. "That's a dumb question."

"It wasn't long ago you were calling yourself Brave Vakaal."

"Made sense, at the time." Vakaal scrunched his muzzle. "I thought I was the hero, coming to save you, at long last."

"And you did!"

"Right before I ruined everything."

"Don't blame yourself, Vakaal." Father stroked his ears.

Vakaal sniffled, leaning into his touch. He closed his eyes. "Who should I blame, then?"

"You could start with the storytellers."

A growl crept up the pup's throat. "Oh, I definitely blame them." He sniffed again. "But...even when you told me...told me it was alright to start our story over. I tried! I...thought I made a perfect place for us, but...but then I saw all of them. I wanted to help them all!"

"I know, pup, I know." Father rubbed the back of Vakaal's neck, sighing. He cradled his son's head against his warmth. "Maybe someday you'll get your chance."

Vakaal swallowed hard, tilting his head back. He stared up into his father's eyes. In the firelight, they looked so real. Dark and wet, a hint of a blue sheen behind the flickering orange reflection. "Father, I...I don't...even know which one you are. But...I have to know. Am I-"

"You should try and get some sleep."

The pup sighed. Even as a manifestation of a memory, Father knew how to dance around the big questions. Vakaal supposed he shouldn't be surprised. Or was he just a manifestation? "Father, are you a memory? Or...are you...I think I...absorbed the others, or...I have their memories now, and...are you...really him, in my head now? Or..."

"That's a lotta big questions for a sleepy pup." Father tilted his head down to brush his nose across Vakaal's, smiling. "You should sleep."

"I don't wanna sleep, yet." Despite his protests, Vakaal's eyelids grew heavier with every breath. Father's warm comfort dragged him deeper into slumber's soothing waters. "Are you...shaping me? From inside my head? That's cheating..."

"I'm only suggesting you sleep. The fire will keep you warm, I promise. And I'll keep you safe." Something darker edged Father's voice. "I'll always keep you safe."

"Wait, Father. I have to know." Vakaal fought through his fatigue, focusing on his father. "Am I a god?"

Father took a slow, shuddering breath, and his gaze grew distant. When he exhaled, blue sparks fluttered in his breath, like all the frozen stars in the night sky. "I don't know, Pup. You want, you need a definition I cannot offer. I wish I could, but I do not know. I don't think I...remember the truth, anymore. I know only the old stories, and...and when I put those stories to us, I think I understand. Once, we were lonely. There were none like us. We shared gifts, wanting only friendship, and our gifts were scorned, misused. In their wake, emptiness and loneliness spread. In an empty place, a story was told, and our loneliness ended. You birthed a world for me, a family, like us. Once, I took a name, and settled among my people. What you are, Vakaal, is life. You were meant to be life, evermore, and I wonder, sometimes, if even I am but your gift. All that matters, pup, is that one day, you'll be life again. I promise."

With a whimpering sigh, Vakaal laid his head against his father. "Thank you for...trying to explain. I think...I think you're just a memory, and...my only chance to know the truth ended when...when I was torn from Father. From...my real...father. But...thank you."

"Of course, Love." Father only smiled. He brushed the fur back across Vakaal's head, smoothed his ears. "I'll be here when you need me, Pup. Sleep, now. Sleep."

Vakaal nodding, curling up against his Father. Real or imagined, memory or shaping, it mattered not. Whether he was losing his mind, or not, Vakaal didn't care. Father was comfort to cling to, a lifeline to help keep his head above madness' dark waters a little longer. He closed his eyes, and soon found brief respite in slumber.