Winters Gift
My entry for the Winter contest.
A lone otter stood amongst the snow. He warmed his hands under his armpits till he could feel his fingers. He picked up a freshly cut log and placed it on the cutting block. He picked up his axe and stood ready. His breath made a mist in the cold air, his muscles flexed as he raised the axe over his head and down onto the log, splitting it in half. He collected up the freshly cut pieces of wood and made his way back to his house.
The house was a small log cabin and the chimney was bellowing out smoke from a burning fire. He used his arm to open the door and dropped the pile of wood in a box by the fire. He then turned to the figure sitting on the sofa wrapped in blankets. The figure was a mouse, and in the otters eyes a very attractive mouse, she was the otters mate and her womb was swollen with their first cub that would arrive soon.
The otter moved up to his mate and kissed her on the cheek. "Well Kate it looks like it is going to be one of the worst winters we've had but we will pull through." She smiled at him, although she was tired, her smile was strong. "Where would I be without you Robert?" Robert sat beside her and snuggled in close. "Will you be ok tomorrow on your own?" he asked her. "I'll be fine it's important to check on our neighbours, I mean remember in the spring when they brought us their extra fish and last autumn when Jonathan helped you fell and cut up that oak." "I suppose those foxes have done a lot, ok I'll set out tomorrow dawn."
He got up and made his way through to the kitchen. He lit the stove and found some vegetables to through together into a stew. He put the ingredients into a big pot and added water; he then put the pot onto the stove and left it. He prepared sandwiches with cheese and what was left of the jam. Kate turned to him as he walked into the room. "What have you go there?" she inquired "Just sandwiches although I put on a stew so we should have something warm for tonight and there will be enough for you tomorrow." Although Kate understood how caring he was she still felt a little put down by the fact that he thought she couldn't look after herself. "Robert I know I am pregnant and will give birth any day now but I am not completely incapable of looking after myself so can you give me some independence?" Robert was slightly a taken back by this but he understood. "Ok I will and I apologise but it is my nature to be caring." Kate misunderstood though and thought that she offended him. When Robert sat next to her she leant across and kissed him on the lips. "And I love you because you are so caring. All I'm asking is for you to ease up a little bit." He kissed her back. "I said I understood."
Kate woke at midnight with Robert snuggled into her. The fire was merely burning embers now but she was still incredibly warm. 'Well,' she thought to herself, 'at least it's better than being cold.' She ran her hand over her womb and felt a little kick from her cub. They weren't the first crossbreed couple so they knew what the cub would be. The male species was dominant in all but one or two rare cases so the cub would be an otter. The question on her mind however was boy or girl? She hopped for a girl and she knew Robert would be happy either way. She fell back to sleep thinking of her future.
As he said he would, Robert set out at dawn the next day. He packed a harvest sack full of provisions and set out on the hour walk to the Kingsley house. The Kingsleys were a family of foxes with a house in the space between two ash trees. Jonathan and Grace had one cub, a teenaged boy called James. Jonathan was a good friend of Kate's and they helped each other in times of need and continued to do so even after they had both got bonded.
The walk was hard going due to the thick snow that had formed. This made Robert grateful for the fur boots Grace had made for him off of deer and rabbit. Neither rabbit nor deer had evolved to the same stage as otters and the other species so they felt no guilt, although hares were a bit iffy about eating rabbit and using rabbit fur. Robert wrapped his cloak close to him as the wind started to pick up. The sky was starting to be filled with sinister clouds. He had only just seen the house when the blizzard set in.
Kate on the other hand was warm and comfortable. She made her way to the kitchen to have some leftover stew. Her back ached from carrying the cubs in her womb for so long. The wind started whistling around the house and the timbers started to creak. She became worried as she knew Robert would be out in the blizzard. She reassured herself that he was a strong otter and would be fine on his own. She had made her way back to the living room when she felt a pain in her abdomen. She sat down heavily on the sofa and started massaging her womb.
The wind rushed into the house as soon as Robert made his way through the door. Jonathan quickly wrapped a blanket around the otter and shut the door. "Are you ok buddy? Grace, get him something warm to take the chill off." "Don't bother John I'll be off in a minute." "No you wont, that blizzard will send you straight to the dark forest." Robert would not give up that easily. "I've got to get back to Kate; I don't want to miss the birth." The fox pulled around the otters face and looked him in the eyes. "If you want to see your cub you will stay here to the blizzard passes. What's worse than missing your cub being born is leaving the cub with no farther. So get some sense in you and wait out the blizzard." Grace came over and handed him a cup of tea. He took it and thanked her, Jonathon then led him into the living room to warm by the fire.
Jonathon opened a bottle of mead and gave it to Robert. "So how are things out here?" He asked the fox. "Ah you know, up and down. Jamie has a mate, not sexually yet but saying that it won't be long before the two boys are at it." Robert almost chocked on his drink. "Sorry that came as a bit of a surprise." The fox smiled. "How do you think it was for us then? Not that we care we just didn't think he was homosexual, the way he gets on with girls so well. Anyway Jamie is over his mate's house. Grace is doing well in season but the hunt isn't anything to hunt during winter and we can't hunt during birthing so she'll have to wait to next summer." "When is the best time to go hunting anyway?" Robert asked. Grace came into the room and explained to him. "The best time for most is around mating season so that we can get a lot of, hormonal males looking for mates. If we imitate the call," she demonstrated by imitating a female elk call, "Then they come running." She left and went back to work.
The pain was getting worse in her abdomen. She took deep breathes and remained calm. Then her water broke. She lay down on the sofa and prepared herself for the birth. The first contraction came almost immediately and she screamed in pain. She kept her breathing slow and resisted the temptation to push. Now she needed Robert, she could give birth on her own but it would be easier with Robert next to her. She knew though that he would not be back to after the blizzard.
Robert stood up suddenly at the same time Kate's water broke. At first Jonathon was to surprised to do anything but soon regained his composition. "What is it?" he asked. "Kate is giving birth. I need to get home." Robert set off for the door but Jonathon grabbed him. "Robert you can not go out there that blizzard sounds bad and it will probably kill you." The otter looked the fox in the eyes. "I need to be there." There was strength in his eyes and the fox knew he would not be able to stop the otter. He grabbed a thick blanket and handed it to Robert. "Give this back when you're done with it. Good luck." The otter smiled at the fox, wrapped the blanket close, picked up his harvest sack and left. The door slammed behind him.
Immediately the elements tried their best to hinder the otter but he was resilient. The wind whipped around him and the snow pelted his body. The snow was now up to his knees and he could feel the cold through his trousers. He would not give up. That was one thing that was certain on that cold day; the otter would keep going till he got home. The blizzard got harder and started to push against him with its relentless force.
Robert kept going. The snow got deeper and the going got harder as he made his way towards home. However the snow had covered a danger that was sure to stop him. Crack! The ice gave way and the otter was plunged into the freezing water. Shock set in immediately and the snow soon cover his only escape. He was trapped and sure to die. He swam up and pounded on the ice, but it was no use the ice was solid and soon he ran out of air. The world started to fade for the otter and he started to sink. The last bubbles floated from his moth as he hit the bottom. He lost consciences.
Kate knew Robert was in trouble but she had more important things on her mind. She screamed as another contraction ripped through her body. Her breathing was heavier now but she still had a while to go before she could start pushing. She then felt cold. The fire was blazing, she was wrapped in a blanker and she was hot but she felt somehow cold.
Robert opened his eyes. He was wrapped up in a blanket and he could see a fire further away. He tried to rise but a strong hand pushed him down. "Rest my friend, you're lucky to be alive." It was a female he was sure but he was so disorientated it took him a while to realise it was a badger. She handed him a cup. "Drink this it will help warm you up." He drank it in one gulp. "Wait not so... never mind." His mouth almost exploded with the heat and it sent him into a coughing fit. He was now fully awake.
He sat up strait and finished coughing. "What the cuss was in that?" " a little bit of hot root and a alcohol from the east called vodka." He looked up into the smiling face of the adolescent badger. "Robert." He introduced himself. "Anya," The badger introduced, "So what is an otter doing swimming in these conditions?" "My mate is giving birth and I have to get home." He explained. "Well if you keep going like you were you'll get to the dark forest before you get home. Come on let's get you warmed up some more." She led him over to the fire. There were two fish cooking on a spit, she removed them and handed one to him. "Eat; it will make you feel better." He dug his teeth into the fish and ate ravenously. He then noticed the war hammer strapped over the back of the badger.
Seeing his interest in the weapon she removed it off her back and laid it between them. "This," she started explaining, "is my most loyal companion, it has never let me down when I need it and will always do as I tell it without question." It was a well made weapon, as were all things crafted by badgers. It had nothing added that wasn't needed except the shaft had two spirals running down it. Robert tried lifting it but it was too heavy, even for a strong otter like him. Anya smiled at him. "Made for me to handle and no one else."
Anya put out the fire and covered the embers in snow and the two set off towards the otter's house. The blizzard had eased up but it was still a good half hour walk to get there and the storm could come back again. However the elements were on their side and the storm held off. The pair made it to the door of Robert's house.
He tried to open it but the ice had made the door stick. Anya simply gave the door a good push and it opened. Robert was first in and everything seamed fine at first, just how he left it. As he made his way into the living room he noticed something was wrong. There was blood on the floor. He panicked assuming the worst. "KATE!" he made his way around the sofa.
She put her finger across her lips. In her arms were two otter cubs gently suckling the milk out of her breasts. "Twins," she explained, "One boy and one girl." He smiled in joy and kissed his mate. "Kate, I'm so sorry I wasn't here." "That's ok I was fine delivering them on my own." Anya cleared her throat reminding Robert she was there. "If you want I can get rid of the placenta." She offered. "Sorry Anya I forgot you were there, that would be wonderful thank you." She picked up the placenta and left the couple to tend to their new born cubs.
The wind was starting to whip up again and the snow was turning to hail. Anya dug a hole through the snow and buried the placenta to stop it attracting wild animals. She then made her way back inside the warmth of the house. Something, however, caught her eye on the horizon. She looked out and smiled. She then made her way back inside.
On the horizon in the sky was aurora. It seamed to be dancing in the wind with red, blue and green light. It cast the log cabin in its beautiful glow. It may have been and illusion but amongst the lights was the shape of an otter.