Winter
Tried to go for a more Poe sort of feel with this one.
It was snowing, it's always snowing now. Now that endless winter has gripped the world. The only light now comes from the feeble flickering of fires, struggling to keep the darkness and cold away. I was one of the luck few, my thick fur held the cruel cold claws of endless winter at bay. For those that weren't so luck, they lay along the roads.
I was returning home from the south. Still searching for her, for she had been lost since the clouds rolled in. I searched those along the road but her face I could not find. Along the way I passed many people, always leaving, never arriving. Forlorn looks of hopelessness painted their tired faces.
As I returned home the clouds parted and the dim light of ancient stars graced the icy world. I stood, starting up at them, their faint light a rare and beautiful sight. A single tear fell from my muzzle, shattering against the ground as it froze, I knew the stars would be soon be hidden once more by the clouds. The sight brought back old memories, memories of her and of the sun.
I shuddered and ducked inside, the heavy door sealing away the freezing winds for now. Once more I lit the candles in the windows, but once again, no one came. The flickering of the candle and the shadows that danced upon the walls lured me to sleep.
In my dreams the dead danced before an orchestra of the damned. The warbling winds sang to the shrieking of the orchestra, while the pale forgotten moon shed its silvery light upon the icy ballroom. I watched the slow waltz of the doomed, still searching for her. While I saw many that were familiar, she was still lost.
The iron grey clouds of morning greeted me as I resumed my search. I had exhausted the cities and roads, with nowhere else to search I turned towards the frozen woods. I combed through the snow covered grounds at the foot of the snow shrouded trees. Their skeletal branches clawing at the cold grey sky, desperate to tear it open and bathe in the sunlight.
For hours I searched, digging through weeks' worth of snow and crawling through empty hollows. Not even the beasts roamed these accursed woods since winter claimed them. Dismayed and with the cold leaching through my fur and clothes I turned back, the haunting winds mocking my loss.
Returning home I stoked the weak embers of the silent stone hearth. Slowly the wisps of flame began to lick at what little tinder I had left. As the flames spread I sat back, watching the growing shadows dance their sad ballet upon the worn empty walls. That night I saw her in my dreams.
She lay within the woods on a bed of ice cloaked ivy, slick with the sweat of fever. Her burning eyes stared up at me, pleading. I tried to rush to her but the roots of the cruel trees grasped at my legs, pulling me to the ground. I could only watch as the ivy slowly enveloped her, she didn't struggle, she couldn't.
Trembling I awoke, and grabbing my jacket I rushed towards the forest. I ran between the silent trees, heading for the ivy choked clearing. Skidding to halt on the ice and snow I found only the ivy, withered from the cold. As I knelt in the empty clearing the howling winds taunted me from the dark between the trees.
"She's ours, old wolf, never again to be yours."
I ignored their mocking cries, digging madly through the frostbitten ivy, trying to find some trace of her, some trace of hope. Time crept slowly by, its passage hidden by the iron clouds. When I finally rose my fingertips were dripping with blood, rubbed raw by the frozen ground. With a heavy heart I headed home.
Once again I watched the shadows dancing before the hearth. This time the shadows consisted of memories. The two of us dancing through the room to music only we could hear, its echoes long since faded. The ghosts of sweet smells drifted in from the now dark kitchen, the rattle of pots and pans no longer graced the silent room. Soft sounds of affection crept from the bedroom, thought the ancient bed didn't creak or rock. I felt the lingering traces of her touch, her hands long gone cold. The only true sound to fill the still room was the soft patter of tears on the stone hearth.
The cold grey light gave way to colder dark. Once again I lit the candles in the windows and once again I waited for the knocks that never came. I waited until I was claimed once again by the warm dark of cold sleep.
I don't know if it was the quite knock or the soft voice that carried my name through the forlorn house that woke me. Trembling I stumbled through the blackness of the empty rooms and threw open the door. Her soft voice called to me, she sounded weak but my heart leapt, knowing she was alive. I hurried out into the eerie glow of the fresh snow, eager to find her.
I pressed onwards, a shoulder to the growing winds. I saw her in the distance, tall and slender, a dark outline against the pale silver of the icy world. She turned towards me as I approached, the burning fever gone from her bright eyes. She swayed, falling into my arms. Joyous tears glistened on my face as I held her close. The howling winds cackled, wrapping us in winter's cold embrace.
"You're ours now, old wolf."
Squinting in the first light of spring, the travelers cautiously approached the derelict cabin, the townsfolk had warned them of the old wolfkin that lived there. He had weathered the death of his wife with surprising strength but the cold loneliness of winter had shattered the steel of his mind. They found the door hanging open, snow from the last blizzard pilled against the worn furniture and walls. Curious, they searched the house, finding only cold emptiness.
One of them saw the slight depressions that may have once been tracks. They followed the faint trail for nearly a mile before they found him. Buried under the snow of the last blizzard, his arms wrapped tightly around himself and a soft sad smile still lingered on his frostbitten muzzle. They bowed their heads before turning away from the icy grave of the deranged, the lingering winds at their backs. The youngest of the travelers shivered as she heard a fell voice upon the cold air.
"They're ours now, never again to walk this world."