The next day was uneventful, and a lot like the day before. They pressed on through fields of flowers and small wooded areas to reach the mountain. They spent that following night at the base of the mountain. The children were thrilled to have gotten there, though the joy was short-lived as Ronald beheld the winding incline that led into the mountains. Fortunately for them, Marcus thought of a way to save their poor little feet from falling off from all the walking.

“If one of you gets tired, you can climb into this sack, and I’ll carry you along.”

Marcus was able to sew together a crude but functional sack made from large leaves; he intended it to be for Ceclia or Ronald’s use should one of them be overcome with tiredness. One of them could climb in, and Marcus would carry him or her along. Cecilia insisted on riding inside the bag the whole way, but Marcus told her that she should walk if she has the energy; the sack wasn’t a “get-out-of-walking-free” card.

So the trio started their way through the mountain pass. One plus about it was the extra shade from the sun the mountains provided; a minus was that it was colder. The ground was also harder; even harder than the dirt road. It wasn’t long into the journey that Marcus gave in and let Cecilia ride in the sack. Ronald wanted a reprieve as well, but it would’ve been uncomfortable with both siblings crammed in the same space.. Instead, Marcus let him sit on his back.

“Just be careful up there; the last thing we want is for you to fall.”

Around lunchtime that day, the three of them had gotten hungry, and like before, food wasn’t a problem to come by. There were nuts, seeds, and fruits aplenty, so Ronald and Cecilia were able to have their fill.

Marcus was about to go look for food when he heard a “SNAP.,” like the sound of metal smacking against metal. The children were alarmed, thinking they were being followed by someone...or something.

“What was that?” Cecilia panicked.

Marcus ventured into the wooded grove of trees and noticed a rabbit caught in a hunter’s trap/ It didn’t talk or indicate to Marcus in any way that it needed help, meaning it was a feral. Ronald scurried in and beheld the same sight. Marcus made his way to the trapped critter quietly.

”Oh no, is he going to eat the rabbit?” Ronald was scared about seeing what may unfold, even though he couldn’t look away either. He figured it was about time he was going to see Marcus do what he’d expect a wolf to do...

“Here you go little buddy.” Marcus messed around with the trap until it released its grip on the rabbit. It hopped away as soon as it was able, and Ronald was dumbfounded.

“You...you didn’t eat it?” Ronald asked with a confused tone. “Not that I would’ve loved seeing that.”

“No, I didn’t plan to. I was going to catch some fish from the river over here; you should go back with Cecilia.”

Marcus came back about five minutes later, his hunger now satiated.

“You two ready to continue?”

Ronald only nodded, his mind still trying to figure out Marcus’ actions. Didn’t wolves just eat anything that moves? That rabbit would’ve been an easy and free lunch.

So as the trio continued their way through the mountain, Ronald brought it up.

“Do you hate rabbit?” He asked.

“I just, I refuse to eat them.”

“Why’s that? Was it only because I was there and you didn’t want me to see you eat another animal?”

“No, it’s just...personal reasons. The only meat I actually eat is fish, or just anything that comes from the water.”

“Is that normal for wolves? I thought they liked to eat all kinds of animals.”

“It’s not normal, but then, there’s stuff about me that’s not normal...”

“Like what?” Ronald persisted, very interested.

“Well, it all started when I was young, even younger than you...”

- - - - - -

Twenty-two years ago

All of the male wolves of the pack had gone out to hunt, and the wives remained home to look after their children. Marcus’ father had gone out, and he was left with his mother and older sister.

“Mom, I want to go hunting with dad.” He insisted for the third week in a row.

“I already told you, not until you’re older.” She answered, a hint of irritation in her voice. “Go play with your sister.”

“I don’t want to.” He protested. “I want to see what daddy does.”

“Don;t make me repeat myself, Marcus!”

He stopped there, knowing his mother meant business when she used his name like that. So he decided he would just sneak out on his own, and hope she wouldn’t notice.

So he absconded from their den, but was sad that he couldn’t see the hunters anywhere. They must have been far away by now, where the feral part of the forest was.

However, he heard a rustle in the bushes, and his attention was immediately stolen. He watched to see if anything would jump out at him. He then saw a little pink nose and small beady eyes through the leaves.

“Hello? Are you a bunny?” Marcus asked, not even sure if he’d get a response. Instead, the creature inside darted out from the bush and tried to run past him, frightened.

“Wait! Come back!” Marcus chased the rabbit, but it wasn’t much of a pursuit. He easily caught it, picking it up with his mouth. He felt proud of himself, this was a successful hunt. He then set it down.

“Okay, you chase me next.” He said to his new playmate, but all it did was stare at him, confused.

“Hello? Can you talk?”

Blank stare.

“Oh, maybe you’re one of those feral animals my mom and dad told me about. Maybe you can be my pet then.” He raised his paw and gently stroked the rabbit. Not having ever hunted before, nor having seen hunting, he didn’t know that his kind considered these creatures as food.

Over the next few weeks, the rabbit had become accustomed to Marcus. The young pup had thought of it as his pet, and would bring it any carrots he found to feed it, and he enjoyed playing with it, chasing it around the place.

And then his father found out what was happening.

One evening, as the males were returning from the hunt, Marcus happened to be feeding his rabbit some lettuce.

“Hi dad! Look! I have a pet, and I named it Fluffy!”

His father approached him, not saying anything at first. He looked down on him, and then at the rabbit. The fluffy little animal had become so used to Marcus that the muh bigger wolf didn’t even bother it.

“This rabbit is your pet?” He asked flatly.

“Yeah, I’ve been taking care of it for a long time now. I hunted it, and now it’s mine!”

“Hm...maybe it’s time I finally start teaching you about hunting.”

“Marcus looked up at him, excited, and with tail wagging. “You will? So can I come with you next time to hunt?”

“Not yet, you need to learn something first. This rabbit is not a pet, and you did not hunt it.”

“What do you mean?” Marcus asked, let down.

“Son, when we go hunting, we don’t make friends with the other animals; ferals, specifically, we hunt them because we plan to eat them.”

“Eat them?” He replied, eyes wider. He grabbed the rabbit and held it against his own body as if to protect it.

“Of course, and that rabbit is no different. It is meant to be eaten, not petted.”

“I’m NEVER going to eat Fluffy!” Marcus tightened his hug on the rabbit.

“You don’t have to, but someone else may. You’re not keeping that in my den; let the rabbit go.”

“No!”

“If it goes in my den, then it’s food!” He answered sternly, not caring at all that his son was about to cry.

“Why can’t I keep it?!”

“I’m not going to ask you again, Marcus. If you don’t release it by the count of three, I will deal with the rabbit myself. One......two.....”

Marcus let Fluffy go, and it hopped away into the bushes. He began crying, and his father put a paw on his shoulder.

“It’s better not to get attached to feral prey such as that rabbit; when you start hunting, you will see why, and you will thank me for this.”

However, this was something Marcus would never thank his father for. The next morning, when he went out to find Fluffy, he bumped into a fox that was carrying Fluffy in his mouth.

Dead.

Marcus screamed and broke into sobbing. The image of Fluffy’s limp corpse would forever be seared into his mind. He had formed a bond with that creature, only to have it destroyed in a moment.

- - - - - -

“So, that is why I cannot eat another rabbit again, or just anything that looks cute to me. Maybe you weren’t expecting to hear that, but there it is. The only meat I only ever have now is fish, or just anything from the water.”

"I would never guess that a wolf would have a rabbit for a pet; I thought only humans had pets. I’m sorry that happened to Fluffy.”

“I guess it would’ve happened eventually; I just wish I had known better back then and not tried to get attached to it. I feel sad every time I think about it.”

Ronald was so intrigued by how Marcus appeared more and more vulnerable the more he revealed about himself. He hardly seemed to be the typical canine that just killed and ate anything that moved; he wasn’t like the wolves he heard from the little fairy tales and fables he heard at the orphanage.

“Would you also mind telling me more about Diane? Was she like you?” He asked, genuinely interested.

“Not at all; in fact, my little story was the perfect introduction for her.”

- - - - - -

It didn’t take long for news of Marcus’ short paroxysm to spread to his peers and schoolmates. It wasn’t long before the news resulted in mocking and teasing for the pup.

“You’re not even a real wolf!”

“What a crybaby!”

“Aw, do you wanna a widdle pet wabbit?”

So he was now pegged as the class punching bag; he received ridicule even from other rabbits who were sentient.

“Can you pet me? I’m a cute animal after all.” Some would tease, but all it did was drive him away from everyone else. His friends turned on him, and the teacher didn’t help much; she only went as far as giving him a lecture on what a wolf is supposed to be like.

“You want to be a good hunter when you grow up; keeping food as pets doesn’t feed anyone.”

However, there was one classmate who didn’t give into chiding and reviling. She was a girl wolf pup who sat a few rows behind him. Her name was Diane, and ever since hearing about what Marcus did, she thought that had made him cuter.

During recess time, Marcus had opted to just hang out in a corner all by himself and do nothing. His friends no longer wanted to play with him, and many others were giving him a hard time. The teachers supervising the play area usually just let him be. He often faced away from everyone, as if that would hide him better.

“Hey!” Diane approached him, her gait and demeanor playful. “Do you wanna play with my friends and me?”

The boy turned to see it was his classmate; she hadn’t spoken to him very much, but that was because she was fairly shy. Of all people, he never expected it’d be her that would invite him to do anything with her or her friends.

“Everyone else makes fun of me, are you going to make fun of me too?”

“No. I think you having a pet rabbit is cute. I like rabbits too.”

“You do? Everyone says it means I’m a sissy.”

“They’re stupid and wrong. They’re the sissies!”

Marcus gasped. “The teacher said stupid is a bad word!”

“Well, they are. I super-duper promise I’ll never make fun of you.”

“Do you super-duper ultra promise with a cherry on top and your right paw over your heart?”

“Yes. I promise.” She put her right paw over her heart, as though about to recite the Pledge.

So with that, the two of them spent the final three minutes of recess playing in the sand box. Some of the other animals would snide remarks as they passed by, but they didn’t bother him because he now had a friend again. Little did he know that this friendship would span years and years...

From then on, Marcus could not bring himself to eat anything that he thought looked adorable, and when he did grow old enough to join the hunt into the feral territory, he relegated his efforts to the ponds and rivers. As fish didn’t look that cute to him, nor have very expressive faces, he had no qualms about feasting on them. His father was disappointed in him when he confessed this fact to him, but not to the point where he disowned him.

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

“At least you are technically hunting; I can’t be mad about that.”

This attribute of Marcus’ would prove to be a greater stigma than the time he cried over his pet rabbit. Many of the other male wolves didn’t even want him to come along with them on their hunts, thinking he’d make them all look weak. His father at least stood up for him and let him join them. Even when he was successful in snatching bounties of fish from the river, he was still shunned by many of the others.

Throughout his time growing up, Diane never broke her promise she made that day on the playground. She was one of his few peers who knew he was better than what the other guys made him out to be. He had a thoughtful and caring spirit that she adored, and she believed that to be more important that what one hunted for breakfast.

- - - - - -

“She sounded like she was a good friend.” Ronald remarked. “I didn’t know so many people made fun of you, but you seem like a good person to me, and if Cecilia were awake, she’d say the same.”

“Diana was wonderful...she meant the world to me...” Marcus sighed. “When we grew up and became adults, we never lost touch. If anything, we got closer.”

- - - - - -

Marcus and Diane were eighteen, and nearly through with their public schooling. All that was left was their senior project. The two had been dabbling in robotics; a field not only dominated by humans, but also incongruous with the forest environment they had always lived in. This technology had been carving a dent into everyone’s way of life, whether the inhabitants liked it or not.

The project was due the following day; everything was expected to be finished, save for any final touches. The project was to construct a simple robot, of any form, that was programmed to obey at least three different voice commands. They could be anything, from “sit,” to “walk,” or “stand,” or whatever the creator wanted to go for. Diane had opted to build a little robo-pup that would be able to wag its tails on command, whereas Marcus did his best to recreate his pet Fuffy, even taking the time to paint it white, which was optional. He had long since stopped caring what people thought of him liking cute things.

As Marcus was demonstrating his robo-rabbit (or “rabbot,” as he liked to call it) to his parents and sister, there was an unexpected visitor who showed up.

“Diane, hi!”

“Marcus,” she didn’t return his greeting out of panic and urgency, “I’m having a problem with my robot. I’m sorry this is coming at such a bad time, but, I really need your help, if you don’t mind.”

“Not at all; I’ll help you out.”

She explained the problem to him as they made their way to her home. Her robot seemed to malfunction at times for some inexplicable reason, particularly when she commanded it to wag its tail. It also seemed to overheat rather quickly, and she was not able to keep the power on for more than a couple minutes at a time.

Marcus could see she was in a panic, as she spoke faster than normal.

“Don’t worry about it; let’s look at it together.”

Marcus flicked on the power himself, and when he told the pup to wag its tail, it started for a second, but then stopped mid-wag.

“Yeah, it’s supposed to keep going for at least five seconds.”

He flicked the power off. “Mind opening up the back panel? It could be a small wiring issue we can quickly fix.”

“Not at all.” She opened up a small cover on the backside of the pup, revealing some wires and a circuit board. Marcus took a cursory glance at first at what lied there, but there was nothing obvious. Even after a more thorough inspection, he didn’t see anything amiss.

“Is there more wiring under the circuit board?”

“Of course, you want to look at it?”

“Yes.”

Diane’s anxiety waxed worse as she proceeded to remove it; the last thing she wanted to do was disassemble the whole thing and put it all back together again. Marcus inspected the wiring deeper within, having to re-position the pup so that it was directly under the hanging ceiling light.

“Ah...Diane, I think I see it.”

Her hopes were lifted. “What’s the problem?”

“This wire is frayed, and I think that’s causing a short circuit. I think we can fix this all tonight.”

Diane offered to do that herself so Marcus could get back home and sleep, but he insisted on staying and helping. Part of his reason to stay was out of being a good friend, and the other was that it was an excuse for spending more time with his girlfriend.

By 1 in the morning, the wire was fixed, and the robot behaved exactly as Diane intended.

“You’re the best!” She hugged him, feeling tired and overjoyed. “I’m sorry this made you stay up so late though.”

“Eh, what’s a minor inconvenience in light of a functioning robot? I would’ve stayed up all night if needed.”

So, the next morning, Marcus woke up late, and left in such a rush that he nearly forgot to bring his rabbot. During class, the students in the small classroom demonstrated their robots; there were birds that chirped, cats that meowed, and even a pup that piddled (water, of course) on a pad the designer brought in (because there’s always that one student).

Diane’s robo-pup was the most endearing; the tail wag was smooth and adorable, and it also stood up and begged, as well as rolled over. She went beyond what the other students did, and when grades were revealed, it was to no one’s surprise she had the highest marks. Marcus did well, but Fluffy was no match for the tail-wagger. She thanked him for helping her at the last minute; she may have failed completely had he not looked at her robot to begin with.

- - - - - -

“YOU BOTH MADE ROBOTS???” Ronald was officially impressed. “THAT’S SO COOL! I had no idea!”

“I’d love to show you one, but now just isn’t the best of circumstances. Once we get to our new home, I’ll see about making a simple one again.”

“Can you do a robot squirrel?” He asked.

“Ha, I don’t see why not.”

“It sounded like you two were such great friends; she stood up for you, and you helped her when she was in trouble.”

“Yep, that was us...we loved each other all te way to the end...” He sighed. “...Which came too soon.”

“Oh...you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want...”

“It’s not a problem; it’s a good lesson on how we need to make sure we always appreciate our loved ones every single day, because you don’t know when you’ll never see them again...”

With that said, Marcus related the events of that terrible day not even a week ago. Diane was at her house, working on a project related to her job, and Marcus was there, helping and providing feedback. At one point, she realized she forgot a small piece of equipment, and Marcus insisted on going out and buying it for her. Little did she know, this would be his perfect excuse for buying a second, and more expensive item.

An engagement band.

Like what an engagement ring is to humans is what this item was for the animals. Rings were unfriendly as wolf-wear, but a band could easily be worn. Marcus hoped Diane wouldn’t mind the delay; he didn’t think getting the band would take too much longer. His plan was to propose to her tonight, and he had been doing all he could to contain his excitement around her.

Sadly, she would never get to know what Marcus had planned. By the time he got near her house again, the silk engagement band in tow, along with her requested item, he saw the raging fire.

And when he got even closer, he could see it was consuming her house. There were no words he could find that could truly depict the horror. He went against what he knew to be safety protocol and tried to storm into the house. Unfortunately, the fire was so intense that he couldn’t get anywhere near it. All he could do was helplessly stand by and watch as the love of his life perished in the flames. From the looks of it, neither she nor her parents made it out alive. What was to be the happiest day of his life to that point became a nightmare he wished to never experience, but did.

- - - - - -

“Every day, I have the hope that maybe, just maybe, she and her parents somehow made it out alive, and that I’ll see them all again...but my hope dies a little each day that passes, and she is nowhere to be found...”

Ronald couldn’t find anything to add to that, not a comment, or even a word of consolation that would provide Marcus just an ounce of healing.

“Make sure you always love and appreciate your sister.” He went on, his voice starting to quake. “Even when you fight and argue in the future, always let her know you love her.”

“I will...” He answered simply, some tears already rolling down his cheeks. He almost wished Marcus never told him what happened. It was bad enough he experienced firsthand what it was like to see fire destroy people’s lives.

By nightfall, they had reached a lake, and there were some small cabins surrounding it for anyone hiking down this path. They were free, as they were a gift from a nearby town. This meant that the trio would have nice beds to sleep on this time around. After they had claimed a vacant cabin, Marcus woke Cecilia up from her nap.

“Are we home?”

“Not quite, but we’re getting there. We’re staying in here for the night; right now, I’m going to get dinner for us. Meanwhile, feel free to take a tour of this nice space we have to ourselves, just don’t scratch up the furniture and whatnot.”

This cabin was so much nicer than the dens and burrows they had spent the previous few nights in, as well as the room Ronald and Cecilia used to share back in the forest. There was more space than they could ever need; there was enough room to run around and play, even.

Ronald had been waiting for this moment ever since the fire.

- - - - - -

Marcus came back with a sack of food for the two squirrels, but when he opened the door, he saw no sign of hunger in them. The two of them were scampering everywhere, climbing all over everything, and having too much fun to notice Marcus had come back.

“Kids! Food!”

Their antics and frolicking were not curtailed; right now, Cecilia was trying to make it back to their crudely constructed base without Ronald tagging her.

“What’cha kids doing?”

“I’m trying to make it back to my planet, but Ronald is blocking me!”

Ronald stood in front of a toy ball (comes with the cabin), which Marcus understood to be Cecilia’s “home planet.” The brother guarded it, being the alien force that wanted to abduct Cecilia. Cecilia hopped on top of one of the beds, and she hopped back off and made a run for home.

But Ronald touched her tail just before she could touch the ball.

“Mwahaha! Our evil master will now imprison you FOREVER!”

“Aw man!” Cecilia exclaimed. “I hate it when that happens!”

“Uh oh. Well, I’ll be the evil master then.” Marcus assumed the role. “What do I do?”

“Um...” Ronald didn’t think his game all the way through. “I don’t know.”

“Well, as the evil overlord of Ronald’s planet, a terrible punishment awaits those he captures. Hehe...” Marcus lowered his voice, sounding pseudo-threatening. Cecilia looked up at him, having no idea what was to follow.

“As the evil alien king of meanness, I must give you a...GIANT HUG.”

Marcus picked her up and gave her a big, cuddly hug. She laughed as he did that, hugging him back. He let her down after a few seconds.

“And as further punishment, you will partake of this food that I brought! The suffering will never end!”

He set the food before them, only now remembering that the Cabin-Site Director mentioned there being food already in all the cabin kitchens. He just shrugged and watched the two dive in.

“Thank you for the food!” They both said.

“Of course.” He smiled, and then went to find something in the kitchen for himself to eat.