Author’s note: The characters of this story are totally fictional, any semblances to real life people alive or dead are but mere coincidences. All the characters portrayed in this story belongs to and are the creative properties of the author (Gosh that sounded formal).
New Beginnings.
The sun hadn’t come out yet when a knock was heard from outside the small hotel room where a boy slept alone.
“Hey sweety, are you awake yet?” Said the familiar voice before the door opened to reveal the speaker, Mary. The social worker in charge of taking care of the kid.
The deer approached the boy before placing a paw over his chest, shaking him carefully as to not scare him.
“I know it’s early, but you know we have to go now… I’m sorry.” She whispered as the human opened his eyes, his hair was a mess after his short sleep and he didn’t seem pleased by being awake so early in the morning after traveling for so long.
“W-why?” He whispered on a shy tone while looking up at Mary with what could only be seen as “puppy-eyes”. “You know we must go early so we can get there as soon as possible, I don’t want you to lose more time.” She sighed, placing her paw over his head to gently stroke his hair causing the boy to smile.
“Do I really have to go?” He tried pleading with the social worker but she wouldn’t budge, she knew she had a job to do.
“You know you have to, I can’t keep you kiddo and you know that.” She said, “But I’m sure your new family will be great to you, Eleanor was a great friend of your mother. I’m sure she’ll treat you like a son.” She continued with a reassuring smile on her face.
“I’m scared…” The boy’s voice sounded as if he was about to crack, Mary knew the young human was not from around there and had never been used to living among furs. He avoided carnivores as much as possible after moving out of his land, he tried to stick with humans as much as he could despite his mother’s pleas for him to try and befriend the neighbor boy, a wolf of around the same age.
Mary gave the kid a stern look, “Arthur… you know it is quite rude to judge people for who they are right?”
“Sorry… I just-” She cuts him, “Don’t be sorry, I know you’re scared but I don’t think there will be many of your kind where we’re going to, you know I care about you and wouldn’t let anything bad happen to you right?” The deer said on a soft tone. “Yes… I do.” Replied the young human who by now was starting to get up from bed.
“Then go brush your teeth, we’ll leave soon. I’ll pack your things for you, alright?”
“Thanks, Mary.” The human replied as he slowly made his way to the bathroom.
Not long had passed and the two were already on the road, Mary drove at a steady speed while her young companion stared out the window, wondering how life would be now that they were about to arrive in this town he’d heard of for about a month.
Not long had passed and the boy was already resting peacefully on the passenger’s seat, he was wearing a thick coat to protect his fur-less skin from the cold outside the car.
The rest of the voyage was pretty uneventful, the kid slept for most of it only opening his eyes around an hour before their arrival at their last destination.
“Good morning sweety, it’s still quite early. How was your sleep?” Asked the deer with a smile on her face. The boy blinked a few times before giving a short answer with a smile. “Good.” That was all the deer had to hear, she worried about his well-being as they’ve been together for around a month as she prepared the papers for the kid’s adoption, sadly this would be their final moments together for the dismay of the young human who’d grown quite attached to his temporary carer.
The car came to a halt next to a two stored house, it was still pretty early, the clock on Mary’s car displayed the time at around 11:27AM, Mary knew that the inhabitants were still inside as he made sure to keep in touch for as long as she could to make sure that they wouldn’t miss their arrival.
The deer quickly made her way outside the vehicle, opening the passenger’s door for the boy who left slowly, he seemed unsure and Mary could tell why. “I know you’re tense, you’re not only going to meet up with a different family but also one of a different species but you’re a strong boy and remember, don’t judge a book by it’s covers.” She said on a soft tone while shuffling the boy’s hair, he looked up at her with a weak smile and the two made their way towards the door.
The two waited patiently after Mary ringed the bell. “Just a minute!” Said a female voice from the inside, the kid looked at the deer with a sad expression. It was clear he’d miss her a lot. “It’s ok sweety.” Mary said as she looked at the boy with a smile, she was happy she’d finally fulfill her job though she couldn’t deny to herself that she’d miss the human. She missed every kid she helped but that was part of her job and she felt accomplished for every new family she’d give to a kid in need.
Not long after that short interaction the door would open, revealing a white furred wolf. The kid couldn’t really tell the species, to him dogs and wolves looked very alike and it was hard to separate the two apart.
“Oh, Mary. I knew you’d make it in time! though I was beginning to worry you’d get here after I left.” Said the large female. “And this must be Arthur, right?”
The boy flinched a bit, it was a while since he heard his name being said by anyone. Mary called him by “cute nicknames” as she called them, apparently it was to make him feel better though he couldn’t really care about it, he felt mostly alone and now that they were going to be separated that feeling of loneliness only grew. He looked up at the wolf, noticing her long gray hair which was only a little darker than the rest of her body and her violet eyes, a color he’d never seen before in humans though he knew it did happen occasionally.
“Yes…” was the only thing the boy could muster, nodding his head before shifting his gaze to the floor under him. That all felt like hell to him, though he’d eventually remember it as the moment his life turned for the better, he couldn’t possibly tell what would happen to him now that he was in a different environment.
“Bye sweety, it was a pleasure taking care of you.” Came a voice from behind him, how long had he spent overthinking that he barely noticed the women were done? Looking behind him he could see Mary waving a paw at him as she entered the car, he could only wave back at the deer who drove away leaving the boy behind with the wolf, his eyes watering a little but the kid wouldn’t allow anyone to see him cry so he held his tears and locked his pain inside his heart again as he had been doing for the past month since the passing of his mother.
“Are you alright, Arthur?” Asked the female wolf in a worried tone, Arthur would look up at the wolf, nodding his head. It was an obvious lie though the wolf didn’t press much as she could tell the kid needed some space. “I’m going to show you around, alright? My name’s Eleanor by the way, I know this is all new to you but I want you to know that everything is going to be alright. Ok?” She continued on a soft tone, somehow that seemed to ease the human a little and he followed her inside the home.
As he made his way inside he couldn’t help but notice that someone was spying on him, shifting his gaze left he managed to get a glimpse of the young looking brown canine that quickly ducked his head down as to avoid being caught. That’d only add more for the kid to think about as he continue to press forward and into the house, following the wolf.
It was quite large compared to what he was used to, he followed quietly as the wolf showed more of the place, making sure to let him know every corner of it. That wasn’t very effective though as the kid was far too gone in his mind, he couldn’t stop overthinking. His mind was still clouded and hazy after everything that happened, it was all too fast for him and he feared it’d only get worse from that moment on, yet he pressed for he knew he couldn’t give up or remain down forever. He’d have to stand strong for his own sake.
The last part of the house shown to the young human was his new room. He noticed a mattress on the floor, looking up at the wolf who’d give him a warm smile. “Sorry, sorry… we didn’t really have enough time to buy you a bed yet but I promise we’ll get one soon. I hope you don’t mind sharing the bedroom with Oliver.” The human would tilt his head a little as if asking about the name he’d just heard. “That’s my youngest son, didn’t your mom tell you about them? Well, once they’re back from school I’ll make sure you’ll know both of them, Edward and Oliver.” She’d continue with her warm smile on her face. Arthur couldn’t tell why but he felt relieved by the way the wolf talked, it simply sounded genuine and gentle, his fears beginning to settle a bit.
Suddenly, the wolf would get on her knees, gently putting her paws under the boy’s chin to raise it a bit to meet her violet eyes. “Hey, I’m sorry about your mom… we used to be great friends for longer than you might even know, she was so happy when she was able to get you to come. I know it can be hard sometimes but I made a promise to her which I intend to keep, I can sense that you’re stressed, tense and even scared. Wolves have a good senses you could tell.” She’d chuckle at her last comment before continuing, “but you don’t have to feel like that anymore, it has passed.” The wolf gives the boy a small lick on his forehead before standing up again. She’d turn around to leave the room, noticing by the boy’s face and racing heart that he might need some time to let his emotions settle down.
“I’ll let you be on your own for now, I’m going to prepare something for lunch. Feel free to come to the dinning room whenever you’re ready.” She’d say with a smile as she leaves the room and the boy behind. The boy would feel as if he had been hit my a train of emotions run over him by the time he feels like the wolf has distanced herself enough. All that holding was killing him and now he felt an urge to set his emotions free.
Laying on the mattress, the kid would begin to cry. Fighting to keep his sobbing quiet as he feared being noticed, his pain diminishing with each tear eventually being replaced by tiredness. He had been feeling exhausted by the long trip, eventually that would all be too much and Arthur’s pain would fade as his mind enters what his mother would refer to as “the world of dreams”. Unbeknownst to him Eleanor had paused her walk after hearing his sobs, her motherly heart pained to hear the desperate cries of the kid but she knew it would be best to leave him be for now.
To be continued…
