story

"My parents knew I was different as soon as I was born. My arms were tucked closely to my body, and my paws kept inside the thick fur I was born with. My head was dry, and skinless. It was nothing but bone. My neck had a thin layer of skin and muscle, but that rotted away within hours of my birth. I remember opening my eyes, and seeing everything around me in full colour. It was clear as day, even though in reality it was night, and very dark. My parents looked at me, father in awe, while my mother in concern. He chuffed at my mother, pointing at my eyes. She glanced at him with an agreeing nod. She went outside, and brought back a green bottle. I could see my reflection in it. That was the first time I was myself. The barren skull, the bone tight skin on my neck, the thick fur on my body. It took a minute until I realized I was so different. I was black. My head was different. My neck was way thinner. It was then I realized what my parents were most concerned about. My eyes were a translucent blue, almost transparent. My pupils were a glowing white. I stared at the reflection, transfixed by my appearance. My parents looked so different. White, with dark brown eyes. Their skulls and necks covered in muscle and skin. I looked at their limbs. Three toes on each front paw, and 4 on the back I pulled my paw out of my fur and looked at it. Only two toes. I stretched out my leg, three toes. Everything about me was off. My parents took me out of the den. A kit as young as I was should never leave the den- the sheer cold would kill me. My mother, holding me by the neck, hopped out of the den and gently placed me on the snow. My father closed the den behind him. They both nuzzled my head before leaving. My mother looked back. I could see her fur underneath her eye wet. The tear hit the freezing snow before she hopped away, following my father. I didn't understand why at the time, but I would in a matter of days. 

I was moving within hours of my abandonment. I was cold. So cold. I hopped over to a sapling nearby, hoping it would stop the snow from falling on me. I nuzzled against it. I wrapped my paws around it- it started to wilt. The leaves fell immediately. The trunk drooped over and turned a sickly brown. I watched as the young tree died slowly in front of me. I didn't know yet, but I was starting to figure it out. The cold was starting to make my limbs go numb. I crawled over to the first that covered my den. I dug a small hole into it, trying to make a warm spot. I managed to dig far enough. It wasn't hard to warm my small body. I fell asleep in the hole I dug.

I slept in this hole for days. Dwelling on the realization that my touch is deadly. I grew rapidly. Within a couple of weeks of my birth,  I was full grown. The hole was tight, my limbs curled up into my body. I freed my arms, and dug through the snow that covered the entrance. I hopped around, stretching my legs. A ringing started to go through my ears. I was able to pinpoint the direction of the sound. I was scared. It was the direction my parents went. I followed the ringing until I found two white creatures huddled up together. They were easy to distinguish from the snow due to my sensitive eyes. They lied there. Their bodies radiated cold, and their eyes were nearly lifeless. My father looked at me with his dead eyes. He chuffed at me. I understood exactly what he wanted. I also understood I didn't want to do it. I watched them as they grew colder. I could tell they were in pain. My eyes welled with hot tears. I reluctantly reached out and hugged both of them. My paws wrapping around their necks. I felt their bodies go lifeless as I touched them. I collapsed. Tears melted the snow underneath me. My face was soaked. Tears ran down the bones of my neck, and into my thick fur. I laid there for hours, unable to process what I have done. 

The blood colored my skull red as I ripped the bones out of their bodies. I tore off the flesh from them. The skin and muscle was carefully removed from the heads. The skulls were then severed from their necks. I bathed the bones in the pristine white snow. I set the skulls down gently, and then buried the bodies deep in the ground. My parents were not going to be eaten, and I made sure of it. 

I took the skulls to the den. I used my large paws to dig out the first my father covered it with. Once the entrance was cleared, I carefully drug the skulls into the den. I put them into the room my parents slept in. I adorned the skulls in dead flowers and trinkets that I have found. A shrine of sorts was built. I visit them every night, and leave a new gift. 

I heard a ringing between my ears once more. I followed the horrid painful sound. There was a deer lying in the snow. Blood staining the snow around her. I walked over to her. Bipedal was more comfortable for this situation. Looking around, I saw a bear following a trail of blood. Two small cubs hobbled clumsily behind her. This bear was a mother. This deer was her meal. I could not deny her this- I could not deny my job. With eyes tearing up, I pet the deer's neck. Her breathing ceased, and she went limp. The bear saw the doe lying in the snow, and hurried over. She started to eat hungrily. She was very thin, and her cubs looked worse. I patiently awaited as she enjoyed her meal. Once she ate all the meat on the carcass, she laid down to nurse her young cubs. Milk was taking a while to produce. The cubs were nearly weaned, so instead she coughed up a pile of meat for the cubs to eat. They were overjoyed by the taste of the food. My tears of sadness turned to tears of joy. I might've just taken a life, but I saved three in the process. The bear heard me move towards the bloodied carcass, and quickly turned around. She watched as I severed the skull from the neck. I cleaned it off and gently laid it down. The bear and I watched each other for a minute or two. She understood I was not here to hurt her or the cubs. She knew what I was, and why I was there. She walked into the bush for a moment, and returned with a colorful bead necklace. I accepted the gift, and thanked her. I grabbed the deer's skull and the necklace, and made off for my den. My legs turning into a ghostly wisp as I flew across the land. I made it to my den. My ghostly tail turned back into legs as I landed. I entered the den, still holding both skull and necklace. I placed the necklace in the room with my parents' remains. The other skull was gently put on the ground, and I started to dig another chamber in the den. Once it was finished, I moved the skull to the new hole."