2 points       Report

The Blood War

Bone’s Epilogue

Bone silently followed Outlander through the forest, watching her tail swish through the undergrowth. He was dreaming, of course; he hadn’t actually seen Outlander face-to-face since they stopped dreaming on the day after Snowblind’s death. But when he dreamed, he often took visits to her, watching over her from a mental state.

“Hey, Outlander,” he murmured finally, pausing his walk. He doubted that she could hear him, but he had never tried speaking to another through a dream. So if she could hear him… she was about to hear a LOT.

“You probably can’t hear this, and I’m probably just insane to be talking to you when I’m not even really there. But I… there’s something that I’ve never told anyone. And I feel like you’d be the one fit to hear it.” Taking a deep breath, he started in.

“The past few months have been hard, I won’t lie. I’ve missed you… I’ve missed you a lot. I know that you’re doing well because I watch you often, but it’s lonely, isn’t it? Wandering alone like you are. Even if you don’t fit in somewhere, it’s depressing to be without pack-mates. I know that from experience.

“…I was really hoping that after we handled Snowblind, you and I could have started over. You’d said that I was forgiven, that day that I was crushed by an elk. But I never really believed you, not until you said that I was a ‘who’ and not an ‘it’. I was never able to forgive myself for Scavenger’s death, and I’m still unable to. But I was hoping that, had we started over, I would have learned how. Maybe we could even have been friends, actual friends, where I didn’t give you throat scars.” He gave a small smile. Outlander had sat down, resting in front of him, her ears angled somewhat back.

“I’ve stayed away from other living things,” he said, sighing. “And it’s been lonely. Really, really lonely. I wish that you were here, that you were still with me. I wish that I hadn’t had to leave. But we both know that a friendship between us wouldn’t have worked out. Besides,” he added with a soft laugh, “you wouldn’t have been able to tolerate me for more than a few days.”

Hesitantly, Bone sat back on his haunches, dragging his paws through the dirt. “I and my rage have had fewer fights,” he sighed. “Probably because I’ve seen no other wolves that I could possibly kill. But the rage is still there, and it’s still burning.

“I’ve been trying to find a new purpose, a new… well, a new reason to be alive, I guess. Hoping that a new Gifted will be born soon, so that I can do my actual job, instead of just… wandering.” He thought for a moment, studying the forest floor, which was dappled in golden rays of sunlight. “But I think that I’m going to be alright,” he added, a small smile crawling over his face as he looked up at her.

“I think that I’m going to be alright, Outlander.”

- President Loki

More Green Coloring Tips