Stone Circle When the party is over

Uneasy throughout the day, a weariness unrecognisable settled over him. Something was amiss, he could feel it in his bones. Antsy, the elder paced the land, anticipating something of a mystery. Perhaps it was this building discomfort, the weariness already experienced, that caused him to answer his daughter’s call for her mate; in the back of his head, there was an urging. Although he could not place it, could not determine the origin, he thought he might be able to write off his arrival as the antics of an aging mind, if unwanted. Yet, when the distance between himself and them was lost, when the sight unfolded before him, he could not grasp it.

Blood hit his nose first, then sight—the sight of the bodies, canine and feline alike. Even from afar, his heart began to sink, one body, in particular, more familiar than the others. Perhaps, in the back of his mind, he knew already what he was walking into. Perhaps, unknowingly, he was aware—but that awareness was not enough. Nothing was enough to prepare him for seeing one of his daughters, bloodied and lifeless.

Those others there, the scene in its entirety, did not fully register with him—not yet. His focus remained on Nanook, on what was left of her, gaze unable to be torn away. Was it sadness he felt or was it rage? Perhaps it was both—sorrow for the life that was taken away from her far too early, and anger towards the beast that did it. Anger that he tried to hold onto, anger that he tried to let swallow his grief, anger that failed him… it faded as swiftly as it came, leaving behind only tears. His heart clenched within his chest, a sharp pain shooting outwards throughout his being—

Parents were not made to outlive their children.