Other Boys
Other boys were playing with a ball, running together, laughing and calling to each other. Her boy never played a ball, despite having the desire to join the group. But he was pushed away and felt hurt for not being included.
This only made her realize yet again, that no matter how much she tried he wouldn't fit. Not because he was lacking, but because he was more than they could handle.
She knew it was hard on him. His father's kin ran in packs, loners were rare. He longed for acceptance and affection and she often saw in his eyes that he would go to great lengths to get it. The knowledge it would probably always be beyond his reach broke her heart. That was why she dedicated herself to give him more love, more care than any other mother would give her son.
Other boys played and pranced around. Her boy was playing by learning how to stalk butterflies and rabbits, how to find birds' nests and weave primitive nets to catch fish.
Other boys learned good manners, the social ladder and the ceremonies. Her boy learned about the value of hard work, honor and loyalty. She, the daughter of a feudal lord, a princess in her own right, a woman of samurai blood, was teaching him all tricks she knew, the wisdom of surviving in the forest and outsmarting others.
Other boys were told to always follow orders of their seniors and - in the future - lords. She never taught him blind obedience, she taught him to think and decide for himself. From her he learned that that one should follow orders of those who were worthy of being followed.
Other boys leaned how to read and write, how to wield a sword. Her boy learned how to utilize his claws, ripping pieces of wood for a fire he was going to build under her watchful eye. She knew he had a heart and mind that could surpass any of the boys' in the household, but she never directed it towards fleeting things like poetry and calligraphy.
Many looked down at her, thinking her son was a lowly and stupid being, but the truth was that he was not. He was smart, cunning, curious of the world. She just nudged him towards a certain path.
Because she knew one day he'd be alone. Because she knew that the basics she was teaching him were going to save his life once hers ended.
Because she hoped that with that knowledge he could live long enough to find his pack, find acceptance and a place to belong he so desperately craved for.