Hi, hi! I'm starting to run out of ideas, and I'd love some help with new scenarios. It has been brought to my attention by bookworm (and I know who you are) that some of the chapters move to fast. Realize that my stories do not match up with real time and that a lot of the slower things, like going to the river with the bottle and gathering firewood, I leave out. I've always seen that as a given. But, in this one, I'll see if I can slow things down a little.
This one's going to be hard for me. I'm going to try a POV for Tomo. In doing this, to make it seem more like he's the one who's talking, I'm going to give different things different names. You'll probably be able to figure out what he's talking about.
Disclaimer: Wheek, squeak, yeep, yeep, wheek. (Me: My guinea pig says that I'm honest and don't own Lost in Blue. Oh and she says she wants some food.)
Chapter 9: Tomo's Thoughts (Part 1)
When StripedFur attacked, I thought all of us were going to die. He was injured, but still strong. A different smell came from his fur; one that I'd never encountered before. He brought down each of us one by one. My brother Boulder was the first, with my sister Sage close behind. Night and Fern, my parents, told me to run. While they were distracted, StripedFur attacked them.
I backed up, wondering if I should obey my parents or help them. I wasn't paying any attention behind me and fell over the ledge. I hit the ground and scrambled to my feet. I took off, but my paw got caught in something. Turning to look behind me, I could see StripedFur getting ready to pounce, when he froze and looked toward the Water Tunnel, then wheeled and loped away. I glanced over at it and saw a peculiar creature emerge from it.
It walked on its hind feet, carrying something in one of its front paws. It looked like a stick with a rock on the end of it. Its pelt was loose, blue on top and black on the bottom. Its face and forelegs were tan, and it had a patch of long light brown fur on top of its head. It seemed to be distracted by something for a moment, then turned and started towards me. When it saw me, it froze and dropped the stick. I could smell fear coming from it, along with the same scent that was on SripedFur's coat. Did this creature fight with StripedFur and win?
All of my wonder disappeared when it picked up the stick and started to approach me. If it could take down StripedFur and win, what chance did I have against it? I growled deep and low, hoping to scare it. It seemed to work, because it stopped and looked unsure. Then it started to make noises at me. "Shhh. Easy. I won't hurt you. Easy now." It seemed like tit wasn't going to attack me. I stopped growling, but I was still wary. It started forward again, still making noises at me. The closer it got, the more I realized that it was a female. She behaved like she wanted to be my friend, still making soothing noises.
She jerked suddenly and fell onto all fours. I snarled in surprise. She rolled over and picked up a rock in one paw, and tossed it away. She got up and used her paws to brush of dirt from her blue and black pelt. Then it looked at me again. In its eyes, I only saw kindness. Looking at her stick, she tossed it away, and approached me again. I could feel her eyes running over my body.
When she came within twelve strides away from me, I stiffened in fear. She could attack, and I'd be completely helpless. But instead of jumping at me, she halted and stepped back. I relaxed. I could feel my respect for this creature growing, because she respected me. She hesitated, unsure if I would allow her to approach me. I wagged my tail, hoping she knew enough to see that I was inviting her in.
It worked. She came forward again and knelt beside me. She slowly reached out a forepaw to me without touching me. I licked it, and the corners of her mouth turned up. Although I didn't know what that meant, the fear-scent vanished, and her body loosened up. She gently brought her paw up to my shoulder and touched it. I flinched away, but then came back and leaned into it. She brushed it across my shoulder, and then did it again. My eyes closed lazily. It felt like my mother when she would wash me as a pup.
I was drifting off to sleep when the brushing stopped. Opening my eyes, I saw that she was reaching for the thing around my paw. I watched in fascination as she gently unwound it and took it off my leg. I stood up and shook myself. I turned to her and licked her cheek, breathing in her scent as I did so. She had that strange scent, along with the smell of the sea.
Ocean. That is what I'll call you, I thought as I turned and climbed up the cliff. I had to see what happened to my parents. I could hear Ocean scrambling up after me. My spirit fell as I looked at my pack. All of them were dead. I heard Ocean gasp. Turning to look at her, I could see the sadness in her eyes. She put a paw on my back, and I could feel her tremble. I led her away from the scene, back down the cliff, and towards the Water Tunnel.
Where do I go now? I have no home. But maybe…Ocean started through the tunnel. I followed her. And I kept following her. As we reached a beach, Ocean stopped and turned to me. "If your going to stay with me, then you're going to need a name," she said to me. I didn't understand, and I cocked my head and looked at her. She did the corners-up thing again and said, "You're a friend now. So I'll call you Tomo. Do you like that name?" She walked off a few feet and turned around. "Come on, Tomo! Let's go."
I was confused. What was all this about "name" and "Tomo"? Ocean seemed to see my confusion. "You may not understand me, but I'm going to call you Tomo. It's a name. Like, um, I'm Summer." She pointed at herself. "Summer."
I got it. She was called Summer, whatever that was, and she wanted to call me Tomo. But I already had a name. "But I'm Shadow," I barked at her. She didn't understand me. Summer only said, "Let's go. You still have to meet John." I followed her, pondering about my new name. And Ocean. It didn't matter to me what she called herself or what she called me. I would always be Shadow, and she would always be Ocean. Still, she seemed nice enough, and even though she couldn't understand me, I got the feeling she would do her best to take care of me. She was my new packmate, and I was going to do my best to make her happy.
Hopefully this is good so far. I might make this one and the next chapter into a side story for Lost But Not Alone. Tell me what you think of this idea.