Ol' Flint the Crow

The Runt's Tale pt. 1

My name, roughly translated, is The Runt. It was given to me for being the littlest and weakest of my parent's offspring. In animal society this unfortunate rank, if given to you, makes you the helpless target of your other brothers and sisters. You receive the least amount of your mother's life-giving milk, and you are constantly belittled and abused by your older and stronger siblings.

I can't remember a time when my family was kind to me. To them I was a hopeless pup that would be killed by an attack from the bears of the south -who we were at war with at the time-, die from a sickness since there was a deadly plague spreading throughout our pack, or I'd accidently be trampled over by one of my own siblings during their roughhousing.

These first two dangers brought every pack to unify together into one location, fearing that the bears would kill us off one by one. However, the plague grew more of a threat because of this.

As you can guess, this unity made my life even more difficult. I was a burden in my parent's eyes and just an annoying flea to the new wolves of the pack. It was a miracle that I didn't die at the hands of one of the new arrivals. In the animal kingdom, it is survival of the fittest, and I was far from fit. Nevertheless, I survived one day at a time by staying low and avoiding others as best I could.

Another thing that helped me see every new sunrise was The Alpha. He had not yet gained that title at the time. Instead, he was the son of the previous male alpha wolf... his father. I first saw him at the council of the alphas where his father and mother gained full control of the amalgamated packs.

The Alpha, named The Second at the time for being his parents successor, sat among the other pups of the alphas. I distinctly remember the pack of them growling and nipping at each other as they watched each of their parents' debate and fight for the title of head wolf. But he, The Second, sat there motionless, breathing smoothly in and out; his nostrils barely even quivering.

The females of my pack, including my sisters, ogled at him with their mouths gaping. He was an earthy smelling teenager at the time and being a Second made him even more enticing. As for me, I didn't take much heed of him, being skinny and without an attractive scent which could drive a young male wild I understood that I would not allure a mate. No... I knew my place and kept my eyes off of The Second. The Second did likewise, he did not bother to look at any of the sea of females hooting and howling at him. This made him out of place compared to the other seconds who grinned and licked their lips at those females or males they fancied. He, The Second, stood poised at his father and mother doing battle with two silver colored wolf alphas, that had come from the Hissing Stream of the far east. After a bloody clash with them, The Second's parents proved the victors.

When his parents were given the title of the male and female alphas, he proudly strode forward with them to the throne. Even when a large group of love-sick sisters of mine flaunted around him to get his attention and possibly his affection, The Second only step over them as you would do to an insignificant log in your way.

I smirked that this, glad to see that my sisters, one of them who would constantly nip at me in an act of dominance, unable to gain even a glance from The Second. They, along with all the other females in the new pack, continued night and day to woo The Second into accepting them as his mate; but weeks past to no avail, and soon they lost hope. They went about their normal business and just assumed that The Second was infertile or something.

Since we were too busy with the war and plague, the years flew by quickly. However, I noticed small hints that peaked my interest of The Second. First, his father and mother were constantly at his throat since he had yet to secure a possible mate. Even when they searched for all the eligible females in the pack for their son, The Second refused them all. The whole pack heard of this which quickly caused the rumor of his infertility to spread like wild fire. There was also the rumor that he enjoyed a different sexual preference.