Vengeance is mine (I will replay)

Part II. - The Hero of their Time

0. Prologue

If we look in it carefully, we could see that Victor’s life was special from the very start. A curse of difference was cast on him in the day he was born and was walking with him for all those years. In fact he was so special that he didn’t know what we would call a normal life. That why he considered himself as perfectly normal creature – what is typical for every kind of madness.

His mother – Aurora – died giving birth to him and four of his litter-siblings. The others pups died soon too, however father (called Max) try to do his best to secure the future of family. But living on the streets of Selawik wasn’t an easy task, especially for them.

Aurora, Max and – because of quite obvious reasons also theirs pups – were homeless dogs, strays and wanderers. They were mongrels, but that word doesn’t describe whole problem exactly. In Victor’s family the blood of many races was mixed. His ancestors were hybrids too and if dog could legitimate himself with noble descent, he had to search in ancient times. Really ancient times.

In Victor’s body there was a whole scale of dog breeds, as if someone took a about ten totally different genotypes, put it them into mixer and started the machine. The result looked as strange shaped creature of moderate size. Somehow in constitution Victor was reassembling the spitze (however he was smaller and lighter) but his muzzle had some chart’s features. His fur had a dirty-sand colour that sometimes reminded yellow, sometimes brown – depends on light and season. As a pup Victor was looking sweet, even so sweet that after death of Aurora Max hoped that his only son would be adopted by some human family. However that plan failed – who know, maybe pup was too dirty or he was looking too much as a stray. So Victor was raising on street of Selawik with his father. Of course unless his father died.

“World is a nasty place, my son.” He used to say. “Especially for us – weak ones. To survive we have to transgress limits of our nature and fight for every breath. We won’t be stronger or more pretty that purebreds, bigger dogs. However we could be better, because we raise over borders that our breed limits us.”

“Yeah, I know…” replied Victor. “But I’m hungry dad.” And he looked with empty stare on some husky in garden of nearest house. Dog was eating the solid portion of meat. Two mutts were starving for three days.

“Yes, I’m too.” Agreed Max. “But look on that pathetic dandy. He is getting the food every time he need. There in no fight in his life. We are struggling to live so we are stronger.”

“Dad, I think you are real strong, but he is twice big as you.”

“Of course, he is.” Murmured father. “As he would beat me up. But he is weaker anyway. All his advantages come from his genies and being fortunate to live with humans. We have to conquer what we want. He didn’t inherited a stuff.”

“I’m sure you’re right.” Nodded Victor. “But I’m still hungry.”

That day they failed to eat any meal. Starved almost to death they ate next morning, getting some food from trashes of Keber’s shop. It was July, warm summer of 1922. However grim it looked, Max and Victor managed to survive on streets of town. But father was thinking with fear about winter and was trying to teach his son everything he would need to make it on his own.

Max was wise dog, because he was prepared for the worst. And the worst happened – he died from some gastric infection on September that year, living five month old Victor all alone. But lessons he have to his pup worked – somehow, I’m not sure how – the young mongrel survived. Eating from trashes. Stealing from shops. Fighting with other dogs of scraps. Hunting on rats and cats. But he did it – he made it to the autumn.

The decision of leaving Selawik wasn’t the hard one. Victor had there nothing but a hard memories of death of his family. No friends, no protectors. So he decided to try to live in the wild. Quite a bold move for a such a creature, who was half big as wolf but had to live as wolf. However he repeated to himself that there, in forest, there are so many small animals and they live somehow. So with the firsts snow, when getting a food in town started to be extremely hard, young dog set off to the mountains.

It was a unusual luck he survived his first days. He just encounter wounded goose, who failed to fly to warmer areas, lost young racoon dog, family of foxes, some cat cubs on their own and he easily hunt down, killed and ate those preys. Instantly he gained some crucial experience about hunting and although he was starving the next few days, he manage to get to the valley next to the Eagle Pass. With his sixth sense he understood that place was good place to stay and hunt.

However not only he came to that conclusion. Wolves had sixth senses too.

I.I Against the Circle

Behold, you are beautiful, my love.
Behold, you are beautiful.
Your eyes are doves behind your veil.
Your hair is as a flock of goats
That descend from Mount Gilead.
Song of Solomon 4:1

Agatha was too tired to yell or cry. She was just waiting for death in silence and that was somehow proper. What was to comment – what happened had happened and no one could change it. Wolfess was destined to die.

It not that pack rejected her. But hey had left her when she broke her leg. What would do the pack – feed the useless member for few weeks to let her recover? That was stupid and absurd. Maybe if the accident happened two month later – when wolf males are thinking yet about mating season and there is generally more food, because weaker predators die – group might save Agatha. But it happened in December so it turned out that she was <weaker predators destined to die>. Well, it just happens.

However Agatha was far from that philosophical (we could say: stoical) view, because the death was concerning her in person. She understood that it couldn’t had happened different, but she still was enraged on her former companions. But she could do nothing, then she was even too weak to cry.

Initially she took a moderate dog just for some big fox or wolverine. She instantly thought that if that was wolverine her anguish would be finished quickly by mercy-blow. But that <wolverine> turned out to be funny looking, yellowish furred member of unknown canine breed. She was looking on him with amaze and he was responding on that stare with amaze almost in the same degree. She as the first time saw mongrel, he as the first time saw wolf.

“I’m just passing by.” Said adolescent dog. “Do not bother yourself…” Then he noticed that paw of silverfurred wolf is broken. “Ow, never mind…”

“Yeah, nevermind.” Agatha nodded with tears in her eyes. “I even cannot reach you.” Dog was walking still, however he slowed down a bit, hearing that strange words. “How it is, town-one, to still being alive?” she called with sudden fury in her voice.

“I haven’t been dead yet, so I can’t see the difference.” Said yellow-furred and stopped. He turned to the wolf and walked few stops in her direction.

“But you are curious, how is to dying, aren’t you?” asked wolf.

“No, I saw too many deaths already.” He replied fast. “Including my parents.”

“Should I say that I’m sorry about that?”

“Maybe not.” Said dog carefully. “Because I’m not sure if I’m sorry about your state.”

Sudden spark of hope hit Agatha. She narrowed her eyes and said with breaking voice.

“Save me!”

“I beg your pardon?” Asked surprised mongrel.

“Save me!” repeated wolf. “Bring me some food.”

“But… but…” he was indeed confused but also amused by that request. “You are cripple. To save you I have to feed you for few weeks.”

“I’m for.” She said and smiled with innocent, pleading smile. It was desperate try but she wanted to use every opportunity to survive.

“I’m missing some important point here.” Said yellow-furred. “Why should I do it?”

“And why not?”

“Because I’m eight month old dog who isn’t sure even of my own existence.”

“But you still could try…”

Suddenly stranger burst with laughter. He fell to the ground and started to giggle in snow. Agatha was looking on it in silence.

“Need a helping paw?” he asked with amused voice. “How it is simple…. To ask. Why my mother didn’t asked when she was dying. Why my father and I didn’t do it, when we were starving… Or we did, but we were ignored.”

“If you don’t start, no one would.” Added wolf. “Just try…”

“I have no interest in that.” Called yellow furred with sudden anger. “You are stronger, bigger and more powerful. If I was in trouble, you would give no hack about me, dying here. Because you just can’t imagine how it is to be weak. The satisfied one would never understand hungry one. Until he starves.”

“I understand it!” yelled Agatha, sensing that she had a slight hope to do it. “From now on I will never judge anyone by his strength or side. I’m weak now, I’m on your side now.”

“But I’m no longer on <my side>.” Replied dog. “I’m healthy and could survive on my own. You are now where I was as a tiny pup.”
“So let be get to your side then.”

“And how I could be sure that you will return me that favour?” asked mongrel. “That when you are healthy you will still be <on my side> instead of, for instance, killing me?”

“I can promise you…” said Agatha. “But you can do not believe me. So you have to risk. To break the normal way of things… To break a circle of life.”

“Sounds catchy.” Smiled dog. “But…” suddenly he fell silent for few moments and was looking on her with follow voice. Then he replied. “Ow hell, I will try. Stay here, I look if I’m able to hunt for both of us.” She wanted to say something, but he added. “Do not thank me, before I get some meat.” And he ran to the forest.

*

The miracle happened