RUK AND SAMMY a hard rite of passage

[larkin]

This not a furry, it is a parable.

RUK AND SAMMY
A hard rite of passage

by Larkin


The two young wolves sat together on a hill overlooking the rest of the pack. They were still in their first year. Sammy looked at Ruk's bit ear. It was getting infected. He came close and licked it. Ruk appreciated the attention and was grateful for his friend's devotion.

Ruk said, "All's I have to do is look at any of those bitches and Big Daddy comes after me like he's gonna kill me. All day long he fucks them and at night they help him hunt. He won't share them with anyone. Remember My Uncle Jasper? Well he's gone too. He went to join the Outsiders."

Sammy cocked his head. "Outsiders?"

Ruk continued. "Yeah, that's where Jasper went. A soon as any of us males gets old enough to start getting a knot for cunt and we can't keep our cock sheathed, Big Daddy drives us away. He tried to kill me and if you go back he'll do the same to you."

Sammy looked down and in the distance he could see the Head wolf humping a bitch. Big Daddy was smelly and mean. He wanted everything for himself. Ruk told him that Big Daddy was an asshole.

Ruk looked at Sammy. "You think we could kill him?"

Sammy wasn't nearly as brave as Ruk. He could see that Sammy wouldn't be reliable in a fight but he didn't hold it against him.

Sammy asked. "Where are the Outsiders?"

"That's the pack that shadows Big Daddy waiting for him to falter. It's all our brothers that were driven out. Jasper is with them now."

Sammy asked again. "Yeah, but where?"

Ruk sniffed the ground and then scanned the horizon. "They are never very far and they are always just out of sight. I can tell that they were here last night. We have to get out of sight of Big Daddy's pack and run a circle around it. The outsiders will be somewhere along that circle. If Big Daddy moved, they move."

He continued.
"The thing that pisses me off is that if one of the Outsiders sneaks in to get a female, they squeal on him and he has to run like a criminal. I guess they like that smelly old dog"

Without warning, Ruk hopped up and pinned a field mouse.

He looked into mouse's beady black eyes and said, "Sorry."

With that, he bit off the head and forequarters. Ruk left the hind quarters for Sammy.
The poor mouse's destiny was now split between the two wolves stomachs.

Ruk looked at Sammy and said,
"Why don't you and me join the Outsiders? I know we can find them."

Sammy thought about it but he was so dominated by Ruk that his answer was assured. Tails high, they headed away from Big Daddy's pack and into the forest. The two young wolves were deep in the forest when the sun began to set. A large owl peered down at them from high in a tree. It had a mouse in its talons.

Ruk looked up and said. "Go fuck yourself!"

On this night, there was no moon so even for wolves it was dark. Sammy was shaking.

Ruk came up to him, "What's the matter with you?"

Sammy's voice was strange. "I'm lonely and I miss playing with the puppies."

Ruk acted exasperated. "Well we can't go back now!"

Suddenly they both heard it. Then they heard it from the other side. Whatever it was it was surrounding them. Then there was a growl and it was multiplied several times over. A large, mean and angry wolf snarled and came forward. Both Ruk and Sammy's tails curled under their hind quarters in fear and dread. Another and another wolf came forward and they looked just as angry. It was the Outsider pack.

The head wolf spoke. "Aren't you pups a little young to be running from Big Daddy. Don't you know all's you have is lie on your back and show him your pecker?"

Other wolves were causing a commotion behind them. The scent of wolf urine hung in the air. Both Sammy and Ruk kept turning around trying to face their attackers but they were too many. Even Ruk was paralyzed with fear. Fights among the other wolves broke out but the focus was on Sammy and Ruk. Two wolves trapped Sammy in place and he was mounted by a third. Ruk's identical fate swiftly followed. The pain of what was happening didn't hurt Ruk as much as hearing Sammy's high pitch cries.
In the dark forest, the horrible sounds of yelps and howls caused all other animals to flee. It seemed to go on forever and then, it just ended.

The scene of the two young wolves lying separately on the forest floor looked ghastly in the grey morning light. Ruk was awakened by a sniffing snout by his ear. He looked up and it was his Uncle Jasper.

He spoke to Ruk. "I tried to stop it but I couldn't so I stayed away until it was over. Hackles kept saying "It is written." I still don't know what that means. He said that this had to happen if you are to join us. He said that next time you have to fight back."

Ruk lifted his head and softly said, "Who is Hackles?"

Jasper answered him. "That's the head wolf. He says that when we kill Big Daddy he will be in charge of the females. Listen, Ruk, you're alright now, the pack will accept you."

With great difficulty, Ruk got to his feet. His gate was uneven and shaky. He almost fell but he was determined to go over to Sammy. He looked asleep. Ruk licked his face. It was cold. He lay down next to him but could not get the warm he was accustomed of getting from Sammy. He knew that Sammy was dead.

Ruk mourned Sammy and the cold settled into his heart. He thought about Big Daddy's pack where he was born and he thought about the cruelty of the Outsiders. Then he looked up and saw Jasper, waiting. Ruk turned away and went even deeper into the forest.

Jasper called to him. "Hey, come on, let's go."

Ruk breifly looked back but kept going.

On this day, Ruk had become a lone wolf.

[larkin]

I'm sorry, wolves do not always use polite language.. just the way it is..

Ruk is describing the tyranny of the alpha wolf that drives the young males away.. The outcast males turn out to be no better.

[Cole Parker]

A rather dystopian tale. That may be why there's been no comment.

C

[larkin]

Cole, thanks for the comment but what can I do, Dystopian is my middle name?

[dude]

This story was just not uplifting... I think that's what most readers had hoped for.

Powerful images - but distressing ones.

[larkin]

I do not fault the criticism and perhaps I agree, but when I sit down to write a creative piece, I do not say to myself, "I am going to write something uplifting."

I added the comment because I thought the salty language was stopping people from continuing but I suppose it didn't get any better as the short story progressed.

I consider this a writers site and a place where we can experiment with different forms and ideas and put them up for criticism drawing negative or positive comments. I can accept that.

There is virtue in experimentation and more to be gained from a failed attempt than a success.

[Cole Parker]

I don't think the story failed. It said exactly what you intended it to say, and was well-written. I only made the comment I did because I had the feeling you were expecting some comments and there weren't any. I don't know why there weren't, but thought perhaps is was because the story was a downer.

c

[larkin]

Fair enough.. My first formal submission just came up..

http://www.awesomedude.com/larkin/the-misfit/the-misfit.htm

[colinian]

I liked the story. I don't think there's a rule in the book about writing that says a story has to have a happy ending. Or that a protagonist or leading character can't die.

Colin

[larkin]

I liked the story. I don't think there's a rule in the book about writing that says a story has to have a happy ending. Or that a protagonist or leading character can't die.

Colin

Thank you for the nice notice.

[ChrisR]

I found this one to be a great tale. We always read stories of good triumphing over evil, but this was more the reality of the law of the jungle. Certainly not slap-happy but a taste of the bitter brew that is sometimes life. Most artfully crafted.

[larkin]

I liked the story. I don't think there's a rule in the book about writing that says a story has to have a happy ending. Or that a protagonist or leading character can't die.

Colin

Thank you Colin,

Most people prefer it, but a happy ending is not a requirement.

In this story, Ruk is the main character and Sammy is his friend. Sammy is killed by the pack but Ruk survives. The experience changes Ruk forever and instead of become a wolf who runs with the pack, Ruk becomes a lone wolf and strikes out on his own..

Ruk is the main character.

Sammy was a supporting character.

Sammy represented Ruk's potential for kindness that was tested and perhaps destroyed. Had Ruk joined the pack with his uncle Jasper, he would be no better..

But there is hope for Ruk because he resists the pack and strikes out on his own.

I'd like to think that in the end, Ruk will become a better wolf than the others who blindly follow the pack...

[larkin]

I found this one to be a great tale. We always read stories of good triumphing over evil, but this was more the reality of the law of the jungle. Certainly not slap-happy but a taste of the bitter brew that is sometimes life. Most artfully crafted.

Well Chris, I do appreciate this. I meant this to depict a life changing experience that shapes the way forward. People have them too and often, they are not pretty.

posted by Dude,-

This story was just not uplifting... I think that's what most readers had hoped for.

Powerful images - but distressing ones.

Dude has a right to his opinion and it is true that most people read for pleasure, but being, uplifting is also not a requirement and life lessons are not always easy. John Steinbeck's of "Mice and Men" is a good example.