Hototo

Suspecies
Canis Lupus Tundra

"Hototo" is a Hopi name meaning "warrior spirit who sings"

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Hototo rose slowly from his long nap, blinking the sleep from his eyes. Rising to his paws, he ventured towards the mouth of the cave to greet the day. White was all around him, even the puffs of breath from his nostrils. Untouched and sparkling in the sun’s last rays, it seemed like the world was painted over in white. His eyes couldn’t perceive the scene, being blind, but he could smell the winter’s coldness and frosted landscape. Hototo didn’t feel the cold, especially with his thick, white fur coat, but horrific memories gave him a shiver down his spine – memories that he could see in his mind, during a time he still had his eyesight…

White, cold snow and ice …aching all over…the rattling of his heavy chains binding his paws together…

He closed his eyes in an attempt to make the images go away, but it was a fruitless endeavor. He couldn’t see anyways – his world was all black. No, doing this only made the memories clearer.

…bloody paw prints left behind him… the sting of a whip’s lash…a still body lying in the snow, eyes glazed over like a frozen pond…

“SNOW!!!” he heard a cry from behind him, with yips and high pitched barks. Like an avalanche of snow, a bunch of pups ran past, almost bowling him over. They immediately broke the stillness of the pristine scene, as well as Hototo’s thoughts. However, it did startle him, and left his body feeling tense. Only with the warm presence of another white figure leaning against his pelt was he able to relax.

“Ah, the first snow of the season. It looks so lovely,” said Pamuya, Hototo’s mate. He nuzzled her muzzle, “Not as lovely as you.” She gave a quiet snort, “I think the snow froze your mind. The snow here is much more lovely… errr, at least before the pups got in it.” Pamuya chuckled as she saw the pups tackle each other in the snow, their colored pelts becoming almost as white as the two watching them.

“Want to join in?” said Pamuya, as her eyes gleamed with excitement, “I feel like a pup again!” Without giving a chance for Hototo to respond, Pamuya jumped in the fray, spraying a bunch of snow on top of three pups. Hototo wasn’t one to frolic and play like the pups, or even his packmates. His past never allowed him to, being bound as a slave to a cruel group of longnecks for most of his life, to do whatever work they demanded of him. Only when their cruelty came to a point that they blinded him did they release him of their demands – left to fend for himself, all alone and defenseless. It was Pamuya and her pack that came upon Hototo, nursing him to health. He eventually learned to live with his blindness and became a skilled shaman to the pack.

“Snow pile!” rang a chorus of excited pups as they leaped on top of Hototo. He feigned submission, laying with his belly exposed, “Oh, you got me! I am no match for your ferociousness! How could you pick on someone who’s blind?” Giving a long moment to look dead in the snow, the pups stopped. They peered closely at him, sniffing his body hesitantly. Only one dared to ask, “Is he dead?” Suddenly, Hototo, flipped over and whipped a bunch of snow in their direction. “Fooled you! Now you must face the white grizzly!” as he threw up his front paws and gave a deep throated growl. They all laughed and continued playing. Cold memories were left behind like the footprints in the snow.





Art by Clutter





Art by PhillTheFab




Special wolf friend by Natron


On the front page of Flight Rising on 3/16/23