State of my Head // Open

[Kold]

Kold

Text in this color can be skipped if one is uncomfortable with the mention of rabies or seizures

Kold spent most of her time exploring the desert, constantly pushing herself to be better than the day before. With her self-inficted training, she had become a little more robust. But she was still a kid, with street-smarts, wandering within the desert - she was surprised that no one had followed her and dragged her back to the plaza.

She was nearing the spike border, with her mind wandering to her mother. She was still trying to pinpoint what was wrong with her. Her mother seemed fine one moment, then was seizing on the ground, froth bubbling at her mouth the next. It was confusing to Kold and her siblings, and concerning for her father. There were always warning signs before the stuff happened - her mother would be quiet and dazed, or sitting in a strange position.

Then she got aggressive - overly so. She would snap at the simplest thing, and was unable to drink water. She claimed that Kold herself had poisoned her, and would knock her back with a paw. It got worse until her father made the damning decision of dropping Kold off here. He left her alone, on the path to eternity, and Kold would never forget that.

The sweet smell of sickness hit Kold, dazing her for a moment. Then the snarl rang in her ears. Then the robust form of a Rottweiler made it's way into her vision. There was a red color at the edges of their eyes, and froth at their lips. Their body was hunched, shuddering with every breath. They stared at Kold with a snarl at their frothing lips, teeth yellowed. First, Kold was confused. Then, it hit her.

"Mom...?" She whimpered, her first word in a long time since joining the Pitt. The response was a lurching motion from the Rottweiler, and Kold saw a familiar scar across their chest, confirming her fears. "Mom..! It's me, Kold..!"

Her mother didn't respond with words, but another snarl. She lurched forward on staggering legs, threatening to lunge at her daughter. Kold whimpered and stepped back, terrified. Terror was now strange for her to feel, having sort of hardened up her emotions and mentality. But terror was all she felt now, body only able to step back with every lurching step forward her mother took.

Her mother let out another snarl, then lunged at Kold. Her legs, which had been wobbling and moving weirdly before, were moving with terrifying precision. "MOM!" Kold practically screamed out, her scream echoing into the land around her. Her mother missed completely, falling to the side as her body seized up, her jaws opening and closing violently. Her legs began to kick and move as if she was swimming - and a horrendous snarl ripped out of her throat, causing the froth to bubble. She let out one last disgusting growl before her body relaxed.

"Mom...? Mo-" Kold's words caught in her throat, her eyes watching as her mother stopped breathing and went limp. "Mom! Mom, no!!" She yelped and whimpered, running to her mother's side. She kept a distance, though. Even so, she could see that her mother was gone. Gone.

Kold's breathing sped up as she stepped back, falling on her haunches - what did she just witness? She witnessed her mother's death, but what caused it? Her paws shook as she tried to walk away, but her legs gave in and she fell onto the desert sand, a shaking mess.