Citizen 985 Ictu

Slamming the front door shut, Ictu raced through the house, his little feet pounding as he bent his head around doors, looking for his mother. Spotting her in the kitchen, he saw her standing at the window, looking out across the town. “Momma momma! When is dadda gonna be here? Vallie said that his daddies aren't allowed to go out cause all the navy ships are coming back! If all of them are coming, that means dadda too!!” Ictu bounced around his mother’s feet excitedly.

Wringing her hands in her apron, Mother’s eyes never left the window “Oh honey, I'm not sure. You're sure they said the fleet was coming in today?” Mother’s voice was soft, almost hesitant.

Ictu paused his little jumps only long enough to beam up at her, nodding his head vigorously “Yep, all of em! I bet he’ll be there! Dadda’s always the first one back, cause Dadda’s the bestest!” the pup giggled, setting off bounding around his mother’s feet again. He would get to see his dad soon, to cuddle up in his strong arms and hear all of the magical tales his father had to tell. “Can we go get him? Dadda promised if I was big enough he would ask his captain if I could go see the crows nest, and I've gotten so much bigger!” Ictu giggled. Dadda always said he was bigger, every time! He was sure he would be big enough this time.

Mother’s eyes slid from the window down to Ictu’s bouncing body. “I.. Yes Ictu, we can go see the ships coming in.” Mother’s voice was quiet, and Ictu froze as she spoke to keep his clicking claws from interrupting her voice. “But, you must be on your very best behavior. Go wash and put on your best clothes, we don't want to embarrass your father.” Ictu let out a squeal of joy as his mother gave her approval, racing out of the room as quickly as he could. Too quick to see her wiping her face with the corner of her apron. Too quickly to see her eyes glue back to the window, a sob shaking her slender frame.

___

Ictu was practically vibrating out of his fancy buttoned shirt, his nicely pressed pants already coated in a fine layer of dust as they joined the throngs of rexals pressed up against the fence above the docks. Built to keep people from falling off the cliffs and down to the docks themselves, the fence was incredibly sturdy, but a few years ago someone had come through and cut holes in the fence, just about the right height for children to poke their heads through to watch the ships come in. Ictu and Valentine had picked out the perfect spot last time they had come to watch the ships, and he was currently in the process of guiding his mother to the spot, far to the left of the largest crowd of people. 

Ictu’s mother let him drag her forward, something she normally wouldn't have allowed due to the bad precedent it set, but she was giving her all just to place one foot in front of the other. Ictu had noticed how pretty his mother was, all dressed up in her fanciest dress, his father’s ship flag colors painted on the tines of her throat armor. Ictu had small stripes of paint along the faint bumps of his throat armor, to match her, and hopefully dadda. The young rexal was focused, his little hand in his mother’s, finding the littlest breaks in the crowd to pull his mother through. He didn't notice how the crowd seemed to melt away from them, breaking away as if moved by the tides themselves. He didn't notice how his mother’s steps dragged harder and harder as they approached the edge of the fence nearest to the stairs that were cut to give easy access to the port. He didn't notice the bowed heads and lit halos of the rexes they passed. He was far, far too focused on getting to the hole, seeing dadda’s ship, and then- if he was allowed- racing down those steps as fast as possible to give dadda the biggest hug he could manage. 

Mother’s hand clamped down on his like a vice a few steps before he reached the hole in the fence, her eyes glued on something only someone of her height could see down on the docks below. She slammed to a halt, Ictu’s shoulder wrenching back as she stopped moving “Momma? We’re almost there, come on!” Ictu’s confused voice rang out stronger than he was expecting, jolting the young rexal as he realized… it was quiet. This many rexals, in this small of a space, and it was quiet. Ictu’s little brows knit together as he looked around, noticing just how many halos were lit as the adults bowed their heads slightly toward his mother. W..What was this? Ictu pulled his hand out of his mother’s, backing away from the adults. He didnt like this, he didnt like this at all. 

“Ictu, baby-” His mother’s voice shattered as a sound he had never heard before wrenched its way from her throat, cutting off any words she may have been trying to say. The sound rose and fell sharply, like a badly strung instrument, and he watched his mother reach out for him before crumpling forward. Adults swarmed forward to catch her, but Ictu had seen enough. Turning, Ictu dropped to fours, his pretty white shirt catching on the cobbles as he ran for the hole in the fence. He needed his dadda. Something was clearly wrong with mother. 

The hole was only a few steps away when the sound rang out again, this time from his left. His eyes darted to the side to see an unfamiliar rex hit his knees at the fence, adults rushing to his side. What was going on?? The fur along Ictu’s spine prickled as a wave of terror breached him, as another wail split the silent air. Skipping to the side, Ictu broke into a sprint for the stairs themselves. Some of the adults reached for him as he passed, the silent air punctuated by shouts of ‘hey’, ‘wait’, ’No!’, ‘come back’- but Ictu kept his pace as more of those terrifying noises sprung from the back of the crowd. The silence was gone, his ears now full of that awful, awful noise, and the hundreds of mumbling voices of the crowd. 

Skidding to a stop at the top of the stairs, Ictu’s eyes locked onto the docks. Blinking a few times as he tried to understand what he was seeing as his chest heaved, he squinted down. Smoke billowed thickly from around half of the ships that were tied to the docks, wounded sailors stacked along the piers of the docks, many carrying splotchy cloth covered bundles. But it was the line of broken and burning ships being towed to shore that caught Ictu’s eyes first, raking them across their hulls for colors matching those on his tines.

“M..Momma. Where’s Dadda’s ship?”

Author: Babykitten