02.05.2016
The wolf slowed as he approached Mars now. He came to a rest “standing” on the collection of fragments. But from the view point of those on Earth, the two stood side by side. Again, the wolf raised up on his back legs and pounced down with his front legs. He did this several times in quick succession. It broke up the pieces which had melded back together under their own weight, and one last pounce shattered the boulder pile and sent pieces flying outward.
The wolf looked like he was playing in snow. He snapped his jaw shut on a few pieces skimming past his side and leapt after others nearby. He spent the next several hours chasing down and devouring the many thousands of pieces he had scattered.
The sky on Earth twinkled with light as the pieces of Mars tumbled end over end, scattering all the light that hit them. The circle they made slowly spread as the pieces separated. The streak of the wolf’s fur reflecting light connected one sparkle to the next as he chased each piece down.
By the end of his feast, the wolf had tripled in size, even though it was difficult to accurately measure without a solid planet nearby to reference. The telescopes did not change their focus the entire night, so they were able to estimate by how large a portion of the view the wolf occupied.
Many smaller fragments formed a small cloud which the wolf did not bother with. As he raced off into the depths of th solar system, the cloud could still be observed through the telescopes as it tumbled and shimmered and expanded. It was an impressive sight for Dalence as she squinted to look through the viewpiece. Like a handful of crystals had been scattered by the wind. These mesmerized the group until dawn arrived and made it impossible the see the specks against the sky.
The wolf had now eaten his fourth ((third!, plus a moon)) planet. Discussion and recapping happened over an early breakfast, before the sun came over the Knuckles. Dalence was getting into her tent to sleep as she heard a group rehearsing the story they’d tell once they got back to Suu-manth. Footsteps clattered against stone as Dalence wondered when these people slept at all.
And she faded off to a dream where she was the one in the sky that the wolf rushed toward. And it was her body that splintered and scattered as the wolf pounced time and time again. It was the powdery remains of her bones and the frozen air from her lungs that spilled outward in a cloud after she’d been mostly consumed. It was her blood that coated his chest and further matted his fur as her essence scattered into the black void and shimmered until dawn came.
Dalence jerked awake to the sensation of falling into her blanket. She rolled over and took a drink from her water skin. The altitude dehydrated her, and her throat felt itchy and dry. She looked at the V top of her tent until she fell back to a deeper, dreamless sleep.