The Old Male Sasquatch stared blankly at the reddening sky.

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     Once more the sun was sinking into the distant horizon.

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     Time to start moving again.

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     He ignored his creaking bones as he rose to his feet to head down the valley.  He had been following the river to his right since it had started in a small spring high in the mountains behind. Likewise he ignored the protestations of his empty stomach. He had grown accustomed to its endless complaints. Hunting by himself had proven particularly difficult as he aged, forcing him to rely more and more on fungi, root bulbs and foliage, the latter causing more tooth pains than it was worth.

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     For a full handful of summers now he had wandered alone through the lands, limping on his crippled foot. But the pain of his foot was nothing compared to the pain of his empty heart. He had buried his beloved Mate beside a stream and lay down to die on the earth that covered her many uncountable moons ago... his purpose for life extinguished in one brief act of violence.

 

     If it were not for his fury at the destruction caused by the Hairless Ones his she would still be alive today, walking beside him through the forested valleys and mountains of his world. As she had for a lifetime of precious nights before her violent end.

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     Her death had removed his own desire to live. Or so he had thought at the time.

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     For his own death did not come. 

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     Instead, after many passings of the moon he had eventually risen from the cold earth and looked around for his daughter. But she had not been there. Through the haze of his pain and emptiness he remembered she had left him to follow the young male south into the trees, away from her dead mother and broken hearted father. Too distraught to stop her at the time, he gathered himself and leaving his dead mate to the worms he had finally risen to pursue her.

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     The Old Alpha's daughter was in great danger around the young male. He was too headstrong, too incautious and too aggressive around the Hairless Ones. And had not such aggression led to her own mother's death?

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     Although his heart was torn asunder he still felt the burden of responsibility for his daughter and so had forced himself to begin this last long journey to find her.

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     The seasons passed and  in the haze of his lonely misery he often forgot why he was searching and what he was searching for. Only very faint memories pulled at the emptiness of his heart to lead him on, wandering the endless nights like a ghost.

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     He limped around a bend in the river and a sound stopped him dead in his tracks.

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     Laughter!

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     Too high pitched and shrill for a Sasquatch, yet it still stirred his memory and an image of his young daughter flashed into his mind, giggling at his gentle tickles under her arms. 

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     The laughter was followed by chattering which he instantly recognised as the strange speech of the Hairless Ones.

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     Being careful his crippled foot did not betray him, he approached the sound through the thick trees. Night had not yet quite fallen and he was still exposed in the dim light of the dying day.

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     The sound grew louder and he stopped when he could make out a solid block of colour through the branches... a Hairless One's house!

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     Hoping they had no dogs, he stopped and scanned the area the best he could. The sound had stopped and he could not see its source. The high pitched tingle of it had pulled at his heart, reawakening memories of his lost child but now he was close it had stopped and he could not find what had made it!

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     There was a clink of plastic from the far side of a wide, spreading oak that filled one corner of the yard. The bird-like voice tinkled once more in his ears and he stepped closer and leaned over the low timber fence for a better view.

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     The vision that met his eyes matched the vibrancy in the voice.

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     There was colour everywhere, bright pinks and loud reds mixed with blues brighter than the midday sky on a tiny orange table. Raising a pink object to its lips was the source of the sounds... a small Hairless female chattered away, totally engrossed in her play. Opposite her across the small table sat a strange, motionless animal with dead, bulging eyes. The Old Male had never seen the like. It looked dead but did not smell of death. He realised the small Hairless female was talking to the animal, pouring sweet smelling liquid from a yellow jug into more pink containers like the one she had just drunk from.

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     The chattering stopped as it took another sip. 

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     Fascinated at this amazing sight the old male leant out further over the fence, trying to get a better look. He then noticed a large round white object with small triangles of sweet smelling food on it.

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     He had not eaten for some days and involuntarily his stomach grumbled.

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     There was a short, sharp intake of breath and he realised the small Hairless One had twisted her head around to look right at him.

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     He had been seen!

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     Freezing in place, every muscle tensed for flight, he waited for the scream that would inevitably follow... but it did not.

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     Instead the tiny Hairless One smiled and started chattering again... this time directed not at the strange, motionless animal, but at him!

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     He had never been spoken to by a Hairless One before. He had strictly avoided any contact whatsoever with them for his whole life... right up until that fateful day he had lost his Life Mate.

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     The tiny Hairless One picked up the round, flat thing the food sat upon and held it up towards him, in an unmistakeable gesture of offering.

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     He looked closer and saw one of the triangle things had been bitten into. It WAS food.  Tenderly, he reached out and took one between his fingers and holding it to his nose sniffed it.

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     It smelled good!

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     He popped it whole into his mouth and chomped it between his teeth. It quickly mashed to a wonderful, sweet mush in his mouth that made his head spin with delight.

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     Reaching down he moved to grab the round, flat thing holding the delicacies but it was snatched away. The Hairless One's voice was scolding now, the endless flow of angry words accented with a scowl in its tiny pale face.

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     Rage at the withdrawn food flooded his veins and he felt a growl begin in his belly, but then the plate was back and the small human held up one finger on its other hand.

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     He understood the gesture right away. Still scowling but controlling his frustration, the old male Sasquatch took another small triangle, just one, and popped it into his mouth.

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     The chattering went back to its earlier light tone and lowering the round thing again to the table the small Hairless One then motioned to the far side of it.  The tones in the voice and the movements made it obvious. He was being asked to join in the tiny feast!

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     The tiny plastic contraption it gestured to was simply ridiculous to the tall Sasquatch so shunting it aside he squatted as low as he could... which meant he was still towering over the small Hairless One. It didn't seem to mind however as the chattering continued unabated.

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     It poured some of the sweet smelling liquid into one of the tiny pink containers and placed it directly in front of him on the low table. He ignored it, staring pointedly at the little triangles of food. His stomach gurgled again and the little Hairless One laughed, the sound shrill in the cooling evening air. Something about its innocent happiness reminded him of his lost daughter and he felt a twang in his heart and a smile begin to form on his face, something he had not felt in many long lonely seasons.

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     For the first time in uncountable moons he felt some peace in the presence of this small Hairless One. He felt the tension in his shoulders ease and irresistibly felt himself relax. The dark clouds that hung over his sorrow seemed to part and a tiny beam of sunlight broke through to warm his frozen, aching heart.

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     But then a loud shout from the house shattered the peace like a rock shatters the surface of a still pond!

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     Panic filled his veins, washing the warmth away in a flood of cold adrenaline. In an instant he was upright, nervously glancing around, unsure which direction to flee. The night had not yet fully fallen and he was totally exposed to anyone looking into the yard!

     The small Hairless female shouted a reply and jumped to her feet.

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     Gathering the strange lifeless animal to her chest it walked away towards the house, pausing once to turn back and wave.

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     For a moment he watched it disappear around the corner, then looking back at the table noticed it had left the few remaining triangles of food!

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     Easily gathering them into one massive paw, the Old Sasquatch stepped back over the fence into the safety of the trees.

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     The memories of his daughter were once again strong in his mind.  His determination rekindled, he continued his search, melting away into the gathering darkness of the forest.

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