ataraxia (n.) || a state of freedom from emotional disturbance and anxiety

an all too familiar noise.

Within the comforts of sleep, her semi conscious mind allowed her to hear the incessant ring of the telephone downstairs, and it took her a few seconds for realization to set in. She groaned like a grizzly bear and forced her eyes open. She was cocooned in a heavenly warmth. At one point during the night, she had wrapped herself up in a blanket, and the wolf pups created a barrier around her as if protecting her from the world; their small bodies mimicking little furnaces against her own body. She had never slept so soundly since the nightmare had returned.

She heard the phone ring again and she reluctantly pulled herself out of bed after settling half asleep pups out of the way. She shivered as her feet connected with the cool wooden floor and she remembered that she had forgotten to stoke the fire before bed. She had only walked a few steps towards the door when she stepped in a puddle of liquid. She closed her eyes, knowing it was urine, took a deep breath and peeled off the wet sock.

By the time she clambered down the stairs with one sock on, she heard the recorded voice of her father from the answering machine and then a very familiar voice.

"Miki!" Avery demanded, "I know you are there, answer the phone!"

She grinned, crossing her arms and leaning against the living room doorframe.

"I know you're standing right there," Avery's voice grew low, "If you don't pick up I'm going to put salt in your drink the next time we have dinner together and you'll turn into Sid from Ice Age."

She chuckled and stepped forward to pick up the phone, "That's a new one. Got any other threats for me?"

"Why don't you pick up while the phone its ringing?" Avery huffed, "That's what normal people do. They don't wait for the answering machine to answer and then have to be threatened before they pick up."

She yawned, "Awe come on, its more fun. Besides, I kinda like hearing your threats, although I would recommend checking your own water first."

"Ha ha," Avery said but she could hear the smile in her voice, "So listen, a group of friends and I are going to go ice skating on the pond later, I was hoping you would tag along. Its going to be a lot of fun."

"I thought you had school today?" She asked.

"Nope, teachers are giving us a three day weekend."

"Lucky," She grumbled, briefly eyeing her unfinished homework spread across the coffee table and then she jumped when she heard several thumps resonate from the staircase, "Hold on, I'll be right back." She quickly set down the phone without waiting for Avery's response.

She almost laughed when she saw what was responsible for the noise. Apparently, the pups had been more awake than she thought, and they had decided to attempt following her. She had no clue how they had managed to get down from her bed but now four of them were heaped at the bottom of the stairs while the other two were at the top steps.

"Did you guys fall?" She laughed softly, kneeling to check the pups for injuries. They gave her wide, fanged smiles, and happily waggedtails, their eyes alight without a care in the world. She gave them each a scratch behind the ears, "No different than human boys, are ya?"

She helped the other two down the stairs and returned to the living room where she could distantly hear Avery shouting through the receiver. The pups followed her, innocently curious and glancing up at her with expectant gazes.

She picked up the phone, "I'm back."

"Its about time," Avery calmed her voice, "What was that anyway? Did the roof cave in? Bat make it inside your old rickety house?"

"Hey," She pretended to be offended, "This is the coziest home in town by far. It holds a lot of memories, you know."

Avery grumbled something beneath her breath, then cleared her throat and began saying something about one of her friends but she wasn't listening. Her attention was drawn to the pups surrounding her feet. It was almost an odd sight. They had settled onto their stomachs and haunches, as if waiting for her instead of bounding off for their usual exploring.

One of the pups was almost on top of her foot and he started playing with her pajama pants bottom. He gave a playful swat of his paw and then his tail wagged. He continued until he was on his back, using both his paws as if he was a cat, and she only stopped him when he decided to use his teeth. She giggled softly when he looked up at her with a pouting expression.

"Well, you seem rather distracted today," Avery said, drawing her attention back to the phone, "What's going on, Mikica? You are never like this, always so focused and ready for anything to happen. Are you okay out there?"

She cleared her throat, "Yeah, yeah I'm fine. I just ... have a lot on my mind. Its almost time for midterms and I'm a bit stressed out."

"That would sound extremely convincing if I was an idiot, but guess what, I'm not. Spill your secrets."

She chuckled, "Avery, I'm telling you, its just school getting to me. I swear." She tried not to look down at the pups as they shuffled below her, brushing their soft fur against her legs and occasionally licking her one barefoot in curiosity. They were undeniably curious and their behavior was a relief compared to yesterday.

"I still don't believe you," Avery said, and she imagined her crossing her arms, "But, I know you won't tell me. So back to my question, are you coming ice skating?"

She glanced down and sighed, "I'd love to, Avery, but I have so much to do - "

"You always say that!" Avery exclaimed.

"I know," She grimaced, "I'm sorry. I can't help how busy it is out here."

She heard Avery sigh, "Alright, I understand. One day, though, I'm showing up at your house and we're spending quality time together. No excuses."

"I would love that," She smiled, "Thanks for the invite, Avery, I appreciate it."

"Hey what are friends for?" She heard some background noise mixed with voices and Avery was quick to leave, "I got to go. Maybe I'll see you in town this weekend?"

"Maybe."

With a few more departing words, she hung up. She almost felt guilty declining her friend once again but she simply couldn't leave the wolf pups alone. They were young and needed to be supervised in her house. She knew that they had natural instincts to stay in the den until their mother returned from a hunt but there was no telling what kind of damage they would cause in the mean time.

She scooped up one of the pups, cooing, "Look at you!" She ruffed his fur, "It seems you've grown overnight! Goodness, boys, might wanna lay off the meat, eh?"

She talked to them as though they were able to understand her. They might never understand her words but she was sure they could comprehend the tones of her voice because they always responded accordingly. Often, it seemed they listened to her every word. She was impressed.

She fed the pups their usual meal of chopped up steak and warm milk, while eating her own meal, and then she went about her usual routine. It wasn't too hard, despite having pups as her shadow, and she quite enjoyed their company around the house. She prepared meals, left them in the bathroom to chop some more firewood, and finally settled down to finish her homework from the past few days.

She curled up on the couch with her textbooks and notepad. A few moments had barely passed and a low whine caused her to look up. Just over the top of her notepad, she saw the pups looking at her. They were quiet. She returned to her homework and they whined again. She glanced up suspiciously, they quieted, and as soon as she returned to the notepad, they whined in seek of attention.

She groaned, tipping her head back against the couch, "Come on, give me some time, okay? I have to do this or else I can't graduate and go to college." She eyed the pups and they stared right back. She slowly went back to her notepad.

Surprisingly, it was quiet aside from the gentle cackle of the fire. She was about to sigh in relief when her notepad was suddenly torn from her hands. She gasped, attempting to snatch it back, but the pup scurried off the couch and dashed out of reach.

"Hey!" She hollered, chasing the pup into the kitchen, "Give that back, its important!"

She chased him back into the living room and the other pups grew excited as they thought she was finally playing with them. Before she knew it, she was laughing and gently wrestling with the six pups as they launched tiny attacks against her. Sometimes their milk teeth would grab her skin but she would scold them and they would let her go. Little red marks decorated her arms from the light scrapes of their claws but she didn't mind.

Eventually, the pups grew tired enough for a short nap on the living room rug and she quickly took to her homework again. Her notepad had been retrieved but slightly dampened from saliva, luckily only a few problems had been smudged in the process. She shook her head in amusement as she worked. Something told her that these pups would change the way she lived her life.

The sun had crested from the sky, leaving the moon to infiltrate the darkness beyond her home, and she stretched on the couch with a yawn. Her homework laid complete on the coffee table after many hours of concentration and just out of reach from the troublesome pup that made it his job to steal things from her.

She smiled, her hand absentmindedly petting the pup against her leg, and she gazed down at the other pups quietly prowling around on the floor. They seemed to really like her as they didn't wander away like they once did. They hung close to her and seemed to listen better, as if completely different than the trouble they had caused the day before. She found it odd but didn't protest. Like hell she was chasing pups all day again.

She thought about how much more content she felt, almost as if the pups posed as the therapy she desperately needed. She had read articles about animals used for companions and as a cure for depression. She felt proud of herself, for being brave enough to attempt raising wolf pups, and for not allowing her fear to conquer her. Besides, they were simply too cute to frighten her.

Suddenly, she jerked upright from her relaxed position as a singular thought crossed her mind.

"My father is coming home tomorrow," Her eyes darted to the wolf pups, "Oh no, no no no. What am I going to do?" She felt her heart rate increase as the the pups watched her with eyes that told her that her sudden behavior was crazy.

"He can't see you guys," She told them, their heads tilting as if in question, "He hates wolves. He'll throw you out, or worse," She closed her eyes at the horrible thought, "He'll kill you."

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(Not edited)