created by ruaidri
Description

By Firelight

Story

A fair amount of work it took
to light the fire in the grate.
But the effort all seemed to be worthwhile
when the young wolf saw his prospective mate.

Of course the cat said nothing
as she stepped into the light.
She spoke when and only when
she felt the time was right.

The wolf had seen this quirk of hers
and thought to emulate her.
As he worked to plan this special night
the night he'd finally sate her.

The wolf kept mum himself as well
as he offered her a drink.
No pause to chat or lay about
hardly even time to think.

With sharp and glinting yellow eyes
the cat saw through this little plot.
But still she sat there with the wolf
for this was still her favorite spot.

The hearth was warm, the wine was smooth
and her little puppy still at last.
Perhaps she'd sit and stay awhile
for such moments end so fast.

Lovers drawing closer, when the drinks were gone
and still between them nothing said.
"Perhaps she does not feel that way..."
the wolf began to think with dread.

But across the floor still sat the cat
in a very different state of mind.
Never did she think to dream
that a treasure such as this she'd find.

Not a sound or word her wolf did make
he let his actions do the talking.
He'd made himself quite clear right then
he was through with childish stalking.

He had proved himself quite civil
a sight she'd never thought she'd see.
And so it was time to show him
what an animal she could be.

---

Not long ago, ruaidri was looking for someone to write a story for one of his recent pictures. He's quite a popular artist, so he was naturally buried in responses in short order, mine included. He didn't pick me for that project, but later he asked me if I'd like to do the opposite. He liked the idea of drawing a piece based on a poem, and asked if I could provide one.

I'd never given any serious effort at writing poetry, but I'll never dismiss an artform without giving it its fair shake. So I hooked up with Amethystine to get a super-fast crash-course in poetry-ing. My first attempt was far too long to realistically turn into a picture, but we both liked what we saw in it, so I kept my nose to the grindstone and turned out another, slightly more concise poem that my co-conspirator immediately approved of.

I had expected him to just run off to activate his wonderartist powers and drop something in my lap in a week, but he was actually quite adamant that I review and approve what he was working on. I was astonished at how seriously he took all my foolish and poorly-informed suggestions. Before long we landed on a sketch we both liked and then the above happened.

I knew that this was the one as soon as I saw their faces. It was such a perfect way to capture that moment when, against all your expectations, everything works out perfectly!
"Hm? Isn't this what you wanted?"
"I... y-yeah."

I'm ecstatic with how it turned out and it was a privilege to work with such a talented artist. Be sure to check out Ru's submission and let him know that he's amazing. For some reason he seems to forget how great he is sometimes.

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