Full Moon
by Miss_Laddy
Author Note: This is a sequel to "Werelupe". Things might make slightly more sense if you read that too.
__________
Things weren't really the same for a few days. Ever since we (that would be me and my pets) returned from Neopia Central, I seem to have acted out of character. I kept taking long walks outside, not vegetating in front of the TV or reading the same comic over and over and over and over and... well, you get the point.
Tonight, I woke up just like that, when I should've been sleeping like a log. Perking up instantly, I hopped out of bed and dressed (very unusual of me) making sure I didn't disturb my pets (again, highly unusual). Giggling and tiptoeing downstairs, I started rummaging through the fridge. Nothing edible there, except for some leaves, which got there through who knows what means.
Nothing to do... so I start washing the dishes, just like that... the dishes that piles up throughout the months, without anyone daring to touch them, for good reasons, too. I started washing, until I was half-way done. Then I started humming. There were many reasons for me to worry, but I felt so calm, I just continued to wash, slipping into thoughts. As I kept washing the dishes, I noticed almost disappointed that I had finished all of them. So I start putting them in different cupboards I didn't even know existed.
I heard faint footsteps which I immediatly identified as being Charmy's: they were irregulate and un-lady-like. The rainbow Zafara was most likely coming to get a glass of water.
How I realised that just by the sound of footsteps- or how I realised they were footsteps at all- I kept wondering, until I heard a click and the room turned brighter. Squinting my eyes, I looked at Charmy, sitting there in the doorway, dumbstruck.
"Mommy, what are you doing with those dishes in the dark?" she asked innocently.
If it hadn't been for the incredible weight of the dishes and self-control, I might have just smacked myself on the forehead. How come I didn't realise the lights were off?! Was it that the full moon outside reflected so much light?...
"I was bored..." I stated simply. "And couldn't sleep..." I added, after a pause.
"Since when don't you bribe us into doing the housework?" she asked, tilting her head.
I shrugged. Indeed, I often bribed my own pets to do chores, while I sulked over having writer's block.
"Dunno... just felt like beinf useful for a change..." My own statement hit me like a ton of bricks. I sometimes wish I could press stop and rewind...
Openning a lower cupboard with my foot, I pushed the dishes inside, closing it. There, those were the last of 'em.
"Er... Mom..." Charmy said, playing with a lock of hair.
"Mh?"
"Since when do you have a tail?" she asked, tilting her head curiously.
I turned and stared at her, incredulously.
"What do you mean I have a tail?!" I asked, blinking several times.
She just pointed behind me.
A shaggy orange-brown Lupe tail twitched frustratingly. I stared at it for a few seconds before my eyes widened. That was my own tail! Huh? Since when do I... How did it... WHAT?!
"Uh..."
Not exactely an intelligent answer, but you try coming out with something coherent when you find out you have a tail.
Leaning on the counter, I blink several times. The kitchen seemed unusually well-lit, and all the light disturbed me.
"I'm... going for a walk..." I stated dryly and automatically headed for the back entrance.
"I'm coming too!" I heard Charmy scream, so I rushed my steps.
The thing about living on Mystery Island is that you have a jungle in the back yard. I started running through the lush vegetation, overly-aware of my surroundings, and of the fact that Charmy was following me.
'Please, turn back,' I whispered inwardly, rushing my steps. Through the tree branches, I could see the full moon. It seemed shrouded with malicious whispers. It was weird, because until now, I never thought much of full moons.
Until now...
Somewhere along the way, I started running on all four. I realised that in Neopia everything was reverse. So if Neopets that became Werelupes raised on their back legs, then owners becoming Werelupes dropped on all four... Was all this logical at least?
"Bad omen..." I whispered to myself, tail lashing, while I froze in my tracks.
That was what I said several weeks ago... the exactely same words. The exactely same words...
It WAS a bad omen!
My ears perked, as Charmy's footsteps were getting more audible. I didn't move an inch, with my eyes wide. I isolated the sound of footsteps and concentrated mainly on everything else... the flutter of a wing, the song of a cricket, chanting from the village...
Chanting? The locals must be celebrating something... But what? Didn't they know Werelupes were out tonight?
I think I blushed even underneath my fur (you don't get to say that often, huh?) at my last thought. I should've been on a homocidal rampage already, so why was I so calm? Maybe an after-effect of being the first human Werelupe. Or was I? How could I know that for sure?...
I walked quieter than ever- most likely because of the padded feet- towards where the chanting could be heard.
That's when Charmy called me...
Memories from the last full moon lashed at me, almost attacking me, invading my mind so violently, I thought I'd faint. The dream... the day after... It all struck me like someone hit me on the head. I thought I'd faint, but I didn't. Instead, as if to release it all, I howled.
It was the most blood-curling, chilling and loudest howl I had ever heard in my life. I was still trying to accept the fact it was coming from me.
Charmy fell out of a bush. She recoiled in fear at my sight and stared.
My eyes widened to unbelievable proportions. And I ran... I ran as if Jhudora was on my (now literal) tail. Why? I didn't stop even as I found my running to be illogical.
I leapt like crazy, hearing only Charmy's distant calls.
Towards the chants, my instincts yelled.
Towards Charmy, my mind whispered.
Towards insanity, is more like it.
Stopping dead in my tracks, I turned my head. Charmy was fast catching up. The locals must've been over the next bush, as the noise and reflections from a fire showed.
The rainbow Zafara shot out of a bush, stopping in front of me. I yelped in surprise and jumpped back, falling through the large leaves that formed a bush, next to a bonfire so close, I almost scorched my fur.
Leaping to my feet, I looked around, bewildered.
There they were, about thirty Islander Neopets, around a bonfire, holding very sharp spears, staring at me. If I had just stopped for a moment, I would have seen the pity in their eyes, but no. I jumpped into another bush, my heart beating like it was going to explode.
I looked around pleadingly, looking for an escape. No getting out of this one, Azzy... You're as good as dead.
Run, run, run...
So I ran.
The rest of the night was a blur.
The next morning I woke up on the couch, with my head thumping with pain so hard, I started to think that maybe I got drunk last night and it was all a dream.
But my half-torn and muddy clothes were solid proof of what had happened. I remembered getting cut and scratched several times, but I realised that Werelupes had quick regeneration.
And the look Charmy gave me for the next days could pierce my soul.
She asked me if that "freaky orange Lupe" was really me. I denied, and she seemed reassured. But who can tell anymore?
When reality seems so unreal, can you trust what you think is real?
Or what you want to be real?...
The End
Author Note: This is a sequel to "Werelupe". Things might make slightly more sense if you read that too.
__________
Things weren't really the same for a few days. Ever since we (that would be me and my pets) returned from Neopia Central, I seem to have acted out of character. I kept taking long walks outside, not vegetating in front of the TV or reading the same comic over and over and over and over and... well, you get the point.
Tonight, I woke up just like that, when I should've been sleeping like a log. Perking up instantly, I hopped out of bed and dressed (very unusual of me) making sure I didn't disturb my pets (again, highly unusual). Giggling and tiptoeing downstairs, I started rummaging through the fridge. Nothing edible there, except for some leaves, which got there through who knows what means.
Nothing to do... so I start washing the dishes, just like that... the dishes that piles up throughout the months, without anyone daring to touch them, for good reasons, too. I started washing, until I was half-way done. Then I started humming. There were many reasons for me to worry, but I felt so calm, I just continued to wash, slipping into thoughts. As I kept washing the dishes, I noticed almost disappointed that I had finished all of them. So I start putting them in different cupboards I didn't even know existed.
I heard faint footsteps which I immediatly identified as being Charmy's: they were irregulate and un-lady-like. The rainbow Zafara was most likely coming to get a glass of water.
How I realised that just by the sound of footsteps- or how I realised they were footsteps at all- I kept wondering, until I heard a click and the room turned brighter. Squinting my eyes, I looked at Charmy, sitting there in the doorway, dumbstruck.
"Mommy, what are you doing with those dishes in the dark?" she asked innocently.
If it hadn't been for the incredible weight of the dishes and self-control, I might have just smacked myself on the forehead. How come I didn't realise the lights were off?! Was it that the full moon outside reflected so much light?...
"I was bored..." I stated simply. "And couldn't sleep..." I added, after a pause.
"Since when don't you bribe us into doing the housework?" she asked, tilting her head.
I shrugged. Indeed, I often bribed my own pets to do chores, while I sulked over having writer's block.
"Dunno... just felt like beinf useful for a change..." My own statement hit me like a ton of bricks. I sometimes wish I could press stop and rewind...
Openning a lower cupboard with my foot, I pushed the dishes inside, closing it. There, those were the last of 'em.
"Er... Mom..." Charmy said, playing with a lock of hair.
"Mh?"
"Since when do you have a tail?" she asked, tilting her head curiously.
I turned and stared at her, incredulously.
"What do you mean I have a tail?!" I asked, blinking several times.
She just pointed behind me.
A shaggy orange-brown Lupe tail twitched frustratingly. I stared at it for a few seconds before my eyes widened. That was my own tail! Huh? Since when do I... How did it... WHAT?!
"Uh..."
Not exactely an intelligent answer, but you try coming out with something coherent when you find out you have a tail.
Leaning on the counter, I blink several times. The kitchen seemed unusually well-lit, and all the light disturbed me.
"I'm... going for a walk..." I stated dryly and automatically headed for the back entrance.
"I'm coming too!" I heard Charmy scream, so I rushed my steps.
The thing about living on Mystery Island is that you have a jungle in the back yard. I started running through the lush vegetation, overly-aware of my surroundings, and of the fact that Charmy was following me.
'Please, turn back,' I whispered inwardly, rushing my steps. Through the tree branches, I could see the full moon. It seemed shrouded with malicious whispers. It was weird, because until now, I never thought much of full moons.
Until now...
Somewhere along the way, I started running on all four. I realised that in Neopia everything was reverse. So if Neopets that became Werelupes raised on their back legs, then owners becoming Werelupes dropped on all four... Was all this logical at least?
"Bad omen..." I whispered to myself, tail lashing, while I froze in my tracks.
That was what I said several weeks ago... the exactely same words. The exactely same words...
It WAS a bad omen!
My ears perked, as Charmy's footsteps were getting more audible. I didn't move an inch, with my eyes wide. I isolated the sound of footsteps and concentrated mainly on everything else... the flutter of a wing, the song of a cricket, chanting from the village...
Chanting? The locals must be celebrating something... But what? Didn't they know Werelupes were out tonight?
I think I blushed even underneath my fur (you don't get to say that often, huh?) at my last thought. I should've been on a homocidal rampage already, so why was I so calm? Maybe an after-effect of being the first human Werelupe. Or was I? How could I know that for sure?...
I walked quieter than ever- most likely because of the padded feet- towards where the chanting could be heard.
That's when Charmy called me...
Memories from the last full moon lashed at me, almost attacking me, invading my mind so violently, I thought I'd faint. The dream... the day after... It all struck me like someone hit me on the head. I thought I'd faint, but I didn't. Instead, as if to release it all, I howled.
It was the most blood-curling, chilling and loudest howl I had ever heard in my life. I was still trying to accept the fact it was coming from me.
Charmy fell out of a bush. She recoiled in fear at my sight and stared.
My eyes widened to unbelievable proportions. And I ran... I ran as if Jhudora was on my (now literal) tail. Why? I didn't stop even as I found my running to be illogical.
I leapt like crazy, hearing only Charmy's distant calls.
Towards the chants, my instincts yelled.
Towards Charmy, my mind whispered.
Towards insanity, is more like it.
Stopping dead in my tracks, I turned my head. Charmy was fast catching up. The locals must've been over the next bush, as the noise and reflections from a fire showed.
The rainbow Zafara shot out of a bush, stopping in front of me. I yelped in surprise and jumpped back, falling through the large leaves that formed a bush, next to a bonfire so close, I almost scorched my fur.
Leaping to my feet, I looked around, bewildered.
There they were, about thirty Islander Neopets, around a bonfire, holding very sharp spears, staring at me. If I had just stopped for a moment, I would have seen the pity in their eyes, but no. I jumpped into another bush, my heart beating like it was going to explode.
I looked around pleadingly, looking for an escape. No getting out of this one, Azzy... You're as good as dead.
Run, run, run...
So I ran.
The rest of the night was a blur.
The next morning I woke up on the couch, with my head thumping with pain so hard, I started to think that maybe I got drunk last night and it was all a dream.
But my half-torn and muddy clothes were solid proof of what had happened. I remembered getting cut and scratched several times, but I realised that Werelupes had quick regeneration.
And the look Charmy gave me for the next days could pierce my soul.
She asked me if that "freaky orange Lupe" was really me. I denied, and she seemed reassured. But who can tell anymore?
When reality seems so unreal, can you trust what you think is real?
Or what you want to be real?...
The End