Back everyone; it's your pal Fanga here with the second chapter of Wild! Now here's where things start to get… freaky, hence the chapter name today! Well thanks in advance for who decided to follow, favorite, or review! I treasure each one of those! Also, the POV's will switch between Laney and Corey, mostly Laney, and maybe a few other characters.
Big shout-out to LaneyRockGoddess for helping me with this chapter! There are some mistakes I wouldn't have found without her! YA ROCK! So anyways, here's the next chapter! Laney, disclaimer please?
Laney: If Fanga owned Grojband, do you think she'd be writing a fanfic for one?
Me: Thanks Laney! ONTO THE STORY!
The feeling of blankets cocooned me as I stirred awake from my slumber, sun glaring at my eyes. Slowly becoming agitated, I flipped over on my side, snuggling around in the thick blanket feelings for more warmth. Sun hated me in the summer, always acting like a natural alarm clock because the days started earlier during the blistering season. I must've forgotten to close my blinds last night. Sunlight continued to mock me. I groaned and, realizing I had no chance of seeing the giant silver screen that projected dreams at the time being, I slowly stood up. When up, I noticed something was different.
I wasn't in my room, not surrounded by neither fluffy pink items nor the numerous amount of stuffed unicorns that weighed heavy on my bed. Instead, I was in Corey's garage, complied with the stage where our instruments were resting, the dusty green couch, and other things that normally were in my prime hangout. There was no way I could shake away my confusion from the sight. How did I end up there? For a fact I knew I had collapsed on my bed back at my house, totally and utterly exhausted, and now I was waking up on the cold cement floor. The strangest thing was I wasn't covered with blankets, yet I had that warm and comforting feeling on me still.
My gaze trailed around the area, causing my panic to build faster. My vision was distorted, colors I had normally seen blinded by black-and-white, only a few others like green and blue remaining. Hearing was stranger, involving the suspicious and crazy fact that I could hear an alarm clock buzzing off in another room like it was happening next to my ear. Am I going crazy?! I thought madly, my tail trembling with fear.
…what.
That last part didn't sound very 'humane', but my thoughts registered it with complete certainly. My tail was trembling with fear. Since when in Rocklympus' name did I have a tail? My body was shaking with terror so much that I could be levitating, and slowly, my dulled eyesight trailed down to the floor. A gasp was choked out of me, seeing a set of forepaws covered with gray-red fur where my hands were supposed to be, and dull crooked claws poking out. My twisted eyes shot wide open, trying to take in all the sudden information, only to feel something flatten against my head. I shakily glared up as much as my new eyes would allow me to see a pair of furry, triangular ears. That fluffy tail of mine instinctively tucked between my hind legs.
I wanted to scream. Or cry. I wanted to do something involving immense fear and panic, thinking that I was going crazy, or that it was the worst nightmare I ever had. Shock was surging through me like a tsunami, making me stunned on the spot. I blinked hastily several more times and glanced down at my fur-covered paws, seeing that all of it was real. Or a very lucid nightmare. Either way, I hoped that in a few seconds I would be in a sit-up position under my sheets, griping my blankets with sweaty palms, and realized it all was just a dream. Without thinking I reached a paw up and stepped clumsily on my other one, and instead of my hopeful outcome of waking up, a high-pitched yip was forced out of me. The pain was real. It wasn't a dream. I knew who did this. What did Kin do?! If I got my hands- uh, paws… on Kin, I would try my best that my new appendages would allow and strangle him.
Slowly I flexed my small toes, eyes glued to my shaggy red-gray fur, fear grazing me at an unbelievable pace. It was too freaky, it was too supernatural, and it was all real! The reason I was like that was most likely Kin, because if it wasn't him, what other explanation was there? It had to be that mad scientist. But, according to everything he had done in the past, he always told us about his experiments on us before he actually used them, or at least Kon would tell us because he hated to keep secrets. So, no matter how much I wanted to believe it, Kin was possibly not the reason why I was a coyote, or a wolf, or some species of canine.
After I examined myself slightly, I confirmed my shocked and panicked thoughts by identifying I was a wolf. I could've been a coyote with the red in my fur, but a coyote couldn't be as tall as my new body was. My quickly-inclining fear caused me to attempt and hold on tight to the ground, even though the stone-hard floor made it impossible to grip anything. My black dull claws scratched against the flat surface, causing another whimper to escape my throat at the motion. I began craving for answers, why I was some sort of wolf creature, when a thought snapped back to me from yesterday.
Before I could discuss my sudden idea in thoughts, something in my head interrupted them. It was a second voice, speaking softly in the back of my mind. Survive. It whispered gently, yet it was demanding at the same time. Survive. Hide. Survive. Hide. Now! The fear that corrupted me made me feel like I could explode. I bit my tongue to help control my large amount of terror, only to whimper shortly as my newfound canine fangs nearly pierced a hole in my tongue. While I fearfully tried to figure out what the voice was, it continued to disrupt my thoughts, repeating the words over and over like a broken record. My fear increased if that was even possible, and I felt my heart pound hard against my chest, as if ready to break out of my ribcage.
After I freaked out by hyperventilating and saying 'this isn't happening' to myself a couple times, I managed to calm myself down. If I continued to panic, I wouldn't ever get back to normal. I shook off my fear and took in every piece of knowledge I held about wolves and other mammals, needing to decipher what the light yet incredibly frightening voice was. The voice gradually grew louder, ordering me to hide, but I luckily got my thoughts together enough to get an idea. It was possible that the voice was my wolf instincts. Instincts were like the best sixth sense that anyone could have, because it unfailingly provided tips and orders to evade danger. When I actually listened to the word 'hide', I realized there was pending danger, possibly about to come out of nowhere any second.
That was the best option, so I obeyed the demanding voice. I located a cramped spot beneath a staircase, filled with large dust bunnies and cobwebs, and it'd be easy to hind beneath it. That spot was the closest hiding spot. I moved a paw forward, putting pressure down and preparing to move the next one, only to feel the limb shake a lot and nearly collapse from my weight. Fortunately I managed to keep the forearm stable enough to move the other one forward, and quickly scatter my hind legs after me. It felt natural to be on four paws, but it didn't mean I knew how to walk on them. It was like all the nutrients were drained from my muscles, making them weak and limp.
I managed to drag myself to the small space and crawled under the stairs, curling up into a tight ball quickly, shoving myself as far back as I could. My fluffy red-gray tail had flicked up and covered my muzzle, and it was frizzed up with terror. Breathing became shallower, yet more rapid. My delicate wolf ears picked up the sound up a thundering voice, rocketing from upstairs, followed by a loud slam. I recognized the voice, despite how strange it sounded to my new ears.
"Mom!" Trina screamed, anger and frustration entwined in her tone. "I'm out, of, MASCARA!"
A second voice, gentler than the she-devil's own, spoke up. "Did you check by the sink?" she softly spoke.
"No, of course not, I checked in Narnia! Of COURSE I checked by the sink!" The first bit of sarcasm was obvious, almost painfully even. A faint sigh from her mom.
"Under the sink?" she hesitantly suggested, causing a stomp to pound from the top step.
"IS THERE ANY MORE MASCARA?!" she hollered in rage. It was hard to believe she could speak that way to her own mother.
"Why do you need it anyway? You never wear-"
"NICK MALLORY IS COMING OVER, AND I NEED TO LOOK HOT SO HE'LL ASK ME OUT!"
Before I could hear any more of that disturbing and partly complex conversation, I threw my paws up so they cupped around my ears, my hearing being blocked off with a sound relatable to what you heard underwater. The only thing I heard besides the continuous buzz was angered shouting reduced to inaudible murmurs, and I impatiently waited for Trina to storm away. Several times I heard the pounding of Trina stomping on the top step in frustration. Clearly she wasn't getting mascara, and was stuck between what she would call a mid-life crises. Finally, another slam echoed twistedly to my ears, signaling that Trina trudged back into her room and threw the door shut. I waited, for more distorted conversation, but when I heard nothing but that buzz, I removed my paws to return to normal hearing.
I tried to regain my thoughts, wanting to drop that stupid conversation from my mind. I recalled that idea I had before the instincts had disturbed me, the idea on why I was probably a wolf. After canceling the idea that Kin was the cause, I remembered what everything yesterday seemed to revolve around.
Glancing at the twins I saw that their confused eyes were locked on the book. Turning back to read the title, I squinted in order to read the words, "Unknown Tales of Peaceville."
When the lead singer finally seemed to get to the right page he held up the open book so we could clearly read. In a bold horror-themed font it said, 'The Curse.'
It was worth a shot, no matter how much my brain couldn't comprehend around the idea. But it's just a stupid myth! My thoughts argued. You're better than this Laney, sinking down to superstitious fables for an answer.
No! It has to be true! Another part of me countered. And even if it isn't, it's worth the time to at least check. What if it really is the truth? It was like I had a devil and angel version of myself on each shoulder, and they were yelling at me to pick a side.
Well if it is, how are you supposed to confirm your thoughts? I probably can't read now that I'm a wolf, so how can I ask Corey? Like he'd understand what happened, and a wolf and human talking? Yeah right! The only way we could talk is if Corey's a wolf too!
In the midst of my thought-battle, I discovered another one of my special wolf abilities. I pushed those negative thoughts in the back of my mind and stared at something, hovering delicately in the air. There were blotches of pink and white mist in a sort of unidentifiable trail, ones that dotted my dimmed vision, as if it was a destroyed trail that led deeper in the garage. One of the pink-and-white patches of mist was nearby, and after I recovered from my paralyzed state, I took a few clumsy paw steps forward to the new discovery. I moved my muzzle reluctantly into the patch of mist, taking a small whiff of the fragrance, and I deciphered a sweet creamy scent.
My canine brain clicked, telling me what the scent belonged to almost instantly. Whip cream, my mind said. I sniffed the mist again, realizing that it did smell like that sweet pie topping. The next question I had was how whip cream got in the garage, but I didn't dwell on that. There were other questions I really needed answers for.
Taking a closer look around the garage, I saw other scents, either in thick and thin trails or faint dots. Around the couch was a murky green hue of mist, and human scents were threaded in everywhere. The normal scents, like the gray mist that symbolized the garage's smell –which I didn't realize the garage had- blended in so much that it faded. Other scent trails, ones that didn't belong, popped out every time I inhaled. Testing the amazing scent ability, I took in a big whiff of air. Different scents of a variety of colors shot out of the blue, basically suffocating me with how many colors and smells there were. It was like a rainbow barfed all over. As soon as it arrived, most of the colors vanished, leaving the scent of nearby whip cream and a gray-blue scent trail.
It was cool. A color that I couldn't see I could 'smell' in a scent trail, like some of the sight that was blinded from me was transferred to scent trails as mist. A canine's nose was superior to other animals, able to trace things that had been gone for days. It was a spectacular yet insane thing to experience.
Despite my current situation of being trapped in a wolf's body, I was intrigued on what else I could sniff up. If I could get back to normal, emphasis on if and could, than I'd probably write a novel based on my experiences, except I'd probably lie and say it was fictional. If I said something like 'Autobiography of a Wolf,' I'd probably be labeled as insane.
Maybe checking for clues around the garage would help me find that book about the curse, and I would possibly have the ability to read still. Being a wolf wasn't taking away things I could do as a human, except for things like walking on two legs. Mentally though, besides my instincts, I was fine.
I wobbled over to the gray-blue scent trail I saw, lining the air in patches and was on the verge of dispersing. Quickly I moved my nose close and breathed in, the patches starting to spread into a thin line. The smell of the mist was shockingly sweet, sweeter than the whip cream, amazingly refreshing. I took another deep breath of the enjoyable smell as the trail thickened, forming into a path towards something deeper in the garage. My wolf brain clicked, telling me what it belonged to. Wolf.
There's… another wolf? After I took a few deep breaths, reassuring myself that everything was fine, I shakily padded along the scent trail. After following it, my eyes focused intensely on the wolf that was the cause of the heavenly scent. As my mind had told me, it was a wolf, one that had a dark gray pelt with tinges of blue in it. It was fairly bigger than me, and judging by its size and pelt it was more wolf-like that I was. Some reason it was unconscious near a corner of the garage though.
Blue in the fur? It was almost as rare as red like in my wolf fur. No, scratch that. Blue in a wolf's fur wasn't even possible. It was basically a huge phenomenon. Since was a stranger wolf, I expected my instincts to pick up, to tell me that he was dangerous, but they didn't. My instincts didn't say that he was dangerous. Instead, it said something else despite 'survive' and 'hide'. Friend.
Friend? I thought, bemused. Since when had I've been friends with a wolf? Forget being with a wolf, but it looked like a made-up creature straight out of a book with the blue in his fur. Why would my instincts call some sort of mythical creature that I had never met a friend? Well, I've seen stranger things. From encountering sewer monsters, to a near zombie apocalypse, than there was also time-traveling, elevators being summoned from nowhere, talking plants, and a giant meteor that made everything crazy for a day, there were some very unreal things. Why should I doubt things?
Wait a second. Blue in the fur, a friend? Could it be Corey? Telling from my fur coat, the red-and-gray in it, the red came from my natural hair color. So, if Corey's hair was blue, could he have been transformed into a wolf with matching fur?
Crazier things happened.
When I reached him, I reluctantly started to shove him and muttered 'Core' over and over, hoping it'd wake him up. About a minute later of no progress, he stirred. I took a few clumsy paw steps back as his eyes slowly opened, and he stared wearily up at me from his position.
His eyes were a dark, familiar shade of blue. Despite all the strangeness and confusion, I knew that was him. "Core, wake up, it's important!"
The blue-gray wolf slowly blinked. Cautiously, fur standing up, he got into a sitting position. His eyes were layered deeply with his surprise. He leaned in close, almost having our noses touching, and his eyes narrowed. Suddenly though, he scrambled back, trying to get away. He only made it a few feet till his back was shoved against a wall. "T-Talking wolf!" His voice was both terrified and excited.
"Core, it's me, Laney, and… w-we're both wolves." I sounded a little more panicked than I wanted to be.
His eyes trailed down to one of his paws. He lost balance in his new wolf body, unable to stay pushed against the wall longer, and tumbled over. He stared at his paws, and wolf legs, and glanced over his shoulder to see the blue-gray tail.
He smiled, a crazy, goofy smile, and then fell back to the floor, unconscious. There was lots of explaining to do when he woke up, from both of us. The sooner he woke up, the sooner I learned more about the curse.