Me: Hey guys… sorry for not updating in forever. I mean… it's so overdue that it's a Such-A-Long-Wait-That-You-Could-Search-For-Fanga's-House-So-You-Could-Threaten-To-Murder-Her update. Here's my reason/excuse though so you all don't kill me! There's this annoying creature that shouldn't exist, and it has a little, short, irritating name called LIFE. Reality, if you want to use its Latin term (not really, though, of course X3). Also… something bad happened in my life a few weeks ago… and I was really depressed so I REALLY couldn't write. My dad got in a car accident and… it was tough. Don't worry about it, though. He's fine now. Alive and healthy in every way. :)
This chappie actually was going to be longer… but I realized there's a bunch of unnecessary stuff so I cut that out. :P Nearly was 4000 words.
Also I forgot to mention this, but there's a poll on my profile! It's about what your favorite story is, and I included some of the favorites like "Hunger Games" and "Harry Potter", blah blah, stuff like that. There's up to three choices, and if you don't have a favorite on there you can choose 'other', and there's that beloved 'Fanfiction' option as well! Anyways… I've taken way too long to write this chapter… as I've already established… but I've worked hard today. I'm gonna fetch somethin' to eat. :P
…Wait. What happened to my steak?!
Corey: *Pokes head around the corner with steak grease on his mouth * Rocklympus Gods! You're alive?
Me: -_- …No more steak?! Thanks Corey, we're all gonna STARVE.
Corey continued to trot ahead of me, finally calmed from his overly-energetic state earlier, and was appearing moderately happy. However he managed to stay so relaxed I'd never figure… well, I would've thought of 'I'd never figure out', but it was understandable. Didn't ADHD make things a bit simpler, or something like that? Like being a wolf, for example, was different in his perspective compared to the craziness I experience. I still wasn't used to four paws and having a tail, not to mention there was a voice in my head constantly whispering 'survive' that wouldn't go away. If only the stupid, animal instincts would shut up once in a while. The instincts could drive me to the edge of madness if we didn't become normal soon, literally. Well, if we figured out exactly how to turn human again, that is. We were in major trouble if there was no way to turn back.
I gazed at the blue-furred creature ahead of me; it was helping to calm my frantic thoughts. Corey appeared alert and optimistic as usual, he had a slight wag with his tail, and he carried a playful skip in his paw steps. He curiously stared at our surroundings, as if it was the only thing keeping his interest. There were countless shrubs and thorn bushes, aspen trees, and an occasional thick-trunked oak. Several trees had strange, twisted branches from the harshness of nature, and their leafy tops were plump full of summer green leaves. It was an endless pattern of vegetation, but it was varied at the same time. Soon I found myself no longer staring at the wolf ahead and got lost in my surroundings.
It was soon interrupted, however, by a pang of emptiness in my stomach. Only did I realize the seriousness of being wolf hungry a short moment later – wolves needed to hunt. The sudden thought quickly flooded me with panic. It wasn't like animals had a private fridge stocked with ice cream and snacks like back at my house, and wolves weren't herbivores either. Wolves ate raw, bloody meat, freshly killed by their thorn-like fangs. If we didn't find food, then we would starve. And you had to hunt for that food, so if we didn't hunt, we'd starve. If we starved, though, then we died...
"Core," I whimpered. My pace slowly toned down till I was at a complete stop.
The wolf halted in his walk and turned to face me, his head cocked to a side as he wore a cheerful expression. "Yeah?"
"How are… how are we gonna get food? We're wolves, and it's not like an all-you-can-eat buffet is out h…"
"Don't sweat it! We're wolves, right? Can't we just hunt?"
My fur automatically bristled, and his words shocked me too much to fret over my pelt. "But… but it's raw… and… b-bloody…"
He skipped over and casually slipped his wolf arm around my neck, causing my ears and face to heat up at his touch. "Don't sweat it!" he repeated calmly. "We can make a fire!"
…I have no words.
"All we have to do is find a rock or something, than we can make fire like cavemen! We're in a forest, so rocks should be everywhere!" He briefly surveyed the ground, and then lost his smile a moment later. He dipped his head under a bright green fern before speaking again. "Can you help?"
His words should've made me panic, because he was being serious. I felt like I should have either panicked or screamed, but instead… I laughed. His actions, his ideas… they made me feel… I wasn't sure. Happy? Carefree? At least I was with someone happy in the wilderness. The best part about it, though, was probably just him. He was just too optimistic, nice; caring… why wasn't I panicking? I should've been but I wasn't…
"Lanes! Are ya gonna help me search or what?"
I snapped out of my daze. My worry returned at full force, and the horror of our situation weighed back on my shoulders. "I know, I know." I didn't want to argue how we were wolves and it seemed impossible to make a fire, especially with paws. Nonetheless, if it did work by some sort of miracle, there was no way I would brutally hunt down any innocent creature. Maybe I'd come up with an idea while I helped search for a… rock…
It only took a short moment to find one. When my gaze drifted to the forest floor, a rock instantly crossed my sight. "Found one."
The blue-gray wolf rushed to my side. "Perfect!" He swatted his dull claws at the rock, flipping it over, but then he just stared at it in confusion. "Now how do we pick it up?"
"…With our mouths?"
Corey shrugged and bent down, jaws evenly spaced, but when his daggered teeth had a weak grip on the rock, he stood motionless. "Uh… Lanesth? Sthomethin doesthn feel righth."
My ears perked; what could make Corey go from downright happy to being stunned on the spot? Did he realize that this plan was so beyond crazy that 'it just might work' wouldn't apply? Before I could comment, I realized what he was really talking about; my instincts grew louder, and a terrible feeling drifted in the air. Run… survive…
"Er…" I was choking on my words. My instincts were resonating in my mind louder and louder. "We sh-should get out of here, then," I weakly barked. When I got over my sudden fear, Corey had already abandoned the rock and leapt into the undergrowth, his blue-gray tail flicking away. I nimbly followed, a barrage of green invading my vision… Run… and we came out into a small clearing moments later. Survive… My tongue lolled out of my muzzle and I uncontrollably panted. What caused the danger?
Corey fidgeted awkwardly, rubbing his paws against the grass as his fur slowly flattened. "Um… we can worry about the fire later." There was a nervous look in his eyes and his tail twitched anxiously. "Let's just find somewhere safe." I nodded in agreement; our hunger situation could wait for a while, or at least a couple minutes till the danger fully disappeared. Corey started to lead the way, and as I followed him I went into a sort of natural stealth position. I walked lightly on my wolf toes, my stomach nearly brushed against the ground, and my tail hung lower than it usually did.
It was hard to tell how much time had passed while we crept along. The fact that my instincts partially quieted had reassured me, but only a little more time passed before my heart skipped beats, that voice thundering in my head. Run, survive!
The blue-gray wolf froze in front of me so I nearly walked into him. With a panicked bark, Corey frantically scurried back only to harshly step on my lowered muzzle, and I also gave out a scared, yelping sound. I leapt back with a pained jolt, and would've glared at my crush if my head didn't hurt so badly. Run! Run! SURVIVE!
Ignoring my screaming instincts, I foolishly looked over Corey's shoulder to see what frightened him so much. I let out another terrified yelp when I recognized the metal muzzle of a gun poking out of the brush. Duck! Finally I obeyed my instincts. The bottom of my snout pressed against the soft grass, and a deafening noise rocketed ahead of me. I gasped; that wasn't a tranquilizer gun.
My first reflex was to see if Corey was alright. However, the voice interfering with my actual thoughts protested otherwise. I stumbled to the left despite wanting to help my friend, and I unwillingly leapt into the nearest shrub. The branches scratched my skin and mangled with my fur, but it wasn't like my top priority was to complain. My paws clawed my way out of the bush, and I couldn't regain control until I weaved through some other vegetation. I glanced worriedly over my shoulder once I was able to; hopefully Corey wasn't hurt.
I have to go back! I can't just abandon him, so shut up instincts! I tried my best to make it over and around the plants nimbler than before, nearly losing control to that voice again in the process, but I managed to return to where I originally was. I temporarily remained out of sight by staying crouched in a group of shrubs, and quickly observed the scene.
My ears pressed against the back of my skull when another shot fired off. I managed to keep my eyes open enough to watch a dot of gray sail past Corey, fortunately, and he successfully lunged at the hunter. With a loud growl, the wolf tried closing his daggered fangs on the man's shoulder, but was blocked when the guy held the gun horizontally in Corey's path. His fangs closed around part of the gun instead, and the canine started to flail blindly with all his paws.
The hunter kicked the wolf square in his chest with a thick-leathered boot. Corey flew back like a rag doll, and the thud was all too audible when he smacked against the dirt. A whimper shot straight out of my throat. An overconfident grin played on the guy's face, and my terror had been swiftly washed over in anger. "You monster!"
A growl steadily strengthened and echoed in the air. It took me a moment to figure out that it came from me. For once, my instincts fell quiet in the sense of danger, and they repeated something else besides 'run' and 'survive'. Attack. The voice wasn't frantic. It stated the word firmly, strongly, demandingly. Attack. My growl naturally deepened into a snarl. I could feel each strand of my fur bristle, and my dull claws flexed instinctively. Finally, I wouldn't flee like some coward.
I've never wanted to unleash my anger so much before. All the negative emotions from the wolf transformation – shock, frustration, downright fury – would ease up several notches once I beat the guy to a pulp. I leapt from the bush, my glare zeroed in on the hunter before me. Oddly enough, things were in shockingly sharp detail. The gun's muzzle, which gleamed in the dappled sunlight, pointed directly at the motionless, blue-gray wolf before it. The hunter's concentrated stare trailed straight over the top of the weapon, and a victorious smile adorned the man's tanned face. He was so focused that his gaze didn't reach me till I closed half the distance between us.
Attack! I pounced, paws outstretched, muzzle wrinkled back to exhibit a case of lethal canines. The man fumbled with his gun, attempting to do the same technique he did to Corey in order to keep me back, but he stumbled. He grabbed the gun in the wrong place, and he jerked his arm the wrong way so his gun didn't reach down where I aimed for. My teeth dug around one of his legs, and I was surprised how my teeth sliced into his skin so… easily…
Red. The color filled my vision, and a warm liquid filled my mouth. My instincts welcomed it. My regular thoughts twisted at the sight. The lust I felt to relieve my anger and frustration, it instantly dispersed at how I caused bloodshed. I wanted to let go of the man, to see if Corey was alright, to flee like a coward so I'd be safe, but I couldn't. My muzzle remained trapped on the guy's leg, and his scream pierced my sensitive ears. Bite machine. Bite human. Scratch, claw, snap, shake, growl!
I couldn't let go until the guy fell back and his muscles further tore in my snout. My mind finally regained control when all my revulsion piled up enough and I staggered back. The guy fell into several ferns, and the leg my teeth had latched onto was sticking out clearly in the foliage. Crimson flecked the grass. His pant leg… completely soaked… covered in gouging fang marks. Something vile rose in my throat, and I was thoroughly drenched in horror. My muzzle was red. A warm, metallic taste lingered heavily in my mouth. My throat clenched as my stomach churned in disgust. Rocklympus! What did I just do?!
Since I was so sidetracked in that horrible scene, I didn't notice the hunter struggle to his feet until his gun centered on me. The gunshot resounded through the trees, and before I could so much as blink I laid sprawled on the red spotted ground. I gasped, quickly realizing I suffered no major pain, and quickly started to endure confusion. Then I observed how I was shoved out of the range of the bullet, and I could barely rasp out my crush's name upon sad understanding. His legs collapsed from beneath him, and Corey fell on the blood-soaked ground I had been standing on.
Ears ringing, tears brimming, my instincts had piped up once more. The voice sounded infuriated and threatening. Bite! Rip! Snarl! Kill! Kill!
When my own thoughts linked together to make sense of the situation again, a space sat between me and the ground while my fangs nearly closed on the hunter's uninjured leg. The man's wound made it difficult for him to move swiftly, so he couldn't prevent me from biting into his right leg like I wished he would. Once again I experienced the strange feeling of my teeth tearing into his muscles. Blood. Screaming. Panic. Kill! KILL!
That second voice had full commandment over my body. The instincts of a savage, bloodthirsty predator were too powerful, and I could only watch as I shredded the cloth off and sliced skin and ripped muscles and caused pools of blood to collect throughout the grass…!
How much time passed, I wasn't sure. All I knew was that when I could finally regained control, I stood completely lightheaded with blood soaking my fur. The hunter crawled away, abandoning his gun plus whatever else he brought with him, and vanished behind the trees with a trail of red following him. By then I was exhausted. My vision crossed and blurred. And the last thing I saw was the blood smeared grass before the darkness overtook me.
Nothing but blackness spread in every direction; up, down, ahead, and behind. If there was a floor, it laid shrouded in shadows beneath my paws. My clean, blood free paws. I slowly flipped my forepaws around in front of my muzzle, taking in the fuzzy details of the fur and reflecting, black light on my claws. My thoughts felt jumbled. I didn't feel hungry, tired, sore, worried… I was oddly nonchalant. Where was I? Why was it so dark? What happened to the… blood?
It felt weird walking. I couldn't tell if I was actually making process since my surroundings remained the same, but I knew my paws were moving. Maybe if I walked a bit, something would change? The majority of my thoughts highly doubted it, but it was better than sitting around and doing nothing. In the meantime, I tried to sort my dizzy mind. I remembered passing out earlier, or something that was like that. Was I just unconscious? Where was Corey? Was he alright?
"Hello."
My hackles rose. I froze in mid step.
"Hello!"
I whirled around, glaring sharply at the animal who owned the voice. There was a canine with a well-groomed, gray pelt, and hints of red in it, too. A wolf, I concluded. And it had familiar, bright green eyes…
"Wolf?" The voice betrayed the animal as feminine. "Wolf? Wolf?" Her attitude was disturbingly cheerful. In the middle of me wondering why she seemed so… familiar… she lifted a forepaw and poked my forehead.
I expected my instincts to force me to growl or snarl in response, but they didn't. Actually… I didn't hear the words 'survive', 'run', or 'attack' anymore. For once in what felt like an eternity, I was alone with my own thoughts. "Who are you?"
She didn't answer. All she did was poke my forehead again – it felt more like a jab, though – and she let her paw linger beside my nose. "Wolf," she repeated. It no longer sounded like she was inquiring; she stated it as a fact. "Wolf."
Anger bubbled in my chest. I smacked her paw away, and the wolf actually appeared taken aback. "Yes, captain obvious. I'm a wolf. Eh… technically I am, but I've been born hu-" She dared to poke my head again. There was no reflex to bite or lash out, and there was no second voice in my mind. I slapped the wolf's paw away once again. "Stop it! Answer my questions! Where am I? Who are you?"
"You," was her simple reply. She then started to circle me, and that annoyingly happy attitude radiated even stronger. "You, you. I am you." Her oddness made me want to roll my eyes, but her words sunk in before I decided to. For the umpteenth time that day, I stood stunned. Me? She was me? That didn't make even slight sense. I was me, and two peop- animals… couldn't be the same being, right? Or maybe I overlooked something, but that was unlikely. She was probably crazy. That meant I had to run off soon…
She casually blinked her bright green eyes. Her tail slowly wagged to and fro, and not a single piece of fur moved out of place from her reddish pelt. Why was she so… familiar?
Realization abruptly slapped me in the face. Green eyes? Red-gray pelt? Why didn't I notice it before? The way she walked… the way she moved… her appearance, her actions. She was me, but… a wild version of me. Her every movement was one of an animal's. She somehow knew I understood this; the irritating smile stuck to her face, and she circled me a bit faster. "I am your instincts, I am part of you," she calmly said. The wild, unhuman version of me sat about a foot away, and she poked my forehead yet again. I would've been irritated if terror didn't dominate my emotions. "Wolf. You are wolf."
I backed away, slapping her paw once more, but that was out of sheer fear instead of annoyance. "No, I'm human."
"We have fur," she retorted. The fact that she turned 'you' into 'we' had been frightening. "We have tail. We have claws. We are wolves."
"Y-Yeah, but…" My words caught in my throat. The wolf stepped closer; it felt threatening, yet friendly.
"You cannot be both, and you are not a human. You are a wolf. We are both wolves."
Then something happened. There was a… vibration, of some sort. It rattled the empty, blank room of ours, and I suddenly felt more alert. Was I waking up?
"You cannot be both." There was another vibration, and that time it was bigger.
"I'm human, fleabag! Don't try and convince me I'm not!" …Did that count as insulting myself?
"Insist what you want. Give in, or go insane." And with that, she faded into the surrounding darkness.