This story lives! It lives, I tell you!
Okay guys, I'm really excited about this chapter so let's just jump into it, shall we? :3
…Oh wait! First, I got questions from a guest named Warrior626! Yay! :D
"Do you like Total Drama Island?"
Yes! I'm a huge Gwent shipper (GWENTGWENTGWENTGWENTGWENT), and I actually have plans for a Total Drama fanfic in the future, which is about Zoey and Mike because I luuuuvvvv their shipping! And in the newest season, Shawn and Jasmine became one of my favorite characters/shippings, but I'm disappointed about how (SPOILER ALERT FOR THE LATEST SEASON) DaveandSkydidn'tgettogetherintheend. Sadness. :( (SPOILERS OVER) So yeah! I absolutely love Total Drama and all their seasons!
"Who's your favorite Newman?"
This is a tough one. I'll have to say… Carrie. Only because she reminds me a lot of one of my friends. :3
"Do you have pets?"
Yep! I have a dog, a Shih Tzu mix named Rokko, who's really lazy, laidback, and only wants to eat stuff like bacon and burgers. XD I have a bird (but I'm unsure what kind she is) named Azura because of her pretty shade of feathers. She is relatively quiet as long as she has her water bottle filled and some bird seed. I have a guinea pig named Silvre (yes, it's spelled with the 'r' and 'e' switched). He's very shy, seems to hate my brother – a lot, and absolutely looooves carrots. Also, I have a white mouse with light gray spots named Tinsel, and he likes macadamia nuts, being taken out of his cage, and running on his mouse wheel in the middle of the night WHICH IS ANNOYING but I love him regardless. On a final note, I named Rokko, Azura, and Silvre myself, and I had help by a friend online for naming Tinsel! :D
"How long have you been writing fanfics?
Well, I may have joined this site sometime during late 2013 (I've been on this site for a year! YAY!), but I've written some short oneshots during early 2012, before I even knew what fanfics were! These oneshots are somewhere on my laptop, but I'll never put them up; they're based off too crazy ideas of mine and are filled with bad writing. XD So overall, I've been writing fanfics since 2012, but I didn't make my own account and start posting until late 2013.
"Favorite animal?"
Considering my name is FangaWolfLover… dolphins. :D Naw, just kidding, though dolphins are pretty awesome. My favorite animal of ALL TIME is wolves, but I do love all other canines as well: dogs, coyotes, foxes, etc. Woof. :3
"Do you like Australians? Because I'm an Australian."
Why would I hate Australians? O.o In fact, in the first question, I mentioned how one of my favorite characters in Total Drama was Jasmine, which is an Australian. Anyways, yeah… of course I like Australians!
So there you go! Hopefully, these are satisfactory answers and it tells all my readers out there a little bit about myself. Thanks for asking these, Warrior626! Also, the questions I want reviewers to answer for this chapter are the six listed above! You don't have to answer all six – or any at all – if you don't want to!
Now that I've written a ridiculously long author's note, let's get to the horribly long-awaited chapter. ^^
"Are we getting closer to Peaceville?"
"I think so!"
"You think?
"Yeah!"
"Not know?"
"Yeah!"
"That's not really reassuring…"
"Oh." I paused. "Sorry?" I glanced over my gray-blue shoulder to see Laney roll her eyes and quietly groan. I beamed a smile at her, and with my smiling always cheering her up at least a bit, the red-gray wolf cracked a tiny grin and her fluffy tail wagged slowly. With that, I faced forward again and happily continued leading our way through the dense foliage.
No matter how much we'd walk, I'd never get used to all the mist-scent stuff that drifted throughout the forest. Green, blue, brown, and even yellow trails of fog wafted into my vision, each scent trail visually differentiating by either having darker or brighter hues than the others. How could animals with keen senses of smell adjust to this? Seeing mist floating everywhere… for a while, I pretended like I wandered through a magical dreamscape with flares of color propelling through the atmosphere, but after some time, all the browns and greens got too repetitive and everything started to look bland. I guessed wolves and dogs and whoever else adapted to seeing scents because they're born with it… but, eh, whatever. It was annoying. Maybe if I lost my scent of smell, it would've all gone away? But since wolves highly relied on their acute noses, I didn't want to risk anything. Not drastically, anyway.
I shifted my shoulders around with a soft grunt. The satchel weighed heavily around my neck and no matter how much I moved around, the dusty brown strap choked me a little and irritated my skin. I couldn't believe that Laney made me lead the way and carry a satchel that liked digging into my neck and wolf shoulders, which I didn't know wolves have until I became one. It never looked like wolves had shoulders to me… Anyways, it just sucked. All I wanted to do was drop the satchel and curl up into the nearest bush with a bag of Cheez-Its. Yet I had to be the leader – the one always formulating plans for leading my faithful band members to victory. Some people thought I came up with plans on the whim, but it actually took some thinking beforehand. I always got slugged with the hard stuff and no one noticed…
After a while of walking through the never-ending pattern of bushes, trees, flowers, and more trees, something finally changed. We walked into a sort of clearing crowded with overgrown weeds and wildflowers, and there, sitting in the middle of the small clearing, rested a cave. Gray and silver scents drifted from the rocky landform, which smelled heavily like rich, musty minerals. Since Laney and I had been walking all day without a single break and the warm colors tinting the sky showed it to be sundown, I hoped my best girly friend would allow us to call it a day and sleep in the cave for the night. "Hey, Laney–!"
"No."
I clumsily whirled around on my paws so I could stare her in the eyes, gawking in disbelief. "But whhhyyyyy…?" Despite her best attempts to stay serious, she grinned and chuckled at my pleading reaction.
"Well, Core, it's just…" She suddenly and sharply shook her head, showing a serious face again. "Corey. This is obviously a den, and a bear or wolf or some nasty predator has to be occupying it. Do you really want to be attacked again? After the incident with the hunter?"
I frowned and bowed my head. The memories of gunshots and violence and blood and especially… Laney working her fangs through that guy's leg… ugh, it all blared clearly in my mind. "No…" I glimpsed at the relatively small cave again and the musky scent it gave off, and then I sluggishly dropped into a sitting position. "I don't want to sleep under a tree or something, though."
"At least sleeping under a tree means you're on soft, fertile ground. Inside that den, there's a rocky floor! That wouldn't be comfortable at all." She swerved around to stare off into the vegetation, determination glittering in her lively, jade green eyes. "C'mon, let's walk on for a bit longer. We should place some distance between us and the den so we can avoid trouble."
"Heh, now you lead the way," I laughed beneath my breath. As her massive paws stomped across the various leaves and twigs and thorns plaguing the forest ground, I glanced back at the den before quietly following. Right before I exited the clearing, I gently tugged at the leather strap again in vain hopes of alleviating the irritation, but it still dug into my neck and shoulders no matter which way I adjusted it. "Dang satchel," I grumbled tiredly.
Snap.
The dusty brown bag thudded against the ground, and I did nothing else but stare at it for a long couple of seconds. Stressed and exhausted, I whined out for the red-gray wolf's hidden form behind the shrubs and trees. "Laaaaaney!" After a short and tense moment of waiting for her return, her furry head popped into her sight, her ears shoved forward in attention. An inquisitive look shined in her eyes, silently questioning the seriousness of my predicament. "The… the satchel's strap, uh, broke." I smiled sheepishly and she rolled her eyes.
As she padded out of the shrubbery and started fiddling with the broken ends of leather, I stared back at the cave and didn't lift my eyes from it, peering into the darkness that cloaked its interior and wondering if an animal actually occupied it. When I glanced back at Laney and watched her carefully pull out a roll of duct tape from the bag – why did the hunter bring duct tape on a hunting trip thing, anyways? – the influential voice known as my instincts reverberated in my head, disrupting my train of thought. Den. I blinked slowly as it steadily repeated, the word increasing in intensity each time. Den. Den. Den. Den. DEN. DEN!
I shook my head in hopes of quieting the voice, my wolf ears flopping limply from the sharp motion. Unfortunately, I couldn't deter my persistent instincts. Walk. Den. Walk den. Meat. Den. Walk, den, meat.
I should go to some meat in the den? I eventually translated. My stomach rumbled at the thought of a meaty feast for the night, but horror consumed my thoughts at the thought of a deer carcass. No way would there be ordinary lunch meat in the middle of the forest, and that meant it was a killed animal of some sort.
Den. Den. Den. Den. Den. Den. Den.
I bit my tongue and attempted to resist the pestering voice. If there's meat in there, a predator has to be accompanying it, too!
Den. Den. Den. Den. Den. Den. Den.
One of my forepaws abruptly stepped towards the rocky landform. Before my other paws were controlled by my instincts as well, I grinded my fangs together and dragged the foreleg back. Unfortunately, despite how powerful I tried to resist, my willpower rapidly dwindled and my primal wolf-self began reigning over my body. N-no… I, I can't…
Ḑ̷E̷̴̢̡̢N̶͡ ̡̛̛̀D̕҉̸É͢N̶̸͢ ̶́͢D̶̵͞҉E̵̡Ņ̴̀ ̛̛̛͜D͏̴E̴̷͡Ņ͜ ́̕D̶̵̷̛͘E͟͠N̶̵̷̨̕ ̛҉̵D̴̛Ȩ̡Ņ̷̛̕͞ ͏́̀D̨̕E̷̢̛̛͘N̨͞ ̕͜͞͡D̡͏E͞͝͞͏Ǹ͘ ͟͝D͟͝E̵҉̀N̸͜͜͟ ̢̡͘D͟͡͝͝É̷͝N̸̷̵͟ ͘͢D̷̴͢͟͠Ę̡̧͟N̛͢͟ ̨͝D̵̨́̕͡Ȩ̸̴̧͡N̨̡͟͠͞ ̧̕D̷̕͠E҉̸̶̛͜N̡̢̛͠
My resistance winked out like a candle's flame and I helplessly watched as my instincts, fully controlling each limb and muscle of my body, forced me to bolt for the cave. My dull, blunted claws ripped out grass during the sprint, and the sprain caused from suddenly running throbbed in all four of my legs. All I managed to do on my own was wince as the instincts sent me darting into the den, and Laney's remote shouting of my name quickly faded out of earshot.
In the cave, I regained control of my strange wolf body, and the first thing I did was reflexively shudder from the chilling feeling of losing control. I felt like a puppet – an abused, mangled puppet heartlessly directed around and manipulated by an outside force. A force that ignored my wants, a greedy force, an unknown force… thoughtlessly parading me around until it managed to satisfy itself, and when it eventually bestowed control over my body again, it only continued the cruelty from a farther range, filling my head with instinctive-driven commands that never completely left since there was always a constant whisper that droned on and on, no pauses, no breaks, survive, survive!
Being a wolf isn't that fun anymore…
Along with the dingy scents of silver and gray, a crimson mist tantalized my nose, causing it to insanely twitch and having my tongue coat over in drool. Meat, meat! The instincts swiftly chanted the one-syllable word, and an unexplainable yearning cobbled together in my head: a yearning for raw, bloody cartilage. Without my consent, my paws wildly began scrambling after the metallic scent that my wolf side found so addictive, and it hurt to resist the excited voice in my head. Meat!
With my instincts completely focused on the decaying, mutilated corpse of a deer in the very back of the den, my wolf side didn't notice another presence until the last couple seconds. My paws slammed down on the ground, harshly skidding my reckless run to a stop, and the shouts of meat and den instantly dispersed, replaced with the loud bellowing of SURVIVE! Miraculously, adjusting to having control of my body once again, I obeyed my instincts without question and flattened myself against the floor. Frightened to see anything, I hurriedly covered my eyes with my forepaws.
Since I ducked, I avoided a lunge from a creature as it whooshed above me, a slight wind ruffling my pelt, and a painful-sounding thud echoed throughout the cave. A loud groan and an ear-splitting bark vibrated off the walls, and when the frantic shouts of survival gradually died down in my head, I climbed onto my paws without losing control again, my instincts more interested in the attacker than meat by this point, and I cautiously approached the stranger. Curled up by the wall where the loud thudding came from rested a messy, tangled, little mass of… black… fur? I knew it was fur, but I couldn't distinguish the color within the darkness. At least, the strong effects of a wolf's night-vision hadn't kicked in yet, and it sure was taking a while…
I detected certain shapes and parts on the predator within the shadows – a snout, scraggly tail, and triangle-shaped ears – until I took a guess at the animal: wolf. It couldn't be any other wild animal because of its canine body shape, and telling by its size, it could only be a pup. I quietly stared down with tensed muscles at the cringing canine, waiting for it to stand and attack, but its petite head instead weakly and gently lifted off the ground and flicked up towards me. Its wide, curious eyes appeared bright in the darkness, and I made out the strange coloration of its irises: the right eye yellow, the other one green. A pair of large ears, larger than the average wolf's, pricked up in surprise, and a light gray scent with the reek of pinecones emitted from its oddly short fur.
Abruptly, the pup shot onto its paws, revealing more of its skinny physique. Large ears, very small body, a stick-like tail with only some fur on it… so strange for a wolf. With a gruff, masculine voice, but also some squeakiness revealing his young age, the unique pup yipped, "Are ya tough?"
"Huh?" I shuffled my forepaws nervously, failing to understand the question. His slight accent also surprised me for a second. "…Um, I guess so? Yeah?"
"Have ya eva engaged in close combat with a mountain lion?"
"Um… no?"
He stomped his tiny forepaws on the ground dramatically. "Then why arr ya tough, boy?" When he noticed my flustered state, he rigidly barked, "Say somethin'! Or arr ya a liar?"
"I, well… I scared off a hunter earlier today. That's tough, right?"
His yellow and green eyes widened; I actually impressed him. "I've helped in takin' down an entire herd o' caribou." A dash of light glinted off his exposed fangs and I thought he had peeled his lips back to snarl, but it was a smirk. The suspicions in his eyes, and the arrogance radiating off him – he challenged me, trying to see which of us accomplished more feats than the other, and he felt confident that he was the tougher one.
At least we're not mauling each other to death. Challenge accepted! "I'm so tough, I watched a horror movie on Netflix with it in full screen the entire time!"
The strange pup prepared to retort, but then he registered my response and blinked dumbly. "…What in da wolf gods' names is Netflix?" he asked, confusion and wonder twinkling in those mismatched eyes.
"Uh… I come from far away, but what I just said is extremely tough." I forced a smirk and snobbishly looked down at him off the tip of my nose. "Now I'm starting to wonder if you're the tough one."
With an offended gasp and a fierce leer, he snapped, "O' course I am! Have ya eva tackled down trees without gainin' a bruise?"
"No, but I once was trapped in an elevator for forty-five minutes and survived," I returned proudly. Of course, he didn't comprehend what I said, but he had to assume it was tough.
"Hmph. I crossed paths with a bear, an' he fled da moment I glared into his fierce eyes."
"I can step on LEGOs without crying!"
"I violently stopped a herd o' buffalo in their tracks by only usin' me bare paws."
"I read a Justin Bieber fan fiction and managed to sleep that night."
"I've fallen off a waterfall an' survived near-drownin' and hypothermia!"
"I made a Disney account without my parents' permission!"
"I've watched me younger brother get crushed in a stampede and then I laughed."
"I've seen every Twilight movie in existence and haven't died!"
"I can kill anythin' without remorse…"
"I've played Flappy Bird and I DIDN'T RAGE QUIT!"
An angered bark sounded from the entrance of the cave. "Core, what are you doing?!"
Without shame or embarrassment, I shouted back at the baffled red-gray wolf, "Beating this lil' wolf pup at his own game!"
"Wolf?" she echoed, sounding slightly confused. "Core, that's a Chihuahua."
I would've shouted to the small canine that I had Chuck Norris on speed dial, but I first acknowledged my best pal's words and my muzzle clamped shut. I swept my gaze over the creature, noting his abnormally large ears and the very, very short fur, and my hackles rose. "Whoa, you are a Chihuahua!"
He nodded his head solemnly and lightly howled, letting us hear his slightly high-pitched voice, and then he gloomily admitted, "Ay, I am… an' da truth is, I never did any o' those things…"
"Nah, don't sweat it," I stated nonchalantly, and I beamed down at the tiny canine. "I've never done any of those things, either. Well, the hunter thing is true, and so is the part about the elevator, but that's it!"
"Ya aren't sucha bad wolfie, are ya?" he snickered, a mischievous gleam in his yellow and green eyes. "Nice ta meet cha, mate. I'm Chico."
I eagerly snatched his little, probably black-furred paw in my own and shaked it roughly, startling the fragile dog. "I'm Corey, and my awesome friend over there is Lanes, or Laney, and is this your den?"
"Core–"
Chico loudly chortled at my question, accidentally cutting Laney off. "I'd be lyin' if I said yes. I'm sharin' this 'ere den with a cool wolf named Peach, and she's da toughest predator in da ferest, I tell ya!"
"Uh, hehe… If she finds out we're here, will she hurt us?" I nervously questioned, my tail swishing around in sudden anxiety.
"Naw, bro! She's tough, but she gotta soft heart fer all canines. Hey, are ya lookin' fer a place ta stay? Ya're welcome 'ere, par'ner!"
"Oh! Thank you!"
"Corey!"
I looked over at Laney, ready to shout a carefree and friendly 'wassup' in my joyful mood, but then I noticed the satchel by her paws with the broken strap duct-taped together. "Yay, you fixed the…" My gaze locked onto her forelegs. I trailed off with a light laugh, noticing the several balled-up pieces of duct tape wedged between her dull claws and stubbornly sticking to her fur. "You need help with that?" I questioned with a snicker. She nodded with a tiny smile and I sauntered over, haughtily mentioning I could easily pick out the bits of duct tape since I knew Chuck Norris. She rolled her eyes, but she let me have my fun.
Heheheheheh. When I scanned through this chapter, I noticed a lot of bolded words and dialogue, and I'm not used to that. X3 This was so fun to write… and now a new character is revealed! Chico the Chihuahua! Will he be around for a long time, you may wonder? And what about Peach? Only future chapters hold the answer… :P
I know this story is lacking in lots of fluffy romance so far, but I PROMISE there will be some soon. Like, next chapter soon. Maybe. X3 One of the genres for this story is ROMANCE, after all, so Corney fluffiness will ensue… These action and humor scenes are just a thrill to me. I like action and humor scenes as much as Kon loves cheese. ^^
One more note… this doesn't have anything to do with the chapter, but I want to share this. So, I was trying to look up online if there's a town/city in real life called Peaceville in the United States. I found this random site; apparently, there's a metal band called Peaceville. So I'm staring at the homepage of this website, reading this awesome line that said, "A masterpiece in feral riffing, unholy howls and exhilarating, abysmal heaviness," when BAMMM, something pops up onto my screen saying, "Wishing you a very bloody Christmas and a morbid New Year." I laughed for a second because I thought it was funny and creative… then I go to a different tab, trying to read a Grojband fanfic, when suddenly METAL MUSIC EXPLODES FROM MY LAPTOP SCREEN AND SCARES THE TAIL OFF OF ME. Rocklympus Gods, it was scary…
But I'm actually still listening to the metal music right now. I'm starting to like it. ^^; Don't judge. Now excuse me while I prance away to tell all my loved ones: "I wish you a very bloody Christmas and a morbid New Year!" I dare you, my awesome readers, to tell someone the same and freak them out. xD On another note, don't forget to answer the questions above if you want to!
Merry Christmas, everyone! And have a morbid New Year! :P