Chapter 9: The Kaupe

"Some girls are full of heartache and poetry and those are the kind of girls who try to save wolves instead of running away from them."

- Nikita Gill

Northeast of Babylon - 1916

An ill wind blew across the land, causing the young goatherder to pull his cloak tighter around his neck, and despite the midday's heat, he gave a small shudder. He glanced with fear at the two mounds in the distance, one of them was topped with the remains of a small crude sanctuary dedicated to holy Ibrahim. It was the other one, the larger weed-choked mound with the remains of some far older ruins which caused him to utter a prayer to his god.

"Nergal!" a voice called out from beyond the ruins. The ancient god stirred inside of the fallen stone walls of the once-mighty temple of E-mes-lam, awaking him again from his seemingly ageless sleep. "Nergal!" the voice whispered yet again. "It is time."

Honolulu - 1973

"You have responsibilities and cannot continue to keep jumping around like a spoiled teenager from one timeline and reality to another!" the dark-haired middle-aged woman in a flowery dress lectured the red-haired girl, wearing a white tee-shirt with the words 'Foxy Lady' and a peace sign airbrushed on the front of it. The girl sitting in the booth next to her just rolled her eyes. They were seated inside a small bar and grill which was decorated in a cheap nautical theme and located in a less reputable part of the tropical city.

"I just want to have some fun!" the girl finally slurred out. "I never get to have fun."

"Jude!" the woman began protesting but she drew silent when the cocktail waitress brought another round of drinks for the table.

"You are Death, what would you know about having fun?" the redheaded girl continued once the drinks were served. She reached for another frosty glass of the blue-colored liquid and tossed the tiny decorative paper umbrella stuck in a slice of pineapple aside before she took a long sip.

"I went with you to the Who concert in Cincinnati!"

"You were only there because eleven people were trampled to death during the rush for seats."

"What about the concert where that guy played jazz on his saxophone?"

"That was Warne Marsh and he died in the middle of a song," Jude answered before she gave a hiccup.

"Just what are you drinking?" Death asked in an exasperated tone before she picked up her glass and sniffed the drink's contents.

"She called it a Blue Haywhiney thing," A darker-skinned male that was sitting in the booth across from the two females answered.

"It's…it's…a Blue Hawaii," Jude corrected the now human appearing wolf god. "Say it after me, Fenny, it is a BLUE HA…Wa…eeee." She had staggered to her feet and leaned over the table to pat Fenrisúlfr's head.

"Jude, you are the goddess of time and you should not be getting soused," the dark-haired woman tusked. "You need to stop acting like a teenager and do your job!"

"I am a teenager!" Jude protested.

"She is mad because she wanted to see some singer named Elvis and missed her time jump," Fenrisúlfr said as he brushed Jude's hand away. "She missed it again."

"Esu said I was distracted," the red-haired girl pouted while she sat down again and picked up her glass. "Why would I be distracted?"

Death didn't answer but looked across the table at the tall male sitting there. The wolf god had been turned once again into a darker-skinned human, although the wound he had received earlier from the slaver's whip had been healed when he had returned to his true form and did not reappear once he was turned back again. His hair was cropped short and he was very fashionably dressed in a tight white silken shirt, which was unbuttoned down his chest, and a pair of black denim bell-bottomed pants. Even in the form of a mortal, he could be considered very handsome.

From the corner of his eye, the wolf god was warily watching a group of four paler-skinned males sitting at the bar's counter. "What's wrong with them?" he whispered across the table to Death. "It looks like they are mad at us for some reason."

"Oh, they don't think two white women should be sitting at the table with a black man," Death answered. "I guess it offends them?"

"What is it about these humans and their skin colors? We wolves don't judge each other by the color of the fur one has."

"Humans are complicated, they always have to find something to be outraged about," Death sighed out.

One of the humans, a burley-looking man in a brown work shirt and pair of blue dungarees, finally stood up and began yelling at them from across the room. Fenrisúlfr still didn't understand what they were saying, but there was that word that began with an 'N' and it was the same one that the slaver had used, he hated that word because it was used with contempt. When he didn't answer, the human began yelling even more while he approached him with his fists clutched.

"I think they want to fight?" the human-looking wolf god said to Death in a confused uncertain manner. "The last time this happened, she started crying," he added as he nodded toward Jude.

"Let me go talk with them," Death answered and she stood up and began walking toward the four strangers. Whatever she said didn't go well for one of the men shoved her aside and pointed at Fenrisúlfr. He was using that N-word again.

"Idiot!" Jude said as she looked at the approaching men. "He must have a death wish, shoving Death around like that…" The wolf god glanced over at the redheaded girl and she was now slumped in her seat.

"Here we go again!" he sighed out before he rose from his chair to face the approaching men. He stood up and shook himself, expecting to change his form back into that of a wolf, but nothing happened. The first human shoved him in the chest and raised his fist to strike, it was then that Fenrisúlfr realized that he had never fought like a mere human before. Sure he had fought those coyotes, but that was when he was a wolf and had most of his godly strength. The blow to his face came fast and startled him, with a curse he staggered backward while wiping the blood from his nose.

"Fight back!" Death yelled.

The second punch landed into his stomach, causing him to bend over in pain and shock. The mortal facing him was obviously a skilled fighter.

"I said, fight back!" the dark-haired woman yelled even as she leaped onto the back of one of the attackers.

Fenrisúlfr shook himself and wiped his bloody nose again, before facing his attacker. He remembered watching Thor brawling with some of the other gods in Odin's golden hall of Valaskjálf and this time when the blow came, he ducked and brought his own fist up and under the chin of the white man in front of him. It was a satisfying strike, which was hard enough to snap the idiot's head back and he saw blood trickling from where a few teeth had been broken in that foul mouth. Yep, that should shut him up, the wolf god thought with satisfaction but he was wrong. The man barrelled headfirst into him and the two of them fell into a tangled heap onto the floor. His attacker rained blow after blow across his face and in the hazy pain, he was desperate. Once Thor in a berzerker rage had done the same thing to his brother Meili, but he had broken free of the Thunder God's vicious assault and Fenrisúlfr did the same maneuver that the god had performed that night. With all his might he shoved the human off of him, raised his knee back and then kicked forward as hard as he could with his right foot, smashing his opponent between his legs. The human's eyes bulged from the pain, causing him to reach down to cradle his privates and that was all the wolf god needed. He brought his leg back again and kicked the human right between his eyes, thankful that Jude had insisted that he wore a pair of uncomfortable platform shoes with their blocky two-inch heels. The mortal collapsed onto his back sceaming while he tenderly covered what remained of his now bloody crushed nose.

Unsteadily he stumbled to his feet and one of his other assailants took a wild swing at him but missed. Fenrisúlfr stepped forward and punched him in the stomach, causing the man to double over in pain. With a grin, the wolf god swung again and hit the man across the side of his head, causing him to collapse onto the wooden floor. "ARRRROOOOHHHH!" the bloody-faced god, who looked like a man, tried to howl out, for the lust for battle had overcome him. He raised his clutched fists to the sky with a grin even while he turned to face another foe. This last mortal stepped back in fear and drew something from his jacket pocket, it was small and silvery with a hole at the end. He thrust it in front of him as if it was a knife and whatever he was saying sounded menacing, although there was an underlying tone of desperation in his words.

"He has a gun!" Death called out, she had finally subdued her foe by using a bar stool.

"What's a gun?" Fenrisúlfr began to ask.

BANG!

The thing in the mortal's hand, which Death had called a gun, gave a loud retort and there was the distinctive, almost sulfur smell in the air. Wildly the panicked gunman looked at the black man he thought he had just shot, but realized within the blink of an eye there was now a tall black-furred wolf standing there on his two hindpaws and behind him the passed out redheaded girl had become a fox vixen. When Jude had lost consciousness, her control over Fenrisúlfr's appearance had been broken and he had reverted to his true form. Fortunately for everyone in the bar, Death had quickly stopped the wolf from returning to his true size or he would have burst out of the bar's confines and onto the busy street outside.

BANG! BANG!

The panicked man pulled the trigger again and again but the wolf he shot only staggered, for unknown to him his target was a god with very thick fur and his pistol was just a small caliber. With a growl, the creature grabbed his outstretched arm and he screamed when the beast crushed his hand along with the small pistol. Oblivion overcame him when he was brutally tossed screaming through one of the bar's front windows and onto the sidewalk outside. The others, including the bartender and waitress, were screaming the word "Kaupe" in panic while they ran towards the back of the bar.

"Great, now there are going to be stories of a werewolf in Waikiki!" Death laughed. She had changed again and was now younger-looking, she was also dressed in the same black clothes that she had been wearing when they first met. Walking past Fenrisúlfr, she reached over and patted Jude on her muzzle. "Come on darling you can't pass out here, you need to go home and sleep this off." The fox muttered something and nodded. "Wait!" Death called out. "Don't forget your wolf."

Fenrisúlfr felt the vixen grip his paw again before she collapsed into his arms and there was a tingling sensation. A few moments later, he found himself sprawled out in the grass of a small village, and looking up he found himself surrounded by coyotes and red foxes in loincloths. "It's a wolf!" someone called out in fear. "A wolf has made it into the hidden village!" Several of the coyotes had seized up the only crude weapons they owned, fishing spears which were really only sharpened sticks.

"So Lokison what are you doing here and why are you lying on top of my daughter?" a voice called out and Fenrisúlfr glanced over to see a middle-aged red fox standing there with his arms crossed and glaring down at him. He couldn't help but flinch somewhat in fear for he knew who it was, it was the former god of time who had once turned him into a puppy before he had destroyed all of reality. It was Waah-i-ald!

1973 was the year of the groundbreaking concert, Elvis: Aloha from Hawaii. It was broadcast live worldwide by satellite on January 14th and watched by 1.5 billion people in 36 countries. However, it was not shown in the USA until April 4th, due to a scheduling conflict with the Super Bowl.

Eleven people were killed and twenty-six injured during the open seating rush at the Who's December 3, 1979 concert in Cincinnati. Fearing a riot, the city let the concert continue as planned, with the band members not being told about the tragedy until after their performance. Jazz musician Warne Marsh died of a heart attack onstage in 1987.

The native Hawaiians have a legend of a nightmarish monster similar to a werewolf called the Kaupe, it is a hairy creature with a canine head and very sharp claws.