The aroma of honeydew permeated the air, droplets falling to the grassy earth as my fangs pierced the flesh. It’s one of the few ways to stave off the endless hunger for breathing meat; it was similar in texture, but never taste. Focusing on the repetitive pitter patter of the rain around me, my mind drifted away into nonsensical thoughts. It was better to not think about my situation than be aware of it.
Sitting in a honeydew patch, I took comfort in the familiar shape of the melons. The diamond etched pattern on the tough exterior was easy to follow with my eyes; not necessarily hypnotic to look at, but still something to do. Tonight’s moon was approaching a waxing gibbous, so my form was mostly resembling that of the dull, brown furred beast. This patch was one of the few places where I felt like I belonged. In the forest, the nearby human village began rumors of my presence. To some, I would be the long legged wolfman lurking in the shadows with piercing brown eyes, constantly glaring and watching. To others, I was a sinner punished with the curse. How ironic- I was the one who sinned. Not the man who turned me into this monster in the first place. I’ll never forgive what that monster hunter did to me…
He’s irrelevant right now. What is important is to finish up my honeydew and head back to the village I can call home for now- the Celestial Barrier. I first stumbled upon its existence when looking for a place to hide after another village mob chased me. The road happened to fork on its own to introduce me to a community of people like me- monsters like minotaurs, cerberus- even a few vampires! There were magical users as well; witches, sorcerers, and wizards alike. However, when I first came to the hub, a lot were not keen on a new face to be treated with utmost hospitality. At first, I didn’t understand. Why would they not want me around? I’m just like them. Sure, I was a little dirty and almost led a whole village of angry people to their safe space- but the place was protected by a barrier! It became evident that their distaste for my presence told me that I should look elsewhere for a place to belong. The only one who seemed to want me around was this older elk priestess on the outskirts of Ethereo. I never asked for her name, so I call her “Priestess”. She saw me passing by as I was leaving the barrier and offered her home for the night. I still don’t understand why she continues to care for me, but my place as the token “lone wolf” to mock is still there. To be a walking stereotype in a supposedly accepting community’s eyes stung at my heart more than I cared to admit.
Despite that, I need to return to Priestess. She’s been the only one supportive in my efforts to reverse this curse. She had mentioned something along the lines of not letting me “rot as a lone wolf”. I have yet to grasp what she means by that. What’s wrong with being alone? Better to not complicate things; if I fall to the curse, I fall. Something, though, tells me that we’re close to finding out the answer to change my fate. Unfortunate that it had to be while the sky was mourning for bottling itself up for so long. Couldn’t that have happened for another day?
Pointing my snout to the sky, I let myself feel the rain meld and kiss my body. It’s been a while since the last storm; the thunder and lightning raving about are always a welcoming sight to me. There’s just something that draws me to the crackle of sheer, god-like powerful strikes of light concentrated down to one move. The cracks and curves each one takes form in sets them apart; like if they were their own individual. Sometimes, I wonder how that power would feel on my body. Obviously, that kind of intensity would evaporate my body where I stood. The power-fantasy still lives on. Regardless, the water continues to drench my skin; internally, I’ll regret having been out here. “Wet dog” was never a great smell even before I turned into this. “Wet Werewolf” somehow reeks worse than that. I’ll leave that for future me to deal with. I hear whispers and snickers regarding my love for the rain and always swimming, typical for a dog. It was the only way for me to feel grounded and safe with myself for a long time. Maybe it was because the water did quite literally weigh me down to the earth. I’d delude myself into imagining I could control the tides the same way I can control my fate. Slowly spiralling into bigger, stronger waves, until a huge tornado swept a portion of the rivers.
It’s how I ended up with the nickname “Vortex”. Ways better than my other name, I’ll admit, but still not the name I wanted. Nothing like “Lupin”? “Terra”, perhaps?
… I realize now why I was not responsible for my own nickname.
Never mind. The clouds are easing up with their assault. Now’s my chance to scoop up some fresh water a few meters away from where I sat. Bracing myself, I pushed away to stand tall, the muddy soil clinging on to the palm of my hand. Flinging it off with a quick flick of the wrist, I grab one of the two wooden buckets close to me and scoop up the night’s worth. This should sate my thirst for another day. Lowering my head, I lap at the water, letting the refreshing coolness of it ease my freezing body. The second bucket already was filled with saltwater, fresh from the ocean a few miles nearby. The Priestess directed me to collect some for the various potions and herbs she has been concocting. How lucky I was when it started raining the moment I scooped up a portion…
From the way things are looking, the sky should be clearing soon. The dullness of gray was slowly being replaced by the deep, deep navy blue of the sky. Twinkling up above, the stars danced playfully in glee as they saw the world open back up for them. Each one shone as bright as they could, be it on their own or in rhythm with others, pairing up together. Squinting my eyes at those that shun, none could really encapsulate the feeling of being with another. They have one another, despite being billions of miles separated. I wish I had that something the air has.
Ironically enough, that something quite literally in the air caught my eye. Observing the sky closer, my brown orbs observe closer to see some sort of shooting star- or is it a comet? Strange; no one had whispered about a potential meteor shower tonight. My gaze locked on, and I decided to indulge and make a wish upon this falling ball of fire. Please, let me find an answer to end this nightmare. My right hand, flattened on the ground, bunched up the soil slightly, hoping that holding on tightly to a dream would help. But as I finished up my honey dew melon, the flying mass was starting to get closer. And by closer, I mean a LOT closer.
Oh no. Nononono. When I pleaded ‘end this nightmare’, I didn’t mean dinosaur extinction! Why did no one warn me?! The next thing I know, the sky above me seems to- did it- did it SHATTER?! Glass-like cracks were wide in the dome above us. That can’t be good for our atmosphere. Climate change is already enough of a nibbling worry at the edges of my mind- I definitely don’t need this! Curiously enough, the comet doesn’t look like any sort of rock I’ve seen before. In fact, the soaring ball of fire coming down looks like- a person…?
AND THE PERSON IS COMING STRAIGHT FOR THE BARRIER.
Stumbling out of the patch, my legs strut to a sprinting start, galloping the ground so roughly that fragments of dirt and grass would kick up in my stride. Keeping track of the burning-person-comet thing, my armor jingled and clanked against each other, heating my body up tremendously. Spring has got to be the worst possible month for this to happen; the humidity has been killing me. Whatever- or whoever- this comet is, they are not going to land on the ground so happy go lucky. The gauntlets track up soil and nearby rocks, but ignoring the discomfort, my body automatically pushes to emergency mode to push for the last sprint. It was in those last moments, though, that my paws slipped and slit my exposed hand on some sharp thorns. I don’t have time to bandage, much less tend to the wound right now. Skipping along the path, the tumbling of the branches and rocks shoot everywhere my paws make impact. What’s worse is that the helmet visor cuts through the wind like a hot knife on butter, the gravel kicked up hitting and flicking my eyes. This is no good. My body is reaching its limit. Every inch of my muscles were tense to the point of snapping, like if I were an oversized rubber band stretched thin. All of my nerves are set alight, overstimulated to hell and back. I’ve never sprinted this fast, nor ever for this long. But I can’t stop now; even if that falling comet… star… thing, was a person and they burnt up to a crisp, I still need to make sure their contact to the ground didn’t end in disaster. I’d rather not go out the same way that the dinosaurs did.
In the midst of my rush, I only realized just now that I’ll have to climb to reach the fallen. My jumping skills are what we call in the professional field “mediocre”. When it comes to climbing, though, my pride lies there more. If I climb with enough momentum, I could possibly launch myself from the hill to catch them in time! Sinking my claws deep, I crank back before lunging out on the steep hill. Each lift off gained more and more air, closing in with the falling one.
I’m almost caught up with the comet. Just a few more meters and-!
With the final swing from the combination of both hands bouncing off the ground and my hind legs launching into the air, I finally built the momentum I needed to practically fly. The air was tight in my lungs, bouncing in and out of each alveoli. By pure reflex, my arms reach out, wrapping around what appears to be the waist of the fallen one. Time appears to have slowed down; the flow of my fur rippling like the ocean waves below, almost beautifully. I managed to save this person’s life; whoever they are, they’re safe. I did something right for once, and I’m glad I could save them.
That kind of high doesn’t last for long. In fact, things get lower, lower, and lower until I can see the ground again. In the milliseconds before I ate dirt for dinner, my internal thoughts went along the lines of, ‘Oh. Newton’s Law exists, and I can’t be a criminal’. When the world around me resumes back to real time, the flames surrounding the fallen one begin to singe at my armor. Thank goodness for fireproof cloaks; the presence of fire causes it to cling to my body as if it were a jumpsuit.
The first blow to the ground nearly breaks my tailbone, and jabs out a pathetic yelp from my throat. Both of us go back flying, but not as high as before. The second one hits my right shoulder. It’s not enough to break a bone, but it is definitely leaving a weld once the night is over. The third and final drop has some sort of large, sharp rock rattle up my helmet. Better for it to scramble my mind for a moment than quite literally scramble my brain. Thank all the possible gods out there that I remembered to grab my helmet before I left the cabin. We finally made it back on the ground, spinning and tumbling about until coming to a full stop. There’s a faint ringing in my left ear, and I think I might be bleeding from my mouth, but for the most part, I’m okay. The fire appeared to magically dissipate; at first, all I could do was tilt my head in confusion. Taking a deep whiff of the ground around us, the glow emanating from the grass told me that this wasn’t any normal grass. It was some sort of magical moss, one that couldn’t be burned nor tarnished with.
Groaning (and the echo of said groan bouncing in my helmet), the heavy weight of my head was tossed by my neck, trying to reassess the situation. My cloak managed to save most of my body from a terrible fate of unthinkable burns. The only protection covering me was my helmet and my gauntlets. The visor did manage to guard my vision for the most part. Better to be disoriented than dead, I guess. In the end, my sole concern was whether or not my tailbone was broken. In an attempt to wag it alive, the sheer pain I felt from trying to wiggle it at the slightest. Yep, most likely a broken tailbone.
Shucking my head downwards, my jaw snaps back from the impact of hitting the fallen one’s back by accident. Despite the armor protecting me, it sure didn’t protect them. Attempting to soothe the spot with a “sorry!” and rubbing the soreness away with my hand paws, I realize that this person is… tiny. Okay, maybe not tiny per se, but quite small nonetheless. A mere hand of mine takes up two thirds of the space of their back. What was more curious, though, was that their back curved to lead towards… scales? Observing closer, the scales shun with a faint hot pink and deep lilac purple. Their sides had slits open, rising up and down. This wasn’t a person; this was a mermaid! Or so I think. I should check to see if they’re conscious.
“H-hey! Are you there? Move your fin if you’re okay!” I ask, trying to feel for some sign of breathing. There was no movement for a brief moment, until the mermaid started shifting slightly.
“Oh, oh thank the heavens you’re alive!! Are you okay? What happened to you? How did you crack our sky?? Who are you?!” The mermaid shifts in my grasp, moving away from my chest fluff to slowly stare up.
“...Ughhh...ooowww...wh...where am I…? Who...are you…?” In retrospect, I should have been more concerned that an extraterrestrial being knew how to speak English than the amount of teeth the mermaid has. Or the third eyelids blinking back at me. But in my defense, the whole situation was too bizarre to have all of my answers possibly answered in a reasonable time frame.
My first instinct was to yelp and scamper away to the aforementioned rock that nicked me on my helmet. It would’ve been more shameful if I could hide my tail in between my legs had it not been for the pain telling me to do otherwise. Ears tilted downwards and back, I mustered up the courage to peek my head above the rock to see if the mermaid was still there.
The mermaid in question was a lot to take in. From the top down, they were definitely not from around here. In the daze of bleary vision, I could make out some purples. Relying on my sense of touch, my claws reach for the emergency honeydew slice from the small hip satchel. I chew and tear up through the soft, sweet flesh of the fruit, feeling my vision come back. Thank goodness for magical melons. The melon healed some of the scratches clocked up from sprinting to the top of this hill as well. As for my tailbone… fruit has its limits.
Focusing back on the mermaid, I clearly made out their deep purple hair. It was short, and wispy. On their hair appeared to be twinkling stars, moving and shining wherever they moved. However, I may have to amend the hair comment- it presents itself more reminiscent to that of thin, yet wide tentacles. The clear wiggling from the tips of the bottom further proved the theory. Breaking the flow of the tentacles was a rose pink tiara, decorated with three flickering gems. The moon light combined with the gentle glow of the moss made it possible to see in the dark better. No cat vision for sure, but wolves can hold down their eyes. On the temples were long, fin-like ears(?). They were elf-ish, the ribboning flesh surrounding the ear was light pink.
There is a lot of pink going on with this mermaid.
Their decorative neck covering has a soft pink in the middle of their neck. On the outer binding of the covering, it thickened forward as a hotter pink, accenting the beginning and end of their neck respectively. Since they had their back towards me, all I could see was a part of their top, the sides of the torso holding small, swollen padding. Can’t decipher whether or not it’s armor or that’s how the outfit is simply made. There was a slit on the center of their back; I’m guessing that they might be back fins based on how the fallen is navigating.
They looked around, darting eyes bouncing back and forth, not sure where to stop. Mouth slightly agape, the mermaid froze in their spot. Eventually, they laid on the ground, staring at the sky. Five, maybe ten minutes pass- most of it spent staring at nothing. They prop themselves up again and begin to... flail? A lot of spinning and chasing in circles was involved. I tilt my head to the left and right in confusion. What exactly are they doing? Is this a threat? A ritual? Maybe a signal for help from wherever they came from? The shock from the rock definitely did a number on my problem-solving skills.
They stopped, panting, before looking at the lake. Slowly, they drag themselves across the ground towards the lake, gasping with each push. Internally, I did entertain possibly helping them. But by the looks of things, we were both beaten up. The last thing this mermaid needed to deal with was an unknown monster of a wolf to try to help them. Is there even an extraterrestrial version of “Little Red Riding Hood”?
It took them a while to get there, sliding quietly into the water. They swam around on the surface, diving down into the lake. Sneaking closer, I dip my body low to the ground, camouflaging with the surrounding dirt road. They… don’t seem to be a threat. All they’re doing is splashing about in the lake, occasionally dipping their head underneath. Carefully sniffing the air, all I could pick up on was some soot and sweet candy. Their back facing my way, their dark violet hair (tentacles?) wades through the water. One paw moves forward in an attempt to crawl closer to examine their features. In a bad miscalculation, that same paw happened to snap a particularly dry stick in half, the sound resonating as loud as an air horn. I could see the fallen one snap their head up, startled at the noise and staring straight at me. Nothing else in my body could be heard other than the thought of ‘run’.
So I did. Despite ripping my lungs trying to save the mermaid, those same lungs are pattering erratically to run away. There’s too much going on, and all of my decisions are becoming muddled in the chaos of it all. Why am I running away? Am I afraid of something?Am I afraid of them? I don’t know. I’m listening to anything that’s possible to take me to safety.
---
...The wolf was gone. I was all alone now...this was getting weirder by the minute. I sighed softly. I felt a little better; my injuries were soothed by the cool water. It was a bit like moving through jelly, but it managed to recalibrate my tail to float through the atmosphere of this planet I’d landed on. Now that I’d managed to get my bearings, I decided to go over what had happened to me so far.