Howl Your Appellations

Time, Lime,Grime, Pantomime

Lissana Mons

       I had to fight a pretty pissed off cassowary but I finally made it. They clawed on my trunk a bit, but I broke their foot, so that makes us even...but if not then they’re welcome to Mei’s doctor shop. Now let’s see… everything inside the trunk seems to be unscathed, even the bluebell, which is a relief to me for some reason. I wonder what Boen’s doing now, hope I didn’t bum her out...I wish I asked more about her, wasn’t that my goal from the start? Sigh I’m always so useless like this. Next time we’ll meet I’ll have a clearer head, I promise!...Phew..

        That cassowary actually wore me down. Just when I’m so close to the entrance too, wait, are cassowaries poisonous? Shoot I’m not sure...wait they didn’t really inflict anything deep, these are but scratches, what am I so worried about? Huwaahhh...I’m so tired ...it’s probably because I was rolling around a random flower bed earlier...it didn’t get rid of the smell but it was a pretty good idea at the time…..

        ...I’m not ready! The Train’s just a few meters away! I don’t want to ask for their help after all! I’ll just get chewed out again! But what else can I do? I can only juggle so much decisions at a time! M-maybe if I find that cassowary again, they’ll manage to trample me, and I’ll no longer be burdened with all these decisions! I could get to hangout with my fam again as a bonus too!….

“Hey! Muscle-brain!” Oh, it’s bright red eyes...long pigtails….“Ughh….” 

“‘Imus, told me to give this to you!” High-pitched voice…

“Ah, Koto..issat you? Come sit down on my trunk with me~”

“Okay, but I’m Kaya, not Koto. Why would you ever think I’m Koto, I’m twice her size and she barely talks to anyone. Here. It’s a sandwich Nikki made.”

“Well, Koto talks to me..Mmmm! This s**t’s so good! Oh my god, oh Luna. Fuuuhhhhahahaha...Mm!”

“Yeah, we thought you’ve been starving yourself. You haven’t hunted since you left haven’t you?”

“Not true! Mm! I hunted once and ate it without sharing.”

“Sighh….you probably ate a rodent or something ..or...fish?”

“Well...what’s wrong with a little fish from time to time?”

    Damn! Whenever Nikki and Miller hunts it always tastes like the best thing in the world! That or every time I run away, I always forget to hunt. I miss getting full from people food.

“Your pigtails look good on you, Kaya~! Mm! And thanks for the meal, you guys always hunt the right s**t!”

“We told you not to go to the ocean. And you’re not allowed on The Train for the time being!”

“Eeehhh~Really? But I ran all this way~~”

“Anyway, my time’s almost up so just stay here. I think the others have something to say to you. Don’t cause any trouble, okay?”

“ I won’t, baby hog.”

“Welcome back, Sana.”

    Hmmm, so this was Imus’ plan. I guess Kaya couldn’t smell me, but I guess my 2nd in command and subordinates can. I can’t imagine how worried the kids are about me. Sorry your senior’s an i***t.

“Lissana!” What a voice! So soft and manly. So I guess they’re gonna come up at me one-on-one style.

“Mei! Heya! Sneak me in?”

“You’re a large i***t! Let me see!” 

“Ah~ uncle you’re hurting me! Be more gentle~~~~”

“Did you just fight Ingrid? She’s...we think she’s going through a Punishment. Everyone’s just trying to avoid her to help her out a little. I’m amazed you didn’t get hurt as much. Good girl.”

Oh, so that cassowary I ran into was a Were after all. I pray to Luna she doesn’t suffer long. 

“It’s nothing. I got this trunk with me. I was hoping you’d install some straps on it so I can carry it like a backpack!”

“Ah? Ahahahahaha! Why don’t you just use a regular backpack, silly!”

“Pleaseee, Mei, this is really important to me~!”

“Well I guess since you’re back earlier than expected, I guess I could reward you with that. There! You’re all patched up. You’ve got tons of scratches on you but that’s about it. Be sure not to push it or your body’ll be full of band-aids.”

“Ha! Scratches don’t even need band-aids!”

“Oh? Then the next time you get an infection, you can try asking your girlfriends for help then!”

“Oh...Oof ahhh...” 

“Hahahaha! I’m joking. I’ll treat you, always, no matter what happens. Okay, Sana?”

“Okay. Thank you...who’s going to come next?”

“I think one of the kids? SB I think. Everyone else is on patrol or hunting duty.”

So they’re saving Imus for last, or Imus is saving himself for last. Man I'm shaking just thinking about it.

“Oh okay, okay. A calm before the storm. I see, I see.”

“Well, good luck! Hope we see you in The Train soon!”

"I doubt that but yeah!"

I can still hear him laughing. I can't even see him anymore but he's still laughing. For someone who's howl shy, he sure does laugh a lot. Well I guess that's the charm of my pack. We're all just sad weirdos.

"Sana!!!!!!"

"Aha! Whoa there, shorty. Even Kaya wasn't as clingy as this!"

"I brought you a blanket! Just in case you don't feel like going on full form tonight! I've missed you so much, Sanaaa!!!"

"I haven't even been gone for that long. You should definitely stop hugging me now or Imus will bash both our heads into bloody pulps."

"Ah! That's right! What did you do this time? I can't believe you're in trouble again!"

"Well that's a secret between me and...whoever else that knows. Your job is to help out and get stronger."

"'That's true but you know it's important to tell us about things, right? We're family you know. We help each other out."

"I know, bud."

Sigh...it gets harder and harder to ask for help. Everyone's doing great without me and I keep barging in with a bucket full of problems and the occasional curse. I hope SB doesn't turn out like me. He's such a good kid.

"Isn't your time supposed to be up or something?"

"Eh. I know you're terrified of Imus so think of this as a favor."

"Ha! Well, thanks. But only for another minute, got it? I don't want you to stink like me."

"...okay."

    Now all there's left is Imus. It's not that I'm terrified of him or anything like that. I just don't like the feeling of disappointing him. He's my brother and he's one of the strongest people on this planet. But he's too nice and his human side drags him down. I still think it's f*****g unfair. Why couldn't the curse just cure him? I just don't get it. Things could have been so much better for us.

Rustle.

“Aw man nooo. You’ve got to be kidding me right now. You’re not..literally...in full form?? Dude hey...Aghh!!”

Don’t fuckin pin me down! I don’t want to f*****g fight. I’m not in the mood to, not with Imus.

“Fine! Growl at me all you want I won’t go full...Gah!! Hey! My hai--!!!!”

“DID YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT THE CONSEQUENCES OF YOUR ACTIONS FOR A FEW SECONDS? DO YOU REALLY WANT TO BE THE REASON WHY OUR PACK, OUR PACK, GETS SLAUGHTERED BY THE WERES AND THE FAES? DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA OF THE GRAVITY OF WHAT YOU JUST DID?!”

“I raN AS FAST AS I COULD AWAY FROM THAT CABIN. I DIDN’T FUCKIN KNOW IT WAS A FUCKIN CEMETERY? I’M LUCKY I ACTUALLY GOT OUT! THE...the slaughtered faes were there all along...Prince can finally be at peace, Imus. I- I-I’m sorry I didn’t ask for your help sooner. I didn’t think the girl, Boen, would be surrounded with so much...shit. You’re right I’m a whole entire i***t. The wolf Weres are probably going to target us now. Her moon ring’s the real deal and she’s not not exactly the average human. Her Appellations...”

“Sigh. Sana. For Nike’s sake.”

“Sorry...h...mph..hh”

“You f****d up big time, kid. And I mean unbelievably, but you’ll prove me wrong like always. I don’t know how the f**k we’re going to get through this with, the five other packs eye-ing our territory and possibly our whole pack but we’ll manage since you’re still here and I’m still here. As long as we’re still stuck together, we’ll figure it out.”

“You’re just copying him. That’s what he used to say and now it’s just the two of us that's left.”

Don’t tell me these things just to cheer me up. It’s not helping.

“I’m fighting the urge to rip your limbs off but that’s just how it is with us. If there’s only one of us left then that’s the only time we can move forward I guess. Let’s stick together til the end, kiddo.”

“Wuss.”

“...call me whatever you want. I'm not the one who got her whole pack in danger just because of some girl.”

“I-It wasn’t like that at the start! Agghhhh! Imusssss!!!”

“Hahaha! We’ll you’re lucky your brother isn’t here to see this. He would have done...something...even more problematic...”

“Ha! You’ve got a kink for these typa things dude I have no idea how you survived living with us for so long.”

“Well, I loved him for as long as I could remember.”

“He loved you from the start too.”

“...”

    This is how it always was with us and will always be. We’re linked way before our current pack, and the pack before that, and the pack before that. Not a lot of us can survive for as long as we have and I think we’re special in a way, even if it doesn't matter. We’re soulmates whose link is to watch the people we love suffer.

“Hey, do you remember the code we used to say to get in Nike’s secret hideout?”

“Wasn’t it  like, Time, lime, grime, pantomime? He thought he was being so smart with the rhymes.”

“Yeah! Haha, so you still remember… let’s go to sleep. You’re tired from keeping that form for so long, aren’t you? It’s okay, I know it’s not your fault. You don’t have to feel guilty about anything. That’s why, it’s okay. ”

I’ve been avoiding using my full form since Nike’s death. The words, “I killed him.” still take rounds in my head. This is the first time Imus says it’s okay. It’s okay, he says. 

    He curls up next to me and places his head on top of mine. His fur’s the one I find most comfortable. For the first time in a while, I managed to fall into a blissful slumber.