Howl Your Appellations

Gone Home

Lissana Mons

    The stench still hasn’t died down, and it still stinks as hard as ever. Did the smell latch on to me? If that’s the case, I won’t be able to go back to the pack. I can’t risk endangering them too. Arrghhh! Why must everything be so difficult? Let’s see, what gets rid of dead fae smell? I’m sure there’s a record about this on Skia’s journal. It’s only a matter of time before the prince finds me and I’ll have to put up with his eerie little voice and his face half bitten off.

    A few years ago, well for me it’s only been a few years but I think it’s already been a decade? Some outsiders managed to terrorize a big chunk of the fae population. A few important ones lost most of their bodies and even the prince was a victim of the attacks. The forest was incredibly dark and hostile. We never found the culprits which created animosity between the faes and the Weres, especially the fox Weres. They believed one of them exposed their secrets.  I honestly thought the forest was done for. But their queen mother took the blame one day, after so much hostility, and she gave up her whole being for the fallen faes and the corrupted forest. I’m not sure if I’m remembering the facts right but I do know that some faes are still pissed about the whole tragedy. I barely see them anymore and not that I want to; their colors are beautiful but their skin makes me uncomfortable. They’re tree-like but also like skin.  To think the “cabin” on the cliff has so much of this...I can’t keep quiet about it. First, I have to get rid of the smell and second, I have to tell Boen to leave. Being in a place as f****d up as that would mess her up. They say a mistreated fae anger’s worse than any curse on this forest.

    I think it would be better if I ran up the stream to wash off the smell. All the streams are connected to the Spring baths after all. Hyup! I forgot the stream’s shallow as heck! Well, since I already have my ankles wet I might as well just run back to the shack this way...there are tons more rocks and boulders than I remember maybe this isn’t such a good idea. I’ll hop on back when it gets deeper.

    The forest’s awfully quiet since Boen came, aside from her living in a fae casket, she also has a moon ring and is hard to track. What’s everyone else doing about it? Ugh, this was a really bad time for me to run off on my own again. Why can’t I just cope with things like other people? I have a feeling that things will be worse in the next couple of days---ah! s**t he found me already?

    “Oh~Lissana, come here, would you.” And there it is, his cave-like voice. He looks a lot better when I last saw him. He finally decided to cover up this gaping scar. He almost looks like the prince I knew before everything happened to his kind.  Dang, everyone used to gather around the inner light; from cursed creatures to the fallen fairies, we’d all come together and hang out. Sucks everything had to change because of some damn outsider. Now the forest feels more like one of those cities.

“Ah, hey, Prince um..this is not what you think...”

“Not what I think? I don’t think we’re thinking about the same thing, Lissana.” 

    His absent stare always throws me off. I don’t have beef with you, please don’t try and make me make bad decisions again.

“Ah, of course we’re not. I apologize for assuming.” 

    “Just so we’re clear, I don’t have anything against you but there’s something about you today that’s really bothersome. I promised your brother I wouldn’t lay a finger on you, so if you will so calmly answer my question, I won’t be breaking any promises.”

“Of course, Prince. I’ve nothing to hide from you.” 

    Okay, Sana, think. Prince isn’t as powerful as before so I don’t think he’ll be able to kill me. I just have to answer properly and honestly. Remember to not mention Boen though, she’s a human, the Prince does not like humans.

    “Grin. Well, okay then. Mind telling me why you smell the way you do? You understand why I’m a little angry right now, right?”

    For someone with such a childish body, you wouldn’t think he’d be able to rip you to shred with tree branches. Let me just….breathe…

    “I was at the cliff today. I mean...I managed to find the way to the cliff. It was through a tunnel and I found it… Prince...”

    Was that a good answer? Oh s**t! Oh f**k! Gah! He can’t go crazy now!! Ack! The ground is shaking, the trees!

“Prince! Oi!”

It’s no use. I’ll have to run for it. He’ll know where to find me. No one can talk to him when he gets like this. 

“Prince! You know where to find me! I’ll be there, okay?!”

    That should excuse me from running away from him this time. Our next encounter will be a problem for the future me!

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    The shack smells faintly like Boen. Huh, it’s weird how she cleaned up the place, it feels like how it used to with mom. Since she cleaned everything up and put flowers and all that I can’t tell where everything is now. She said she put all the books in my trunk, right? Let’s see… fairytale book, fairytale book, my favorite...hmm, I was sure I brought it here a long time ago? Well, actually now I’m not sure…

“Anybody there wants to pick a fight with me???!!! I’ve had it with all this bad luck!!!” 

    This is what my impulsive ass gets for being such an impulsive good for nothing ass. Boen’s probably going to become a bigger handful, Prince is going to make me do things I don’t want to and, worst of all, I have to apologize to Imus! AAAGGGGGHHHH!

“SOMEBODY FIGHT ME!!!!!!!”

    I have to, bring a whole bunch of stuff back to The Train and tell the pack all the embarrassing things that I did; Nikki’s going to avoid me, the kids are gonna make fun of me and Reese will probably write all this down in her little story books!!! And where did Skia’s journal go? Did I leave it in The Train? Or did someone steal it? No one dares to enter my shack so it can’t be that. That just leaves The Train option. 

    If I leave now, maybe I can get there before the moon’s high. I’ll have to bring the trunk with me since all my favorite books are in here, plus if anyone ever tries to fight me, which I’m sure they will, they’ll be no match for my trunk. I’m taking a bluebell with me for good luck, just in case.

And just as expected, on cue, with the most impeccable timing! “What are you three idiots doing here?”

“We could hear you whining from our Den! Boss wanted us to shut the noise up.”

“Boss? Are yall from Zeke’s pack? Black Rose, right? ”

“That’s right! We’re here to shut you up! ”

“Okay let’s see, yall don’t have strong Appellations, you’re fresh recruits, aren’tcha? Jerekai, Nelly, and Sashy? ”

“Eh! Ah! What---we...”

    “Agghh!!! No, no ,no, look, I don’t fight those weaker than me. It makes me feel awful. I’m leaving anyway so don’t worry about what Zeke’s gonna do. Tell him it was Lissana making all the noise.”

This trunks’ getting heavy. I’ll ask Mei if he could install straps on it so I can carry it like a backpack.

 “Anyway! Come find me again when you have stronger Appellations! Especially you Jerry boy!”

“H-hey wait!!!”

    I can’t believe Zeke got new recruits! They’re not necessarily strong ones yet but his pack hasn’t shown much action since they got obliterated by Krolo’s pack so this is good! God why am I getting so excited! This isn’t the time to be thinking about the tournaments! I’ve got more serious issues to deal with and I don’t have the mental capacity to deal with it alone. I hate it but, I have to rely on my pack to help me get out of this one.