Howl Your Appellations

Down We Go

BOEN OPEOR

More and more wolves are howling the further we go down The Train.  Maybe it’s Nikki or Mei but none of them seem to be replying to the howls so it must be another wolf from a different pack or just a regular wolf. Nevertheless, hearing the howls almost makes me hyper aware of my situation. So far, I’ve embarrassed myself at least two times with the bracelets and gushing about Patricar but who’s counting? Not them I hope. Reese is such a peach and I’m happy she is the person she is, otherwise I would have lost my leg for nothing; Cain is also pretty nice, we have similar hobbies and has a surprisingly cute side to her. These two really prepared this whole event for me, huh?

I look out the windows from the other side of the hallway and notice that Koto is still outside under the midday sunlight. “Hey, Koto’s still out there eating her roses, is she gonna be fine?” a question I address the other two. The slow their stride down but still continued to walk, “Yeah, probably. Koto’s always been odd, but she’s smart. She’ll be fine.” Answered Reese. I am aware that staying under the sunlight wouldn’t kill her but what I was really wondering about was the fact that she said that “she’ll wait there”. I wonder who or what she’s waiting for and I’m getting a bit tired

“Um, guys can we take a little break? My armpit’s starting to hurt.” I suggest, my arms all sweaty from my efforts. Luckily, there are disjointed train chairs on the opposite side of the hallway in front of the rooms. It reminds me of the trains I used to skip school with Moze, we would ride to unknown stations and reach nowhere. Oh such a privileged life I used to live. I would have been such a different person without my parents’ wealth, that’s the only thing I’m grateful of them.

I take a seat on the rectangular train chair with a brown cushion. “I sure wish I still have my other leg. This tour would have been a lot faster.” I joke, waving my crutch around like an old lady trying to shoo away little birds from the laundry line. “We’re having this conversation right now because you lost half of your leg you i***t!” Reese gives me a head chop.

“So the admission fee for this train tour was my leg.” The three of us laugh and chuckle at my joke as I replenish my energy. “I’m being very talkative right now but, is this place always so laid-back? It’s like I can close my eyes here forever and still be in the same moment.”

“Well, it’s not always so peaceful here. After a tournament, we all get pretty tired. It’s stressful when we’re outside the barrier so we just end up doing whatever we want in here…most of us at least.” Reese sits next to me bearing a kind of melancholic expression. “Hmm, I get that.”

Every time they speak, they give me another word to think about. Tournaments probably mean the fights between packs, right? There’s so many questions in my mind but I can only ask them when the timing is right. “Are we ready to go again?” Cain gestures her thumb towards the stretching connected tunnels. “Yup! Just give me a second. I want to check on the itinerary too.”

I, once again, unfold the itinerary from my pocket and I notice that the room before the infirmary does not have a label. They must have forgotten to write it. I folded the paper again, and placed it inside Cain’s ex’s sling bag gift. The little bird toy’s head peeps out, as if to savor light and I zip the bag up again.

“Alright next room!” Reese hoots, “This one’s a very special room.” She presents the door to the room as if it is a grand prize at the carnival. “Whose room, is it?” I ask, “There isn’t a label on the itinerary so I don’t have any hints.”

“Oh, this room is a vacant room. But it’s special to the pack!” Reese opens the door and it’s a guy’s bedroom. I’m assuming this because there’s a poster on the wall that says “The Number 1 Guy!” written in capital letters, almost resembling calligraphy. There are several small dumbbells and a really big one that’s probably the size of a refrigerator. There’s a tripod and paint brushes, and two square ottomans with wheels. The bed is the regular size with a deep sea blue blanket and three square pillows. There’s clothes scattered on the floor too like a dog suddenly came in and chewed up everything inside the cabinet drawers and closet. On the table facing the window is a vase with three budding orchids; “I will always love you”, it’s universal meaning.

The room does feel special, it’s as if there is a little quiet soul minding his business and using the room as a safe haven. I can feel that the person who own this room, was a very bright and lively person, similar to Reese but kinder and more prominent. There is a great himbo energy in this room and I refuse to believe otherwise.

“This was Nike’s room. He was our original alpha.” Reese gives a sad smile. “He was really fun. He would have liked you very much.” Cain and Reese seem to be suppressing painful memories about their alpha for my sake. “I would have liked him too.” I tell them and we silently moved on to the next room.

“You’re already familiar with this room, do you want to skip? Have any questions?” Cain asks playing with the door beads.

“I feel like I was born in this room, er, reborn in this room. Seeing it from this perspective makes me feel weird. I was always right there on that comfy bed, and now I’m over here.” it almost feels unnatural that I’m staring at the bed I was inhabiting for weeks. It looks pretty lonely now that no one’s there. “It’s a very handy room.”

“Yeah? I still feel like we need more equipment though. We barely managed to save you. If it weren’t for Mei you would have lost more than just your leg. If we could have acted more urgently maybe…” Cain stops talking. Reese parts her back nodding, “I know, I know.”

I forget that infirmaries also hold sad memories as well as those of recoveries. I didn’t say a word to them, I’m not allowed to, because I wasn’t there.

As we near the next the next train car, I can see Reese’s expression turn from a bit deflated to a slow little smirk. The walls of the car gives off an oriental vibe, there’s a lot more wood and stone textures with a tint of blue. A few potted plants are also scattered to the side. The walls to the rooms of the car do not meet the ceiling, as if to let steam or smoke out of the room.

“Is this…” I think twice before saying. “Yes, it is! Welcome to the bath room car!!” Reese exclaims, revealing that this is her favorite car out of all the cars.

“This is the best car in The train!” She slaps one of the doors like it’s the top of a brand new car. In between the two doors of the bathrooms is a framed painting, the painting is of hill paths bathed in the orange marmalade of the sunset. A few herons tread the little pond, looking for frogs to eat. There are a three irregular stones scattered about the hills. It’s a pleasing piece, perfect for a bathroom. They bottom corner of the painting still bears Grey’s signature.

“When was the last time you had a proper bath, Bobo?” Reese darts me a question. I blush and seriously think about it. It’s probably been three weeks? A whole month!? Now that I’m suddenly made aware of how long I haven’t taken a proper bath, I have the strongest urge to just into the nearest body of water and clean myself for hours. “It’s been a couple of weeks, yeah…” I reply, ignoring the strong urges in my mind.

“Well! After dinner, you’ll have this car all to yourself!!” She pushes the door open and I am met with the biggest bathroom I’ve ever seen. They removed the walls separating the two rooms and made a whole bathing room similar to a bathhouse’s; the floors are tiled with beautiful white and sky blue tie-dye patterns. There are two semi-circle windows on the wall and a sky light; there are little holes on the ceiling as if to mimic stars, or let the steam out from the baths.Two indoor baths lay in the middle of the room, separated by the shower area and small chairs. A little wooden wall hides the toilet in the far corner of the room, a long sink and and mirror are placed in front of the two indoor baths. It honestly looks like a bathroom for a bathhouse. It’s spacious and wonderfully designed, no wonder this is Reese’s favorite room.

“This has got to be the best room so far! It’s so big! Do the guys and girls have a specific time when to take a bath?” I asked, curious about their system.

“Oh, huh? We take baths at the same time!” My eyes widens and my face reddens, “S-s-so you guys just, take a bath…no worries? Together…” I blurt.

“Ah! Oh no, no!” Cain chuckles, “We mostly take baths in Full form, when we’re wolves. It’s much more fun that way to be honest.”

“And chaotic!” Reese adds, “But us girls like to take baths in our human forms too sometimes. After a celebration, it’s nice to just hangout all naked and half-drunk.” She grabs me by the arms and places her cheeks onto mine, “How about it! Want to take a bath with the girls later?”

I push her away out of embarrassment. If they keep making me blush like this I don’t think my face will go back to its normal color! The blood under my cheeks can only handle so much!

“AAahhhh~~!! I don’t think I can manage that without fainting! M-maybe some other time..? Please.”They both laugh and lead me out of the room. It’s such a different room compared to the first few; it’s a bathroom, it's supposed to be normal. “You’ll have no choice eventually, hehe.” says Reese in a menacing manner. My heart is weak when it comes to women.

“No need to open the itinerary again Boen. We’ll just tell you what the next rooms are, but you can keep it just in case you forget which room is which.” Cain stops me, midway from reaching unto my pocket to get the folded paper. It’s honestly the only thing I can do with my hands when I’m a bit nervous, “Okay~!” I reply.

We hop on over to the next car, but this time, with a lower descent than the previous cars, I think this is the first car that’s completely underground. I hadn’t noticed that we’re continuously going down, it feels as though The Train is still lying flat on the ground.

“It’s kind of dimmer now because we’re below ground now. Doesn’t seem like it, right?” Cain asks me, as if she read my mind. “Yeah, it’s a bit weird. How do you guys even get electricity here?”

“The inner market sells a lot of useful things, curious human. We’re not even sure how to explain it to you so it’s better to say that it’s magic!”

I can’t even fathom how most of the things they do, say and are. But I thought the answer to my question would just be: because they have a generator. This world is seriously on another level, it’s like I’m living in a book.

“And we’re here!” Cain opens the door to the room, “This is the kitchen! We keep all our hunt trophies here!” As Cain continues to describe the room, a guy tall in stature with a beautifully toned body under his tight shirt and apron acts surprised. His eyes are round and dark and his dark hair has hints of ash and brunette.He has a three large scars on his biceps and the name hovering above his head with a light glow says “Miller”.

“You guys are a bit early. Luckily, I just finished making soup.” He says, his voice deep but quiet. “Aaaah! My Millyyyy! Thanks for the food as always! Boen, you’ve met Miller, right?” Miller gives me a shy smile.

“Oh yes! A few times I think! Once or twice!” I stumble. I never really had a chance to look at him properly or talk to him. “He cooks with Nikki so he’s stuck here all the time or doing rounds.”

“It’s very nice to meet you, um, here.” I give Miller the bracelet I made, “I hope it fits.”

“Oh thanks. It fits fine. You guys should take a break and eat here for a bit. The others guys will come running here soon.” He smiles.

The kitchen is wide with almost everything needed in the culinary world, shelves with food crops and spices decorate the walls. They have a little room that leads to the freezer and so many varieties of pots, pans and utensils. There’s a small table near the door and this is where we ate while watching Miller cook.

“He’s not all that shy, this guy. But he doesn’t like to talk much in the kitchen. He’s normally just a regular dude.” Reese tells me while she gobbles up the soup, “Aw man! This is really great!”

Miller chuckles and we continue to eat in blissful silence.

“Make sure you leave this kitchen when we eat tonight, okay dude?” Reese instructs Miller who is still focused on cooking, “Yes! Now go, I have a lot of things to cook for tonight!”

“The next room is a bit messy. But we’ll show you anyway.” Reese looks at Cain as if they’re asking each other if it’s okay or not.

“Oh, which room is it?” I ask. “It’s our Alpha’s room.” They both reply.