Howl Your Appellations

Cabin Making

BOEN OPEOR

I before I set foot outside of The Train, I check if the mini phone’s in the laundry area. It doesn’t seem to be on the coaster/holder I made for it,so somebody must be carrying it around now. I text the number to inform them that I’m about to leave. Best case scenario, Lissana has the phone and will receive the message from me.

It’s most likely Lissana has it since the October Weres can just contact each other through howling. Messages from me only concern those who care about what I might do so it can only be: Sana, Nikki, Reese, and Anda. The boys seem to just rely on the girls for matters like these. Although I think Imus might also be carrying it since he seems to like these sorts of things. It’d be bad if he doesn’t understand how it works but surprisingly enough, everyone pretty much understood what it’s meant to do. Maybe they have something similar in the Inner Market but don’t see the need to buy it. There’s also a possibility that they’d owned phones before they turned into Weres and it kind of feels weird for me. I don’t think I can give up my phone even if I turn into a Were.

This setup’s a bit unconventional but I think I enjoy the mystery of whoever’s going to reply. I sit on the counter, waiting for a reply. They better type their name at the bottom or I’ll be pissed. I impatiently wait a few more minutes. I receive a reply.

“K.” it says. No name, no words of encouragement, this can only be the works of the malicious Reese. My day feels ruined but she’ll take me to the Inner Market later so I won’t lose hope yet.

I fix my bag on my shoulder and decide to start my trip from The Train to my almost completed cabin. I already have a fixed route to get there and it’s the safest one to boot since the Weres of this area’s also aware of the construction and rumors have spread that if anyone gets to close to me, they’ll suffer a horrible fate. It works to my advantage at least, but I haven’t encountered any Weres in this trail anyway. Just like before I met Reese, it just seems like a regular forest.

The rustling of the trees and the crunch of the fallen leave and the ground makes me feel like I’m somewhere sacred. Reality hiding behind the trees. It actually feels like how I was before, except my skips reach farther now (I won’t be able to reach the cabin in a short time if I don’t). I take my pictures again just like before and I feel almost as free I was. I’d listen to Patricar sometimes but the audio always seems to turn to static when I’m still deep in the forest. Farther out and it’s okay.

I reach a small creek that diverges into three branches of smaller creeks. The vegetation around it seems out of place, like it’s an assorted flower arrangement. There’s white roses, white calla lilies, common mallows, and fireweeds. I don’t know if this is a sacred spot of the forest but Imus has approved of this trail so it’s not that out of place, right? Still, I feel like I shouldn’t step on the waters. Call it intuition or a hunch.

I just over the waters and continued on my trail. A few animals come to watch me,it’s impossible for me to tell if they’re Weres so I just ignore them. They don’t seem to want to interact either, just observing. I don’t think they can actually see me if I’m being honest. Nothing bad has ever happened to me while commuting to from the pack house to my new house so far. Hopefully, it continues.

The path isn’t exactly on flat ground either, I’ll have to go down a slope then find myself going up again, this is because of how Prince terraformed parts of the forest through his rage. This makes me wonder if all the geological anomalies are caused by similar creatures around the world. Faes aren’t really limited to just Abalone folklore. I’d be really interesting to study about things, with the things I now know in mind.

I pass the Spring Baths, I’ve never got a decent look of it since I can’t really get to the place in my current route so I just ignore it for now. I hear voices of pretty ladies gossiping and bathing there most of the time. Sana says that the Spring Baths are integral to the community of the Weres since it is shared by everyone. Anyone can use it and no one intends to keep it to themselves. The risk is to high for them. If they don’t want the place to be turned into a place like the Eardrum caves, they’ll have to respect it.

Right now, the splashes and animal sounds make me happy, the baths are fully utilized and I find that lovely about the forest. I skip further, almost there, almost at the spot where I can see the cliff and Kaz inspecting.

It’s the stream where I found the disk. I realized that I haven’t been seeing a lot pf junk for some reason. Is it because Prince turned things over so much that all the human world garbage got swept under the soil and will forever stay there? Maybe. I really don’t like the thought but I have no time to do anything about it now. I’ve got to stay focused and just oversee the construction.

I’ve gotten impatient so I jumped up a bit stronger than I should, but that’s okay because I managed to land perfectly on the tip on the cliff. I’ve lost the fear of falling ever since I acquired my very useful power.

“Boen Opeor! So you’re finally here. We’ve made a lot of progress for the foundation, it’s ten times sturdier than your old cabin now but still not strong enough for any of our Full forms.” Kaz laughs, proud that the house he’s helping us build is not Were proof.

Without the fae’s fog, my cabin will be visible to any Were in the forest. It won’t be obscured anymore and I don’t have anything that can protect me if ever a Were attacks me. So far, no Were has ever tried to harm be so it’s not much of a worry for me for now. If I ever do get ambushed, I can always slip into the sky. I’m relying too much on this new ability of mine.

“Yes! That’s great! In just a few days time, you guys can finally rest. I can’t believe we’re rebuilding the cabin in such a fast time! Thank you everyone.” I bow to every Were in attendance today, except for Kaz. There’s only about five, but they’re all incredibly strong and helpful. Two Deer Weres, one Fox Were, one Wolf Were from another pack, and one Cassowary Were.

Their Appellations reads as, Lar and Gin, Ado, Westor, and Elpha. They have a couple of Appellation above their heads but I’m still not used to reading so many at the same time so it’s hard to make them out. These Appellations really do look like crowns, like glorious trophies. The more you have, the brighter it gets. I have three so far and I think that’s enough for me. Glory isn’t something I yearn for.

“Hey yeah, no problem. Our herd is grateful to you and the Wolf pack who took care of you. A lot don’t get it but we do. The Fae Prince has been unpredictable since his mother died so we never really felt safe. You finally got rid of the threat we’ve been anxious about for years. So thanks, Outsider.” Lar nods and I nod back.

I’m really grateful that some of these Weres took their time to help us rebuild the house, the other Weres don’t want to say anything but I can at least tell that none of them are being forced to help out.

Kaz, although obligated to, feels like he’s enjoying himself. Every time I look at him I am reminded of our deal and what he said about how the forest is always in danger somewhere. In that sense, the Hawk Weres are supposed to be revered by the other Weres, but the most they can do is respect them and, to an extent, honor their authority and knowledge.

“Yes, so we’d like you to check on how accurately we followed the blueprints this time, we’ve made the foundation optimal, and the framing is almost 68% done. I also added a feature on the roof, I hope you don’t mind. Nevertheless, it is what we used to strengthen the foundation so you best know what to comment on.” Kaz explains.

I honestly couldn’t careless about the additions and Kaz’s blueprints. As long as most of the design stays the same, I won’t be bothered. Kaz’s huge Hawk body has been covering my full view of the cabin so I move forward beyond his wings.

I can see in the beautiful frames of my cabin. Unlike before, I wanted it to have one one floor but I wanted it a bit wider. Kaz decided to prop up an old, smoothened tree and made it so it peeps out if the triangular roof. He and the other Weres already put it in and I can’t just order them to remove it now. It seems that Kaz wants to have something to perch on when he visits me from time to time, basing on the shape of the trunks of the tree.

“Well, yeah. Alright, no complaints for me. Were you guys in the middle of finishing up the framing? You can continue and don’t hesitate to ask me for anything. Thankfully, we’ve already terraformed the front lawn and already installed the stairs. You can actually tell if the wood’s from the Inner Market and the Human city.”

They all nod and agree. The contrast of the color of the wood and the thickness really hammers in the difference. I’m not saying the other one is better than the other but something about the wood of the Inner Market makes it more aesthetic. A wood that looks like the swirls of hard maple lava. I’m really proud of how we did the stairs. It goes around the cabin like an Oroboros.

Now that I think about it, I kind of still want like a pseudo 2nd floor but just as a secondary reading area. Of course, I can never call it a home without my conversation pit. My cabin’s gotta have one since it’s the most relaxing place I’ll ever be able to make with these guys. It bothers me that the train doesn’t have a conversation pit. It’s lack of it is the hideout’s only flaw.

We spent an hour checking if everything’s in optimal condition, then we’ll be able to add the wiring. It’s coming along according to plan except for the tree that’s going to be next to the conversation pit. It’ll be a blast when I finally start with the interior designs though.

“So far so good everyone, if any of you have anything important to do, you guys can attend to them.” I tell them after a few hours of construction. “At this rate, we’ll be able to finish the cabin this week! It’s been a great journey!”

The all slowly leave, one by one until only Kaz and I are left. It makes me feel kind of sad that I won’t be able to see Kaz much after the construction. We still have our deal but who knows when he’ll show up to me in the future.

“Hey Kaz, what are you gonna do after we finish this cabin?” I ask him, staring at the almost finsihed cabin.

He, being in his partial form, scoffs at my question as if it was the stupidest question he’s ever heard.

“I’ll be doing exactly what I’ve been doing before I met any of you. But I’ve sworn an oath to give you information when you need it. Why do you think I picked up such a robust tree for me to perch on?” He asks me.

“I guess you’re right. You’re the one in-charge of monitoring me after all.” I shift the weight of my body to my left leg. “Can you drop me off The Train if you’re leaving? It’s a pain to walk all the way there.”

“I am not you’re chauffeur. See you tomorrow, Boen Opeor. ”

He flies away amused and without looking back. I’m forced to walk back to The Train to have my lunch.