Howl Your Appellations

Detour

BOEN OPEOR

I bid S.B. a good luck and began to walk towards the bathroom. I now realized that it’s a bit weird to have such a big bathroom with no border hiding me from the baths. It’s always almost so foggy there too, I wonder I got used to just accepting the fact. I haven’t really brushed my teeth together with anyone, it’s like they’re all trying to avoid each other in the bathroom.

It’s peaceful here today, no human forms nor wolf forms in sight, just me and my thoughts. I should use the nearest sink instead of my regular sink in the corner since I think I’m already running a bit late, not that I can really be of help at the construction. Kaz is the only truly important factor for the reconstruction of the cabin, as he should.

I put the glossy toothpaste on my little tooth brush and start brushing my sorrows away (if only it were that easy). One of the most easily taken for granted joys of life is brushing your teeth, I believe. We don’t know how much a clean, fresh mouth affects our whole mood.

‘It’s important to brush my teeth at least two times a day, just in case I get ambushed and get kissed.’ I recall the kiss I had with Sana. I explode a blush inside my head and proceeded to brush my teeth rigorously.

They’re already pearly white but I also find teeth tinted in yellow to look just as fine. Maybe it’s because all of their Were forms have such colored teeth that I’ve grown to like them, have equated them to strength and dominance…these are not the thoughts I’m supposed to have while brushing my teeth. Well, at least it’s better than thinking about wandering again, thinking about finding out what I am, and where Soft is right now.

I leave the bathroom feeling triumphant but also kind of defeated because I allowed myself to think that escaping The Train would be fun. This is my first day of being quarantined, I should not have thoughts like these so early.

I pass Nike’s room. His room seems to be the most content, if that makes any sense, like the room accepted that it’s owner will never come back and is okay with that. Like a forgotten relic, the room stands as a reminder of what once was and what will never be. To have the feelings of the fear of missing out without ever having the chance to experience the moment is on the top of ‘feelings-I’ve-never-thought-I’d-feel-today.’

I pat the door to his room, as if we had some sort of connection with each other. I walk through the halls carrying a little ball of ‘what-ifs’ and ‘will-I-evers’. If it’s truly Nike’s season, as I’ve established in my head, I’d learn more about him in the coming days. That’s how I think everyone’s boosting their morals: to remember, never forget, and enact revenge.

I pass the kitchen without saying ‘hi’ to whoever’s in-charge of cooking today. I know Nikki and Miller are practicing more now, so maybe it’s the Boar sisters’ turn to cook? I’m not even sure if they know to cook, but what I know for sure is that, it’s not my turn yet, therefore, it should not be a concern of mine. My agenda is to eat, and hope that the little interactions I have with the pack members will quench my thirst for wandering.

“Oh, Boen, you’re up so late, dude. What happened?” A lone Were asks me, it’s Miller, surprisingly.

Beige pops up from the other door and looks at Miller for a few seconds, then to me with a wave, and then left.

“Yeah, yeah! I’ll hurry up. Just let me eat in peace for five minutes.” he shoos away Beige, “Beige says good morning to you Boen.”

“Oh! Good morning! I’ll be going to my cabin after breakfast,okay?” I’d forgotten that Beige could ‘speak’. I thought he was just taking a little peek.

“The others know that I’ll be at the cabin, right? I’ll be with Kaz and the others like always, then I’ll come back at around 4 P.M. I’ll text you guys if anything comes up so I hope someone has the mini phone right now…”

I give Miller my whole itinerary for the day. He just gobbles up his food like an animal and swallows just as fast.

“Yeah we know. Just don’t go wandering around too much. Don’t fly around too much too. I know it’s safer during the day but there could still be a possibility you’ll run into some trouble.” He swallows a spoonful again and I haven’t even started eating yet.

“Oh! That reminds me. Reese and Nikki want you to come with them to the Inner Market today. We think it’s about time you saw it.” he says it so casually without even looking at me that fails to notice my shock.

“W-what do you mean?! The Inner forest!? But I’m under lockdown? You guys can’t just throw me out there into the wide interesting wild and expect me to behave?! This is incredible, this is insane!”

I am in disbelief. I’m an adult and I can control my urges but I can’t just pretend like the Inner Market isn’t somewhere that I’ve been longing to go to for a while now. I can’t hold my excitement .

“Just make sure you come back here and meet up with Reese and Nikki. If you miss them they’ll just leave on their own.” He tells me this with no enthusiasm and proceeds to walk away rapidly to the kitchen.

I, still dumbfounded, can’t seem to overcome my state of spacing out. There’s so many things I’m curious about when it comes to the Inner forest and now, I can see the wonders with my own eyes.

Miller comes back from the kitchen, “Help the sisters out with the dishes when you’re done eating.” he tells me as he disappears to the other door and I am left alone in the large dining area.

“.….! Gah! What am I doing?!” I snap myself back into reality. I still have other things I need to do, I can’t just gawk now about something I’ll eventually do. It’s not just my fantasies anymore, I’ll be able to be a bit closer to the forest than I ever was!

I swallow spoonfuls of rice and soup, there’s also fish slices for additional side dish and I gobbled that all up to. I gobble up all my food and realize that I might choke. Food needs to be respected, food of the forest is life!

I try to eat at a normal pace, I don’t need to hurry myself too much, there’s still a bit of time and I’m honestly dressed to pretty to rush. I need to respect the flavor of what’s left of my food.

I look down on my plate and there’s only a spoonful of rice and one fish slice left. I’ve become a very fast eater without even realizing it, I’m not even sure if the food tastes as good but I just can’t stop eating what’s on my plate when I start. It’s a blessing and a curse.

I drink the glass of water that was already prepared on the table and now my meal is complete. Another full breakfast for Boen Opeor. I could just appreciate the food all day but that would take…the whole day. I breathe in and feel the food in my belly completely satisfied. What pure bliss it is to be full, the cold morning breeze on my face, it does wonders to my mood.

I pick up my plate and blissfully head to the kitchen. I’m supposed to help the sisters, Miller said. So that must mean that the two can’t participate in the tournament? It is a Wolf Were tournament after all, I don’t think they’ll be allowed to enter even though they’re considered as members of the pack.

I open the door to the kitchen and found that they’d set up a little poster that reads, “October No. 1!’’ in beautiful bold lettering. Someone must have made posters and distributed them in all the rooms, or maybe just the kitchen for now since this is the first time I’m seeing the poster.

Kaya’s finishing up washing the plates while Koto is preparing the ingredients for lunch. She’s gutting the fishes as if she’s in the mercy trance of the process. She didn’t flinch when I entered the room.

“Hey guys, good morning! Do you need any help? I can wash the rest of the plates, if you want? There’s suddenly an awful lot for some reason.” I tell them.

Koto doesn’t look away form the fish she’s gutting but she starts to speak, ‘’Kaya’s failed attempts. It’s her fault she has to wash so much. I had to cook breakfast in the end.’’

She faces Kaya, her expression, unchanging “You should have let me cook in the first place, you were never good with the fire and taste.”

Kaya doesn’t look at Koto and just continues to wash the dishes that she used up. “Yeah it was my mistake.” she says and they continue to do their respective tasks.

I’m not sure if the two just made up but I can tell that Kaya’s washing a bit faster now. I think they forgot I even entered the room.

“Oh!” Kaya finally realizes, “Boen, give me that, I’ll need to dispose the leftovers so I’ll be going outside for a bit. Help Koto if she needs anything.” She says wiping her hands on her skyblue apron. It looks really nice contrasting her black dress.

“Oh, sure. I’ll be quick since I still need to check on the construction of the cabin.” I inform her as she gives me her apron.

“I’m sure it won’t take up too much time. I’ll be back Koto.” she slips from the kitchen and now it’s just me and the younger boar sister.

The lighting for the room is a bit too dim for me, but maybe it’s because I’m a bit uneasy about how I’m alone with Koto. She’s always been a bit unsure of me. And I don’t know what she feels about me now. I’m pretty sure she doesn’t hate me but…there’s just something about me that rubs her the wrong way. I respect that.

I tie the ribbon around my waist. I don’t have any sleeves to roll up but I gesture it anyway, just to get into the mood.

“How can I help Koto?” I ask nicely. Her tiny hands move with perfect accuracy as she guts the last fish.

“I need to wash my hands first.” She says as I give way for her to wash her hands. I find it so cute that she’s standing a wooden stool right now. Probably something made by Mei.

‘’Help me slice these up. Make them oval-shaped, please. ” She says as she finshes up, “You probably know how to slice fish but let me show you what it needs to look like.”

Koto takes out a clean knife and a fish, already cleaned with no scales. I wonder where she learned to do something like this. I always imagined the Boar Weres to be less cuisine-inclined than the Wolf Weres. Is that a fair assumption to have? I believe that it can be taken as something rude.

Koto removed the skin and starts to slice the fish’s body in an oval shape, two for the left side and another two from the right. She does it so perfectly that it makes me think that she’s from a family of sushi chefs.

“Are we going to make sushi?” I ask her as she starts giving me the next fish. She trusts that I understood the process perfectly and in theory, the way she sliced it is not that hard, it’s more on the matter of skill.

“What’s sushi? Human cuisine? No, we’re making marinated fish sleeves. That’s what we Boar Weres call it. You just need to help me slice, I’ll handle the rest. I’ve already made the different sauces.” she informs me, not missing a beat.

“Sounds delicious! I can’t wait for lunch then!” I tell her.

She continues to slice methodically and I try to make my slices as clean as her. All those times I spent trying different dishes on my own really came through. I’m happy I could be of adequate service.

“This dish made me really like Nike. It’s his favorite from me.” She says with a slight smile.

“Well if Nike loves it then I definitely will too!” I exclaim, looking at the poster they put up.

“Kaya and I, when we were still new here, we didn’t really want to stay. We don’t like the smell of other Weres but we had nowhere else to go.Nike said we were welcome. But we didn’t eat and speak for days. Then he dragged the both of us here, in the kitchen, he made us cook our favorite dish. It tasted like home.”

I can feel the silent longing from her voice and her story. Nike’s impact on her’s really undeniable. We continued to slice in peace until Kaya came back.

“You can go now Boen.” Kaya says almost like a demand. I give her the apron, but before I left I said, “I’ll be back for lunch.”