Howl Your Appellations

Solo Conversations

BOEN OPEOR

Soft leads me to the left wing of the cabin, then leads me to the room I’d forgotten had existed as mine for a while. I started sleeping more on the conversation pit since things stopped being normal for me. I stare at the door, and it feels taller and thicker; it’s not something I’d choose to open right now but I must. I turn the Anvanti door knob with closed eyes and considerably too much force. I failed to turn the lights on for the wing and it feels as though something heavy is looming in the darkness. The only arch window of my room is covered with vines and over-grown leaves. The moon couldn’t fully offer it’s light and I didn’t have the courage to face what I left behind. I wait for Soft to survey the place. This would have been so much easier if I was a cat.

I can hear flapping of a large bird’s wings outside of the cabin. Something’s coming.

I step one foot in and my room’s the same as how I left it. I wait for Soft to tell me where to go next, but there were too many things in the way. I never really kept the floor of my room clean, it’s the only place I allow myself to be untidy. I kick away the clothes, the fallen furniture and ask Soft to lead the way.

“Sorry about this. I know you hate this place too.” I apologize.

The clank of my now metal leg almost seem rhythmic as with each step I take, there’s always something broken or shattered to step on. I push away books, my kits and numerous belongings. Soft still can’t seem to tell me where to go. My room is too much of a mess, if only I’d known this would happen. Right now, Soft is trying her best to show me the passages that she and I can enter, her normal way would be faster but it’s impossible for me to mimic a cat’s trail. I felt my heart beating faster and my head getting heavy. Destroying the three doors at this point is an impossible task to accomplish given the circumstances. I move a few more things frantically.

“”Here?! Or here?!” I turn over piles of garbage and clothes, “ Over here Soft?” but Soft continues to search, carefully maneuvering the nasty terrain I created. I panic even more.

Then, Soft finally darts up and reaches the top of my bed. It’s not in utter turmoil, contrasting the rest of my room so I was a little relieved of that but she was pointing at all the junk I stowed under the bed. Meowing and vigorously tapping. The moster clutter under the bed, they’re mostly my rejects for my old projects and sister’s requests. Some books and sewing tool, I’m sure, are jumbled in there too. Nevertheless, there’s finally progress and I start clawing and digging. There’s already so much time wasted.

I feel my hands and fingers getting pricked by the pins and shears that I left under all the mess, I pause a little to see how much I’ve been scratched. Nothing too serious or deep so I continue.

“Why did I ever think it was okay to leave my room like this?!” I dig, and scratch, and throw.

Finally, I made it half way; my hand looks like it’s been through a needle stack. I forgot about the bottles.

Soft jumps down and checks to see if what she’s looking for is under there, and her ears bolt up. At the end of the bed, on the wall is a shaft that wasn’t there before, or maybe it was. I never really checked under the bed since I claimed the room. This cabin, I don’t know a single thing about for sure.

Soft lifts her tail, looks at me, and goes through the shaft, and down.

I slowly crawl behind her, inch by inch, keeping in mind that some of the rubbish might trap me in, and I’d probably suffocate and die.

As I crawl, one of my unfinished crochet satchel bag got entangled on the heart shaped kneecap of my prosthetic leg. Before I could get rid of it, half of my body already passed through the shaft and fell down due to gravity. Luckily, my softness allowed me to not break any bones. Soft licks my fingers, and I allow my tears to pour while I survey the mysterious hidden room of the cabin.

It’s somewhat of an elevator shaft. There was no design except for the spider-less cobwebs of the white walls, and the mosaic wood floor depicting the sun eating the moon in a gruesome manner. This made me realize that my grandpa wasn’t the only one who built and designed this cabin. People who think like him.

Soft’s golden eyes manage to illuminate the small space we’re in, as amazing as that is, I prop myself up and remove the poorly woven black satchel from my kneecap. I considered leaving it, but it could deem useful in the near foreseeable future so I decide to place it inside Cain’s sturdy sling bag. Thankfully, it wasn’t damaged during my clawing through the s**t in my awful room. I pat the bag, and look for a way to get the ‘elevator’ moving.

‘’It’s obviously a pulley system, right?’’ I reassure my cat. She slowly blinks her eyes and stays in the corner. The glow is both mesmerizing and terrifying.

The ‘room’ isn’t big enough for me to fully stand up. The best I could do is a 90 degree angle bow with my legs fully bent. Sitting down is the best position to take. I look for a pulley and by the graces of the moon herself, I managed to find it easily on one of the corners even though it’s almost as thin a pencil. I think something has been gnawing at it slowly.

“Going up!” I say, as that’s the only proper direction to go to. Soft affirms by not doing anything to stop me, and up, up, up we go.

For a few minutes nothing but walls and insulation lay in front of us, dark and uninteresting. Nothing threatening thankfully so far. Slowly, I’m getting over the atmosphere of my room and focus. Still, more minutes pass and I’ve convinced that this elevator isn’t actually going in a straight vertical line. There’s something somewhat fae related on the length of time that it’s taking me to reach another shaft.

“Is this where you always disappear to in here? I know there’s more, places I can’t imagine to access, but I kinda wish you showed me this place sooner.” I start to get impatient and try to start a conversation with my important companion.

She meows at me and flicks her tail. I can’t decipher her words but I can definitely, in a way, sort out her intentions. We’ve bonded for what feels like more than 10 years, in 3 years after all.

“I know you’re just trying to keep me safe. You’re not sure how to deal with this either, I’m sure. Maybe you’ve been wanting to tell me for so long but didn’t know how to start. You’d let me find secret passages to eternally locked rooms and all there probably will be, will be a piece of wood on a pedestal.”

I pause for a bit to let my arms rest, then start to pull again, the mechanical and wooden sound of the process seem to echo.

‘’It’s funny, because in fantasy books, usually the pet companion could talk. But you don’t need to be like them, baby. I believe in perfect timings after all. Whenever you need it, I’ll figure it out.” I give her a big smile and I think she does too.

I continue to pull until finally, we reach another shaft, only this one’s slightly covered by a red velvet curtain. I tugged the cable one last time and this seems to be the last stop: to a room that I’ve never been before, one of the locked chambers. A large, darkly lit room. I let Soft crawl out first. She's a bit hesitant but offers to lead again when given a few minutes. Her eyes illuminate the inner bearings of the forbidden chamber but something's already glowing inside. I follow behind swiftly.

The room is indeed larger than it should be; it's larger than even the living room which makes sense, not. Most of the walls are covered with the same curtains that covered the elevator shaft,and it draped along to almost the center of the room; it flowed as if it's like blood of a fallen giant, and within the center, is a lone bed. King-sized. There was nothing else.

Uneasy, the room makes me feel this crippling uneasiness. As if I entered the room of the devil himself. The glow coming off from the ceiling almost reminds me of something gruesome that I’ve once experienced before. A tangible fear, a personified nightmare.

I try to stay close to Soft for comfort but, the moment I leaned down, I couldn’t find her.

“Soft?! ” I scream and the room echoes her name as if to mock me.

“Soft, tell me where you are! I know whose this room is now!” the room echoes my words again.

It could be no one else's room other than his. The Master Bedroom.

I still don’t hear a reply but I know Soft’s still inside somewhere. She wouldn't leave me in here alone. I close my fists and hurry to the side of the bed. The linen is all white and the pillows almost feel like clouds or cotton candy. I crawl on top of the bed and feel myself descend.

Like quicksand, I was slowly being pulled inside the beddings. Based on the months of experience I had with the October Pack, something like this would prbably possible but I don't know what will happen if I completely submerge down. Soft most likely got swept down and I have to find her, whatever or where-ever happens.

I open my eyes and I am in the same room, only the colors are now inverted and the bed is completely red. The curtains are all a thick creamy white. I scream Softs name and there is no echo, in fact, my voice sounds faint. I repeat her name over and over again until I hear a delicate meow. I fumble out of the large bed and searched and screamed.

It took me more than a few minutes to reach both ends of the room but there was still no Soft. Even though I could hear a faint reply, something's still definitely not right. I try to look for the shaft on the wall but there was no such shaft anymore. I surveyed the room again, the only thing that stayed the same is the glow from the ceiling.

Rummaged and rummaged again, and for certain Soft isn't in the same space as me. It's as if we're separated by a thick glass. We can't reach the other side.

I decide to try and go back to the previous room, it doesn't sink anymore, in fact, it's somewhat hard. Trapped again.

I'm in such a situation again. This time, I have no clues, nothing to go for. I'm suddenly feeling incredibly tired.

Someone, out there please help me and my cat. We can't keep our promise to each other like this. We won't be able to find the Queen separated. One of us needs to get to the other or we won't stand a chance. Someone, somebody, please.

"Reese..Cain...Imus...someone.." my voice is becoming fainter. My body suddenly feels like it's heavier than stone. Is this where I end? I can't!

"Gotta get up! Find something so I can get out!" my voice doesn't come out at this point, there is no sound in the room anymore,

"Lissana..."