Howl Your Appellations

Fair Consequences

                                                                                  BOEN OPEOR

        The lady towers over me by at least a foot. Her muscular build added with the disheveled state of her hazel hair does not give a good first impression on me. Nevertheless, she has these deep dark eyes that look like a period on a calligrapher's magnum opus. In short, she's intimidatingly stunning.

I thank her for picking me up like I was a rag doll she accidentally found. She chuckles and I spy a portion of her sharp canines as her mouth reams.

"Yeah sorry about that. It was just so do-able, you know? But I don't think you're supposed to be here, and…you saw her didn't you?" she asks, leaning, so that her line-of-sight matches mine. I try not to avert my eyes or stare at her breasts.

"It's bad luck when you see freaky forest people! Don't you know that? I'm Lissana by the way." Lissana. What a pretty-sounding name, and what a weird way to introduce yourself. “Nothing good comes from being with the elements.” She adds.

"Um..first of all, I don't understand. And second of all, you're kind of freaking me out, so does it cancel out?" I reply. I’ve been wandering the woods looking for junk and old stuff without thinking about the consequences…again.

"You have to take this seriously, Boen."

"Huh? What did you just call me?"

"Oh sorry, you don't like being called that? I'll just call you little moon then,"

"N-no I mean how did you know my name's Boen?"

She hesitates, as if she's coming up with an elaborate explanation, "Uhh, word goes around. Outsiders always stand out. Yall smell a certain way."

"Huh..."

I have to admit I was startled when she mentioned my name, but it is pretty popular especially since I'm crocheting for my family’s company. I just hope the media doesn't get involved. I've been trying so hard to be low-key about being here.

"Oh okay. Sorry, I didn't think I'd meet someone in the forest who knows my name. Yeah I just moved in so the rules are still a bit confusing to me." I lie; in actuality, I actually don’t know any of the rules. This is what I get for being myself and refusing to pester Beanie for a tour.

"D'aw it's alright. You haven't really gone anywhere significant. You have to lose that moon ring though."

"My moon ring? Why?"

"Well let's just say it attracts a certain type of people. It can be dangerous." I look at my moon ring unable to hide my concern. She notices this and adds, "But! You can cover it up though, the gem, if it's that important to you."

"Really! Thank god. Thanks, this has been very…informative?"

"Not a big deal. What are you up to being this deep in the forest?"

        I take out my phone to show her the pictures I took during my journey. I smile and blush and am excited to add the pictures to my wall. Lissana doesn't seem too interested, but I can see that she's at least trying to understand them, "This picture of you and the tree's really cute." she says. My cheeks turn hot, I'm not complimented by my looks very often. "T-thanks. Anyway, I've been taking pictures and "the girl" came out of nowhere and I managed to take a picture of her."

"Hmm, yep, that's definitely her alright. What are you going to do with her picture?"

"Huh, you know her? I’ll probably post it on my wall. Don't worry I won't show anyone."

"I honestly don't mind if you do. She looks like she's just a weird cosplayer."

"But I know she's not. I saw her run towards me at top speed; her ears never fell off. And her tail was upright the whole time. Help me find her." I propose.

“Oh? And why would I do that, little missy?” she confers. Her intimidating build and charming smile made me take a step back. The wind blows at the tops of the trees and I am reminded that this is not my territory. I take a gulp,

“Well what do you want as compensation for you cooperation? If you do cooperate?”

“To be honest I don’t want you running around the forest at all. Too troublesome, especially your ring but…”

“But what?”

“If you let me take a lick of your moon ring I might consider helping you.” She smirks.

“You..YOU WANT TO LICK MY MOON RING? THIS ISN’T CANDY YOU KNOW!!” I scream in shock. I may be a bit too protective over the ring for reasons I’m too emotionally weak to admit. The gem isn’t even identified, what if it dissolves when it comes in contact with saliva?

“Hey, it’s your decision. How about I take you back to your house or cabin or whatever. You probably can’t tell but it’s almost the afternoon. I wouldn’t want to be responsible for...the things that might happen to you after dark.”

“I..but what about my ring and the girl?”

        She combs her hair back with her right hand, obviously sexily, to hide that she’s slightly annoyed. The way her muscles flex as she does this seem unfair to me. She sighs, “That’s for you to decide. But I can’t let you prance around here knowing absolutely nothing about this place. It’s honestly surprising no one’s touched you yet.”

“W-what do you mean by that?”

“See!! Like I said. You’re a babe in the wood. Come on.”

        She grabs me by the arm and bridal carries me across the paths that I took. We passed the door engulfed by a tree, then the spiral stairs, the mossy ditch stump and finally, the stream where I found the CD. It took me half the day to reach the place where I saw the poncho-wearing wolf girl. This lady is incredibly strong and fast. She seems to know the forest like the back of her hand.

When we reached the tree that looks like a fork-in-the-road sign, I nervously tell Lissana that it’s my stop. “Um! You can drop me off here!” I suggest. She stops with a bit of hesitation. “Oh for real? Here? Huh.”

“Yeah. It’s a really weird tree. The little mushrooms growing on it taste great though. My cabin’s only a short stroll from here.”

“Hmm, so you don’t live in the city after all.” She asks a bit perplexed.

“No? But like I said I just moved here. I’ve only been here at least a week but I really should have done a bit of research…” I stare at her, the wind blows at our hairs in a very dramatic manner. She smiles as she waits for me to continue. I’m still a bit concerned about her licking my ring though. I don’t think the gem will wither away if she does it, it’s just not logical for a gem to be weak against saliva. What’s does she gain from licking it anyway? But if I were to make my stay here safer, I think it’s only smart to ask for her help. Who knows what other semi-human creatures lurk around here.

The woods make a lot of rustling sounds as I continue to overthink. The leaves and branches laugh at my indecisiveness. The answer’s already pretty obvious.

“Um,” I awkwardly reach out my hand for a handshake. She smiles her really attractive smile and grabs my wrist, “Smart move, missy.” she says as she leans in and takes a lick of my ring, my fingers unable to escape her grip and giant tongue.

“??!!!!”

“Ahh~ Thanks.” She voices. Then at the top of her lungs she yells, “EVERYBODY BACK OFF!! SHE’S MINE NOW!” The forest stays quiet for what felt like more than a second, not even the trees made a sound. I’m dumbfounded and in shock. My hand is moist with some girl’s spit. Lissana pats my shoulders and says, “I’ll meet ya tomorrow at the tree.” Then gives me a wink. She makes her leave and disappears into the thick linings of the trees.

        I made my way back to the cabin, my soul almost sucked out from my body. What the hell just happened? I was supposed to remove the ring from my finger first…Is she who Beanie meant? Do I call him? He doesn’t have a cell. Oh my god. Soft greets me with a small meow. She has no idea what mommy’s been through. I collapse in the conversation pit and had a dream that my moon ring broke into a million pieces.