Feral to All

A twig snaps in the distance. Hunched down on all fours, as close to the ground as he could get, he waits for the perfect moment to..... ACK! Rustling from the brush, a large gray and white mound of fur pulls his catch of night from the bushes. The twin moons light, dimly casting their soft glow on the brown hare's lifeless body. The scent of blood hangs heavily in the night air. Fear starts to settle within his chest, knowing that if he doesn’t consume this meal soon, someone, or something else, might come along and take it. He begrudgingly drags his meal to the cave he had been staying in. Quickly he eats the hare, not sure he will have another chance to gorge himself. Feeling full, he turns his gaze up to the sky, blood around his maw, thinking back to when he was young. Oh, the stories his parents told. His favorite tale flirted into his mind, it was the story of the beginning of how their world came to be. His parents had told this story many times. He requested it to be told over and over because, to him, it was unfathomable that people never turned into werebeasts. ‘Mama, how is that possible?’ She would chuckle each time he asked her this question. How he missed hearing her giggle and feeling the comfort she brought... Snapped back to the present, his mouth still covered in blood, he quickly licks himself clean. Thinking to himself," Morning will be here soon. I can’t believe it took me almost all night to hunt that rabbit." Traveling to the cave mouth, he pounced over to the dried grass bed he had fashioned, spun around a few times, and collapsed with no real coordination, drifting to sleep. The sun started peering through the cave opening, lightly tickling his cheek. Feeling the morning lights kiss, he turned his back to the cave mouth. "Another night has come and gone, already?" He stretched his arms and cracked his back. Lazily sits up in the dried grass bed, eyes still closed, reaching towards his feet, basing his movements off memory. Grabs the hastily thrown pile of clothes off the floor and proceeds to put them on one by one. Peeking through his closed eyes, he grabbed ahold of his shoes. "Ugh, I think this is the worst part of the change. Damn laces!" The knots on his shoes, too tough to untie, so he reluctantly uses his teeth to pull the laces undone. He finishes getting dressed and stands up, stretches again, his hands touching the top of the cave. He stands about 5'11 feet, with shaggy, long, gray and white hair. His mother told him when he was younger, that his hair reminded her of the twin moons. He never understood why they were called twin moons. One was big in comparison to the other. The smaller moon wasn’t even there in the beginning, just an asteroid that had crashed into the earth and had ended up in the gravitational pull. Stepping outside the cave, the smell of spring filled the air. The fresh scent of morning dew on the leaves could fill anyone with energy. All around him, nature started to awaken. The birds were flying overhead, chirping, singing songs of what could be perceived as happiness. Annoyed with everything that surrounded him, he walked down to the little stream near his makeshift home and washed his face. Irritated that his sleep didn’t last more than just a few short hours, he hollered out “I NEED TO FIND MORE SUSTAINABLE FOOD AND A BETTER PLACE TO SLEEP!” The creatures that surrounded the area fled as quickly as they could and silence fell through the wooded area. The only sound left was the crackle of the stream at his feet. A few seconds passed, and the birds started chirping away again like nothing had disrupted their sweet songs in the first place. Groaning with annoyance, he wandered back into the cave and grabbed the only thing he found important, a family photo. The picture was taken many years ago while he and his family were on holiday. They had gone camping and gone for a hike up a trail and found a beautiful waterfall. Luckily, other tourists were passing by, so the three of them were able to be in the photo together. The smiles on his mother and father's faces filled him with so much sadness. "I wish I could see you both again. And to think this is when they were telling me about..." his thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a loud noise. Birds flying overhead hurriedly fleeing from what sounded like a car backfiring. The smell of gunfire filled the air. "Oh crap… They’re on to me… I have to get out of here quick!" he thought to himself. Tearing the bed into shreds, doing his best to make it seem like there was no one inhabiting this cave. He scrambled as quickly as he could out of the cave entrance, grabbing the remains of the hare he had hunted the night before, sprinting as fast as he could in the same direction as the birds that were also fleeing the area. He found himself disoriented by the passage of time. Despite the absence of shouting, he persisted in his running. Struggling to catch his breath and sensing his body on the verge of giving in, he persevered and forged ahead. Eventually, he came across a more rocky area that was on a bit of a decline. The hare’s lifeless figure was clutched in his left arm. His left foot had stepped on a loose part of the ground and, as if a switch flipped in his mind, his catlike reflexes kicked in, until his right foot hit a loose patch of ground, which sent him flying down the decline right into a fallen tree. His shirt was torn on his right side and underneath the clothing his side was torn up, bleeding. Pulling himself into a sitting position, resting his head against the fallen log, looking around to regain his focus. He noticed the remains of the hare and chuckled to himself. "Here I thought the rabbit was a sign that this week was going to be full of luck." He shrugged and tended to his wounds the best he could. After applying some herbs, he found on to his wounds, he got up and took a look around. Frustrated that he didn’t recognize anything, he lashed out at the fallen log, kicking and swearing. A faint voice in the back of his head, barely audible, reminded him to relax. After regaining his composure, he looked around to try and get an idea of where he was. He climbed to the top of a tree, looking for any signs of civilization, scanning the surrounding area, he noticed what potentially could be a town. "That kind of looks promising," he thought to himself, "if I’m being honest I don’t have much of a choice..." He climbed down the tree effortlessly, jumping from the bottom branch to the ground, wincing with a slight pain. As he got closer to the town, he noticed a lot of foot traffic. Traveling caravans and a lot of traders' tents set up all around. A few stalls looked like they had clothing and, since his shirt was practically torn to pieces, he figured replacements were in order. Walking towards the clothing stall, he bumped into a few people who were hastily walking past, apologizing each time he made contact. He reached the stall and browsed for a few moments. Grabbing a shirt that looked to be slightly bigger than the shirt he was wearing. The vendor eye-balled him as he stood there, contemplating whether he should take the shirt. Reluctantly, he sighed and stepped over to the vendor. “I’ll take this shirt, please.” The vendor raised an eyebrow questionably, “That’ll be $15 solid.” He reached into his pocket and pulled the money that he just lifted off of the unsuspecting people he had bumped into. He handed the cash to the vendor, “Think this will cover the costs.” The vendor took the money and counted out the change, “$5 is your change.” “Thank you kindly, sir.” He said. He walked off and rounded into a back alley, past the building that stood next to the clothing vendors' stall. Quickly removed the raggedy shirt. He noticed that most of his bleeding had stopped, but didn’t want to ruin his new shirt, so he tore the old one into a wrap and tied it around his chest. After putting on the makeshift bandage, he put the new shirt on and strolled out of the alley. Something in the air caught his attention. The smell was like a triggered memory of his mother’s home cooking. He followed the scent to a busy part of town, where there were food vendors all around. He heard laughter, music, and lots of conversation all around him. Seeing so many people gathered in one area flooded his memories of how his clan's town used to be filled with so much energy. GRRRRUUGGGL His stomach started to churn from hunger. Ready to consume, whatever it was that mimicked his mother's cooking. The smell filling his nostrils was so pleasant, that he felt like he was being lifted off the ground like in one of those Saturday morning cartoons, like when a tasty pie beckoned the main character away from his main task. Gliding through the busy bazaar, he reached a tiny little hut, with the most amazing smells pouring out through the open archway. A child-like tingle bubbled in his gut, saliva accumulated in his mouth and, without any notice, he began to drool.