The Reincarnated Wolf

Am I alive?

[EMELDA POV]

Red. The first color I would see in my new life. After drifting in the back void for what felt like an eternity, the white blur of this villainous wolf was the only contrast. Then when this beast finally comes into focus…red is the first color my new eyes perceive. The red from the blood from my own heart. My heart…that this hellhound ate. And I have agreed to give this demon dog my entire soul in exchange for revenge. A task I wasn’t even sure this wolf could accomplish, but the immense power that radiated from this wolf felt limitless. Maybe they could go up against the King…if not… I would just die… I truly have nothing else to lose.

The wolf disappeared suddenly. The abrupt return to darkness was jolting. Yet here I was once again floating in the vast darkness.

So much for giving me a second chance at life. I guess this is death. I lament to the nothingness.

The gentle rocking sensation begins to lull me into slumber. It feels like twilight sleep. When you’re asleep, but at the same time, you feel conscious. It’s annoying that I don’t have a form to adjust to a more comfortable position. I’ll just float forever in discomfort.

A smell seems to drift by. Salty. Like the sea. It smells like the ocean around my packlands. I don’t know how I smelled anything in this void. I wasn’t sure how to determine if I even had a nose in this form. I wasn’t sure how to perceive my senses anymore.

Then the rocking feeling was interrupted by rhythmic thumping. No way I could drift into sleep now that I felt a random jostling. I couldn’t determine what direction the thumping was coming from. My head? My feet? Do I even have those anymore?

Then a low sound. That startled me more than the smell or thumping sensation. It was so low I almost couldn’t hear it. Did I even have ears? How do I even describe this sound?

I strained to try and discern the sound. It was as though I’d forgotten how to hear. Or I suppose I could hear the noise… I just couldn’t decipher it. What was this collection of vibrations?

A breeze. I realized. I am hearing the ocean breeze. The one carrying the smell. Then a sound with the thumping must be waves beating against something…am I drifting in the actual ocean, not just the abyss of death?

“How did a kid survive a leap like that?” I managed to hear words. Someone is talking! And it’s not that crazy scary wolf. I’m not alone.

“Maybe they didn’t jump.” A separate voice suggested. By the accent, I could tell they were from a neighboring island. It’s a long boat ride from home though.

“How else could they get into the ocean from this side of the island? It’s all tall cliffs on this side,” the first voice said. Cliffs? The town center is close to the cliffs.

“They swam around, then passed out?” a third voice suggested.

“That’s so far away though,” the first voice insisted.

“Exactly, that would make me pass out,” the third voice said.

My cough interrupted the trio. Damn. I didn’t mean to signal that I was present…well...conscious. I felt an unsteady movement beneath me. A boat…I am on a boat…

“Kid! Easy kid! Easy!” The three of them insisted as one of them sat my body up from the lying position I was in. The movement made me cough up water a few times.

“Damn kid. I got you.” The man moving my body said while I felt a firm pat on my back. He was coaxing me to release any more trapped water.

Burning. My chest…my mouth was burning. My eyes…they stung. My eyes. My eyes are open, I think. But nothing but darkness. Am I blind now?

“Sit here kid. Rest for a moment,” one of the voices said.

I felt myself sitting. It was a foreign feeling. Everything felt foreign. Like this was my first time in my own body. Like I was a baby horse walking for the first time. I feel unsure how to do anything.

Then it was as if someone was gradually increasing the brightness. There was some sort of light! I wasn’t blind! Well, hopefully. I guess light isn’t exactly sight. Then slowly colors began to fill in my view. Then shapes with those colors.

Soon I had a blurry understanding of what was around me. Three people…sounds like three men…a boat…and a blue vastness of the ocean. The sky was bright. It must be daytime. Werewolves are nocturnal, so these might not be wolves. If I had my wolf, maybe I could determine if they smelled like wolves.

“Are you alright?” the voice of the man who had assisted me into this seating position. His hands were still sturdily placed on both of my shoulders. Propping me upright like a doll. His features were slowly coming into view. My vision was sharpening thankfully.

“I…” My voice was broken and barely audible. I put my hand on my throat.

“You a moon weaver?” one of the men at the bow of the boat asked. I wasn’t sure if it was safe to say. I shook my head.

“Good. There’s so much smoke over there it looks like it’s storming. Someone must’ve attacked them. We were coming to see if they needed help, then saw you floating out here, kid,” the man holding me up explained. I made out his smile. His face was very gentle looking. He looked younger than the other two men.

“Wh...ere…?” The word came out broken.

“We’re headed towards the mainland kid. It’s behind you right now. It might not be a good idea to turn you around to look.” The man holding me up spoke. A look of sadness crossed his eyes. Was he trying to shield me from seeing the damage?

I ignored him and somehow willed my body around. It was like I was seeing the world for the first time. Everything seemed surreal. The colors seemed to have so much vibrance. Maybe it was the sunlight. I was used to the night.

Everything was so blue and full of life. Except the nightmarish charcoal filling the sky around a distant island….my home… I felt hollow. We were on the cliff side of the vast island. At this distance, I didn’t have to strain to look up the cliffs to see the billowing smoke.

“How did you get adrift kid?” one of the men asked.

“I…was…at a…fes…t…ival…” I struggled to stammer out. The men shared glances between them.

“You a wolf, kid?” the man standing at the bow asked in a quitter voice. I nodded. The trio shared another round of looks. Then the man that was steering the boat behind me spoke.

“Adam. Take the kid down and get them some of your clothes. Grab some scissors while you're in there.” The young man who was helping steady me nodded. He must be Adam.

Adam helped hoist me down into the cabin of the small fishing boat. Turns out the three of them are fishermen from the neighboring island. Adam gave me some clothes, then began his quest to find scissors.

“You can change I won’t look.” Adam assured me as he continued his search. He seemed so sincere. I suppose I’ll trust him.

I still turned my back to him before changing. I did my best to change while maintaining coverage. It was nice to be in dry clothes. His clothes were a little big for me, but luckily, he was much thinner than the two older men.

Adam turned towards me holding the scissors. He nodded politely before helping me up the steps. I was moving on my own now, but I was glad he was there when I took the stairs.

“Listen kid. The mainland is crawling with royal wolves right now. They have a headquarters close to the shore. They are recruiting a bunch of young wolves into their military academy. You should go.” I couldn’t stop the snarl from escaping my throat at the man’s suggestion.

“It’s ok.” Adam’s voice came from my side as he steadied me.

“Let me finish. From your reaction and our earlier suspicion, I guess the royal pack is who attacked the Moonweaver pack.” The clenching of my teeth confirmed his guess. He continued, “Then you need to change your appearance. I’m sure they’d recognize a beautiful girl with long white hair and crimson eyes.”

White hair? Crimson eyes? I must’ve looked as shocked as I felt because the three men began sharing stares again. I looked down and noticed my wet hair was mostly stuck in the shirt I just put on. I pulled it forward, stunned that my once thin and dark hair was thick, long, and pure white. It didn’t have the silver tint that my mother’s hair had.

“Your hair wasn’t white before?” Adam asked with his hand placed on my shoulder. He had a naturally calming presence. I shook my head.

“Might be a trauma response. I’ve heard that can happen if someone experiences immense trauma or death,” The man at the bow of the boat suggested.

I was too busy staring at my hair. The three men seemed to converse around me. Then I felt Adam’s hand grip my shoulder softly.

“Sorry.” I apologized for zoning out.

“Well, if the white hair is new, then we don’t have to worry about the color as much,” the man steering said.

“My eyes weren’t…. weren’t red before,” I informed. The men shared looks again.

“Ok then. Adam will cut your hair and then…” the man steering started.

“Cut my hair?” I interrupted. The three men nodded.

“You’re very young kid. It’s safer if you travel as a boy. Girls can get sold into…well it’s safer for you ok kid?” the man at the bow tried to explain.