Spirit Wolf
Chapter 9: Alone (Coming soon)
Chapter 10: TBA (Coming soon)
BONUS CHAPTERS!?
Chapter Immuyak (Coming soon)
Spirit Wolf
Chapter 9: Alone (Coming soon)
Chapter 10: TBA (Coming soon)
BONUS CHAPTERS!?
Chapter Immuyak (Coming soon)
Hmmmm…..the story's intriguing, but overall it's kind of weak.
Here's my thoughts:
[hide]
The main character is being none too subtle about how she feels about her sister's wolves and how she doesn't believe in the legends and yet she still blames the wolf for letting her sister die.
I would either have her go in one direction and she thinks the wolf is a traitor or something to the gods thus justifying (to her) abusing the poor thing, or go in the opposite direction and have her faith shattered, making her into a bitter, jaded person who's just annoyed/apathetic to the wolves.
Right now it's in a muddy middle.
Also just give the dialogue another run through.
Good luck with this project.[/hide]
Chapter 1: The End
! “Hey, Nukka,” Nauja called out to her companion from the opposite shore. “How many have you caught? It's getting late, you now.”
! Nukka lost count of how many fish she carried in her basket. She wasn't concerned with a quota or what type of fish to catch. The elder said fish. She hadn't exactly specified.
! The two of them had been at the river since morning and the sun was already setting behind the mountains to the west. Even if they left now, they wouldn't make it back to the village before dark. Nevertheless, Nukka swung the basket over her shoulder and returned to Nauja's bank.
! “Are you ready to go?” Nauja asked with a smile. Nauja was two or three years older than Nukka, and already a woman grown. By Nauja's side stood Aukaneck, her wolf. Nukka glanced away from the beast and back to Nauja.
! “I am,” she answered plainly as she waded out of the river and toward the path home.
! “Okay,” Nauja's smile faded, no doubt because of Nukka's disinterest. “Come, Aukaneck.”
! The path back to the village winded around between trees and rocks, and at times grew treacherous. The two girls knew the trail like the back of their hands, though; it was the same route they took every time they fished.
! As expected, it was dark by the time they got back. At the gate, a wolf yawned as it rose to its feet. It walked up to greet Nukka and nudged her hand with its muzzle. She pulled her hand back sharply in response.
! “Tikaani, away!” she commanded sharply. “Go!”
! She felt an urge to kick the beast, but it obeyed her before she could. Spirit Wolf. What a joke. Aukaneck followed after Tikaani into the woods as Nauja walked through the gate and into the village. Nukka noticed a scowl on her friend's face as she passed by silently. What did she care what Nauja thought? Nukka waited a moment and felt the chilly night air dance around her before entering.
! Inside the village, most of the villagers had turned in for the night, but a few others surrounded a small bonfire, including the Elder.
! “Here's your fish,” Nukka told the Elder as she arrived.
! “Thank you, Nukka,” the old woman beamed behind her wrinkles. “You return late. Siku was worried, you know.”
! Nukka's nostrils flared at the mention of the name. “That wolf doesn't even know how to worry,” she replied flatly. “It's just a cowardly brute.”
! “That brute was your sister's Spirit Wolf, Nukka,” the old woman said gently.
! “And my sister is dead,” Nukka answered.
! The Elder paused. “That is so. But Siku is still-”
! “Siku is a monster, Ahnah,” Nukka challenged. She had had this conversation before, but the old woman kept bringing it up.
! “But the legends-”
! “The legends are just that: legends. If the legends are true, that monster should be as dead as Shila. So I don't care about your legends. In reality, that stuff means nothing.”
! “You hold much anger,” Elder Ahnah observed calmly. “You still bear painful memories, child. I can see that they overflow within you.”
! “There's nothing overflowing within me except your wolf nonsense,” Nukka answered coldly and turned to leave.
! “Prejudices are a sickness, child” the old woman called. “The longer you harbor animosity against the legends, the quicker that animosity will cloud your sight.”
! Nukka ignored her.
! Her hut was on the other side of the village, beyond all the others. It was there that she and Shila had grown up. Waiting outside the door was Siku, sprawled asleep on the ground. Nukka's approach stirred the beast, which moved to greet her, much like Tikaani had. This work, however, she made sure to kick firm in the stomach. You should be dead. She watched as the monster limped away before going inside the hut.
! That night, the dream came in fragments. She remembered the rain. She remembered the rocks. The wolves. Her sister. The fall. The screams. The tears. The howls. It seemed like a lifetime ago; the dream never came whole anymore. It was as if her mind had forcibly shattered the painful memory to pieces. She didn't think she could remember what had happened anymore, but she would always remember the outcome. Shila was dead; her Spirit Wolf was not.
! It was a legend in her village and all the others nearby. Every time a baby was born, a wolf pup would be born the same day. The Departed Ones would create an unbreakable chain that connected them. The wolf was devoted to its link, and would die in their place so that they may live on. Nukka had believed every word of it as a child. But Siku was living proof that it had all been a lie. You should be dead.
! Nukka woke up the following morning, thanks to a loud knock at the door. She lazily clamored out of bed to answer the knock.
! “Morning,” Nauja stood in the doorway, grinning like always. “The Elder sent me to fetch you. She has a task for us.”
! “Is that so?” Nukka grumbled. “Tell her I'll be there soon.”
! “Well, I can tell you here,” Nauja replied as her grin faded. “I heard about your argument last night, so it's best if I tell you myself. She wanted us to go pick some apples from the unharvested trees in the southeast. The winter approaches and we need all the food we can get, Spiritless Men or no.”
! “The black may have already caught the trees,” Nukka sighed. “But we might as well go and salvage what we can, I guess. We can depart once I get ready and return by night.”
! “Right,” Nauja acknowledged. “Oh by the way, the Elder told me to take Aukaneck, Tikaani, and Siku along. For our own safety, in case we run into Spiritless Men.”
! “I'd feel safer with squealing pigs beside me,” Nukka snorted irritatedly.
! “She's serious, Nukka,” Nauja said pleadingly. “It's for your own good. I don't know what we'd do if another Shila happ-”
! “Another Shila will happen the minute I leave this village with those monsters!” Nukka screamed in her friend's face. “I won't have it!”
! “You will,” Nauja's voice was strong, but her attempt at authority was thwarted by her trembling shoulders. “She feels a dark omen threatening to lay claim to this land. The coming winter will be fierce, she says. She needs to make sure we come back to the village unharmed.”
! “Then have her send us with men,” Nukka challenged.
! “Tikaani is your Spirit Wolf! And Siku is your sist-”
! “My sister's Spirit Wolf! I know already! Look at what good it did her, though.”
! “Your Spirit Wolf will protect you, Nukka. Do not forsake the Departed Ones' blessing,” she warned. “Remember the teachings. Your Spirit Wolf will die for you, so that you may live on. Never forget that.”
! “Fine,” she conceded, annoyed with her insistence. “But I don't believe in blessings anymore.”
! She turned to her room. “And try telling that lie about dying so we can live to Shila. I'm sure she'd believe you.”
! Nukka slammed the door behind her, but came out moments later. The two women departed without another word, three wolves closely following behind them. Stupid beasts. You should be dead.
! It took them only a couple of hours to reach the spot where the apples grew. There were a lot of trees, but they only had two baskets. Nukka started climbing the apple trees, plucking the fruits from their branches and throwing them down to Nauja.
! After Nukka stripped a second tree of its apples, Siku began to growl lowly. It took on a defensive stance, which irked her for some reason.
! “Shut up!” Nukka yelled, throwing an apple at the growling wolf. The apple struck the brute on its left side. It whimpered but didn't drop its stance. “Suit yourself, monster.”
! “Nukka,” Nauja's voice took a scolding tone. “Don't treat Siku that way.”
! “Did I ask you to intervene?” Nukka snapped coldly before returning to her task.
! Nukka was halfway done with a fourth tree when Siku's growl started to get louder.
! “I said shut up!” She threw another apple, which hit the beast on the top of its head this time. I could kill it right now if I wanted to.
! “Nukka, stop it!” Nauja shouted.
! “Just be quiet,” Nukka rolled her eyes.
! Then she smelled the smoke. It was faint, but the smell strengthened rapidly. No. Not here! She slipped from the tree to the ground below. Squinting into the distance, she could just barely make out the red-orange glow and the silhouettes of what appeared to be men.
! “The Spiritless Men…,” she said aloud. Siku's growl grew louder as Tikaani took off in the other direction. So much for Spirit Wolves.
! “Nukka, let's get out of here,” Nauja nodded as Aukaneck ran after Tikaani.
! “You go ahead,” Nukka grabbed a large branch. “I want to see these barbarians myself.”
! “Nukka, come on,” Nauja pleaded, losing patience with her. “Don't go playing hero now.”
! “I'll be right behind you,” Nukka shouted. “Just go!”
! Nauja stood silent before turning to go. “Just be careful!” she yelled before running away from the advancing flames.
! “Aren't you gonna turn tail and run too?” Nukka sneered as she turned her jest to Siku. “Aren't you gonna abandon me like you abandoned Shila?”
! The wolf growled at Nukka and suddenly snapped its jaws onto her hand. She cried out in pain as the wolf let go and turned its attention back to the flames, which now surrounded them.
! “Alright, dumb animal,” Nukka panted as she clutched the branch, the air having grown heavy with smoke. “I'm gonna stand and fight. Are you with me or are you gonna run?”
! Before the wolf could respond, Nukka heard a snapping sound. Siku must have heard it too, as its ears pricked up. The wolf suddenly leaped toward Nukka with astounding speed and pushed her backward with all of its strength. Nukka tumbled to the ground as the tree fell on top of Siku, pinning the beast underneath its knotted trunk. Did that… did that beast just save my life?
! Nukka's eyes met Siku's, which were filled with a sadness that almost felt human. Nukka began to cough violently. The smoke! I'll be choked out if I don't get out of here now! But the wolf was still stuck under the falling tree. The wolf that had just saved her life.
! No, the wolf that watched her sister lose hers.
! “You should be dead!” Nukka cried with tears in her eyes as she scrambled to her feet and broke into a run. She heard the faint howl of the trapped wolf as she ran as fast as she could. The smoke clouded her direction, and the orange haze was all around her now. She heaved and coughed violently with every breath. I've gotta… get out...
She stumbled her way through the burning trees, hoping to find an escape, but her chances of survival dwindled with every toxic breath she took. She managed to stumble a good distance before her legs gave out. She collapsed flat on her stomach—coughing, choking, dying.
! “Where… are you... Tikaani,” she gasped with every breath she could muster. “You're sup...posed to be... dying for me... remember...”
! It really was a lie.
! Even though she was surrounded by flames, the ash fell like snow. Nukka closed her eyes one more time. You were supposed to die in my place, monster… She let go of consciousness and drifted to sleep. Perhaps an eternal one. You should be dead…
Nukka….
! She heard a voice, but she was too far gone to respond. For Nukka, this was the end.
(DISCLAIMER: I will be submitting this chapter for the end of August Bi-Weekly. If you plan on judging that one, don't read this just yet.)
Alrighty, after some positive reviews, I've decided to continue the story!
Chapter 2: Wildfire and Ash
! Tikaani…
! She was surrounded, encased in a vortex of nothingness. Nothing but darkness in every direction. Low howls of what she thought might have been wind filled the silence, accompanied by a faint hum. She so very desperately wanted to escape, yet at the same time, she was content with staying there forever. Could this be… the afterlife?
! “Tikaani?”
! The howls stopped and the humming faded. Her sense of smell was the first thing to come back to her. The sweet scent of rain-dampened flora danced across the edge of her nose. It was accentuated by the aromatic fragrance of late-blooming flowers. The sweetness of it all was enchanting, yet the distinct but faint odor of the black invaded her nostrils. The black has reached the afterlife as well?
! “Tikaani, wake up!”
! Her hearing came back to her next. Besides the baritone voice that grew ever louder, she could hear the faint rustling of leaves in the wind, the rhythmic chirping of birds, the rush of water in the distance. She could even hear her own breath, heavy yet gentle.
! “Come on, sleepyhead! We're gonna be late getting to Angelrauwok Lake!”
! Finally, her eyes came open. Before her sprawled a vivid and pristine palette of green and blue. Endless trees as tall as the clouds dotted every yard as far as her eyes can see, their roots knotting throughout the ground beneath her. The sky was a deep ocean blue and the clouds were puffy and gray in the distance. She tried to rise to her feet and take in the scenery until a large brown wolf approached her from the side.
! “It's about time you woke up!”
! She screamed at the sight of the talking wolf. She tried to tread backwards before tripping over something furry and crashing into a puddle of water. Her heart thumped heavily as she sat in the puddle, water dripping from her hair.
! “Calm down, Tikaani!” the wolf laughed. “It's me, Onartok!”
! “Tikaani?” she asked confusedly. No, I'm Nukka. Tikaani's my wolf. I… She looked down instinctively at the puddle she had stumbled into. Her reflection glanced back at her between the rippling water. She screamed.
! Staring up at her was a shaggy wolf with greyish-blue fur and glittering golden eyes. The reflection she saw belonged to Tikaani, her wolf. Why do I have Tikaani's reflection?
! “You feeling okay, Tikaani?” the brown wolf, Onartok, scowled. “You look like you've seen a ghost or something.”
! “This isn't happening,” she shook her head back and forth, freaking out. “This isn't happening! This isn't happening!” It was a horrible nightmare. It had to be. She waited for herself to wake up in a cold sweat in the comfort of her own bed or in the middle of a burning forest; she didn't care. She just wanted to be anywhere but here.
! “Tikaani, what's the matter?” Onartok frowned.
! “Stop calling me that!” she shouted. “My name's Nukka! And why are you even talking? And why am I a beast? Ugh, this doesn't make any sense!” She wanted to pull at her hair, but that wasn't much of a possibility.
! “Nukka?” the other wolf asked in shock. He took a step back as his voice shook. “No way…”
! She hadn't woken up yet. The idea that this was all a dream became less and less possible with every passing second. If I'm not waking up, does this mean…? Nukka began to cry in frustration when she heard a low, somber howl. It came from Onartok's mouth.
! “What are you—?” she began before she was interrupted by a chorus of low howls that reverberated from beyond the trees. “Why are you—?”
! Nukka took a good look at the howling wolf. Only then did she recognize the shaggy brown beast. Onartok's human link had been a friend of Nukka's during their childhood, but he had died a few years ago while hunting. Onartok, however, had lived on, just like Siku. Another case of these monsters not doing their jobs, she spat inwardly. But she had no time to dwell on that, for she was a monster herself! She didn't know how or why, but she was no longer human.
! Her thoughts bounced back and forth in her head, confusing and scrambling her already mixed emotions. It took her a few moments to force a lid on them and regain composure. She tightened her shoulders and directed her attention to Onartok. “Hey, monster. What… what's going on? Why am I a wolf?”
! “First of all, it's Onartok, not monster,” he snapped, then softened his tone. “As for what's going on… I guess it's better if you see for yourself.”
! “See what?” she puzzled. “In case you haven't noticed, I'm soaking wet and kind of not myself, today.”
! “Just follow me,” he sighed soberly. “You'll understand when we get there.”
! Understand what? When we get where? She frowned as she rose to her feet and instinctively shook the water from her fur. She stood there for a moment and finally took the time to look at her surroundings. She was somewhere in the forest, she wagered, probably a day's walk or so east of the village, judging by the violet-colored flowers that grew there. This must be where Tikaani ran off to when she left me to die, she thought bitterly. Off in the distance, she could hear the very faint, yet tranquil sound of running water. Perhaps a stream. This was the first time that the forest ever seemed so alive and vibrant to her.
! “Are you coming or not?” Onartok asked sourly, visibly annoyed with her. “Sun's not gonna stay up forever.”
! “Right,” she replied distantly as she turned to follow him. She padded forward awkwardly, trying to get used to the idea of walking on all fours. She hoped she wouldn't have to put up with this for long. There had to be a way to get her old body back. Maybe that was where Onartok was taking her… to change her back. A tiny part of her clung to that hope.
! She followed Onartok—to only the Departed Ones knew where. Judging by the sun, she guessed they were headed west. _West… is the village west of here? A_s they continued, what started as a canopy of oak and maple trees gave way to a sea of evergreen pine. We must be getting closer, she thought as the terrain grew rugged.
! As they continued on, the blue sky slowly faded to a murky gray. It wasn't long until the rain began to sprinkle from the sky. Nukka couldn't see the lightning, but she heard the unmistakeable sound of thunder looming in the distance. She began to shiver as the rain intensified. Never before had she felt so cold, even during the harsh winter. Nukka stopped for a moment underneath a tall pine tree to shield herself from the rain, but that didn't stop the shivering.
! “You okay back there?” Onartok called as he turned around and walked back toward her. “We've got a long ways to go, you know.”
! “Why am I so c-c-cold?” she stuttered as she shivered. “The r-rain's not that c-cold, and this f-fur's supp-p-posed to keep me warm, right?”
! The wolf looked away as his eyes grew even mistier. “Just keep walking. You'll understand.”
! “Understand what?” she asked, annoyed. “I don't even know where you're leading me. You could be taking me to my own funeral for all I know!”
! He stood quietly before answering. “Listen to me, Nukka. We'll be in the village soon, so just stay with me until then. It'll be better if you see it for yourself.”
! See what? She was confused by his riddles, but had little choice other than to follow him, despite her shivering.
! Another half hour had passed when the sky began to flash with lightning. The rain grew heavier as the sky rumbled. The wind howled along with the wolves. Never before had a storm seemed so frightening to Nukka.
! As they approached a ridge, her mind began to race. There had to be a reason why Onartok was hesitant to tell her what was going on. It didn't take her long to come up with her own answer.
! “Onartok,” she mumbled slowly. “The village… The village is gone, isn't it?”
! “Huh?” he asked her as he turned back to face her.
! “Now I understand,” she whispered, dread washing over her as she became more and more sure of her suspicions. “The Spiritless Men. They did this. They've set fire to the forest and burned the village down, haven't they? And they've used their Spiritless Magic to turn me into a monster, haven't they?”
! “Nukka—“
! “Haven't they?”
! He closed his eyes and swallowed. “Get a hold of yourself, Nukka,” he answered sternly, though his voice wavered. “Look over there. You can see the village from here.” He pointed toward the edge of the ridge with his nose.
! She wobbled slowly and awkwardly to the edge. She almost didn't want to look, fearing that the black had consumed it all. Nevertheless, she forced herself with as much feigned courage as she could muster. “The village...,” she sighed in relief. “It's still there!”
! She could see the village on the valley floor a few miles below. The small brown huts contrasted with the endless sea of green. Even with the gray skies above them, the village looked like a ray of sunshine.
! “Come on,” he nudged her along. “We're not done yet. We still have a ways to go. At least you've caught on to where we're headed. If we keep up the pace, we'll be in the village by nightfall.”
! The last stretch seemed to take ages. The rain was still heavy and puddles began to form on the forest floor. The forest itself grew taller and wilder as the spruce and fir trees were replaced by redwoods.
! During the journey, they passed under a towering redwood that had collapsed some time before. Moss sprouted along the length of its fallen trunk and vines dangled from both sides like a curtain. Several wolves huddled together underneath it, taking cover from the rain. They watched quietly as Nukka and Onartok passed, their eyes somber and solemn. Why do they all look so sad?
! Among them, one stood out. He was a youthful, but proud-looking wolf with red and brown fur, except for patches of white and grey on his belly, near his shoulders, along his tail and around his eyes. When his eyes met hers, she felt a chill travel down her spine. Its eyes… Where the others exhibited sadness, she could feel a faint anger lurking in the back of his. What's it mad about? The wolf turned around and disappeared into the crowd, but Nukka's eyes never left the pack of wolves. She wasn't sure what she was looking for. The red wolf? A friendly face? Siku? No, not Siku…
! After they passed underneath the fallen redwood's shadow, she caught glimpse of her reflection in one of the puddles. No, not my reflection. Tikaani's reflection. She took her paw and slapped the water, causing it to ripple, but her reflection didn't change. She was still a monster. She hurried after Onartok, struggling to catch up as best as she could on four legs.
! It only took another half-hour to reach the village. The trees grew smaller and more sparse as they approached it. The rain was heavy as ever now, turning the hard ground to mud as the water ran like a shallow stream around the village.
! “Well, we're here,” Onartok sighed. Nukka followed him into the village.
! Everyone seemed unharmed, which relieved her, but the distant and nearby howls still echoed on. As they approached the center of the village, she found the Elder. Her hair was wispy white and her face wrinkled. Her deep brown eyes were red and swollen as she danced around the flames with youthful vigor. A sorrowful dance. An ominous dance. The same dance she had seen the Elder perform when Shila died.
! She looked around at the faces of the rest of the villages. The rain did a good job of hiding their tears, but their swollen eyes betrayed them. The truth slowly dawned on her as she started to scan the area, desperately searching for familiar faces.
! “Nauja!” she screamed, whipping her head around in every direction. “Where's Nauja? She was in the forest with me and—”
! She saw Nauja approaching from the direction of her hut, her brown eyes swollen from her tears. The girl's raven black hair dripped wet with rain, much like her modest fox and raccoon skin attire. Her olive complexion had once made Nukka jealous, but today, it was a welcome sight. She was relieved that Nauja managed to make it out of the forest. “Oh, thank goodness!”
! Before she could relax, however, her mind began to race once more. “Uyarok! Where is he? Tilliye!? Tell me, Onartok, tell me! Who died?”
! It took her a while to finally find her missing friends, filling her with relief.
! But that relief soon turned into raw horror as Onartok turned to his companion, tears dripping from his wolf eyes. “I'm so, so sorry, Nukka. I… didn't know how else to tell you.”
! “Tell me! Tell me!” she cried as her mind raced. Who am I forgetting? “Who died? Please, Onartok!”
! He took a deep gulp, his words knotted in the back of his throat. I can't think of anyone else. I don't know who I'm missing. Somebody I know, no doubt… but who?
! Judging by his tone and expression, Onartok's next words took a special kind of courage. When they finally came, however, she felt her own courage slowly trickle away. The words echoed in her head, spreading through her like wildfire, burning her usually hard and unbending facade to ash.
! “You did.”
Tiny update for those of you following. ^^ The forward momentum going into this project is great, and I've already come close to finishing the 4th chapter! However, I must do some editing to compensate for things that I need to introduce to make Chapters 3 and 4 the standout chapters I need them to be. To that end, Chapters 1 and 2 will be undergoing some changes. I'll hopefully have them done by the end of next week (especially since Chapter 2 is running in the current bi-weekly) so if you're interested but haven't read juuuuuust yet, it may be in your best interest to hold off on the read for just a couple more days. ^^
Or even better, you might want to read the current drafts to compare with later ones. :) If that's what you fancy of course.~
Okay, Chapter 2's edits are complete, but not Chapter 1's, which may leave one of the new plot points a tad bit confusing. I'll try and change that up before the judging starts but I'll spoiler tag the big change from Chapter 1 for the Bi-Weekly judges just in case I don't get around to it:
! In the updated Chapter 1, Nauja will play a larger role, accompanying Nukka in the opening sequence, as well as the forest sequence.
Ki ! You're next.
Not many comments. I wasn't sure if I should… but you told me I could so~
! What to say, what to say.
The intro was nice, even though the overuse of 'she' came to bother me.
! That girl is harsh. It was hard to feel sympathy for her but I somehow slowly came to.
! A little something that bothered me was the way she talks. Sometimes it didn't flow well to my ears.
Is she supposed to by highborn and have a good education ? Because I didn't feel like it was the case at first. Manual tasks. Tribe. Huts.
! Overall, I really liked it. It is well written, flows nicely, and is easy to understand.
The end of the first chapter was terribly sad and made me hungry for more.
(sadly I had to leave for a few days and decided to wait till I have enough time to read it properly)
I think that's all.
I'll comment the 2nd chapter as soon as I'll read it :)
–- Update From New Post Merge ---
Oh and I am curious of how she looks like.
! Maybe it comes later but I somehow had to make do with my own feelings about that.
Long, loosely braided hair, tanned skin, muscular…
Oooh, glad you brought up the looks~
If you noticed, I took care to avoid character descriptions in the first chapter. (Or at least I tried to)
I did notice. I didn't know if it was on purpose though !
What if they don't look like I picture them, at all ?
:D
! Uh… What ? Is she… OOOOOOOOHHHH !
I get the hate's 'purpose' now~
! I don't know what to say because I was completely absorbed by the story.
Eventhough I understood what happened from the first lines, that was great !
! Write more, neh ? :)
Now that survivor is over I need something else to read so I'm browsing through the various writings. (-;
! I think the story flows pretty well. I like how everything builds around the misconception of the linked souls and how Nukka is slowly led to realize it. I still don't understand what the spiritless men are. As of now a thunderstorm and lightning hitting the tree would do just as well. Also, I think the dialogues could be improved a bit. Some of Nukka's lines sound out of character/tone for the story. If possible make the way to the village even more of an inner dialogue, a slow and painful walk of self-reflection. Oh, and I hope you'll explain at some point how it can be that the nature seems to be different for Nukka in her human self and in her wolf self. It seems to go beyond a change of the intensity of her senses but imply a change of environment.
Now that survivor is over I need something else to read so I'm browsing through the various writings. (-;
! I think the story flows pretty well. I like how everything builds around the misconception of the linked souls and how Nukka is slowly led to realize it. I still don't understand what the spiritless men are. As of now a thunderstorm and lightning hitting the tree would do just as well. Also, I think the dialogues could be improved a bit. Some of Nukka's lines sound out of character/tone for the story. If possible make the way to the village even more of an inner dialogue, a slow and painful walk of self-reflection. Oh, and I hope you'll explain at some point how it can be that the nature seems to be different for Nukka in her human self and in her wolf self. It seems to go beyond a change of the intensity of her senses but imply a change of environment.
First of all, thank you so much for reading, Gerri! Double thanks for commenting!
! The Spiritless Men will definitely be playing a huge role, especially in the second half of the story. So do know that they aren't just a random plot device. ^^
! As for the nature thing, nice eyes! ^^ (Potential Spoilers):
! >! That was a conscious symbolic and thematic choice. The first chapter was written purposely to neglect description and to drive the point home that Nukka's a very matter-of-fact and get-to-the-point character. The priority on description in Chapter 2 is supposed to represent Nukka re-experiencing the world, starting to see the trees instead of the forest, etc.
Thank you so much for the review!
This only took a billion years. I've been sitting on this chapter for weeks. >=\
Chapter 3: The Dead Girl
! She ran without stopping. The soles of her padded paws were sore, and the muscles in her legs flared with pain. Still, Nukka went on. She thought, if only she ran far enough, she might be able to run away from everything. If she kept running, surely she would turn back into a living human and wake up from this horrible nightmare. Maybe running could even reverse time somehow and return things to the way they used to be. However, the sun still rose and set, and reality loomed behind her like a hunter on his prey, threatening to drive a spear through her heart the moment she stopped.
! She ran for three days before she finally collapsed. When she fell, she slammed into the hard trunk of an old oak tree. Her hearing, faint from exhaustion, could barely pick up the chattering of squirrels above her. Her eyes were blurred; from lack of sleep or from tears, she couldn't tell. She felt herself giving up all resistance as she fell asleep, drifting into a dream… or perhaps, a memory.
! “You did,” the dream Onartok sighed, his eyes filled with sorrow.
! “I don't... I don't understand.” Nukka took a step back, unsure of what to make this sudden and strange revelation. “I'm right here, aren't I?”
! “No,” Onartok answered. “Tikaani's right here. Nukka died. Don't you get it?”
! “You're lying!” Nukka shouted, jumping back. “This is some kind of sick joke, isn't it? Tell me the truth already!”
! “Calm down!” Onartok barked, silencing her outbursts. “Calm down and think. You still don't recognize me, do you? Come on, try and remember, Nu.”
! Nu? Her eyes widened as she stared at Onartok, beginning to recognize the soul behind Onartok's monstrous appearance. “Wait… You are.. No, it can't be! You're dead! I-I-I saw your body. I remember the funeral. You're dead! Dead!”
! “And so are you,” he said gently, moving to console her. “Listen to me, Nukka. Remember what we learned as humans. Our Spirit Wolves die so that we-”
! “You're lying!” Nukka shouted hysterically, refusing to let Onartok's words sink in. She herself was unable to decide on a single explanation for what happened. “There's got to be a way to change back! There has to be! Stop feeding me that crap about Spirit Wolves! This is all a lie! Or a dream! Or a big mistake! I can't be dead! I-I-I'm not a wolf! You hear me?”
! “You're not making this any easier on yourself,” Onartok shouted, beginning to lose his patience. “Look at you, you're stricken with madness! You don't even know what to believe! Just calm down and listen to me.”
! He took a step toward her, but she recoiled from him. “Stay away from me!” she screamed. “Just leave me alone and let me wake up!”
! “Nukka, please, I—“
! “Just leave me alone!”
! Nukka turned and fled into the woods. She wanted to be as far away as possible. Far away from the truth. So long as she kept running, no one, nothing, would catch up to her… not even the truth.
! She woke up in what felt like a cold sweat, but she had no way of knowing, thanks to the chilly rain that drenched her thick fur. She didn't even know if wolves could sweat.
! A thick fog blanketed the woods, turning the once vibrant forest into a washed-out and gloomy sea of trees. Yet, despite the surrounding glum and the occasional clap of thunder, the peaceful singing of the trees was somehow comforting to Nukka. The leaves lapped up the falling raindrops, humming an almost serene melody. As a human, Nukka had never taken the time to listen. Or perhaps she had never even been able to listen.
! The soothing hum of the rain aside, the rest of her surroundings were overwhelmingly dreary, and did little to quell her emotions. I'm dead… I'm really dead... She tried to groan, but all she could muster was a mix between a howl and a whimper. She tried to stand up on two legs, but her quadrupedal frame kept her on all fours. I'm still a wolf… I'm... I'm still a monster...
! She always wanted to die an old woman, revered by the village as a brave and proud warrior. Not as some miserable mutt. She would often dream of the adventures she would have, fending off Spiritless Men and hunting herculean beasts. A long time ago, she shared those dreams with Shila. Now neither of us can dream, can we?
! The rain made no effort to cease, nor did it make an effort to ease her broken state of mind. She wanted her life back somehow, but Nukka was dead. It was hard for her to admit it, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized there was no going back. You should be dead. The words echoed in her head. Familiar words, but in her current state, they meant nothing. She was dead.
! The rain that fell was cold and heavy, and the air around her even more so. What usually served as a deep vibrant forest seemed hollow underneath the heavy fog. Hollow like me, Nukka thought, her despair growing. Her eyes grew heavy as she felt the effects of her fatigue take hold once more. This time, she hoped she would fall asleep and wake up as her old self. She banked everything on the notion that everything was just a crazy nightmare. She wanted to wake up somewhere else, anywhere but here. She wanted to wake up as Nukka.
! When she did finally wake, she found herself in the warmth of her own bed. So it was a dream! She pulled the fur blankets off of her and strode rapidly to her door, relief propelling her forward with every step. It was all just a terrible, terrible drea— She opened the door as all of her relief drained away, replacing itself with a chilling sense of fear and terror.
! The scene before her was like something taken straight out of a nightmare. The village she had called home her entire life could barely be recognized; flames were consuming everything like a pack of raging, hungry beasts. They devoured buildings whole in front of her eyes. Where the flames smoldered, the left only the black behind. She looked around desperately for somebody, anybody to help her put out the flames. Her eyes darted left and right, up and down, but there was no one around. Not even their bodies. For better or worse, she was alone. That is, until she saw Siku, pinned underneath a tree, looking at her with the same sad eyes as that time in the forest.
! “Siku!” Nukka hysterically cried out to no one in particular. “What's going on? Who did this to the village? Who did this to Siku?”
! Nukka gasped when the wolf opened its mouth to speak, speaking with Onartok's voice.
! “You did.”
! “No!” Nukka screamed as she felt flames burst from her chest, sending a white-hot burning sensation throughout her.
! “You did.”
! “No!” she repeated frantically as the flames swiftly spread across her body. The flames intensified, turning the terrified woman into a screaming ball of hellfire.
! Once they finally subsided, Nukka felt empty and lifeless. Is this what being a pile of ashes feels like? But if she was indeed a pile of ashes, how could she think? How could she feel? Why do I feel so… alive?
! When she looked down at the ground below her, she saw a set of furry blue-grey forelegs pressing against the earth. She was a wolf again, lonely and surrounded by a sea of black. She let out a shrill and tearful howl, one that pierced the world around her and shook the trees. She cried to the Departed Ones, disconcerted and confused. What have I done to deserve this? Why am I so alone? Why didn't I just die?
The wind answered with Onartok's voice. You did.
! Nukka woke up again. This time, the rain and fog were gone and the sun spilled its warmth across the earth. How long was I asleep? She yawned and surveyed her surroundings, taking in what sprawled before her. Towering trees bearing fruits and nuts surrounded her. The ground was covered with a dense rug of dewy grass and weeds. The ground itself was soft to the touch, almost like mud. It must have rained, she thought absent-mindedly.
! She rose to her feet and padded along the dirt, treading carefully on all fours. There must be a way for me to change back, she tried to assure herself. Her legs still wobbled and ached from her long run, but she forced the pain away from her mind. Her stomach started to growl; she needed to eat. There is a way… But right now I need to think about how I'm going to even stay alive long enough to find one.
! But what do wolves eat? Her first thought was to try the grass. She lowered her muzzle to the ground and tugged a clump of emerald blades from the ground. She chewed for a moment before spitting it out, twisting her face in disgust. I guess wolves aren't really big fans of grass.
! She looked up, smelling the sweet fruits that dangled from the trees above, deciding that she wanted those next. Unable to climb the trees, she sniffed along the ground, hoping to find some fallen fruit. Her sense of smell was much stronger, now that she was a wolf. It led her to an apple nestled on the ground in a small brown patch of grass, but it was rotten to the core and infested with maggots. Gross! Her only remaining option was to try and knock some fruit from the tree.
! She walked over to the foot of the tree, and tried wagging her tail. It took her a while to learn how to use it, but once she tried focusing her energy on wiggling her backside, the motion came naturally. After taking a few moments to get herself into the swing of things, she started to slap her tail against the tree, hoping to shake it enough for it to surrender its treasures. The tree didn't budge, which annoyed and frustrated her. Come on Nukka, use your head!
…Wait a minute... She walked in the opposite direction until she was about twenty feet away and turned to face the tree. She pawed the ground and lowered her head, gluing her eyes on the tree in front of her. She broke into a sprint, smashing headfirst into the tree. Her head rattled for several minutes as she fell to the ground, her efforts fruitless. Why in the world do I take myself so literally? She shook her head to stop the dizziness when she caught the scent.
! Her mouth began to water and her tongue lolled out beneath it. Never before had she smelled something so savory. She turned her head in search of the smell and caught a glimpse of a white fluffy rabbit as it dashed into the nearby bushes. It was a rabbit, and she'd never eaten raw meat before, but her animal instincts were taking control. She didn't want to do it, but she needed to eat something before she starved to death.
! She imagined the taste of the rabbit's pink juicy meat, the sweetness of its blood dribbling down her chin, the crunch of its bones underneath the force of her powerful jaws. The instincts were foreign to her and made her feel like a deranged lunatic. Even so, the thoughts of herself devouring the little critter weren't totally unwelcome. In fact, she began to feel delight and excitement from them! If she was going to be a monster, she might as well play the part.
! She crouched low and slowly trod around the bush, careful not to make a sound. The image of herself dining on the little creature pervaded her thoughts, enchanting her senses. A stream of saliva dribbled from her mouth as the creature emerged from the other side of the bush. She instinctively made her body stiff as stone. She felt her legs coil as she watched intently, waiting for the right moment to strike. The prize was hers as long as the rabbit didn't see her. She waited… waited... waited... Now!
! The tension in her legs burst as she pounced upon the furry creature. She opened her mouth wide, preparing to gobble the rabbit up then and there. What she got, however, was a serving of dirt as she crashed into the ground; the rabbit had hopped away at the last second. “Get back here, you little—!” she howled as she spat the dirt from her mouth and bolted after the creature.
! You're not going to get away from me, she thought, snarling. Her belly was aching and her legs still sore, but she kept up the pursuit. If she didn't catch the rabbit, she was doomed to starve to death. Just a little more!
! She chased the rabbit out into a clearing, where her pursuit abruptly ended. Her eyes became fixated on the majesty of the roaring river that she had nearly dashed into. The river was several hundred feet wide; only the Departed Ones knew how deep. The water rushed along rapidly, pristine and mesmerizing as it sparkled in the sunlight. She padded slowly up to the bank and bent down to lap at the water. The water was crisp and sweet, tasting just as clear as it looked. She spent a few minutes taking in the water, drinking her fill. At least she wouldn't die of thirst. She remembered the rabbit she had let get away, and still fantasized about devouring it, but it was a lost cause by now.
! She looked down at the water and saw her reflection glimpsing up at her. So… This is what it's like to be a wolf, huh? As the sunlight sparkled on the water, Nukka's blue and grey visage on its surface lit up, highlighting all of her new body's majestic beauty. For the first time since that day, Nukka didn't see a monster when she looked at the wolf that once was Tikaani—the wolf that she had become.
! After drinking her fill, Nukka leaped onto a tall white boulder on the bank and felt the cool late summer breeze brush against her fur. Maybe this won't be so bad, she mused. But I'm dead… And now I'm an animal...
! She looked down and around at her body. No, Tikaani's body. She couldn't feel Tikaani's presence; it seemed that she was alone. But where was Tikaani? The Spirit Wolf dies so their human link can live on. Was that what the stories meant? That when she died, she'd be reborn as a wolf? And did that really mean that Tikaani was dead instead?
! “All because of me,” she murmured. “Because I had to go and get myself killed, Tikaani's…”
! She caught a whiff of something upstream. It was faint, but it smelled like... There's another wolf nearby, she realized.She followed the scent slowly and cautiously. It could jump out and attack her, for all she knew. It might be just as hungry as her, and Nukka wasn't sure how appetizing she looked. She tried not to think about it as she approached. The wolf might be friendly, she told herself. It might even be willing to teach me how to actually be one.
! The source of the scent was coming from behind a towering boulder nestled at the edge of the riverbank. She stalked around the rock, just as she did with the rabbit… and just like she did on that fateful day.For a moment, she was human again and Tikaani walked beside her cautiously. The pair of them crept around the large rock, fearful of what the fall had done to Shila's body. Please be alive, she thought to herself as she closed her eyes.
! When she opened them again, the memory faded and she was her wolf self again. Tikaani was nowhere to be found. Her heart caught in her throat as the fur on the back of her neck stiffened and rose in fearful anticipation of what she would find.
! It was only a young wolf pup sleeping against the rock. Its fur was dark brown, except for around its eyes, its ears, and on its belly, where its fur was cream-colored. It fidgeted in its sleep before it finally opened its eyes. It looked up at Nukka with two hazel-green eyes. Its innocent look helped drain the tension from Nukka, allowing her to relax.
! “D-don't eat me!” he whimpered as he huddled up against the rock before noticing the river behind him.
! “I'm not going to eat you,” Nukka stepped forward as she laughed, the sound of her voice startling the wolf pup.
! “Y-you can talk?” he asked with wide eyes as he circled around Nukka, stepping away from the river.
! No way, Nukka felt a dreadful feeling of deja vu wash over her, as she began to understand the situation. He was only a kid… She raised her head to howl, but the pup cut her off.
“That's amazing!” he said with a laugh before looking at his reflection in the water. “Oh, neat! I'm a wolf now!”
! “Neat?” Nukka frowned. “I take it you used to be human?”
! “Yup,” he grinned, before his face grew silent and confused. “But I look just like Immuyak. What does that mean?”
! Nukka closed her eyes and let out the howl she tried to start a moment prior. The same one she had heard Onartok howl. The same one she had heard a long time before. Once the chorus of other howls began, she stopped and turned to the kid.
! “Why'd you do that for?” the pup asked, before letting out an energetic howl himself. “That was fun!”
! “Listen, kid,” Nukka swallowed. Now she knew how Onartok had felt. “You… you died.”
! He sat silent for a moment before tears began to form in his eyes. “I... I know... I think.”
! “You do?”
! “Yeah. Momma always said that our Spirit Wolves die so we can live on. Maybe this is what she meant?”
! “How did you die... uh...?”
! “Miki,” the pup replied.
! “Miki,” Nukka repeated. “Well?”
! “I don't know,” he frowned. “I guess it was when the Spiritless Men attacked us and burned down our village.”
! “What?” Nukka gasped.
! “There was fire and blood everywhere,” Miki continued. “Everybody was screaming and I wanted to cry, but Momma told me to be strong. She said that no matter what happened, Immuyak would protect me. She told me that when this was all over, I should go look for Kanguyak, her Spirit Wolf. And then everything went dark.”
! Even kids like Miki know the truth, yet I…
! “I miss my Momma already,” Miki sniffed, interrupting the internal storm that brewed within Nukka. “Do you think I'll find her with Kanguyak?”
! “I know you will,” Nukka assured him. “I'll help you do it, if you want.” She had nothing better to do anyway. Perhaps Miki's mother would be able to help her, seeing as how she sounded much more familiar with the legends.
! “Really?” Miki beamed. “Thank you! Oh, this is gonna be so much fun!”
! “Fun?” Nukka scoffed. “You're a monster now. How is that fun?”
! “A monster? No way! Wolves are the coolest!”
! More like cowards. Nukka still remembered the way Siku had abandoned… No… No, no, no... Don't tell me! Don't tell me! Don't tell me! Oh, please, don't tell me!
! “Are you feeling okay?” Miki asked, noticing the despair that flushed across Nukka's face.
! “I… I'm fine,” she lied.
! “What's your name, anyway?”
! “My name?” She wanted to say Nukka. But Nukka had died. Or was it Tikaani who died? But it was all Nukka's fault that Tikaani's life was over. But so is mine… And Tikaani was a wolf; Nukka was a girl. Tikaani's spirit may have been gone, but her body still lived on. Tikaani's the one standing here, not me. It was a difficult thing to do, but the dead girl knew she had to do it.
! “My name is,” she gulped, forcing back her hesitation with a fierce resolve. “Tikaani.”
! It was only fair.
Hey Kitsune! I finally got around to reading this and I am definitely not regretting it. Your story captivated me pretty fast and I would like to read more. :)
! I was convinced that the legends about the spirit wolves would turn out to be true one way or another (I guess that was insanely obvious but I will still pat myself on the back, thank you very much). Sadly, that means that Nukki is responsible for at least one death of her sister when she left Siku behind to die. It seems like she already realized that. :( That is really awful actually. She kept treating Suki horribly while the wolf still tried to show affection and then she just died (presumably). I wonder how this will affect Nukki's character.
Speaking of the legends, I feel like the exact function of a Spirit Wolf should be known by the village people. Is it just kept secret from children or did nobody ever realize how it worked? (well, obviously somebody did at one time or there'd be no legends)
! I guess this was the first time that Onartok had to tell someone they had died? Because he didn't handle it too well. I feel like he should have given her more time to come to grips with it instead of telling her again and again. But maybe that's just how he is. And he did let her go in the end. Although he should have looked after her and helped her get food at least. Okay, I am totally contradicting myself right now but for now I don't like that guy. :P
! In my opinion, Nukka was a little quick to accept the fact that she was a wolf. But maybe that's just me speaking as a guy who reads and totally enjoys Wheel of Time where certain plot points take several books to come to fruiton… Still, I feel like she should be struggling a little more. I kind off expected her to see her own dead body because that would show her that there definitely was no turning back to human (and that Onartok had told her the truth).
! "Wolves are the coolest!" Well yeah, they are but I felt uncomfortable with that expression in your setting. Actually the kid/pup was a little too enthusiastic on a whole for me. I kinda hope Nukka won't take responsibility for him as she is still experiencing all these changes herself. Maybe he's just there to lead her to another wiser wolf? We'll see.
! One last thing: when Nukka tries to get some fruits from a tree, I found this phrase a little too punny: "her efforts fruitless" :P
! The thing with me commenting is that I usually have no idea how to express what I liked about a story. It's so much easier to point out stuff that I personally didn't enjoy as much but of course I want to be positive too! You can rest assured that I really do like your story. Just look at me attempting to speculate about it and analyze the character(s) already. ;)
! I hope there will be a 4th chapter soonish.
Ugh, how long has it been since I've read something:
! I think that you're handling Nukka's new situation pretty well. She is starting to adapt but you can tell it's because she has to and there is this undercurrent of her not being totally comfortable. The parts where she tries to get used to her body are cool too.
I think the kid is a good character to have. He gives Tikaani a reason to start her journey and a lead to starting a discovery of her new life. I look forward to learning more about the spirit wolves and the impact they have on their human's culture. Actually I think we see more of Nukka's hate of them than the positive aspects of how humans see them so the kid could be a good conduit for that.
The only down side is that I don't know what the story as a whole is about yet. I know it will probably involve the Spiritless Men but I'm hoping that when she reaches the mother Tikaani will be given something to do on a grander scale. I know I'm being a hypocrite but even stories like Naruto establish the overall goal in the first chapter. In this case while I do want to get to know her better I would like at least hints of where things are going.
That is all. I can't wait to see more. :)
Yeah, I've been sitting on this chapter (and Chapter 5) for six months. Holy crap. I'm going to do some more edits on it before the 30th, so bear with me if it's a little sloppy.~
Chapter 4: Still Alive
! The sun began to set when Tikaani and Miki finally deemed their latest quest for food fruitless. Neither wolf was able to catch anything. The rabbits were too quick, the big game too scarce and the fish too slippery. Tikaani could feel her stomach growling, but did her best to hide it. She didn't need Miki to know that she'd gone close to a week without food.
! The sunset turned the pale blue sky orange and pink, and soon it became a deep dark blue. The Departed Ones began to sparkle in the sky above, peering down from wherever they were, keeping watch over them in the dead of night. Tikaani looked up. The sister she had when she used to be Nukka was looking down on her, she wagered.
! Or was she?
! “Hey, Tikaani, can we stop or something?” Miki whined as his trot slowed to a slow crawl. “The bottom of my paws are killing me! Besides, I barely have the stomach to walk anymore.”
! The wolf pup fell over in fatigue. Tikaani could hear his stomach rumbling. Poor kid hasn't eaten anything. “Come on, Miki. Get up and follow me. We'll find somewhere in the trees to sleep.”
! He complied as Tikaani nudged him along with her nose. They left the open banks of the river and took shelter in the nearby woods. Tikaani felt safer there for some reason. It would be a lot harder for something undesirable to hunt them down.
! “Here's a good spot,” she told the tired young wolf who followed her. “Get some sleep, kid, and I'll keep watch.”
! “Keep watch?” he asked drowsily. “Watch for what?”
! Tikaani could not say. She didn't feel safe in the woods, at least not yet. She felt some dark lingering presence she couldn't describe. She feared what would happen if she fell asleep. She might not ever wake up. Or something bad might happen to Miki.
! Even though she just met the wolf, Tikaani felt responsible for him, at least until they find his mother. For a kid, Miki was rather brave. He sure seemed a lot calmer than Nukka did when she learned she had died. She wondered whether or not he fully understood what it meant to die.
! Miki yawned before finally drifting to sleep, his small brown head resting on his front paws. Seeing that he was fast asleep, Tikaani left him there, returning to the river bank. She looked back one last time in Miki's direction and nodded, assuring herself that he'd be okay on his own.
! That night, the Departed Ones came out in full force, staring down at her in the thousands. She silently prayed that they would look after Miki for her and keep him safe. She scanned the stars, hoping to find her sister… or even Tikaani.
! I can't do this, Tikaani. Every now and then, she would search inwardly for a sign that the real Tikaani still existed somewhere deep inside. All she found was hollow emptiness. The original Tikaani was dead. Just like Nukka. I am Tikaani now. But…
! She caught the scent as it permeated from the woods. She tracked it into the trees and beyond an assortment of large bushes. She discovered a sleeping rabbit, huddled together with her young. She counted seven, though she might have confused the mother's tail for another. As she watched the little family sleep, she felt the saliva drip from her mouth. It's a family, Tikaani, she told herself.
! She hesitated when an image of Miki getting devoured by a giant carnivorous rabbit sprawled into her head. Can I really do this? Can I really tear a family apart? Nukka could. To Nukka, animals were things. They couldn't understand or comprehend things. They just existed. To Nukka, killing a rabbit and its babies and cooking them would not have been a big deal.
! But Tikaani knew. She knew that animals felt happiness and sadness. She knew that if she'd kill them now, they'd have gone to sleep that evening only to never wake up. The conscience she carried told her to leave them be. But Tikaani knew this opportunity was a rare one. It was either kill a helpless family of rabbits or starve to death.
! Miki stirred from his sleep as she lowered the bloody rabbit carcass in front of him.
! “Rise and shine, kid,” she beamed. “I've got breakfast.”
! “Oh wow!” he said sleepily as he began to tear into the dead rabbit. She could tell he wasn't too fond of the idea of eating raw meat, but his instincts were taking control. She could taste it with him, just as she tasted the sweet red blood as it teased her mouth on the way back. “Aren't you going to eat too?” he asked after swallowing a chunk of the rabbit.
! “No, I ate the babies,” she lied. Last night's events played back in her head as she leaped from the shrubs and sank her sharp teeth into the mother rabbit's neck. Her heart told her not to do it, but she had to for Miki's sake. After killing the mother, she turned to the stirring bunnies. Her conscience overpowered her as she scooped the mother's carcass into her mouth and dashed away. Hindsight told her that the baby rabbits were doomed to die without their mother's nursing. But she couldn't bear to kill them herself. You already did it yourself when you killed their mother, her conscience reminded her.
! Miki picked his way through the last remains of the rabbit before licking at his muzzle. “Thanks, Tikaani,” he beamed as he dashed toward the river clearing. “Now then, let's keep going.”
! “Right,” Tikaani replied distantly, following him. She began to feel dizzy. Was it the lack of food or the lack of sleep? She wasn't too sure, but both were taking a heavy toll on her.
! “Are you feeling okay?” Miki asked her with a faint scowl once they reached the riverside. “You're wobbling all over the place!”
! “You forget how hard it is to walk on four legs, kid,” Tikaani forced a laugh as she tried to make light of her fatigue.
! “Are you sure you're feeling okay?” Miki circled around her. “I think you've been a wolf way longer than I have and I'm used to it already.”
! “Says the kid with the full stomach,” Tikaani said aloud, though not intentionally.
! “I knew it!” Miki shouted, a little too pleased with himself. “My razor-sharp instincts were right all along! You've been starving yourself, haven't you?”
! “Miki, that's not-”
! “Haven't you?” Tikaani was taken aback by how serious the cub was. “Why didn't you say something? I could've shared the rabbit with you!”
! “Oh yeah, like that measly little furball would fill both of us up,” Tikaani rolled her eyes, trudging along the river bank. “I'd rather be a dead wolf than a live one with a dead kid on my conscience.”
! “So you're just going to let yourself die, are you?” Miki growled, dashing just to keep up with Tikaani's quickening pace. “Then what am I supposed to do? Dig a grave or something?”
! “That sounds like your problem,” Tikaani snapped back bluntly.
! “I can't believe you! You're so stuck-up and bitter!”
! “Try telling me that when I don't put food in your belly,” Tikaani growled, annoyed with Miki and ready to end the argument.
! “Why are you acting so stubborn?” Miki asked after running ahead of her and getting in her face. His eyes glimmered in the sun and had a pronounced innocence inside of them.
! Tikaani remained silent as she walked around the wolf cub, who turned and looked at her in disappointment. She could not give the poor kid an answer. Not now. Not while I'm on the verge of starvation.
! They walked in silence for a good few hours before the sun began to set. As it did, Tikaani's legs gave out and she fell to the ground. Miki rushed to her side.
! “Tikaani,” Miki whimpered. “You don't look so good.”
! “I've never felt better,” she lied.
! “Come on,” Miki whined. “You need to get some sleep and something to eat.”
! “Don't need it,” Tikaani answered stubbornly. “You know, if I don't eat and don't sleep, then maybe the Departed Ones will give me back my old body. They clearly wanted me alive if they put me in this wolf's body. So they won't just let me die, right?”
! “I don't feel like finding out,” Miki began pushing on her side with his head. “Now let's get you somewhere safe, and we'll stop and sleep for the night.”
! Tikaani watched as Miki struggled in futility to move her. This kid may be little, but he's got a big heart. “Fine, you win.”
! She struggled to her feet and followed Miki into the woods, where they found a nice, sheltered area to sleep. The ground beneath them was soft and mushy, likely rain-soaked, and it was no warm bed, but she could hardly care. She allowed herself to slip into slumber. There was no sense staying up all night and mulling over her situation.
! When she woke up, to her delight, she was human again. She could hardly believe her eyes, but she had hands and fingers, hair and clothes, and no fur in sight.
! “Hey, Miki, look! I'm me again!”
! The wolf cub stirred thanks to her shouting, but could only yip and whimper at her. Well, I guess we can't both be human.
! “Nukka!” someone shouted from nearby.
! “Stay here,” she told Miki as she followed the sound of the voice.
! “Nukka, please!” the voice was louder, more distinct, more familiar.
! No… you should be dead!
! She approached the source of the voice. To her horror, she found her older sister, Shila, pinned underneath a fallen tree trunk.
! “You should be dead,” Nukka answered in disbelief.
! “Nukka, help me!” Shila shouted, blood dripping from her mouth. “They're coming, you've got to get me out of here!”
! Nukka's gaze turned to the forest as it engulfed in flames.
! “Nukka, please!” Shila shouted, struggling to get out from under the tree.
! “You should be dead!” Nukka screamed, shaking her head.
! “Nukka…,” Shila's voice lowered in confusion. “I... I don't... don't understand. Aren't we-”
! “No! No! No! You should be dead!”
! Nukka dashed in the other direction as her sister screamed and begged and pleaded for her to save her. Nukka just ignored her.
! “Tikaani!” Miki shouted once more, bringing her back to reality. She was a wolf again, it seemed. Or rather, all of it had been a dream. “Snap out of it, Tikaani!”
! “Oh...,” Tikaani answered slowly. “Sorry to startle you, Miki.”
! “You were having a bad dream,” Miki responded.
! “I guess I was,” she answered distantly. It was probably midnight or so, judging by the moon.
! “Do you... wanna talk about it?” the wolf pup asked as he cuddled up against her.
! “No,” she replied.
! Miki's warmth was rather comforting, but Tikaani was too shaken up to settle down just yet. The dream confirmed her greatest fears. It confirmed what she had been dreading and refusing to admit this entire time. She didn't watch her sister die once; she saw it happen twice. And the fault was entirely hers.
! “Why do you look so sad?” Mika asked her as he looked up to her with his big brown eyes.
! “I...,” Tikaani hesitated. He's just a kid, I can't tell him this.
! “You what?”
! But, he gets it more than I do. I need to talk to somebody, anybody… “Miki… I...”
! “Tikaani?”
! “I think I killed my sister.”
! The pup was silent for a moment before responding. “You think you killed her?”
! “Well, not directly. I left her to die. That's close enough, right?”
! “But how do you know she's dead?”
! “That's a silly question, of cou-,” her own revelation cut her off. Is she really dead? Can I… Can I reverse this somehow? She developed a theory. Nothing she was willing to cling to just yet, but it made a lot of sense. Perhaps everything to this point was a trial. Perhaps there was a reason after all that the Departed Ones made her a wolf. Maybe, just maybe, Siku was still alive.
Remember a couple days ago when I said I would be reading the new chapter the very next day? So I did that today. :ninja:
I liked that I was too lazy to skim the other chapters again but still remembered pretty much anything that had happened when I read the new one.
Personally I would have enjoyed a tad more descriptions of the scenery. Also the flashback with the baby rabbits seemed unnecessary. Why not just tell it as it happens instead of flashing back to it 2 sentences later? Alternatively, do it a little later, maybe when Tikaani almost collapses.
On a more positive note, I changed my opinion on the wolf puppy. I liked it here and it giving Tikaani somebody to take care of seems like a good idea after all. Still, a pinch too bratty for my taste :P
Time to start rolling out these chapters at a much quicker pace!
Chapter 5: A Good Navigator
! The next morning was rather uneventful for the most part. Tikaani and Miki continued their journey along the river, hoping to find their way, but as time went on, that became a hopeless endeavor. Miki was still just a kid and Tikaani was too caught up on last night's dream.
! Shila… I'm coming to find you, she resolved to herself. But how would she find her when she was probably lost herself? Not to mention taking Miki along would not make for the best course of action. She resolved to find his mother first, then set out on her own to find her sister.
! As the sun loomed high in the sky, Tikaani's stomach began to grumble once more. Not again. She wondered how exactly she planned to find Shila if she wasn't even able to find food. She desperately wanted nothing more than to save her, but there was too much standing in her way. First things first, Tikaani.
! “Tikaani, look!” Miki lowered his voice, but still let slip a tinge of excitement. Tikaani broke free of her aimless thoughts and saw the trees thicken up ahead.
! “The forest,” Tikaani whispered. “It's going to be harder to stick to the river from here onwards, isn't it?” So much for getting Miki home quickly.
! “No, look!” Miki cried again, this time making no effort to hush himself. “Over there, by the river!”
! She saw something twitch in response to Miki's shout a couple hundred feet away, right next to the river. A wolf, Tikaani realized as it began to approach them. Miki dashed ahead, running toward the wolf. “No, Miki, come back!”
! “Hey, you! Over here!” Miki hailed, ignoring Tikaani's very bad feeling. As the wolf approached, she could not help but take note of its features. It was young—about Tikaani's age, without a doubt. Its limbs were lean and slender, evidenced by the wolf's quick, streaming gait. A strange aroma met her nose, which told her immediately that the wolf was male. His fur was reddish-brown, much like clay, with white coloration on his belly, shoulders, and tail. When she looked at his face, she took note of white streaks on the tips of his ears and around his eyes. His eyes…!
! “You…!” Tikaani gasped. “You're the wolf from that night. What are you-” Sure enough, it was the very same wolf. The very same build. The very same features. The very same anger. “Miki, get over here now!” she cried to Miki, but the cold wolf stopped about a few feet away from the pup.
! “You two look lost,” the red wolf grunted, making no effort to appear friendly. “It's dangerous up ahead, you know. What are you doing all the way out here anyway?”
! “We're not lost!” Miki boasted. “We're just looking for my mom!”
! “Then you're heading in the wrong direction,” the wolf scoffed. “The only thing you'll find this way is the black. If you;re looking for somebody, you might as well start looking at Angelrauwok Lake. It's not far in...” The wolf pointed its nose in the direction of Tikaani's eight. “...that direction.”
! In other words, they had been traveling in the wrong direction.
! “We've been going the wrong way? Well, that sure bites,” Miki sighed before turning in the right direction. “Come on, Tikaani, let's get-”
! “How dare you!” the red wolf growled angrily, startling the little wolf as Tikaani rushed to Miki's side.
! “Hey, cool it, alright?” Tikaani spoke up, taking an instinctive defensive stance.
! “First, you dare show your face to me,” the red wolf curled into a stance of his own in retaliation. “Then you dare wear that name like a trophy?”
! “What are you talking about?” Tikaani challenged, circling the tense red wolf.
! “Don't play dumb with me, Nukka!” the wolf roared, taking a step forward.
! “Hold on a second!” Tikaani doubled back. “You… know me?”
! “Nukka?” Miki questioned. “Who's Nukka?”
! “This is Nukka,” the red wolf turned his head toward Miki's companion. “She's been masquerading about as her Spirit Wolf. Trying to start your life over now, are you?”
! “I don't know what you're talking about!” she shrieked in frustration before regaining some composure. “You're from the village, aren't you?”
! “Nope,” the wolf growled. “I'm Nukilik. I was born a wolf. But that doesn't change the fact I know everything about you.”
! “Oh yeah? How's that?”
! “Tikaani was loyal to you,” Nukilik explained. “Do you have any idea how long it took me to get her to admit that you treated her like dirt? After all the bruises, all the limping, all the tears, she still tried to downplay just how cruel you were to her.”
! “You knew Tikaani?” Tikaani asked.
! “Knew her?” he answered with a mocking laugh. “You know what? I loved her! And you, because of you, she's dead! Her and that Siku or Shila or whatever she went by, they did everything they could to stand up for you! They believed you would one day wake up and that everything would be right as rain. But I'm not that forgiving. I know what you are. You're a reckless, arrogant, cold-hearted, self-centered, no-good, dirty-rotten little bitch! And now that I think about it, that's a fitting new body you've got there. If only it wasn't my friend's corpse!”
! Tikaani stepped back in silence. She did not know how to answer the wolf's ferocious accusations, but deep down inside she couldn't help but agree with him.
! “Is this guy… telling the truth?” Miki asked her with a long, sad frown. “Are you... really not Tikaani?”
! “No,” she sighed. “My name is Nukka... I killed Tikaani. It's all my fault... Because of my own recklessness, she's gone, and now I'm trapped in her body.” She took a deep breath. “I thought... I thought the least I could do to pay her back was honor her. Honor her by living her life for her.”
! “Honor her?” Nukilik barked, visibly disgusted. “Honor her? That's disgusting! You killed her and now you're pretending to be her? Do you honestly think that everything is just magically alright now that you're honoring her? Do you think that this is some clean slate for you? Don't make me laugh!” He turned his attention to Miki. “Listen, pup, I've got no idea how you got wrapped up with her, nor do I care, but I can't in good conscience leave you with this… this monster.”
! The word struck Tikaani like a dagger. It hurt more than she could have known. It was a terrible word to call somebody. She glanced over at Miki with guilt, though his own expression startled her.
! “First off, don't call me Pup,” Miki retaliated with forced resolve. “My name is Immuyak. Got it?”
! “What?” Tikaani turned to her companion. “Miki, what are you-”
! “Second,” he continued, ignoring Tikaani's questioning. “I'm traveling with Tikaani because she's my friend! We've been through a lot together and if you think I'm going to abandon her just because some big, scary wolf tells me he thinks she's a bad person, then think again! Tikaani's the bravest, nicest wolf I know!”
! “Brave? Nice?” Nukilik raised his eyes to Tikaani after a pause. “You honestly think she's worth your breath, don't you?”
! “That's right,” Miki replied stubbornly. “She's breaking her back helping me find my mom.” His voice relaxed and took a pleading tone. “But you see, neither of us know what we're doing. Tikaani tries her heart out, but she's no good at this wolf thing either. She hasn't eaten in days because what kills she has made, she's given to me. I don't think that's self-centered at all, do you?”
! Nukilik looked up at Tikaani in response. His eyes seemed to be scanning her, which made her feel uncomfortable.
! “Why don't you come with us?” Miki asked with a glow. “You can show us how to be wolves and stuff! And Tikaani can prove to you she's not all that bad.”
! Nukilik remained silent for a moment before sighing before looking back at Miki. “You humans are all the same. But it's your lucky day, kid. I just happen to have business at Angelrouwak Lake myself. So I guess if you want, you two can follow me.” He glanced at Tikaani and growled. “But don't think for a second I've forgiven you, Nukka. Don't mistake my generosity for forgiveness. I just happen to have a soft spot for kids, especially the wellspoken ones.” Nukilik walked up to Tikaani, his face a few inches from hers. “Besides, Tikaani would never forgive me if I let her darling little human link die.”
! “So you'll come with us then?” Miki asked gleefully as he dashed off. “Alright! Oh boy, now I'm starving!”
! Tikaani stood silently as Nukilik backed off. Despite his closeness to her, she was more taken aback by how assertive little Miki, or rather Immuyak, was. She was impressed with the little wolf's tenacity. She wondered if he was adjusting to their situation incredibly quickly or if he had always been a strong kid.
! “You coming, Tikaani?” Miki ran back towards her as Nukilik stopped, visibly annoyed.
! “Yeah,” Tikaani padded along as Nukilik resumed his trek, several feet ahead of them. Miki trotted along beside her. “Hey, Miki, what was that about? Did you change your name on me when I wasn't looking?”
! “Heh, do you like it?” Miki, or Immuyak, smirked.
! “Well, I suppose it's not that terrible,” she chuckled, teasing her companion. “So, Immuyak's your Spirit Wolf, right?”
! “Yeah,” he nodded, then paused his gait. “Hey, Tikaani?”
! “What is it?” Tikaani circled around the wolf.
! “Do you mind if I talk to Nukka for a second?” he asked lowly.
! She did not answer, unsure exactly how to respond to it. Though she assumed Tikaani's name, she didn't really feel like Nukka and Tikaani were different.
! “Nukka, you there?” Miki asked after a few moments.
! “Yeah,” she answered, her voice unintentionally stifled.
! “I hope you don't mind me keeping you company,” he grinned. “You know, while Tikaani and Immuyak handle things on the outside. You're a good person, you know, no matter what Nukilik says. That's all I wanted to tell you, I guess.”
! “Miki…,” she replied distantly, still unable to elicit a proper response.
! “Come on,” Miki jumped happily. “Let's get out of here. Those rabbits won't catch themselves!”
! “Wait,” Tikaani, or perhaps Nukka, asked. “Let me ask you something, Miki.”
! “Sure,” he beamed. “But make it quick, okay? The wolves aren't very patient.”
! “Who are you?” she asked. “Who were you?”
! “Miki, of course.”
! “No, I mean, you seem like you used to be a strong kid. So, before you go, I wanted to know what you used to be like. What was your village like? Your family?”
! “Oh,” he took a moment to answer. “I was from the Village of Sounds. My mom was the chief and she used to listen to the wind. She was amazing! She could detect the changes in the world, big and small. If the wind brought important news with it, we'd send ,essengers to other villages when we learned something.”
! “Right,” Nukka nodded. That was how remote villages like hers, the Village of the Sky, had received word of the black in the first place, long before the clouds began to emerge in the southern sky. With the Village of Sounds most likely razed, the Spiritless Men had no doubt dealt a heavy blow to communication between the remaining villages.
! “I was going to be a messenger too when I got bigger,” Miki continued. “I did want to be a warrior like my older brother, Maxtla, but Mom said I wasn't strong enough.”
! “Wasn't strong enough?” Nukka scowled. “Are you kidding me? You're the strongest kid I know! And I know that didn't happen overnight.”
! “Maxtla's a warrior though,” Miki shook his head. “Mom said I was different. I think she meant I wasn't as good as him.”
! “I don't think that's what she meant at all,” she assured him, finally beginning to understand him better. “In fact, I agree with her. You are different than a warrior like Maxtla.”
! “So now you're saying I'm not strong too?”
! “No, silly,” she nudged him with her muzzle. “I'm saying you're a different kind of strong. Maxtla may be a strong fighter, but you're really strong with people, you know.”
! “Strong with people?” he turned his head. “What's that supposed to mean?”
! “It means you know how to communicate,” she explained. “You're really good at saying the right thing to others. You know, I assumed you would be annoying and a little helpless, but you're the opposite. I don't know what I'd have done without you! And for what it's worth, I think you would have made a perfect messenger.”
! “Would have, huh?” Miki sighed before smiling. “I can still be a wolf messenger, can't I?”
! “Absolutely,” she laughed, amused by Miki's coyness.
! “Are you two done back there?” Nukilik growled from atop the closest hill, interrupting the moment. “We're burning daylight.”
! “I suppose we are,” Tikaani called back before turning to her companion. “Hey, Immuyak, do me a favor why don't you?”
! “What's up?” he asked.
! “Don't let go of Miki. And Miki, don't let go of Immuyak. Don't live the rest of your life denying one or the other. Miki's not dead yet and neither is Immuyak. So now that you're living on, you should live on as both.”
! Immuyak was now the one struck silent before he began to laugh. “You sure you used to be cold-hearted and self-centered? I have a really hard time believing that.”
! Tikaani smiled as Immuyak dashed ahead. Had she really changed so quickly? Was it that she finally began to realize how awful she used to be? Or was Tikaani still there inside, changing her for the better?
! She wasn't willing to deal with that train of thought just yet. She had to get Immuyak back to his mother first. Though no longer was finding a way to change back to her old self a priority. That could wait. She wanted to get Immuyak home more than anything else.
! Well, almost more than anything else. Tikaani knew that nobody knew the Great Forest better than the messengers of the Village of Sounds. If she was going to find Shila, she was going to need a good navigator.
Weeee~ new chapter!
I suppose you'll be wanting feedback won't you.
Pros:
Style - I really liked a lot of the dialogue, it seemed perfectly well laid out and very easy to follow, specifically Nukilik's angry accusations and such.
Story - Since they didn't actually get anywhere(and were actually going the wrong way), this chapter seemed to be entirely about introducing Nukilik and developing Miki a bit more. Another character is good since it would otherwise only be two characters for a while who were both in a state of confusion. Nukilik's character not only gives us a non-confused character but also someone who is angry, bitter and very likely grieving, which I anticipate popping up some point soon. Meanwhile, Miki's development not only helped us learn more about him, but also more about the society of villages that was operating in this world.
Cons:
Style - Not much against style, but I did find the use of the word 'bitch' to be odd. It doesn't seem very derogatory when you're talking about an actual dog/wolf. Oh, also spotted some typos, nothing a decent proofread won't miss.
Story - The only thing that felt weird in this sense was Nukilik's sudden switch from heavy amounts of anger to calming down and actually joining the group. He did explain this by saying he had a soft spot for well spoken kids, but that seems more like a cliched response when you want to hide your true intentions.
One more story to go after this. @_@
WG puts it better than I can: Nukilik both helps give the story direction and brings Nukka's past behavior to the forefront. There also seem to be hints that Nukka is changing for the better because of Tikaani's influence, which would explain her kind of sudden Bad Girl –-> Good Girl character shift a bit better and her sometimes lack of sound judgement (because of the conflicting personas) but it would've been nice to somehow learned of that influence earlier.
One thing I disagree with WG on is Nukilik's attitude shift, because as he mentioned the character was grieving and angry, but it was only directed at Nukka. I got the impression he really wasn't the type of person to let a kid suffer because of his qualms with others.
I saw that you switched between 'Tikaani said' and 'Nukka said'. I didn't feel confused but try to maybe have a system where it's one or the other without having it randomly alternating.
That last sentence about needing Miki to find Shila is a little disconcerting, but in a good way. Assuming Miki's mother is found before Shila that is.
Just felt like posting this. The lyrics, man, the lyrics.
Who wants the longest chapter ever? Chapter 6: Fragments
! Nukka woke up that morning with a start. The sun had probably only been up for an hour or so, judging by the light shining through the windows. She frowned for a moment, wondering how she got up so early despite last night's restless sleep. Deciding not to press the issue, she exited the hut. Upon stepping outside, Nukka noticed that the sky was particularly bleak for the hour. She scanned the village before catching a glimpse of Shila near the center of town, her back turned as she sorted through the commons. Nukka ran to her gleefully, waving her arms about, her fatigue slipping away, replacing itself with anticipation.
! “Shila, it's today!” she yipped excitedly. “Today!”
! Shila turned her head toward her sister and smiled. Her olive skin and black hair seemed to glow oddly in the glum that day. Though Nukka knew her glowing smile to be a front.
! She may have only been a child, but even she understood the gravity of Shila's burden. Their mother and father, along with their Spirit Wolves, had died just the week before in the fire, and Shila still had to worry about taking care of her sister. But Nukka was turning five today, which meant she was no longer going to be a burden for Shila. She was finally growing up.
! “Oh, good morning, Nukka!” Elder Ahnah greeted her warmly as she joined the girls at the commons, completing whatever business she was attending on the south end of the village. “Your fifth birthday is upon us at last?”
! “Yup, yup,” she chimed energetically, bouncing up and down with every word. “When do I get to meet my Spirit Wolf?”
! Nukka glanced at her sister, who appeared anxious, as expected. It had been four years ago that Shila got her Spirit Wolf, Siku, but it didn't change the fact that because of that incident, the two of them had been extremely distant.
! Shortly before receiving Siku, there had been an accident. When Shila turned five, she received a Spirit Wolf… but it had not been Siku. She was given a wolf linked to a boy turning five a few days later by mistake, and the wolf quickly rejected her. She had been attacked in frustration and the wolf was nearly put down for its assault, but Shila and their parents begged the villagers not to kill it. Still, once the mishap had been corrected and Shila received Siku, the attack had no doubt scarred her, severing the possibility of a close relationship between them.
! “Right now, actually,” Ahnah smiled. “Would you like to see her?”
! “Oh, would I!” Nukka practically leapt into the air in response.
! “As energetic as ever,” Ahnah laughed before motioning in the direction of the village entrance, as if to say you can come out now.
! A couple of village men appeared from beyond the village gates with a small wolf pup trotting along beside them. Its gray-blue fur shimmered as a break in the clouds flooded the village with sunshine. She was beautiful by every definition of the word.
! “Tikaani,” Nukka grinned as she put out her right hand, as if to shake.
! “Tikaani?” Shila scowled. “That's a poor name.”
! “What's so wrong with it?” Nukka asked defensively as Tikaani inched towards her.
! “Tikaani means wolf in the Old Language,” Shila explained pretentiously. “It's like getting a pet dog and naming it Dog.”
! “Well, I like it,” Nukka challenged stubbornly before jumping in surprise when she felt something cold and wet touch her outstretched hand. She turned her head sharply to see Tikaani had approached her. “Sorry, Tikaani,” she responded sweetly, stretching her hand out once more, which Tikaani met with her muzzle. Nukka responded by petting the magnificent beast's cheek and head, running her fingers through its majestic fur. My Spirit Wolf.
! * * *
! Tikaani woke up that morning with a start. The sun had probably only been up for an hour or so,
judging by the light shining from the cave entrance. She was puzzled about last night's dream, but paid it little mind. Upon stepping outside, Tikaani noticed that the sky had been particularly bleak for the hour. She scanned the forest before catching a glimpse of Immuyak near the forest's edge, his back turned as he pawed away at the ground beneath him. She trotted to him sleepily, wagging her tail about as her fatigue fought against her, thought it slowly faded.
! “Good morning, Tikaani!” Immuyak hailed once he caught sight—or perhaps scent—of her. He dashed toward her, though before they could converge, Nukilik emerged from a nearby bush with a sour face.
! “Good morning to you too, Nukilik!” Immuyak added gleefully.
! Nukilik chose not to respond as he dragged three rabbit carcasses from behind the bush.
! “Oh good,” Immuyak shouted in delight as he charged toward the male wolf's offering. “You brought breakfast!”
! Immuyak took to devouring a rabbit as Nukilik turned his attention towards Tikaani. His eyes were as cold as before. “You're going to eat too, aren't you? Or are you turning your muzzle up?”
! Tikaani rolled her eyes as she followed Immuyak and sank her teeth into one of the rabbits. The taste of its blood electrified every taste bud on her tongue. The taste of its meat and flesh stirred every corner of her body to life. As her teeth tore through tendon and muscle, she felt her own muscles recharge with strength. Food had almost seemed a foreign concept to her, a distant memory of life on the other side. But now here it was before her, and suddenly, for the first time since her death, she felt alive.
! “Be careful, Tikaani,” Immuyak chuckled as he circled around her. “You're going to choke.”
! She did shove quite a large amount of the rabbit into her mouth. She seemed to have overestimated just how much a wolf could eat at once…
! * * *
! “Be careful, Nukka!” Shila cried as she rushed to little Nukka's side. “Eat like that, and you'll choke.”
! She did shove quite a lot of the roasted deer meat into her mouth. She seemed to have overestimated just how much food a girl her size could eat at once.
! The campfire dimly burned as Nukka took the last bite of deer. Tikaani lounged across from the two girls, asleep as far as Nukka could tell. Siku had been out hunting on her own. Nukka turned to her sister, who seemed to be gnawing at her own chunk of meat.
! “You're incredible, Shila,” Nukka smiled. “You're not even thirteen yet and you're already one of the best hunters in the village. You've gotta teach me to hunt like that!”
! “Do I?” Shila grinned mischievously. “And why would I want to do that?”
! “Because I'm your sister. You've gotta show me how to take care of myself. You're not always gonna be here for me.”
! “That's nonsense,” Shila laughed, rubbing her little sister's head affectionately. “I will always be here for you.”
! * * *
! Having her fill, Tikaani rose to her feet as Immuyak continued to tear away at his rabbit. Nukilik had taken one for himself and tended to it a few feet away. Tikaani approached him as cautiously as she could. She had no way of knowing how he'd react to her company, but she thought she would hazard to try.
! “You're a pretty good hunter,” Tikaani said, catching his attention. “You have got to teach me to hunt like that.”
! “Do I?” Nukilik scowled icily. “And why would I want to do that?”
! Tikaani took a moment to answer. She didn't have a good reason to give him. “So I can take care of Immuyak,” she finally decided.
! “That's nonsense,” Nukilik responded fiercely. “You're tagging along with me to Angelrouwak Lake, aren't you? Once you're there, you can have someone else teach you. Even better if Immuyak's mom happens to be in the neighborhood.”
! “It still wouldn't hurt,” Tikaani tried to plead.
! “Then be upfront with me.” Nukilik took his attention off his food and got to his feet. “Admit that your reasons are selfish.”
! “Excuse me?” It was Tikaani's turn to growl. “Forget I asked, then.”
! Tikaani turned to go. “Let's go, already. We're burning daylight.”
! “Just give me the real reason,” Nukilik groaned. “Just admit to me and to yourself that you plan to run away from everyone like a coward!”
! Tikaani stopped. Did he really assume she would leave Immuyak with him?
! “I'm not going to run away,” she approached Nukilik and shouted in his face. “I'm going to find Siku!”
! “So you are going to leave the kid with me,” Nukilik shouted back, perhaps a little too loudly.
! “Of course not! I'm going to Angelrouwak to find Immuyak's mother, then I'm going to find my sister!”
! “Then what do you need me to teach you anything for?”
! “You're going to leave?” Immuyak interrupted with a frown, cutting off the argument.
! “Of course not,” Tikaani assured him. “We've got a mother to find, remember? I bet she's worried sick about you.”
! “Then I want to learn to hunt too!” Immuyak shouted. “You can teach us both, Mr. Nukilik! That way I won't be a burden to you or Tikaani.”
! “Oh, alright, already,” Nukilik rolled his eyes. “Just upstream, there's a small clearing with a pond. It's where the smaller animals around here go to drink. It's as good a place as any to start.”
! Nukilik walked ahead of them, with Immuyak following close behind. Tikaani sighed before following as well. The trip to the clearing was uneventful and it took them close to an hour to reach it. When they arrived, a bunny had been drinking carelessly, unaware of the hungry pack of wolves behind the bushes that was looking to make it their prey.
! “There we go,” Nukilik lowered his voice. “A little guy, perfect for beginners like yourselves.”
! “But it's just a child,” Tikaani challenged, flashes of the baby rabbits from the other night crossing her mind.
! “Eat or die,” Nukilik shrugged. “If you're going to get soft, then you're going to starve. It's that simple.”
! “You really should consider taking some lessons from Immuyak on empathy,” Tikaani muttered.
! “I'm sure you know all about empathy, don't you, Nukka?” Nukilik snapped back coldly, getting under her skin.
! Just you wait, she thought to herself. She really wanted to put this jerk in his place. “Whatever, boss. What do we need to do to catch lunch?”
! Nukilik grumbled something inaudibly before answering. “Well, for starters, rabbits are small-time prey. If you're going at it alone, that's really all you can handle. So, we'll start there.”
! Nukilik crouched low in the bushes. “The first thing you must do is mask your presence. The element of surprise is crucial…”
! * * *
! “Like this?” Nukka asked her older sister as they eyed the small fawn intently.
! “Yeah,” Shila nodded. “Now, the next step is to observe. You need to know your mark inside and out. Watch its mannerisms and look for any sign of weakness. Once you've found that weakness, you lean in...”
! Nukka crouched even lower, grasping the makeshift hunting spear in her right hand as tightly as she could.
! “Wait for your target's attention to lapse for only a single second...”
! * * *
! “..and strike!” Nukilik shouted, but before he could leap himself, Tikaani took charge. Before the rabbit could react, she would have her teeth at its throat. Her excitement, however, caused her to put too much spring into her vault. She stumbled trying to correct her mistakes in futility, scaring the bunny into the bushes.
! “What the heck was that?” Nukilik snarled darkly as he darted toward her, putting his muzzle to her face. She could smell his hot breath as his eagle-like eyes pierced through her own like a machete. “Get serious, why don't you?”
! “Excuse me?” Tikaani growled as she got back to her feet. “I am serious. I just tripped is all. My mistake.”
! “Can you afford to make mistakes?” he asked her. “If you can't even catch a baby rabbit, you're done for.”
! Immuyak then emerged from a nearby bush with the bunny's blood dripping from its broken neck. “How'd I do?”
! “Not bad,” Nukilik's eyes lit up as he dashed over to Immuyak. “Not bad at all.”
! * * *
! “Ouch!” Nukka screamed as Shila rubbed the ointment on the abrasion on her knee. “That stuff stings!”
! “Don't be such a baby,” Shila sang as Tikaani approached, sniffing at Nukka's injury. Nukka could see the fear well up in Shila's eyes as her body instinctively jolted back.
! “Same goes for you,” Nukka quipped, rising to her feet and limping closer to the campfire. “You know you don't have to be afraid of Tikaani. Or Siku, for that matter.”
! Shila kept silent as she placed the wooden lid back on the ointment container. “Ahnah's going to be upset when she finds out we took this.”
! “Well, it does come in handy,” Nukka shrugged. “I'm more concerned with how worried everyone is going to be that we've been gone for a couple days.”
! “Let 'em worry. We'll be back soon enough.”
! “Yeah, I guess so. So what's on tomorrow's agenda?”
! “Tomorrow?” Shila frowned before her face began to glow with recollection. “Oh! We're fishing.”
! * * *
! “Fishing?” Tikaani scowled. “Seriously?”
! “Yeah,” Nukilik growled, visibly annoyed. “You seem to have a problem with that.”
! “Only a minor one,” she snarked before approaching the river. “Now, tell me, what am I supposed to do?”
! “You just have to study the paths of the fish and strike in their expected location,” Nukilik explained. “Fishing is easy once you've got the whole predicting their movements part down.”
! “Easy for you to say, Shila,” Tikaani rolled her eyes.
! “Shila?” It was Nukilik's turn to scowl.
! “Oh,” Tikaani shook her head. “It's nothing.”
! * * *
! “Easy for you to say!” Nukka screamed back to Shila as she tiptoed across a large fallen tree branch that bridged the river, watching intently as the fish jetted along in the water.
! “Quit being a baby and do it already!” Shila shouted.
! Nukka closed her eyes and clenched her fishing spear. Alright, here goes. She opened them again and watched the fish zoom past. One was closing in on her fast. Fifteen feet. Ten feet. She pulled the spear back. Five feet.
Crack.
! As she thrust the spear toward the water, the branch snapped under her weight, causing her to lose balance and stumble into the blue rush beneath her.
! * * *
! Tikaani burst from underneath the water empty-mouthed. She overshot her strike at the water, causing her to lose balance and stumble into it. Nukilik and Immuyak splashed in after her, paddling along the water, scooping up fish here and there with relative ease.
! “I am so happy you guys are enjoying yourselves,” she groaned as she swam to shore.
! “Lighten up, will you?” Nukilik shouted as he slapped the water with his tail, splashing the retreating Tikaani. In response, Immuyak started splashing wildly as well, laughing more than she'd ever seen him laugh before.
! “You asked for it now!” Tikaani roared as she splashed into the water herself, sending her own splashes back at the two boys. For a brief moment, she felt like she had been splashing with Shila, just like that day Shila taught her how to fish.
! “That was… exhausting,” Immuyak gasped as he crawled out of the water and rolled on his back. “You guys have an unfair size advantage.”
! “If you wanna complain about advantages,” Nukilik laughed as he nipped at Immuyak's legs playfully. “You're way too small of a target, kid.”
! Immuyak laughed along with him as the two of them dashed around in every possible direction. Tikaani watched casually as she let her fur dry, shaking the water out every now and then. Their casual play reminded her of how her and Tikaani would dash about and wrestle with each other when she was Nukka. The thought of Shila crossed her mind, but she pushed it out and instead laid her head on the soft ground. Tomorrow, Nukilik was going to show them how to hunt larger prey.
! * * *
! “Alright, Nukka, we've gona after small game and fish, but now it's time to start going after the herds,” Shila nodded as they approached the clearing.
! Nukka poked her head through the brush to see a small herd of caribou grazing. She counted no more than seven or eight of them.
! “What you're looking for is an injured one,” Shila continued. “Or an old one. Either will work.”
! Nukka nodded and scanned the herd, noticing a sickly looking fawn wobbling about.
! “There,” she whispered, pointing to the baby caribou.
! “Good choice,” Shila grinned, clenching her hunting spear. “You ready for lunch?”
! “Whoa,” Nukka cried as she turned her head to her sister. “You're going after it with a spear? What about Siku and Tikaani? Shouldn't they help?”
! “I don't think that's a good idea,” Shila frowned.
! “And why not?” Nukka challenged. “They're our Spirit Wolves, aren't they?”
! Shila stood silent for a minute. “I'm going,” she answered before darting off.
! “Hey! Wait a minute!” Nukka cried.
! * * *
! Nukilik dashed past her, straight for the caribou. “Come on, you two! Like we practiced!”
! Right, Tikaani assured herself, following suit. Nukilik would scare the herd while her and Immuyak too turns giving chase. It was important to take turns so that way the three of them could tire out the fleeing beasts without tiring themselves.
! “Tikaani!” Nukilik cried from the northwest as he followed her. “Turn them this way?”
! “Right!” she responded, circling around the herd and changing the direction of the herd towards Nukilik.
! “I've got it from here!” Nukilik hollered as he took pursuit, giving Tikaani the chance to catch her breath.
! “I'm coming up!” Immuyak clamored as he caught up with and passed Tikaani.
! “Immuyak… be...,” Tikaani panted before catching sight of it. “...Immuyak!”
! * * *
! “Aw, they got away!” Nukka huffed as she caught up with her sister.
! “Ah well, it happens,” Shila grinned. “We'll just have to try again-”
! “Shila...,” Nukka cut her sister off as she felt the color flush from her face.
! “What?” Shila frowned. “You look like you've seen a ghost.”
! * * *
! “Run!” Nukka of the past and Tikaani of the present screamed shrilly as Shila and Immuyak each found themself face to face with a very large bear.
! * * *
! Immuyak took off in the opposite direction as the bear began to gave chase. Nukilik was out of sight and most likely out of earshot. She ran after the bear, hoping to distract it long enough for Immuyak to get away. The bear itself was large and grizzly, and looked to be female. She heard squalling in the distance, most likely the bear's cubs. Tikaani knew that they were in for it now: provoking a mother was the last thing she needed to accomplish.
! * * *
! Nukka fled into the trees as the black bear roared violently, causing the birds in the trees to fly away frantically. She bolted as fast as her little legs would allow as she tried to put distance between herself and the bear. But Shila... No! Nukka cried. She shoved her foot into the ground, pivoted about her heel, and turned around immediately. She had to go back for her sister.
! * * *
! “Hold on, Immuyak!” Tikaani cried as she pumped her legs as fast as she could to reach Immuyak and the pursuant bear.
! In response, the mother bear gave up her chase against Immuyak and instead devoted her full attention to Tikaani. That's it, Tikaani leered at the grizzly bear. Come this way! It let out a deafening roar as it bound toward Tikaani. In any other scenario, she would have ran away, but not this one. Immuyak needed her. She had no choice but to stand her ground until he wold manage to get a safe distance away.
! “Tikaani, look out!” Immuyak cried as he darted in her direction.
! “No, stay back!” she screamed. “Get away from here! Go!”
! “I'm not leaving you!” Immuyak jowled, not turning back.
! “Go!” she shreaked as the bear smashed its corpulent paws into her left side, knocking the wind out of her as the impact launched her out of the clearing and a few feet into the encroaching forest. When she finally hit the hard earth, she heard and felt an unsettling snap.
! As she struggled to regain her composure, Immuyak pounced upon the massive grizzly and latched his teeth onto the mother bear's hind leg.
! “Immuyak!” she exclaimed frantically, struggling to endure the pain in her own hind leg. “I told you to run! What are you doing?”
! “Saving y-” Immuyak began before the bear flung him off, tossing him into the air. He landed several feet in the direction opposite Tikaani.
! “Get out of here!” she screamed again, finally getting to her feet before collapsing once more, unable to hold herself up with the hind leg on her right side. No good, I think my leg's broken.
! The bear advanced upon Immuyak slowly, snarling and growling. Tikaani knew she was ready to kill.
! * * *
! “Shila!” Nukka cried as she finally caught sight of her sister in a nearby clearing just a few yards away. Shila clenched her spear tightly in a futile attempt to fend off the large black bear.
! “Nukka?” Shila shrieked as Nukka made her presence known. “What are you doing? Get out of here! Run!”
! “I'm not leaving you!” Nukka pleaded. “Let's go!”
! The bear used the momentary distraction to strike, knocking Shila to the ground with its massive limbs. Her spear flew high into the air and leaded near Nukka's feet. As the bear advanced upon Shila, Nukka couldn't help but notice their Spirit Wolves' absence. Where is Siku? Shouldn't she be here protecting Shila?
! “Nukka… run...!” Shila managed to choke out as the bear closed in on her, snarling and growling. Nukka knew he was ready to kill.
! “I won't... leave you...,” Nukka broke into sobs. “I won't... I can't...”
! Nukka took a deep breath.
! And screamed.
! * * *
! “SHIIIIIILLLLLLLLAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!” Tikaani howled as she rose to her feet again and bolted after Immuyak with supreme adrenaline. The rush of emotion and energy, however, did nothing for her, as her leg gave out once more. She fell back to the solid ground, her heart racing in futility. No… No!
! It only took a second. In one instant, the bear was poised to strike. In the next, it was fighting off a reddish-brown wolf that locked his jaws around its neck.
! * * *
! It only took a second. In one instant, the bear was poised to strike. In the next, it was fighting off a bluish-gray wolf that locked her jaws around its neck.
! “Siku!” Nukka bayed with relief as Tikaani dashed toward them as well, joining Siku on the bear's back. It struggled to fight them off, but the two wolves were far more powerful. With the bear distracted, Nukka dashed for the spear. The next thing she knew, she roared at the top of her lungs as she and her reckless adrenaline converged upon the dogpile. She leapt high into the air and turned the point of the spear to the ground below, thrusting all of her strength into dealing the killing blow.
! “Nukka…” Shila gasped wide-eyed. “You... saved me...”
! “No... I didn't...” Nukka heaved as tears ran down her cheeks. “They did...”
! * * *
! “Nukilik!” Tikaani limped towards the struggle. “I'm coming!”
! “Tikaani!” Immuyak shouted, noticing her approach. “Are you okay?”
! “Are you?” she asked back before turning back to Nukilik and shouting again. “Nukilik!”
! “Little busy here,” he replied through clenched teeth as he tugged away at the bear's flesh.
! “Let her go!” Tikaani cried.
! “Are you crazy?” Nukilik challenged as the bear fell to the ground, running out of fight. “This beast won't stop until we're all dead!”
! “Let's just walk away! She's just looking after her cubs.” The image of the rabbit she killed flashed across her mind. “I'm begging you, Nukilik. Don't kill their mother.”
! Nukilik eased his grip and let the bear go. “You never cease to amaze me,” he growled as he leapt from the defeated bear. “I didn't take you for the motherly type.”
! “I've killed enough bears,” she responded, turning to leave, limping with every step. “Come on. Let's go.”
! “Whatever you say, Nukka,” Nukilik snarled coldly as he caught up to her and Immuyak. “I guess even murderers tend to have their fill of bloodshed after awhile.”
! “Do you have something you want to say to me?” Tikaani stopped and turned to face the bloody wolf. She had enough. “We've already been through all this a thousand times it seems, so what else do you expect me to do?”
! “Besides die?” Nukilik pondered sardonically as he walked past her. “I guess getting out of here before Mama Bear wakes up would be a good start.”
! “You're unbelievable,” she rolled her eyes before continuing after him, into the sunset. Immuyak padded along in front of them quietly.
! * * *
! “How are you feeling?” Nukka asked her sister as she passed her the chunk of bear meat she cooked over the campfire. “Rough day, huh?”
! “Yeah,” Shila gulped as she took a bite. “I didn't think we would survive that.”
! “Well, we did,” Nukka grinned as her pat Siku's furry head. “Though it's really all thanks to Siku.”
! Siku yawned and trotted over by Shila. Shila tensed up in response, but to Nukka's surprise, she stretched her hand out to Siku, who responded by licking it playfully.
! “You saved my life,” Shila smiled as tears began to bloom from her eyes. “I was scared of you too… I thought you'd try to kill me one day... I thought you'd turn on me just like the first wolf.... But you saved me instead. Thank you.”
! “I wonder what the Spirit Wolves' real purpose is,” Nukka pondered out loud as she watched the tender moment thoughtfully. “They don't teach the village children until they're about your age, Shila. That's what Elder Ahnah told me at least.”
! “A real purpose?” Shila frowned as she nervously stroked Siku's back. “I thought they just died so that their human links may live on. You know, like Siku did just now, protecting me.”
! “That's probably the case,” Nukka stated. “Nauja told me that in some of the other villages, especially the Village of Sounds, they tell the kids about everything at a younger age than our village does.”
! “Well, I'll find out soon enough,” Shila grinned. “Then I'll tell you right away.”
! “You promise?”
! “I promise.”
! * * *
! Tikaani groaned as she lay on the stone floor of the cave. Her leg had been throbbing ever since the attack. She wondered how long it would take to heal, especially if it were broken.
! “Don't worry, it's not,” Nukilik said lowly, startling her.
! “Excuse me?” Tikaani frowned coldly.
! “Not broken.” He circled around her and examined her hurting leg. “You've been limping the whole way here, not to mention you've been staring at it for over an hour since we got here.”
! “It hurts,” she groaned.
! “Of course it hurts,” he laughed.
! “How can you be so sure it's not broken?” she asked with a scowl.
! He grinned maliciously before stepping on her leg, sending flares of pain throughout her entire body. She screamed shrilly as she heard a distinct pop, the searing pain itself running through her veins like wildfire.
! “What the hell was that for?” Tikaani bellowed as she snarled at the red wolf.
! “Your leg was dislocated,” he pointed out. “Unless you wanted to be in excruciating pain for the next two weeks, I popped it back into place. It'll be good as new in a day or so.”
! “Uh, thanks, I guess,” she winced. “You could've warned me first.”
! “And miss that look of surprise?” Nukilik laughed. “You should've seen it! It was priceless.”
! “At least you're enjoying this,” she sneered as she got back up to her feet. She limped and wobbled past Immuyak, who slept soundly. She exited the cave into the cool night air. She let the gentle breeze comb through her fur as she approached the ridge. From here, she could see for miles, barring the nearby mountains off to the west. The forest itself seemed limitless, extending unbroken in every direction, save for the patches of black to the southeast. The moon hung low and large in the night sky, full as can be.
! “It's pretty gorgeous, isn't it?” Nukilik joined her on the ridge. “Tikaani and I would stay here on nights like this and just talk about everything and nothing.”
! Tikaani remained silent, unsure of how to respond to that. To Nukilik, she wasn't Tikaani: she killed Tikaani.
! “Sorry for earlier,” Nukilik sighed. “I was... being a jerk.”
! “Don't apologize,” Tikaani replied painfully. “You have every right to hate me.”
! “I do hate you,” Nukilik answered. “But that doesn't mean I should keep making this more uncomfortable for the both of us.”
! “I suppose so,” she nodded distantly. “You know, besides Tikaani, I've killed a lot of things. I've killed bears, rabbits, caribou, you name it.”
! “Well, you've gotta eat.”
! “I killed my sister too.”
! Nukilik did not respond to that.
! “At least, I think I did,” she continued. “When I died, I left Siku to die too. I didn't know at the time that she was my own flesh and blood.”
! “Well, not literally,” Nukilik added with a nervous laugh.
! “I guess not,” she responded with a weak smile. “But you know... I still think she might be out there. I think the Departed Ones gave me Tikaani's body so I could make it right somehow, you know?”
! Nukilik chuckled. “Well, while I can assure you that the world doesn't revolve around you, you might be right about one thing.”
! “Oh yeah? What's that?” Tikaani scowled.
! “I think that the Spirit Wolves are a way for you humans to get a second lease on life,” he explained. “A second chance to make things right somehow.”
! Tikaani stayed quiet.
! “That's what I think, at least,” he concluded. “That's why I can hate you and all, but I can't keep letting it show. It's not fair to you, since you've been given the chance to make amends.”
! She was shocked by how well Nukilik was able to internalize his hatred for her. She did find it admirable, however. She internalized much of her own hatred, especially toward the Spirit Wolves, but would not dare voice it. Not like this. And certainly not when something about that hatred felt wrong.
! “That's, uh, sweet of you, I think,” she replied, somewhat playfully. “Oh! I've been meaning to ask. While we're on the subject, you're a Spirit Wolf yourself, aren't you?”
! “Yeah,” he answered. “But my Link is still alive… I don't know much about him though. I've got a bit of a history after all.”
! “History?” Tikaani frowned. “You don't get along or anything?”
! “Well, they tried to kill me,” he sighed. “Mismatched me with another girl, and I didn't know how to react.”
! “You what?” Tikaani gasped. He couldn't be…
! “I attacked the poor girl out of fear and confusion. I felt so bad. When they sorted everything out and they gave me my real Link, I couldn't bear the thought of losing control again. So I ran, and here I am today. A lone wolf if there ever was one.”
! “I'm so sorry,” Tikaani answered consolingly. “You've had it rough.”
! “Eh, nothing I can't handle,” he smiled.
! He then raised his head and let out a piercing howl.
! “Howling at the moon?” Tikaani laughed derisively. “How cliché.”
! A distant howl came from several miles to the east.
! “You humans and your misconceptions,” Nukilik rolled your eyes. “It's communication. It's got nothing to do with the moon.”
! “Communication?” Tikaani scowled.
! “Yeah. I told the wolves over at Angelrauwok that we're coming.”
! “I see,” she nodded before yawning.
! “You should get some shuteye,” Nukilik offered. “We've got a long day ahead of us.”
! “Yeah,” she agreed and turned to limp back into the cave. “Good night, Nukilik.”
! Sleep came easily that night, and so did the dream. In fact, for the first time, the fragments pieced themselves together like a jigsaw puzzle. Tonight, she was going to relive the memory in its entirety.
Here it is, the every important turning point of the story, I suppose. It still needs some work, but I find any work done to the story at this point will only be supplanted by MORE necessary work five chapters down the road. Speed, for now, then as the story gets closer to wrapping up, I'll start wrapping up and polishing all of the past chapters.~
Ah well, enough talk, let's get to the song and dance… shall we?
Chapter 7: You Should Be Dead
! The sun was beginning to set on that fateful day, elongating the shadows of the forest. The amber-colored sunlight highlighted and illuminated that which was not cast in dark blue shadows. The colors of autumn were starting to come in as torrents of birds soared southbound overhead. A herd of deer dashed through a nearby clearing as the setting sun shimmered off the standing water of the pond.
! Nukka followed her sister's footsteps carefully as the two girls, Spirit Wolves by their sides, trekked through the northern expanses of the Great Forest. They had been out hunting and ranging for several days, searching for any game big enough to hold them over during the impending winter. Their efforts produced little success. The girls only managed to bag a few rabbits here and there. The deer were especially elusive, save for when they appeared in the evening, when the two girls were far too exhausted to pursue them.
! They approached the pond, which nested itself neatly at the base of a towering ridge. Nukka surmised that rainwater slid down into the pond from the cliff's edge, feeding its water supply during monsoonal seasons.
! “We'll camp here,” Shila announced as she started collecting small pieces of tinder. “The sun will be setting soon, so I'll get a fire started. Can you gather some pears from the woods?”
! Nukka nodded. “Come on, Siku,” she sang before catching a glimpse of the sun as it glimmer from the top of the ridge. She judged that the cliff was about two hundred feet tall. From that height, they could probably see for miles and finally regain their bearings.
! Nukka glanced at Shila and frowned. Shila was a thick-headed girl, Nukka knew, and would never admit that they were lost. Nukka stayed quiet about it, but could always recognize a disoriented Shila. She watched her sister absentmindedly collect twigs and other manageable pieces of wood. Shila began to hum a bit as she gathered the fuel, a tell of hers that she was lost in deep immersive thought.
! “Are you going or not?” Shila frowned as her eyes met Nukka's. Nukka looked away in embarassment, scolding herself silently for staring too long. “Is something wrong? You're wasting sunlight, you know.”
! “Right,” Nukka shook her head. “Sorry.”
! “You and your daydreaming,” Shila smiled. “Just stay close to Siku, okay?”
! Nukka nodded as she left with Siku. Time crept by slowly as she gathered the ice-blue hued pears from the nearby trees uneventfully. When she judged that she had collected plenty, her and Siku returned to the pond to see Tikaani and Shila huddled up near a raging fire. Shila grabbed her hunting spear and took the satchel of pears from Nukka, impaling them upon the spear's tip to roast them over the fire.
! “The fire's warm,” Nukka sat by the fire across from Shila, breaking the silence as the sun began its descent beneath the horizon. She lowered her head and wrapped her arms around herself as she mumbled in insight. “It's hard to believe that something so warm, so inviting, can leave so much black in its wake.”
! “Is that what this is about?” Shila frowned. “Are you worried about the Spiritless Men?”
! Nukka looked up at her sister. “No,” she shook her head. “I know they have yet to advance this far north. They've mostly kept to the south and east. That's not what troubles me.”
! “What's bothering you then?” Shila cocked her head to the side.
! Nukka realized she might have said too much and let out a long sigh. “Not really troubled, just concerned,” she answered. “I get the feeling you're not telling me anything. It's been a week and a half and you've always hurried me to bed every time we stop and I never get a chance to talk to you.”
! “About what?”
! “Well, lots of things… for one, I feel like you're the one who's troubled, not me.”
! Shila took a bite of pear and scowled. “Why would you think that?”
! “Well, we're lost, are we not?” Nukka took her own spear and put a pear to the fire. “You've been trying to get your bearings for days, haven't you?”
! “You're imagining things,” Shila lied unconvincingly. “I know what I'm doing.”
! “Then why are we going further north?” Nukka challenged.
! “Why would we need to go south?” Shila responded. “I don't know about you, but I'm not ready to head home just yet. Especially not empty handed.”
! “I see,” Nukka nodded, refusing to push the issue. Her sister had a way of being stubborn about things like this. She thought it best to just have her way.
! “But you really want to talk about the wolves, don't you?” Shila asked after a long, awkward pause.
! Nukka stayed silent for a moment. “Well, yeah, there's that, too,” Nukka admitted with another deep sigh as she rose to her feet. “You've started the teachings, haven't you? So what's the big mystery surrounding our Spirit Wolves? Why are they so important?”
! “Whoa, slow down a bit, will you?” Shila laughed as Nukka caught herself getting overly excited. She sat back down and crossed her arms, kneeling her head down to listen. Finally, she was going to hear it all.
! “Well, the main idea is that,” Shila began. “Our Spirit Wolves die for us so that we may live on. You know how the saying goes.”
! “Right,” Nukka nodded. “So what's that really mean?”
! “Well, to put it simply, it's quite literal,” Shila continued. “Our Spirit Wolves will literally die in our stead should our lives ever be compromised.”
! Nukka's face glowed when she heard that. “So, kind of like an extra life? If we ever find ourselves in a dangerous situation, our Wolves will take the fall for us.”
! “Well, if you put it that way, I suppose,” Shila shrugged. “But it's more complicated than that.”
! Nukka heard enough. An idea popped into her head. “Wait here!” she tossed her speared pear to the ground as if it wasn't even there.
! Shila frowned as her sister got to her feet and approached the cliffside. “What are you doing?”
! “If it's like you say,” Nukka groaned as she climbed atop a boulder engraved into the cliffside before getting her footing into a narrow groove. “Then I technically can't be killed while Tikaani is alive, right?”
! Shila rose to her feet as well. “I didn't say-” she shook her head. “Nukka, what are you doing? You're going to get hurt!”
! Nukka began to follow the groove as it widened into a narrow ascending path up the cliff face.
! “Stop pretending, Shila!” she hollered back. “I know we're lost, but I'm gonna change that. Just watch!”
! “Nukka, get down from there!” Shila screamed as she followed her sister up the cliff face. “What do you think will happen if you fall?”
! “I'll be okay!” Nukka shouted back, half paying attention, climbing to the next groove within the cliff wall. She was only partially invested in arguing with her sister, opting instead to focus on the task at hand: getting back home. “You said it yourself, didn't you? If our lives are ever compromised, our Spirit Wolves will die instead! So nothing will happen to me.”
! “Dammit, Nukka, stop and listen to me!” Shila's words filled Nukka's ears but she never processed them. “That's not what I mean! You'll die if you fall from there, do you understand me?”
! By now, she was about thirty feet from the ground, and found a wide path that wrapped around the cliff face to a noticeable vantage point about fifty feet higher. Perfect, she nodded. She only half-noticed that Shila was gaining on her quickly. Tikaani and Siku circled the base of the cliff restlessly, several feet below.
! “Nukka, please!” Shila's cries continued to fall on deaf ears. “Whatever you think you're doing, it's not worth it. Do you hear me? If you fall, you will not survive! Spirit Wolves or no.”
! “Yeah, yeah,” Nukka blotted out the words, though the sensation within her head was off. A part of her had began to register the words Shila shouted, even as Shila explicitly spelled out the truth about the Spirit Wolves to her, but the part of her that drove her continued to climb stubbornly. Nukka felt for a moment in a dream-like state, as if she was watching the events unfold from a consciousness completely separate from her body.
! She then realized that she was dreaming. She was reliving those painful events of that day, this time merely an observer. Despite all of that, everything felt foreign and new to her, as if she was witnessing these events unfold for the first time. Was this really what happened that day? Was it just a dream? Or was she in fact unlocking the long-imprisoned memories from their forgotten cage?
! Dream Nukka reached the vantage point after a few more minutes of climbing and scanned the horizon.
! “You've gotta see this, Shila!” she cried excitedly. “The view is incr-”
! Dream Nukka felt horror as the ground crumbled beneath her and she felt the pull of gravity tugging on her. The groove in the cliff gave way underneath her weight as she began to plummet.
! “Shilaaaaaa!” she screamed in terror as she heard Shila's own screams come into focus.
! “Nukka!” she cried as she grabbed Nukka's hand in the nick of time. Nukka felt her fall break as she dangled like a pendulum eighty feet in the air.
! “Oh no!” she began to weep. “What am I doing?”
! “Don't worry,” Shila urged as she began to tug. “I've got you. You're safe now, you hear me?”
! Nukka heard the sounds of cracking earth and looked up to the source, noticing the ledge beginning to give way underneath their combined weight.
! “Shila, we're going to fall!” Nukka screamed as Shila tightened her grip. She looked down to the dizzying earth below. Tikaani circled below, barking madly. But Siku was nowhere to be found.
! “Shila!” she repeated, looking back up toward her sister. Shila's gaze was strangely distant as she stared off into nowhere in particular.
! Her eyes began to well up as a fierceness began to cross her face. “You should be dead,” her sister uttered unnervingly and unnaturally. The words sent chills down her dreaming self's spine.
! Nukka was dumbstruck by the words as Shila's grip tightened further. She felt a tremendous force tug at her, lifting her up to the ledge above. She felt the muscles in her sister's arm constrict as Shila grit her teeth and let out a desperate growl. Nukka feel to solid ground and rolled toward the cliff wall along the ledge, her sister's grip loosening and releasing in the process. She stopped with her back to the open air and her head to the wall. She sighed in relief, got to her knees, and turned to Shila.
! But Shila was gone. Falling pebbles spilled through the hole where a large chunk of ledge used to be: the very place where Shila was standing moments before. She heard a crunch far below that echoed through the surrounding woods. And then there was silence.
! But not for long. She heard a howl from below. Then another close by. And two more. Soon, the entire forest sang with the chorus of howling wolves.
! Nukka panted a bit in shock before realizing what had just happened. No, no, no, no! She began to sob as the sun disappeared beneath the horizon, taking what remained of the light with it. Nukka struggled to her feet as she took extra caution climbing down the side of the cliff, overwrought with sheer terror and dread at the thought of her sister. What… what have I done?
! Her thoughts taunted her as she finally made it to the base of the cliff. The first thing she saw was Tikaani, who darted over to her in an instant. The wolf continued to howl sadly as the stars began to peek through the darkening night sky.
! She was obscured by the large boulder that Nukka first climbed to get up the face of the cliff. She put her hand to the cold gray stone as she slowly began to circle around it, terrified of what she'd find on the other side of it. Tikaani crawled alongside her, her howls breaking and fragmenting with fatigue.
! When the boulder was clear of her vision, Nukka let out a weak yelp. Shila was sprawled lifelessly in the shallow pond, facedown, her long dark hair spread over her head like a fan. The rest of her body was somewhat twisted into a odd position with her left leg bent back and her right arm clearly broken and twisted.
! Nukka fell to her knees as the sobbing began. She wanted to get close to her sister's body, but the shame would not allow her to inch any closer. Her sister lay like a shredded doll across the forest floor and she would never get up from it again. This is all my fault, Nukka admitted, but only once.
! The tears gave way to a hollow anger. Siku… Where is Siku? She wanted very desperately to find the wolf, but she was unable to rise from her pitiful crying position. She just continued wailing inaudibly, for what seemed like hours.
! She did not notice the villagers as they came to collect her and her sister's body. She did not hear the questions that they asked. She did not feel the warmth of the blankets that they brought, nor did she feel the gentle rocking of her mount's back as the strong village men carried her frail and broken self back to the village.
! She hated herself for calling herself broken when her sister was literally so. She had no room to talk because her sister's blood was solely on… on what? She did not complete the thought as she felt the events of the evening distort and blur in her memory.
! She barely noticed as the men dropped her off at her hut. She barely noticed as Ahnah entered moments later, her eyes heavy with tears. She barely felt the elder's firm embrace as she wept with her. She didn't even see her leave.
! Nukka was now a husk as the thoughts continued to warp and disappear. She could no longer recall any of the events of the evening. She remembered the pears, and she remembered the simple fact that her sister was dead, but everything in between was completely gone.
! * * *
! Tikaani woke with tears in her eyes. She gasped heavily as she took in the events that transpired within the dream. It was… me? She began to weep. I… killed Shila... Oh dear, no... I... killed her... not once... The image of Siku pinned beneath the fallen tree flashed across her eyes through her mind. Siku…
! Even though the dream was done, the memories were not. The nightmare was not done with her yet.
! * * *
! Nukka sat in a fetal position, staring blankly into no direction in particular. She was now empty and devoid of anything. But she needed her fill of something.
! That was when Siku emerged from outside the hut. Nukka, for once aware of her surroundings, heard the wolf whimper solemnly as it approached. She lifted her head to meet its eyes and felt a new presence within the wolf, one it didn't have before.
! Guilt.
Well, to put it simply, it's quite literal, Shila's words echoed in Nukka's empty mind. Our Spirit Wolves will literally die in our stead should our lives ever be compromised.
! Then she remembered looking down as she dangled from the cliff. It was a brief flash but in that instant, she recalled that Siku was nowhere to be seen.
! Our Spirit Wolves will literally die in our stead should our lives ever be compromised.
! Nukka gazed for a long time into the wolf's eyes as her sister's words repeated in her head. Siku appeared to be sorrowful, but something about her was off. Guilt, the word echoed once more.
! * * *
! The Tikaani of the present saw the scene for what it was. Shila, in her new body, came to the broken Nukka with a mission. Tikaani frowned as she felt Siku's thoughts resonate. I'm okay, Nukka. Everything's gonna be okay. I'm still here.
* * *
! What Nukka saw was different. Guilt, it echoed once more. Beyond that guilt, she felt a soothing emotion coming off the wolf, as if to say everything was okay. As if her sister did not just die at the hands of…
! The anger began to fill the hollow void as Nukka rose to her feet. Siku tried to approach, the warmth not fading. You should be dead, the words echoed through Nukka's head, screaming at her from every direction. The wolf let out a small, comforting whimper.
! But then it let out a loud one as Nukka kicked the wolf right in the jaw. The wolf leapt back and yelped in surprise as tears began to well up in Nukka's eyes.
! “It's all… because...” she choked back the tears as she grabbed a blunt club her sister had used for hunting. “It's all... your...”
! She brought the club down and smashed it against the wolf's left flank.
! “You!” she screamed as the tears poured anyway. “Where did you... why did you... It was all because of you...!”
! She pulled the club back, and struck again, this time resulting in an audible crack. Siku once again yelped as Nukka dropped the club.
! * * *
! Tikaani of the present winced in horror as the events played back in her mind. Shila… her thoughts began to overwhelm her. What did I do… What have I done... What kind of monster...
* * *
! “What did you do?” Nukka screamed in delirium, planting her foot firmly in the fallen wolf's side. “What have you done?”
! The beast stayed silent, as if accepting its punishment. “What kind of monster are you?” Nukka wept as she continued to kick and kick and kick away at the brute. “You should be dead! You should have died in her place! You should be dead! You hear me? Why aren't you dead? Why is she gone? You should be dead!”
! The hysteria in Nukka's voice escalated soared as she continued to beat the wolf bloody. She continued shouting frantically, even as villagers burst into her hut to restrain her and stop her from doing any more damage to that… thing.
! “You should be dead! Do you hear me, you monster? You should be dead! Dead like her! You were supposed to... She was supposed to... She died so you didn't have to! You should be dead! You should be dead!”
! * * *
! Tikaani wept as the memory concluded, ashamed and embarrassed at who the true monster was. She moaned violently as she realized just how wrong she was and just how much she wronged as a result. On top of killing her sister twice, she even beat her half to death in the meantime.
! Were she in her own body, she'd probably be scratching away at her arms, doing her damnedest to sever her blood-stained hands from her guilt-ridden body. But instead, because of her own foolishness, she now found herself in someone else's body, someone who was also dead at her hands.
! How many lives will I take before I atone? She shook her head as the tears intensified. She rose to her feet and inched toward the stone wall of the cave she slept in. It was dark and cold, but not nearly as dark and cold as she felt.
! “It's all… because...” she closed her eyes as she pressed her head firmly against the cave wall. “It's all... me...”
! She pulled her head away and immediately slammed it into the wall. The force caused her brains to rattle a bit as she felt herself getting disoriented. It wasn't enough.
! Her head met the wall again, this time harder. “Why couldn't I...” The third strike was even harder. “Why didn't I...” Again, she struck the wall. “It's all... my... fault!”
! She continued to slam her head against the wall, shrieking and cursing with every breath. “You're a monster, Nukka! You're a... murderer...! What have you done...?”
! She felt dizzy and the pain intensified, but still she slammed her brittle skull against the cold stone walls of the cavern. She didn't care if her skull shattered. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered.
! “You should be dead...!” she cried pitifully. “You hear me? Dead! You should be dead...! You should be dead! You should be dead! You should be dead! You should be dead! You should be dead! You should be dead!”
! She didn't even notice as Immuyak and Nukilik forced her away from the wall, she still thrust her head into the air regardless. She didn't hear anything they said, she only continued her broken frenzy at the top of her lungs.
! “Shila! Siku! Tikaani! It was all because of you, Nukka! They all died so you didn't have to! You should be dead! You should be dead! You should be dead! You should be dead! You should be dead!”
Very early and muddy draft, but with this arc, I'm more concerned with getting as much writing done as possible. I'll patch this one up a bit in time for the Monthly, but until then, enjoy this shoddily written mess :D
Chapter 8: Big Sister
! The clouds hovered low in the sky on the following morning. Save for the occasional break, the sun stayed behind them for the most part. A cold rain drizzled from them every now and then, though it always stopped after about ten minutes, only to start back up a half hour later.
! The scent of the rain was particularly strong, no doubt thanks to Tikaani's wolf nose. It wasn't an offensive aroma, but it wasn't an inviting one either. She usually loved the scent of the rain, but not today. Today, she wanted nothing more than to fall over and die.
! Tikaani sat outside the cave pensively, staring blankly at nothing in particular, but at the same time, to the southeast. Nukilik and Immuyak were around, but she could not say where. After last night's hysteria, they were most likely afraid to approach her. With good reason too: she'd been a hazard to herself and they probably feared she'd be hazard to them as well.
! “Are you ready to go?” Nukilik asked plainly as he exited the cave. So much for fear. “I know it's a good day for moping, but we're only a day's walk from Angelrouwak. So we're going to have to get going now if we want to get there by sundown.”
! Tikaani did not respond. Neither words nor gestures came from her as she gazed off toward the black listlessly.
! “You doing alright there, Nukka?” Nukilik frowned. “We have to go, you know.”
! “I'm fine,” she finally replied coldly and distantly. “Just say the word and I'll be right behind you.”
! “Alright,” Nukilik sighed. “Just hurry up, will you? Immuyak and I are getting bored of your pity party.”
! She nodded, though she wasn't sure what about. She just needed to be alone. She needed time to herself to think. I killed Shila… It was all me. The thoughts stabbed away at her for hours, threatening to destroy her. But death never came. How could it? No, her punishment was living with the burden. But why remember it now?
! “You coming?” Immuyak called out from the mouth of the forest. The others had already started going. Tikaani just nodded haphazardly and turned to follow them. She padded along slowly, not quite stopping, but not exactly making much forward progress.
! Nukilik and Immuyak paced several feet ahead, but her lumbering gait put distance between them quickly. However, as she fell too far behind, the others would stop and wait for her frequently. She could see the frustration in their eyes as they waited impatiently. But what did it matter? What did she care?
! Why was she even going to Angelrouwak Lake anyway? To take Immuyak home? Nukilik was perfectly capable of doing that on his own. To find Siku? How could she face her after everything she had done?
! “You're slow!” Nukilik complained as she approached them for the fifth time. A clap of lightning flashed in the distance as the thunder roared over Nukilik's voice.
! “Just go,” she sighed. “Go without me.”
! “No way!” Immuyak shouted. “It's cold and wet and scary out here, Tikaani. What's the matter anyway?”
! “Immuyak,” Nukilik said crossly, as if to silence the pup.
! “No,” Immuyak shook his head. “It's silly. You said your sister died protecting you?”
! Tikaani turned her head and stayed silent.
! “You said you left your sister for dead after she saved you?”
! No reply.
! “And you're afraid she won't forgive you?” Immuyak's voice grew intense.
! “You don't understand,” she shook her head defeatedly. “I killed her, Immuyak.”
! “No, I understand perfectly,” Immuyak lowered his hind legs and sat on the muddy earth. “Nukilik, give us a moment?”
! Nukilik rolled his eyes. “Whatever, just make sure she quits slowing us down. I want to get there before it starts raining again, let alone this week.” Nukilik dashed ahead as Immuyak put his paw on Tikaani's foreleg.
! “Sit,” Immuyak commanded, which took Tikaani by surprise. His Messenger blood seemed to be boiling up to the surface.
! “You're wasting your time, kid,” Tikaani growled, though did what he said.
! “Did I ever tell you I had a brother?” Miki asked.
! “I think so,” Tikaani replied with disinterest. “Malak or something.”
! “Maxtla,” Miki shook his head. “His name was Maxtla.”
! “Was?”
! “I died, remember?” Miki took a heavy sigh. “Anyway, Maxtla was my big brother. He was a Warrior, strong and true. But he told me one time that no matter how strong he would become, he would always be weak. Do you know why?”
! Because he's a human? “No, why?”
! “Because he was a big brother,” Miki continued. “No matter how strong he was, all it would take was for the enemy to take me out, and he'd lose instantly. Everything would be over in a second for him.”
! “So you're saying little siblings are just burdens?”
! “Maxtla sure thought so,” Miki shrugged. “But one day, I begged and pleaded that he take me with him on a fishing trip. He reluctantly agreed, and so we went. But I was being a little reckless and got the attention of a big grizzly bear. It came after me, but Maxtla was there with me. He tackled that bear and wrestled it to the ground, and then he killed it! It was so awesome!
! “But at the time, I was really upset. Maxtla got banged up pretty good, you know. And it was all my fault. If I wasn't fooling around, or if I just stayed home, he would've never nearly been killed. It was all because of me that he was weak after all.
! “But he looked me in the eye and smiled. I asked him what was so funny and he said, Are you kidding, Miki? You don't make me weak. It's all because of you that I can be strong. I thought he was crazy, but he said that if I wasn't there, he'd never have the chance to kill a bear all by himself. But I was scared, because what would happen if he died? It would have been all my fault.
! “He laughed at that too. He ruffled my hair and grinned, saying he wouldn't die any other way. To Maxtla, protecting his kid brother meant everything. Better him than me, he always said.”
! Tikaani listened intently as she felt tears began to roll down her furry cheeks. “So she'll forgive me, then?”
! “For what?” Miki grinned. “What is it you think you have to be sorry for?”
! Tikaani closed her eyes and began to weep. “It's all my fault… I was a monster... Everyone tried to tell me I was, but I never listened. I abused her, I disowned her, and I killed her, and what do I have to show for it?”
! “Better her than you, she would have said,” Miki shrugged. “At least you didn't kill yourself.”
! “But I killed her!” she cried.
! “You made her strong,” he frowned. “Sure, you didn't cope with her death the best way, but she will forgive you because she understands how much it hurt. She'd gladly shoulder your burden. That's what older siblings do.”
! “I'm still not convinced,” she turned away coldly.
! “Fine,” Immuyak took a deep breath. “Then I'm sorry.”
! “For what?” she scowled. “You're just trying to help.”
! “No, for the other day,” he lowered his head. “If I hadn't caught the attention of that bear, you wouldn't have injured your leg.”
! “It's just my leg. It's fine, isn't it?”
! “But if it weren't for Nukilik, you would have died for me.”
! “But you're…,” Tikaani began to cry harder. “...like my little brother. If something happened to you, then, I'd rather be dead.”
! “Now you get it,” Immuyak smiled before rising to his feet. “Now let's go. Nukilik's as impatient as ever.”
! Immuyak began to dash toward Nukilik, but turned around briefly and smiled. “What do you have to show for it? I'd say you have a lot.”
! Tikaani watched the wolf trot away as his words sank in. She appreciated the gesture and understood his intentions. But she was unsure if she was ready to accept forgiveness. It was her fault, there was no denying that. However, her sister's last words echoed in her head, further complicating the issue.
! “Are you still going to mope?” Nukilik called out, breaking her thoughts. “After everything Immuyak just told you?”
! “No,” she replied, though not loudly enough for him to hear. I won't. I can't. Siku is still out there somewhere… I'm going to find you!
! She bolted forth with new resolve to catch up to her companions.
! “Yay, Tikaani's back!” Immuyak cheered gleefully.
! “There's the Nukka we all know and tolerate,” Nukilik added with a sincere grin.
! “Sorry for everything,” she sighed. “It just all came rushing back, and it traumatized me a bit.”
! “That's what happens,” Nukilik nodded. “When I attacked that girl, I was lost in myself for days. Just forgive yourself and move on.”
! Tikaani nodded, but halfheartedly. Could she really forgive herself? Did she deserve to forgive herself? She shook her head. None of that mattered right now. Siku was waiting. She could feel it nagging at her in the back of her mind. A sensation boiled in her belly every time talk of Angelrouwak came up. She chose to ignore it until now, but it was unmistakeable now. Her gut was telling her one thing: Siku was at Angelrouwak, waiting for her.
! I'm coming, Siku. “I'm coming.”
! “Pardon?” Nukilik frowned.
! “Nothing,” Tikaani forced a smile. “Just thinking out loud.”
! “If you say so,” the wolf rolled his eyes as the trio pressed ever forward.
! By now, the sun was poking out more frequently as the clouds dispersed slowly. By mid-afternoon, the rain had ceased entirely and the sun poked out permanently around early evening. By this time, the three wolves had started following a river. They had traveled a good distance along the river; a waterfall could be seen on the horizon. A spectrum of color radiated from the fall as the sun hung low on the western horizon.
! “Just up there,” Nukilik raised his forepaw to point. “That's Angelrouwak Lake.”
! To Tikaani's shock, a pair of large grey wolves emerged from the trees on their right. “Who goes there?” one asked firmly. Tikaani was shocked to see other wolves for once.
! “It's just me, Nukilik,” Nukilik stepped forward. “We're here to meet up with somebody.”
! “Oh,” the same wolf growled impolitely. “Well, whatever. Come, Pukulria.”
! The second wolf shot dark eyes at Nukilik and followed the first.
! “What was that all about?” Immuyak grimaced.
! Nukilik wore a pained expression. “It's nothing… Those guys just don't like me very much.”
! “How come?” Immuyak began walking circles around Nukilik. “Are they jealous?”
! “Who would be jealous of the black sheep?” Nukilik snapped back in annoyance. “Let's just go already. You've got some wolves to meet and I've got places to be.”
! “You're not staying?” Immuyak groaned. “But you've been such a big help.”
! “I've got business to attend to here, but once I'm done, I'm gone.”
! “What kind of business?” Tikaani spoke up.
! “The kind that is none of yours,” Nukilik shot back.
! “Oh, come on,” Tikaani rolled her eyes.
! “I got you here, okay?” Nukilik turned to leave. “That was the agreement, remember?”
! “But aren't we friends?” Immuyak whined.
! “Friends?” Nukilik snorted. “Don't make me laugh, kid.” He embarked into the nearby trees and out of sight, leaving Tikaani and Immuyak alone.
! “I can't believe him,” Tikaani sighed before nudging Immuyak's back with her nose. “Come on, kiddo. Your mom is waiting for you.”
! Immuyak looked longingly in the direction that Nukilik left in before turning to Tikaani, smiling, and nodding. Tikaani walked toward the waterfall and the young wolf pup followed suit. Tikaani felt her heart race as she got closer to the waterfall as they rose in elevation. At the top of the waterfall, they would find the lake. And at the lake, she would find Siku.
! Just past the fall, they saw it. The sun had finally come out and stayed out, and with it, a warm light bathed the lake, which itself was tucked underneath a canopy of towering trees. Where the sun poked through the leaves, it shined off the lake brilliantly. Tikaani had to squint her eyes just to see, and what she saw was breathtaking.
! As far she could see, there were wolves. Big wolves, small wolves. White wolves, black wolves. Wolf pups, old wolves. She counted at least two hundred. Some were drinking of the lake, others were fishing from it. Some were swimming and splashing, others were on dry land and wrestling. Tikaani watched with mouth agape, amazed at the site before her. She was pretty sure that the living humans were unaware of this paradise. Not that they would ruin it or anything—the wolves and humans enjoyed a deep mutual trust—but it seemed almost like a wolf heaven, one completely untouched by the hands of man.
! Tikaani frowned for a moment as she caught her thoughts. For the first time, she found herself sharing a kindredness with her wolf identity. For the first time, she thought of her humanity externally, as something foreign. Her human side was one of them now. She found herself being one of the wolves now. It wasn't a completely unwelcome thought either. She and Siku could no doubt get used to this.
! “Um… Tikaani?” Immuyak mumbled shyly as he nudged her shoulder. To her surprise, she had failed to notice that every single set of eyes at the lake was on them.
! “Uh—hello?” Tikaani forced a weak smile, unsure how to respond.
! “It's Tikaani and Immuyak,” a hushed voice said aloud.
! “No, it's their human Links now,” another piped up.
! “Not little Miki!” a shrill voice cried. “Someone call Kanguyak right away.”
! “Their Links? Then that must be the person using Tikaani's body is...”
! Tikaani gulped guiltily. She could feel their judgment radiating darkly from them. She wanted to shrink and disappear as she felt their blame and hatred threaten to consume her. Though she did not disagree with them: their hatred would be justified anyway. Do your worst, everyone.
! “Nukka!” a gleeful voice shouted from the crowd. “It's really you!”
! “Shila?” she asked excitedly and instinctively, before realizing the voice was definitely a male's voice. A welcome one at that. “No, I'm sorry… Onartok.”
! Onartok emerged from the crowd and dashed toward her and circled around her. “I thought we lost you.”
! “You almost did,” she shrugged. “If it weren't for Immuyak here, I'd be a goner.”
! “Nukilik, too!” Immuyak added with a grin. “But don't give me all the credit, Tikaani. If not for you, I'd be bear food.”
! “Tikaani?” Onartok scowled.
! “Nukka died, remember?” Tikaani sighed.
! “I see...” Onartok hung his head low. “Glad to know you've come to your senses at least.”
! Tikaani did not respond as the rest of the wolves came forward as well to greet them.
! “Hey, where's Mom?” Immuyak asked nervously. “Has anybody seen my mom?”
! “Oh, and Siku!” Tikaani added. “Where is Siku?”
! “I'm right here,” a voice sang from behind her.
! Tikaani's blood ran cold as her heart stopped. Is it really…? Tikaani turned around slowly, taking a deep breath.
! “Mom!” Immuyak leapt onto the owner of the voice's back. She was a large, shaggy, and proud brown wolf with black paws and eye brows. She was Kanguyak.
! “I've been worried half to death, Miki,” Kanguyak began to cry as she nudged the young pup with her muzzle. “I thought I'd lost you.”
! “It's Immuyak now,” he closed his eyes as his mom began to lick his face. “That tickles!”
! “Thank heavens you're alright,” she sighed. “I don't know what I'd do… I can't...”
! “Don't cry, Mom!” the wolf pup laughed. “Tikaani took good care of me.”
! “Tikaani?” the mother wolf frowned. “Before she became... her?”
! Tikaani shied away ashamedly. She could feel the mother wolf's judgmental eyes scanning her intently.
! “Nope,” Immuyak ran over to Tikaani. “It was all after Nukka took over.”
! “It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Kanguyak,” Tikaani smiled as Immuyak nudged her warmly. “I'm Tikaani, Immuyak's big sister. And I'm looking for mine.”
Haven't finished editing either Chapter 8 or this one, but this is a better way to end 2012.
! Chapter 9: Alone
! Onartok was a big help in keeping the other wolves off of Tikaani's back. At first, many of them were very bitter and unwilling to talk to her, no doubt hearing of the horror stories she had been the center of as Nukka. But as she mingled with them, she found their misgivings seemed to fade away, or at least they did a good job of keeping them at bay.
! She recognized a few of the wolves around the lake from her time as Nukka. Aukaneck, Nauja's wolf, was among them. He was a cream-colored wolf with a white belly and markings. He was one of the rare cases where a Spirit Wolf and its Link were of opposite genders. She was very glad to know that Aukaneck was Aukaneck and not Nauja, though she wondered what it would be like if Nauja actually were Aukaneck. She laughed at the thought of Nauja enjoying the change. She had always been quite the tomboy.
! Aukaneck wasn't exactly friendly with her, though. He was quite blunt at times, and very unseemly with her. Not that he was expected to do otherwise. He knew her first hand. He knew what kind of monster she was. Even as the other wolves began to warm up to her, Aukaneck probably never would. His eyes echoed with a subtle yet unmistakeable message: You should be dead.
! A few other wolves from the village whose names she did not know caught her attention, though Elder Ahnah's wolf was not among them. Ahnah once said that her Spirit Wolf had died long ago, meaning that were Ahnah to die, she would die straight up. It was a little saddening to know, but Tikaani considered it a fair tradeoff for living such a long life. Ahnah was probably already very eager to take her rightful place amongst the Departed Ones.
! But one face she had been looking for failed to reveal itself. She thought maybe this one was off hunting or something, just like old times, but that did not seem to be the case.
! “Is everything alright, Nu?” Onartok asked as he emerged from the shrubbery with a rabbit carcass in his mouth. The sky began to fade to a dark blue as dusk set in. “Oh, sorry, Tikaani.”
! “Siku's not here, is she?” Tikaani hung her head sadly.
! “I haven't seen her in quite some time,” Onartok shrugged. “Since before you changed.”
! “I see…” Tikaani mumbled. “Do you think she's alive out there?”
! “Why wouldn't she be?” Onartok frowned. “She's tough as a stone, right? It'll take a lot to knock her down.”
! “Like, say, a burning tree?” she began to weep as the inevitable truth nagged at her.
! Onartok was silent for a moment before rubbing close to her. “Come on now... Don't beat yourself up. She's probably fine.”
! “I left her there...” she mouthed painfully. “It was all on me... Everything was my fault.”
! “I'm pretty sure she broke free,” Onartok said consolingly. “Let's go find her together, alright?”
! “But...” she tried to object. This was her problem after all, not his.
! “You're not alone, after all,” Onartok sighed. “You've got me here, always.”
! Tikaani was about to thank him before a large red wolf emerged from the bushes behind her.
! “I hope I didn't barge in on anything intimate,” the wolf rolled its eyes sarcastically, his unmistakeable trademark.
! “Nukilik,” Onartok growled. “What do you want?”
! “Nothing from you, fluffy,” Nukilik shot back. “I came to tell your girlfriend that I just happened to have heard tell from a couple of nobodies that some Spiritless Men were seen in the vicinity of the Village of the Sky with a very alive dark grey wolf in tow. Thought that might be your sis.”
! The Spiritless Men have her? She was taken aback. “You… She's... alive...”
! “Don't take my word for it,” Nukilik shrugged. “I'll meet with you at midnight at the waterfall. The Village of the Sky is a few days' walk north of here, but if we head east, we should be able to reach the Spiritless Men's camp in about three days.”
! “Hey, back off, would you?” Onartok interjected. “I'm taking Tikaani to the Village of the Sky first thing in the morning. We're not gonna take the word of a lone wolf's hearsay over what we already know.”
! “You and your unity, Onartok,” Nukilik barked. “Spare me your nonsense. If you don't want to believe me, that's fine. I'm doing a favor for Miss Pity Parade over here, not you. I'll still be waiting by the waterfall. Now I'll leave you two lovebirds alone.”
! Nukilik stormed off into the shrubs as Onartok heaved in astonishment. “That guy never ceases to be a pain in the paws.”
! “You know him?” Tikaani frowned.
! “Doesn't everybody?” Onartok shrugged. “He's what we call a Lone Wolf. Doesn't give a tooth about anyone but himself. I don't think I've ever met anyone in either of my lives as desperate to be alone as him.”
! Alone… Tikaani sighed and thought of her own desire for solitude. “But didn't he and Tikaani…?”
“Yeah,” Onartok answered glumly. “That was a big mess. Tikaani ticked off a lot of the others over him, including me. Ran off with that joker one time. I went after them of course and dragged her back. I was keeping an eye on her until she went off with you on that fateful day. I trailed behind you and Nauja until Tikaani came darting out of the woods and begged me to go with her to Angelrouwak as fast as possible. I thought she was trying to get back to Nukilik, but I obliged anyway. We were on our way when she collapsed. The last thing I hear who say was Nuk–. Naturally, I thought she was calling out for Nukilik. I had no idea she was talking about you.”
! “So you were with her when she…,” Tikaani gulped out the next word. “...died?”
! “Um, I guess,” Onartok frowned. “If you want to call it death.”
! Tikaani was silent.
! “Oh, sorry to go off-topic there,” he forced a weak smile. “I thought you would want to know that.”
! “It's fine...” she sighed. A strange memory popped into her head immediately afterward. Come on, Nukilik, the voice in her head pleaded. Come back to Angelrouwak with me. You don't have to be alone…
But I'm a mistake…
! “You feeling okay, Tikaani?” Onartok interrupted.
! “Yeah…” she winced, trying to recall the odd memory. Was that… Tikaani's memory?
! “Anyway, it's getting late,” Onartok sighed. “We can talk about Nukilik on the way tomorrow. Okay?”
! “Alright,” she nodded. She really wanted to learn more about Nukilik. Something about him seemed kindred to her, and she wanted to know why he was so angry and alone. Though she questioned how reliable Onartok's account would be. If she wanted to know more, she would have to…
! “You guys are leaving?” Immuyak gasped as he came from the shrubs.
! “Busy forest tonight,” Onartok laughed.
! “I have to go find Siku,” Tikaani told the wolf cub. “I found you your mother, like I promised. I'll come right back though.”
! “I want to go too,” Immuyak said sternly. “You helped me. I want to help you. Is that okay?”
! “But your mother.”
! “She said I could go!” Immuyak stood his ground. “I told her how big and strong you and Nukilik are and how you guys would keep me safe.”
! “Nukilik's not coming,” Onartok added in slight disgust.
! “So what?” Immuyak pleaded. “I've still got Tikaani. You said it yourself, you're like my big sister. I don't want you to be alone, so don't leave me alone...”
! “You're not alone, kid,” Tikaani smiled. “You've got your mother. And I won't be alone either.”
! No, the only one who was truly alone was Siku. Whether she was pinned under a tree or captured by the Spiritless Men, the Departed Ones weren't even with her. Siku needed her more than anything. That much was certain.
! “Then we'll go together,” she finally sighed.
! “But I didn't say anything,” Immuyak gave her a puzzled look.
! “You didn't have to,” she smirked. “You never stop until you get what you want.”
! “Heh,” the cub laughed. “You guys are leaving at dawn, right?”
! “Yeah,” she said thoughtfully. “I'll see you two then. I'm going to get some rest.”
The two wolves nodded as Tikaani left into the shrubs. She found a place on the forest floor underneath the trees and laid down, closing her eyes. She wanted to go right now, but even she understood the importance of rest. She needed all the rest she could get. Siku was waiting. She needed her. That much was certain.
! Her dreams that night weren't as haunting as usual, but instead she dreamed up another strange memory. It was fairly short, and when she did wake up from it an hour before midnight all she could remember was one phrase: Stop throwing yourself a pity party already and get over it. But it wasn't Nukilik talking to her. It was the opposite. She deduced that this was yet another memory of Tikaani's. Was she really one and the same with Tikaani?
! It was an hour before midnight. Nukilik would be waiting for her at the waterfall shortly, most likely. Onartok and Immuyak were probably fast asleep. Good, she thought to herself. She didn't want to burden them. This was her mission after all.
! She emerged near the lake and found nearly all of the wolves were fast asleep. A few had been awake, but none paid her any heed, except maybe Aukaneck. He flashed her a heated look before returning to his business of not caring about her. It was for the best, after all. She didn't want to cause a stir just yet.
! When she arrived at the waterfall, Nukilik had not arrived himself yet. She lowered her muzzle to the water and took a drink as her eyes carefully scanned her horizons. She finally spotted Nukilik, still asleep to the west a few paces. He would probably wake up any minute.
! Meaning she had to act fast. She swam across the water quickly and reached the opposite shore. She turned her back to see that Nukilik still hadn't stirred. Good, she whispered to herself before dashing off into the trees to the east.
! She made it fairly clear to Nukilik that she would probably go with Onartok. That meant he wouldn't think to follow her until daybreak. By then, he'd probably no longer care. She would be miles away already. Onartok and Immuyak wouldn't take the deceit well, but it didn't matter. She had to go now. Siku was waiting. She had to steal her back from the Spiritless Men before it was too late. Even if it meant fighting all of them by herself. Siku was all alone, and to save her, Nukka would have to do it alone.
Here we go, Act 2 begins here, I guess. This is a non-competition entry, so feel free to post critiques here.
Chapter 10: Just Like Me
! The sun hadn't even peeked over the horizon yet, but its leading rays bathed the land in twilight. A frost coated the forest floor as the deciduous trees began to shed their leaves in anticipation of the coming winter. A chilly wind blew in from the southeast, and with it came a dense fog. Though this was no normal fog. As Tikaani inhaled, it threatened to choke her. No, this was smoke. The flames of the Spiritless Men were being carried northwest, and their white smoke even further. Soon enough, she would be in their territory.
! Tikaani knew to avoid the smoke as best as possible. As Nukka, the flames or the black didn't kill her. Nor did the Spiritless Men themselves. It was the smoke. That's why the wolf stayed as low to the ground as possible as she snaked her way through the dense, dying forest. Even the trees looked sickly under the smoke's dominion.
! She felt a low growling building in the depths of her stomach. She realized quickly that she hadn't eaten since leaving Angelrouwak two days prior. She glanced and sniffed at her surroundings, but found no hint of life. Everything that had lived in this portion of the woods was long dead or had long fled.
! The odor of rot caught the tip of her nose as she spun around to find its source. The wind had shifted direction, this time coming in from the north. Sure enough, about fifty paces in that direction, she found a decaying deer carcass. Her stomach turned as she circled around it, though her mouth watered as she contemplated eating it. Food was food and out here, she needed to sup on something.
! But then she heard the rustling of leaves. She once again spun around, determining that the sound came from the southeast. She stayed low as she tried carefully not to rustle any leaves of her own. When she came to a clearing, she spotted her prey: a small fawn sipping from a puddle of rain water. Tikaani judged that the deer was probably related to the dead one she had just found.
! The fog of smoke began to thin as she silently stalked her meal. It may have been a child, but morals had burned her once before. She needed to eat if she wanted to find Siku. That much had been certain. With a heavy sigh, she closed her eyes, wept inwardly, re-opened them, and pounced. Her teeth found their target and the small deer's life was over. Tikaani's life was rejuvenated.
! As she supped, she silently thanked Nukilik for helping her get the hang of her new form. As Nukilik crept into her thoughts, she felt regret for leaving him behind, as well as Onartok and Immuyak. If she knew them as well as she thought she did, the latter two were probably on their way now to fetch her.
! What disturbed her most was that she felt the same way about Nukilik. For a wolf who wanted little to do with her and seemed to abhor her entire existence, she was surprisingly certain that he would come looking for her. Was it because of how he came back to her at Angelrouwak? Or was it perhaps that she was certain he would come for her?
! She lifted her head once her belly was full. The smoke had already cleared to a reasonable level, though she knew that the shifting wind had a play in that. Even now, the situation around her was deteriorating. The black was taking over as fast as ever.
! She continued her trek to the east for a few more moments, before an eerie sound stopped her dead in her tracks. A faint voice carried itself with the wind, which has again began to blow from the south, carrying more smoke with it. She could not tell the gender of the voice, but it was certainly nearby. She wanted to follow it, but she was approaching fast the Spiritless Men territory. If she were found, she could be in just as much trouble as Siku. She opted instead to continue heading east. She'd eventually find a trail to follow, so it was best to keep on her current course.
! Unfortunately, she stepped on a twig, snapping it in the process. The sound of it breaking in two echoed violently all around her. The source of the voice seemed to hear it, as she then heard movement a good distance to the south. And whatever it was was coming this way.
! Wasting no time, she bolted ahead. She did not want to find out to whom the voice belonged, regardless of how friendly the owner might be. But still, the pursuer seemed to have caught her trail, and the fact they were so steadfast on catching her told her that whoever it was was going to be trouble.
! She rushed through the forest as fast as she could, but took a misstep once more, this time catching her right hind paw in an exposed root, causing her to tumble face first a few yards out into a clearing. She tried to get back to her feet, but she twisted the joint, causing immense pain every time she applied pressure to it. I swear, this leg will be the death of me! She tried to move, but it was too late: her pursuant was upon her. And its appearance shocked her.
! From the bushes emerged a young human woman, probably a year or so younger than Nukka had been. Besides the age gap, her appearance was striking similar. Her skin was dark, a shade or so darker than Nukka was, and her hair was long and black, down to her shoulders, just like Nukka. Her slender frame and loose-fitting skins implied that she was a warrior, much like Nukka had been.
! Tikaani was relieved when she saw her, but her relief soon became fear as the girl approached her slowly, spear in hand, ready to strike. In her eyes, Tikaani saw no emotion except bloodthirst. What village is she from? She tried to scramble away, but the pain had yet to subside.
! “Die!” the girl cried as she raised her spear. Before she could strike, however, she began to cough and heave violently, collapsing to the ground in the process. As the girl trembled, she fell unconscious. The reaction puzzled Tikaani.
! Tikaani limped toward the unconscious girl and inspected her closely. She had been very dirty, implying that she had been in the forest for a long time. As she scanned the girl's body, she noticed a wound on her back. It oozed and flaked, implying that an infection had set in. Tikaani put her paw to the girl's skin and pulled it back rapidly. Her skin was like fire.
! The girl panted feverishly as Tikaani lifted her head in response to new scents. The wind had once again changed direction, causing the smoke to clear up dramatically. The sun was starting to emerge from beneath the horizon. Now was Tikaani's chance to keep going. But the girl was lying there, probably dying.
! Tikaani had known a thing or two about medicine thanks to her own battle with infection. She and Shila had once been out hunting when Nukka had received a large scrape on her leg from a sharp rock. Initially, she had ignored it, but it quickly got infected. Soon, she had been unable to proceed, but Shila had used some herbs she collected to clean the wound and make it better.
! She later told Nukka what she had used: spiritweed, abascia root, and daphnia petals. On their own, abascia was used to fight infection, daphnia was a sterilizer, and spiritweed promoted fast healing. Luckily, the three ingredients were fairly common, at least in the northwestern reaches. Out here in the far south, collecting the ingredients might prove to be somewhat of a challenge.
! She began searching the immediate surroundings, knowing that spiritweed would be something that grows openly in meadows and clearings. It was unmistakeable, due to its green stalks and purple tips. A few yards away, she found something that fit the description growing near a large rock.
! Of course, the inherent problem of being a wolf revealed itself here: she didn't have hands with which to collect the weed! The only thing she could do was yank it out with her mouth. The taste of the spiritweed was bitter as she clenched the stem of the weed between her powerful jaws.
! She trotted over by the convulsing girl and deposited the uprooted weed nearby before continuing her quest for abascia and daphnia. She recalled her sister looking for a river when seeking out the plants for her medicine. Perhaps a water source would prove her best bet for finding the remaining two ingredients.
! As a wolf, her sharper senses allowed her to hear sounds from miles away. She sat still and quiet, listening meditatively for even a hint of rushing water.
! There! She heard the sound of water off to the northeast. She dashed forth without thought—ignoring the sharp, brutal pain in her twisted paw—and charged in the direction of the rush. She had to hurry. Infection was unpredictable: it could spread in an instant and no amount of abascia or daphnia could save the girl.
! About a thousand yards or so to the northeast, she came across the shallow stream. It wasn't much of a river, but Tikaani had little else to work with. She scouted the area for some sign of the distinct orange flower of the abascia. Or perhaps she would find the petals here, though she was unsure what to look for when it came to the daphnia.
! She spotted a small orange abascia flower on the opposite bank. She dove into the water quickly, though it was only about ankle deep. The stream was only a few yards wide and soon she was upon the plant. She took her paws to the frosted earth and began to claw away at the ground beneath the plant.
! Her ire for lack of thumbs had been superseded by her relief that she had at least some advantage in this form. Being able to dig quickly was a huge boon. Even being a wolf had its perks, and those perks just might save someone's life.
! She collected the abascia root from the earth and started searching for some clue about what daphnia looked like. She had never personally seen the plant, so she had little idea how to go about uncovering one for the medicine.
! It was unfortunate that daphnia was probably the most important ingredient of all. It would be fruitless to attempt to fight the affliction if conditions were left favorable for more infection. She thought hard and desperately fought to recall even a hint of what daphnia would look like, but nothing came to mind. She was certain it would stand out amongst similar plants. But even so, she had no way of knowing for sure. What if the plant she would mistake for daphnia turned out to be toxic? She wasn't willing to take such a risk.
! She started back towards the girl. At least she had two of the three plants at her disposal. She could at least start to mix the ingredients together, if it could buy her a shred of time. When she approached the clearing, the girl was conscious again and on her feet. While I'm happy she's alive, this can't possibly be good. Tikaani approached cautiously as the girl caught sight of the wolf. Immediately, the girl lunged for her spear and pointed it at Tikaani, defensively. Oh boy, this again.
! “Stay back!” the girl cried, the sound of her voice foreign to Tikaani's ears. Was it because of the girl's strange accent or because her ears were not used to human voices? She could not say.
! Another problem immediately revealed itself to Tikaani as her eyes met the scared sick girl. She had no way of speaking to her! Wolves could not talk to humans, obviously. She did find it strange that she could understand human words, though. At least this wasn't worse than it had any business being.
! Tikaani let out a defeated whimper and deposited the abascia root on the forest floor. She walked backward a few paces, doing her best to tell the girl, Here. Medicine.
! The girl took note of the gesture and her eyes glowed a bit in recognition. “Is that… abascia?” the girl spoke in her strange voice. She put her hand on her wound, then glanced back at Tikaani. “You brought me... abascia?”
! Tikaani, unsure of the proper response, wagged her tail and yipped playfully, though this startled the girl, who clenched the spear ever tighter. Tikaani would have to work on her communication skills a bit better if she wanted to diffuse this situation.
! She lowered her head to the floor and pointed at the abascia with her nose, wagging her tail and whimpering. The girl took note of this and stepped forward, still clenching the spear tightly, watching Tikaani's every move. She approached the root cautiously and picked it up carefully. She pulled a small satchel from underneath her shirt and added the abascia to it.
! “Now I just need some spiritweed and I can heal this affliction,” she said out loud to herself.
! Tikaani barked in response, setting the girl on guard, but Tikaani dashed forth anyway.
! “Stay back, I said!” the girl cried, pointing her spear, but Tikaani charged past her. The girl turned toward her and frowned.
! Tikaani approached the pile of spiritweed and wagged her tail excitedly. This was probably the most humiliating thing she ever had the misfortune of doing.
! “You brought me... spiritweed, too?” the girl gasped in disbelief. “What are you...?”
! Tikaani yipped and wagged her tail, nudging the spiritweed with her nose. No, let's work on trust, Tikaani thought and snatched up the weed in her mouth. The girl jumped in response to this as Tikaani trotted forward without pause. She would hand deliver the weed herself if she must.
! “What are you doing?” the girl cried in intense fear. “Would you… stay... I don't...”
! Tikaani stopped front of the girl and wagged her tail, raising her mouth to the girl's hand. Take it already! The girl put out her hand and Tikaani passed along the weed gently. The girl trembled before putting her hand on Tikaani's muzzle, which shocked even the unexpecting wolf.
! “You are not Tonrar?” the girl continued to tremble as Tikaani let her scratch at her head. Tonrar? What is that? “I don't… please... stay...”
! Ugh, again with the stay back nonsense, Tikaani growled inwardly. She pulled back and sharply and turned to go, done playing games with the strange girl. As she turned to leave, she heard a thud. The girl had collapsed again. Tikaani rushed to her side, realizing that the girl's fever had not yet broken. She needed to administer the medicine and get her hydrated before it was too late.
! Tikaani dug furiously at the ground beneath the nearly unconscious girl and tried to get herself under her. If she could get the girl on her back, she could drag her to the stream. The girl was responsive enough to understand and clenched onto the wolf's back. Tikaani pulled with all her strength and started to inch along toward the water.
! As she paced forward, ignoring the pain in her leg, she thought critically about why she was doing what she was doing. What was this girl to her? Why was she going to great lengths to save a stranger? The idea of saving someone she didn't even know, let alone who tried to kill her, was preposterous, yet here she was trying to do the right thing. Something about the girl resonated within her. As foreign as this girl was in so many aspects, Tikaani felt a sameness that she could not quite describe.
! It took a couple of hours before she finally reached the stream. She was tired, restless, and in severe pain from the heavy load. Once she put her down against a rock, Tikaani nudged at the girl's shirt, searching for the satchel containing the medicine. Once she found it, she ripped it away from her body and stuffed her muzzle inside of it. The smell of the plants was irritably strong as her tongue lapped as much of the stuff into her mouth as possible.
! She felt strange and heady as a result, but continued on, ripping away the girl's shirt with her paw and exposing the oozing wound to the cold morning air. She opened her mouth, letting the ecstatic ingredients fall to the wound. She began to lick rapidly at the wound, spreading around the medicine. The girl winced in pain as Tikaani continued her work. Once she felt she had done enough, she raised her head, stepped back, and immediately fell to the ground.
! “Whoa, be careful with that!” Shila screamed as Nukka let Tikaani sniff at the medicine Shila had prepared for her.
“What's the matter?” Nukka frowned, pulling the mixture of ingredients close to her. “Isn't it medicine?”
“For humans,” Shila tried to explain. “But daphnia… That stuff is highly toxic to wolves. Even a single whiff of that can kill a strong adult one. Don't mess around with that stuff around the Spirit Wolves, okay?”
* * *
! If there was one thing Tikaani missed, it was the feel of lying next to a fire. There was nothing quite like letting the fire heat her fur and fill her with unparalleled vibrance. When Nukka was alive, she would lie next to her and drift off to sleep as the flames soothed and protected her.
! Tikaani frowned as her eyes shot open. It was dark outside, the only light being the fire she lay beside. Her head felt strange as she tried to process the foreign thought that just crept over her. It was another of Tikaani's. It was more proof that Tikaani may yet still live on within her. That or proof that daphnia truly was no joke.
! Her head was foggy and her surroundings foreign to her under the blanket of night. She looked about and saw a human girl lying across from her, deep in slumber huddled up near the fire. Oh right… The girl shivered under the frigid cold air, but she likely slept on the opposite end of the flame for a perfectly good reason.
! Tikaani, or rather Nukka at least, was all too familiar with the fear of wolves. Shila had been terrified of them for years, so she suspected that the girl had suffered a similar traumatic experience. She had a mind to discover what exactly that was.
! But prying into other people's affairs was never something Nukka cared much for doing. The notion of doing so was quite foreign, almost as if it belonged to someone else. Could it have been Tikaani's doing? Was the original Tikaani somehow reclaiming control of her mind? Whatever was happening, Tikaani knew one thing: Nukka's and Tikaani's minds could not be more different.
! She got to her feet and stumbled toward the nearby stream for a quick drink. Her hind leg seared with pain, but she was also still woozy and uncoordinated thanks to the daphnia. She was more lucky than anything that she was still alive. She did put her life on the line for a stranger, after all.
That would have been out of character too were it not for her recent escapades with Immuyak. But what if those drives to protect him were Tikaani after all? What if the original Tikaani was the reason she was changing? What if she was still the same old bitter Nukka? She entertained these thoughts for a few minutes more before lying back down next to the fire.As she began to drift to sleep, she smiled. Today, she found herself a tiresome companion. Never had she met someone so stubborn, so fearful, so guarded, so reckless, and so malcontent. This girl is quite a handful, she thought before closing her eyes. She's literally just like me.
Wahey, I actually managed to squeeze in some time to reflect upon your current chapter! \o/
You probably remember my doubts over your solution of having Tikaani search for Siku alone. My main problem with it was that in the worst case scenario it might not have any purpose. Well, I’m glad to say that based on this chapter some of those fears have been alleviated. If I remember correctly, I wished Tikaani would experience something that makes sense in the context of her being alone. Meeting and helping a human girl is a good way to start. I don’t think it would’ve worked as fluently had there been other wolves around. The way Tikaani has to remember what plants to use for healing is a nice touch. The search is executed fairly well, even though I would’ve liked to have a bit more detail. Among the quest for the healing plants one of the problems of this chapter arises.
”Of course, the inherent problem of being a wolf revealed itself here: she didn't have hands with which to collect the weed!” Be very careful when considering adding exclamation marks. In this particular case I think you can get away with it, however. The way the paragraph continues from here is a smooth transition, so the exclamation mark isn’t too big a distraction. So where’s the problem, you ask? Well, you used it again.
”Another problem immediately revealed itself to Tikaani as her eyes met the scared sick girl. She had no way of speaking to her!” I really don’t think the exclamation point is necessary here. I understand why you used it, since it’s a similar sentence structure as the first one: the reader is being informed of the exact problem in the current situation. My opinion on the matter is that ending the sentence with a period doesn’t take away anything. It simply becomes a fact. With the exclamation mark it feels slightly childish. Furthermore, the next sentence (”Wolves could not talk to humans, obviously.”) isn’t that smooth of a transition. The adverb doesn’t necessarily have to be excluded with a comma.
Okay, moving on. One thing I kept waiting and waiting in this was a paragraph where Tikaani questions her actions towards the human. It arrives fairly late, but it exists so it’s not a bad thing. You probably did it so you could easily weave into the conclusion that the human reminds Tikaani of herself. It’s slightly cliché, but the prospect of Tikaani and the girl becoming friendly – or even friends – is enticing. It’s a new dynamic. The reader has mostly dealt with wolf-to-wolf interactions in your story, so it’s a welcome change. For this to be more effective the chapter title should’ve been a bit different. As soon as we’re revealed that Tikaani is dealing with a human girl I immediately knew what your final sentence would be. If this title spoiler was intentional on your part, then pay me no heed.
So, all in all I think this is a promising way to start Tikaani’s lone(or perhaps not so lone?) journey. I have a feeling it’ll both add to her character and introduce new ways of making the story more versatile. It was also a good decision on your behalf to have a bit of a breather before truly delving into the Spiritless Men action. You have me very intrigued indeed, Foxy!
Good point on the title thing. I dropped the ball title-wise on this chapter. D: I almost always use the title as a guide to play with multiple contexts and try to finish the chapter in an unexpected way. (see: "Big Sister", probably the best example of this title play in action) However, I didn't do that with this one for some reason. If memory serves, there was a different context in the original chapter, but that got sifted out with the rewrite. And the title was originally different, but I forgot what it was. Might make for a good refocusing exercise! ^^ Thank you, as always, for the critique, LaCa.~
Chapter 11: Fixed
! The cold rain was a far cry from the warm fire by Nukka's side, but it could scarce be helped. He was being stubborn, as usual, so she had little choice but to drag herself all the way out here in the summer rains.
! Nukilik liked to stay in the caves to the south. He enjoyed the solitude, and who could blame him? She was sure that as much time he spent in the caves, he still probably hadn't yet explored them all. One of these days, she wanted to explore them herself. Her curiosity would get the best of her eventually.
! “Nukilik!” she called out as she approached the mouth of the cave. “It's me! Where are you?”
! No response.
Typical, she rolled her eyes. “You gonna mope all night again? Come on, I'm cold!”
! No response.
! “You're unbelievable,” she sighed before turning to go. One of these days she'd change him. One of these days she'd change Nukka. She was surrounded by so many broken people, and she felt like the only one who could fix them. That was her goal. Tikaani's goal.
! * * *
! “Wake up.”
! The cold, morning air was no match for the ice in the girl's voice as she stirred Tikaani without a hint of emotion. The wolf stretched as she let out an elongated yawn. She wasn't used to being awakened so bluntly. But that could hardly be helped.
! Tikaani glanced up at the sky. Clouds were rolling in from the west, obscuring the morning sun. Rain, she said to herself, sensing the change in air pressure. Never before had she been so attuned to nature as she was now as a wolf. It seemed the perks were starting to outweigh the detriments.
! “Eat,” the girl stated as she brought some cooked fish from the fire.
! No amount of perks were going to make up for the communication barrier, however. Especially with someone so blunt as the girl. Tikaani snatched up the fish without a second thought, enjoying hot, cooked meat for the first time since being Nukka. Strangely, she didn't care too much for it anymore. Not like she did as a human.
! “Good thing you survived,” the girl mumbled as she sat down on the opposite end of the fire, never daring to make eye contact with the wolf. What little compassion exuded from her tone was enough to surprise Tikaani. “I thought you were a goner for sure…”
! Tikaani whimpered in response. I guess we think alike… Tikaani thought the girl had been a goner as well. At least the concern was mutual, if not a little forced and awkward on the girls's part. How organic can it be expressing concern for someone you tried killing the day before? It even took a few days for her to come around from wanting Siku dead.
! “You're not like the others,” the girl sighed. “You are clearly not Tonrar.”
! Tikaani turned her head at mention of the word. What did that word mean? It certainly wasn't something she heard often in the Village of the Sky, if at all.
! “No, not Tonrar,” the girl closed her eyes and nodded. “So you must be Aningan.”
! You lost me already. Tikaani whimpered in confusion.
! “I will call you Aningan,” the girl forced a smile. “You have protected me well.”
! Tikaani still did not follow, but it seemed the girl was going to start calling her by a third name now. Pretty soon, she'd forget her name was Nukka in the first place with all of these extra names. But fine, I'll play along, she smiled inwardly. For the time being, in the girl's company, her name would be Aningan.
! “My name is Chena,” the girl rose to her feet. “Not that you'd understand that.”
! If only you knew, Tikaani rolled her eyes.
! “Come, Aningan,” the girl limped away from the camp, heading south. She still was not fully recovered from her injuries. “It will rain soon. There is shelter nearby.”
! Tikaani had little choice but to follow her. As important as finding Siku was, she couldn't just abandon the girl. Something about her spoke to Tikaani on a profound level. She wanted to find out what that was.
! As they paced along through the thick brush, Tikaani recalled last night's dream. It was another memory of Tikaani's. They were becoming clearer and more detailed by the day. She wondered if the memories and thoughts would stop with just sharing, though. What if Tikaani was slowly taking over her Nukka side? What if one day she'd wake up with no memory of her Nukka half at all? What if she would be suppressed by the pervading wolf thoughts permanently? It was rather easy to forget that she had been the parasite in the first place.
! She tried not to think too hard about that. She was content with the possibility that Tikaani was letting Nukka keep control until Siku was saved. After that, she wouldn't mind what would happen. If Tikaani got to reclaim the body, so be it. Just being able to rescue her sister was more than Nukka could ask for.
! “We're here,” Chena stated as a cold drizzle began to fall from the sky. Tikaani entered the clearing and her eyes widened at the sight before her.
! “It's just like the dream,” her mouth gaped open. Before her was the cave from last night's dream, where Tikaani had called out for Nukilik. What is the meaning of this? She dashed ahead of Chena to the mouth of the cave.
! “Nukilik!” she called out involuntarily. Despite her confusion from the outburst, she still waited with bated breath for someone or something to exit the
cave. To her surprising disappointment, nothing did.
! “What is it, Aningan?” Chena frowned as she caught up with Tikaani. “Is something there?”
! No… she sighed before climbing the cliff face into the cave. The mouth of the cave was a good fifty or sixty feet from the ground, bored into a large limestone escarpment. At the top, the smell of mold and muck struck Tikaani's nose as the howl of wind reverberated along the walls of the cave.
! “Not much has changed here,” Chena said as she arrived, her voice echoing off the cave walls. “I've been camping out here every now and then since I found this place.”
! Tikaani shared her nostalgic feelings, even though her Nukka half had never set foot here. Even in the cold emptiness of the cave she found a familiar warmth that was simultaneously completely foreign to her.
! “I will be back soon,” Chena turned to exit the cave. “I'm going to find some firewood and food. Do as you please and I'll see you soon, Aningan.”
! Look at her telling me to stick around in so many words, Tikaani groaned. It wasn't like she had a rescue mission to worry about or anything.
! “Oh,” Chena turned around to face Tikaani. “Thank you, by the way. For saving me. And staying by my side.”
! Chena forced another smile, though this one was somewhat more genuine. She turned to go, leaving Tikaani to her own devices. The wolf laughed inwardly, amused by Chena's antics. The girl was quite the stick in the mud, though any time she did let her guard down to show emotion, she did her best to appear to be faking it. That was an old strategy of Nukka's. And an old one of his too.
! Tikaani frowned before looking deeper into the caves. She recalled that her dream self had desired to explore the caves more thoroughly. Perhaps she would take an hour or two to explore the caves while Chena was gone. They would be on their way once the rain subsided, so now would likely be her only chance to check them out.
! As she navigated her way into the caverns, she found it fairly easy to get around, almost as if she knew where every path led. She came through a large room that had several tunnels that snaked out from it, yet she knew that two of those were dead ends. The smallest one would lead to a small underground pool, so she followed that one.
! In the pool room, she noted an eerie glow coming from the pool. The glow, while faint, was enough to illuminate the entire room.
! Nukilik, she heard her voice echo within her head. Or rather, Tikaani's voice.
! * * *
! “Why didn't you answer me?” Tikaani growled as she entered the pool room to find Nukilik lying on the ground with a sullen expression. When he took note of her, his face glowed for an instant before it attempted to return to its previous sullen state. Instead it just looked silly. How typical.
! “Tikaani, you came…” the red wolf said distantly.
! “What made you think I wouldn't?” the blue wolf sighed. “Come on, you know me better than that.”
! “I guess,” Nukilik forced a chuckle. Tikaani noticed that his strained expression this time was authentic.
! “You're hurt,” she gasped as she rushed to his side.
! “It's nothing I can't handle,” he moaned and grumbled.
! “Let me see you!” she cried as she nudged at Nukilik with her nose. After a few more thrusts, she had turned him over on his side, exposing his bloody neck.
! “Those guys went right for the throat,” he laughed whilst wincing in pain.
! “Who did this?” she questioned him sternly.
! “Pamiiruq and Pukulria,” he mouthed. “They said something I didn't like so I attacked them. Two against one wasn't exactly a fair fight.”
! Tikaani backed away, somewhat annoyed. “So you instigated it, then?”
! “Yeah,” he rose to his feet. “Like I said, I didn't like what came out of their mouths.”
! “And what would that be?” she scowled.
! The color in his face flushed. “You, uh... you wouldn't understand.” Oh, really? “The point is, I got really mad and now I get to pay for it. It's only a scrape through, so I'll be all patched up in no time. It'll heal on its own.”
! “Good,” Tikaani smiled, which relieved the red wolf. You're not off the hook yet. She grinned wider, exposing her teeth before pouncing upon Nukilik, knocking the both of them into the pool. In response, the water sparkled brilliantly. Nukilik emerged from underwater, sputtering like a fool.
! “What was that for?” Nukilik groaned. “I'm injured, remember?”
! “Just shut up,” she smirked, splashing the water at him with her tail. “Instead of fighting over me, let's play a little.”
! “Fighting over you?” Nukilik laughed. “Yeah right. You're not that popular.”
! Tikaani splashed him again. “Why can't you always laugh like this? Stop being so moody and laugh a little, okay? You remind me of Nukka sometimes.”
! Nukilik instantly became rigid, which startled her. “Is something wrong?”
! “You wouldn't understand,” he frowned, trying not to make eye contact.
! “If it bothers you that much, then tell me,” she got close to him.
! He sighed heavily before continuing.“It's about your Link, Nukka,” he gulped. “I think I've found a way to fix things-”
! * * *
! A blood-curdling scream pierced the air all around Tikaani as it echoed off the walls. She instinctively knew to whom the scream belonged, and immediately feared the worst. Without hesitation, she darted through the small tunnel, into the large room, and out the next series of tunnels. Hold on, Chena, I'm coming! Before she knew it, she was at the mouth of the cave. The sight before her shook every fiber of her being.
! Chena was dangling over the cliff face, holding on for dear life. When she caught sight of Tikaani, she let out a desperate squeal. She seemed unable to lift herself over the cliff. As she struggled, her arms gave way, causing her to lose grip on the cliff. As she began to fall, she let out another shrill scream that was nearly drowned out by the clap of thunder.
! When Tikaani could finally process her thoughts, she found her teeth clenched tightly around Chena's arm as the rest of her dangled over the cliff side. Tikaani herself was nearly over the edge and using every ounce of strength she had to stay atop the cliff.
! “Aningan, you…” Chena gasped as she looked up at her rescuer, disbelief etched across her face.
! Hold on, Chena! Her thoughts cried out as she struggled back upon the cliff. She felt her grip on the girl loosening and bit down tighter, breaking the skin and pouring fresh blood into the wolf's mouth. Chena screamed in anguish, which caused Tikaani to wince. She didn't want to hurt the poor girl but it was a far better alternative than letting her plummet like Shila did.
! The thought of losing Shila consumed her consciousness and nearly caused her to let go of the falling girl in shock. She couldn't save her own sister from falling to her death. Why should she save a total stranger? The thoughts nearly caused her to let go, but a new stronger thought crawled out from the back of her mind. Because she needs me! Because I have to fix her!
! With unflinching resolve, she moved all of her muscles to pull the girl to safety as parts of the cliff face gave way under their weight. Once Chena was safely tossed onto stable ground, Tikaani released her painful grip from the girl and panted heavily. Chena began to convulse in terror at the sight of her mangled arm.
! “What did you do…!” she panicked. “Why did you...!”
! The girl was having a strange reaction to the wound, but nonetheless was out of any real danger. Tikaani circled around her and began tugging at her shirt.
! “What are you...?” Chena mouthed hysterically. “Get off of me, you Tonrar…!”
! Tikaani ignored her violent protests and ripped a piece of her tunic off, just large enough to place over the wound. She pulled the scrap of clothing over it and tightened it around Chena's arm with her teeth. She nudged at her other arm, signaling for the girl to tie the cloth down.
! Chena did so haphazardly, then trembled savagely. Tikaani was unsure if it was from the cold torrent or the hysteria, though she did suspect a mixture of both. Tikaani waited awhile for the girl to calm down before laying her head on her lap and whimpering in consolation.
! “I'm sorry, Aningan,” Chena heaved as she struggled to settle down. “You saved me... I was... looking out past the horizon... When the lightning came... It startled me... And then you saved me... But the blood... Oh Iqniq! There was so much blood…”
! Tikaani turned her head slightly and cuddled up against the girl. Who would have thought someone as thick-skinned as Chena would be terrified of blood? It was quite the strange, if not somehow amusing, revelation. It looked like Chena required a bit more fixing than Tikaani had imagined.
! The rain continued to pour and the thunder continued to roar, so Chena and Tikaani sat in silence for the rest of the evening. They must have dozed off at some point, because Tikaani did not remember it getting dark, nor did she remember the sun rising the next day.
! What aroused her from her slumber was not a shout nor a prod, but a smell. A pungent one that called out to her like a wailing lynx. Chena must have smelled it too as she was instantly up and on her feet. Tikaani drowsily looked around and began to cough. She could hardly see through the haze, though it was apparent that the rain had long since passed. What caught her attention most, however, was the dancing flame on the horizon to the east. It was a flame that could only mean one thing.
! Hold on, Siku… Tikaani glanced at Chena, who stared at the flames, treed in an eerie trance. Her eyes flickered with fierce resolve. Chena seemed to know very well what lie in that direction. Was it her village? Before she could question it, Chena was gone. She rushed down the cliffside and darted in the direction of the flames. Tikaani followed suit. Her destination—their destination—had been fixed.
Aside from the usual 'read it aloud' stuff I say so that you can catch redundancies and stuff (also I'm tired bleh) I like the plot around Tikaani and Nukilik being expanded upon and I also love how you don't know that Chena was saved until Tikaani finds herself dragging her up, kind of like that moment in a movie where they save the person at the last second. Very well done.
Chapter 12: Down in Flames
! For the second time that day, Tikaani stopped to rest. Her hind leg, the one she had injured against the bear, the one she had aggravated as she fled Chena, felt as if it were set to flames. When the pain became unbearable, she collapsed to the forest floor. On the bright side, she was able to stop and catch her breath. But every passing moment allowed Chena to inch further and further into harm's way.
! Normally, Tikaani would be able to keep up with, or even outrun Chena. But not like this. Not while the pain was too much to bear. Once she would find Siku, she meant to have Onartok check out the leg. He seemed to have capable hands when it came to medicines and injuries. Or capable paws rather.
! Once the pain had finally cleared, she struggled back to her feet, coughing a little as the air thickened with a faint smoke. It was now mid-afternoon, judging by the sun. The shadows of the trees and shrubbery had already begun to lengthen. Save for the smoke blowing in from the east, it was a bright, clear day. Tikaani had to wince just to keep from being blinded.
! As soon as her leg could bear her weight, Tikaani took to a slow trot. At this pace, she had no chance of catching up to Chena; she had already lost scent of her a couple of hours prior. She deeply hoped that the girl had not switched direction; she did not want to lose her any more than she already had. Yet the further south and east Tikaani traveled, the more she wished that Chena had indeed veered her course.
! The trees had grown sparse this far from civilization. Clearings were more prominent and the earth grew more and more hilly. She was certain of it now; any further south and she would be out of the Great Forest. She had never left the Great Forest before, nor did she know what lay beyond in the southern reaches. As adventurous as she was, she had no real intention of finding out. The thought sent a chill down her back.
! Luckily, her destination seemed more east than south, and judging by the presence of flames, something had to be burning. At least she was certain her destination was not quite out of the woods. But that thought wasn't entirely comforting either. She quivered as the scent of burning wood and black teased her nostrils. She was practically on death's doorstep, and had no guarantee of coming back from the flames unharmed. She had died once of choke, and now would likely be no different.
! But not only was Siku in those flames, but now Chena too. She had to brave the smoke and blaze, and thankfully she could crawl close to the ground, protecting her from suffocation for the most part. Yeah, I can do this! She nodded her head with determination: she was not giving up on Siku; she was not giving up on Chena, either. It was her duty as a sister and as a Spirit Wolf.
! She found that final thought odd. Was it another of Tikaani's feelings seeping through? Or did she actually fancy herself Chena's Spirit Wolf? She shook her head and laughed; Chena likely had a Spirit Wolf of her own. Though Tikaani did wonder what kind of wolf Chena had. Was it a strong and social one? Or was it like Nukilik, a loner and a coward?
! Was that really a fair assessment of Nukilik though? What was her opinion of Nukilik? Did she like him? Did she find him annoying? She had once come to a satisfying conclusion: he was a jerk. But now, as memories of Tikaani's trickled into her own, she found it a lot harder to peg her judgment of the red wolf down. He was certainly more complex than she initially decided.
! Lost as she was in her fleeting thoughts, she did not notice the sudden drop in elevation. As the ground sloped downward beneath her feet, she stumbled, twisting her hind leg once again in the process. She tumbled down the slope, all the way to the foot and beyond, only stopping once her back slammed into a tree, knocking a half dozen pine cones from its branches. Her head was not spared their descent.
! Her head felt dizzy and rattled for a moment, but immediately thereafter, her leg set ablaze with pain. She quickly forgot her new headache and backache, and struggled to her feet. The endeavor proved futile, as she soon collapsed once more. Her leg felt like a spear had been jammed through it. She wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry, amused sardonically by her repetitive injuries.
! As she rested, a pungent odor filled her nostrils with every gasp: one which she had previously recognized only from afar. But now it was unmistakeable, and close. So close in fact that the tree she had slammed into was half consumed by it itself. She lowered her head and looked to the east. What had once been a distant nightmare, was now a dark, tangible reality before her eyes.
! “The black…” she whispered aloud, staring in awe.
! Gone were the trees and in their stead was sheer desolation. Grey ash and black char blanketed the land as isolated flames smoldered across it. Where once there were trees now stood tall black pillars, reminders of the living things that were once rooted here, now nothing but ash and death. She could not bring herself to imagine what it would be like if the black were to consume the entire Great Forest.
! A sound from the top of the hill startled Tikaani, who spun around in surprise. Something small and brown rolled down the hill against its will, much like she had just done. It stopped at the foot of the hill, not even ten feet away from Tikaani, eating a mouthful of dirt in the process. It looked up at Tikaani and its hazel-green eyes lit up.
! “Found you!” Immuyak laughed as he rose to his feet, then began to leap around excitedly. “It's her! It's her! It's really her!”
! Nukilik darted down the hill behind the wolf pup and circled Tikaani, catching his breath in the process before stopping, his face inches away from her hers. His eyes weren't nearly as excited.
! “What did you think you were doing?” he barked angrily, causing Tikaani to take a step back. “Did you want to get yourself killed?”
! “Hello to you too, Nukilik,” Tikaani rolled her eyes before helping Immuyak back to his feet. “What are you doing out here?”
! “Coming to get you, of course,” Nukilik rolled his own. They really weren't terribly different beasts, Nukka thought in amusement. “You have any idea what me and the kid had to go through to sniff you out? It's hard to track when you're dealing with smoke.”
! “Hey, guys…” Immuyak whimpered, interrupting Nukilik's tirade. “What's going on here?”
! He stepped back, trembling in fear, taking in his own first glimpse of the dreaded black.
! “What's wrong with you?” Nukilik asked impatiently.
! “It's his first time seeing the black,” Tikaani sighed. “It's mine too... This is what the Spiritless Men are capable of?”
! “This is what my village looks like now,” Immuyak began to cry. “This is what happened to my home...”
! “Get used to it, you two,” Nukilik said with a pang of defeat, unnatural for the seemingly relentless wolf. “There's nothing we can do to stop them. They destroy everything in their path. Give it another few months and the whole Great Forest will go down in flames.”
! “Why?” Tikaani shouted, startling even Nukilik. “Why are they doing this? What kind of monsters would do such a thing to our homes?”
! “They're men,” Nukilik growled lowly. “It's what your kind do. You settle. You take. You conquer. These woods belonged to the animals long before you built your villages here.”
! “But our people live in harmony with the animals here,” Tikaani challenged. “We don't destroy like this! This is senseless!”
! “It is,” Nukilik begrudgingly agreed. “But it's not entirely without motive.”
! “What do you mean?” Tikaani frowned. Did he know something?
! “It's only a theory, but...” Nukilik took a deep breath. “Okay, tell me. What do you fear, Nukka?”
! “What does that have to do with-”
! “Everything!” he shouted. “What do you fear?”
! She paused before answering with a mumble. “Losing my sister.”
! “And what would you do to alleviate that fear? What would you do if you had to face that fear and lost your sister for good?”
! “I still don't see-”
! “Answer the question.”
! She thought about it for a moment. What would she do to see her sister back safely? What would she do if the Spiritless Men had already killed her sister?
! “If I lost my sister...”
! She sighed and closed her eyes.
! “I'd kill them all. I'd topple their homes. I'd tear down the very sky itself. I'd make the entire world go down in flames.”
! “A little extreme, but you get the gist,” Nukilik nodded. “Fear motivates action. I think... I think the Spiritless Men fear us... They want us gone. Our way of life. As long as we exist, as long as their fear exists, they can never rest in peace.”
! “You really think so?” she asked.
! “I can't say for certain,” he admitted. “I really can't. But that's my guess. It does make some sense, wouldn't you agree?”
! “Yeah,” she nodded before turning to Immuyak. He was on the ground, shivering in fear of his own. “You guys should get out of here. It's really dangerous.”
! “Why do you think we came?” Nukilik scowled. “We aren't about to let you go kill yourself.”
! “Why did you bring him?” Tikaani snapped back. “You know what we're up against, yet you willingly put him in danger?”
! “It wasn't his choice to make,” Immuyak said, quieting everyone. “You're my big sister, aren't you? You should know better than anyone that sometimes the little sibling needs to save the bigger one. That's why I'm coming with you. To save Shila.”
! “No you're not,” Nukilik replied in annoyance, as if the two had been over this before. “We came to take her back.”
! “No,” Tikaani stood her ground. “It's not just Siku anymore. I can't leave her behind either.”
! “Leave who behind?” Immuyak asked.
! Tikaani let out a sigh and was about to speak when Nukilik hushed her. “You guys smell that?”
! The three of them began to sniff the air. Tikaani caught it too shortly thereafter.
! “Three of them,” Nukilik said. “Two male, one female.”
! “They're in the flames,” Immuyak added. “Not even a mile ahead.”
! “Men.” Tikaani sighed, though unlike the other two, she smelled recognition.
! “There's a struggle,” Nukilik continued. “Listen close and you can hear the sound of steel meeting steel.”
! “No...” Tikaani's eyes began to flicker. She's going to die… The Spiritless Men... No... No!
! Before the others could react, Tikaani was off. Her leg ached with dull pain with every step, but there was no time. Her friend, her link, needed her.
! “What are you doing?” Nukilik howled from behind her.
! “Tikaani!” Immuyak cried.
! She turned around to face her friends. “I'll come back. Give me time. I promise I'll come back. Please don't come after me.”
! “Tikaani!” Immuyak repeated as she bolted away, directly into the billowing smoke.
! She kept low to the ground, avoiding the smoke, which rose from the flames that surrounded her. Slowly the smoke thickened and burned her eyes. She was unable to see even two feet in front of her. The smell of the burning black lingered constantly, but every now and then she got a whiff of the three people in front of her. Every now and then she heard the sound of steel echo louder and louder.
! Soon she heard the grunts and shouts and she knew she was nearly upon them. The smoke began to clear enough to see as Tikaani darted into the clearing. She saw them for the first time. Two men, spears locked, gazing at each other behind decorated masks that covered their faces. Chena was nowhere to be found. Am I too late?
No… she thought to herself. I have to act… These men... If I don't get rid of them now...
! Purely by instinct, Tikaani lunged out of the trees and dashed toward the closest man. She was upon him before he could react, pinning him to the cold ground and knocking his spear into the air. The other man leaped in surprise before charging forward to stop her. She swiped her tail, knocking him from his feet before he could approach.
! She took attention to the pinned man and knocked off his mask with her muzzle, revealing his face. It shocked her that he looked just like her own people. There was little difference between them. She growled as she tore for his throat, but the sound of a spear piercing the ground two inches behind her took her by surprise.
! “Down, Aningan,” said the female voice.
! Tikaani turned around slowly to look at the source of the voice. It was a tall rugged young woman, wearing an ornate mask with triangle patterns. It was a beautiful mask, but it did not change the fact that the woman in front of her was a Spiritless Man—or rather, Woman. It did not change the fact that her scent, her voice, her choice of words were all unmistakeable. Even as she took off her mask, it did not change the fact that without a doubt in the world, the woman in front of her was Chena.
! It can't be…
! In Tikaani's shock, the armed man took advantage of her confusion and charged toward her, poised to kill.
! “Die, you Tonrar!” he shouted, but his spear was met by Chena's before he could pass the sentence.
! “Fall back, Anyu.” Chena's eyes did not blink. Her face was a mask itself.
! “Don't stop him, Chena,” the previously pinned man got to his feet as Tikaani stepped back in fear. “Let's kill the bitch and be done with it.”
! “I will not have it,” Chena replied flatly. “She's not like the other Tonrar.”
! “She's a demon just like them all!” Anyu challenged. “You can't expect me to let her live after she nearly ripped out Sirmiq's throat! I'll rip out hers instead!” He pulled his spear back and lunged again.
! “I won't let you,” Chena clenched her spear and parried his once more. “She is my friend. Aningan saved my life, and I mean to repay that debt here.”
! “You're making a big mistake, little girl,” Anyu sneered. “She attacked us unprovoked. We were only sparring until she meant to kill us both.”
! “She is scared. She has every right to be. Look what we have done to her home.”
! “You think we have a choice?” Sirmiq grunted weakly. “You think we burn down the forest because we want to?”
! “I don't care,” Chena growled. “Take me to father already. I want to speak with him.”
! “You're both alike,” Anyu spat. “At least your father had the sense to do what was necessary.”
! “Be quiet,” Chena said plainly. “You speak of our leader. Now take me to him.”
! “Very well,” Anyu sighed. “Our camp is not far. I still find it hard to believe you lost it.”
! The two men paced forth as Chena turned to Tikaani. “Come, Aningan, let us go home.”
! Tikaani was frozen still. There was no way she could accept this. Her enemy was under her nose the whole time. And now she had no choice but to follow her. In an instant, every hope she had of saving Chena, of saving Siku, of saving Immuyak and Nukilik, and even herself, had all gone down in flames.
The twist is nice but Anyu and Sirmiq's dialogue feels too on the nose about the motivations of their tribe and their prejudices and such. Could use more clean up there.
Also Numilik sucks at keeping Tikaani in one place. XD
Hello, faithful readers, there will be an update soon, I promise! Hopefully by this weekend. I'm making this post to inform you all that I will release the FINAL chapter of Spirit Wolf on July 5th, 2013, barring the occurrence of any of the following events:
Yeah, there's a legitimate chance that this will not come to pass, BUT I work best with deadlines. :3 The important thing to note, however, is that this thread will be CLOSED and DELETED on July 31st, 2013, regardless of the release of the final chapter. But why!? I'm going to be shopping Spirit Wolf around to publishers effective August and I will begin the promotional process at that point. Please understand that the very existence of this thread becomes a liability at this point. Should everything go according to plan, you should have a little over three weeks to read and enjoy the conclusion.
Assuming I meet the damn deadline, of course. But let's do it. Thanks for your support, guys! I'm gonna go finish this chapter now.
This chapter gave me a massive headache, but I need to keep moving. This chapter will likely be heavily edited and retooled in the final product but for now, I needed to get it out of the way. Expect some quicker, more interesting chapters to come now. Seven to go, let's go!
Chapter 13: Fear
! There was an old saying in the Village of the Sky, that went something like: Impatient is the warrior who ensnares himself in his own bear trap. Her bear trap was the mother of all bear traps: she was a prisoner in the Spiritless Men's camp. She was a prisoner to even her own name. Here, she was not Tikaani or Nukka, but Aningan. Aningan the Tonrar.
! Had she taken the time to think, she might not have been in this predicament. She could have watched and saw her companion, Chena, for what she really was. She would have had time to make a plan and sniff out Siku undetected. Instead, she was now in the same trap as her sister.
! The sun was only starting to set upon their arrival at the Spiritless Men camp. Tikaani paced slowly behind the traitorous Chena as countless men and women came out of their tents to see them home. Murmurs and whispers resonated through the air as the wolf and the three humans found their way to the center of the camp. There was a heavy scent in the air, one not quite corporeal, but unmistakeable. The odor of fear blanketed the camp, and Tikaani knew to whom the cause of that fear could be attributed.
! For the first time she saw the Spiritless Men by the dozens, and their appearance was eerily kindred. They were not monsters nor devils, but men just as the people of the Great Forest were. To think these… people are capable of so much harm.
! A sharp pain jolted through Tikaani's skull as something made impact with her head. She staggered sideways as her brain rattled and a cacophonous laughter vibrated through her ears.
! “Throw another one!” she heard a shrill female voice jeer. Shortly thereafter, she was struck again, this time by a slightly larger stone. This one had a sharp tip that cut into her back and drew blood.
! “Again! Again!” a little boy sang.
! Chena immediately paused and spun around, spear in hand and eyes set aflame. “Throw another and it will be the last stone you throw.”
! “Hurry up and kill the Tonrar!” a man screamed as others shouted in agreement.
! “Don't be a fool, Chena!” a woman wailed. “Heed the warnings!”
! The shouting became inaudible as Chena kept Tikaani close and the pair paced onward. Anyu and Sirmiq joined the crowds and left the two of them alone.
! “Do not be frightened, Aningan,” the girl whispered. “I will keep you safe. I owe you as much.”
! Yet, if you owe me, why do you bring me here? Tikaanisighed, still in pain from the stone onslaught. Another few of those and she might have endured broken bones or worse. The pain in her leg was still present and threatened to creep back, but she pushed it to the back of her mind.
! At last, they reached the center of camp. The sun was gone now and the sky black, but the Departed Ones began to rear their heads. Tikaani took comfort in knowing that as far away from home as she was, she was still being watched over.
! “Come, Aningan,” Chena commanded as she motioned towards a large, ornate tent, red with gold trimmings. The girl walked in and Tikaani followed suit with a slight touch of hesitation. Inside, she found nothing but a makeshift bed and a pile of books, one open to a page somewhere in the middle. As the wolf's eyes met the page, they were challenged by words in a language she did not understand.
! “This is mine,” Chena said blankly. “It is not much, but you can stay here until father returns. I do not mean to put you in a cage. I owe you more than that. I owe her more than that.”
! Tikaani frowned as her eyes met the girl's. Her?
! “You are not the first that my people did not kill on sight, you know,” Chena explained, sitting cross-legged on the earthen floor. “My father found one of you in the woods up north, clinging to life. I… I didn't know what my father was doing bringing it back to health like that. But the rest of us feared it. It was dark like charcoal and ash, a reminder of the destruction we've wrought.
! “I wanted to kill it. Really, I did. After a few nights, I went to do the deed myself, and snuck into my father's tent. I met that Tonrar face-to-face. It looked blacker than before, but its eyes were swirling with fear and accusation. I moved to strike, but my father stirred and stayed my spear. He told me that there was something special about that one. I could not understand that at all, so I left. I needed some time to think, and then I found you.” The girl gave Tikaani an uneasy smile. “And now I see. There is something special about you. And my father was probably right about the grey one. Tomorrow, I will go see him. Then we can figure out what this all means.”
! Siku… Tikaani thought to herself. She was relieved, so very relieved. Her sister was here. She knew it to be true. And come tomorrow, they would be reunited. And then they could escape together.
! Tikaani was so lost in her head that she didn't even notice the sun begin to peek through the thin crimson fabric of the tent. She didn't even noticed that she had slept a few hours. Chena was fast asleep. The wolf stretched her legs, noting the soreness in her hind leg as she paced over to the book on the floor. Again, the words were unreadable to her. The spoken language of the Spiritless Men was not different, but their written language was another story. The glyphs were different and Tikaani could only make out a few similar ones. Most notably was the symbol for wolf being clear and obvious, exact down to the strokes.
! “You can read?” Chena mumbled, finally stirring and crawling over to the book. “I suppose not.”
! She carefully picked up the book and examined the page. Tikaani lifted a paw to the book, placing it directly over the wolf character.
! “You can read, can't you?” Chena gasped in surprise, with a faint unmistakeable tinge of fear. “That's the word we use for you Tonrar. The exact word is demon.”
! Tikaani scowled at the sting of that last word. Same meaning, different context, she sighed.
! “Father said the grey one could read too,” Chena stated expressionlessly before rising to her feet. “Come, we should go see him, his tent is on the north side of the camp.”
! Tikaani followed the girl out of the tent into the cold morning air. She shivered as a northern breeze ran through her fur. Some Spiritless Men had stirred, going about their daily routine. It confused Tikaani how simplistic a people they were, not unlike her own. Small children played innocently in the dirt, pretending to be a big scary Tonrar and a big strong warrior as they beat each other senseless with imaginary weapons. A woman laughed nearby as she needled together what looked to be a tiny dress for one of the children. Another woman nursed an infant as she caressed it lovingly. A young man watched sheepishly from nearby, eyeing one of the women with lovestruck eyes.
! Ask her already, Tikaani laughed to herself. It shocked her how easily she could relate with the Spiritless Men. It scared her just how human they were. She had been expecting cruelty and hatred spewing from them, but instead all she found was love. Well, that and fear. When the gathering noticed the wolf was eyeing them, the playing stopped, the smiles faded, and their eyes took on an accusatory glow. In an instant they transformed into what Tikaani knew they really were. But instead of hate, there was fear. Unparalleled, unmistakeable fear.
! “My father…” Chena gasped, catching Tikaani's attention. “Where is he?”
! There was an empty tent, also red and gold. Inside, there was no trace of life, but there was a scent Nukka caught instantly. Shila.
! “Ah, Chena, you are back,” an old woman approached the pair. Her dress was very traditional and ornate, of earthy colors and fine hide. She was beautiful for her age, and had an owlish appearance. She looked nervously at Tikaani before turning towards the girl. “Your father left with a scouting party a few days ago, Tonrar in tow. The villagers were glad to be rid of the beast, yet you've brought with you another.”
! “I wish to speak to my father about this, Uvlugiaq,” Chena nodded. “Something is amiss here. There is something about Aningan here that I cannot place. Something special. My father saw it in the other one too. If you'll just-”
! “You're going against the teachings themself, girl,” Uvlugiaq furrowed her brow. “You and your father walk a dangerous path. Chief or no, if you go soft, we will be punished. You know that, don't you?”
! Chena fell silent.
! “I've advised your father countless times to kill the last one and be done with it, but his ears have grown deaf,” the old woman continued. “As I see it, yours have too. Prepare yourself, Chena. The People will come for your pet. And they will kill it. They will destroy that which they fear. It is our People's way.”
! “What if we're wrong?” Chena spoke up weakly. “What if these Tonrar are-”
! “You will understand soon,” Uvlugiaq cut her off. “You will resume your teachings tomorrow, no? I am sure you will find some pertinent information therein that should clear your head. You are being led astray by ignorance, child. Do not forget your teachings.”
! Tikaani frowned, hearing Uvlugiaq's words echo with Ahnah's voice. Both women were fundamentally different, but both shared wisdom beyond their years. Tikaani knew the owl woman was one to watch out for.
! Chena turned to go as Tikaani followed suit. Before she could take a second step, however, Uvlugiaq gave her an eerie smile, one which made the wolf's nerves flare.
! “Nukka? Or do you prefer Tikaani?” the woman smiled with masked intent. A chill swept down the wolf's back as Chena turned around.
! “Pardon?”
! “I do not speak to you, child,” Uvlugiaq spat. “I speak to your guest.” She turned to Tikaani. “I know what you're here for, Nukka. And you will never have it.”
! “What are you doing?” Chena frowned as a growl began to resonate from Tikaani's throat. Her head was confused and filled with apprehension, but her instincts rang true. There was something she did not like about this woman.
! Uvlugiaq's voice grew hoarse and she began to make strange animal-like noises.
! “What is this?” Chena scowled. “What is the matter, Uvlugiaq?”
! The noises continued as Tikaani took a step back in bewilderment. The old lady smiled cruelly.
! “Nothing, child,” Uvlugiaq's face beamed as she turned to the girl. “I just had something to say to your demon.”
! “I don't understand,” Chena frowned.
! “You will,” Uvlugiaq smiled. “You will.”
! Chena and Tikaani returned to their tent. The wolf trembled with every step. What did it mean? Tikaani struggled to keep composure, but the woman's unmistakeable words echoed in her head. The old woman had voiced something even Tikaani's mind had cared not to admit. She wanted nothing to do with those thoughts, but here they were, all but confirmed. Never mind the fact that this woman knew her name, her past, her thoughts, everything.
! Shila hates your guts, Nukka. You should be dead, she says in her sleep. The words played in her head on constant repeat.
! As the words processed in her head, she passed out. Not from exhaustion or burden, but from fear. Sheer, primal fear. Nothing stung worse than the fear of rejection. It was the deepest fear she had ever experienced.
So much for THAT deadline, amirite? :ninja:
Let's try this new one on for size:
"So, some news on the Spirit Wolf front. I've been having issues getting back "into" the story. So I'm gonna retread a bit and do some polishing and rewriting of the entire story. What's gonna happen is every Thursday starting August 1st, I will be posting edited (but nowhere near final) drafts of the entire story on this page for your eyes. This will continue into the final handful of chapters left unwritten with the story expected to wrap sometime in December. This gives me a more reasonable timespan to finish the story in that doesn't require me rushing head-long into it."
–from https://www.facebook.com/AlexKINielsen (Like this page!)
I'm going to extend that offer here, and beginning August 1st, every chapter posted here will be edited with a new draft. I'm not just polishing and grammar editing, I'm repiecing together some scenes and moving and adding and deleting. Hopefully, this'll give me the motivation to finish this one off already!
I like that old woman already. She adds a new element to the Spiritless Men: knowing what a Tonrar is and yet hating it anyway.
Chena's exposition dump was pretty bad. :/ Find some way to have her say a lot less and in a more convincing way that she's talking to an animal, like just letting off steam without it being too on the nose, almost like she's talking to herself. Either way she wouldn't need to repeat every single detail.
Otherwise this chap was pretty good.