I ran while pushing the unloaded cart. My other hand carries today's salary and I'm excited to present it to my uncle! I made a jubilant entrance into the garden. "Uncle Cor~! I got referrals today and an incredible increase in salary than yesterday! What would be our celebration?"
He's wearing an apron while removing the resin of the pear squash. And he looked at me, his eyes widened. "Why are you soaked!? And the smell! What happened to you!?" he screeched.
"The scoffers poured this on me. They do it often."
He strips my upper cloth and dries me with a towel. "You shouldn't be accustomed to this humiliation. At least try to defend yourself. Don't let them daunt you every day!"
I'm giggling from the way he talks. "I will next time if that will smoothen your wrinkles."
"How could you be so happy with your situation? I knew there's something wrong with the way that you were created," he murmured. He’s my uncle, Cormelio.
"I'm just happy because you care."
"Hmph. Give me that." He snatched the wallet and rummaged the coins.
"It's heavier, right? They love the freshness of your veggies. My experiment sprouted the vegetables very well!"
"What experiment?"
"I sprinkled the vegetables and even the flowers with the enzyme. Plants like it better than pale water."
"And where did you learn that?"
"I read your discoveries in your journal."
"Oh." He nodded twice. Then suddenly goggled his eyes on me. "What!? You read my journal!?" He took the knife and I ran away. "You little ‘evil! Who permitted you to meddle with my privacy!?"
I laughed while being chased with a knife. "We've been together for 13 years! What's wrong if I'd read about your first love?"
He screams like a girl. "Aaah! Get back here! I will make you regret this!"
☪ ✧ ✧
I visited my uncle's vast farm and fixed the fallen scarecrow. I placed stones on each side of the stand. While I was the one scared as Acro was already perched on the scarecrow without a trace of sound.
"Bro, I didn't even hear you fly." I rested her on my arm, and she walked up to my shoulder. "What brings you here? Aw—" She pecked at the ribbon of my hair and flew off. "Hey! What're you doing?" I called after her and whistled, but she continued flying away.
She landed on the handle of a cart under the tree, at the edge of the farm's fence. I tried to take the ribbon from her, even though I didn't mind my hair being untied, but she didn't want to give it up. "Oooh, what do you want? Attention? Hungry? Are you craving something?" I coaxed. "Bread~? Cheese spread~? Freshly toasted~? Yes, do you want a whole cake tonight~?"
Finally, she handed over the ribbon. I gently caressed her head, which she enjoyed. "You're fussy. Be grateful that I can handle your attitude. You are the only female I can handle." She no longer paid attention to me. I was about to tie up my hair when I heard a woman's scream from atop the hill, riding a galloping horse. I quickly climbed the fence and intercepted the horse's path, but I couldn't calm it down!
"Grab my hand!" I said to the woman. She extended her hand, and as the horse passed by, I pulled her down, but due to the force, we tumbled down the hill and broke the fence when we landed there!
I couldn't immediately get up due to the pain! I held onto her like a log on top of me, and she suddenly sat up. "My Goddess! I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed in a panic. I couldn't say anything because of my view; her messy brunette hair was all over me, and... her dress was askew, revealing her shoulder and cleavage.
I covered my eyes. "I'm fine, miss." She was the weird visitor! She also helped me up and fixed herself. "What were you doing with that horse?"
"The question is what was that horse doing with me? I was just taking a stroll when it suddenly bothered me!" she said, irritated while adjusting her dress.
"You're new here. You definitely need a tour guide. Count me in!"
"No, thank you. I'll just tend to my business in the metropolis. Thank you very much for rescuing me." She bowed and walked away. I wondered why she climbed the fence when she was wearing a dress.
"M'lady, this way." I pointed to the farm, but...
"I'm good. Please don't treat me like a damsel in distress."
"You are."
She gave me a disdainful look. She slid her finger across the fence, and magic enveloped it, creating a doorway. She proudly walked through it and thanked me again. As she climbed the hill, magic appeared beneath her footsteps, forming a staircase with each step she took. I could only admire her until she left.
"Wow... She rejected me twice in less than a minute."
Acro quietly landed on me and hooted.
"Nah, I cannot handle her hormones," I said as if I understood Acro.
The training started beneath the shades of the trees still within our domain. It took me a full five hours to memorize the basics of training and use it against the scoffers whenever necessary. And by the end, heavy weariness ruled my body. It's tiresome. But exciting!
I lie down on the ground with my hands stretched in front of the sunset sky. Soothing my worn face. Cormelio lay beside me and teaches, "Use your diaphragm, not your lungs." He even demonstrated the proper breathing I should do. Now, we're both having the same view. Basking with the lukewarm temperature of the sky.
I ask, "I didn't know you very well. Does your undying talent have something to do with your past? Come on! Fill my curiosity!" I'm poking his cheek to coax him. He slaps my hand.
"You're such a childish adult!" He folds his arms. "Our topics have grown, unlike the bedtime stories we always talk about when you were a lad. And I guess it's time for a more mature story."
"We can still talk about the werewolf tales."
"You're a grown-ass man, so act accordingly." I chuckle when he's annoyed again. "I was a knight in the city of Plandreas from the far west. And then I decided to retire and live a life here as a gardener and farmer."
"Whoa... That's the shortest story I ever heard from you. But why did you retire?"
"I'm getting old. And I want to try other things such as these."
"In a faraway land? Did you want to try a new place, too?"
"... That place is now a werewolves regime. I never wanted to serve supernatural beings."
"Hmmm."
"Most importantly, it is for your safety. Unfortunately, the metropolis is under their governance now."
“Are they dangerous to me?”
“Naturally, they are wild shifting beasts so yes.”
“Shifting…? Do their eyes reflect white?”
“No, idiot.”
He's serious about his warning. So, werewolves aren't just kids' tales. In withal, it's close to my heart—maybe because I've been hearing stories about them since lad. His story doesn't have a smear of mendacity, his talent proves it. And his chosen path didn't attenuate my admiration for him! He stood up and shook off the dust of his pants. I mimicked him.
"I've never seen the metropolis before. Is it safe to live there?"
"If you bestow your loyalty to the officials." He shakes his hand in the air. "Enough with the past. Get on your feet, we're going to a shop."
I walk alongside him with gladness after knowing a piece of his life. It's pleasing indeed to have a sincere conversation with him instead of receiving admonishments. Where he purposely brought me is at the blacksmith shop.
I keep in mind and tongue the deference when we came inside. The shop isn't spacious but does satisfy the treads. Especially that there's a tiger rug. Albeit the weapons are crowded, everything is sorted according to its sect, shape, and color. Swords on the walls entertain my eyes when I land sight of it. The contrivance of the detailed design on the hilts is extraordinary.
On the counter, we saw a robust tall man. Seems like he fought a tough fight in the past.
"Cormelio! Welcome back to my shop!" he greeted. "Do you need another blade for your ax?"
And Cormelio responded to the warm welcome with doubtless grouchiness. "What do you think of me? Unable to hone my own blade and beat the stubborn soil?"
"What a geezer attitude you got there! How can I serve you?"
"Show us your merchandise daggers. I'll buy two for me and my nephew."
When I heard it, I stood beside him immediately. The blacksmith laid all the sets of daggers on the counter and I was transfixed. "Have a choice, young man!"
Cormelio murmurs, "Not the dagger but the price will stab you."
"It doesn't matter what you lose as long as you're content with what you'll gain in exchange," I said. And that made the blacksmith laugh.
"Your nephew has good precepts!"
"Not really." I'm a vendor as well. I know what will convince and console a stingy customer. I slid my fingers on the hilts of these daggers. Each has different designs such as rose, gem, hawk, and sun. But the most outstanding innovation for me is the dagger with a silver new moon on the hilt. I picked it without faltering.
"Is that your chosen one?" the blacksmith asked, always with a cheerful tone. "It has the simplest design among these. You're a simple person."
"What I'm sure is I like this one." I buoyantly presented the dagger to Cormelio only to find out that he was already staring at me. "What do you think?" After my first question pops up the next. "Also, where and when will we use these daggers? I thought your lectures were all about defense? Will you teach me offense now?" I grin like a pup but flinch right away after remembering the place! I'm losing control whenever I get excited.
He gave me the excess of my income today. "Use it to reward yourself," he said. My eyes twinkled. Nothing is more fulfilling than using my effort to reward myself! I was about to give him a hug but he obviously dodged my attempt by stepping sideward.
"I guarantee the durability of that dagger," the blacksmith whispered. Of course, that's what a vendor would say.
"Hey, what kind of substance did you use here?" Cormelio asked his friend. The blacksmith gave his attention to Cormelio this time. And while I'm taking my time alone, I stare at the new moon ornament of the dagger. Something is mesmerizing me. Something intimate. Something dear. It makes me want to see the night sky tonight. And suddenly, I remember that night when a strange woman kissed me.
My meditation was disrupted when I heard a commotion outside. It sorrows me to the soul.
There's the group of men again mocking and laughing at a slave. The victim is just a girl with shackles on her neck and wrists. She's gaunt and her plaintive face is looking down on the ground, trembling. And these obtuse guys deliberately humiliate the poor girl in front of the public. It seems like the sight of myself being humiliated by the scoffers. People with dark skin like me are either suffering from servitude or be discriminated as slaves.
I took my pace straight outside. I'm on the cusp of stepping towards them but an arm hindered my motion. It's from Cormelio. "Don't jump into the fray," he warned.
"But—! That girl... Telling me to stay still in front of that mortification disquiets me," I asserted.
"Hessuel, don't get yourself involved with this kind of friction. This often happens to slaves. And if you show an act of sympathy towards them with this kind of scenario, those guys will reciprocate."
"Look, those guys are the ones who humiliate me every morning of my selling."
"Oh. Them?" He narrows his eyes at those men, scanning their faces one by one. He was about to make furious steps towards them but I hindered my arm.
I warn, "No. Don't get yourself involved with this kind of—"
"I will teach those weaklings a memorable lesson!"
"I'm sure they'll retaliate by any means. They're not teachable."
He got out of my clenches. "Watch me," he groaned.
I wasn't able to stop him anymore as he walked like a cat straightway to those guys. My feet remain at the threshold of the blacksmith shop to do as he brags: watch him. "Excuse me," he started, "are you the owner of this slave? If not, you, therefore, have no right to do what you please against him." One of them responded irreverently, "We're not. And hey, old man, just mind your own walk and denture instead of someone else's business." My fists formed. I can endure their satire but not for someone I cherish. Cormelio talks back, "I will if you stick your nose out of this kid and my nephew." "Who the hell is that?" Another guy barks, "His slave vendor." Their chortle disturbs anyone who passes by. In my sight, they are grown-ass coconut brains—unable to recognize whom they're talking to. "People like you are worse than slaves. What you're doing is illegal for none of you are the owner of this slave. Any kind of humiliation towards a slave is reserved to their owners. So mind
The smell of potent stink took me back to my senses! I'm lying on the same bed in the garden. But right at this moment, something is different. I dislike the smell of flowers! I cough one after another while itching my nose. My steps spontaneously run towards the outside. I grasp on the fences while relieving my nose and throat with the fresh air. And when I touched my forehead, I felt the tightness in my nails and found out the reason why. Everything about the incident last night is vivid in my memories. The moon... the sensation underwater... The ghost… I thought it was just a dream. My nails grew longer, sharper. I tested scratching the fence and it left a deep mark, effortless. My body feels lighter—and that's not a bad thing. I looked at the path beside our farm and found a villager passing by with a wagon. The sound of the wheel, even at least one hundred meters away, is clear to my hearing. "Weird..." It was the first word I uttered this day but I covered my mouth when I f
Cormelio never has to realize something from these guys. It's them. It feels like my head was shaken when that fist from the giant guy blew on my nose! The two men locking my arms were thrown into the handcart with me. The rest of the guys murmured praises for the tall man. The two left my side while I'm cringing my nose and lying on the handcart. The man stood with his legs both on my sides and showered me with more punches. I made sure that my training with Cormelio is useful. My arms cover my head from the intense and heavy punches that shake my head, bump on the wood, and nothing but brute beating. Every hit depicts hostility to avenge an accomplice. And I believe that's acceptable. It's my right to avenge myself then. The tall man ceased and was startled after having sight of me. His fists are swelling and shuddering, the unfathomable reaction on his face is adorable. Without a glimpse of hesitation, my uppercut attack met his chin. He was pushed backward, rolled, and fell fro
"He suffered from blood loss," the nurse lady informed after the aid. Cormelio's wounds are wrapped with bandages, deep cuts have cotton wool for the prevention of bleeding. Just the sight of how pale he is makes my legs shudder. I almost lost him. His life is still in danger. I remember every word he told me earlier. And I don't think I can live on my own. My knowledge is still out of the league. "We need to fill him with blood again," the nurse indicated, "or else, his heart will suffer and die." I extended my right arm. "I'm—" ["You can't."] I halted when I heard the resonating voice again. This time, I look at Acro who's perching on top of the pendulum in this dark room. And her eyes are directly looking at me. Then some thought came into my mind. I can't donate my blood to a human for I am a werewolf. That doesn't prove the logic without experimentation but I prefer not to involve Cormelio with such. I reason out, "I'm not allowed to be his donor. I wasn't capable of selli
I don't have the coat with me! That's not really surprising for my power is unleashed and lively. But I have to retrieve it. The only problem ahead is its whereabouts. And I can't show myself like this in the crowd. When returning slides into my thoughts, I knew somehow that it was absolutely late. Good thing, I saw the archer on a window of the tower fired at me and I was able to dodge. The arrow pierced onto the roof and I lost balance when I lifted a leg; I stumbled, rolled down the roof, and fell into a pile of laundry. A lady on the ground squeals when I ruin her space and cause a clutter. Her hands are on her chest while the wet bed sheet is within her clenches. "I'm sorry—!" She shrieks even more after landing sight on me. I'm supposed to ask her for the exit but her mouth isn't in good condition to spill assistance. I run away into these narrow and congested pathways outside the houses as fast as a silver wolf can—seven steps in a click of a clock. Someone wearing a hood
"I saw your actions towards a slave... Your kind adherence with the innocent girl's corpse," she preceded. “Why would you do that to a stranger?” “... Why not? She needed help. And it didn’t come when she needed it the most, she never should have suffered harassment from those vile knights.” “How did you know?” “I had those contusions before.” "Oh, right… I’m sorry. You have no stigma of mistreating dark-skinned people, do you? I deemed that you can help me save my enslaved niece." "Me? But what can I do?" "You have the power to defeat Mraz. You do it and I'll stop his nefarious laws." Her arms fold in accordance with her grimace expression. "Several months ago, people in my town went missing and most of them are from dark-skinned families, including my niece. Enslaving people of that color was enforced in Plandreas and Lanbarc metropolises. That's when I knew why my niece was missing. "Dark-skinned people commenced a riot but that increased the number of slaves being sold thr
"The last?" I muttered after him. "You might be. Are you expecting to meet your similitude? I believe we've already given the demise of your race." He's mocking me, it's my thoughts on the matter. But I find it reasonable. I already knew the sore brutality of silver wolves like me. "Then... you shall do the same to me? Sir, I have another reason why I need to meet you." "Freedom for the slaves? Yes. The knights informed me about your petition. But would you mind guessing why we enforce this law?" He leaned his arms on the bars with an overweening stance. "It's because of you. We know you're hiding under that color. And all we've been doing is to pull the rat out of its hiding. And the long wait is over." "Are you talking about me? I'm a werewolf, not a rat." "Don't make me laugh." "Your only interest is me but you involve people who look like me. You've been casting your hostility with uncertainty, making you unworthy of your headship. Perhaps all you do is dictate your will f
"I know how to tame dogs," she boasts. She lifts her right hand up and above her skin is a huge orb of light spinning in the air. We all looked at it as the light imitated the glow and image of the moon. As always and have been, the beauty of it is mesmerizing, stunning… soothing… But my fascination ended harshly when I was slapped on the face. "You're awake now?" Dandeline asked. I blinked rapidly at her. “Aw,” I said, and when I looked at the werewolves, all of them were flabbergasted and spacing out on the sight of the moon Dandeline made. "Oh, so, it's your way of taming? Hypnotizing?" I pointed a finger at the moon. "Let's hurry!" She pulled me on my coat again to run away while the werewolves were deluded. “Wait! I want to try to slap them if it’ll work the same as mine—.” “It will!” We're running down another spiral stair, the space is slim and dark but the noon light through the window spares the burden. We halted in the middle of the path when I smell the fur again c