well-awarewolf - Tumblr blog

well-awarewolf · 3 years ago

Text

The Attack

It’s final’s week so time for art is,,, hard to find, at the moment. So today I’m gonna leave you with a little something I wrote a while ago!

TW for moderate violence and blood, body horror, and one very brief mention of vomit. (Please let me know if I missed anything!

Travis quickly pulled on his boots and grabbed a flashlight before running outside. Something had Birdie panicked. He'd woken up to her barking, which probably meant something was after the animals.

Not thinking of much other than scaring away whatever was out there, he ran in the direction of her barks. He heard some panicked bleating and realized it must be after the sheep and goats.

Travis caught Birdie in the beam of his flashlight and quickly looked in the direction she was barking. He nearly dropped his light. The beam caught the animal's eyes and they flashed when the light reflected off of them.

A low growl came from the largest wolf Travis had ever seen. It snarled and thick strands of drool dripped from its maw. Its attention was pulled from Birdie and it stared straight at Travis.

Travis stood frozen for a moment as he stared at the huge animal. The wolf took a step towards him, and he broke from his shock. He took a deep breath to steel himself and then tried to scare the wolf off.

"Go on!" he shouted, "Get out of here!"

He kept shouting and waving his arms to make himself seem big and threatening, but the wolf didn't even flinch. In fact, it snarled and took another step closer.

Something… something was wrong. Something was off about this wolf, but Travis was in no state of mind to put a finger on what. He stopped trying to scare the wolf off and took a step back.

The wolf stepped forward, its growl somehow seeming even louder.

At that point, Travis decided to run. Fear struck him as he heard the wolf take off behind him. He heard Birdie stop barking and a snarl came from the wolf.

Travis risked a glance back and saw the dog hanging onto the wolf with her teeth, slowing it down for a moment. The wolf flung its head to one side and swiped at Birdie with a paw, sending her flying to the ground with a yelp. Travis gasped but kept running. Birdie had done that to buy him some time.

He had almost made it to the house when something slammed into his side. The wind was knocked out of him as he was tossed like a ragdoll into a tree. His head hit the trunk hard and he was dazed for a moment before a heavy weight settled on his chest.

Travis gasped for air and tried to grasp and move whatever was pressing down on him to no avail. He opened his eyes and finally managed to focus, only to find the wolf was pinning him down with one massive paw.

Suddenly, he didn't feel like he could breathe even if his lungs weren't being crushed.

The wolf growled, so close that Travis could feel its hot breath. He couldn't move. He couldn't scream. He was frozen in fear, and yet…

Even as he lay trapped in what was likely his last moments, he couldn't help but stare up at the wolf and think, wolves don't have blue eyes.

The wolf lunged.

Travis heard screaming.

It dimly registered in the back of his mind that it was him screaming.

Searing pain bloomed from his shoulder and steadily spread through his limbs; it felt like his blood was on fire.

He feebly tried to hit the wolf, but he was getting lightheaded.

After what felt like hours, but in reality was probably only a few seconds, there was a loud bang and the wolf reeled back with a yelp, letting go of Travis' shoulder.

He heard a growl and another bang, but after that, everything blurred together as he slipped into unconsciousness.

Tracy's heart jumped clear into her throat when she heard Travis scream, and she willed herself to run faster. Holding back her terror at the sight of her brother in the jaws of the wolf, she took aim with the rifle and fired.

The wolf released its hold on her brother and staggered back a step, its attention now fixed on her. With a snarl, it charged towards her, but Tracy fired another shot. The second bullet hit it in the chest and it went down, but it started struggling back to its feet. Tracy fired a third time, hitting it between the eyes. It stopped moving.

Tracy stood still for a moment, not daring to breathe while she waited to make sure it wasn't getting back up. Only then did she flip the safety on the gun and run to Travis.

"Travis? Travis, oh gosh please be alive," Tracy said as she fell to her knees next to her brother and slung the rifle over her shoulder.

After hovering uncertainly for a moment, unsure of what to do, she took a breath and tried to focus. She checked for a pulse and sighed in relief when she found it.

"Ok. Ok you're alive," she said shakily, and looked at his bloody shoulder, "Ok let's… let's get you inside."

She glanced at the still-unmoving wolf before carefully scooping Travis into a bridal carry and moving as quickly as she could back to the house.

Tracy went to the living room and set Travis on the couch. Once again she felt at a loss for what to do. She wished their parents were home. She quickly went and retrieved the first aid kit from the kitchen, and after a brief moment's deliberation, she grabbed the trash can as well.

Tracy settled back down beside the couch and started carefully removing Travis' shirt to get a better look at the injury. The shirt was already shredded, so she just cut it the rest of the way off with the scissors in the kit. Tracy rifled through the kit and pulled out some antiseptic wipes to clean off the blood. To her confusion, once cleaned up a bit, there was hardly a wound. Travis wasn't even bleeding anymore.

As she tossed the dirty wipes and grabbed some new ones, Travis started trembling.

"Travis? Travis, can you hear me? I should call an ambulance…" Tracy murmured to herself in worry.

She was unsettled to find no wound after cleaning the area some more, just a jagged scar of the teeth marks left by the wolf. She looked at it for a moment longer in confusion and then threw away the wipes.

She was about to grab her phone when Travis sat up with a gasp, startling her.

"Travis?!" she exclaimed.

He stared at her blankly for a moment and then gagged.

Suddenly thankful she'd brought the trash can, Tracy quickly held it up in time for Travis to throw up in.

"Oh, Travis," she said quietly.

Once he'd seemingly emptied all the contents of his stomach and stopped dry heaving, he shakily slumped back onto the couch with a groan. He looked pale and he'd broken out into a sweat.

Tracy frowned in concern and brushed a hand through his dark hair, "Gosh Trav, you're burning up… I'm calling the doctor."

"'Kay," Travis responded stiffly.

Calling a doctor seemed like a good idea. Too many things were happening and Tracy only knew basic first aid.

Just as she'd stood up and pulled her phone from her pocket, Travis cried out and clutched at his head.

"Travis?!" Tracy exclaimed.

He threw himself off the couch onto his knees. Travis was wracked with shudders and breathing heavily. With every few breaths, he would let out a pained whimper.

Tracy crouched back down and hovered over her little brother, scared and unsure of how to help.

"I-I'm gonna call the doctor," she said.

She started to unlock her phone, but Travis shot out an arm and grabbed her wrist.

"N-no," he growled hoarsely.

"Travis, look at you!" she exclaimed, "I've got to!"

She tried to pull her arm away, but he held her in place.

"N-no," he ground out again, "Y-you can't, p-please, I… I don't-"

"Trav, I've got to! Just-"

Just then, Travis convulsed and cried out again, releasing his hold on her wrist to clutch at the carpet. Blood dripped from his mouth onto the floor.

"Travis!" Tracy cried in alarm.

She placed a hand on his back, but pulled away almost immediately. When she looked, his muscles seemed to be spasming.

"Wh-what…" Tracy didn't know what to do.

Was… was this a seizure? Should she still call the doctor?

"T-Tracy, I'm sca-" Travis' words broke off into a scream as there was a loud crack and a shudder ran through his body.

"Travis!"

That did it. She had to call someone. He was scared and hurting, and she didn't know what to do. She didn't know what was happening to her little brother.

There was another snapping sound and Travis bit his tongue in an attempt not to scream again. The cracking and snapping grew more frequent and then Tracy could only watch as her brother started growing.

Travis fell from his hands and knees onto his side and curled in on himself. He clutched at his head and let out a strangled sob as his spine seemed to lengthen. Tracy's eyes widened in horror when he grimaced and his teeth were elongated and sharp. He gagged a little and more blood spilled from his mouth as painful convulsions wracked his body.

In a panic, Tracy pulled out her phone and called the first person that popped into her head. With tears in her eyes, she watched her brother tremble in pain as she waited for someone to answer. It only took a couple of rings.

"Hey, Tr-"

"Vince!" Tracy cried in relief.

"Tracy?" the vet said, concern immediately coloring his words, "What's wrong?"

"I-it's Travis," she choked out as his muscles spasmed again, "H-he's… there's something wrong. He was attacked by a wolf just outside and I brought him in and-"

"A wolf?" Vince asked, sounding anxious.

"Y-yeah and now he's-" she gasped, "Travis!"

The cartilage of Travis' ears stretched, forming into a point. He let go of his head to grasp at the floor, the anatomy of his hands changing and his nails lengthening. His pained noises were probably audible through the phone.

"Tracy? Tracy what's happening?" Vince urged, sounding as though he was already on the move.

"He… it's like he's… changing," Tracy said breathlessly.

Dark hair started growing, starting from his hairline and sprouting down his neck and back before running down to cover his arms and legs. The colors ranged from brownish-gray to tan.

Was that… fur?

"Oh my gosh, Travis," Tracy choked out in disbelief.

"I'll be there as soon as I can," Vince promised, "Stay inside!"

He hung up, but Tracy hardly registered what he said anyways as she watched Travis with mounting fear.

This can't be happening, she told herself as his now-pointed ears flicked backward. This isn't real, she told herself as thick, black claws dug into the carpet. This is just a nightmare, she told herself as his spine extended and a tail grew out above what remained of the waistband of his shredded shorts.

But Travis continued to change. His pained cries got deeper and less human as his ribcage expanded. His feet lengthened, rough black pads forming on the balls of his feet and the palms of his hands. He coughed up more blood as his insides were probably changing too. Tracy was at a loss. This was real. She didn't know how, but it was real.

Travis was now almost completely covered in fur and had nearly doubled in size. His hands and feet looked more like paws, and his nose was turning black.

Tracy could only watch in horror as with one last cry, Travis' jaw finished elongating into a muzzle.

With that, the horrible sounds of his anatomy changing came to a stop and he slumped to the ground, all of the tension he'd had during the ordeal finally releasing as the pain seemed to subside. He trembled, and a low whine trailed from the furry mass on the floor.

Tracy just sat staring for a moment. Where her brother had once sat, now lay a wolf at least twice his size. She swallowed thickly.

"Travis?" she called tentatively, voice almost a whisper.

An ear flicked and there was a hitch of breath before the wolf moved. It was shaky, unsteady, and it propped itself up on hand-like paws. It sat for a moment, staring wide-eyed at the floor and breathing heavily. It hacked a little and Tracy sat frozen in place as she watched viscous saliva mixed with blood drip from its maw.

Dazedly, the wolf managed to get its feet under it, and it sat back awkwardly on its haunches. It lifted up one forepaw- hand?- and stared at its palm. It flexed its fingers and flipped it over to look at the back almost as if in a trance. It took a deep breath and started trembling again. A low, shaky whine came again as it continued to stare at its hand.

Was it… crying?

Tracy froze as the wolf slowly turned to look at her with wide eyes that flashed yellow when they caught the light. It reached towards her.

On instinct, she quickly scrambled back, and the wolf recoiled like it had been shot. It pulled its paw close to its chest and whimpered. It looked down at the ground and then back up at her with those huge, hazel eyes. They were still impossibly wide and… and they were filled with tears. They looked so scared. They looked so much like-

"Oh my gosh… Travis…" she said in a hushed voice as it finally clicked that it was really him.

The wolf- her brother seemed to relax slightly at the sound of his name. He opened his mouth and made some low barking sounds, but then stopped and put a paw to his throat, looking at the floor in despair.

He couldn't talk.

Travis whined and his ears lay back as flat as they could go in his stressed state. He tried talking again to no avail, only succeeding in yaps and grumbles before hanging his head in defeat, curling in on himself anxiously. Tears made wet tracks down his fur.

"Trav, it's… it's okay," it really wasn't okay, but Tracy had to say something, "It… we'll figure it out, ok? We'll… we'll figure something out."

Travis looked so scared and so terribly sad, even as a giant wolf monster. Tracy slowly scooted back towards him and he sighed with a shudder when she put a hand on his arm.

"Travis," she said quietly, "You're still you."

He looked at her but stayed quiet. Even if he could talk, Tracy didn't think he'd know what to say. She wrapped her arms around him as much as she could and buried her face in his fur.

He took another shuddering breath and after a moment, he slowly hugged her back.

"It's okay," Tracy murmured again, not knowing what else she could say, "It'll be okay… We'll figure this out…"

They just sat for a few minutes until they heard a knock at the door.

Travis actually flinched at the sound and Tracy gasped.

"Oh gosh, Vince! He said he was coming over!" Tracy exclaimed.

The siblings looked at each other in panic, unsure of what to do.

"He… he can't see you like this, Trav!" Tracy whispered in worry, looking in the direction of the door at the sound of a louder knock, "I'll see if I can get him to leave."

Travis curled up on the floor, as if he could make himself small and unassuming. Tracy went to the door and opened it a crack.

Vince stood outside, looking uncharacteristically scared.

"Sorry I took so long," he apologized, sounding winded.

Tracy took a glance back towards the living room.

"Um… that's okay. It um… was a false alarm. Travis is okay. Sorry for worrying you," she tried to keep her voice from shaking.

It didn't really work.

"Tracy," he said gently, "It's alright. I know."

"It's… really fine, Vince, I promise. Travis is fine," Tracy said, praying he would just leave.

But Vince had been a friend of the family since before she was born. He knew her too well.

"If he's fine, then let me see him," Vince said, "Just in case."

Tracy gripped the door handle tightly.

"I can't," she said desperately.

He glanced around before softly saying, "He already finished transforming, didn't he?"

Tracy froze, "I… he… what?"

"Tracy," Vince looked sad, "Travis is a werewolf, isn't he."

It wasn't really a question.

"H-he's… he's okay though," Tracy said, "He's not… he's not crazy or anything we don't… we don't have to… to…"

Vince put his hands up in a calming motion, "Oh! No, I know that! I promise I'm not here to hurt Travis. I just want to help."

Tracy studied his face for a moment. He looked sincere. He looked like a concerned friend.

Reluctantly, Tracy opened the door wider. She took a breath.

"Okay."

Travis heard Tracy talking to Vince. He was a couple of rooms away, but he could hear them as clearly as if he were in the same room. Everything was so loud.

Not to mention, smells had been amplified. He never really thought his house smelled like much of anything, but now there were so many different scents bombarding his nose. He was very quickly getting a headache on top of everything else.

The pain from changing had subsided, but he still ached everywhere. Travis felt exhausted, but he still felt that he needed to move. To run, jump, anything.

Travis was still trying to grasp the reality of the situation. He stared at one of his paws, still in shock. Surely this was all some terrible dream, but… he'd never experienced pain like that before. It was excruciating. It was real.

He was a werewolf.

The boy perked up upon hearing Vince state that fact. Vince knew? He heard Tracy let him in.

Travis immediately cowered down and tried to disappear. Tracy's footsteps were too loud, but he could hardly hear Vince's. They sounded normal.

He looked up at Vince nervously when he and Tracy entered the living room. Vince's face fell upon seeing him.

"Oh, Travis," he said quietly as he knelt down, "I'm so sorry."

Travis' ears flicked. Vince was keeping his voice very low, as if he knew every little noise felt like nails on a chalkboard. Travis cringed when Tracy spoke again.

"Vince… you know about werewolves?" she asked.

"Try to keep your voice down," Vince said, "He's not used to his heightened senses yet. But yes. I know about them."

Travis blinked and tilted his head. Vince seemed… different. Was it because of his 'heightened senses' or was it something else? Maybe it was just because he looked a bit disheveled. Had he run there?

"I'm sorry I didn't get here sooner," Vince said, "I could've helped. First transformations are… traumatic. Especially alone."

Travis just shrugged. He really didn't know what to do with himself or what to make of the whole situation. Werewolves were real. He was one. What else was real? Was he going to lose his mind? He didn't want to turn on his family. Would he have to leave them? What would his parents think?

His thoughts were spinning.

"I'm sure you both have lots of questions," Vince said.

That was an understatement.

"You said you're here to help," Tracy said (with her voice mercifully lowered), "Can you fix him?"

"There's no way to reverse Lycanthropy," he replied apologetically.

Travis' heart sunk. He was going to be like this for the rest of his life?

Why? he lamented to himself.

“But it’s alright,” he continued, “I can help you acclimate, at least. Being fae isn’t all bad.”

“Fae?” Travis tried to say, but was immediately reminded that he no longer had human vocal cords.

Vince nodded, “Yes, all of us magical folk are referred to as fae, be that werewolves, fairies, centaurs, and everything in between.”

“Wait,” Tracy said and hesitated, as if caught between multiple questions, “‘Us?’ and… did you just… understand Travis?”

“Ah,” Vince responded, “Yes, I guess I should start from the beginning, huh?”