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 Posted: Mon Apr 29, 2024 1:48 am
 Megapi had been traveling all over the world for a long time now. He honestly wasn’t sure how long. He’d seen many places, met many new people, and while sometimes he found himself in the same place twice, just as often when the vista changed he was faced with a new view. He liked being a wanderer; he liked seeing new places, and greeting old places like a…well, not like a friend. He had very few of those. But at least like an…acquaintance. Not like a stranger. That was the point. New places and old ones. Both of them equally welcome.
Not this place, though. Something about this place put him on edge. There was nothing outwardly strange about this environment—a canyon in the mountains, with a stream running through the middle of it. The stone walls on either side were banded with colors, red, cream, and pink. In the sunlight that shone through the gap in the cliffs above, wildflowers grew, and he could hear the chirping of insects, the trickling of water, and the songs of birds. There was nothing threatening nearby, then—other than himself, and he could hear some animals fall silent as he passed. But other than that, the world was relatively calm, and he could see no danger. So why did he feel like he was in danger?
His ear twitched, picking up a sound in the distance. Something was coming—probably a Soquili, unless it was a deer or a bear. He lifted his head and scented the air. It smelled like something herbivorous—a rabbit, perhaps? Or was it a Soquili? He couldn’t quite tell, the scents were mixed together into the smell of a single individual person.
Something about that made him shiver, and all at once, he realized what was going on. It wasn’t the place that was bothering him, it was the time. One year ago today, he had met another shifter. A rabbit shifter—the only one he’d ever met. He’d been attacked, but he’d been able to get away…and now, coming around the bend ahead of him, Megapi saw the silhouette of yet another rabbit shifter. He bared his fangs. This time, he would not be chased away!
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Posted: Mon Apr 29, 2024 1:50 am
Harlan hadn’t yet found a home for himself, and that bothered him. He’d always wanted one, but for some reason or another, no place he’d yet found had felt right for him. Riversides were too loud, and deserts too hot. Swamps were too noisy, and snowfields too quiet. Forests were too claustrophobic, and mountains, he was finding, were too steep. And they could be claustrophobic one second, and agoraphobic the next! It was like mountains couldn’t make up their minds, and that bothered him. So it looked like this trip up the mountain had been a dud after all, since it seemed likely he wasn’t going to be staying here.
It was so frustrating, he just wanted a place of his own! He wanted to have somewhere where he could put down roots, where he could feel safe and secure. But so far, it looked like there wasn’t any place like that. He’d never been happy in the woods where he grew up, and he’d been searching for some place new ever since he’d been old enough to strike out on his own. When my parents were my age, I’d already been born. But now I’m wandering around aimlessly with nowhere to call home. His only companion was the doll he carried with him wherever he went. Mom and Dad were right. I should never have left home.
Harlan was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn’t see the other Soquili until he walked into him. An apology sprang to his lips, and he was about to give voice to it when his eyes caught up to the rest of him and his body tensed.
He’d heard of Soquili with bat wings and horns. He’d heard awful things about them. But he’d never actually seen a Kalona before. And just as he’d gotten over the shock of seeing one of the Lifethieves right in front of him for the first time, he noticed the shaggy wolf’s pelt between the stallion’s burning eyes, covering his neck and back.
A Shifter.
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Posted: Mon Apr 29, 2024 1:52 am
At the time, the encounter with the rabbit shifter had been startling. Later it had been funny. And after that…well, with time, Megapi had started to resent the other shifter for attacking him. He understood that most of their kind could not control their bestial urges—he’d been there before, and he understood how difficult it was to control one’s emotions without the aid of an angeni’s charm. But at the same time, he resented being chased from anywhere. Maybe it was his old Kalona pride, demanding that he never back down to an enemy, that he never let himself be chased away. Or maybe it was a wolf’s pride, never backing down to prey just because he’d been lept at.
But either way, the encounter with the strange white rabbit mare had stuck in his mind all this year, and smelling the scent of rabbit mixed with Soquili on this, the one year anniversary, brought all those memories back, and he decided, right now, that he would not back down this time. He would not let the rabbit frighten him away this time! He was just taking a walk, he wasn’t stealing her prey!
So when the rabbit-pony almost bumped into him, he snarled, baring his fangs at the stranger. He reared slightly to make himself look bigger, and flared his wings out on either side of his body for emphasis. The quickest way out of this canyon was past this rabbit shifter, and he would not be pushed aside!
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Posted: Mon Apr 29, 2024 1:53 am
For just a brief second, Harlan was struck with shock and horror at the hellish vision in front of him. And then it attacked him, and the startled dun turned and ran, ran as fast as he could. He had to get away, he had to get away immediately! He could practically feel the breath of the other stallion on the back of his neck, his fangs snapping at Harlan’s fetlocks. He ran, his legs propelling him forward, until the breath came ragged in his throat and he stopped by the side of a large stone to catch his breath. There was no sign of the other stallion anywhere, and he breathed a (hard) sigh of relief. Whatever that other stallion was, whatever kind of evil had been chasing him, he was free from it now.
That was terrifying! He’d heard of Kalonas, and he’d heard about shifters, but he’d never heard of a Kalona shifter! He’d been lucky to get away, that was for certain! He could have been killed, a meal for a predator right now, a predator with a Soquili’s face.
“I hope I never have to go through that again,” he said out loud. He was in the habit of talking out loud to his doll. Life was lonely as a wanderer. He had no one else to talk to, so he’d developed the habit of talking to it. He kept it tied to his back with vines like the ones on his legs so that he would never lose it. But just saying words out loud to his beloved toy he realized, with horror, that he could not feel its weight. He turned his head to look for it, and could not see it.
It was gone. The one thing he’d kept from his family and his childhood, his only friend and companion, it was gone! All thoughts of the shifter fell from his mind as grief ripped through his heart. His breathing sped up and tears filled his eyes. No, no, no, it couldn’t be, where was his toy?! Where could it have gone?!
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Posted: Mon Apr 29, 2024 1:56 am
It was only as the other stallion was running away that Megapi saw his mistake. Yes, the other stallion had a rabbit’s ears, and the paws and the tail of a rabbit. But the coat on his back was the smooth, short-haired coat of a pony, not a rabbit. And the look on his all-too-Soquili face had been one of horror, not of mere startlement. Which meant…
That wasn’t a shifter I just frightened. It was just a poor, confused pony who has no idea why I came on so strong to him.
Megapi’s heart felt heavy in his chest. He’d done it again. He’d attacked a stranger who had done nothing to him, for no reason other than instinct. I thought I’d changed! I’m supposed to be better than this! He hung his head in shame, hating himself all the more for what he’d just done. He’d done the one thing he vowed he would not do now that he had the power not to do it: hurt someone, hurt someone badly, even if not with his teeth. What should I do now? Should I just…go on my way? Or should I apologize to him?
The idea of apologizing to the other stallion made him cringe. He didn’t think he could bear to face the rabbit stallion after what he’d just done. He knew it had to be done—but it was hard, and it hurt, almost as much as it hurt to know that he’d hurt someone. He had to do it, but he didn’t want to, and he knew he would have to force himself the whole way to do it.
He shifted on his feet, unsure what to do, and as he did, he stepped on something soft. Blinking, he looked down at the thing under his foot to see some kind of…doll? An effigy of some kind made of soft, woven material, in the shape of some animal splooting in the sun. This one had the face of a rabbit and a tail that would probably have been fluffy before it had been loved down to a nub. It was the same color as the rabbit stallion’s flowers. It must have belonged to him. And he must have dropped it when I…when we met. Seeing the toy on the ground made up Megapi’s mind without another thought. He had to return this toy to the other stallion. He could return his beloved possession, and when he’d done that, he could…apologize…to the other stallion. For, y’know. Being a skunk’s behind.
That turned out to be easier said than done. The other stallion had gone a long way—he’d been a mighty runner and equally mighty leaper, and Megapi even wondered if the other stallion might be part Cerynei. But in the end, a wolf’s nose and a Kalona’s wings were enough to find the rabbit stallion in short order. In his wolf form, which he still believed to look less threatening, he approached. The other stallion was leaning against a large rock, and he was shaking, his head lowered to the ground, and Megapi could hear the sound of sobbing. Now, even more than before, Megapi felt awful for what he’d done. Megapi set the toy down on the ground, then retreated back a few feet, sitting down to appear less threatening before clearing his throat. “Um, you dropped that.” He gestured to the rabbit toy with his nose. “When you ran away from me.”
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Posted: Mon Apr 29, 2024 1:58 am
He couldn’t keep wandering alone like this. He couldn’t spend the rest of his life not knowing where he was going or what he was doing, with nowhere to return to and now no one to go with. He’d have to go back for Monkeyflower. There was nothing else for it. He would have to brave the monster’s jaws to get his toy back.
Then his treacherous imagination conjured the image of the wolf-thing ripping Monkeyflower’s guts out, the stuffing scattered across the riverbed, and new tears flooded Harlan’s eyes, and he had to work hard not to howl at the very idea of it. He had to stay quiet, that creature could still be hunting him, once it had finished tearing Monkeyflower limb from limb—!
“Um, you dropped that,” a voice said behind him. The voice sounded…embarrassed? But it was steady and polite, as if it didn’t want to intrude. “When you ran away from me.”
The blood in Harlan’s veins froze, and he turned slowly around to face his fears.
A black and orange wolf sat five body lengths away from him, too far to leap at him. Its eyes were burning in a way that was now very familiar.
But the wolf was still smaller than the Soquili had been, and without the spread wings and lashing tail. In fact, his tail (which, in this form, was very fluffy) was actually underneath him. He looked…almost polite. Like his voice had been. And, sitting between them (though closer to Harlan than to the wolf, by a long shot), was Monkeyflower, completely undamaged. Harlan lunged forward, snatching up his toy, then retreating back a few steps, eyeing the wolf with suspicion. The wolf hadn’t moved an inch when he lept forward. He was just watching Harlan, his gaze steady and unruffled. “Wh-why did you bring this back to me?” he asked.
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Posted: Mon Apr 29, 2024 1:59 am
Megapi took a deep breath. This is the right thing to do. And not doing it is cowardly, which is beneath me. “I’m sorry about frightening you earlier. I wasn’t—well, that’s not…” He took another deep breath. “One year ago today, I was attacked by another Soquili. A shifter, and when I saw you, I thought you were the shifter. So I, ah…I tried to look big and scary to get back at her for chasing me last year.” He looked down at his paws. “That was an immature, coltish thing to do. I’m sorry I frightened you—if I’d realized you were just an innocent bystander, I would not have done that. Then I saw that you’d dropped your toy, and I wanted to return it to you. And I wanted to apologize to you.”
“O-oh,” the other stallion said. He was hugging his toy to his body with his neck as if he never wanted to let it go. Megapi felt a little warm glow at that. He’d reunited the other stallion with something that truly mattered to him, and he was glad he’d been able to do that at least (even if he’d been the reason they’d been separated to begin with). “I, um,” the rabbit-eared stallion said. “Um…thank you…this, this means a lot to me.” He tucked the stuffed rabbit into the vines that spilled over one leg and onto his shoulder. “Y-you…um, you’re kind of…scary…I…I’m sorry I ran away from you…”
The shifter shook his head. “Oh, no, that was an entirely reasonable thing to do. I’m not the only shifter, after all, and not all of us are…friendly. Or at least, not all of us try to be friendly. You did the right thing by running away,” he said kindly. “Truly. You saved yourself, and that’s the important thing.” Megapi wagged the tip of his tail. “My name is Megapi, by the way. I should have introduced myself to you earlier.”
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Posted: Mon Apr 29, 2024 2:00 am
He listened to the wolf shifter’s explanation, shocked at the implications of it. He’d never heard of nice shifters before, or of nice Kalonas. Did being a shifter and a Kalona cancel things out? Is that what was going on? That would make some sense! “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Megapi,” he said. “My name’s Harlan. And this” he gestured at his stuffed rabbit “is Monkeyflower. Thank you for saving her. I don’t, I don’t know what I would have done without her. She’s k-kind of…all I have left.” Then the rest of what Megapi said to him struck him. “Wait, there’s another shifter around here?!”
“Well, no, not around here,” Mr. Megapi said. “I was attacked in a forest, not in a canyon. I haven’t smelled any shifters around here other than me, so I’d be more worried about real mountain lions than mountain lions with hooves.”
Harlan shuddered. “D-don’t joke about that,” he said. “They, they give me the creeps.” He scanned the bushes, the rocks and ridges of the canyonlands around them, looking for dark shapes slinking around with feline menace. He looked back at Mr. Megapi, reminded of predators. He looked…less harmful like this. Wolves could only hunt in packs, right? So a single wolf couldn’t hurt him…right? “I’ve never met a Kalona before,” he said cautiously. “O-or a shifter.”
Mr. Megapi seemed to think about this for a second. “Would you like me to walk you back to wherever you were going?” he said at last. “I could give you another pair of eyes to look out for mountain lions. And I could tell you about shifters and Kalonas.”
“O-oh, I wasn’t, wasn’t going anywhere…specific,” he said. “I’m, kind of, kind of wandering…around…I have nowhere to go, y’see. I’m just…wandering…”
“Me too,” Mr. Megapi said softly. “But I can walk you as far as the end of the canyons at least. That seemed to be where you were going,” he said. “Or not, it’s entirely up to you.”
Harlan thought about it for a second. It would be nice to have some company…and Mr. Megapi seemed like a nice shifter-lifethief-wolf. It was so long since he’d had anyone to talk to other than Monkeyflower. And he supposed if Mr. Megapi was going to attack him, he could just run away again? He made sure that Monkeyflower was tucked in tight in his vines, unable to wriggle loose, before nodding. “Okay,” he said to Mr. Megapi. “I’d, I’d like the company, please.”
Mr. Megapi smiled, and it was a nice smile. It reminded him of his dad’s smile, actually. “Okay,” he said. “I’d be happy to walk with you for a while, Harlan.”
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