Pupandaka 2

Chapter 9 - A Drastic Change (2021 Halloween Special)

Drele rests asleep on the hilltop under the lone tree, the cool dusk breeze blowing across his face. Tanark and Tearlach are discussing things in the cave. But that night, Drele encounters a very unnerving dream. One he had never experienced himself. To his surprise, the dream seemed ancient, as if he was lost in mists of time. He followed along with the dream.

It was a stormy night, strong winds swayed whole branches of the trees. He saw himself as an old man, who seemed as ancient as the earth. He plowed through the wet undergrowth deep in the forest. Just then, he heard a loud and eerie howl shattering the night. He froze in his tracks, waiting for something to come out and pounce at him. Some time later, a grey wolf exposed itself from the dense section of the forest. 

“Come with me,” said the wolf. He could utter not a word, so he followed the wolf where it was leading him. He could see there was no way out of the woods. He was lost, and following a wolf he did not know. As soon as they arrived at the place, he looked up and saw dozens upon dozens of wolves atop the ancient structure.

“You’re one of us now,” the wolf said. “Come out, and show what you’re truly capable of.” He looked down and saw not his regular human legs, it was something very different. He had wolf legs, all 4 of them reaching out to the ground. He tried to scream, but couldn’t. He looked up and about, as if searching for some miracle to take place. All wolves clambered down from the structure and slowly approached him. He was scared, he wanted to run.

As the wolves closed in on him, one wolf said, “Peace, peace! Let him have peace within the pack!” The wolf had a tawny brown pelt and sounded old. But not physically old. His dream self then said, “We are one, and I am one with the pack. We shall not back down and come up with a bargain. I will live forever within the pack and the community, even when I’ve passed on. We shall begin our reign.”

The wolves, one by one, howled into the night sky. They were singing some sort of melody he can’t make out. But his dream self could, because he was howling along with the wolves. Soon after they stopped howling, they led him inside of the structure, which seemed to be the commotion location. Inside of the room, three grey wolves handed him a jade amulet. He gasped. 

It was very similar to that of the amulet that gives the dragons life, but instead of a dragon, the symbol inscripted represents a wolf. He picked up the amulet using his muzzle, then all went dark. Then he could hear.

“Drele, wake up! We have to go!” It was Queen Tearlach, shaking him awake. Drele groaned as his eyes fluttered open. All he could let out was a dull “Heyyaaaah”. “What? Come on, get up,” Tearlach grabbed his arm and pulled him up onto his feet. He could see it was well past midnight, the full moon gleaming freely in the sky. “How long was I out for?” He rubbed his eyes.

“Almost five hours. You were twisting and turning like you were in a freak accident. Are you okay?” Tearlach asked. “Yeah, I just had some weird dream out of the norm,” he said. He could not recall any part of which he had dreamt. Except that he was a wolf within a pack of wolves. Then realization struck.

“Hey, aren’t there wolves somewhere around the mainland?” he felt dumb for asking that question. “What? Why are you asking about wolves?” Tearlach asked desperately. “My dream,” Drele said. “Well, tell me about it tomorrow. Right now, we have to go,” Tearlach said. 

They took the boat back to the mainland and parted ways. When Drele arrived home, he now felt no need for sleep. So he slouched onto the sofa and started trying to piece together the dream. Why did it happen? Is he the only one experiencing the dream? Most importantly, where is it coming from? He fell again into a deep dreamless sleep a few hours later, nothing happened for the rest of the night.