Wolf & Coyote Mercenary Services [Looney Tunes AU]

Episode 9: Of Coyotes and Kin

As they return home the following day, Pepé, quieter than usual, goes straight into his apartment lab and closes the door behind him. Wile E. follows after him, but is halted by the sound of the door's lock clicking into place. The morning after, he tries again to catch the skunk's attention, but receives silence. Days pass, with no response. By evening of the following week, Wile has no choice but to leave it be.

"He'll come out when he needs to," Ralph reassures him, though the lack of sincerity in his voice is anything but.

Wile doesn't respond, but simply nods before refocusing on the television. The two of them are watching a documentary on ACME's local channel, covering the speculative history of Sapients. Due to the lack of fossil records from early Sapients and the muddying of the timeline as a result of overlapping interactions with themselves and humans, much of the information portrayed in the documentary is—as Ralph bluntly puts it—pure conspiracy.

"Archaeologists believe that the existence of Sapients can be traced back to early civilizations like Ancient Egypt, citing the portrayals of animal-headed gods such as Horus and Anubis as evidence of early Sapients who were deified by the local human population—"

"Bullshit!" Ralph grumbles as he turns off the TV. "If humans are so fascinated by us, then why would they erase our history and treat us like crap?"

Wile doesn't know how to respond. Unlike Ralph, who once worked under a human, he himself never had the blessing or misfortune of interacting significantly with them. Even within Acme City, humans are a rarity, probably due to the local Sapients' primal instincts clashing with theirs and the various laws and customs which make living inconvenient for non-animals.

However, despite its dubious credibility, the documentary manages to fascinate him in one way: the flattened, archaic image of the canine-headed Anubis, looming over a sarcophagus, strikes a grim yet nostalgic feeling within him. "Say, Ralph, that Anubis god, is he a wolf?"

Ralph shrugs. "Most accounts call him a jackal, but some wolves look enough like jackals to confound folks. I don't know enough about African species to know myself. Either way, you're unlikely to see a dog like that 'round these parts." He stands up. "I'm going to bed. You get some sleep, too." He kisses the coyote on the cheek and heads for the bedroom. "Good night, Wile."

That night, Wile has a familiar dream. He's a child again, wandering the barren desert. His muzzle is stained with blood, his jaundiced eyes wet with tears. I'm sorry, Dad... but I was hungry. So hungry. I hope you'll forgive me.

As his corpse-like body slogs through the harsh sands, the heat of the sun slowly melts away his consciousness, gradually losing its grasp of reality. He stops, his bleary vision captivated by a stark image before him.

Standing tall and strong is a wolf-like creature, their body wrapped messily in linen bandages. He looks up and gasps. Along with donning a collar of gold and gems, the stranger is wearing a sleek, regal mask carved from ebony. Curious, he approaches, but as he does, his nostrils catch a whiff of the canid's scent and recoils. They reek of death, the same sort of scent which surrounded his father's corpse. The stranger, stepping forward, starts to speak, but he cannot process their words, for in that moment, his younger dream self has gained lucidity, softly uttering, "You...! You're..."

Wile snaps awake. Steadying his breath, he recounts his dream. Though the specifics are muddied, the memory associated is familiar enough to him that he can still recall every detail. All except for that stranger's words. Not that it matters, he rationalizes. Whoever—or whatever—that canid was, they carried the same mysterious, intangible aura as a mirage in the desert. Mirages, as with any other trick of the mind, should not be closely examined. And yet, why can't he stop thinking of them?

The smell of coffee lingers in the air, growing stronger as he enters the kitchen. As soon as he steps foot on the tile floor, he suddenly stops in his tracks. Sitting on the table, munching on a slice of whole wheat bread, is Pepé. "You're up early," he says, his chipper voice belying his apparent fatigue. "Did you not sleep well?"

"I could ask the same of you," Wile E. retorts. "You were holed up in that room for two whole days. How could I not worry?"

"Mon ami, I appreciate your concern, but I know my limits. If anyone needs to take better care of themselves, it's you."

Wile grabs a cup of joe and joins Pepé at the table. He talks about the dream he had, describing the stranger he encountered within it and comparing it with the image of Anubis he saw in the documentary. "I can't get the image out of my head. There's so much I want to know, yet there is this itching feeling that I shouldn't."

The skunk smiles as he casually sips his coffee. "Why should that stop you? If this is something important to you, you should pursue it by all means. Besides..." The skunk's sly gaze cuts into Wile's soul as he says, "...you could be on the verge of something life-changing."