Coyote

Chapter 7: Lupus W. Lykos

The train was surprisingly comfortable. Their seats were soft and cushiony, but the experience of sitting on them wasn't too awful. Cushions would certainly never replace logs and rocks in my world, but I didn't feel the overwhelming desire to claw them to shreds. Besides, the train wouldn't look so nice with shreds of blue fabric all over the place. What the train could use were some leaves. At the next stop I'd collect some from outside and scatter them along the aisle between seats.

There wasn't much of a crowd in our compartment. A few humans sat throughout the area, and our targets all clustered together in one row. We all sat nearby them, and Kai took the aisle seat in order to keep her eye on our them. Eli and I sat next to her and politely nodded to the humans who walked by looking for seats, while Mr. Rodgers and Asher sat underneath the seats. In the event of any trouble, they would be a complete surprise to any threat. That also meant that they could sneak around and steal snacks for us. If there was one thing that humans got right, it was their snacks. I loved a good vole and the occasional persimmon just like anyone else, but every now and then a hiker would enter our territory and leave behind some snacks. Those little fishies that always seemed to smile at me were absolutely delicious.

A voice from the walls called out, saying something indiscernible. The train jolted forwards, and Eli, Kai, and I all fell off of the seat onto the ground. A mother who was sitting nearby holding their loud and jumpy offspring frowned at us and left to sit in a different compartment. We quickly got up and confirmed that our humans were still on the train, and then assumed our positions.

Of course, on a long journey like this, children like Mr. Rodgers always complained, and so I was unsurprised when the grumpy old man began to complain.

"I'm itchy down here. My joints are all locked up. Can I sit up there with you all?"

I growled at him. "Don't bring attention to yourself. You're supposed to be our hidden secret weapon, our spy underground, our eyes in the sky-"

"I'll eye you in the sky you little..."

"Gentleman, if I can even call you that," said Kai, slapping me and the deserving Mr. Rodgers with her paw. "Those humans are looking at us. The big one in the jacket looks particularly suspicious. He keeps pointing at us and whispering things to his friend. If either of you blows this mission, I may be forced to drop you off the side of the waterfall just like those poor gnomes Genevieve likes to destroy."

Despite my innocence in the matter, I bowed my head and apologized, as did the totally guilty Mr. Rodgers.

It was a bit of a struggle to not walk over to the humans now and shout rude things at them, just as they did to us, but I told myself to be patient. Revenge would be so much sweeter if we managed to make it all the way to their home and scare them there. They wouldn't be so happy if they were napping on a rock in their grassy den and heard us stomping about inconsiderately. Oh, revenge would be sweet indeed. But until that revenge happened, I would be patient, and sit here on this not so uncomfortable cushion, watching the trees and clouds fly by the window. Already I missed my forest home, and I made a silent promise that I would return soon. After all, how long could it possibly take to scare some measly humans?

After a long nap, I had to stand up. My legs were aching. Fierce predators like me weren't meant to sit idly for so long. I hopped down to the ground and walked out into the aisle past Kai who was still diligently looking at our humans. She hadn't moved for hours.

The compartment didn't really have a lot of room to walk around in, so I opened the door at the end of the aisle and walked to a new train car. For a moment I was outside between the cars. They seemed to be connected by some metal clamp. How the humans managed to get those clamps clamped together, who was to say? How they even found and tamed the trains was unfathomable. Such a shame too. If these trains hadn't been stripped of their autonomy and had been left to live in their own natural habitats, maybe they could have grown and eradicated the humans for us.

I breathed in the cool outside air, letting the smells of nature wash over me. Maybe we should have sat out there. It certainly would have been a nicer way to travel.

The door to the train car I had been walking towards opened, and five taller fellows joined me in the open air. They all wore long trench coats that reached just above their furry ankles. The tips of their tails poked out from behind the coats. Each coat was a different color: Blue, Red, Yellow, Pink, and of course, chartreuse. On top of their heads were perched top hats that matched the colors of the coats. They weren't nearly as stylish as my beret, but the look was still fierce. Human dress could be so odd at times, but I admired these folks' sense of style.

"Lovely outfits," I said, trying to emulate human notions of politeness as the figures walked by.

The people stopped. The one in the blue coat looked down at their attire, admiring themself, showing their pearly white fangs as they smiled. "Yes, I suppose they are. Blue really is my color, don't you think?"

"Sure," I said. "It really highlights your fur. What's it made out of?"

"My fur, or the coat?"

"The coat."

"Wool, I think. I've always enjoyed wearing clothing made out of sheep. Those guys are so soft."

"Interesting. I personally don't wear clothes all that often. There really isn't much use for them in the forest, you see."

"The forest you say?" Blue Coat looked out at the passing trees with a longing stare. The fur on their face rippled in the wind, and their whiskers twitched. "It's been so long since I've been to the forest. Sometimes I wonder if things are still the same out there, or if they've changed without me. The forest really relies on me and my kin. Without us, there is no order. But we have a mission, and until we complete that mission, we can't go back to our home yet."

All five of the tall people out there with me raised their heads and howled at the moon that faintly hung in the sky.

I had probably spent two much time talking at that point, and began to say my goodbyes, but Blue Coat stopped me.

"I don't think I caught your name, Little One."

"Oh, sorry. My name is William. What's your name?"

"My name is Lupus W. Lykos, matriarch of the hunt, agent of the moon and all her glory, bane of the moose clans, and renowned sharpclaw – but my friends call me Lulu," she held out her paw and shook my own, as is the human custom.

"Pleasure to meet you Lulu."

Lulu smiled. "The pleasure is all mine, Little One."