Bloodfang

Interspecies Communication

Feral

This was just not his day, Feral thought. He knew he should have left things alone with the boy, flown far away, but he hadn't. He had felt guilty of all things. Guilt for the boy and putting him through the experience of seeing the real wolf. That guilt, something he could not remember ever feeling, had kept him here in Durango watching the child from a distance. He had felt compelled to make sure he had not been too traumatized by the experience. Now look at the mess he had gotten himself into.

Feral paced back and forth as he struggled to comprehend what had just happened while the boy stared at him from the stump he had plopped down on. From the boy's expression he was feeling as dumbfounded as Feral was.

What was happening? How had it happened? Never in all of his years of being... well...whatever he was... had something like this happened to him. He could read people's thoughts and he knew the Superior Ones could read people's thoughts but he had never ever heard of anyone, animal or man, being able to hear it inside of their head as if having a regular conversation. It was impossible! Totally inconceivable!

"Um excuse me..?" Feral heard the boy tentatively say.

Speaking of humans.

"Not now human," Feral snapped still focusing on the problem at hand. What did he do about this? How should he handle it... the boy? And why this boy? What was so different about him that Feral could communicate with him and no one else? Feral howled in frustration!

The boy still sitting on the stump jumped when Feral called out to the sky. Feral forced himself to cease his cry. The boy was already overwhelmed, Feral could tell. His eyes were over large, his skin was paler than its usually healthy brown, and his hands trembled slightly as they rested on either side of the stump.

Feral tried to understand the bigger picture of this event. Would this put him at risk? Should he leave Durango right now? Would the boy tell? Feral had so many questions and he currently had no answers. With a heavy sigh Feral stopped pacing and instead looked down at the ground. Feral had not been so confused and disoriented since the change so long ago.

Apparently seeing his struggle, the boy chose this moment to speak up again.

"Um hello?"

Feral kept his head down hoping the boy would take the hint. He was not ready to practice this new parlor trick even if the kid was. Unfortunately the boy kept prodding at him.

"Are you okay?"

Feral snorted at the question. Was this boy honestly asking if he was okay? Why wasn't the boy freaking out? He was only a human after all.

"Does it look like I'm okay?" Feral asked with irritation.

"Your heads down. I can't really tell," the boy answered, evidently taking Feral literally.

"Well, I'm not okay!" Feral snapped back, looking up to glare at the boy so he could see his vexation.

The boy flinched at his response and quickly lowered his head to look at his feet. "Sorry," he said meekly.

Feral sighed before sitting down himself. Looking at the boy it was obvious the kid was not doing too, great either. Not used to having to think about others, Feral struggled to rein in his impatience.

"I didn't mean any harm," the boy whispered.

Feral said nothing. As the silence lengthened Feral looked over at the boy only to find him in turn staring at Feral. When his eye connected with the youth's the boy quickly lowered his eyes and looked away. Feral's eyes narrow as he watched the boy do this one then two then three more times. The furtive glances by the boy tugged at Feral's conscious and a new emotion maneuvered its way into Feral's chest. Shame.