One Life Ends, Another Begins - Chapter Two
One Life Ends, Another Begins Chapter Two © Cederwyn Whitefurr All Rights Reserved
"Whos there!" Ian squealed, her new voice sounding more an animals cry, than human.
She lay sprawled on the floor, her new muscles still quivering and refusing to obey, so she dragged herself around with her paws, her eyes widening as they adjusted to the almost pitch-black bedroom, yet it seemed as if she could see almost normally.
"A..." Come the voice, and a shadow disengaged itself from the far wall, carefully pocketing something. "A...friend - "
"Get away from me!" Ian squealed, trying to push herself backwards.
"Oh...you're a pretty little doe - " Come a low, sibilant chuckle. "Anyway - I...I owe you an apology...I...I had no right...."
As the shadow moved a little closer, it slowly materialised into a human male, about twenty-four years old, his eyes sparkling in the dim starlight, as he approached, then knelt near the squealing doe who tried to back away, her muscles twitching haphazardly.
"Who...how did you...what the fuck happened to me!" Ian shrieked, her voice growing more raspy, almost as if his vocal cords were no longer fully human.
As the human reached out, Ian squealed and pulled away, but the human just sighed and with a forceful hand, grasped Ian by the slender ears, then pulled the doe close, then held her there, forcefully twisting her ears, but not enough to cause real pain, but enough to warn her not to struggle. Ian's eyes rolled wildly, as she seen this stranger wearing one of her lab coats - replete with name-tag...and by the look of it, nothing else....
"We...I...can do this...the easy way - " Breathed the human, as he leaned closer, his eyes seeming to capture those of the hysterical doe with an almost hypnotic trance. "Or the hard way - I know...trust me...I know what you're going through...."
With an instinctual gasp, Ian slashed his paws out, fingers locked and claws aimed at this strangers throat, but he merely twisted her ears sharply, and Ian's attack was instantly halted.
"I...don't want to hurt you...." Whispered the man, slightly loosening his hold on the doe's ears.
"A bit late..." Ian croaked, then winced.
"Please...let me...let me explain - you...I mean...we...are not what we appear to be. You're not human...well - obviously, not any-more...and for that - I can not apologise enough. I was badly hurt - scared and..."
"What?" Ian gasped, his eyes widening.
"I...oh for the love of Gaia...please...just...just promise you will...well...let me show you..."
Standing upright, the human sighed and slowly reached up and began unbuttoning the white coat he wore, and Ian's eyes naturally averted, thinking some crazy, sexual deviant had broken into his home and...
"Look at me - " Growled the man, as he finished unclasping the buttons, then shed the lab coat.
Ian couldn't help himself, he had to look, and as his eyes made contact with the human - they went wide in horror, as the human closed his eyes, then breathed out, visibly forcing himself to relax, then without warning, his body began to...
"NO!" Ian's mind screamed at her. "This isn't true...it...it can't be..."
As the human gasped and shuddered, his body rippled and twisted in a much swifter transformation than Ian's had been, and within a few minutes, a grey kangaroo crouched where just moments before - a human - a NORMAL human - had stood....
"It...gets easier - " Come the vaguely human voice from this buck, who slowly stood and shook himself, his long ears slapping from side to side.
"No...I'm...I'm hallucinating...this is just...just a - " Ian squealed, scrabbling backwards until her back hit the bed.
With a sign, the Buck just shook his head again, then slowly come closer, before stretching his neck out and giving Ian a lick on the muzzle.
"Does THAT feel like a hallucination?" Asked the buck quietly, gazing into Ian's eyes with a look of sadness and pity. "Please...please believe me - I did not mean too - I had no right, you were just trying to help and..."
Ian's eyes grew to the size of dinner-plates, as her mind tried to divide itself in two, part of him believing this was some anaesthetic fuelled nightmare - another part - believing the buck's word, and his genuine remorse.
"Please...just...just let me wake up...this is just a dream - a nightmare...somebody wake me up!" Ian wailed, ears flattening against her neck, shaking with hysteria.
With an exasperated sigh, the buck glanced at Ian, then roughly slapped his paw across Ian's muzzle, driving the startled doe to the floor where she lay crying and trembling.
"Listen to me!" Snapped the buck, barely keeping himself under control. "You are NOT dreaming - this isn't some...some fantasy...its real - look at yourself! You're not who you think you are...listen, and let me help you, please - don't you understand, how hard this is for me? I turned you by accident, Gaia damn my soul...I was hurt, scared - I had no idea who you were, what you were going to do...none of it made any damn sense to me! I was afraid - do you hear me, you stupid, ignorant Doe? I was afraid! I acted out of fear, not out of some vicious intent to destroy your life...to make you what you are...it was an accident, and I'm sorry...."
"No..." Ian wept, shaking her head violently and beginning to hyperventilate through fear and hysteria. "You're not real - humans can not turn into animals...you...you..."
Barely twisting away, Ian began gagging and convulsing, before she vomited again and again, her stomach clenching in her furred body, before her mind snapped and shut down - trying to protect itself from the horror....
When she woke, he found himself tied by the paws and ankles to his bed, and she screamed and struggled futilely, once again refusing to acknowledge what happened to him. With a snort, the human blinked, then pulled a gag down and silenced Ian's cries, tightening the gag behind his head. Ian thrashed and struggled, but the knots on his wrists and ankles only tightened, as she stared in horror up at her captor, her eyes wide in abject fear, not knowing what was going to happen to her.
"Listen...please - " Whispered the man, as he lay a hand gently on Ian's furred chest and tenderly began stroking. "I...we...oh Gaia, why does this have to be so hard? I never wanted to create one like me...never! I don't know the first thing about teaching a new..."
Ian flinched under the humans touch, crying and struggling.
"Please...don't struggle little one...I don't want you to hurt yourself - please...just...just let me try to help, let me try to make you understand...."
Helpless, Ian could do nothing but lay on her back, in an unnaturally awkward position for a kangaroo, her paws and ankles tied firmly to the bed ends, so she couldn't get free.
Rising, the human paced the bedroom, then returned and looked down at the terrified young doe who lay tied to the bed, before he began sobbing, turning away and clasping his hands before him.
"Gaia, why did you not make me stop...oh Goddess...I never meant for this to happen - you know I never hunt humans...I don't even like being near them...I do my best to stay away, to hunt animals I ask your permission to hunt...now - now I got one...a creature just like me - a beautiful, confused Doe, and I do not know what to do! Please Gaia, please give your humble servant some advice - a sign - something, please, I beg of you!"
No answer was forthcoming for this confused young man, who pulled the coat back over his naked form, then sat on the edge of the bed, as lost, frightened and helpless as the Doe he had prisoner...
*
Some time later, he sniffled and dried his eyes on the sleeves of the coat, before turning and staring at the doe, who lay unconscious on the bed. He watched her for nearly twenty minutes; noting her slow, even breaths, the fur on her chest rising and falling gently, and he shuddered, before wincing and turning to stare at his hands that lay cradled in his lap. He had never wanted to create another of his kind - he did not know the first thing about trying to teach someone - about what they were...how to respond to the new sights, sounds and smells that would overpower them...he was a lost and confused as the doe...and he had no answers to offer, when she would wake.
He regretted his actions more and more - it had been an act of instinct - he was hurt, afraid and confused - he had just lashed out through fear, not some cruel, vindictive malice - and now - he had found himself in a position he could never have imagined in his wildest of nightmares. Sobbing heart-brokenly, he clutched his head in his hands and wept. He had never been so afraid and hurt - in all his years - for he had made a terrible mistake - a mistake he did not know how to make right.
*
With a snort, Ian woke from her stress induced unconsciousness, then as she felt her new body with its strange musculature and bones twist and move in alien ways - she gasped and began struggling helplessly, until she remembered she had been tied flat on her back, more she suspected, to protect herself - rather than the human who dozed in a chair beside the bed. Crying helplessly, lost, confused and still not knowing what had happened, Ian struggled and gasped. Each twist and convulsive movement, brought her the sensation of the knots tightening about her wrists - forcing her to stop trying to free herself, or risk hurting herself even worse. With a low moan, the human blinked and wearily sat up, before he rubbed his eyes and glanced at the doe, who stared back with a look of animal-like terror.
"You're...afraid - aren't you." Whispered the man, as he cautiously reached out and touched the doe's warm belly. "Please understand - I never meant to hurt you - I...I do not know how to help you adjust to what you have become! If I had the answers - I would tell you, all...all I can do - is promise to share what I know - wether it helps you or not, I don't know...."
"What...what the fuck did you do to me, you bastard!" Ian's feminine voice screamed, as her eyes narrowed.
Wincing, the man visibly flinched under the harsh words, before he sighed. "I deserve that - and more besides - look...I...I can not ask for your forgiveness, or even your understanding - what I done was unforgivable...but please...please let me help. You...you are new to this - you have a body that is no-longer your own...muscles you've never used before - all of it. I can help you, but first - I need to know - if I can trust you..."
"Trust you?" Ian shrieked, her deafening cries pealing off the wall and reverberating. "I'll tear your heart out you..."
With a sigh, the human stood, then reached down and grasped Ian's long ears, then twisted them just enough to cause pain and get her attention, rather than do any real physical harm. Ian squealed and the human pressed the palm of his hand against the doe's furred lips, muffling her angry and frightened cries.
"You want to get us both killed? Keep screaming like that - for you do not realise it...but you're not speaking english any-more...your screams, cries and voice sounds more animal, than human. I for one, do not want the authorities coming to investigate - when the neighbours report you've got some animal in here, that you're torturing...your cries are very loud, so please - I beg of you - be silent, or you risk both of us!"
Ian blinked, bitter tears pricking the corner of her eyes, as she sniffled and gave a minute nod - something deep within her mind, had felt the touch of the strangers words - and began to form unpleasant thoughts - of what they would do to a half-human, half kangaroo...hybrid? Beast?? Her mind did not have the words to describe what it was, so she forced herself to be quiet, and the human gently released her, before going out to the kitchen and returning with a bowl of water. Ian's nostrils twitched, as she smelt the water well before she saw it - and slowly realised just how thirsty she was.
"Smells good - doesn't it - " Chuckled her captor quietly, as he approached and sat on the edge of the bed, then held the bowl up. "Now, some basics - you try to hurt me - and I'll hurt you back Doe - trust me...I could hurt you, in ways you would never have imagined. I do not want to hurt you - I want to help - you're afraid, confused and under tremendous shock and stress - I won't lie - I do not know what you're going through...but - please - don't try anything silly...now - lift your head up, and drink some of this - please."
Ian could barely lift her head, feeling the neck muscles twinging painfully, but with the strangers hand behind Ian's neck, Ian managed to get a few sips of water - much of it running down her chin and dribbling onto her chest and bed. Her throat trembled as the cold water trickled down, and she shivered - before rolling her eyes up to look at her captor.
"Okay - good girl - that's a start...you'll need to learn to drink soon enough - as you noticed, you're not...human any-more. Kangaroo's don't drink like we do - maybe..maybe a straw might make it easier for you...but we'll do that later." He smiled nervously, then tenderly dabbed at the wet muzzle and chest with a cloth, setting the bowl aside.
"What do you - " Ian croaked, eyes widening.
"I...well - you...I mean - " Stammered the man, who sighed and rested his head in his hands. "Gaia, why must this be so hard?"
Ian's ear flicked, as she frowned, not following the disjointed conversation this stranger seemed to be having with himself...and he grew increasingly afraid ,thinking this man was some crazed psychopathic lunatic...and Ian's very life was threatened.
"Alright - sorry," Smiled the man weakly, as he brushed tears away from his eyes. "I've never - you know...bitten someone and made them...one like I am. Look, this isn't easy - so I'll try to explain as best I can...and hope you understand."
"Understand...what?" Ian's weak voice seemed to come from some deep cave in her chest. "Look at me - I'm a...a freak!"
"Freak? No - you're a very beautiful, young grey kangaroo doe...." her captor admonished her gently, then lay a hand on Ian's belly and gently petted. "Please, do not think of yourself as a freak - an abomination...all of that. You are...something special, and with my help and training - I will teach you all I know..."
At the petting, a part of Ian's mind cringed inwardly, despising the humans touch, but another part, found the tender stroking and petting to be strangely comforting and relaxing. As if sensing Ian's growing displeasure, the man stopped and offered the water again, which Ian struggled to drink, once again spilling more than she drank.
"Okay - good - little better than last time...alright my young doe - I...I mean we...are not what we appear. We are of a rare form of lycanthrope - and yes, I can see it reflected in your eyes - you're thinking of all those terrible stories, movie's and myths, about the lycan's.... Some...of it has a grain of truth in it - most, is outright lies, speculation and myth. Our kind - have existed for centuries, but many of us, live our lives as far away from humans, as we can get. We do not...rape and murder virgins - and steal children...all of that is just lies and myth, about what we are. A vast majority of we lycan's worship Gaia - the Goddess of Nature - and we are gentle, kind and shy creatures. It was humans who hunted our kind for sport - and sadly...still do - as with our human-like intelligence and ability to plan rationally - we are...sadly - the ultimate in sport...for those sadistic bastards who know of our existence - and hunt us. Most of humanity, think we lycan's are a myth - a fairy-tale to frighten then children...."
Hanging his head, the man sniffled and dried his watering eyes with his palms.
"I should know...my family....my mother, my sister, my father...all were murdered by the ones who hunt us - I am the last of my family lineage - an unbroken line that went back over two thousand years - and now...I am the last of the pure-bloods...that I know of. For reasons of safety and fear, we lycan's don't socialise much with others of our kind...our legends and stories tell us, of how one lycan, her mate captured and tortured - broke and begged the hunters for mercy - and she turned on her brothers and sisters - giving up a whole mob of our kind - just to save her mate...."
"She...must have had her - reasons - " Ian's voice whispered, eyes growing wide.
"Oh...I'm sure she acted out of love for her mate - but once the hunters had found the mob...they burned them alive in a barn...those few who escaped the fire - were gunned down, others were captured and tortured until they died...often weeks later - "
Ian felt the strangers very real anger and pain, as he told the story - but knew there was nothing she could do to help.
"So...ever since word got out - that one survivor had escaped...we have led a very frightened life - always moving from one place to another - hunting where we could get enough food and stealing what else we needed...just to survive. Our numbers - are but a fraction - of what they may have once been - I have not found another of my kind, in over fifteen years...you...you are the first - even though...you are not pure-blood...and you...you were an accident, brought on by fear and pain...."
"What...what will you..." Ian whimpered, eyes widening in fear ad beginning to tremble.
Smiling gently, the man resumed gently petting the quivering doe, before he sighed and paused.
"I...will do my best - to try and teach you all I know. It will save your life - for the life you once knew...is over. Your family...your friends - you will not know who to trust - not at first, but with my help, I'll teach you how to distinguish scents, and I can but hope - you will be a quick learner -"
Ian could do nothing; tied to the bed, as the stranger sat and clasped his hands before him - then began explaining about the lycan heritage - what they could and could not do - and how to get used to Ian's new form...
It was going to take more time than her captor wanted to spend - but if he did not teach this new doe quickly - she would not live long - as he knew the longer he spent amongst the humans - the sooner his secret would be revealed - and the hunters would come for them both....
To be continued....