Chapter 27 [˚☽˚｡⋆]

Fur.

Warm, silky, fur I can feel from a twitch of claws, to the wriggle of feet.

“Where are your wacky scales,” I felt numb. Moving was the furthest thing from my mind despite how unnatural this situation was. My mouth continued to run with words nonetheless. “We’ve only met once, but you didn’t have a lick of fur during our first meeting.” Is it possible to rest yourself completely on the back of a huge wolf? Dreams are never this realistic. My claws are easily getting lost in how fluffy this coat is.

If I move, will I sink completely?

“I recalled the scales.” Kazo huffed, a pitched breath of amusement brushing the side of my face. “I do not believe you’d enjoy resting on a scaled creature unless we were both sunbathing.” Kazo teased in the manner of a mirth-filled joke.

Sunbathing? Ridiculous. I always slept under the shade while Ivory or Ebony didn’t seem to care where they rested, as long as I was nearby. As for the scales…

“How neat, we have a shapeshifter among us.” I didn’t want to open my eyes. While this wasn’t a dream, my mind felt full of slumber. “Ebony and Ivory can shapeshift into wolves too. I can taste the favoritism. Blood, too. Is my chest still bleeding?”

I should get up, but I won’t. I should break the muffled fuzz blocking consciousness, but I won’t.

Decisions, decisions, this fluffy-fluff was a decent bed.

“I can do whatever I want, Wandering Star.” Kazo seemed to snicker. “And you seem to be in a bit of a bind.” A wet nose pushed at my side, and my throat closed in a whine of protest. “I would say you came here too early, but your memories whisper of need for retreat. Was it painful?” Kazo spoke as if there were pity. A cause for concern under the drawl of a parent disguising their ‘small talk’ of a question.

How drab, how odd, what am I to do with the pity of a mythical creature I hardly know?

“I prefer being shot to strangulation," Came my honest truth. It burned against the roof of my mouth. “Are you messing with my mind? I’m far too honest with you. I’d rather be shot again than deal with invasive magic such as this! Ebony and Ivory are the ones I’d rather tell,” I bit down hard on my fangs.

Too. Much. Information!

“And how are those two? They are the first creations I brought to life in millenia.” Kazo cooed.

“Loved and valued.” I snipped, teeth pressed together in a snarl. “So you are messing with me.” If my limbs didn’t feel like dough, I’d try to lift and throw this wolf as far as possible. “Quit snatching words out from under me. It’s annoying!” I would snap my jaws at them if the world didn’t feel meaningless.

Where are we?

I still did not care to open my eyes to look. Not even if this creature asked.

Kazo is not endearing compared to my wards. At the core, Kazo is still but a stranger who aided me at the right moment, and was doing so again for an unclear motive.

“We have a connected bond, and so you feel inclined to speak your truth. This is little ‘my doing’ and more of your inner shadow, Wandering Star.” Kazo puffed a breath so strong, strands of mint green struck my eyes. I swore under my breath. “You are hostile with me. Is it because I offered no guidance? And here I believe you’d loathe any teachings from one you hardly know.”

Ugh, it was true. I do not need mentorship from…Whatever Kazo was.

“Why are you here?” Letting me sleep on you like this?

“Your soul requested my presence.” Kazo replied as if it was the most simple thing in the world.

“And you answered?” I sneered because they lacked reasoning. Does everyone respond to each knock on their door? It’s a terrible idea, I can confirm this from lived experience.

“I value each and every one of my Blessed. They always come with the most beautiful requests.” A shift in the air brought about a change in scent.

Familiar, as I memorized each and every Gem Wolf under my care according to Ebony’s tutelage.

My mind floats with blissful pink-rose, the smell of peaches kissed by roses.

It cannot be. And yet the scent is vivid, startlingly clear.

Always trust your instincts, and then your senses, Ivory had told me once.

I was willing to pay attention diligently today.

“Opal,” I whimpered, whined, and opened my arms. The nostalgic shape crashing into my hold sprung tears into my eyes. I blinked them open to see Opal happily pressing their muzzle against the side of my head. “Opal…!” My voice is choked up, raw.

It was as if Opal was never harmed. Not injured, not hurt, not brutalized for the sake of fashion and greed.

HappyConfidentMissMe? Opal gave a bold lick of their chops. Their gems shined brilliantly, as if it were never taken in the first place. They were whole and healthy, shiny and fluffy.

A bubbly laugh collided with my sputtering sob. My claws dig into Opal’s fur but they allow me to cling as much as I wanted to. I embraced them, burying my head into their fur because it was far more comfortable than the one I currently laid on. Joy and despair tangled one another like snakes and it left my stomach in knots.

CalmCalmEnergizedPridePride. Opal stayed, allowing this, allowing me to hold onto them for a moment longer.

Please let this last for a second more.

“Every one of my Blessed returns to join me when they lose their mortal forms.” Kazo hummed. “They join me in my domain, where frost does not hurt, the world is plentiful, and they can run as freely as I into the stars and beyond.” Kazo is certainly larger than a bedroom, damn shapeshifting. “This one wanted to experience your presence, I reasoned this would be the perfect spot.” Kazo’s tail made a whistling sound as their tail flicked. “Imagine my surprise when I found out you were attempting a spell similar to how many of us ‘Nines’ live.”

I sniffled into Opal’s fur. Opal nibbled at my hair, brushing strands back into place in a routine grooming session.

I am not naive. Kazo was a superpowered being who can bend their body, and reality to a severe degree.

“Tell me if I will succeed.” I whispered into Opal’s fur.

“And where is the reward in that? All risks need stakes to help the gambler grow.” Kazo easily declined.

See, this is why Kazo could never be endearing. Opal would never say that, they were a classy leader of gorgeous wolves.

Speaking of Opal, I pulled back to look, and Opal was giving Kazo a side-stare. One that Kazo easily pretended not to feel.

Yes, a leader of true class.

“I’m not permanently dead then,” I muttered aloud instead to change the subject. “Shot, but still existing.” How nice.

“Whoever said your spirit was destroyed?” Kazo tutted. “When your soul wandered here…I gave you proper form. I do not harass the power to revive a body to its original state. You are still deceased, Wandering Star.” Kazo revealed with little thought. “I may have bestowed you a gift, but it did not save your previous body. Wandering Stars can handle the strain of our gifts without phasing out of existence. That is why you had transformed on the day of our meeting.”

Claws gently carded through Opal’s fur.

“Then why did my heart beat? Why did I breathe all those months ago?” Black, white, black, white, I knew why.

“Did you not find a reason for it to do so?” Kazo challenged right back.

I embraced Opal once again, muffling the internal storm.

Opal gave a soft whine followed by a pinch of ConcernComfortRelief.

I wasn’t…Sad. Not quite.

I didn’t know what to feel. The numbness buried under my relief was still vibrant enough to detect.

“I need to get back.” That, I did know. I rubbed my face into Opal’s fur, whispering apologies and how they were one of the best leaders of the Gem Wolves.

“Then do.” Kazo easily accepted.

“Two questions,” I blurted. “Am I following in your pawsteps? What happened to make you agree to leaving the world to the Dullings?” Why not annihilate them, rather than leave the world once beloved?

“A tricky tale,” Kazo chuckled. “But to summarize…The Dullings had succeeded in deception of their hollow tale. All ‘Nine’ of us were shackled down for days.” Kazo did not move, hardly mimicking any sort of objective expression in eyes or their ears. “We went through unspeakable acts in the name of desire to enslave us to their whims. Taking their magic was a mercy. The majority of us wanted to erase the planet from existing further.”

“And you didn't because of your ‘Blessed’?” Just how important are the blessed creatures to the Nines, who allowed their wards to live in fear?

Kazo cocked their head to stare at me.

As seconds passed, a chill rubbed up my spine. Patches of my arm fur bristled alongside my tail.

Opal stayed unaffected, leaning onto my side.

“To some, that was the reason. But the true reason for many was memories. To lose our first home, to erase the past Dullings we had once treasured, it was too pitiful. We could not.”

Endearment, huh? I lacked attachment to the world of Dullings too, but the Gem Wolves, my brothers…I can understand the mindset.

“It wasn’t all tragedy. Us ‘Nine’ never truly got along until our trapping. After our coordinated escape, it was then we all considered one another as close as can be.” Kazo sounded quite pleased while reminiscing, their ear flicking. “It has been so long since then, yet we still meet up for yearly competitions against one another. Through conflict, we found allyship. I will give Dullings credit on achieving the impossible.”

Ah, the classic ‘The Enemy Of My Enemy Is My Friend,’ struck true for these powerful beings. They were somehow much more reasonable than humanity could ever be.

“Did you love anyone?” I return to brushing claws through Opal’s fur, the wolf closing their eyes to the touch. Their pelt is shinier than its ever been, health at its prime. “The Dullings, I mean. Did you have a favorite? Fakir told me one of the Nine stayed with him in childhood.” I didn’t have much information on them but, “I believe they specialized in defensive magic?”

Kazo’s tail swished back and forth at a fast pace. “Ah, I know her. She’s one of the few who periodically downsizes to visit her favorite reincarnated Priest.”

My claws paused while Opal shifted with a soft whine. “Priest?”

“Close to what you are, My Shepard, yet an entirely different branch. We all had a favorite Dulling once upon a time.” Kazo’s eyes glittered from the unseen memory. “They were our ‘Priests’ bestowed to channel our best gifts and lifespans.” Kazo looked into the distance. “They were the first to perish in efforts to protect our lives. We couldn’t do a thing but feel their souls become lost to us. That ‘Fakir’…Is a rare case. Some Priests’ souls happen to reincarnate in the same world they’ve departed from.”

“Is that why you chose me?” A glance upon my claws did nothing to give away mysteries of powers I don’t yet understand.

Kazo’s eyes gained a sharper glint. “I’ll admit, I have respect for those who stop at nothing to protect their own. I requested the cosmos for a gifted wanderer, and the world showed me you. I have no regrets.” There was another pause as Kazo watched me keenly. “Yes, I did. Love a Dulling, that is. Before they were called ‘Dullings,’ and the colorful world we used to share.” Kazo tilted their head. “And yet, none of this is important, Shepard. Not to you. How will you proceed?”

I smiled, and felt gleeful as Opal mirrored my mood with a swaying tail. “If I had my way, I’d break all of Queen Wazir’s teeth.” I couldn’t do that to Rook since he’s the reason this worked so well, but it’s nice to think about. “Can I spend the rest of the time here practicing the spell Opal gave me?”

“Nothing else?” Kazo’s offer was nearly enticing. A longer break…

“Opal’s soul will be protected in your paws.” That is the truth as Kazo proved. “I have to focus on who’s left. I can’t afford to stay longer, I have Gem Wolves to herd to safety and prosperity." I dipped my head to Opal’s waiting forehead. “Forgive me, for not realizing what was happening until it was too late. I tell myself I’ll be better, and end up in this state all over again,”

Opal nibbled on mint hair, so very gentle.

A wet laugh escaped my throat. “I’ll just have to keep trying, and hope the practice gives to mastery, huh? That ridiculous saying to fake it until we make it?”

Opal gave a soulful huff, and I couldn’t help but embrace them once more. I fully expected them to escape, but Opal allowed the final touch with PridePrideStrengthAcceptance.

“How tied am I to you, Kazo?” With a heavy heart, I detached from Opal’s rosy fur. “How long will this partnership last?”

“For a very long time, My Shepard. I wouldn’t think much of it.” Kazo smoothly replied.

Hm.

“And my brothers?” The most important part of this conversation.

“Their life spans are as long as Priests. Fret not, their souls would hardly ever leave your side, I’m certain. My creations truly are attached. How sweet the memories of your world must’ve been, for two identical copies to latch on and never want to let go.” Kazo revealed, without any consideration of stabbing my heart.

“Are you sure it’s not because you willed them into serving me?” The question burned my mouth, tasting of ash, of hidden resentment.

“I created those two to guide and protect you. Their mindset shifted to family all on their own, along with your treatment in seeing them as such. I value freedom and free will as much as my fellow wolves, I assure you, it was their choice to stay.” Kazo spoke calmly, without a hint of hesitation.

What…A relief.

“Five more minutes.” Perhaps the world can wait for a second more.

“Of course.”

I’ll let Kazo get away with that amused chuckle of theirs. It seems I have a long, long time to get back at them.

Idiotic Wolf.

...I don’t hate them. How can I hate the being who gave me two siblings to care for, and the chance to apologize to the one I failed?

I suppose I have many apologies to make up for when I return.

As well as prove why I was the one Kazo picked to cause chaos in their place.