Sonic Series Fan Fiction ❯ Visions of Darkness, Dreams of Light ❯ On Waking up Wolven ( Chapter 11 )

Chapter 35

 

Drake came to in the hospital with a sensation of weight on his chest, not to mention a noticeable pain in his rump. He tried to open his eyes, which felt very heavy themselves. It took a few tries, but he managed. As his eyes adjusted to the light, he recognized a familiar figure sleeping with her head on his ribs. After quickly assessing the situation, he realized that she'd fallen asleep with her head in her hands, and her head had slowly slid down until it rested on his chest. He smiled lovingly. It was a shame he had to wake her up. He yawned.

Mina's head raised sleepily off of his chest to look at him. She stared for a moment before shouting “Drake! Everyone, he's awake!!” She crushed him in a tight hug.

Drake's shoulders felt strange afterwards. And his nose was itching. His rear ached from his position. He fidgeted for a moment before giving up. “Man, how long was I out?'

“Three days.” Mina whispered softly. She was looking somewhat worried.

“Well, I better get up… I can tell already that I need to shave.” He began to rise, but Mina stopped him.

“Drake… you… well… you aren't…”

“Hey, Drake, how you holding up?” Sonic asked as he entered, oblivious to Mina's angry glare. Sally, Lupe, and a small group of wolves followed him.

“Not bad. Just woke up.” He grimaced. “And this mustache is driving me nuts!”

“What mustache?” Sonic asked in a perplexed voice. Sally grabbed his arm.

“I haven't told him yet.” Mina stated nervously.

“Told me what?” Drake frowned at the others. His face felt funny when he did so. He wondered briefly if they'd put stitches or something in his face, but then he remembered that he wouldn't need them. Or at least, shouldn't.

One of the pink wolves from the ceremony giggled. “Oh, this is delicious. Can I tell him? Please?” She practically begged Mina. Mina rolled her eyes, but nodded. The wolf plucked a mirror from a wall in the adjacent bathroom and raced it over to the bed. Drake glanced at it and felt his jaw sag.

“Oh.” He couldn't think of anything else to say. He kept staring at his new face. What he'd thought was a few days growth of mustache had actually been whiskers, the pulling sensation was from his muzzle… and he bet that his butt hurt because of a tail.

Mina gently touched his arm, causing a pleasant sensation in his fur. “Oh, Drake, I'm sorry… I was trying to tell you.”

“My god… I'm a wolf.”

Mina nodded. “Yeah. We aren't totally sure why it happened…”

“I'm a wolf.”

“Um… yeah.”

“Oh wow.” He traced his muzzle with a finger, then turned towards her. “I… I would not have predicted this happening.” He swallowed. Mina was looking at him, obviously expecting some sort of explosion from him. He gingerly tossed his legs over the side of the bed and stood up. After a quick wave of vertigo, he managed to regain his senses. ((Wow… this is kinda cool… and this sense of smell is awesome… even better than before…)) He went to scratch at a whisker, and in so doing, released the sheet that had been tangled at his waist. Leeta and Lyco giggled devilishly, causing Drake to realize something… he wasn't wearing pants. He dove back into the bed with a yip, blushing furiously.

Mina scowled. “I told you guys he'd probably freak out if he woke up without pants on.”

Drake felt scandalized. “Of course I would!!! My god, I can't believe you were about to let me walk around in the nude!”

Mina sighed and gave an exasperated chuckle. “Drake, you have fur, just like the rest of us. You don't really need pants. I mean, most male Mobians generally just wear a coat or jacket or something similar.” Drake seemed slightly mollified.

“And we just giggled because Mina said you'd probably be a little… shy.”

Drake blushed again, to the Twins' delight. “I dunno… I still think I'd rather wear pants…”

Lupe nodded. “Understandable. If you turn back, it would be embarrassing. At least, I'd think so, considering human anatomy. I suggested black cloth… possibly dark grey.”

“Why?”

Mina giggled softly. “She says it should accent your fur. We took some measurements already, just in case. She's right, though… black cloth does go nice with this light fur.”

“Measurements?” Drake questioned slowly, still trying to grasp the whole idea.

“Waist, length, inseam… you know, all that stuff.” Mina explained. “You'll need new clothes, since you're apparently going to insist on them.”

“A shirt and pants, I take it?” Drake asked. Mina nodded in response.

“Aw, Mina, don't ruin the show for the rest of us.” Lyco giggled and winked. Drake blushed again.

“Any idea what made me… uh... more lupine in nature?”

“Any number of things could have played a factor.” Sally sighed. “The amount of blood was a lot larger than a normal feeding, the number of wolves who donated… the blessings on the cup from the ceremonies, the blessing on the blood to promote your good health, or even just the reason the wolves donated. Or maybe it could be just an effect of wolf blood. This could have happened with a single drink from a wolf, we have no idea.”

Drake sighed. “Just when I think I'm getting the hang of this stuff, it throws me another curve. I guess I might as well get ready to start howling at the moon, now.” Drake finished jokingly. The group shared a good chuckle, and nudged a darkly blushing Mina. “What now?”

“It's pretty obvious you weren't born as a wolf, or even here on Mobius.” Sally managed.

Confused again, Drake sighed. “Why?”

“To `howl at the moon' is a term wolves use for mating.” Lupe smirked.

“Oh? Oh.” His eyes widened as he looked at the furiously blushing Mina. “Ohhhhh. Uh, we haven't… done any… uh, howling.”

“From the way the two of you blush, it's quite obvious.” Lupe stated with a chuckle. “But I'm sure you'll get used to your new self soon enough.”

 

 

Chapter 36

 

It had been several days since Drake's awakening to his new wolven form, and Mina noticed her boyfriend staring off into space. She gave him a worried look for a few minutes before carrying on.

((I can't go home… my parents will never recognize me… I'm here… forever…)) He wasn't entirely sure why that bothered him so much. He knew what he had with Mina was special, but still… ((I never wanted to be a wolf… why couldn't I be a mongoose, huh? Is that so much to ask?)) He felt a sharp poke to his ribs. “Ow! Hey! What was that for?”

“For looking too thoughtful. It's unnatural. What's wrong?”

“It's nothing.”

“Drake, with you, it's always something. Now come on, spill. You know I won't go around telling my boyfriend's secrets.”

Drake smiled slowly. “Yeah, I know. Mina… I'm scared.”

“Scared?” The mongoose echoed.

“Very. I've always kept with the idea of seeing my family again. Even if just for a little while, to tell them I'm alright.”

“You still can, Drake. This hasn't changed that.”

“Hasn't it, Mina? I look like a Mobian now. Mobians don't exist on Earth. I mean… the closest thing I've seen to what I look like now is a couple renditions of werewolves, and that-“

“What's a werewolf?”

“Er… it's this… mythological beast. Supposedly it was caused by being bit by a special kind of wolf.”

“That doesn't sound so bad…”

“They weren't intelligent. They were mindless predators that supposedly could only eat human flesh.”

“Oookaaayyy… Drake, that's gross. You humans are pretty… well, sick to come up with something like that…”

“Hey, don't be harping on my race. We have our ups and downs, like everyone else. Still, that is part of the problem. I could be mistaken for a monster.”

“Drake… I'm sure you'll figure out something. You may be someone new out here…” The mongoose plucked at his fur. “But you're still the same person I met. And fell in love with.” She finished with a smile.

“And that's the other problem. I mean, one minute I'm human, the next a vampire, the next I've got claws and wings, the next… I'm a wolf. How much further will this go, Mina? What if the next thing to change is my mind? What if I become a monster inside?”

“You won't…”

“But how can we be sure of that, Mina? Can we be sure?”

“Yes. Because I know you. You wouldn't just let yourself turn into a monster, Drake. Don't lie to yourself. You'd fight it with your dying breath.”

Drake gently wrapped an arm around her, taking a moment to savor the sensation of her against his sensitive fur. “Thanks, Mina. I just hope I'm as strong as you think I am…”

Mina shook her head with a smile, then leaned up and gave him a kiss on the nose.

Drake gave her a look of pleased surprise and felt his tail wag. “And just what was that for?”

Mina smirked. “Because I wanted to kiss my boyfriend. Any other silly questions?”

“Well, gee… Am I allowed to kiss you back?”

“Now that really is a silly question.” The mongoose laughed, snuggling into his side.

Drake simply held her.

“That's a yes, goofball.” Mina said with a sigh.

Drake laughed and pulled her close… There was a cough from behind them. Drake scowled up at the princess. “What?”

“Er… I was looking for you.”

“Princess, we're a little… y'know… busy. Could it have waited?” Drake managed, a little annoyed.

Sally sighed. “Sorry, but no, it can't. Pack your things, we're heading back to the Floating Island first thing in the morning. Knuckles says the guardians are throwing fits that over this new development.”

“They are? Why? How did they even know?”

“I don't know. But… it sounds urgent.”

Drake sighed. “Well, Mina? You think we can make it back again?”

“It doesn't sound like they were asking you…”

“I know.”

“Look, I'm sorry this is short notice, but really, you should have expected this.”

“I know, Sal. Sorry. It just that we just got back, and now we have to rush there again.”

“It's just for a day. We should be back by tomorrow night. Antoine already agreed to fly us out. Besides, this could be important. People don't just turn into another species, after all.”

“Alright, alright. I'll go.”

“That's the spirit. I'll see to it that Antione's ready.”

 

Drake yawned contentedly as he ate the last bits of his meal. “Aw, man, Mrs. Mongoose-“

“I've told you, call me Isabella.”

“Isabella, then. You make the best breakfasts I have ever had. And some awesome sausage.”

“Thank you, it's freshly made.”

A perplexed look crosses the human-turned-wolf's face. “Freshly made? How is it freshly made, I haven't seen a pig or anything even remotely like one since I've gotten here.” The human questions as he takes another bite of sausage.

“Pig?”

“Yeah, you know? Pork? Sausage?” He looked from one mongoose to the other. To his surprise, they began giggling.

“Oh, you poor dear. I thought you knew.”

“That's Drake for you, momma.”

“What?” His fork froze halfway to his mouth. “This isn't pork, is it?”

“No, dear. It's snake.”

“Snake?!?”

“Yes. It's a dish we mongeese are fond of, and I just… didn't think to tell you about it. Small snakes are easy to catch, and they're everywhere.”

Drake stared at the meat on his fork for a long second, imagining it as a large garden snake, slithering around. Then, with a shrug, he ate it. “Huh. Snake. Who'da thunk it?”

“So you're going to the Island?”

“Well… Yes. It doesn't sound like it's going to be a pleasure visit this time, either.”

The older mongoose frowned. “The two of you aren't going to make a habit of this, I trust. I mean, vacations to the floating Island are fine once in a while, but-”

“Well it's hardly a vacation this time, mother. They're probably going to poke and prod Drake until he's black and blue.”

Isabella sighed. “Okay, but I don't like it. Drake's been a wolf for three days and he's just fine. I doubt there's anything to worry about.”

Drake shrugged. “They don't seem to feel that way. It's not worth arguing about, I don't think Sally's going to budge on this. Anyways, it's just a day. What could happen?”