Darkkat's Tales -------------- Introduction : "Coming of age"
============================= by DLG (DLG@DLG.ZZN.COM)
Codes : ------ nosex, furry, blood and guts
Legal Stuff : ------------ Kids : OK brats, now this ain't for you, not
that it contains anything dangerous, but you're just not going to
understand much of it, and you'll end-up bored, so back off, and on to
http://www.disney.com OK ?
Kids 2: OK so you want to keep on reading ? Fine by me ! But if that's
illegal by your home, at your age, that's not my problem, got it ? In my
opinion, if this interests you, then you're enough. Come on now :
http://www.disney.com
Warning : This contains graphical depiction of various violent
and/or sexual acts. The author is in no way promoting these, and wishes to
protect readers from psychological shock, so if you don't like this, or if
your country's laws forbid you to read such material, please take a step
backwards and go surfing somewhere else, for example http://www.disney.com
Disclaimer : The author of this (DLG) takes no responsability
concerning your well-being, sanity or social/mental balance. By reading
further, you agree that the author may not be pursued as a result of
mental/physical damage done to you by reading this story. I also take no
responsability as for the well-being of your kids on http://www.disney.com
Copy & Archive notice : This may be the subject of
copying/reposting/archiving/compressing/crypting
reformating/scripting/scanning/printing/proofreading ... and any other
things in "ing" you might want to do with it, as long as these 5 paragraphs
and the author name (DLG) and e-mail address <dlg@dlg.zzn.com> remain with
the main text body. Commercial use is prohibited. I mean prohibited, not
because i'm gonna sue you, but because if i ever see this, you're gonna
have a one hell of a problem : i've been in computers for 15 years, and
shall i decide to blast your site, i'll find a way that's gonna make you
regret not eating your own balls before you did this with my text.
Knowledge is power. I repeat, free reproduction is granted. (Except for
http://www.disney.com)
================= On to the : =================
It is an average summer night, the weather is clear and the stars shine
their usual against the dark sky. The air is filled with summer things,
scents of the forest, of the that live there, of the incense that
burn in the clearing. All around the small patch of clear land, they have
assembled well before dusk. Them. The ancient tribes. They have come for
me. They are family. My only now.
---------
All had started a few weeks ago, my dying in an airplane crash,
the usual social workers coming and going, the hassle over the
succession... Everything was a bit clearer now but i had a hard time going
over it. That's when the lawyer showed up. Miss Winslow. "Hello Richie,
I'm Annalyse Winslow, but please, call me Ann" It was a few days after the
events, i still didn't go to my courses, and was staying at my house,
spending most of my time tinkering with memories from when they were here.
She had rung, and when i opened the door, i was aghast. It had been three
days alone and i hadn't bothered to eat, wash or shave. I was a total
zombie... She, on the contrary, seemed the perfect embodiment of healthy
life. She was tall, almost my height, dressed in a casual business suit
that didn't hide her very healthy charms. She was blonde, with fair eyes,
blue or grey maybe.. "Euh, Hi. I wasn't expecting visits so..." "It's
okay, i figured you'd be off-balance for a few days. I've come to settle
some things your forgot to sign, so we can sort these things right
now, or i can come back later if you want some more time..." "No, no,
i'd... i'd better have it all settled quick." "It's rather intimate things,
so i'd understand if you wanted..." "No it's okay, come in... Want some
coffee" "I'd love to." I went back to the kitchen and brew some coffee,
taking the strict minimum time to threw empty cookie boxes and cola cans.
When i came back to the living, she was looking at a on the
fireplace. "Your ?" "Yeah, thought you knew 'em ?" "Not
personally." I handed her a coffee mug, and sat down to sip on mine. She
sat in front of me and started explaining : "Richie, it's for you that i'm
here." My mind barely registered what she was saying. I was staring down
her blouse. "Richie ?" "Uh, Yeah, sorry. You're here for what ?" "I'm
here because you're not who you believe you are." I sipped on my coffee,
and looked in her eyes. She seemed calm and cool, so i supposed she knew
what she was saying. "And so ?" "I mean, Richie, these people aren't your
parents." "weren't" "What ?" "These people weren't my parents, they're dead
remember ?" A silence fell. I was out of reality, she could have told me i
was Godzilla's son and i wouldn't have moved a bit more. "Richie, i'm glad
you take it so well. Did you like them ?" "Well, i guess i loved them, as
much as a child can love his parents..." "But..." "Yeah, there's a but."
"But you knew they weren't yours..." "Okay, now stop the crypting, what's
the big news ?" "Richie, you're not human." "Whaddayasay ? I ain't got it
right. I'm not what ?" "Human. You're not a man, you're not born from two
humans." "WHAT THE FUCK ? Who are you to come here and say that ?" I got
up and started a tirade, out of anger and resentment, and built-up
feelings, i shouted and screamed and ... And suddenly my feet weren't on
the floor anymore. I tried to fight and kick, but some grip on my neck
kept me from connecting. I couldn't believe this ! "Let me go, let me go
you son of a..." And i fell. I got up almost instantly to come face to
face with Ann. I suddenly realized it couldn't have been her. Not like
that. She wasn't tall enough to dangle my 195 kg frame with her small
arms. "Can we talk now ?" "How did you ?" "I did. That's the only matter
now. Sit down !" "But.." "I said sit DOWN !" The last word seemed like a
growl. Not a human growl, like you and i can make when using funny voices.
A real growl that rumbled deep down her chest. I sat. "Now listen to me
Rich. You and I are not humans. We are beasts. Mystical beasts that have
existed on earth since the beginning of times. We were here before the
humans. And if we still play it low enough, we may be there even after
them. We are linked to the land, and earth itself is our Mother. Though
right now, our is in dire straits, and we need new warriors. You
are one of these warriors Rich, I am only a Shaman. My goal now is to
bring you to your new family, your new tribe. Therefore, you'll follow my
every order until i say you're big enough to roam alone. I know your
previous prepared you for a different world, and you felt like grown
up. But listen carefully. You are not. You don't know of our ways, our
rituals, our sacred bond with each other. You are but a pup, and i'm a
grown wolf. So now you have to face a choice. Whether you want us, ou you
don't. If you want, you can drink this (she held out a small vial
containing some dark fluid) and forget forever i ever was here. The most
likely after that is you're gonna have random strikes, and be labeled
dangerous or completely insane in the next weeks. Else, well you have to
forget everything you've learned or earned till now, your possessions, your
friends, your neighbours, your loves, and come with me in a new world. A
world of violence, of fierceness and rough handling, a world where you will
fit." She paused for a moment. "So ?" I kept silent for a moment. "Richie
?" Silence lingered on me, myriads of thoughts assaulted me. "I want to
see it." "What ?" "I wanna see you. The real You." She paused again,
sighed. "Okay." I peered closely in her eyes as she breathed deeply. I
shouldn't have. When i realized she had started, a fine fur was
growing smoothly across her face, her jawbone started protruding already,
and her skull started shaping, the eyes becoming deep insets, teeth
growing, skull and nosebone melting together in a ... muzzle ? I looked
at her hands and noticed they too, were covered in fur, her nails had grown
to full sized claws, yet her hands retained their basic shape. I noticed
her legs too, they had reverse angled, the feet growing to produce
three-joined legs. A tail had emerged from her skirt. She now stood at
least 2,30 m tall. I stepped back, watching in fascination at the beast in
my living. The whole scene had taken less than three seconds. "This is
the farthest i can change and still talk. Beyond that, vocal chords are
useless." Her voice was husky, the low growl from earlier now in every
word. I extended my hand and took her paw, shaking it. "Count me in."
---------
And now, three years after the events, many things have happened. I
have reached my full status within our tribe. Tonight's ceremony will
officialy begin my life as a warrior. Sunshine stands at my side. She has
been my mentor and trainer for these three years, and she wasn't much fun
to have for a teacher. But she's good at what she does, and what i am
tonight i woudln't have been without her. As the fire is started, i circle
the members of the ancient tribes, bowing in respect for them. They are
the eldest of us. Some of them are a millenia old. I recognize some of
them from pictures or drawings. I turn to howl a battlecry for the whole
tribe. Many of the warriors join me. We remain a long time there, howling
together. Then Goïsha, our clan's elder, join me by the fire. He steps
onto a platform and adresses the tribes. I don't know much of the tongue
yet, but i realize he's speaking of my ancestors, of their exploits in
battle, of their death for the clan. Then he talks about our spirits.
About the spirit of the Wolf, and the tribes bend in praising the Wolf. He
talks about Bear, and again the tribes bend. He talks about Raven, and
again the tribes bend. Then he praises the other spirits, too many to cite
from memory, and again the tribes bend. He announces them that a new
warrior has come. A silence falls, then two hulking forms part the crowds
to get to me. He clears the area, and i step on the platform, moving to
the center. I know this is supposed to be a kindred fight, that they won't
try to kill me. But Sunshine has warned me about Scar. I dispatch of the
Bear rather quickly. It is simpler that way. A few Judo moves, and i push
him out of the platform. He's laughed at. Scar steps up. He's changed to
his semi-wolfen form already. Damn, i have to change now. Sunshine has
guided me for my first tries, but my full change can't come before my
Coming of Age. I've heard tales of youths who changed on the first fight,
and they are very rare. I sidestep cautiously as the giant wolf-thing
watches me. I catch the glitter in his eyes and dodge the first attack.
It was close. I maneuver back to my feet but he's already on me. PAIN ! I
disengaged but he raked badly on my back. The guy ain't here for fun.
He's a killer. Fear courses through me, icy chills run down my arms and
legs. A tingle in my neck. It's there, Sunshine warned me well. I pull
on the tingle as i fall to the ground. I feel it, my body moving inside of
me, the chills turning to itches, hair growing on the back of my palms.
Scar is goating, shouting at the crowd. "Look at that pathetic welp !
That ain't no warrior, that's MEAT !" He turns back to look at me, and
suddenly, he races for me. I stand up and he crashes into me, claws first.
We stumble on the platform, then he gets up, and so do i. The pain is
gone. My wounds are closing right now. My vision is different, more
precise. I hear things hundreds yards away. I smell Scar's fear and
astonishment, and i know most of the tribes smell it too. He charges me
again, raking at my back with both clawed paws. He raises his hands,
showing the flesh and blood on them to the crowd. Not a sound. Scar turns
to me. In my hands i hold a good part of his stomach and intestines, and
he stares dumbfounded at the in his belly, then drops to the floor,
defeated for the night. I drop my burden and stand before the tribes. A
hail welcomes me into their world. I have taken their test, and i have
succeeded. Goïsha raises again to speak. This time i understand every
word. "Brothers and sisters, the time has come. This warrior has
showed his strength tonight. In memory of his guardian spirit, and the
color of his fur, he shall now be know as Dark to the ancient tribes."
The crowd seems agitated. Suddenly someone shouts. "Look at his chest !"
On my chest resides a ... a stain, a white stain in my dark fur. The
stain is shaped like a serpent. A mumbled litany emerges from the crowd. I
barely pick the name "Salamander" in it. Goïsha speaks again. "He bears
the mark of the changeling. Bring forth Salamander." Another elder raises
and walks to the platform. He examines me for a moment, and i take my own
time to do likewise. I'm tall, almost as tall as Scar. My fur is dark,
and my paws, well let's just say they're not wolf claws. I touch my face
and feel the changes there. Yes, indeed, i am a cat. Salamander adresses
Goïsha quickly. He in turn, speaks to the crowd. "He is a changeling. He
shall be banned from our knowledge. All of you return to your homes now."
"What ?" Salamander whispers to me : "Quiet boy, this is for your own
good." The tribes start to disassemble, the fires are take apart, and soon,
with the emptying of the clearing, the tribe waits for us by the side of
the forest. I stand there alone with Goïsha, Salamander and Sunshine.
Sunshine playfully taps my shoulder. "So you're a cat, heh ?" I remember
my current state, and from her lessons, let the trance grow down until i
resume my human form. "Youg one" Salamander starts "you're a very special
one. You're what we call a changeling, a beast that has no patronizing
spirit. This means tonight you were a cat, but tomorrow you'll maybe be a
bird, a wolf, or whoever knows. An legend of ours warns us that a
changeling will come, and with him shall come the end of our times.
Therefore you're not allowed to come near our camps, or only for short
stops. We know this is harsh for you, and you've lost many things tonight.
Sunshine here will help you build your own life, i'm sorry kid." I thought
about storming, raging, shouting, but realized quickly it wasn't their
faults. They were people with traditions. I had to move on.
Having lost a recently, i didn't hope much in gaining a new one.
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