Black Fang

Black Fang

I am not a friend. I am not a friend of anything that hates me or loves me, because both will cause me pain. I am only a friend of those who speak to me with a silent voice, a presence that no one feels, though it is always there.
I am a friend of the trees, the water, the plants, the grass. the sky, the clouds, the rain, the thunder, the lightning. I am only a friend of the black barn owl, that had saved my life. The only living thing I respect. More, the only living thing to humans.
I know that the trees are alive, the water, the clouds, the thunder, the lightning. All is with life, no matter the thoughts of "living things."
I cried out to the stars, the shining stars on their black table, serving the moon, the moon in its throne, watching the happenings of the earth and the heavens. I cried out to the night, with the silent wind, the never-ending darkness, the never-ending beauty.
I cried out to the black owl, with its heart-shaped face and smooth, patterned feathers.
I cried out to the trees, the wisest of all beings. I cried out to the mountains, the tallest and broadest of the world, no matter the comparioson to the others.
I cried out to the hidden sun, blazing somewhere else, somewhere I could not see.
I called to the world and the world called back to me, whispered that it knew I was there, that its servant, its protector, its child, dared to acknowledge it.
That I was an existence in the world, that I was solid on its grounds, emotions inside me, and that I was no human.
That I was Urol Naminget. Black Fang.
The world hummed with the name that I was called. Black Fang.
And then, the wind whispered my name. My true name.
Abyss.
The black owl hooted. It screamed back with me, a child of the earth as well.
I narrowed by black eyes, no white at all, scanning. Then I saw her.
Rising from a patch of white flowers, Trwind Folyrei. Mother of the earth.
She was only a presence, a ghost of a life, a shadow, a moonbeam. But she was there. I saw her smile, the softest and most beautiful smile that could form on anyones lips.
Black Fang. Her voice was inside me, an echo that did not come back, a ripple that did not move. Why is it that you call to me?
I looked down.
You hesitate. she said. ... Ahhhh.
Of course she knew. Well?
"If you already know, why must I tell you?" I asked her, biting back the sharp scorn in my words.
Her sigh was like the wind blowing through the branches of the elm trees that surrounded me. Do not ask me to grow it again.
"You know very well that I have asked you before you say I have not," I said. Her eyes flickered.
If you wish it to be so. She drifted past me, towards the small rock that I used as a stool to reach the black owl's nest. I followed her silently. I seated myself on its hard surface.
What am I asking Trwind Folyrei to grow again? The bone at the base of my neck that keeps me from turning into my true form. Every nine years it wears away, and I do what I do now. I beg the Mother of Earth to grow it back, fearing my true body. Her fingers brushed the base of my neck and the bone expanded under my flesh, creating a new pressure.
"Thank you," I whispered guiltily.
She made no response. And then she was gone, not a trace that she had existed.

Snap. My head jerked up. My body pulsed with energy as I lifted myself off of the damp leaves. I felt the back of my neck. The bone was there. The sound had come from a mile or two away, and it was the sound of a branch. No, not a branch...
I bolted. My fury added more energy to my body as I raced towards the sound. I heard it scream. Scream in agony, dying as I ran. The sound rang in my ears. I had to get to it.
I called out to it, asked its name.
Eko.
I pushed my legs harder, motivated by the pain that Eko had. I let out a war cry as I came upon the man, his fingers gripped around the handle of an ax in mid-swing. When he saw me he changed the direction of the blade, aiming at my stomach. I easily dodged the blow, twisting my thin body around behind him.
I leaped nimbly into his back and sank my black fangs into his neck. He screamed. Screamed like Eko, who had a nick in her thick, gray trunk, and was still screaming silently.
I released my jaws and the human dropped to the ground. I left him there, writhing in pain.
I leaned my forehead onto Eko the tree. "Eko," I whispered. "Are you alright?"
I don't believe so. I looked down at the slice in the bark. It wasn't deep, but it was near the roots and sap was already gushing from it. Not a trees behavior to the human eye. I put my hands on each side of the indent and pushed inward. The gap closed, although there was still a small scratch where it still had to heal.
Thank you.
I nodded to Eko. As I turned. I heard something whistle through the air. I didn't evem flinch as I reached back and caught the ax by its rough wooden handle. I turned and glared at the man. He was standing up, pressing one hand to his bleeding neck. His eyes were slow to widen with fear when he realized the ax wasn't buried in my back.
"Get out of here!" I hissed. "Go! And if you send anyone at all, I will not let you live a second time!"
He didn't move until I narrowed my eyes and stepped forward, baring my teeth. He ran away into the woods. I looked down at the ax in my hand, disgusted that I was still holding it. I dropped it and it thudded into the dirt. Worms crawled up from under the earth and swarmed it, some getting cut on the sharp blade, and soon it was gone.
I went to the rock I had sat on last night and stood on it, and then my head peeked over the edge of a large nest, in which the black barn owl sat, sleeping. "Black Owl," I whispered to her. "Won't you tell me your name?"
The owl blinked her eyes sleepily and I could see the smile on her beak. No. She hadn't told me her name, so I only referred to her as Urol Frqu, Black Owl. A twin name to my own. I held out my arm and she gripped it with her beautiful talons. I climbed down carefully, balancing the weight of Black Owl with my own. I walked with her on my arm, peacefully among the undiscovered world to the humans, to even the animals(though I had granted Black Owl the power to hear them, too). It was my home, my haven. I could not even live with the snakes, which was the only creature I respected under Black Owl, but I would still lash out at them if they got too close.
I breathed in the air. It was fresh, though it carried every ounce of dust and dirt in it, it was as flawless as the still water. Black Owl hooted softly. I wish I could respect and love the animals as well, but I could not. It was not in my nature. Trwind Folyrei had made it that way. It was she that had granted me the ability to befriend the black barn owl that had saved my life. And she that had given me life in the first place. Memories suddenly flashed into my mind, and I staggered. Black Owl took to the air with a startled screech. She landed on a branch, her black eyes filled with concern.
Hello, child.
A voice spoke. She could not understand. Who was it? Where was it coming from? What did it mean?
Awaken, child.
She struggled to get the words out. 'Who are you?'
I am Trwind Folyrei, mother of earth. And you are my servant, my protector, my child. You are Abyss. Urol Naminget, Black Fang.
She opened her eyes. There was green. Lots of green above her. And bits of blue between the green. 'Leaves. Trees. Sky.'
Then a face. An indescribable face that was as beautiful as the moon and as sweet as a day lily. Moon? Day lily? What were those?
You belong to me, child.
Then I was falling. Falling through a dark chasm, falling and falling, gravity pulling me down forever.
She was older. Stronger. Bolder. She could fight, hide, run, move.
This looks like a good one.
She turned. Who was that? Who was speaking? Men. Hate seethed within her. She had only just learned of men, and she knew the were bad. Very bad.
I agree.
There was no more speech after that. I thought the men had gone away. I went back to studying the smooth pebble that was lying in the grass. It was strange for such a perfect pebble to be here in the grass, so far from the small giggling creek that ran through the forest.
Then, her arms were pinned behind her back and she was hauled upright. She tried to get loose, but then her attacker held a knife to her throat.
Don't try anything.
She nodded weakly. The blade was slowly lowered. She was forced to turn, and walk away from the trees. Then there was a terrifying screech, and a black barn owl, with its beak wide open in its heart-shaped face. It dove at the men behind her and then she was free. Then she was running away. Running and running from the screams and screeches of the men and the black owl.
"Stop!" I screamed. "Get out of my head!"
My mind stopped swirling. My head hurt. I stumbled forward, disoriented. I put my hand against the strong bark of a tree to steady myself. I muttered my thanks to it.
"I do not belong to you," I whispered. "You will no longer twist my thoughts. You will no longer control me."
The earth seemed to hum angrily in reply. "Yeah, whatever," I said, glaring down at the ground.
"I do not belong to you."

I stared into the water of a clear pond, looking at my reflection. They were a strange thing, reflections. They too lived and breathed, like so many other things the humans mistook as simply there for them to use and admire. I didn't speak to it, just gazed into the depths of my pure black eyes, examined my dagger-like black fangs. I did this often, thinking and looking, tearing myself apart by seeing what I look like. And I knew I still belonged to those which I said I did not. I was still bound to my creator. Was I?
I do not like my reflection, but I can never take my eyes off of it. It intrigues me, like shattered glass. I not know why I can't stop looking at shattered glass either. It just seems... interesting.
I was so lost that I did not hear. I did not see. I did not feel. All I felt though, was my soul painfully shredding itself into pieces, knowing that this reflection was not truly my own.
But then, I guess, this one is better than the other.
And so i did not hear the footsteps. I did not see the men.
I did not notice the second reflection appear next to mine, for I was so lost in my broken soul that I was no longer with the world.
Black Owl eventually awakened me out of my trance, as she always did. She screamed softly to me. She was right. I should eat. I drank from the pond and lifted my arm as she came to me from the Great Beech tree that hung over the water, forever staring at its reflection. She gave me a hard look with her dark eyes, making sure that I did not slip back into the deep pools of my own eyes. I stood and looked at her on my arm. "You can fly now, if you want."
Urol Frqu hesitated, and then spread her wings and took to the air. She soared on the wind and scanned the ground, her majestic curved wings beautiful as the carried her. Her talons clenched and unclenched, alert for any prey. I wished I could do such things.
Fly free from the world, independent from all existing things.
I knelt in front of some Bloodthorn and thanked it silently as I pulled it up by its roots. I sliced the sharp cones off of the stem and ground them into a powder with a rather joyful stone that jabbered on and on.
I had a bowl made from clay of the earth that Trwind Folyrei had made for me. I also had something like a fork, though with one tong, rather than four. I cracked the bumpy stems of the Bloodthorn carefully, and poured the red liquid that it held into the bowl. I then crushed the remaining hollow shell into dust as well, and added that and the thorn powder into the mixture.
Black owl returned to me with a large rat in her claws and a blade-leaved branch in her beak. I took the branch from her and picked off the Death Berries that grew on it. Only dangerous to humans. I pitted the large fruits and squeezed the juice out of it, throwing in the seeds after it.
This is what I ate, every day. I did not get bored of it, nore did I enjoy it, but it gave me energy and strength, as well as sustain my health. Without it, I would die. As the last seed plopped into the Bloodthorn nectar, the liquid fizzed and crackled, suddenly rising and forming into a maroon. bread-like substance. Not a drop of moisture was left behind.
I ate it, feeling the strange texture on my black tongue. I blinked as the new life coursed through my veins, suddenly giving me the need to run. And I did.
I ran and ran and ran, far into the fields, far into the mountains that towered above all else. Ran though a shallow river, flowing slowly and steadily, greeting me as I passed by. Ran and ran and ran until my lungs collapsed, and farther after that. Ran as if to escape the earth, escape the people, escape myself. But I could not. It was always there. Always looming in the laughing shadows that never seemed to leave. Staring into my broken soul, into my pained heart. An unwelcome companion, that never left, even for a little while. Always there, as if it was my own blood and bones.
In my own shadow, my own gaze.
In my own reflection.
To be continued...

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