02: God Has a Fluffy Tail

Richard's head spun like a malfunctioning merry-go-round. He had wandered into the woods without any thought of leaving them. He therefore did not understand why the wind whipped violently at his face. Tree branches clawed at his arms and legs like feral cats.

The world was a blur as he clutched a pillowy softness. Soft clumps of white fur tickled his face and cushioned his body as he was jostled up and down. He clutched to the monstrous creature's back as it raced through the twilight forest. For the second time that night, Richard wondered if he was asleep.

"What a blessed night!" the beast roared with an almost human delight. "Thou didst well to find me, human! Most well!"

Richard would have pinched himself if he had a free hand. All of his melancholy talk from earlier disappeared as the white wolf continued to dart between trees with the same speed as a certain blue hedgehog. He held on for dear life.

Richard blinked, and the gloom of the woods disappeared as if a light switch had been flipped. The human sounds of traffic immediately tickled his ears, and distant headlights bled through the night.

"Your den is near, human!" the wolf howled as it raced towards the distant cars. "You shall erect my first shrine within thy quarters! Be honored!"

Richard laughed, though the hysterical noise was swallowed up by the rush of wind and the wolf's bestial glee. Erect a shrine? He was not sure if he had ever heard those words spoken aloud before.

The familiar farmhouse soon appeared as the monstrous creature broke through the tree line. The building was cast in darkness, illuminated only briefly by cars passing in the near distance.

"Hmmm..." Richard almost rolled off the wolf's back as it came to an abrupt halt. "Thy quarters are... lacking. But they will suffice for now! Come!"

The rush of wind had deafened him earlier, but now he could hear the wolf snorting noisily as it padded towards the refurbished farmhouse. Several square blocks had been slapped together, addition after addition over the many decades the building had stood.

"Aha!"

Richard jumped at the beast's sudden noise. His numb hands let go of its thick fur, and he slid gracelessly off the wolf's back. The ground was frozen, and he stifled a frustrated grunt as he landed on his side.

"Your domain, human!"

Richard looked up from the ground, and his heart caught in his throat.

The wolf's eyes glowed yellow amidst the dim darkness of the night. The beast's massive head turned back and forth between Richard and his front door.

"It is rather small... but it shall suffice!" Richard flinched as the wolf turned away from him and started to scratch at his front door with one massive paw. He almost yelped as the monster loosed an inhuman screech. "Kyeeeh heh heh! What a blessed night!"

"Oy!"

Richard shouted despite himself as the sound of broken wood filled the air. The wolf's massive paw smashed down his front door as if it were made of papier-mâché.

He knew a moment of panic, but then he asked himself who cared? None of this made sense. Was he still asleep? Had he already died? A wolf the size of a minivan had just reduced his front door to timber, but who cared?

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"Why do you dally, servant?"

Despite his earlier stoicism, Richard screamed like a little girl as the wolf closed its teeth around his throat. He was lifted into the air as if he was a child's doll. It became hard to breathe...

...and then he realized the beast had merely picked him up by the cuff of his jacket.

With a jerk of its head, the wolf tossed Richard into the darkness of his apartment. He landed in a jumble of limbs on the carpeted floor. Thankfully, he had sold most of his belongings over the last few months. There was nothing in the room to crash into.

"A little small..."

Richard straightened up and turned towards the floating yellow eyes. The apartment was cast entirely in shadows. Even if he had wanted to flip the light switch behind the monster, there was no electricity.

The wolf entered the apartment with difficulty. Richard himself had developed a slight slouch living in its tiny rooms. The sheer size of the wolf was made all the more apparent as it struggled to fit its body inside.

"Bah!" The beast loosed a roar and shook its body like a dog in the rain.

Richard scarcely believed his eyes. As the wolf shook its fluffy white coat, its body started to shrink. First its head and then its tree-pole legs. Within the span of several breaths, the monstrous creature had deflated into an altogether less monstrous size.

"Hah!" The wolf padded happily into the unlit apartment. Its glowing eyes swerved back and forth as if it could see in the dark. "This will do. It is small, yes, but it will do."

The beast padded past him and poked its head inside the bathroom. While the apartment was run down and had low ceilings, it was relatively large with four rooms. Richard had never needed more than one, however.

"We shall have much work to do tomorrow, human!" the beast called from within the bathroom. "But this shall work! Kyeeh heh heh!"

The world had felt like a dream ever since he had found the white creature in the woods, but the word tomorrow snapped him free from his delusions.

Because the apartment was cold. It was freezing, and he had no heat. The rooms were empty. He had sold whatever he could sell, and he had never made enough money to replace what was gone. It was an altogether melodramatic thought, but his apartment was just like his life. Cold and empty.

And it would be cold and empty tomorrow.

It would be cold and empty the day after tomorrow.

It would be cold and empty until he finally found the courage to-

"But I tire!"

Richard jumped. His head snapped towards a ticklish heat. The wolf stared into his eyes with a golden intensity.

"Tomorrow! Thou wilt have much work to do tomorrow, servant!" The wolf's tongue raced up and down his face with a sandpaper warmth. "For now, however, I tire!"

The wolf padded towards his bedroom. He remained on the ground, but only for a moment. Something soft tugged him after the wolf. He looked down and found the beast's fluffy white tail wrapped around his chest.

"You will warm me, servant!" the wolf said in an excited howl. "It hath been many decades since I last enjoyed the warmth of my faithful!"

Numbly, Richard was forced to stumble and crawl after the wolf as it disappeared into his bedroom. The beast started to snort noisily as it reached his bed.

"So much work..." the wolf whined softly to itself.

His bedroom was covered in darkness, but he could vaguely make out the wolf bite down on something and then jerk its head away. He realized it was his blanket a moment later as the beast dragged the blanket to a corner of the room and started to fuss over the bedding.

"Come! Now we rest!" the wolf said after arranging and rearranging the quilt with her teeth and claws. Richard was convinced he would find the quilt torn to ribbons tomorrow.

"Oy!"

Richard loosed a startled noise as the wolf's tail tugged him closer. He fell into the beast's fluffy white fur.

"Quiet! We rest now!" The same sandpaper tongue from before assaulted Richard's face and hair as he was swallowed by an almost motherly warmth.

He heard the beast settle down. The ticklish heat of its breath was a furnace in his face, but the beast's glowing eyes had been extinguished.

"A prayer."

Richard flinched at the beast's low growl.

"I would have thee offer a prayer before you slumber, human."

Laughter bubbled in his chest at the nonsensical words. He felt as if he had gone insane. If he pinched himself, would he wake up?

A low growl filled the darkness, so Richard hurriedly clenched his hands together in prayer. But a prayer? What did the creature want? What was this insanity? He remembered his other prayer, however. The first in so many years.

He closed his eyes. The beast's white fur tickled him pleasantly.

"If... if this... is a dream..." He could not remember the last time he had felt such warm. "Please... let it continue... for just a little while longer."

His eyes itched as the childish words left his mouth. It was just so warm, and he was just so tired. He had forgotten some of his exhaustion riding atop the wolf's back, but...

"Thou art a strange one," the wolf said in a low growl. Its sandpaper tongue tasted the shame of his tears. "Sleep. Tomorrow we begin."