Chapter 15 - Revealing Conversations

At the moment I heard, "My name is Peanut." I almost laughed. I couldn't believe that I had just spoken to another animal, let alone the fact that I didn't have to say anything to communicate with the creature. I looked to the doctor to try to tell him what was going on but he seemed able to understand that something had happened. He said that we could talk about what was discussed in the morning after I changed back. The doctor said to see how much I could get from the creatures, so I looked to the creatures across from me and told Peanut to turn away from me so that I knew which one it was that was speaking. The second one from the left stood and circled for a second before settling like a puppy curling up in the sunlight. The doctors looked at the tag and saw that it was a puppy and pulled out a chart logging different things that they noticed about the animal's peculiar behavior. The doctors tried to give several directions to the puppy wondering if it was the connection that I shared with it or if the animal had some sort of control over itself. The doctors would have different people in the room give it tasks to do and wait five minutes to see if it would act when given a verbal command. When the puppy wouldn't do any of the tasks given to it they came to me and asked to see if I could get Peanut to do anything. They would give me different tasks that they wanted the pup to do and would then watch to see if it was able to follow the instructions that I gave it. It was as if he was my own personal puppet moving in exact motions, directions, patterns, and rhythms given to it by my mind. Eventually, the doctors wanted to know if it was just the dog that I could communicate with and asked to see if I could speak to the other animals. They said to focus on each one individually before sending out my thoughts to them. I focused on the female deer that I inspected when I entered the room asking if it understood what was going on. When that happened the deer looked into my eyes and I began to see an image of a deer running through the woods playfully bounding, then all of a sudden a powerful wolf leaps out of the bushes and bites down on its neck forcing it to the ground and the image faded. The look on my face must have been quite a sight as the doctors were more interested in me when the image faded than the deer that had raised its head to look me in the eyes. I tried to do the same with the snake that I had done with Peanut, though it didn't understand exactly how its newly grown appendages worked and fumbled around like a newborn calf. The rabbit on the other hand had insisted on bouncing more than actually moving like a dog or wolf. It would hop into the positions that I would give it and never really moved from a sitting position save to extend its legs leaping into the air, but the only one that could reply to me was still Peanut. I decided to try and have a conversation with the pup to see if it knew what was happening or if it was even aware that it was no longer a tiny puppy, but a giant wolf that was powerful enough to take down several deer. Peanut began to tell me of a story passed down from his dad saying that once there was a powerful wolf that lived in the woods with the Indians so long ago that no man would ever remember. He went on to say that this was the story of how the dog became man's best friend. The night was cold and stormy when the powerful wolf went out for its hunt, its fur blew in the wind as it ran through the wooded mountains searching for its last meal before the blizzard became too harsh. Then all of a sudden it was attacked by a very fast and powerful man. This man was pail and blood dripped from its long teeth as it tried to kill the great wolf. The wolf managed to kill the man and escape, though the man had hurt it terribly in its ambush. It lay in the snow bleeding as another man walked up to it. The great wolf was injured but it would not lay by while any other creature was near enough to harm it. It stood to meet its pursuer but the man moved swiftly out of its way and swooped in to embrace the great wolf. When he had done so many others of his tribe came out to help him carry it to safety. The great wolf, confused by the actions flailed and scratched and tried to bite the men who carried it, but when they began to place it on the ground inside one of their tents. It realized that the men who had carried it away had no intention of harming it. The man who had embraced the great wolf was put in charge of its healing and formed a bond with it so strong that some said that it was as if the minds of the two had become one. The man had said that he used the magic of his people to heal the Great wolf making it stronger and faster. Peanut continued telling his story of the man and the great wolf as they hunted together and had become inseparable. Then one night the men with long teeth attacked the village searching for the one responsible for the death of one of their own. The man and the great wolf fought valiantly against the men with long teeth but their numbers overwhelmed them to the point that the Great Wolf and the man who had saved it lay dying on the field with holes ripped in their necks and long cuts down their bodies. As the moon rose the Great wolf lay its body over the man to keep him warm and to try and heal him with the magic that he had used on it. The Great wolf's blood flowed from its neck into the man's mouth and the man began to change right then and there. His bones cracked and his skin tore away from his body until he became like the great wolf and ran off the army of men with long teeth. The Great wolf having given up its magic and being wounded in the battle made a decree to all of its kind to protect the men. When the sun rose the man had changed back and he held his friend who had fought beside him. He swore that he would create an army to avenge the great wolf and that they would hunt down these creatures until they were extinct. The battle has raged for so long that neither side truly remembers what the war is about, they only know the hate that they have for each other. The truth of the war has only been known to the dogs who stood beside man for thousands of years until now.