A scientist stared at a large pod containing a wolf. The scientist shouted, “The creature is still turning! There’s a serious risk of the experiment going wrong if it’s left in there. Get the boss!” Another scientist nodded and ran away. He shouted, “Boss! Experiment Number 0042 is at serious risk of breaking valuable equipment! I think we need to release him!” The boss snapped, “I’m coming! Ash was a good one, but this is his end I suppose.” The boss opened a glass case and pressed ‘STOP’. The wolf jerked, looking side to side with its eyes still closed. A scientist said, “It’s time. Use the key. We shall forever honor Ash and his memory, for with his help we have performed great research. Boss?” The boss closed his eyes and pulled out a key. He placed it in the slot. He turned it, then opened the pod. The liquid immediately evaporated once exposed to the air, and Ash slid out. The boss stared at him. Ash was breathing slowly still. Boss was dreading the moment that Ash finally grew still. Ash’s breathing slowed. Suddenly, his eyes opened. Ash leaped up, breathing hard. He saw Boss. Ash barked at Boss, then looked confused. Ash ran. Boss chased after the young wolf, but Ash was fast. Ash bolted, weaving between legs of scientists. Boss saw Ash waiting by the door. As a scientist came in, Ash bolted out. Boss yelled, “NO!” Boss barely saw Ash. He was already gone, dashing through the city. Boss felt something inside him. Was it rage? Perhaps it was fear. It was dread. Boss walked back to the room where Ash was. Boss stuttered, “We have a wolf pup ready to go in. Let’s bring it in this one, we need to see how it reacts in this world compared to...Ash.” Scientists rushed away to their complete their tasks. The boss walked back to the office, shaken by this. A wolf had escaped, that hadn’t happened since the boss had become Boss. Ash was powerful. Ash was sitting in his room. He was about 3 moons old. A mysterious cat appeared and said, “Hello, little wolf puppy. I can help you in the future. Just trust me.” Ash shrieked, “STRANGER DANGER! MOMMMMMMMMM! A SCARY CAT IS BOTHERING ME!” Blue ran into the room and gasped, “Ash! Are you okay? Where’s the cat?” Ash grabbed the cat and whimpered, “I’m holding her right now!” Blue stared and sighed, “Ash, there’s nothing there. Please don’t scare me like that again. Also, it’s bed time. Come on, go to bed.” Ash climbed into his nest on a rock. Blue tucked him into a blanket of moss. She smiled and said, “Ash, my sweet little pup. Sweet dreams!” Ash yawned, “Sweet dreams too! I love you!” Blue laughed, “I love you too, little pebble.” Blue left the room, turning off a mushroom lamp. Ash curled down into sleep. Darkness covered him up like a blanket. Ash was 6 moons old now. Blue walked with him outside right now. She was training him to learn how to hunt. Ash crouched and, spotting a mouse, creeped up on it. He leaped onto it, and it let out a final shriek. Ash killed it. Blue howled, “Ash! You got your first kill!” Ash smiled, but felt a chill along his back. It had felt strangely heavy on his back recently, but he didn’t tell Blue. He felt that she would overreact. Ash laughed, “Yeah! I guess I did!” Blue said, “I noticed something. Can I look at your back?” Ash’s voice wavered as he said, “Uh, no. I’m going to go to bed now, I’m all tired out from that hunting.” Ash ran inside, making sure Blue didn’t see him. Ash bolted into his room. He stood up against a mirror. He turned to look at his back, and saw some blue stubs growing. There was also a cat figure in the background. Ash nearly shrieked. He leaped into the moss bed, and hid underneath it. He struggled to grasp sleep, but eventually caught it like the mouse earlier. He closed his eyes and slid into sleep. Ash was 13 moons old. Ash had to wear a cloak to hide his wings now. The blue stubs had turned out to be wings, and Blue revealed her wings to him. Ever since, he’s never been allowed to take it off unless he was in his room with leaves over the windows. He just wanted to have his wings to be shown to everyone. But Blue said that it would cause him deeper pain in the long run. At this point Ash was willing to accept his fate. Ash was in his room, playing with his wings. Blue came in. She rolled her eyes when she saw his wings showing. Blue sighed, “Ash, I’m going to tell you about your father. Your attitude with your wings will certainly change after this. This is the reason why I try to stop you.” Ash pricked his ears. Blue said, “Your father was named Ash. He met me, and was overjoyed. He loved everything about me. But then, as we were walking through a forest, I decided to reveal my wings, thinking it would make him love me even more. I showed him my wings. He turned on me. Ash viciously attacked me. I swatted back at him to defend myself. But my claws dug in deep. He kept attacking, and my claws only dug in deeper. Eventually, his stomach was so shredded that he couldn’t even walk.
Ash growled, 'Well, Blue, you’d better be happy. We had all this, and you wasted it. I hope you’re happy.’ Then, I realized I was expecting a pup. That was you, the second Ash. All because I was a dragon-wolf. If I had kept it a secret as I should have, then you would still have your father. I don’t want you to make the same mistake as me, so please. Keep it a secret.” Ash gasped, “I...never knew. I guess I’ll just not reveal it then! It’s not like I’ll ever be in love with some boy. Girls are honestly more accepting anyways. I’ll just reveal it at first, so they can choose if they want to be with me with all the facts. I know better now, thanks!” Blue snarled, “Don’t you UNDERSTAND? Telling anyone will mean certain DOOM! LISTEN to ME! You ALWAYS get wrapped up in your own mind, never listening to anyone else! Trust me on this one.” Blue stormed out of the room. Ash stared, then scoffed. He pulled the moss over his head and curled up under the covers. He heard a familiar voice say, “Little wolf. You poor thing. Let me help you.” Ash was finally 15 moons old. He noticed a fox trotting to the mail box with a sac. The fox placed something in the box, then skipped away. Ash threw the invisibility cloak over his wings and walked outside. He stuffed his paws in the mail box, and grabbed the letter. He ran inside and found Blue at the dinner table. Ash shouted, “We have mail! It’s something important.” Blue grabbed it and stared at it. She sighed, “This school thing? You can’t go. You could never keep your secret.” Ash whimpered, “I could! Just let me!” Blue snarled, and Ash ran to his room. He sobbed into the moss that he had slept in for almost all his life. A cat appeared and said, “As you know, Void-Runner is here for your worst moments! I can HELP you! How do you KNOW you can’t trust me?” Ash snarled, “Now is not the time. I just want to go to that darn place!” Void-Runner sighed, “Well, at least you can stay at home with your wonderful family! It’s probably safer anyways.” Ash thought, ‘I can’t stay at home! Void-Runner is definitely trying to keep me home for some plot! Well, I’ll just run away to the place! Void-Runner's plans will be ruined!’ Ash sighed, “Yes, I suppose you’re right. I’ll just stay home.” Void-Runner laughed, “Great! Well, bye!” Void-Runner vanished. Ash stood up and threw the invisibility cloak over his head. He walked to the main room where Blue was relaxing. Her ears perked up and she said, “Ash?” Ash closed his eyes and lifted a paw. He shouted, “I’m sorry.” Ash slammed Blue’s head, and she fell to the ground, unconscious. Ash grabbed a sack of other things that he might need and left the house. He placed the cloak over his wings and pressed on into the forest. Ash was running through his memories. Really, he was running through the city, but his memories were pressing in. Ash saw himself trotting with Caleb. He was arguing with Buttercup one moment, next he was crying in his moss bed. Void-Runner was hissing at him. Things he didn’t even remember were suddenly being revealed to him again. He had realized he was non-binary a long time ago, but that feeling was completely gone. He felt like he wasn’t that anymore, but it was so sudden. The memories were shattering, pieces of them flying all around his vision. Soon, the memories weren’t flooding his vision anymore. It was just him running in the city. It felt like he was watching someone else. His wings were gone, what was this world? If it was a dream, it seemed like it was going on for strangely long. Ash found an area in the city that he remembered was called an alleyway. He crawled into it. Ash needed to find out what this was. He extended a claw, and held it above a paw. He slashed, and pain flooded the paw. Blood pooled out of the wound, and Ash placed some leaves on it. Ash was overcome by tears. He was drowning in fear and sadness. Ash curled up, his tail becoming wet with tears as it covered his face. Ash awoke to strange memories. He remembered being put in a pod as a pup. What had been his real name? Was it really Ash? He remembered the first test. He was running through a field as a pup, curious about everything. Ash realized that he had never really been able to recall it. Anyone he asked just ignored him. He should have known that something was up. He left the alleyway and walked through the city. People stared at him, shocked at seeing a lone wolf in the city. Many hours of walking and scavenging later, Ash finally found a forest. He walked into it. Ash was still shaken by the fact that this couldn’t possibly be a dream. Not with the wound on his paw. He wandered through the forest, wanting to find other wolves. The sun was now setting, and the moon was rising. He stared at it, and had a strange primal instinct sweep over him. He howled at the moon, and did he howl! It rang through the forest, inspiring many. He howled once more, then made a den. He curled up underneath the roots and closed his eyes.
