To whoever it may concern, be it human or otherwise,

There's something you should know before I get into all of this. In fact, you should probably know a lot of things. One of which is that this was not written by a human. I am a pure werewolf, but these are unlike your usual fantasy ones that disguise as a human and only come out once a month; we are born as beasts, and we live as such for our whole lives. Our race does not use names like humans do, but most of my peers refer to me as "Noble Messenger of the Great Southern Tribe". Call me Nobel, if you desire.

Other things you should know include the fact that werewolves have been, for all intents and purposes, in hiding and considered "just a fairy tale", and that we, at some point in the distant past, lived amongst humanity in harmony before we were exiled and separated from them for reasons much too complicated to list here. Believe what you will, but I am here to tell you that yes, we have been among you for a long time, and although I can't speak for every one, I am not out for revenge.

I must confess that I have been raised in an environment where we have been taught, as cubs, to completely disregard humans, as they pose a threat to our race. Thus, instead of attacking them, like we used to, we are taught to run away immediately if we see anything resembling a human while out exploring. In part, the former still feels true, but after an "accident" a few weeks ago, I think I want to turn this around and truly get to know a human as they are. Allow me to explain...

---

The day my entire perception of humans changed started like any other for myself: A nice stretch and wash, then the usual soldier training. After this, I mostly ran errands and tasks for my tribe chief, such as communication and delivery between our neighboring tribes. This usually requires running back and forth between them in the span of minutes, some of which are more further away. I can cover these distances pretty easily, and most of them only require crossing by a forest. Once a werewolf turns old enough to control his transformation impulses, they can also turn into feral wolves at will, so if they feel a human might notice them anywhere they can just disguise themselves that way.

Today was all the same. I had to resolve a conflict between two neighboring tribes, bring materials to another, and check the status of many other tribes, to name a few duties. One other such task is to report any human sightings or contacts, but so far, no one has at least come forward and said that any of their members met a human, save for the "lycanthropes" of each tribe, the ones that can freely turn into a human and hide amongst society that way. I have not run into any pure human myself, and I had assumed that was the case for all the tribes, including the ones very close to rural areas.

On that day, however, that changed. After quickly prancing through the left end of the forest I immediately arrived at the Northern Star tribe, given that name for the way one mountain top always pointed to that particular star every night. Usually at this time this tribe was bustling with joy, the little ones having finished their usual daily classes and now playing outside. When I approached the center, however, not a single child was around. Some adult werewolves instead guarded their teepees, looking at me as soon as I entered the tribe and just giving me a nod. I was a little confused.

"I see you finally made it here," a voice greeted me from behind, and I quickly turned around. It was the chief of this tribe, with some sort of book in his hands. We quickly shook hands, and he explained to me what had happened.

"Our rations so far are okay. We have enough to go by the week and the lycanthropes have bought more things for us. There are no abnormalities as far as living conditions and no major natural disasters have made present." The chief then looked around himself. "As for humans, though..." He seemed to gulp. Something definitely wasn't right.

"Well, what is it, chief? Did one happen to... enter the area?" I started, trying to get the words out of his mouth.

"It's worse." He shivered as he looked over his shoulders one last time, and then finally confessed, in a low, hushed voice, "Someone here managed to capture one."

"What??" I was shocked by that very sentence that I shouted it, prompting most of the guards to turn my way in an attacking stance. I calmed myself down and waved them off, before coming back to the chief. "And... and what did you do?"

"Well, I didn't exactly order a human to be captured, so we had to find the one responsible. Just to calm everyone down, I had to lie to them and say that a human wandered into the tribe and was immediately escorted away under amnesiacs. No one should know about this." The chief now tugged me to his teepee, still speaking in a hushed tone. "We started with the lycanthropes. None of them had revealed their secret, and most have concealed their true identity pretty well, so surprisingly, they were out of the question. And I pondered to myself, 'if it wasn't them, then it had to be one of us.'"

The chief and I now entered the teepee, with the chief motioning me to sit down on the decorative rug in front of a short wooden plank, serving as a table. He circled around the table, now standing on his rug on the opposite end. "I tried to make sense of it all, and then it hit me like a rock. There's only one werewolf in this damn tribe that is as passionate for humans as we are to destroying them!" He then threw down the book he was holding to the table in front of me, making a loud thud and allowing me to clearly see the cover: it was a human biology textbook, the kind most have told me is used in human schools. "I wish I was jesting here. He actually did it." I knew exactly who he was talking about.

"Wha-- Impossible!" A flurry of emotions waved through me. This werewolf... he was incredibly passionate about learning about humans, sure, but I had completely disregarded any sort of desire he wanted. Sure, he always wanted to work with a human, but... "Are you absolutely sure? He could have sent someone in to--"

"No. I'm definitely being serious here, I'm afraid," the chief replied coldly. "He confessed it to me himself: with his own hands, he snatched the man in the middle of the night, while absolutely no one was around to see it." The scene played out in my head in a jarring manner, almost like the human movies I saw from time to time that had our kind represented as savages.

"Impossible..." I muttered out. "But... We know how, that just leaves the question: why? Didn't we already extract everything we knew about humans a long time ago?"

The chief looked at me with a worried face. "Apparently not."

---

The lab of our culprit was almost similar to that of a human one, or at least, that's what he tells me anyway. I had to come in alone, as the werewolf that orchestrated this kidnapping could really only trust me, and the chief simply couldn't stand the highly sanitized smell of the place. The human he captured was just in a pathetic little room, grey brick wallpaper and a metal bed jutting out of the wall being the only two things of note in there, along with some peculiar windows where apparently everyone on the outside can see the inside, but not the other way around. How did humans learn to create such devices without magic? It seems they're getting a little bit closer to us by the day.

The human in question was now resting on the bed of the room he was "trapped" in. Average size, athletic type, short dark hair... Possibly no more than 30 years old. He only wore a white shirt and some ragged pants. Amazingly enough, he didn't have any sort of visible scars, which made me question if this truly was a kidnapping, or a very lucky break that our culprit took in a flash.

I was sitting down in a bench just across the window, leaning back on the table behind me. I kept looking at this human, because the more I examined him, the less any of this made sense. He didn't seem to be phased by any of this. He just sat on the bed, looked around and even sighed. He didn't look like he wanted to escape, nor did he approach the windows to try and find help. In fact, he looked kinda bored, perhaps only looking to escape to see sunlight once more. Does he already know why he's here...?

"Ehm... You wanted to see me?" A meek voice broke my train of thought, and my head turned to face the source: the werewolf who kidnapped the human. Let's call him Sherlocke for now. He was wearing some sort of white lab coat and held some papers with what looked like just chicken scratch for me. As much as I appreciated his efforts in discovering human traits over the years, Sherlocke was a little too obsessed with them. Regardless, I couldn't be mad with him. It really felt like he didn't mean any harm this time.

I simply motioned him to come closer and sit beside me, which he did, slowly. Sherlocke seemed to sigh briefly before shyly replying, "Sorry about this." I couldn't bear to look at him, perhaps out of disgust or disbelief. Probably both.

It was an awkward few more minutes of starting at the captive human after that, but afterwards, I raised my voice again, with a straightforward statement: "Just tell me why."

He didn't respond for a few seconds. Eventually, he sighed. "Well, I was studying the inner workings of humans a little more from the already expansive library of information we have, and, well... it was a little jarring to know we had their organs mapped out but not their thoughts..."

"So, you decided to just up and snag a human just so you could complete that part?" I spoke flatly. Sherlocked looked down in shame and quickly stood up and walked to the window. "How long has he been here?"

Rummaging through the papers in his clipboard, he gave me the answer: "Around a month by now. The only reason the tribe didn't know about it for so long is because this lab is thoroughly disinfected and I follow a strict sanitization protocol going in and out of here."

"Well, now I'm here looking at the first human I've seen in decades, centuries, even," I barked back quickly, "so how's that worked out for you, hm?" I shifted around on the bench, scoffing as Sherlocke appeared to stomp his paw in frustration.

"I'm incredibly meticulous, mind you." Sherlocke appeared to raise his voice a little, something he only does when he really wants to defend something. I've known him for years as a friend, and despite being so dedicated to his work, I could count on my hands how many times he's shouted at me. "Regardless of how I may have messed up, I am here to tell you that this is for a good cause. This single human has given me so much data on how human psychology works, and if you could just--"

"So what, you think you can finish your little experiment by using only him as a lab rat?" I had to snap some sense into him, because if there was anything I absorbed from all this science stuff, a sample size of one single person wasn't going to cut it.

Sherlocke became even more furious, a scowl now forming on his face. "Let me finish... I realize that this may have been highly unprofessional, but I can assure you..." Sherlocke then looked back at the human for a bit. "He consented to this."

My ears perked up again. "Wait, what?" I stood up and walked towards him now, looking at the human with him. "But... you can't trust them. Isn't it true that they all lie? What if he actually tried to--"

"Shut up!" Sherlocked turned to me and barked at me. It was rare for him to be this angry, so instead of bickering back at him like I usually would, I just backed off for a bit. He was... a kind of situation sometimes.

Sherlocke now moved over to the door that led to the room, about to place one hand on the handle. "I'm going to prove it to you. He's been helping me this past month with this, and honestly, he isn't like the rest. He had a life that was snatched away from him unjustly. He has nothing to lose from being here, and now hopes to at least make some impact to this world with this. Maybe that's why you all think they're all the same." He stared me down with such a menacing glare that was almost uncanny of him. I would have never expected this attitude from him.

"Um, okay. Fine." I tried to think of something to calm him down before he tried to kill the human indirectly or something. I slowly rose to my feet, moving about my arms. "Then let me try to help out in this. You want us to change? Put me in there." I pointed to the window, directly at the human. At that same moment, he lifted his head up as if he heard the proposal. Sherlocke's eyes widened, realizing exactly what was happening.

"Wha-- Are you insane?!?" Sherlocke flung his back to the door and guarded it, dropping his clipboard and gritting his teeth. "How should I trust you won't tear him to pieces??" I remained calm and slowly approached the door, towering over him, Sherlocke's brave face withering away as I did so. He wasn't all that strong, but I had to give him at least one more chance before I did something rash.

"And how should I trust you aren't lying? For all we know, you could have captured him last night." I huffed, clenching my fist and waiting for him to open the door.

Sherlocke began trembling, completely aware that there was very little he could do now, and yet he remained at the door, ready to defend it with his life. "I... I won't l-let you..." His voice reduced to nothing but a whisper as he tried to convince me to back off. "P-p-please... let me handle this..."

"Look..." I started. "I don't have to do this, sure. But I want to. I promise I won't rip out his every organ, or bite him to turn into one of us." I placed both of my hands on Sherlocke's shoulders, and he shivered more, knowing what was coming. "Let me in, and we won't have to do this the hard way. I really don't want to, trust me. Just open the door for me."

Despite all this, he didn't budge, standing up straighter before me. All he did was reluctantly shake his head while a single tear rolled down his cheek, and his hands disappeared to his back. It seemed like he was very intent on protecting that human at all costs...

Just to get him to move, I very gently picked him up and shifted him to one side with both hands. Sherlocke trembled so much he became his own seismograph as I displaced him like a statue, and was about to make a joking remark, until I noticed a very peculiar needle out of the corner of my eye, sitting right in between his two now cupped hands. It didn't take me long to figure out what that thing was, as once I focused on its scent, it was unmistakable. "...you don't have to do thi-"

About as soon as I tried to reason with him, he quickly flung the needle filled with tranquilizer, attempting to stab my neck with it. I caught the arm with my opposite hand, swatting the needle away. Feeling a wave of anger at this, I let my primal instinct take over my body for a few short seconds, during which I forced Sherlocke into a sleeper hold, incapacitating him instantly. It took my head regaining control of my own body again to realize what I was doing, and I felt a cold wave sweep over me as I very slowly glanced down at Sherlocke's sleeping body, shuffling away from him in panic. I'm just glad I caught myself in time before I did anything worse to him... That would have been proof enough of his own fears.

"Uh, you doing okay?" A muffled voice unlike the rest quickly snapped me back to the situation at hand. Looking at the one way mirror revealed to me that the voice was, in fact, from the "captive" human inside, and he was at the door doing his best to not shout. "I hear a lot of commotion... Is this, like, normal for you guys or something?"

Realizing now that it was truly up to me to get this situation under control, I scurried over to the door, kneeling and slowly turning the handle. The human, by this point, seemed to have backed off for a minute, because once I looked inside, he had his back turned against the door, looking around for what seemed like an exit. The human seemed to notice the open door, however, and immediately turned his head to me, and for the split second our eyes met I felt very uncomfortable. I shut the door again, breathing heavily as the human called for Sherlocke.

"Uh... hey? Dude, you alright? I'm not sure what's happening, and I'm kinda hungry..." Despite the human's little calls being cute in a way, to say the least, I was much too preoccupied with the position I got stuck in. A few seconds of pacing around the room and deep breaths were enough to see it now: if I had to protect this human at all costs, then that should start by caring for him. It's just like a werewolf cub, I kept telling myself. I quickly dashed to the nearby table with some conveniently placed grub and braved myself enough to open the door again.

As I did so, my head fully peeked in the room and the human and I made eye contact again. It's been so long since I last made eye contact with a human like this, and for the few seconds that we both stared at each other properly, it felt like a strange barrier was, at long last, being slowly lifted from between our species...

"Hey, you're not..." The human spoke first, while I was still too stunned to even say anything. "What happened to the lab coat... and the... don't you all have names or something?"

I mentally gathered my thoughts one last time as I fought back all my instincts to run away and spoke... "Uh... not really. We don't... do names." I chuckled, desperate to eliminate the tension in my voice as I stood up and allowed myself in. "As for Meek-- uh, the other one, hmm..." I very quickly looked at Sherlocke, still out cold. Looks like he won't be of help for a while... "I think he'll be fine."

The human didn't seem to care...? Or, rather, he just kinda shrugged, as if he didn't just listen to what was probably a brutal murder to him and this now wasn't the most concerning, most dangerous situation he's ever been in his life. Walking in the room, I began to maybe understand why Sherlocke chose him for this. "This guy sure is weird," I thought. I was too focused on that, though, that the door closing behind me with an audible click completely paralyzed me.

"Uh... is it supposed to do that..." I stared dead ahead, the other smaller being taking notice of the horror on my face. Did I seriously just lock myself in with a complete stranger, and a human no less...?

"The other werewolf of yours told me the door always closes with a lock..." Hm. Interesting. So they can do that now.

"Ah. Well." I tried to get the words out of my mouth for once, but this tiny little mistake may have just cost me dearly. This underground lab was located far enough away from Sherlocke's tribe that it would be unreasonable to go there for no reason, and even then it was practically secured and vaulted from every possible angle, but the chief told me he'd be around if I was taking too long, and he definitely had the keys to this place. The thought of him catching me in this state being the catalyst for my exile was, understandibly, horrifying to imagine.

"If you don't wanna be here, you can just tell your scientist buddy, right?" The naive human walked back to the bed in front as he spoke, obviously not knowing that there wouldn't be any scientist buddy to rescue me from this for a while. This, in turn, made me even more nervous, supressing the urge to wildly move my head around to find any sort of exit.

"No, it's fine! He didn't exactly tell me any of these specifics. Just a little scared was all." I tried to swat the topic away from this for now. If only I could have the same conviction the human has that he's safe here... "I guess we'll be here for, uh, quite some time." Suddenly remembering that I had food on my hands, I set some of it on the bed next to the human, now sitting down and staring at me curiously, though again, with no real concern for his own safety in those eyes. I handed the human a can of soda from my other hand, the can surprisingly bigger than I remember feeling in my hand. "Heard you were hungry."

The human reached out his hand and gently took the soda can from my hand, possibly just now exercising some caution around a stranger, and opened it up, drinking from it. For the few moments that I saw his vulnerable body, every sort of thought came to me all at once: mauling, biting, enslaving, abusing, all kneejerk reactions to seeing a human that have been rooted in a justified hatred for them all those years ago. All thoughts of which I could not act upon now, visibly losing composure as those very thoughts rotted in my head, seeking vengeance. The human, thankfully, didn't take long to finish his soda, perhaps now realizing that maybe something wasn't right. "So, what kind of experiment is this now?"

As much as I pushed away those thoughts, they crept back in, only barely allowing me to hear the human's question and having just enough time to answer. "...erm, it's a-- uh, a social experiment, or something," I stammered, trying to keep it together as I now sat down on the floor, not having any confidence that the bed could support my weight. "You know how, ah, werewolves are very... how do I put it...?"

The human nodded and finished my thought. "Violent towards humans? Yeah, the science dude has told me a lot about that. It's basically the only reason I'm here all the time. It's very boring, but at least I'm safer here than I was at home." The way he was so quick to respond and how casually he mentioned it really didn't sit right with me, only reenforcing those bad thoughts further. It was then when I realized that I was in here for a supposed "experiment", and I was going to help Sherlocke in this thing, so I made as many mental notes as I could in an attempt to overwhelm my own carnal desires.

"Right, yes! So, uh..." It took a lot out of me to try and deviate this encounter into something more manageable. "I'm, like, a volunteer that he appointed to try and hold a conversation with you." As I tried to make up more things in my head to say, something else started to fester my mind, something the human had said just now... "I will ask that you please give me some time and space. As you can probably imagine, talking to a real human for the first time in ages is very nerve wracking, heh..."

The human nodded kindly, perhaps expecting this response. "Totally cool. Your buddy told me a lot about how humans are not viewed greatly here, so I'm fine with you just taking it slow. Just... don't eat me? Is that too sensitive to say, or..." This human was bold, if not incredibly stupid, for that. This only became more apparent when he got up from his bed and removed his shirt, before stretching and lying down on the cool stone floor. Seeing him like that sent a hot flash down my body, clenching my fists and desperately ignoring my natural instincts to take him out right then and there at his most vulnerable. Clearly this human was either wanting to get mauled or hoping for one final "fun" moment before that happened. "Kinda hot today... speaking of, do you guys, like, not ever turn to humans? Is it like a preference?"

The human was still oblivious enough to not notice how mentally strained I was up to this point, and the slight relief at the potential for a friendly conversation. "Ah, um, it's not..." I needed a brief moment to catch my breath before continuing, keeping my mind laser focused on the human and what he said about feeling safer here. A new conflicting thought emerged as a result, and though it served to keep my head busy, it, too, started to occupy more of my mind. "Us werewolves don't really function like that. Or, well, only some of us do, but it isn't the majority. For those who do, it is, indeed, a preference." The human went back to eying me curiously as I explained the basic physiology of our kind. "Most of us... are just stuck like this from birth. We have certain potions and abilities to transform into other things, but this is our default appearance."

"Wow," the human muttered to himself, still fascinated with seeing me. I was probably the first being he's ever seen in the month that he was here, aside from Sherlocke. "I kinda wish I was born here. That looks a lot cooler than being a human in an unappreciative household."

There it was again! The human kept beating himself up, I thought. If there was anything I could piece together, it's that Sherlocke chose him specifically because he absolutely would not give two shits if he was killed now. It's no wonder, then, why Sherlocke defended that door to the bitter end. A human of this nature wasn't common, as much as I'd like to believe it was considering the state of humanity at this point.

And it was here when the two sides to my thoughts began to war with each other. 'I could absolutely eat him right now,' one argued. 'It's what all humans deserve!' Yet the other side bickered back, 'Trusting in this human is important. He doesn't define all of them.' I began to feel the physical strain these thoughts were putting on me. To seek revenge, to understand. To put an end to the nonsense, to reunite once more. To kill for our kind, to understand and live in harmony. Whatever was making me feel this way... it made me incredibly tense, feeling that much closer to collapsing from the mental exhaustion these thoughts were giving me.

One neutral thought finally pierced through the brain fog that was being produced right now: Perhaps I could weasel out some more information and really understand why he was this way...

"Oh! Uh, I have a question for you, then..." My heart was pounding once more as I spoke, still trying to understand why my head became so entranced between two conflicting sides. "I don't wanna sound too direct, but... uh, what are the humans you lived with like? Just kinda... wo-- worried! That you, ah..." My voice began trailing off as I tried my best to not show too much concern, out of instinct, and yet something in the back of my head was now telling me to push that question further, completely dominating every thought I've had thus far. With just about every primal desire suppressed and defeated for now, all I was left with was pure fear. Was I truly going to trust a human so blindly? I felt myself sort of shrinking for the first time ever, no longer feeling like the powerhouse of a soldier that I was always revered to be...

The human finally took notice that I wasn't mentally stable at all. He stood up straight now, getting ready to crawl over to me. "Hey... big man, is it okay if I call you that? Can I, like, come a little closer?" I tried to whimper out a denial, but the human approached cautiously anyway. "I don't know why I'm saying this, but I feel like you won't hurt me. In fact, I know you won't. Take a few deep breaths, okay, big man?"

As much as I hated to admit it, the human was right. I came into this to try and prove to Sherlocke that I can be trusted, so under that obligation I am forbidden from trying to lay a finger on him. Even so, however, it also felt like I was not harming him out of my own volition, as if I didn't need to be told to not harm the human in the first place. The few remaining primal desires were completely silenced by the urge to continue talking to the human, causing me to enter a horrible panic: Everything I've been taught has told me to never trust a human, and yet now I am in a situation where trusting a human was -- and even began to feel like -- my only viable choice. Being mentally unprepared for such a situation was putting it very lightly.

"It was a mess," the human started, and during the time that I had been trying to make anything make sense, I realized that he had moved to rest his back against my body. Feeling his exposed skin was enough to make me so nervous... "Had to live with an alcoholic dad and a mother who only loved my older brother. Dad got killed early into life, I didn't get much attention from mom, and school was the worst experience I've had." He was so calm talking about this, almost as if he grew numb to life itself, but instead of feeling like he was just making it up, I felt... genuinely sad for him.

"I got kicked out of the house once I turned 18," the human continued. "I didn't have anywhere to go, so I had to steal an abandoned car and move around looking for scraps. I've seen on the television how people just like me are helped up from their peril, but that never happened to me. Not even the church was willing to let me in. The only reason I'm not a stinking furball right now is because my brother gave me a room to stay in his house a few years later." Just listening to this story made my head clear up at last, those primal urges now coming back in full force, though this time not directed at this human. How could someone even live like that? Now I understood why he was so indifferent to life: he was upset by it to the point that it became normal to expect nothing.

"Somehow I had thought that my brother was rescuing me, but this was just his way of psychologically abusing me." By the Divine Wolves above, it got worse!? "I was basically working like a slave there, doing just about every sort of house chore to no end, on top of being his guinea pig for whatever he wanted. Not like I cared, since I was already too depressed to care. It was only until I found out that he was going to use me as a scapegoat to pin me a debt I couldn't have a chance to pay and then kick me out of the house that I finally decided to leave on my own terms. That's when I met your scientist buddy, actually. I just walked aimlessly in the woods, just to clear my head and be at peace, at least for a bit, and then he kinda approached me."

Hearing all of this was incredible. After what felt like an eternity trying to fight against these thoughts, it somehow became clear to me in that instant. I didn't even care if he was lying or not, because I somehow knew he wasn't. Finally getting the courage to speak up, I turned my head to him, seeing that all the emotion he could show was a simple frown. "That's... so horrible. I'm very... sorry." My voice was still shaky, though I was finally regaining my composure, knowing somehow that I could truly trust him. "I don't know how that is like. It's difficult to imagine." Then I did something unthinkable: I moved one arm over the human's body, lightly pushing him towards me, and kept it there as a sort of... embrace. Simply because I felt he needed it.

"It's okay if you can't relate," the human replied back, seemingly aware of how awkward my attempts at forgiveness were. "I figured it out long ago that, for whatever reason, I was some sort of outlier. A black spot in a white surface. Yet, despite that, I had no time to cry, or hold any resentment. I just had to keep going, and be as nice as possible to anyone, hoping that luck could finally turn my way."

"But it's... impossible to live like that, right?" A sense of urgency coated my words this time as I questioned him again. If there was any part of me that didn't believe the human, it was purely out of hope that he didn't actually live like that, though he would quickly prove otherwise.

"Not if you're me. I've gotten just about every threat made to me. Nothing really phases me anymore, and so, the only thing I can do is just smile and wave, not because I have to, but because it's expected of me." The human wrapped his arms around mine, feeling around my fur. "Being in here was the most cared for I've ever been. Your buddy didn't treat me like some lab rat. He actually took some time off to connect with me. Though, often, I still felt very distant from him, because he sounds like he doesn't want to let me go. As if he doesn't want this 'experiment' to end, probably because he knows that I'm not going to be safe out there."

This last bit sent me in a bit of a mood whiplash, remembering again that he was here for a whole month. "Wait, so... you never told him about... all this? That seems kind of important, I feel."

"Oh, I did tell him the minimum. I just... feel like I can trust you more than him, which is ironic for a werewolf I just met." The human chuckled, perhaps knowing how bad that might sound. "Seeing you sort of struggle made me... feel like I could have someone to relate to. Someone that was as exiled as I was."

And then I remembered the backstory as to how and why werewolves and humans were bitter enemies... "Not me," I replied. "But all our race shares this feeling. If I may..."

---

The human and I talked for what felt like hours. The story of humanity's discovery, convergence and eventual split of werewolves from society led to more talks about human nature and werewolf instinct. The human shared his own thoughts on the matter, stating that this feeling of being outcast is incredibly similar to our own feelings of exclusion. This eventually got us talking about how certain werewolves in the current day feel as if they must connect with humans again, perhaps as a longing to reforge and heal the severed bond from long ago. This phenomenon is what we refer to as "anthropation", the act of werewolf kind merging back with humanity, and despite our best efforts to eradicate it, it seems to be a problem that's only getting worse with time.

We had also talked a lot about belief systems, which is where the conversation led to after this. The human had asked if perhaps it was any sort of religious movement that had caused this, to which I stated that our race all over the world had a single belief. I went on to explain the story of the Divine Wolves, Their actions to bond with humanity and how They ascended to deity status. Explaining it all in a super condensed manner to someone who wasn't even a werewolf was incredibly difficult as I had to periodically stop and explain certain aspects, but the human was absorbed in the story all the same. It was while I was explaining how the first werewolf came to be that the human had once again asked a peculiar question that I hadn't thought of before:

"Do you think that... perhaps, ehm, They want to bring back werewolves to humanity?"

The actions of the Divine Wolves were always without question and held to the highest authority, and rightfully so. They surely knew what They were doing when They made the first werewolf interact with humans extensively! Surely the humans were at fault for our eventual split, and that's why it hurts to think about their betrayal, right? But as I pondered about it more while we talked, I couldn't shake the feeling that maybe we were also at fault. That perhaps we were too blind to see that we had also hurt our own deities in swearing to never return to humanity. With this event, we effectively wrote our own path away from what our Lupine Mother had laid for us, sticking firmly to the belief that our species was never meant to be with humans. It almost felt like this was Her now, manifesting Herself in this human to bring me this message, and in that moment... I felt like that very first werewolf, not knowing what I was doing, but very well aware that it would forever change the course of werewolf history.

The rest of the hour was spent mostly poking fun at human customs, much to the delight of the human. They had a very diverse range of places, sure, and each of them was teeming with relics of past lives, yet all they could really care about was moving forward with bigger and more bolder projects, shamelessly building over the nature that had birthed them. The human was a firm believer in global unity, and saw our own race as a prime example of what he believed humanity could do if they worked together.

Eventually, however, our fun slowly crawled to a halt as we ran out of food to eat, and the human drank his last half of the water bottles I had carried with me. We both now laid on the floor, the human laid on top of me as I was belly up, and we very briefly imagined that we were watching the stars together.

"You know, there are many werewolves that have passed on who would have loved to be able to see this again," I proclaimed. Sighing as many such werebeasts flashed through my mind, I came to realize now what exactly they were fighting for, and feeling a bit of lament for not realizing sooner.

"I'd like to think they're watching us now," the human replied. "Perhaps they're looking at us from some crack in the sky, or perhaps they're just beyond that window, cheering us on."

...the window. I had forgotten to ask about how humans made such a strange device, and completely phased it out of my mind immediately after we got talking about our history lesson. And then I remembered that I was still here for an "experiment". And also that Sherlocke was probably comatose right now. And also that we were still trapped and, at worst, I would most likely be marked for death the moment I was caught in here by the chief. And also... it sounded like someone was knocking on the door just outside of the lab.

The human seemed to take notice of my face slowly turning back to fear as we both went back to our current reality. "Ah, shit, did we talk too much? What time is it?" The human urgently propped himself up, standing up and knocking at the window. "Hey, scientist dude? Can you let the big man out now? I hope you got everything we talked about 'cause it was a lot!"

"Ah, no..." I had to finally bite my tongue and tell him the truth. "Human, I, uh... I might have..." Trying to look for words to very kindly tell him that we're probably stuck here for much longer, I also stood up, examining the room and only seeing a small vent that the both of us were too small to fit through. The human slowly turned around to look at me as I tried to explain what had actually happened. "Look, I think I'll come clean with you: The "scientist dude", he kept you in here, right? Well, as you probably know, humans have a... particular scent. One that typically isn't welcome anywhere, and that's the reason why you're in here, to keep that scent to yourself. You've been here for a month, I think, and it was only today that the scientist maybe forgot to wash his hands or something, and now his tribe knows there's a human somewhere. They don't know where, they just now it's nearby."

As I explained this predicament, the human finally began to show some sort of concern on his face. "Oh... oh no, does that mean that they... well..."

"Oh! No, I was going to get to that part..." I audibly gulped, trying to reorganize my thoughts once more. "I was tasked with personally seeing him here, since I'm his friend and all, and I know how giddy he is about humans, but in the time I tried to reason with him, I... might have -- maybe -- decked his face and knocked him out cold!?" The human covered his mouth, holding back a chuckle as I became more flustered. "I swear I didn't do it on purpose! I was just... really angry at him for keeping a secret like this away from me! He definitely could have been killed if the chief didn't send me in!"

The human held my hand, happily sighing. "It's okay, dude. What's important is that we need to get out of here now." He was awfully calm about this... "And I think I might have an idea." He nodded his head towards the glass pane in front of us, and reading his cue, my vision focused to it again.

"Oh, take that thing down, right? It's just glass. I'm sure it'll be easy." I backed away from the human and gently pushed him aside so he wouldn't get hurt, and I stood in front of that pane, leaping forward with what little space we had and striking it confidently with a large swipe. As soon as I made contact with the wall, however, my hand bounced back and I was rammed into the pane by gravity, toppling to the ground with a loud thump. The window remained standing, no visible damage to it whatsoever.

The human immediately rushed to my aid, taking my hand and examining it for any damage. "Are you okay??" The human was clearly in a panic as he now saw me hurting, and I could see that he was a lot more concerned now than he was just a few hours ago. It was, truly, like seeing a different person. Of course, I had to save the sappiness for later. We had a room to break out of.

I gently moved my hand away from the human and stood up, wiping the dust away from my fur. "Alright, then... Stand back, human. I'm gonna bring out my inner werewolf..." Once again, the human went back to his corner of the room and watched attentively at what I was doing. I took my hands and channeled all of my energy into my hands, and the room seemed to grow darker. In a few moments, a bright light emerged from one hand, only glowing brighter as I brought that power into my hand to use for one impactful punch. I raised my fist slightly before staring at the wall dead ahead and winding back my empowered hand, building up and growling loud as I threw that fist to the wall once more, overly confident that it would break this time. Unfortunately, it did not, and once my fist crashed into the window, releasing all of the energy expended into it, I was simply left frozen, incredibly drained and unable to process how much the punch HURT.

"Oh, man... That was very cool, but please tell me you're okay..." The human, at this point, had covered his face, not wanting to look at the damage I was causing to myself. I slowly turned my head to him and whimpered, before toppling to the ground again. As expected, the human rushed back to my aid, holding my hand and trying to look for scars before backing away and shaking his hands off as he felt how hot my hand had gotten from this action.

"Ah, fuck! That burns... How do you do that!?" The human jumped around, trying to cool off his hurt hand. While this didn't take much energy, I still felt a bit too tired to get up from the floor, but slowly finding that I could at least sit up straight.

"It was... a thing I was taught. Soldiers need to use everything at their disposal for any situation, magic included." I caught my breath, rubbing my eyes after the intense amount of energy I had expended into this simple punch. "It really eats away at your vitality, though..."

The human now stood at the door, eyeing it curiously. "Hey... Perhaps we try the door next? It might be steel, but it is padded on this side so at least you won't get hurt more..." He also looked around if there was any sort of wire to maybe pick his way out.

"Sorry, but you're gonna have to wait a bit longer before we attempt that," I groaned out, still very hurt. "I put a little too much into that punch and now I can barely feel my face..." The human quietly complained to himself as he kept looking around for an exit... before he suggested something terrifying.

"...you need my blood." The human looked at me with the most stern face possible as he suggested harming himself as a means of escaping. "That scientist told me that human blood produces an insane reaction to werewolves... so perhaps if I just smear some of mine on the door, you might be able to break out?"

I really didn't want to do this, because once again, he was correct. "No, I won't allow it. The last thing I want to do is harm you and jeopardize everything we've collected so far." I finally got the strength to stand up and face him head on. "And think about yourself for once! What if I--"

The human grew a scowl as I tried to reason with him, before he finally had enough. "Big man, I've already lived enough of this life!" The human shouted at me, and I stood incredibly paralyzed out of shock. "If this kills me, so be it. I at least got to meet someone that could finally understand me. And I want you to continue living your best life, even if it means not being there to see it." I couldn't believe what he was even saying.

"...but human, you..." A tear rolled down my cheek, knowing that, just like Sherlocke, he would defend his decision with his life, if he must. This time, though, it was different. We both knew what had to be done.

"Whatever happens to me, will not matter." The human stood firm, almost as if he had the spirit of a werewolf attached to his very being, and he was just now showing it. "Take my blood and escape this place." He extended his hand out to me, allowing me to see that arm of his. It had previous scars already, as if he had... tried to harm himself years ago.

And so, closing my eyes, I gently cupped his hand with one of my own hands, and laid my claws on the arm. I reluctantly looked away, before the human pressed his free hand onto mine, chuckling. "All I care about right now is for you to escape. I'll be happy no matter what." The human simply stood still, bracing for the cut I was about to cause him.

I held back more tears as I finally explained to him what to do: "As soon as I cut you, I will hold my breath and look away. You have 30 seconds to get to that door, smear as much as you can on it, and then MOVE OUT OF MY SIGHT, because the moment I inhale your blood, I will go rabid and attack anything that moves. Do not try to reason with me, or even follow me outside for that matter. Stay in here and, if you can, lock the door again. I... I'll fight off my instincts as best as I can. Just stay in here, and DO NOT MOVE after I'm out."

The human nodded, and I took a few final deep breaths before I motioned to him that I was about to cut. With one large gasp of air, I pressed my sharp claw against his sensitive skin, puncturing his arm. The human quickly moved away from my claw with an audible grunt of pain, before rushing away from me to go smear the door. And for the remaining few seconds together, I closed my eyes and looked away once more, beginning to whimper more but holding my breath all the same.

"It's done. Let's bust out of here!" The human cried as he scurried off to the side, allowing me to see him for a brief final moment when I opened my eyes. There was no reverting this decision. It was now or never.

Exhaling the rest of my held breath and looking straight ahead, I steeled my nerves for what was about to happen. One whiff of my area, and I caught the human's blood in an instant. I felt my body growing tense, almost convulsing. My eyes grew wide as I fixated on the smeared blood on the door, and a carnal grin crept up my face... and I only took one more breath before my vision went completely black.

---

I was awoken by the sound of what seemed like an air raid siren in the distance, my eyes still completely closed and unable to move. I began constructing a vague idea of where I would wake up, and it would only take a few more minutes before my eyes finally had the strength to open. For a brief moment, light flashed my vision, before it eventually eroded and gave way to weird blurry shapes. It would take a few more seconds before my sight focused, allowing me to see the roof of the room I was previously stuck in.

My hearing wasn't any better. A loud ringing pounded my ears, all other sounds stifled out, before it, too, dissipated and gave way to muffled ambience which began to clear up as I gained more awareness. I still could not move my body, but I knew where I was now: it was the room I had locked myself in. The one in Sherlocke's lab, where he housed a human that I had grown to unexpectedly bond with deeply.

As soon as I became aware of this, the panic started to settle in again, and that's when I had the strength to move my head around... only to realize in terror that the human was gone.

This thought was enough to send a shock wave of pure panic throughout my entire body, jerking me awake in an instant. I proceeded to flop forward to get myself on my knees, looking around wildly for any sign of the human to no avail. I finally could stand up, eventually taking notice of all my surroundings. Food wrappers and plastic bottles were haphazardly stashed to one side of the bed, the ground was covered in slight rubble, my fur was tattered in dust, and, most importantly, the door was now completely cleaned, any trace of blood that I may have remembered beforehand now gone. Not even its scent remained. The situation had settled in... and I could only whimper. Had I... hallucinated the entire thing? Was this some sort of sick joke?

Fortunately, I would have the answers soon enough, as a small scratching sound suddenly played from... somewhere. It would be followed by a voice that I was absolutely relieved to hear.

"Sleep well, you big brute?" Sherlocke, over some sort of PA, called out to me in a very disgusted voice, though I could hear a hint of relief in between. "If you're done messing up my equipment and destroying my lab, then I will open the door for you."

I pressed my face up to the glass window, trying to see if I could even get a figure of the other side with one eye while I kept whining. "Wha-- You're alive! Come on, man, open the door! Whatever it is I did, please just tell me!" I weakly scratched the window, still reinforced as ever, while tears finally started to flood my eyes. "I'm really fucking sorry, I wish it didn't happen, okay? Just let me out!"

A monotone buzzer suddenly played, and a loud click to my right was heard. My head immediately turned to it, seeing the door fling open just barely, at long last allowing for an escape. I leaped to the door, throwing it open and finally seeing what I had done: broken flasks and trinkets of all kinds decorated the floor, most of the tables were bent or destroyed, and save for a few chairs, the place had appeared barren. More importantly, though, was Sherlocke operating the machinery in front of him, and the human I swore to keep safe sitting peacefully to the side with a makeshift cast on the arm that I punctured. He happily waved to me, and I couldn't have been happier to see him again, unharmed.

Before I could even dart over to him, though, Sherlocke stopped me dead in my tracks, only allowing me to step outside for a single meter. "Nuh-uh, not allowing you to touch him this time. He's got a cast on and needs all the rest he can get." Sherlocke then walked off, grabbing a broom and tossing it to me, still completely stern as ever. "And also, from now on, and until this lab is restructured, you're my new janitor here."

"Dude, come on!" The human exclaimed, giggling at what was happening. "Don't tell me you aren't happy with what he accomplished, right?"

I still was at a loss for words, still trying to process how the hell the human lived but ecstatic that he even did without so much as a scratch, apart from the singular bruise I had to give him. "I... But, human, how did you even survive??"

"Oh, it was so cool!" The human displayed his excitement to me by moving his free hand around as he described in detail what had happened. "You broke through the door all cool, and then this other werewolf appeared and tried to fight back at you, but then you, like, got all these weird blue markings on your fur all of a sudden and totally crushed that other dude! Oh! And then the scientist woke up and tried to tranquilize you, but he missed the shot--"

"And then the human NEEDLESSLY risked his life to stab you with a spare laying around," Sherlocke interrupted, gritting his teeth. "If I had known this would happen, I would have locked everyone out of this lab immediately!"

"Aw, don't be so serious!" The human cried out, now giving a rather smug look to Sherlocke. "You're just jealous that the big man got more info out of me than you ever could~"

"I am NOT jealous!" Sherlocke finally snapped back, almost appearing to bare his fangs at the human, before hanging his head low. "But... yes, it is true. Noble Messenger, your... passionately meticulate conversation with the human was... the most important piece of information that I could have ever gotten from this experiment." Sherlocke now exchanged his stern face for one of deep disappointment and simply gave me a pat on the shoulder. "As much as I despise using unsupervised data of dubious origin... I must confess that your stupid idea just... s-saved my entire life's work."

A large wave a pride washed over me as I heard this, and considering the tone that Sherlocke put up, it was clear that I was never going to let him live this down. And why would I? I singlehandedly made werewolfkind's first connection with a human after many years of struggle! And so, I laughed in a victorious taunt, still ecstatic that this even happened.

"I told you so!!" I let out one very happy howl, much to the distaste of Sherlocke, who simply mocked one back and shuffled away in shame. While I knew not to touch the human, I did approach him, trying my best to keep distance. I was still giddy from all of the events happening that I had completely forgotten any of the details of what had happened while I was out, and it would be until a few minutes later when Sherlocke pulled me to the side to talk about it.

"So... Mr. Noble Messenger," Sherlocke began in a hushed voice. "Esteemed soldier of the Great Southern Tribe. Care to explain why you withheld your TRUE status?"

As I recalled once again what had happened while I went feral, according to the human, my mind began to feel a little less foggy. "Wha... Oh, the, uh... the thing with...?" I could see a bit of anger in Sherlocke's eyes, as if he was ready to burst over... whatever it was that I had become during that time. "I... Look, I--"

"Be quiet, Messenger." Sherlocke snapped at me, once again showing a deep ire but immediately quelling it. He stepped back a bit, taking his clipboard from the desk beside him and flipping to a page further back. "I knew this day would come. All sorts of unexplainable evidence and inconclusive data only served to squash any sort of hope that this wasn't real... but I guess THEY needed to tell me directly that I was a dumbass from the start." Clearly upset by this, Sherlocke tossed aside the entire clipboard, and all of its contents went flying off to the ground as the clipboard itself did so as well, impacting the ground with a rather loud wooden clang. All that Sherlocke had kept of it was a singular piece of paper and a photograph in his hand.

"No, Meek Anthropologist," I started, finally getting to chance to talk to Sherlocke and making sure he heard me clearly by shouting his real name. "You have to understand that this didn't happen because I willed it so. I had no idea that--"

"No, I get it." A very upset reply from Sherlocke was confirmation enough that he did not, in fact, get it. "You may not be a Divine One. But if there's anything from the countless conspiracy theories that I've read from other werewolves..." Sherlocke then took the photograph, wedging it between his two fingers and turning it around so that I could clearly see what it was. He stared at me dead in the eyes as he did so, that deep ire coming back for a moment. "You're well on your way to being one."

I could clearly see what the image was of now: It was a very recently developed image of myself. However, I looked much different here. I grew bulkier and had completely bloodshot eyes due to having smelled blood, but what stood out the most was that the latter was completely blocked by the pure deep blue contrasting it and enveloping my whole eye. Smoke seemed to emit from my eyelids as well, and my whole body was wrapped in an assortment of blue wraps and body markings, all seeming to float all around my body and completely disregarding any physics. There was no mistaking it now. This was the closest and clearest image of a Divine Wolf ever captured... and They were possessing me.

"...this can't be." I was completely dumbfounded as I kept staring at myself in the image, knowing that this was what I looked like during that brief moment yet not recognizing it as fact. I very briefly extended my hand to grab the photograph, still looking at it in disbelief. "But... how did you...?"

Sherlocke was quick to snag the image away from me, stuffing it in the pocket of his lab coat. "My multi-purpose pen allows for images of the clearest quality to be snapped in an instant. That isn't important, though." He slowly walked off, looking at the lone paper he had in his hand and growled. "If I had known..." He then turned around to me again, tapping the paper lightly. "Noble Messenger. I am... more than willing to accept that an eons-old fairy tale is going to completely destroy the advancements I have made to werekind. But in my unsatiable quest for holding out until the last hypothesis is proven, I shall take on one more experiment. And thankfully... You're already participating in it."

"Meek, what are you on about...?" I had to approach him very carefully. I don't know how I felt it, but I just knew that this werebeast was broken completely. Everything that he had worked for to make werewolves understand science, his contributions to understanding how werekind functioned and operated, all of that, now gone as Sherlocke bore witness to a god basically manifesting before him and giving him a huge middle finger. He still had human science, of course, but no one here would take him seriously about it, and especially not now that he was convicted of coming in contact with one.

"There was something you did inside that room," Sherlocke began, but not before letting out a long, defeated sigh, knowing that if anything from what had happened here got out, it would be game over for him. "In order to break out of there, you needed human blood. Unfortunately, to get said blood, you had to... scratch off a portion of the human's skin. Do you know what happens to humans who get harmed like this...?"

As Sherlocke laid the pieces in front of me, it became increasingly clear what I had done at that moment. "They... become us. But the process is brutal and painful, a curse that can never be reversed." Now it was I who felt shame. As if a Divine One personally coming over to Sherlocke to invalidate his work was bad enough, the human's escape method would result in him losing his humanity as he agonizingly transformed into a werewolf himself. Sherlocke had lost his most valuable test subject yet, and the human would endure pain unlike any other.

"...he wanted this." A very brief response from Sherlocke was enough to snap me back to my senses. "He... confessed that this is what he would have done anyway. He just needed an excuse, some way to get himself infected. He really didn't want to deal with another human ever again. Even if he was going to be ostracized by the werewolves, too."

That last line threw me off for a moment, before I remembered what he was talking about: Werewolves that were once humans possessed a much more distinct smell that could only be described as "foulblood". Despite folublood werewolves effectively ceasing to exist years after our split from humanity, any werewolf who had this was sure to be segregated and shunned from our society, and it pained me that, despite the torment he suffered as a human, that human was more than willing to go through it all over again as a werewolf. He truly was a man who had nothing to lose, perhaps even more so now that he would no longer be human.

"There is, however, one and only one exception." Sherlocke walked up to me now, still possessing some anger but fading away slowly as he looked at me. "According to most eyewitnesses from centuries ago and our own Sacred Texts of Werefolk... if a Divine Wolf blessed a human with a werewolf spirit, then their transformation would be painless, seen by The Alphas Above as a legitimate werewolf and treated to the highest regard upon their death." Sherlocke finally looked down at the paper he held in his hands, skimming through it. "And so, as you have probably put together by now... If you really are on your way to making werekind history again..."

Sherlocke handed to me the paper, looking at me once more. The anger in his face was gone now, being instead replaced with his usual curious expression, though with a slight hint of disappointment, knowing that he would have to move on regardless of the circumstances. The title of the paper simply read, "Ascendance to Divinity: How Werewolves Are Affected by the Actions of The Divine Ones".

"...Then you will have no problem in helping me with this study as well."

---

And so, as strange as this escapade was, this human was not only the reason I wish to connect with other humans, but also the very start of werewolf reintegration to humanity. While no other major happenings occurred during the time the human slowly transformed to his new wereform, the chief was not happy with my actions against him and would often visit me just to bitterly insult me, as if I -- or, rather, the Divine Ones -- had taken a chunk of his pride that day. The only reason I didn't get exiled was that my captain very quickly came to my defense, never truly knowing what had actually gone down on that day but somehow feeling that I wasn't at fault. My captain prohibited him from ever coming near me, and proved my innocence to the other tribe on the basis that I had to attack out of self-defense. He truly is like a father to me.

As for the human, well, Sherlocke's hypothesis was, unsurprisingly, correct. Over the course of one month, the human had slowly transformed into a pure werewolf. I came around to visit whenever I could, but every time I did, I saw that he was not only adjusting rapidly to his new form, he was also much happier with himself. We still needed to keep him inside the lab, as a slight smell of foulblood did linger in him for a few days after his wound was made, but once the transformation was complete and we allowed him to go outside, he was so relieved to finally see the world again, and for the first time as a brand new being. I escorted him to my tribe, where he made himself at home, and now goes by the name of "Resurgent Visitor", a name I chose for him as a slight nod to how he came to be.

Very rarely do I ever look into humans myself, but after feeling incredibly bitter about the human's brother still being out there and living like nothing happened, I took it upon myself to investigate the matter. Unfortunately, most of what I found was inconclusive at best, and any sort of plot I had in mind for bloody revenge was squashed when I found out that, following his brother's disappearance, he hired a bunch of bodyguards and never left the company he owned. I could only imagine being so scared of being caught that you'd elect to sleep in your own workplace to reduce the risk of anyone finding you. Perhaps this can wait for when the time is right.

Alas, however, that is my story, and that is how you're reading it right now. If your curiosity favors you, then look for me in this forest any time at night, when the moon shines it's brightest, or when the sun has just gone to sleep. Perhaps if you're lucky, you might just spot me near the lake, taking a load off after a long day. And if you truly want to continue? Then don't be afraid to say hi. Just... try not to make too much noise, or surprise me. It's for your own good.

-Noble Messenger of The Great Southern Tribe