#henk

THE LEGEND OF THE BLACK WOLF

A tale of illusion vs. truth ... Deep in the Canadian Rockies, a small mountain village of 500 people dealt with a problem that hit close to home. Over the span of a month, a rare black wolf was spotted near the village on four occasions. According to local legend, this animal was believed to be a sign of misfortune and impending doom ... During this rash of sightings, parents kept their children locked indoors, and all adults completed their outdoor work at least two hours before sunset. Though they were highly contemplative and spiritual people, the villagers fell sway to the dogmas of their own fear ... Following the latest sighting of the black wolf, village elders resolved to send their two most courageous warriors deep into the mountain wilderness to confront the wild beast before it could visit harm upon the community ... The following morning, the two young warriors, River Stone and White Lightning, set off on horseback into the desolate snow-capped mountains to track down the feared animal. For the first three hours, the two revered men rode in near silence, up an ancient path that steadily climbed high into the alpine forests. Finally, White Lightning broke the deep and awe-filled silence : “My dear brother, how do you suppose we’ll know where to find the black wolf? What if we never find it and fail in our mission? Then we’ll return home in defeat and shame.” River Stone smiled warmly at his travelling companion and replied : “My loyal friend, have no worry about the answers you seek. If the Great Spirit wills for us to encounter the beast, then that shall be so. Have faith that it’ll present itself. The ancestors are already guiding us toward our destiny.” ... The two warriors rode for another hour in silence, until they arrived at a sacred cave just off the beaten path, where a long line of medicine men and women took refuge to pray while on vision quests ... Down through the centuries, these conduits of the traditional way invoked the spirits of their ancestors there. This invocation included the chanting of mantras and the smoking of Gasha, a psychedelic herb that expanded consciousness and unlocked certain spiritual powers like clairvoyance and telepathy ... Both men dismounted from their horses, climbed into the ancient cave and sat down cross-legged. Without uttering a word, River Stone pulled a magnificent embroidered pipe from his coat pocket and packed it full of sacred Gasha. White Lightning bowed his head in reverence, as River Stone recited a prayer before taking the first hit and passing the pipe counterclockwise to his soul brother ... Within moments, the effects of the holy Gasha began to take hold, and the sounds of their ancestors’ voices began echoing through the cave. River Stone and White Lightning dropped to their knees and touched their foreheads to the ground to honour the spirit of the Earth ... The voices grew louder, before breaking into haunting cries of soulful wildness. As the sounds became more intense, the two seekers felt the ground shake and a luminous presence appear ... At that very moment, both men emerged out of their trance and gazed at the entrance of the cave—only to find a great being standing before them. It was the black wolf !!!

Masterpost - Part 4

CW: pet whumpee, dehumanisation, references to past abuse

After all that had happened the night before, the next day had been strangely quiet. The boy had spent the whole day following Henk around. Always there, but sheltered behind a piece of furniture. A couple of steps away from his master. As if he wanted to be in company but at the same time scared of what Henk might do to him.

He didn't seem to understand that Henk had already forgiven him. That he had nothing to be afraid of. But with all that he had probably gone through, his distrust was no surprise.

After lunch Henk had gone to his study to answer some work emails. The boy had knelt behind the desk waiting for him.

The whole time Henk was working the boy hardly seemed to be present. His eyes were unfocused as if he was somewhere else.

-----

It needed to be forgiven, that was all it needed.

On the first day it had already made a bad impression with this new master. And the truth was that Pet had nothing to offer in return for its bad behaviour. Worse, it had run for cover like the coward it was.

Forgiveness wouldn't save it from the pain it knew it deserved. But hopefully it would keep it from becoming someone else's pet.

How could Pet prove to master that it was sorry other than repeating apologies over and over again. The few words it was allowed had never got it out of trouble in the past and would not do so now.

But it was not useful like other pets that can cook or clean or protect their owners. It was just a dog to its former master and that was all Pet would ever be.

There was nothing more to think about. Pet approached its master, there was no point in trying to avoid the inevitable. It wanted this, it wanted punishment. Having been staying away from its master, behind the furniture... all day... was just... just... a way of... of... preparing itself for the moment of its punishment.

But when its master took his eyes off the screen and looked at it, Pet felt as if its heart would leap out of its chest. He was only inches away from its master, and seconds away from its fate.

-----

Henk was immersed in his work and had not noticed when the boy had approached.

Clearly the pet was nervous because he wouldn't stop shaking. But Henk took it as a good thing that he had finally dared to come close to him.

Henk tried to keep his voice as soft as possible when he spoke so as not to end up scaring off his wary guest.

—Hey buddy... good to have you here. You know we haven't picked your name yet... if you want we could do it now.

Henk had been thinking all day about naming the new member of the house. Though as scared as the boy had been all day he hadn't wanted to try to approach him. But now that the boy had approached him on his own, it must be because he was feeling more at ease.

-----

Oh, master was still thinking about the name...? Pet had not expected that. That had to be a good sign. Maybe it meant he was giving it a second chance?

Pet was surprised but nodded its head trying to keep calm. It was not what it had been expecting when it decided to approach its master. But Pet could not deny that this was the best it could have heard.

It had always been Pet, no one had ever given it a name before. And while it wasn't its place it had always wondered what it would be like to have one.

Was it happy? Suddenly all the fear and anguish and dark thoughts were eclipsed by a feeling it didn't experience very often. Joy.

Pet didn't want to trust that this wasn't just a cruel joke but... it didn't need to think about it. Whatever had to happen would happen anyway. -----

The boy looked happy if that was possible; as if Henk had lifted a great weight off his shoulders.

Seeing how well everything was going, Henk read out a list of names he had been thinking about. In the end Christian was the name chosen for the boy who a day ago had never had a name.

Henk felt exhausted, he was definitely a hermit and it was difficult to suddenly have to live with someone who didn't even act like a person.

That didn't mean he would change any of the decisions he had made so far. He was sure he would do anything to see Chris happy.

Though the road ahead would definitely be anything but easy.

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This is the end of this little story. Although I might write some more parts in the future about how the characters are doing.

This all started thanks to an ask from @sideblogformindtrash and something that was supposed to be a short answer ended up becoming a five parts story. I really enjoyed writing and posting this and it was a great exercise and challenge. Thanks to all the people who read "The Boy" and those who left lovely comments and hashtags. I really appreciate it.