A string of onyx beads that show other worlds when you gaze deep into them
A statue of ice that looks like Neeka
Thousands of tiny eyes glowing in the dark, blinking slowly

Otto

Armageddon was making his way to where he knew he would find Neeka when the mindlink came to him clearly, “Hello Armageddon. I didn’t expect to see you again so soon. What brings you all this way?”

Armageddon was still surprised by the young horse. The mindlink was as clear and solid as if it were from someone having done it for years and yet Neeka had only had the ability a few days. Armageddon replied as he saw the small farmhouse and barn that had to be Bruce’s home come into view. “The mindlink from yesterday,” thought the Wolf as he strode towards the pasture where he could now make out Neeka at a distance. “It was extremely powerful and,” the wolf searched for the right word, “cold.”

Armageddon felt the humor behind the reply as Neeka said, “Well, that’s not a term that I would ever hear someone refer to Otto as. Cold just does not fit Otto.”

“Otto?” Asked the huge wolf as he stepped over the fence and into the huge pasture that was Neeka’s home. “You know the fur who sent that mindlink message?”

“Sure. Everyone around here knows Otto but I didn’t realize he was a Faeriefur too.” Neeka replied

Armageddon shrank down to his normal size and walked up to the young horse waiting for him near the barn. He stroked Neeka’s neck and the horse leaned into the rubbing enjoying it thoroughly. “Good to see you again Neeka.” Armageddon said, “Now, who is this Otto and what can you tell me about him?”

“Good to see you too wolf.” Neeka thought enjoying the rubbing, “And not a lot really. Otto has lived here since before I was born and knows everyone. He’s a good soul and would do anything for anyone. He’s also pretty simple. More simple really than most of his kind. He loves playing as all his kind does, but as for smarts, well his world view is far from what everyone else’s is.”

Armageddon chuckled. He could feel some of the thoughts going on before the mindlink actually connected and knew that Neeka was trying very hard not to say anything that might be taken as offending about someone who he considered a friend. The wolf helped out, “So you are saying that he’s not a scholar?”

Neeka snorted. Armageddon felt the humor behind the thought and had Neeka been a wolf Armageddon knew he’d have had his mouth open and tongue hanging out one side in wolfish laughter. “Yeah, that’s what I’m trying to say. Otto is a great fur. Wonderful friend but, well, he’ll never be an intellectual.”

Armageddon laughed and said, “And you’re sure it was this Otto that the mindlink message came from?”

“Absolutely sure.” Neeka responded. “Bruce and I were just returning on the road and we met Otto. He looked at me and then just seemed to change.”

Armageddon perked his ears forward in interest, “Changed? How?”

“Well, I don’t know really. For a second he was Faeriefur and then he wasn’t.”

“What?” Armageddon was stunned. “You can’t be Faeriefur and then not. You are either Faeriefur or you’re not. There’s no turning it off once you are one.”

“Well, as you know I’m really new at all this so I had no idea but that’s just what happened. You can tell Faeriefur by the glow, right?”

“Yes, always.” The wolf responded.

“Well, when we came up to Otto in the road he was not glowing.” Neeka mindlinked, “Then, his eyes went totally black and that cold mindlink you heard came from him. When he was mindlinking he was glowing. He was Faeriefur then. When he went back to being plain ‘ol Otto he no longer glowed.”

Armageddon sat down in the short grass next to the barn. He looked out over the field enjoying the peaceful view. He had seen and heard many strange things in his lifetime but this had to be one of the strangest. Then he thought of the way he became as he was.

Armageddon had started out life as a pure Timber wolf. He may have lived his 7 to 10 years that most Timber wolves live if it hadn’t been for the Faeriefur Tarla. Faeriefur live forever, with one exception. They can’t be killed by normal means and they require magic to give them substance. Trying to harm a Faeriefur usually results in a lesson being taught to the aggressor, sometimes fatally. Hit a Faeriefur and you feel the blow. Stab a Faeriefur and you inflict yourself with the wound. Faeriefur are usually attacked only once by the same individual. Unless that individual is highly stupid. The do have one weakness however, they must avoid iron. Even the slightest touch of iron is immediate death to a Faeriefur. They simply cease to exist. As though the energies giving them life are grounded and no longer exist.

Armageddon had been hunting solo. His mate was back in the den with the young pups and he was out hunting to bring them back something to eat. He remembered walking through the woods, all senses alert to anything out of the ordinary that might give away the presence of game when he heard a soft cry. He made his way towards the odd sound. It wasn’t anything like any game sound he had ever heard before and he came upon a trappers net, hanging about 2 feet off the ground, suspended from a small sapling. In the net was a small Faeriefur, a wolf Faeriefur, trapped. He had no idea what Faeriefur were then he just knew that this one was far too small to be any kind of meal. He remembers walking up to the netting and sniffing the wolf. He was about to turn away when the Faeriefur spoke to him in his own tongue.

“Please help me brother wolf.” The small glowing creature pleaded. “I cannot get myself out and my life is in great danger.”

Armageddon gave a wolfish laugh and replied with eyebrows, tail and muzzle conveying the message he could not speak, “You know the law of life. The strong survive for the benefit of the pack. The weak die, also for the benefit of the pack. Why should I help you?”

“Because I was tricked by the one who placed this trap and when he comes to see what he has caught I will be killed when he takes me down.”

“He might not kill you.” Armageddon laughed. “He may make a pet of you. You are unique and I know the hunters in these woods like unique things to collect.”

“No brother wolf,” the small wolf replied. “I will die. You see these grommets the rope goes through? They are made of iron. When he takes me down I will be tossed around and even the slightest touch to them will kill me.”

Armageddon sniffed the wolf again and detected no deceit. It was as she said. He was not as he is today, a sentient creature, but neither was he cruel, even as an animal.

He again signaled the way all wolves communicate. “Move as high up in the net as you can. I’ll see what I can do.”

Armageddon smelled fear from the small wolf, but not of him. As the small wolf came closer and closer to the iron holding the net tightly closed the scent of fear grew. When she was as high into the hanging net as she dared go Armageddon snapped at the bottom of the net opening a hole large enough for the small wolf to climb through.

When she was free Armageddon was amazed to see her sprout wings and fly to him, and grow to be his size. Her shape changed and she became able to stand on two legs and handle things with arms and hands she now possessed instead of paws. Armageddon sniffed again. For all she changed she was still wolf.

She wrapped her arms around the wolf’s neck and spoke to him in his mind, “Thank you brother. Thank you! I will repay you but now is not the time. I must be away from here before the one who set the trap returns. However, you will be rewarded but you must accept the reward at a council meeting. Since you are not one of us, I give you these so that any of us shall recognize you as a friend of the Faeriefur.

She reached into a small pouch hanging at her waist and pulled out a string of black onyx beads. As he looked into the shiny surface he could almost believe he saw other worlds within their depths. She placed the string of beads around his neck and they melded into his fur and became part of him.

“These will identify you to us. When it is time to receive your reward you will be called. You will know when.”

Armageddon shook his massive head and signed, “Called? Reward?” I have no idea what you are talking about. I must be hunting. My cubs grow hungry. My mate grows hungry. I am glad I helped you and I must go now. But,” the wolf cocked his head to one side in a question, “in case we do ever meet again, what do I call you?”

The Faeriefur ruffled her fur in embarrassment realizing that she had not had the simple courtesy of telling her savior her name yet. “We will meet again wolf.” She signed back, retaking the natural wolf form she was comfortable with, “My name is Tarla.”

With that she took her one inch Faeriefur form and darted out of sight.

“Hey Armageddon! You OK?” Neeka mindsent concern coloring the message.

Armageddon started for just a second, “What? Oh, yeah, fine. Just thinking about something that happened long ago.”

“Oh, daydreaming.” Neeka sounded relieved. “You just because very quiet, almost like Otto did before he changed and I got worried.”

A soft, cheerful voice sounded from behind them, startling them both. “Someone mention my name?”

Otto had come walking up the path from the house and Armageddon had sat down, facing the field to enjoy the view and Neeka was beside him. They never heard the otter padding his way up the path.

“Ummm, I did.” Neeka mindlinked to no one in particular, “But you heard me?”

“Loud as day. Been hearing voices in my head all of my life. Confusing. Yours isn’t though. Your voice is strong and shuts the others out. That’s nice. Not like the time I found this cave. Bats. Thousands of them. Thousands of red eyes glowing in the dark blinking slowly. Most would have been frightened. Not me. But I ran anyway. Imagine thousands and thousands of tiny voices talking at you, asking you questions. Why are you here? What do you want? Are you going to hurt us? Are you staying here? Thousands and thousands. I was scared then. Not now though. You two are OK.”

Armageddon got up and brushed himself off and held out a hand to the otter. “My name is Armageddon. Glad to meet you Otto.”

Otto shook the wolf’s hand then winced, “Hey, owww. Not so hard.”

The wolf looked at Otto oddly then apologized quickly, “Sorry Otto. Sometimes I don’t know my own strength.”

“Oh, I can believe that! I saw you come into town. Larger than most trees. That’s why I’m here. Here.”

Otto handed Armageddon a scrap of paper with some scribbling on it.

“What’s this?” Armageddon asked confused.

“A ticket of course. We have laws in this town. Can’t have wolves over a certain size and you certainly exceeded that. Have to give you a ticket.”

Armageddon looked over at Neeka and Neeka just snorted, again that laugh that was horse. Armageddon looked at Otto and said, “OK Otto, I apologize. I’ll try not to do that again.

As Armageddon was looking at the slip of paper in his hand everything happened at once. He knew it took no more than a few seconds but in recalling it, it seemed like an eternity. He glanced at Neeka to try to get some clue as to what to do next and the horse was completely rigid his eyes wide in terror. He was almost knocked instantly unconscious as the most powerful mindlink he had every heard screamed, “No Bruce! Not there! Lookout!”

“Armageddon threw both hands up to the sides of his head as dizziness swept over him. He started growing, losing control as consciousness started slipping away from him. He looked at the ground far below him as another voice entered his mind, almost as powerful as the first voice.

“Alert! Alert! Power grid tap. Level 85. Correction, level 92, correction, level 108. Meter spiked. Level unknown. 7 abilities, 5 now accessible.

As he watched reeling and still holding his head, Armageddon saw Bruce appear between Neeka and Otto. Otto was as still as a statue eyes jet black and not at all the otter he had met just moments before. He was glowing brightly as Faeriefur and he had not been only moments before. Armageddon had only time to look at Bruce and realize there was an ice statue right next to him looking ever so much like Neeka. Then the world went black and the large wolf fell.

But that is a story for the next time.