Chapter Text
“It’s a healthy boy!”
“Time of birth, April 11, 00.”
“Do you have a name picked out for him, miss?”
“Yes, Legosi.” Your vision is blurry, unfocused. You can hear voices speaking out, one after another. Where were you? You were laying down on your side, and you could hear someone crying. You slowly sit up, looking around.
It was an empty void. There wasn’t anything to look at. It was just a bunch of nothing. The crying got louder, almost deafening. You look around wildly, trying to find the source of the crying. You feel something warm pass through your body. It’s soothing, both for you and for whoever was crying. You could hear someone shushing the other, it’s oddly comforting.
“Legosi...my little wolf Legosi…” The whole void turns white, forcing you to squint. When it darkens again, you saw a smiling face staring back at you. It was a gentle smile, contrasting with the face it belonged to. The wolfess reached out with one of her claws, and you see a smaller paw grip it clumsily. It was weird, like you were seeing it from the baby’s perspective.
-~-~-~-~-~
You were still looking at the image, watching the mother set the baby down in a crib, cupping what you guess was the face of the baby, giving a closed smile.
“Sweet dreams, my little wolf.” She whispers, shutting the lights off and closing the door. The baby, who you think is named Legosi, babbles at nothing in particular. He stills after a moment, ad you can hear him snoring.
-~-~-~-~-~-
A few years pass by, all spent observing Legosi’s life. He was a quiet kid, despite being a wolf. You watched him spend a lot of his time by himself, whether it was at home or at school. You always got a feeling of him being oddly lonely however. Despite his best efforts, no one really wanted to be with him, likely because of his status as a potentially dangerous carnivore. The problem you had with that was the fact that he didn’t even try to make friends, opting to remain out of the picture entirely.
“I wish I knew why you do this…” You say quietly, voice echoing in the void.
-~-~-~-~
The bell signaling the end of class had rung, and Legosi had just started his walk home. You watch him look at nothing in particular, taking a slow trip back home. Aside from the occasional bird tweeting and bugs letting out their sounds, it was quiet. You decided right then and there that you’d help him come out of his shell, starting with revealing your existence to him. You clear your throat, speaking slowly.
“Hey, can you hear me?” Legosi stopped instantly, looking around wildly. You chuckled.
“Don’t bother, I’m nowhere in your sight, kiddo.” He stops swinging his head, and you continue.
“Sorry about this, but I’ve kinda been in your head since you were born.” His breath stutters.
“W-who are you?”
“That’s kind of hard to explain...I don’t really know myself. We’ll talk some more when you get home, ok?” With that, you simply stayed quiet, waiting for Legosi to return home. He said hello to his mother, walking to his room and closing the door. He sat on his bed.
“...Hello? Are you there?” He asked to the empty room.
“Yeah, nice of you to close the door.” You say. Legosi looked around.
“Where are you?”
“Like I said, I’m in your head.”
“Well, get out of it then!”
“Believe me, if I could I would. It’s pretty empty in here.” You joked, knocking on whatever you were standing on. Legosi frowned.
“Why are you in my head?” You shrug, even though he couldn’t see you.
“If I knew I would tell you.” You converse with him a little more, asking about his mother and why he insists on being lonely.
“I don’t like being a wolf. People look at me like I’m going to eat them if they look at me funny. I wish I was born as an herbivore.” He confesses. You frown, wishing you could do more for him. Suddenly, the door opens. In walks Legosi’s mother, a raised brow on her face.
“Legosi, who are you talking to?” Legosi swallowed nervously.
“No one, no one at all…”
-~-~-~-~-~
When Legosi is getting ready for bed, you call out to him again.
“Hey, Legosi?”
“Hmm?”
“When you go to bed, don’t fall asleep when you close your eyes.”
“Huh? What for?”
“Just trust me on this.” He gets tucked in by his mother, and is left alone in the room. He closes his eyes, and you are left alone with nothing to do again.
“Ok, this might sound weird, but humor me. Try to imagine a room. It can be any room.” Immediately, the void around you shifts to Legosi’s bedroom, an exact replica.
“Ok, now try to imagine yourself in the room.” Nothing happens for a moment. Then, you spy something glowing under the bed blankets. It pulses softly, drawing your attention. You go over to the bed, pulling the covers down. The wide eyed stare of a wolf greets you. You smiled lightly.
“Hey, nice to see you for the first time. Or is it the second?” He stares at you, mouth agape. You laugh.
“Hey, didn’t your mother ever tell you you’ll catch flies like that?” He closes his mouth with an audible click, getting up and looking you over.
“How, what?” You smile, sitting down with your legs crossed.
“Well, we’ve got all of tonight, ask away!” After a moment, he sits down beside you.
“What are you?”
“Well, I’m a human. Don’t bother trying to zoogle me, I’m not an animal.” You say, ruffling the top of his head. He gives no visible reaction other than wagging his tail.
“Do you know why you’re in my head?”
“Like I said, no clue.” He looks around the room, ear flicking. When he turns to you, there’s a look of hesitation in his eye.
“Um, can I… ask for your name?” You blink, looking away for a minute.
“...I don’t have a name. At least, I don’t remember having a name.” Legosi’s eyes widen.
“What? But everyone has a name!” You laugh.
“Well, I’m not quite like everyone, in case you couldn’t tell.” The young wolf’s face flushes, and you laugh.
“Oh, right…” He furrows his brows in thought, then looks back at you with a gleam in his eyes,
“How about we come up with one for you then?” Your eyes widen slightly.
“Eh? I mean, I guess. Would make talking to you a lot less awkward if you called me something… Sure, knock yourself out.” You say, folding your arms. He smiles, tail wagging furiously. He adopts a look of intense concentration, folding his arms and tilting his head. He hums, looking down at the playmat you both sat on.
“[Name]...” He whispers to himself. You perk up at the name.
“[Name], huh? Well, it’s not the worst thing a kid like you could think of, I suppose. Still, it’s got a nice ring to it!” You say. Legosi looks up in shock.
“Eh? Just like that?” You nod.
“Indecisiveness is a fickle thing Legosi. Best not to dwell on these things. Besides, it’s nice to have a name finally!” You smile at him. He blinks, before he smiles back.
“O-okay! [Name], [Name]!” He repeats, nodding his head. You laugh.
“Hey, I’m right here you know!”
-~-~-~-~-~-~-~
(Note: [Name] will be split in terms of which mind she is in. This will be explained in later chapters.)
“You don’t talk much, do you?”
“Aooah?”
“Hoo boy, I can tell this is gonna be a great conversation…” You say, looking past the cast iron bars to the deer across from you. He glances around, finding the place you two were in to be fascinating.
“Ah?” He says, pointing at you. You shake your head.
“Er, I don’t...speak that?” You try, rubbing the back of your head. He blinks, staring right at you.
“So, uh. Do you have a name?”
“Aooah.”
“Aooah, good name. Has a certain...charm.” You say sarcastically. His ears droop, and he whines.
“Wait, wait, I didn’t mean it!” You panic, reaching your hand out past the bars. He flinches from your hand, but then fixes his gaze on it. Gingerly, he reaches for your fingertips. Slowly wrapping his much smaller hands around yours.
“Yeah, I know. No fur. Weird, isn’t it?” You say, smiling when he looks at your hands in awe. He turns them around, feeling every part of your hands. His hands are warm, probably because of the fur. Suddenly, he starts fading in front of you, body becoming more and more see through. He looks at you, eyes wide with fear.
“Sorry, kiddo. Looks like nap time’s over.” He disappears completely, and your vision blurs. When it clears up, you’re once again looking through the deer’s eyes. You watch as a much older looking deer stops in front of the cage.
“Is this one a red deer?”
“Er, yes sir. But Number four’s body is so fragile. We can get you another deer?”
“...No need, I will buy this fawn.” Said fawn certainly didn’t take that idea lightly. He constantly tried to pull himself away from the older stag, crying out in that gibberish tongue he spoke in.
“I’m assuming you can’t speak, but you can understand me. My name is Oguma. I’m the single son of a massive company. Unfortunately, a birth defect has lead me to be unable to have children. As such. You will be my successor.” The young deer bites the hand gripping him.
“You’re a rather tenacious one, aren’t you?” Oguma pushes the elevator button to open the door, shoving the deer out into what looks to be a waiting room. Oguma hands the deer a knife, and closes the doors. You hear, and see the carnivores sitting begin to rise, drool slipping from their mouth.
“Hey, kid. Do something with that knife, will ya?” He points it to his neck, screaming.
“Not what I had in mind!” You yell incredulously. Oguma quickly pulls the deer back into the elevator, pressing the button to go up in floors. Despite not having a body of your own, you realize you were panting heavily.
“Interesting. You’d rather kill yourself then be eaten alive. Yes...you have what it takes to be my successor.” The elevator dings, and the doors open to an open view of the rising sun. You squint at the brightness. Oguma crouches down on the floor.
“You can change the world. You can use your pain and suffering and turn it into strength. It’ll be your mission to achieve that...Louis.” You look at the sun, feeling some part of you tremble.
“His mission? You bought him as a successor, throw him into a den of carnivores, and call him your son?” You speak, gritting your teeth. You decide from that moment that you hated Oguma with every fiber of your being. He leads Louis back to a fancy looking mansion, letting Louis look at all the decor. Oguma leaves Louis in a room, tucking him in and shutting off the lights. The room is silent except for the quick breaths of the young fawn. He closes his eyes, and the scenery around you shifts again.
You were in a field of flowers, with a single tree placed in the distance. You can see a figure slump down against the trunk, and you hurry over. When you get close enough, you realize it’s Louis, curling himself into a ball and softly crying. You walk up to him, and he looks up to you, fear and shock in his eyes. Before you could even speak, he runs up to you, tackling you to the soft grass underneath. He sobs loudly, and you are stunned from the level of emotion he was expressing. Instinctively, you sit up, hugging him tight and shushing him while rocking gently.
“Hey, hey. It’s ok, it’s ok. Shhh…” You say, rubbing his back with one of your hands. He sobs even louder, hands gripping your shirt tightly as he nuzzles his head into your chest. You feel your shirt getting wetter. It takes a few minutes, but he finally calms down, simply letting his full body weight rest on you. You give him a few more pats, moving your hands to his shoulders and pulling him away. He whimpers, grip tightening. You look at his face, seeing his eyes puffy from all the tears. You cup the underside of his face, tilting it and pressing your head against his.
“Don’t cry anymore, ok? I’ll be here for you. I’m not going anywhere.”