THE WEREDRAGON MATE

The scent of the bird

The tour guide showed Xendy his travel itinerary, which showed the places his agent had suggested visiting.

He wanted a forest tour or something like that now. The Zanzibar Land Animal Park (ZALA) was the only thing close to what he wanted.

They agreed to start out there.

As they got to the main gate, the first scent to hit him was cloves, and he looked for the plant that produced that mouthwatering smell.

There was no tree up close and his eyes darted around only to see the caged lizards, snakes, and all other animals on display behind the separation wire.

And he let out a frustrated growl which alerted his tour guide. The smell came not from there; what was his wolf thinking? He got out of the taxi and walked in to explore the park and see if he could find a place where he could shift and let his wolf take over.

Just when he was ready to cross the ZALA junction and walk into the park, he saw a bird running, trying to flee away.

Someone who looked like the leader was commanding the men to help him load the animals into the van. And to run after the bird.

And the watchman he had met at the entrance a few minutes ago just passed him on his heels after the bird. More men who were working loading the van joined the race, surrounding the bird at all corners.

The bird was running desperately in circles to avoid being caught. But then..... Right there at the junction, a speedy car that was getting out of ZALA was just a few steps in front of the bird.

Xendy raised his eyes to the driver and he could tell the driver was in shock after noticing how close he was to the bird. The bird was inches right in front of his speedy car.

Xendy could see the driver's struggle as he tried to hit the brakes, but he was too close. Whatever he did would not be fruitful. There was no other way.

He was going to hit the bird.

Everyone stood still and worried as they watched the scenario unfold.

The sound of brakes being pushed to their limit was the last sound everyone heard before the car came to a speedy stop.

The driver of the speedy car breathed hard with fear written all over his face. He quickly unbuttoned his seat belt with trembling hands as he walked out of the now-parked car. He walked to the front of the car to scan what was happening.

And to his surprise. The bird was not there.

His eyes scanned the area around. Frightened by the scenario. And his eyes almost popped out of their sockets at the sight of Xendy holding the bird by the side of the road.

Xendy was not aware of how many eyes were on him. Or how he had saved the bird. What got to his senses then was how good this bird smelled, the scent of the bird. It dazed him as the scent hit him again.

With a whiff of a good mix of cardamom, vanilla, and cloves, the fragrances were all over his nostrils that flared. The scent was killing all his sensory organs, from his skin that pricked, mouthwatering to his eyes that wanted to pop out.

The bird he held was the source, a peacock. It was taller than any bird he knew, about one hundred seventy centimeters tall. It covered its body in a vibrant ocean-blue color.

Its feathers were all green and covered the part between the body and the tail. The most beautiful, captivating colored tail had brown-like leaves or feathers with spots like eyes that were a mix of green, brown, blue, and black.

Xendy was still in a daze when the watchman snatched the bird out of his hands. And unexpectedly, he felt a sense of loss after the bird left his body, and when he raised his eyes at the watchman to warn him.

His eyes popped, with his mind wondering what was happening.

Emotions he had never felt were clouding Xendy as he felt so bad watching how aggressively the watchman was pulling the bird away from him. And taking steps toward the van. So many emotions were pouring into him all at once.

And weirdly enough, his mind fixed his eyes on the bird.

The bird was trying to protest. Still trying to be free itself. The watchman got agitated by the bird's struggle and raised his hand with all the force he could gather and hit the bird on its head.

The sound of the slap echoed in Xendy's mind like a bomb.

He felt pain so much pain but that was not enough for the watchman. The watchman was determined to hit the bird once again. Xendy did not know what happened, but the next thing he knew. He was standing right in front of the watchman, holding the watchman's waist in midair.

He would not stand for such abuse to happen again.

He could not stand to feel the pain again. Mentally It was as if the watchman was hitting them both at the same time as he hit the bird.

“What?” the watchman turned angrily to look at Xendy who was holding the watchman's waist up in the air. Xendy yelled.

“What do you think you are doing? This is against the animals' welfare. You are not supposed to do this.”

He then let go of the watchman's hand aggressively.

“Who are you to meddle in this?” the watchman shouted back angrily as he rubbed his waist gently.

The tour guide walked into the middle of the two men and pulled Xendy out of the scenario that was already capturing people's attention and forming a crowd.

Xendy walked to the taxi and half turned with a sad face to see the bird being pushed into the van that was ready for transportation.

The event troubled him so much throughout the day that he had to leave Zanzibar for Serengeti.

****

Today in Serengeti....

Sitting on the top of a branch in his wolf form, on one of the tallest trees in Serengeti Park. Xendy mirrored the surrounding area, trying to find a thick forest where his wolf could enjoy the shift comfortably.

His wolf 'Yendy' had tried to come out since yesterday's incident, but the environment did not favor him until today.

The weather here is too hot for his wolf. Yendy needs a more closed forest with wetlands and winds through his fur when he runs to cool down.

Xendy sees a separate forested area at about ten kilometers, and that is his target. He gets down and trout. Running and breathing in the fresh air. As he gets closer, he meets a pack of wolves.

He puts his head down as a sign of surrender, 'an intruder meaning no harm to their pack', and does not get any response.

He tries to observe them, and he notices they are not werewolves, but mere wolves.

He had never met mere wolves before, hanging around any packs in America, and it was his first meeting. They look like werewolves in a minor way. He had heard stories about these creatures that looked like him but were just animals.

And did not have the superpower of shifting from an animal form to a human one as he did.

Xendy had felt no barriers around Serengeti or Zanzibar since his arrival. He was not sure whether there was a pack around. He was not sure if there were werewolves around there.

He thought maybe the werewolves around here prefer living hidden among the humans, but then 'they have to be part of a pack, right?!' He questions himself with no answers.

Standing with the pack of wolves lost in thoughts on his merry way to the thick forest in Serengeti, that was just in front of him.

The scent of the bird from Zanzibar hit him again...... Something involuntarily pushed his body in fast steps toward the direction of the scent.

When he gets closer, the scene in front of him makes him tremble and shout with a loud growl. He sees the same bird, his beautiful peacock, in a more delicate situation than it was in yesterday in ZALA.

It was going to die at the hands of a wolf who had raised his canines, ready to tear the bird apart.

He questions whether he should get involved, but Yendy is already scaring him with the emotions he is portraying.

Yendy is jumping all over his head, dancing with happiness. He takes over and shouts, “Mate!”

Looking at the bird, Xendy does not understand what Yendy means.