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“Too Important to be Forgotten” by SplicerWolf (read by Dralen)
Living in a city as a lone wolf is rough, so when Tenner found another wolf while browsing his various dating apps, he jumped at the chance. Copper is a wolf from the country living with his pack mates, with a penchant to forget the day to occasionally disastrous consequences.
Today’s story is “Too Important to be Forgotten” by SplicerWolf, who enjoys writing in his free time and you can find more of his stories on furaffinity or sofurry.
Read by Dralen, the dapper Dragonfox.
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Transcript
You’re listening to The Voice of Dog.
Speaker:This is Rob MacWolf, your fellow traveler,
Speaker:and Today’s story
Speaker:is “Too Important to be Forgotten”
Speaker:by SplicerWolf, who enjoys writing in his free time and you can find more of his stories
Speaker:on furaffinity
Speaker:or sofurry. Please enjoy
Speaker:“Too Important to be Forgotten”
Speaker:by SplicerWolf “Hey!
Speaker:It’s Copper right?
Speaker:That’s so cool! Like the coin!”
Speaker:Tenner laughed nervously,
Speaker:kicking himself in his head.
Speaker:He had barely even sat down at the booth before he began running his maw.
Speaker:“Yeah, name’s copper,
Speaker:I assume that makes you Tenner?
Speaker:Sorry about canceling yesterday, things
Speaker:came up with work,
Speaker:glad we could both make it out tonight though!”
Speaker:Copper didn’t mind the excited wolf sitting across from him,
Speaker:if anything it was a nice change of pace from all his packmates who were serious all the damn time.
Speaker:“Oh yeah! I stayed in and caught a movie, really no big deal!
Speaker:The new werewolf one, have you seen it?”
Speaker:Copper winced. “No,
Speaker:can’t say I have…
Speaker:Honestly not too big a fan of werewolf movies.
Speaker:I’ve always found them a little much for my stomach.”
Speaker:“Oh that’s fair, fair.
Speaker:It said on your profile you’re new to town,
Speaker:what brings you in?
Speaker:From what I know, everyone’s trying to run away from this place.”
Speaker:“I mean not really new to the area, just the city,
Speaker:I have a spot a few hours north, but my father got called in for a business trip.
Speaker:He was indisposed, so he asked me to go for him.”
Speaker:Tenner nodded eagerly, hanging onto every word.
Speaker:“Oh that’s awesome!
Speaker:So you work in some sort of family business?”
Speaker:“Yeah you could call it that…”
Speaker:The two wolves continued talking over dinner and drinks, enjoying the company.
Speaker:There was something about wolves that created either an instant bond,
Speaker:or instant hatred,
Speaker:the two created the former.
Speaker:Tenner had been living in a town wolves seemed magnetically repulsed by,
Speaker:it might have been too urban for them.
Speaker:Tenner loved the town though, it was so much more vibrant and full of life than the dull country home he had grown up in,
Speaker:too big and full of nothing,
Speaker:he was much happier in his one bedroom apartment.
Speaker:Hell, if things went well on this date,
Speaker:he might even prod at the larger wolf to see if they’d like to come see it.
Speaker:Copper was feeling a similar sentiment,
Speaker:although he was more traditional.
Speaker:He loved the rural outdoor home he shared with his pack,
Speaker:but he also needed space from them on the off occasion.
Speaker:This was one such occasion,
Speaker:the business trip had been the perfect cover to get out and away.
Speaker:But still, if things went well on this date,
Speaker:maybe he could show the shorter, blushing wolf off to all the others back home.
Speaker:“I’ll pay!” Tenner eagerly offered.
Speaker:“No, no, I asked you out!
Speaker:I should cover it!”
Speaker:Copper insisted. They both looked at the bill, it wasn’t anything they couldn’t readily cover.
Speaker:Both were about four or five drinks in at the time, and despite being a little shaky on their feet,
Speaker:neither were budging.
Speaker:“Flip?” Tenner suggested.
Speaker:“Flip.” Copper shrugged.
Speaker:Tenner pulled a quarter from the pocket of his jeans.
Speaker:His paw moved sloppily, but he flipped the coin with expertise,
Speaker:both watched as it soared high up into the air
Speaker:over the booth, turning over and over.
Speaker:“Call!” Tenner demanded. “Tails!” Copper always picked tails, it was his favourite.
Speaker:They both watched as the coin sunk lower,
Speaker:despite not being much for gambling, it was apparent they both loved to bet.
Speaker:Tenner went to snatch the coin out of the air.
Speaker:His paw connected with the coin, but he was too slow to close it,
Speaker:instead swatting it across the room and hitting the back of a lone otter, sitting at the bar.
Speaker:Both wolves looked away sheepishly
Speaker:hiding their face in their paws.
Speaker:“Split?” Copper whispered.
Speaker:“Split?” Tenner hastily agreed,
Speaker:wanting to leave as soon as possible.
Speaker:Not only from embarrassment,
Speaker:there was still one place he wanted to go before the evening was over.
Speaker:“I had no idea a place like this could exist in the city…”
Speaker:Copper was almost amazed by his surroundings.
Speaker:If he didn’t breath too deep,
Speaker:he could almost imagine he was back in the woods around his house.
Speaker:“Yeah, there’s a few parks around the city, but this one is a little bit of a hidden gem,
Speaker:sometimes I like to take walks in here when I’m feeling a little overwhelmed.
Speaker:I kinda pretend only the forest exists and I own it.”
Speaker:Tenner was walking along a familiar path,
Speaker:Copper was walking in step,
Speaker:despite needing to considerable slow down his normal gait.
Speaker:They were almost to the spot,
Speaker:as the summer sun sank down deep in the sky.
Speaker:The clearing was right up ahead.
Speaker:Tenner broke through first and gestured with a bow towards the view below.
Speaker:Copper stepped ahead;
Speaker:his eyes widened.
Speaker:He was standing on top of a small rocky outcrop, standing in front of a large pond,
Speaker:bordering on a small lake.
Speaker:Tenner was already sitting on his favourite rock.
Speaker:Copper sat down, still too stunned to speak,
Speaker:the sunlight was still just high enough to cause golden glints of light to reflect off the rippling water.
Speaker:He took a deep breath, taking in all the surrounding air,
Speaker:such a pure scent,
Speaker:undefiled by the smells of the city.
Speaker:He let out a sigh of contentment,
Speaker:letting his paw come to rest on the rock next to him.
Speaker:Or it was supposed to be a cold rock,
Speaker:but his paw touched something warm, and fuzzy.
Speaker:Tenner let out a light squeak.
Speaker:He hesitated for a second, before he clasped the other wolf’s paw in his own.
Speaker:“I couldn’t have asked for a better Sunday…”
Speaker:Tenner let out a sigh. “Hmmmm
Speaker:Sunday.” Copper echoed,
Speaker:ruminating on the date in his mind.
Speaker:“Sunday… Wait, Sunday?
Speaker:NO!” “What’s wrong?
Speaker:Did you forget something?”
Speaker:Tenner squeezed Copper’s paw gently, trying to reassure the now perspiring wolf.
Speaker:“No, I mean, yeah!
Speaker:Yeah I forgot something!
Speaker:I really gotta get going,
Speaker:I forgot an important business meeting.”
Speaker:Copper was kicking himself for getting the date mixed up,
Speaker:He knew the full moon was today,
Speaker:how could he have forgotten something as important as that.
Speaker:“I mean, can’t you stay a few more minutes?
Speaker:I love watching the sunset from this spot…”
Speaker:Tenner had let his paw drop back to his side, not wanting to press too hard,
Speaker:but wishing to savour the last few minutes of the date.
Speaker:He was sure they could have another one,
Speaker:but he wanted the first to be special.
Speaker:Tenner looked away from the nature view to look at Copper
Speaker:who was now heavily grimacing.
Speaker:Lips curled inward and teeth catching the dying rays of light reflecting off the water.
Speaker:“Jesus! Are you ok? I-I’m sorry if you don’t like this place.”
Speaker:Tenner inched away,
Speaker:a little worried at the size of the wolf’s fangs,
Speaker:they didn’t look that long during dinner.
Speaker:“Yeah. I’m. Fine.” Copper barked out,
Speaker:voice getting more guttural as the sun vanished behind the horizon. Then, the moon.
Speaker:“Please just. Leave!”
Speaker:The tip of the moon began poking up from the horizon,
Speaker:out of view, but Copper could feel it.
Speaker:He was wearing his best clothes,
Speaker:despite the changing slowly taking over,
Speaker:he took great pains to strip naked,
Speaker:freeing his body from the restrictive fabric, letting his muscles bask in the dying light.
Speaker:“What are you doing?”
Speaker:Tenner was put off sure,
Speaker:but he also didn’t hate seeing the muscular body the wolf had been hiding under his clothes,
Speaker:still he had never done anything so risqué,
Speaker:he didn’t know if this was some sort of act,
Speaker:if he should start taking off his clothes,
Speaker:or oblige the wolf’s orders and run.
Speaker:“Eighty dollar. Jeans!
Speaker:Can’t rip!” Copper’s words were barely audible over the growl growing in his throat.
Speaker:It was so painful, but he couldn’t lose control,
Speaker:not yet, not while they were this close.
Speaker:But he could feel the moon,
Speaker:it was calling him,
Speaker:the tip of her beautiful head poking out above the tree line,
Speaker:the new light, reflecting off the water thousands of times,
Speaker:creating thousands of voices,
Speaker:all calling out to him,
Speaker:telling him just one thing.
Speaker:It’s time. “RUN!” The final word he coughed out before the shift took full swing.
Speaker:Tenner was horrified,
Speaker:he watched as the once genuine and kind wolf from dinner keeled over on the rocks,
Speaker:illuminated in the pale glow of a full moon.
Speaker:He pulled out his phone to call someone,
Speaker:anyone, who could help.
Speaker:But there was no service.
Speaker:He caught another glance,
Speaker:things were,
Speaker:rearranging, shifting,
Speaker:no, snapping into place.
Speaker:It was unnatural,
Speaker:impossible even. He heard pained moans and groans, the cracking of bones.
Speaker:One final thing broke him from paralysis,
Speaker:the gnashing of fangs.
Speaker:Tenner ran, he didn’t know what else he could do, He knew the woods well, but in the low light, and with the sheer size of the park,
Speaker:there were still parts he hadn’t explored.
Speaker:He just let his feet guide him as he sprinted down the path,
Speaker:letting his muscle memory and survival instinct take over,
Speaker:mind lost in shock.
Speaker:The sound of a twig snapping in the far off distance
Speaker:caused him to sprint
Speaker:twice as fast. He was making good headway,
Speaker:but the snapping and crashing behind him was steadily gaining.
Speaker:The headway came to a rapid end,
Speaker:a recently fallen tree trunk on the path.
Speaker:His paw kicked the rotted bark and he felt his world go sideways as he flew through the air,
Speaker:then upside down as he crashed to the ground.
Speaker:Then, like the coin,
Speaker:spinning, spinning, spinning,
Speaker:then stopping. He stared up at the night sky through the light foliage.
Speaker:His foot was on fire,
Speaker:lungs too. His deep, ragged breaths echoed in his ringing ears as he felt
Speaker:warm liquid running down his forehead,
Speaker:his forearms, his knees.
Speaker:His fur was a matted mix of blood and dirt.
Speaker:“What a, a nice, moon…”
Speaker:Tenner was about done,
Speaker:he began closing his eyes, sure that despite the insane pain when he opened them
Speaker:he’d be in bed, morning light shining through his blinds.
Speaker:Hopefully next to that wolf from dinner.
Speaker:The piercing howl made his eyes shoot back open,
Speaker:blood running cold.
Speaker:He flipped himself onto his stomach and began crawling forward on his hands and knees.
Speaker:He had to get off the main path, he had
Speaker:to get away. It hurt,
Speaker:the dirt dug into his bleeding arms, but he pushed on, getting off the main path and leaning his battered body against a tree.
Speaker:A shaking paw reached into his pocket, pulling out his phone.
Speaker:He turned it on, the screen was shattered, covered in spiderweb cracks from the many impacts with the ground.
Speaker:He didn’t care, the sight of those bars in the top corner of his screen gave him hope.
Speaker:He tried typing in his password.
Speaker:Fail, fail, fail, phone locked.
Speaker:He opened the emergency call window,
Speaker:his fingers were shaking too much, the shock was sapping him of his fine motor skills
Speaker:and he kept tapping
Speaker:nine, nine, nine nine nine nine nine nine nine.
Speaker:He focused on trying to delete the mistakes but
Speaker:then a sound froze him in place.
Speaker:Deep, raspy breathing.
Speaker:The thing that once called itself Copper had followed the blood trail right to the cowering wolf.
Speaker:Tenner knew it was over,
Speaker:the phone dropped from his paw.
Speaker:He felt a tight grip on his leg, roughly pulling him onto his back
Speaker:staring up at those eyes,
Speaker:those evil, predatory eyes.
Speaker:He felt claws digging into his arm.
Speaker:It was jerked up,
Speaker:he felt a warm wet nose pressed hard against a fresh cut
Speaker:as the monster took deep breaths in.
Speaker:He felt a rough tongue run along his arm,
Speaker:the thing, reveling in the taste.
Speaker:He could tell it was enjoying it by the way the silhouette reared its head back.
Speaker:letting out a long howl.
Speaker:Calling out to any others nearby,
Speaker:dinner was here, hurry before it was all gone.
Speaker:Hot drops of saliva dripped down from the monster’s jowls onto Tenner’s chest.
Speaker:“Pl-please…” Tenner whined out,
Speaker:he wasn’t ready to die,
Speaker:it wasn’t time to die yet, it wasn’t.
Speaker:He had so much to do still, his dnd team would be lost without their rogue, he left the stove on!
Speaker:So many excuses flashed through his mind,
Speaker:all of them would be lost to the whims of the beast.
Speaker:Fangs so long, too long.
Speaker:He closed his eyes and raised his arm up in one final attempt to stop the inevitable.
Speaker:The next thing he felt was the pain,
Speaker:white hot pain flowed through his entire body,
Speaker:making the broken foot feel like a gentle spa massage.
Speaker:Then more hot liquid,
Speaker:dripping down onto his face.
Speaker:He quizzically cracked one of his eyes open and saw eyes.
Speaker:Eyes of the one he was sharing drinks with while laughing over dinner.
Speaker:Empathetic eyes,
Speaker:full of regret and sorrow,
Speaker:dripping tears onto his face.
Speaker:Hating eyes, hating themselves for the teeth
Speaker:buried in the arm of the small figure below them.
Speaker:Copper’s jaw released its vice grip,
Speaker:Tenner’s eyes rolled back in his head as his body began lightly convulsing.
Speaker:Somehow it felt like the white hot pain was spreading through his body like venom,
Speaker:muscles burning from the deep gouges in his arm.
Speaker:It hurt, it burned,
Speaker:every muscle in his body was melting,
Speaker:every bone in him was breaking.
Speaker:All to rearrange his form,
Speaker:he felt everything going dark,
Speaker:until he caught a glimpse of the bright
Speaker:full moon beaming down on him through the leaves,
Speaker:silver light covering his body.
Speaker:Suddenly it all went numb,
Speaker:he could almost hear a voice in his head
Speaker:telling him it would be alright.
Speaker:His pants split at the seam,
Speaker:already ripped shirt ripping to tatters.
Speaker:But he didn’t care,
Speaker:he just kept looking up,
Speaker:hearing the words reverberating in his mind
Speaker:as his wounds were washed away
Speaker:in the river of his body’s changing form.
Speaker:Soon the pain was gone,
Speaker:leaving pure exhaustion of the first change.
Speaker:He could still feel his body growing,
Speaker:powerful muscles, created to run for hours at a time,
Speaker:jaw almost strong enough to crush stone.
Speaker:But all Tenner could do was pant on his back,
Speaker:eyes closing. He was finally granted the respite of unconsciousness,
Speaker:the last thing he remembered was the long, warm, reassuring licks of his new packmate’s tongue on his neck.
Speaker:By the time he woke up the next morning
Speaker:he felt arms still holding him tight,
Speaker:mid-day sun flitting through wavering leaves.
Speaker:“So, same time next week?”
Speaker:Copper asked. Tenner bit his lower lip in contemplation,
Speaker:so many questions were bouncing around in his head and he didn’t know which one to ask first.
Speaker:“Yeah, same time next week sounds good.”
Speaker:This was “Too Important to be Forgotten”
Speaker:by SplicerWolf, read for you by READER, with CALLSIGN.
Speaker:You can find more stories on the web at thevoice.dog,
Speaker:or find the show wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker:Thank you for listening
Speaker:to The Voice of Dog.
