They kissed a long, full kiss, and as they separated, Yelevan felt himself frozen in fear. He could not move his head, he could not move his finger, nor his toe, and he could not twist his leg. He felt paralyzed, like a huge tarpaulin had dropped over him, binding him.
Simoom was not the least disturbed. Circling him, viewing him from all angles, she rejoiced in Yelevan’s condition. She whispered in his ear, reciting poetry, telling him they had sealed their bond with a kiss, and she promised him a fair life, fair beyond his imagination.
Yelevan did not understand. Teasing, she pinched his ear. Then, she told him about her secret species, which bewildered him even more.
“What species?” he asked. “Why are they giving me a chance to redeem myself, after nearly destroying them all?”
Simoom positioned her face before his face and said, “Deep down in your heart, I think you understand. Look at me. What do you see? What do you see? Look now!”
“By the Goddess of Stotemastartia! I see your True Face! Now I know, deep down in my heart, who you are!”
“You can invoke the Goddess, but she will not help you in this hour.”
“My vision grows dark, but deep in my being I see your True Face and I know what you are!”
“Yelevan, please do not pass out! Your fate is different from the fate of the villagers. By agreement, their destiny is to perish.”
“My body grows limp and numb and yet I can witness your True Face! I can see the creature lurking inside you!”
“By your career, Yelevan, even though you caused our species to become annihilated, you were not shortsighted. You thought you were doing a noble service to humans…”
Yelevan was losing consciousness. She shook him.
“Yelevan, listen to me! We will bestow mercy upon you. We will let you live, but the life we give you will be a different one than what you knew as a creature-hunter!”
“Before me, all I know is your True Face and it is the creature’s face!”
“Stay awake, Yelevan! You will be my lover and our home will be the Plain of Aurigainia forever.” Simoom told him of the last Council held by her species. They judged him fairly, she said, and they judged him innocent of the True Knowledge of her True Face.
Yelevan was unsure of her claim and he doubted her promise of a life forever, but Simoom was persistent. In her view, he was only serving humans who consume the fruits of the earth, as well as the owners of corporations who control the habits of the consumers.
Their debate was interrupted by a group of housewives, frightened, clutching their belongings – the crowd soon dispersed.
“…The owners of what?”
“I said you were serving the owners of corporations who control the habits of the humans who consume the fruits of the earth!”
“…The fruits?”
The driving wind blew embers past their faces.
“…The humans who consume the fruits – what is taken from the earth…”
“…The humans? What do they take?”
“Yelevan, my point is, they take everything and give nothing back…”
“Everything?”
A fiery barn toppled nearby.
“Yelevan, am I confusing you? What I’m saying is – those humans you think you’re serving – they lack responsibility. They’re just a bunch of consumers! Consumers! They take everything from the earth and give nothing back!”
“But I was…”
A burning column fell next to Yelevan.
“Hear me out!” Simoom cried. “How long will you continue your crusade for a village of consumers who care for only themselves? “
“Crusade? Mine?”
A nearby electrical tower collapsed, sparks flying.
“Yes, you, Yelevan! I’m trying to put some sense in your head, before we all get burned to the ground! How long will you allow this charade – how long will you sustain their degraded lifestyle?”
Just then, other housewives, neighbors of Chungrani, ran by with shotguns, shooting into the empty night, being chased by demons, so they screamed.
Even from his frozen position, Yelevan could clearly see the crazed villagers running about, caring only for their houses, their ornaments and their bellies, counting their gold while their houses burned down.
The sound of the doom-bell was heard in the wind.
“Do they care that their greed has destroyed the fields and pastures?” Simoom continued. “Do they care if they have overwhelmed the surrounding farmland, and do they care if their deeds have caused dwellers in all the other towns to suffer?”
“…Does the whole countryside suffer?”
“…And what about the planet? Do the villagers care about the state of the planet?”
Just then, a crowd of crazed male revelers, grasping wine bottles and torches, surrounded Yelevan and Simoom, uttering blasphemes on the holy Book of Ghirke.
When the revelers had passed, Simoom questioned him again. “…Do they put their own behinds first, or do they put the planet first and themselves in it?”
“…They put themselves first and the planet can go to hell!”
“That’s the picture, my beloved Yelevan! What will the people of all the surrounding towns think of the Muzhenghaakis tomorrow, should you allow them to live?”
“…All would spit on the memory of the Muzhenghaakis and their gold!”
“These conditions are real, my Yelevan, and we share them together. We, of the werewolf species – we stand up to these problems of the planet, even though the sands of environmental time are running out.”
“…My Simoom! I never thought you had a mission!”
A screaming Muzhenghaaki raced by them in the road, his clothes burning in the wind. Other naked villagers danced behind him.
“…All humans who are motivated by self-interest and greed are our fair game,” Simoom said, “and fair it is, for we claim them only after they have made a pact with us and sworn to agreement on the holy Book of Ghirke.”
“…Your purpose is more noble than anything I’ve ever dreamed…”
“Our vision is to nurture a generation of humans walking the earth – of beings who will put the planet first, and themselves in it – and only they will be worthy to populate the world!”
“Well said, Simoom! I, too, have read disquieting news about the condition of the planet, fed by Selgirk the First and his greed mongers.”
He moved from his spot.
“I, too, have tossed and turned in my bed at night with the terrible question – how will the planet survive?”
He jumped out of the way of another falling column.
“I, too dream of a day when a generation of young people will march in the streets for world survival!”
“My beloved! You are moving about and you have proven you are free from my spell!”
“Yes, Simoom. Your spell no longer affects me because I have submitted to your vision – I believe in your dream, a dream of humans walking the earth – those who put the welfare of the planet before all else.”
“Dear Yelevan! Are you sure you want to do this?”
Suddenly, the crazed revelers reappeared, jostling and laughing, enveloping Yelevan and Simoom in their crowd.
“…I am dead certain!” Yelevan shouted, from behind a drunkard. “…I have retired from my old life, a life of…of narrow-minded dogmas.” For a moment, his voice was drowned in laughter. “Do you hear me, Simoom?”
“…Yes, I hear you.” Two other revelers were attempting to dance with her.
Another group of wine-stained drunkards draped their arms around Yelevan’s shoulders, leading him away. “…Thanks to you, Simoom,” he shouted as he was jostled, “I have found a new life and I submit to the call of the beast!” They laughed in his face. “…I have put the condition of the planet first,” he continued as he dodged his antagonists, “…and my own wants and needs…in it!”
Suddenly, the mood of the revelers turned hostile and their leader attempted to rape Simoom, the drunkards encircling her and hurling sexual insults. Yelevan wrenched himself free and easily fought them off with his bare fists.
When the mob had fled, Yelevan again took Simoom in his arms and they embraced. Simoom said, “My soul-mate Yelevan, I have found you at last! We will go forward in life as happy werewolves, dedicated to making a happy planet!”
“But there is one obstacle, fair Simoom.”
“What obstacle, Yelevan?”
“Well, you gave the Muzhenghaakis a thousand years, but nowadays, we don’t have a thousand years. With the warming of the world due to greenhouse gasses, we don’t have a hundred years, or even ten years.”
“Yes, Yelevan, I understand your problem. Please let me explain. In today’s world, things have changed because of what Selgirk the First and his greed mongers have done to the derange planet. Therefore, instead of a thousand years, we offer the Werewolf Rehabilitation Plan.”
“Plan? You have a plan?”
“Yes. The Werewolf Rehabilitation Plan, which means: greet the planet or be eaten. Our plan cuts through all the politics, all the red tape.”
“You don’t waste any time!”
“Yes, Yelevan. Time cannot be wasted. We will put the greed mongers and consumer-heads on notice: we will give them another space, where all the centuries will happen in this moment, but still, at the end of the day, they must learn their place – to greet the planet or be eaten.”
“My Simoom, I dedicate myself to your cause, the cause of the planet!”
“Then we will go together, across the Plain of Aurigainia, uniting with all beings and creatures who have the voice of Gaia singing in their bones!”
Quiet fell on the village. The nearby revelers were wine-soaked and drowsy.
“…And…and…we will seek out greed mongers who are responsible for the collapse of society,” Yelevan declared, hesitatingly, “…and we will enter into an agreement with them, leading either to their demise…or else…they must… greet the planet!”
More gunshots rang out, as more Muzhenghaakis prematurely took death in their own hands, giving the finger to the Blood-Beast as they blew their brains out.
“…Yes, Yelevan, now you are thinking like a true werewolf! You understand the True Knowledge! You have freely transformed yourself into a being who puts the planet first, and this is what you are truly seeing! Happy werewolves! Happy planet!”
Surrounded by mobs of revelers and burning homes, they kissed again and walked off into the night. As they disappeared in the ice and snow, Yelevan asked, “But what can you do with a vegetarian werewolf?”
Simoom laughed and replied, “You handle the negotiation with the greedmongers – I’ll attend to the slaughter!”
“Do you enjoy devouring all that blood and entrails?”
“Actually, I don’t devour anything – I pass it on to the Goddess…”
“That’s some connection you have there…”
“She is my sister…”
“And what of poor Chibu?”
“Poor? He is mighty! He sits on her right hand with a gold crown and he will guide you on your journey…”
They knew it was time to get busy. In the end, the drunken and crazed Muzhenghaakis felt no pain – the Goddess stripped them down to their spirits, and, not liking the stench, discarded their souls, as well.
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