Yesterweave

“No, no, no,” Laika moaned, drawing in on herself, clawing at her furry snout. “This isn’t right. This wasn’t supposed to happen. I stepped off the path. How did he find me?”

“Shady?” I asked. “Mind dealing with that bothersome man?”

“With pleasure.” The human-shaped Wendigo stood up. Her blonde hair undulated with dark, slightly sparkling feathers.

She flashed from where she stood. With a male yelp, both of them were gone, the door swinging open.

A splash of red painted the snow in the distant gloom. An echo of a gurgling final scream reached us. A dark figure stretched upwards, feather-tipped tail swaying, blade-like claws tearing at flesh, antlers blossoming. Shady was devouring the man whole, moving like a living blender. I shuddered.

She probably could have taken Vladimir apart behind the building, but she clearly couldn’t resist giving me a gut-churning terror-show to feed on my fear.

Laika didn’t pay attention to Shady. She was curled in on herself, looking very small and young again.

“Shhh, it’s okay, cutie.” Sage slid over to the trembling prad dog. “The bad doctor is gone. He can’t hurt you anymore, can’t take you away.”

Laika looked at the fox with eyes filled with tears. “I can’t get away from this nightmare of a life. He’ll be back. He always finds me… and somehow I always accept his promises as the truth and then… then I…” She broke down into sobs.

Sage hugged her. “It’ll be fine. We will give you a home. Right, Alpha?”

“Yes,” I said.

“I… I don’t believe you,” Laika bawled. “They… he… He tricked me, betrayed me, promised me a home too. You’re the same… you want something from me… are offering me a family. A sacrifice… That’s all I am… That’s all I’m worth to this blasted doomed Earth!”

“Look at me, Laika,” I said.

I reached across the table. My hand covered her trembling, cold paw. She flinched, muscles bunching under the oversized jacket as if expecting a strike. I did not pull away. I kept my hand there, a solid weight that was hopefully grounding her.

“You are not a sacrifice,” I stated firmly. “You are a person. And you don’t have to be alone anymore.”

“I am… kindling,” she whispered, tears dripping from her muzzle onto the tablecloth. “And kindling exists to burn. It is the law of this place. And after they burn me I’ll be less than nothing, a void between the stars… empty despair.”

“We can fill the empty with something else,” Sage murmured, petting Laika gently. “With warm soup. With bad jokes. With foxes and hugs. Promise on all of my souls.”

Laika looked at the fox, then back at me.

The pain in her eyes was heavy, physically radiating suffering of being stuck in an unending, looping nightmare. It felt like standing at the bottom of a deep well, looking up at a circle of light that was slowly being covered by a stone lid.

“Why do you care?” she croaked. “I am dirty. I have fleas. I bark at cars and squirrel prads like an idiot.”

“I like dogs,” I said. “And I don’t like people who want to use others as fuel for their ambitions.”

Galateya leaned closer, looking like a concerned, older sister.

“I was locked away too,” Galateya said quietly. “Raised in a bubble of five rooms without the sky… with prad wolves who hated and hit me, imprisoned for twenty years. I get you, Laika… I know the feeling of being trapped in a script someone else wrote.”

Laika sniffled, wiping her nose with a grimy sleeve. “How did you… escape?”

“I was… recently let out and was given a mission, a narrative to follow by my great-grandmother… Quests to complete,” Galateya pointed at me and Sage. “Then I met… this boy and this fox. They offered me a new path forward, helped me find my courage, my power, my inner strength. I froze my overseer gun. I can… maybe… try to freeze whatever is binding you,” she offered shyly.

“Really?” Laika asked, blinking at Teya with wet eyes.

“Really,” Galateya said.

“And I can wobble your bonds with a hearty song,” Nexxali grinned.

“And I can take you away from here,” Sage added. “To another place and time…”

“Another time?” Laika blinked. “That’s not possible. Time travel has been declared… suicidal by the Ministry of Magic.”

“Not talkin’ ‘bout time travel.” Sage shook her red mane. “A step sideways to a shared… dream. Think of it as a demonstration, a preview of what it would be like to be in our family.”

The door swung open. A gust of wind swirled into the room, carrying large snowflakes.

Shady stepped back inside.

She looked pristine, blonde hair nicely coiffed, white winter coat spotless. Only a single, small smear of crimson stained the corner of her mouth, which she wiped away with a thumb.

Shady gracefully walked to the table. She pulled out her chair, sat down crossing her legs and looked at Laika.

“D-did you… hurt him?” Laika asked nervously.

“Hurt him? Har. I ate him whole. He was crunchy,” Shady remarked. “And full of gristle. Many silly human deadlines to meet.”

“Told you you would enjoy eating memetics,” Sage grinned.

Shady rolled her eyes at the cheeky fox.

Laika stared at the Wendigo. Her jaw went slack. “You… you really…”

“Yep. He ain’t coming back,” Shady said, patting her belly.

“Nommed,” Sage added. “The doc deffo’ won’t be looking for you ever again.”

“But… he is…” Laika uttered, struggling to fully recall who exactly Vladimir was and why he was haunting her dreams.

“Without him, you have time,” Sage added.

“Time,” Laika repeated, looking at me. “I have… time?”

“Time to have fun,” Sage added with a vulpine smile. “Time to decide what you want to do with your life without being pushed into a diresome direction.”

Laika looked down at her hands. The claws were chipped and dirty.

“I want…” she started, her voice barely audible. “I want to go somewhere else… somewhere different… I want to sleep in a bed. With a pillow. And a blanket that doesn’t smell like oil and mold.”

“My house has many beds,” I said.

“P-promise?” She sniffed.

“Promise,” I said, squeezing her hand.

“We are here for you,” Sage agreed. “You won’t have to suffer alone anymore. Our nippy, personal Nightmare will chew on anyone planning to hurt you.” The fox winked at Shady who tisked back, showing gleaming canines that were far too big for a human.

Laika smiled, tail wagging. “So… how do I… get to the… demonstration?”

“I’ll pull us into my Yesterweave hex,” Sage affixed a friendship bracelet over Laika’s wrist, then snapped similar bracelets over everyone’s wrists. “A… shared dreamscape I’ve been cultivating for ‘bout a year now. My personal happy place stitched together from warm memories and possibilities.”

The mutt stared at the bracelet on her wrist.

“Don’t fret doggo,” Sage added. “S’ goin’ to be a great bonding experience. For everyone.”

“Can we get more specifics?” Shady asked.

“Nah. It’ll be a surprise. One where everyone can get to know each other better,” Sage said. “Without the pressure of imminent planetary doom hanging over our heads. Consider it team building. Very important for pack cohesion! I’ll have it running at way more speed on a deeper layer of the Sea of Foxes.”

Shady seemed to undulate with dark feathers for a second.

“Shades, Nexxy.” Sage grinned. “You two can stay here for a bit, enjoy the all-you-can-eat parasite buffet. Once you’ve had your fill, tap the friendship bracelet and I’ll pull you in too.”

“Mkay.” Shady nodded.

“Sounds good,” Nexxali agreed.

“Excellent.” Sage rubbed her hands together. “Now, fair warning everyone. The landing might be a little bumpy. Actually, it’s going to be very bumpy. On purpose. Mostly for our magless A-man.”

“On purpose?” I raised an eyebrow.

“Yep,” Sage explained. “The whole point is that you won’t be expecting things. You’ll have to figure stuff out as you go. Much more organic. Much more fun. Trust the process. Fox-cess.”

“This sounds suspiciously like you’re about to drop us into somewhere ridiculous,” Galateya observed.

“Ridiculous? Moi?” Sage placed a hand over her heart in mock offense. “I would never. It’s going to be wonderful. A chance to experience the past without the weight of current stresses.”

Laika looked between us. “I don’t understand. Where are we going?”

“Somewhere really nice,” Sage assured her, “a wholesome, warm and colorful place full of wonderful things and adorkable humans. You’re going to love it, promise. Group hug!”

We gathered together in a tight cluster.

Sage pulled us all in, flickering fox-eye-wings stretching to encompass the entire group. Laika ended up pressed against my side, looking thoroughly bewildered. Nexxali purred loudly. Galateya’s colorful scales flickered beneath her human disguise. Shady looked somewhat perturbed.

Sage grinned and snapped her claws. “Hold on tight, everyone. Here. We. Go.”

The world inverted. Time wobbled and compressed, my sense of self stretching and waning.

Then reality shattered in two.

Through one set of my eyes I saw Shady unfolding into a hundred nightmarish Wendigos, spreading out across the restaurant and tearing everything in her path, obliterating furniture, devouring the screaming prad waiters and blurry cafe patrons.

The other me felt like I was falling through infinity, tumbling end over end through endlessness. Fox eyes flashed all around me like falling stars, spinning and swirling in wild patterns.

Then my mind snapped and reality folded into itself.

My feet hurt.

That was the first thing I noticed. The dull ache of standing too long on concrete crawled up through my heels and settled into my calves. I shifted my weight, trying to find a more comfortable position.

A line of people stretched ahead of me, snaking between chrome stanchions with retractable blue belts toward the massive glass doors of the Washington State Convention Center.

A banner hung above the entrance: “EMERALD CITY COMIC CON 2024 - WELCOME HEROES!” with artwork of various Garvel characters in heroic and dramatic poses.

I glanced down at myself. I was wearing an Invader Xim lanyard and my basic ass Gloom Souls cosplay consisting of a shirt painted like Worship the Sun Knight. The badge at the end of the lanyard featured a castle logo, ASHCROFT CLIFFORD - GENERAL ADMISSION and a QR code. Below, smaller text read “4-DAY PASS” with the dates August 22-25, 2024. The lanyard was bright green with white text repeating “ECCC 2024” in repeating patterns.

The line shuffled forward three feet. Progress.

I fished my brick tablet out of my side bag with a yawn.

10:47 AM. Thursday, August 22nd, 2024.

I scrolled through my gram messages.

Dax sent a few lewd cyborg waifu pics he found on geddit and seventeen memes, each one increasingly unhinged. The latest was a deep-fried image of Shrek labeled “ME WHEN THE PIZZA ROLLS ARE DONE” that had been compressed and recompressed so many times it looked like modern art.

Below that, a text from my mom asking if I was eating enough vegetables and whether I was going to have a checkup with my psychiatrist while I was in Seattle. I hadn’t responded. I probably wasn’t eating enough vegetables. Convention food didn’t count. I really didn’t want to talk to Dr. Elena Marsgrove either. I was doing fine without the mind-dulling antipsychotics for a few years now thanks to Dax.

A reminder notification popped up: “Dentist appointment - Monday 3PM.” I dismissed it with a grimace. Future Ash’s problem.

I kept scrolling, killing time while the line moved forward, when someone collided with my shoulder.

“Oh! Sorry!”

I stumbled sideways, nearly dropping my tablet.

A girl in an elaborate costume had bumped into me while trying to navigate the crowded queue. She had a distressed jacket on her and a hyper realistic canine mask featuring brown and white patches, white line and a black nose, one ear flopping forward.

The whole aesthetic screamed “post-apocalyptic dog girl survivor,” a niche costume choice.

“No worries,” I said, adjusting my balance. “Lines like this are basically nerd mosh pits.”

She laughed nervously, looking around wildly. “There are so many people here… and I have no idea where I am or why.”

Her accent was Slavic. Russian, maybe?

“First con?” I asked.

“Uhrm… I guess?” she said, not sounding too sure, “everything is very… big. And loud. And colorful. At least it’s… summer here.”

“Yeah, Seattle has nice weather and Emerald City comic con gets pretty busy,” I agreed. “I remember my first time. Super overwhelming! I just kind of stood in the middle of the vendor hall and spun in circles for like ten minutes.” I stuck out my hand. “I’m Ash, by the way.”

She hesitantly looked at my hand, then accepted the handshake. “Laika.”