The Fae World: Quindil: Murphy: The Arrival of the Griffins
We knew that something had happened, but it wasn’t until three months later that we learnt what it was. That was the day the first of the griffins, a mated pair, let themselves be found. After spending much of their time in conversation they’d decided they needed to start working with the races they shared the world with. It was appreciated by us, at least, as it explained to us why we had changed, and gave us a chance to decide what our next step was going to be. Making that sort of decision wasn’t easy, especially as we couldn’t all agree with what we should be doing, so, after several days of conversation we finally came to the conclusion that we needed to test out what the reaction of our humans might be. Five of us volunteered, with the knowledge that if everything did go wrong we’d have somewhere to go, thanks to the street dogs.
The street wasn’t where I wanted to end up. It wasn’t where any of us wanted to end up, but sometimes things happened and the street dogs had stuck together ever since the changes had started to affect us. Even though we never expected them to they did become the voice of reason, as they weren’t emotionally connected to humans and therefore didn’t have anyone they were desperate not to lose, and, in the days running up to our experiment, I found myself spending more time with them than I ever thought I would. We’d never really given them the time they deserved before, so I was glad that we could change things between us before the day came when we might all be street dogs.
Of course they weren’t all welcoming. I don’t blame them. They knew that we’d always looked down on them and having us there made them angry. Having their fellows welcoming us, after the way we’d treated them, made them very unhappy, so they did their best to stay out of it all. Fortunately they knew that fighting wasn’t going to do any good. All it would do was draw attention to us, which was what we didn’t need in the time before our experiment. Part of me wanted it to happen, because I had a horrible feeling I knew what the reaction of my humans was going to be, even though the rest of me was clinging onto the time I had left with them, knowing that it wouldn’t be long, that there was a chance I would end up on the streets, because they weren’t going to want a dog with magic.
Why would they? I wasn’t even certain I wanted to be a dog with magic, but I didn’t have any choice. Thanks to the griffins, who I didn’t blame, I had become something that wasn’t me, and I wasn’t certain how to deal with that. None of us were really, so all we could do was our best. Unfortunately it sometimes didn’t feel like my best was good enough. Some days I really did feel like it would be much simpler if I just walked away from everything I knew. At least then it would be my choice, rather than theirs, although there was a part of me that wanted it to be theirs. If it was it wasn’t me who’d been disloyal.
In the evenings I’d lay in my normal spot watching them. They didn’t know that anything had changed. How could they? A couple of times they had talked about the griffins and what that meant, but they had no idea how much of an effect the griffins’ arrival was going to have on them. Maybe if they had they’d have started to think about the possibility that the magic might have changed the other animals, animals they had in their own home, and it was then that I’d glance at Hania, who was obviously thinking about the same thing. Living with cats did help us, as it meant we knew they’d decided the same thing, so there were five cats preparing for the same thing I was. Hania wasn’t one of them, although she was watching, because their decision about me would have an effect on her.
At night Hania and I spent more time together than we had before. We’d always been friends, but the changes had affected both of us, so we did our best to support each other. I will always be grateful to her for that. There were days when I found myself waking up curled around her, with her head on my paws, because we were both scared of what was coming next, although I think she was more comfortable with the idea of living on the streets than I was. Being a cat made things a little simpler for her. She didn’t want to lose her home and yet she knew if she did there were places she could go. House cats and street cats didn’t have the same problem as house dogs and street dogs did. I can’t help things would have been simpler for us if we had the same freedom as the cats did, because if we did there is a chance our relationship would be different.
Morning brought with it the same fear that something would happen before we were ready for it. There was always that chance and some days I wished my life had never changed, because it had been so much simpler before the arrival of the griffins. We didn’t tell them that we were having problems, even though I’m sure they would have helped us if we had, as things were more difficult for them than I think they expected it to be. Our world must have been different to the one they’d left behind. If it hadn’t been they wouldn’t have made the decision to try to work with the bipedal race of our world, which I believe was, mostly at least, a mistake. As far as they were concerned griffins were just another form of animal that they could breed and sell.
Hania says it because they’re looking for something. Neither of us know what, or if they’re ever going to find it, but I hope they do, otherwise permitting themselves to be found would have been for nothing. There are six breeding pairs on our world - the bipedals know of three of them and the other three are still wild. I only know this thanks to Hania, because the cats have the chance to learn more than we do, so we’re fortunate that they pass on what we learn. For us everything is so much harder, although, due to the way we’ve been affected by the magic, it is much easier for us to talk to each other than it ever was before. Had it not been for our ability to communicate telepathically we would never have been able to make any choices.
We did, though, and with every day that passed I found myself one day closer to having to tell them what had happened to me. I would have to explain to them that I had magic, that I’d become something more than what I was before, and be ready for the possibility that the people I loved so much would kick me out. The littlest people would be easier to talk to, so that was a possibility, although if I did go to them there was a chance that the biggest wouldn’t listen. Unfortunately that was often an issue in our household. After conversing with other house dogs I found they’d noticed the same things. If we wanted it to be a true experiment we had to go to the biggest, even though there was a chance they’d think someone was playing a trick on them.
Honestly, even with everything that I’ve been through since then, that was one of the hardest times of my life. It was the not knowing that was the problem. When I’d look at the humans I thought of as mine, because they had been since I was a puppy, I knew there was a chance they wouldn’t be mine any longer once they knew what I’d become, and then my life would change once again. Changes like the ones we went through were never something I could have imagined would happen to us. None of us did and if we had it wouldn’t have fixed anything, unfortunately. We simply had to cope with it all as best we could, which was harder for some of us than it was for others. Those were the ones who’d have happily hidden what they’d become if it meant they could stay with their humans, no matter how hard it became to do that, and even the week that we gave ourselves was almost too much.
Giving ourselves a week, I believe, was our way of pretending that everything was going to fix itself, so we wouldn’t need to go through with the experiment. I know the street dogs thought that as well. The spaniel I got to know out there was kinder to me than I ever thought a street dog would be, but then he could understand what we were all going through. He’d once been a house dog, until his humans decided they didn’t want him any more, and he hadn’t been given any warning, so it had been easier in some ways than it was for us. Or at least that’s what he said. It had just happened. All he could do was deal with it. We were planning for it to happen, because we didn’t believe our humans would accept us for what we’d become.
Some days it’s still hard for me to accept what I’ve become. Having magic is interesting, but if I could swap it for my humans I would, because I loved them. Even though I wish I didn’t I still seem them around and one of my littlest humans seems to be looking for me. I’m not certain of that. All I know if that she’s been checking out some of the places I’m known to spend time. My spaniel friend tells me when he sees her, so I can decide what I want to do, no matter how long it takes. There is a part of me that wants to talk to her and if I wasn’t terrified she was going to tell me that I failed her I’d let that part convince me. The time may come when I don’t have a choice - she’ll be in the same place I am and we’ll end up having to talk.
One thing I’ve realised in the time I’ve been out here is that the magic has changed us more than we could ever have expected. I was four when it happened and now that I’m getting older I thought that everything would become more difficult, but it hasn’t had the effect on me that I expected it to. My breed is known for their hip issues, so I believed they’d affect me, which makes me wonder exactly what the magic has done to us. Has it fixed us to make our lives easier? Has it made our lives longer and the time will comes when I feel the problems of old age start to have their effect? Unfortunately there is no one for us to ask. The cats have talked to the griffins, who have no idea how the magic might have changed us, although they have apologised more than once for what they’ve done to us.
For the majority those apologies are more than enough. We aren’t angry with them for choosing to save their own lives. I think they want us to be, because they remember how angry they were when the same thing happened to them, but it’s easier for us to accept and move on than it seems to be for them. Of course they were forced to leave their home world behind in the end, which just made it all worse. Now they’re here their lives are much more difficult, or so they say, while they hunt for the person they’ve been looking for since they first arrived. As they don’t know when they might come across whoever it is they know they have to be patient, but being patient when you can’t teach the people who’ve decided they own you how to look after you is something I imagine is very difficult.
Mirrored from K. A. Webb Writing.