"HOWDY!" greeted Eneit Synklar.
Oddly enough, the first thing that caught Enid's attention was the voice.
Eneit's voice sounded virtually identical to her own, but with a slightly deeper tone. But other than that, same voice. There wasn't the hint of a foreign accent that was noticeable in Saint-Clair's, for example. It caught her attention because all the Wednesdays she had met so far had distinctive voices. Sometimes very distinctive.
Second, there was an unexpected sense of... envy? No, it wasn't really envy. More like stunned admiration.
Enid was not insecure. At least she had learned to stop being so after two years of Addams-style positive reinforcement. She was proud of her scars, and she was aware that she was in good shape. She had always been athletic (lycanthropic metabolism stuff, it's almost impossible to find a werewolf who has weight issues), but after her first transformation she had gained a little more height and noticed some increase in her muscle mass. It wasn't that she was absurdly muscular, it was more that she was, as Wednesday would say, "absurdly well sculpted in perfect proportionality."
But anyway, Yoko had called her buff on a couple of occasions, and it was true that her male counterpart from another dimension, Eamon, was also very well built from what she'd seen in the picture the twins showed her, but...
Well, even Eamon would look small next to Eneit Synklar.
Sweetmonkeyjesus, she thought, her gaze locked on the newcomer.
Eneit Synklar was tall. Like, really, really tall. The woman was a titan of a little more than seven feet tall, just like Pugslæg, that could surely come face to face with a transformed Enid without too much trouble. That coupled with her formidable musculature gave her an imposing appearance, with her fur garb, the ritual tattoos on her arms and the scars on a face that was still beautiful. Enid couldn't help but wonder what size her lupine form must have been. She must have been a formidable monster.
Ok, maybe there was a little bit of envy.
"I apologize for the delay!" exclaimed Eneit, "Lady Tanaka and her entourage have just arrived for the wedding and we were just catching up. Her new paramour is a siren!"
"You're not late, cara mia," said Wodnesdæg, "We practically just walked in, Lurch was adamant about formally introducing us and we've only been here a couple of minutes. We haven't even been able to begin a proper conversation with our guest."
At Wodnesdæg's words, Eneit turned her attention to Enid, who waved a small greeting with her hand.
"Oh, Pugs, you were right!" the barbarian warrior exclaimed, smiling, "Spirits, it's like she's a little sister!"
There was something infectious in the effervescence of her attitude. Enid found herself smiling back.
"Well, I've never had a big sister. I guess there's no problem with that even though we're technically the same person."
"Oh, yeah, that's weird," Eneit said, still smiling.
Wodnesdæg approached Enid, leaning slightly over her, watching her with an intensity that made the young she-wolf gulp.
"I trust my brother's capabilities of judgment," said the crown prince, "If it were not for that my first impression of you would be that of an untalented doppelgänger. Or perhaps a homunculus."
"Ok, the doppelgänger thing I can get, but what's with the homunculus?" asked Enid.
"It's because you're chiquita," said Gomesco, watching the scene with amusement.
Enid snorted, "I'm not tiny! It's just that everyone else is stupidly tall in this dimension. Except Grandmama and you, Gomez... I mean, Gomesco," the young lycanthrope said, just before an expression of horror materialized on her face, "Oh shit, you're a king and queen! Do I have to curtsy in some way? I don't know what the protocol is for...!"
Gomesco began to laugh as if he had been told the best joke in the world. It was Queen Morsician who responded, with a gentle smile that instantly reassured Enid.
"Be at ease, young lady. From what our Pugslæg has told us you are family to a version of us from the realm you come from. So as far as we are concerned you are family too. There is no need for such formalities."
"But please, let's get comfortable and tell us your story," said Gomesco, "It's not every day one gets family visits from beyond this reality!"
"Uh... it's a bit of a long story, and with the wedding stuff I wouldn't want to..."
Eneit laughed, patting Enid on the back with such force that a couple of years ago it would have thrown the young she-wolf to the ground, "Don't worry about it, little sister! It's still hours before the ceremony, and it's just me and my Wod in front of his father answering yes to if we want to be together and nothing else. And then a party!"
"It's nothing but pure politics, really," Wodnesdæg added, crossing his arms, "Appearances and showmanship in the face of the kingdom and our neighbors to cement our position, and an excuse to try to establish ties with other lords. But the marriage itself... well, you might say that my Eneit and I have been married for some time now."
"Oh, yes, and we have consummated it on multiple occasions," said the barbarian princess with a sly smile, nudging a suddenly blushing Wodnesdæg. Enid couldn't help blushing herself. Though in all fairness she had no right to be scandalized, she and Wednesday were fortunate that their room at Nevermore was relatively isolated from the rest, or else the complaints about the noise would have been...
Ok, not the moment Enid, clean thoughts.
She tried to ignore Pugsley's whispered "Like mother and father" and Tiberius' patient sigh.
"Stop distracting our guest and sit down," said Grandmama, already settled in one of the chairs surrounding the circular table with the map of the kingdom, "The Volvaugr has more important things to take care of, let her tell her story."
At the mention of that term, Queen Morsician exchanged glances between Grandmama and Enid, "She is the Volvaugr?" she asked.
“Wait, for real?”, asked Eneit, suddenly looking at Enid with stars in her eyes.
"There will be time for that later," replied the old woman, "Now, let us sit and listen."
And so they did, they all sat around the circular table. Enid began her story, and started with what for her was the real beginning. She told them how her Wednesday and she encountered dimensional variants of the Addams brought into their universe by a faulty spell. She told them how three months later they encountered the twins, the first Shadow Hyde and how they discovered that someone was abducting counterparts of Wednesday across the multiverse. She told them about the beginning of their journey and their mission, she told them about their reunions with Pup and Woe, meeting Taylor, the duel with Saint-Clair, the hellish dimension of Agent A...
She told them how The Bright One defeated them all as if they were nothing, fighting the bitterness of the words coming out of her mouth.
"I know Pup and Woe escaped, and if all went well they should have made it to my home universe," Enid said, "But I don't know what happened to the twins and the others, and I'm afraid my Wednesday has..."
She held back a sob, silently grateful for Eneit's hand suddenly resting on her shoulder to offer comfort.
Silence reigned for a few moments, before it was broken by Wodnesdæg, "What are the chances that one of those creatures made of shadows could come after me, my lady?"
"Well, you're... you're the Wednesday of this reality, so they're high. But I don't know when..."
Enid interrupted herself. There would be a wedding in a short time. An ideal event for... She tried not to frown, thinking it was the ideal situation for Needler's absurd Rule of Drama theory, but it was becoming increasingly clear to her that the mad scientist Addams had hit on something with it, or perhaps the forces of the cosmos loved clichés.
"The truth," the young she-wolf continued, "Is that I would not rule out an attack during the wedding, or perhaps during the celebration afterwards."
Wodnesdæg rose abruptly, unsheathing a long black sword which he raised above his head.
"Let them come then!" he declared, "This sword can cut through darkness as easily as it cuts through the steel and flesh of my enemies. I welcome this challenge."
"Oh, no, no, no, no," said Enid, "No way. Your future wife's claws will work better."
To his credit, the Addams merely frowned slightly but there was no sign of irritation in him. Just sincere curiosity.
"Explain, please."
"The Shadow Hyde and their master, The Bright One... well, I have no idea exactly how it works but they have a magic that makes them invulnerable to any attack they can perceive. The only way to damage them is by surprise, flanking them or using one of the few things we know that hurts them no matter what their defenses are."
"My claws?" asked Eneit, slightly extending the ones in her right hand.
Enid nodded, "Our claws. Apparently our variants can hurt them every time. Oh, and if you know any Hyde's by the family name of Galpin maybe they can too."
"The Galpins are one of the ruling families of the kingdom of Jeriko and have always hated outcasts," said Wodnesdæg, "That one of them could be a Hyde is both disturbing and hilarious. That would make a good show of their hypocrisy."
"Hmm, I can do quite a bit of damage with my claws, but I'd be more useful on a full moon," said Eneit, thoughtfully, "Of course you wouldn't have that problem, being the Volvaugr."
"Ok, I have to interrupt... What exactly is the Volvaugr?", Enid asked.
"You told me yourself, child," replied Grandmama.
"I told you I'm the Guardian Wolf. And it was by... like by instinct. But I don't know what that other word really means."
"What do you know of the Guardian Wolf, Lady Enid?" asked Morsician.
"Uh... well, the term used in my reality is from Latin, custos lupus. And it's literally 'guardian wolf', a lycanthrope that is not bound by the phases of the moon, can transform when they want to, and are usually late bloomers. There haven't been many throughout history, there are hardly any records about them..."
"There is always a Volvaugr. There have been and will be many. When the fire of one Volvaugr is extinguished, it is reborn in another," Grandmama said.
Enid blinked, puzzled.
"But that doesn't make sense, Wednesday looked up information and the last guardian wolf on record before me lived centuries ago. Wednesday theorized that many late bloomers who died prematurely after being abandoned by their packs might be cases that never manifested, but..."
"Tsch," huffed the old woman, "Your Wednesday is intelligent like my Wodnesdæg, but you come from a universe of dormant magic, more mundane than anything else. You rely on broken and inaccurate information. There is always a Volvaugr, child. You were born the same day your predecessor died, and your successor will be born the day you leave your mortal coil. But none of them have ever had to be born, live or die in your universe."
What?
"What... what are you saying? What does this mean?" muttered Enid. A strange, vertigo-like sensation was beginning to come over her.
"A Volvaugr is always born in the universe where its presence will be necessary. There will always be a Guardian Wolf somewhere in all the infinite Creation," explained the old witch, "Of course, depending on the universe at hand, it doesn't have to be a wolf itself, only the creature that most resembles it. But there will always be one, and you are the last of a very long line, child."
"But that... I don't... Are you saying I'm some kind of cosmic guardian of the multiverse?" asked Enid, noticing that a hint of hysteria was creeping into her voice. The whole thing was absurdly over the top!
Was it? Really?
She wasn't subdued to the moon, she was bigger and stronger than any other werewolf when fully transformed.
But that surely didn't mean that...
And she kept changing, didn't she? She had begun to be able to speak despite being fully transformed. She had started to resist a telekinesis spell that should have liquefied her bones.
"No, not necessarily," the old woman continued, oblivious to Enid's inner turmoil, "Normally a Volvaugr stays in their dimension and attends to their business in that realm of reality. Even within the Volvaugr you are an anomaly, jumping between realities and facing an enemy that threatens multiple universes. I fear fate holds a much more complicated role for you, young she-wolf."
Enid didn't know what to say in the face of the bombshell that had just been dropped. Again, it was her counterpart's hand resting on her shoulder as a token of reassurance what kept her anchored to her consciousness.
"I'm afraid what Grandmama is saying is that you are some sort of Chosen One, little sister," said Eneit Synklar, "My condolences, that usually is a pain in the arse."
NOTES
Ah, there's nothing like a short, relaxing chapter before having to get everything back on track for the main plot.
Oh, what's this? A wild exposition of lore appeared? Good luck Enid!
Translations:
chiquita (spanish): small, little girl.
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