Bound by a name

Note:This is loosely inspired by the manga series Tactics by Sakura Kinoshita and Kazuko Higashiyama, but I took some of the concepts in a different direction than how they are used in that work.



She was hungry, but that was usually the case. She wasn't on the verge of starvation. She rarely was. But she was hungry enough to feel hurt. She wasn't just hungry for food, which she usually found about enough of, but also for companionship which she found none of. It wasn't easy for a shapeshifting wolf demon to make friends. Her kind were only slightly more common than unicorns.

The day started out like any other. She woke up, alone, in a makeshift bed of twigs and leaves. She wandered around, alone, to look for food. She sniffed the air to find anything she could to eat. She had less than stimulating conversations with wild animals around her.

"Hello." She said to a bird. "What are you doing today?"

The bird chirped.

"How fascinating." She replied with sarcastic enthusiasm.

She eventually wandered near a human campground. She thought this could be an opportunity to make some friends. She quickly assumed her human form and approached a human girl.

"Hello, what is your name?" The human girl asked.

The wolf-girl was not prepared for that question. A name was something that she had not yet decided on for herself. It was a serious decision. It would seriously influence how others perceived her, if there were any others in her life. Making major decisions was never her strong suit. She never thought she was qualified to make them.

She froze in terrified indecision at the girl's question. She couldn't answer, nor could she run. But after a few seconds she managed to summon up the willpower to take action: she ran away.

When she was sufficiently far away, she rested to catch her breath. That was how it usually went, she reflected. Her attempts at friendship with the humans were thwarted by her anxiety and her lack of familiarity with them, while the animals, though fun to be around, didn't give her the intellectual stimulation she needed.

She began to resign herself to her lonely existence. As the days went on, she would wake up, gather food, explore, sleep and repeat the next day. Until one day something unexpected happened. A young boy approached her. While she had approached various people over years with intent for companionship, this was the first person to approach her with such keen interest, at least for a while.

"Hello there," he said in a friendly tone of voice. "I know what you are."

That scared her. She frequently worried about someone discovering her true nature and becoming some science experiment or carnival show, or even being killed. Nevertheless, she was intrigued.

"Relax." He said reassuringly. "I am quite fascinated with beings such as yourself. I just want to talk. How are you?"

"I..I'm lonely." She squeaked out.

"I would imagine so. I'm lonely too."

She felt a building sense of hope and excitement, but she did not want to get her hopes up. She had believed she had found her salvation before, only for nothing to improve.

"How about this?" He continued. "You come and live with me. We will provide each other with companionship and I will give you a home in exchange for some help around the house and with my business."

"T-That sounds good." She said, her shyness somewhat masking her elation.

"However, if you are going to live with me, I expect some guarantee you'll help out."

"Of course, you can trust me."

"But I don't really know you. Would you be willing to go through a naming ritual for me?"

"What is that?"

"There is a ritual that makes members of your kind submissive to the one who gives them a name when they call that name. It will mostly just give you a strong urge to perform simple tasks for me when I ask. You can trust me. It's just a little insurance."

"I guess that would be okay." She said apprehensively. She had doubts but the promise of ending her loneliness was too enticing. Furthermore, she needed better food and shelter.

After a brief discussion of details, they began the ritual. They went to a fairly open part of the forest and he drew a circle around her in the dirt. He placed his hand on her shoulder.

"I name you Jezebel." He said.

"I am Jezebel." She replied.

"Jezebel, serve me. Become my familiar."

She felt a strange feeling come over her as he said those words. She felt restricted, but focused and, in a strange way, at peace.

"Come on, let's go home." He said.

They went to his home, a modest house in the countryside.

"Let me show you to your room." He said.

They went to a small bedroom upstairs. It was plain, but nice. It was a lot better than what she had been accustomed to. She felt grateful.

"How about we celebrate?" He continued. "Jezebel, go make us some tea."

As he said her new name, she could feel her blood shift within her. She sprung to attention with military precision. As he gave the order, she felt an overwhelming urge to make them tea, so strong that she almost automatically marched to the kitchen, made them tea and served it.

"That will take some getting used to." She said quietly.

As they drank tea together, however, she felt a sense of warmth and security she had not felt for a long time.

As the weeks went on, she fell into a demanding, but comfortable routine. Every day, she would rise early, make breakfast, clean the house, run errands, take care of the yard, make dinner and do general things he desired. The work was tiring, but she liked feeling useful and enjoyed the leisure time they would spend together, but one day, things took a troubling turn.

"You're going to need to get a job." He said, sternly and out of the blue.

"Well, I have a lot to do around here." She said submissively.

"They are cutting back on my hours at work."

"Why?"

"Jezebel, be quiet!" He said firmly.

She felt a sense of fear and anxiety and was unable to speak for the next few minutes.

The next day she went out looking for a job. She tried to apply at a grocery store. It did not go well.

"What's your name?" The manager asked.

"Jezebel." She replied.

"Interesting... What's your last name?"

She just stood there frozen until eventually he said he was not interested.

She had better luck at a tea shop by using her master's last name. When she got home, she told him the good news.

"I got a job!" She said, proudly.

"About time!" He replied, impatiently.

She was upset by his reply. She was proud that she managed to get a job and she expected him to be proud too. But he had changed. He used to be more understanding and kind, but recently he has gradually gotten more and more irritable and demanding. Nothing seemed enough for him.

She fell into a new routine. Though scary at first, she soon began to enjoy working at the tea shop. She was diligent and focused. Her manager complimented her on her meticulousness. It felt good. Almost like she felt when she first started working for her master. She started to get more comfortable when her co-workers tried to engage her.

"I never got your name." A friendly girl she worked with said.

"It's Jezebel." She said in a quiet and aloof tone.

"That's an interesting name. Would you want to go out with us after work?"

"Uh, no. Sorry. I have to go home after work."

"Do you have a family to get back to?"

"Not exactly." She said before hurrying off to go home. She felt nervous, but intrigued that someone else would be interested in her.

When she got home, she began cooking dinner for her master.

"We need more money coming in." He said firmly.

"I am already very busy and tired. I don't know if I could take on another job."

"Figure something out!"

"Maybe you should figure something out..."

"What was that?"

She froze. She honestly wasn't sure what that was. It seemed like a moment of confidence or courage. But that seemed unlikely for her.

"Nothing." She replied.

Over the next few days she continued her normal routine while thinking of how she could bring in more money. One day a co-worker asked if she would like to go out again.

"We're going out to a bar after work today. Would you want to come?"

She almost said that she couldn't because she needed to look for another job. But she felt oddly different.

"Okay." She replied quietly.

"Great!"

They went out for drinks and Jezebel started to have a good time, until they began asking about her personal life.

"So, what's your situation?" One asked.

"Well, I live with a guy."

"Is he your boyfriend?"

"No, I just do work for him."

"So, he hired you as maid or servant?"

"Not exactly, I don't get paid, but he lets me live with him. He's probably going to be mad. I was supposed to look for another job after work to bring in more money."

"So, you have to maintain his house and bring in money for him? Your relationship seems unequal to me."

"But I need him."

"Why?"

She wasn't sure how to answer that. She felt nervous. Suddenly, two wolf ears sprouted out of her head, giving her friend quite a shock.

"I.. I have got to go!" Jezebel exclaimed as she hurried off.

When she got home, her master asked how the job hunt went.

"Well." She replied. "I should hear back from some places soon."

"Jezebel, make me dinner."

"Yes, sir."

She wasn't looking forward to work the next day. She didn't know what to say to her co-worker and friend who witnessed the incident.

"What happened yesterday?" Her friend asked.

"I...I have a condition that makes me change like that. It's kind of embarrassing." She said, semi-truthfully.

"That's weird, but whatever. Would you be available to go out again sometime?"

"You don't mind my condition?"

"It's not contagious... is it?"

"N-no."

"It's fine then."

Jezebel couldn't believe her friend didn't seem to mind. Maybe others wouldn't mind.

When she got home, her master barked at her.

"You haven't been looking for more work, have you?"

"I have. I just haven't heard back yet."

"You keep saying that. If it were true, we would have heard something by now."

"Well, I don't think that I should have to get more work. Don't I already do enough?"

"I decide what is enough! You are not being grateful. Maybe I have been giving you too much leeway."

"No... I don't think I can live with you anymore."

"You have no choice."

"I...I don't think that is true anymore."

She began to walk towards the door.

"Jezebel, stop!" He ordered, forcefully.

She halted. She suddenly couldn't move. She felt afraid. But she didn't want to live like this and she didn't have to. After a strong burst of effort, she slowly moved one foot forward. Then another. Soon she was running out the door. She was free.

She slept in the woods that night, like in the old days, but she did not intend this to be permanent.

She went to work again the next morning and struck up a conversation with her friend.

"I left him."

"Good for you!" Her friend said, cheerfully.

"I feel better, but I'm currently homeless. Could I stay with you, just temporarily?"

"That's fine. I would be happy to have you, Jezebel."

"Actually, you can call me Alyson."