When she was just a little pup, barely a teenager, she had first met him, the Guardian, the Protector. In his charge, countless souls sought peace and tranquility, a passage to the Underworld, the afterlife, far beyond their world.

Jess had nearly died then, having been thrown from a cart after a terrible accident. As she lay on the cold, dusty ground, hardly breathing, he came for her, ready to secure her spirit and commend it to its destiny. She raised a paw out towards him, waiting for him, and he came to her and stroked it.

A strange, warm sensation enveloped them both. She had never seen anyone more handsome in all her life, and she fell in love with Anubis at first sight. The jackal in turn had never seen a lovelier wolf, young, fresh, on the edge of adulthood.

And so alive.

He had not taken her that time, for what was the point in that? She still breathed, her body still warm, her purple eyes still bright and aware. Instead, he had stroked her paw again and disappeared.

But Jess could not be deprived of her new-found love, and she knew how she could summon him to her side. When she was of proper age, she became a soldier, a true warrior for her people, and met the enemy upon battlefields all over the country, tasting blood while giving out some of her own.

For years, she fought to the death with her combatants, and every so often her wounds would be so great, that it appeared she herself was close to death. It was during those times that the Protector would come to her, and touch her paw, and her strength and will to live would return to her once more, and she would come back to the living world, and again Anubis would vanish from her sight.

Then came the day Jess fought again, and this time it was a battle she would not win. As she lay on the grass, mortally wounded, her life’s blood draining into the earth, he came for her again.

This time it was different, and Anubis knew she would die. It would be the last time he would ever see her. Her soul would depart and move on to its next plane of existence.

He bent down and lifted the beautiful wolf like a broken doll into his arms. He looked into her eyes, stroked her cheek, and pressed his mouth to hers in a warm kiss.

Jess began to cry, knowing she would not see him again. As she lifted her paw to touch the jackal’s cheek, her breathing stopped, and her head slumped against his chest.

She was gone.

Anubis stroked her cheek, tears rolling down his face, and then amidst the shouts and clangs of war, the lovers vanished from the field.



Jess is me

Anubis is

Art by  zeitzbach

Story by  lei-lani