Rieko Yamamoto was an unusual addition to the club.

She believed in werewolves.

VAN HELSING

WHAT MAKES YOU BELIEVE THAT WEREWOLVES EXIST?

RIEKO

I DON’T KNOW EXACTLY. I JUST ALWAYS HAVE.


She was a spellcaster of some ken. But I have never heard of the werewolf outside of myth and legend. Though, that was just my own experience.

VAN HELSING

HAVE YOU EVER SEEN PROOF OF THE WEREWOLF?

RIEKO

I’VE HAD DREAMS.

VAN HELSING

YOU’VE HAD DREAMS?

PLEASE ELABORATE.

RIEKO

I’VE HAD DREAMS THAT I’M BEING CHASED BY AN ENORMOUS, BESTIAL WEREWOLF.

HE’S BROWN, ENTIRELY COVERED WITH THICK FUR.

VAN HELSING

AND YOU BELIEVE THE DREAMS?


Dream interpretation was not a forte of mine. But I was always looking to improve.

RIEKO

WELL, YES, IN A WAY. THEY’VE BEGUN TO LEAK OVER INTO MY WAKING THOUGHTS.

IT’S HARD NOT TO BELIEVE THAT THEY’RE REAL.

I FIND MYSELF LOOKING OVER MY SHOULDER, WONDERING IF HE’S THERE, WATCHING ME.

VAN HELSING

“HE”?

RIEKO

YES, I GET THE OVERWHELMING FEELING THAT IT’S A HE, JUST WAITING TO PREY UPON ME.

VAN HELSING

WHAT DOES THE WEREWOLF WANT FROM YOU?

RIEKO

WHAT DOES THE WEREWOLF WANT FROM ME?

TO STOP LOOKING FOR HIM.

VAN HELSING

WILL YOU GIVE THAT TO HIM?

RIEKO

NO, I THINK IT’S MY DUTY TO WARN OTHERS ABOUT HIM, EVEN IF I GET KILLED IN THE PROCESS.

IT JUST FEELS LIKE THE RIGHT THING TO DO.

VAN HELSING

IS THAT DREAM YOU OR WAKING YOU?

RIEKO

OH, CERTAINLY WAKING ME.

DREAM ME IS ABSOLUTELY TERRIFIED OF THE WEREWOLF.


She did not seem so terrified.

VAN HELSING

WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOU FOUND THE WEREWOLF?

RIEKO

FIND? HE FINDS ME.

VAN HELSING

CAPTURE, PERHAPS.

RIEKO

ME? I DON’T KNOW.

PROBABLY TRY TO ZIPZAP IT TO DEATH BUT I DOUBT THAT WOULD WORK.

VAN HELSING

HOW OLD WERE YOU WHEN YOU FIRST STARTED TO EXPERIENCE VISIONS?

RIEKO

TWELVE OR THIRTEEN OR SO. I SAW A SCARY MOVIE AT MY MOM’S PLACE.

VAN HELSING

AND THE MOVIE FEATURED THE WEREWOLF?

RIEKO

YEAH.

IT WAS ONE OF THOSE OLD RETRO HORROR FLICKS.

VAN HELSING

AND THIS MADE YOU AFRAID OF THE WEREWOLF?

RIEKO

WELL, NOT EXACTLY.

THE MOVIE STUCK OUT TO ME BUT IT WAS THE RECURRING DREAMS THAT MADE ME AFRAID.

VAN HELSING

YOU SAY “DREAMS”, NOT “NIGHTMARES”?

RIEKO

I GUESS THEY’RE NIGHTMARES, JUST…

IN THEM I’M COMPLETELY LUCID, IN CONTROL.

AT LEAST FOR A LITTLE BIT.

VAN HELSING

WHAT DEFINES A NIGHTMARE FOR YOU, THEN? A VISION IN WHICH YOU’RE NOT FULLY IN CONTROL?

RIEKO

YEAH, I GUESS.

VAN HELSING

SO, THEN, YOU’RE IN CONTROL WHEN THE WEREWOLF APPEARS.

RIEKO

YEAH, MOSTLY.

I DON’T USUALLY END UP DOING MUCH, THOUGH I’VE TRIED A FEW TIMES.

THEN I’M JUST SO AFRAID THAT I WAKE MYSELF UP.

I’VE TRIED TO KEEP MYSELF IN THE DREAM BUT SO FAR I’VE BEEN UNSUCCESSFUL.

VAN HELSING

VERY INTERESTING.

RIEKO

HM?


If it was true that she truly could walk the Dream, then her dreams were more than idle happenstance.

VAN HELSING

YOU ALWAYS SAVE YOURSELF FROM INEVITABLE DOOM BY BREAKING DOWN THE RULES OF THE PLANE IN WHICH YOU FIND YOURSELF.

YOU WAKE UP BEFORE ANY HARM CAN COME TO YOU.

RIEKO

YEAH I GUESS SO.

I’VE ALWAYS BEEN A SCAREDY CAT.

VAN HELSING

THERE YOU GO AGAIN, NEGATIVE FRAMING.

RIEKO

SORRY.

VAN HELSING

NO NEED TO APOLOGIZE BUT ALSO NO NEED TO COUCH A VICTORY IN DEFEAT.

YOU HAVE EVADED THE GRASP OF THE WEREWOLF FOR THIS LONG, ARE THERE ANY SIGNS IT MAY CHANGE?

RIEKO

LIKE BAD OMENS?

VAN HELSING

OR RECENT CHANGES TO THE PATTERN.

RIEKO

WELL, I GET THE FEELING HE’S GETTING SMARTER.

LIKE, HE’S ABLE TO ACCESS HIS HUMAN FACULTIES WHILE SHAPESHIFTED.

VAN HELSING

CAN YOU SEE HIS EYES?

RIEKO

HIS EYES? OH, WELL, THEY’RE…GREEN, I THINK.

GREY?

MAYBE SOME KIND OF GREY-ISH GREEN.

VAN HELSING

ARE THEY A WOLF’S EYES?

RIEKO

NO, NOT REALLY.

THEY’RE HUMAN IN EXPRESSION, IN MOVEMENT.

…OR WERE THEY BLUE?

VAN HELSING

WAS IT A MAN OR A WOLF?

RIEKO

A MAN-WOLF. BUT WITH A MUPPET MOUTH.

VAN HELSING

SO IT’S THE MASK FROM YOUR MOVIE.

RIEKO

YEAH, MAYBE. BUT IT CAN TALK.

AND IT HAS TEETH.

VAN HELSING

DO THE TEETH WORK OR ARE THEY ALSO STUFFED?

RIEKO

OH, THEY WORK.

THEY EVEN SHINE.

VAN HELSING

ARE THEY SHARP?

RIEKO

YES.

SMALL, BUT SHARP.