| rdfs:comment | - In mexican folklore, the seventh child is nuhual, a skinchanger, if a boy, or a brujah [witch] if a girl. Most people dont believe in the legends anymore, but Luis often found himself given a wide berth by the more superstitious members of the migrant workers camps, and it wasnt long before he gained the attention of a self proclaimed 'hechicero' or mexican sorceror, tending to, or preying on, the illegal immigrants. Believing him to be powerfully magical, he took the young nuhual under his wing, teaching him folk magic, how to elecit visions with peyote and other drugs, and other basics.
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| abstract | - In mexican folklore, the seventh child is nuhual, a skinchanger, if a boy, or a brujah [witch] if a girl. Most people dont believe in the legends anymore, but Luis often found himself given a wide berth by the more superstitious members of the migrant workers camps, and it wasnt long before he gained the attention of a self proclaimed 'hechicero' or mexican sorceror, tending to, or preying on, the illegal immigrants. Believing him to be powerfully magical, he took the young nuhual under his wing, teaching him folk magic, how to elecit visions with peyote and other drugs, and other basics. Whether this had any influence on Luis is hard to say, but when Luis reached puberty he did begin to have dreams, or nightmares, in which he was a large black dog, hunting prey in the migrant camps and the surrounding towns. It may have been coincidence, but when small animals, chickens, cats, even goats began to turn up missing or dead, apparently attacked by a coyote, some of the locals began blessing themselves when Luis would pass by, whispering amongst themselves. When a baby was killed and partially eaten, Luis decided it would be smart to leave the places where he was known, and headed into the city. Poor and mostly uneducated, but with a natural feel for animals, Luis fell in with a group of dog fighting enthusiasts, a popular, though illegal, sport in some communities. Often feeling more comfortable with the dogs than with people, Luis took to it avidly, and gained the street name "Lupo" (the wolf) amongst the criminal element that frequented the fights. Still the dreams continued, but if animals disappeared or were killed, no one noticed or reported it. Often in the dreams, he would be stalking through a wild and primal jungle, stalking, or being stalked by something he could not name. Through these dreams Lupo realized that the inner cities where the modern jungles - places where the laws of civilization did not apply, where the only law was survival of the fittest. Then, one night, after a particularly good fight and drug laden celebration afterwards, he found what he was looking for. Stalking through the primal jungle, he caught the scent of what he was seeking, and slowly crept towards it. In a clearing another large dog snarled at him. Without hesitation, Lupo attacked the other dog, biting and tearing. The other dogs teeth sliced into his flesh again and again, but he would not let go, finally sinking his own teeth into the opponents throat, feeling the warm blood splashing over his muzzle. The approaching flashlight of the nightguard roused Lupo from his waking dream, and he looked around the construction site, and the dying guarddog laying at his feet. Although covered in blood and beginning to panic, Lupo knew now that he was a nuhual, a sorceror and skinchanger, and knew from the legends what he had to do. He cut open the dogs chest and pulled out the heart, still beating slowly. With an effort, he took a bite, taking in the dogs flesh, blood and spirit. Then he ran. When he was cleaned up, Lupo packed up his truck, his best dogs, and a few possessions and left the city, heading up the coast. Still too close to the people and places from before, he continued on up through California, and Oregon, into Washington.
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