Shifter's Journeys, Book One: the Scar, the Sword, and the Saga

Never Trust a Ten-Year-Old With a Sword

"What were you doing outside the forest?!" Dad asks, furious.

"Uh, well... um, y'see Shifter..." Brody stammers.

"Don't blame someone else for your actions," answers Mom, "Tell us the truth."

"It was my fault," I interject, "A branch crashed on the ground and scared me through the bushes." Our parents' glares soften.

"So why didn't you go back after you fell through?" Dad asks. Brody and I catch each other's gaze, then he nods. I launch into our... "adventure," our parents' faces looking less stern and more concerned as the story progresses.

"...And after that, we ran home," I finish. An unspoken message flashes between our parents. "We're glad you boys aren't hurt. You will not be punished, but you should head to bed. It's late. Plus, you've had a rough day," answers Dad. Brody and I are too tired to argue, so we just nod our heads. "Good night, Mom and Dad," Brody sleepily murmurs. We flop into our nests and fall fast asleep.

...

More screaming. Blood. Death. Escaping. Running. The scene changes. Laughter. Evil laughter. Flashing, cold, sticks. Blood. Fur. A pelt. A fox's pelt, hung on a wall. Dead eyes. Open maw. Its last look, frozen forever. The scene shifts again. A symbol of a fox's face... hovering, spinning, slowly, increasingly, glowing white. Suddenly, the fox explodes with light. BOOM!

I wake up gasping, once again. What the heck?! That was different!... But not in a good way... I hear my mother's voice, disturbing my thoughts. "...Do you think we're safe? Do you think our sons are safe?! Chris... I don't want this life for our sons."

"I wouldn't worry about the teens, they're probably scared to know that our son's a Shapeshifter... Or at least half Shapeshifter, anyways," Dad assures. Hearing my name, my ears perk up. Shapeshifter? There's that word again! What does it mean? Mom speaks again, "Maybe that will aggravate them more! They will see Shifter as a threat! They probably already do!"

"What?" I squeak, in a quiet voice.

Mom and Dad's heads snap towards me, their snouts quivering. "Shifter, you're supposed to be asleep," Mom scolds.

"I was asleep!... But I woke up from The Nightmare," I reply, shivering.

"And that gave a reason to eavesdrop? You said you were able to handle it without us," Dad responds.

"This time it was different... I think the bullies caught and killed me..." I begin and tell them the events of my nightmare. I burst out crying after finishing.

"I'm sorry, sweetie... come here, we want to tell you something," murmurs Mom, gently.

I pad over to her and curl up in her lap. She gently licks my head. Dad clears his throat and sits up straight. "Shifter, as you may have overheard, the forest is becoming a more dangerous place. We wanted to wait before giving you this... but you need to protect yourself. We won't always be there for you. Come," Dad orders, softly. I jump off Mom's lap and follow Dad. Mom pads after us.

I find that Dad leads us to his and Mom's nest. Dad scoots it aside with his snout and starts digging in the spot it was resting before. A short time later he pulls out a gleaming object and some sort of cover.

"What are they?" I ask, wonderingly. Dad places them on the floor in front of me. "Your father's prized possessions," answers Mom, "His sword and sheath." I look curiously at Dad. He gives me a sad look in return. "Shifter, these aren't mine...We're not the parents who gave you life..." Dad replies, slowly and carefully.