Forever and Always

Chapter 1

2017

Clara kept her eyes closed as she listened to all the sounds around her. She could hear the breeze flow through her ears and feel it lift her thick fur. The wind swirled around her, causing the twigs of branches to rub together and leaves on the ground to rustle against each other. The trees above her swayed back and forth, causing her ears to twitch when she picked up a new sound. She could also hear birds as they chirped in the treetops as well as the smaller animals on the ground as they burrowed into the the ground.

Underneath her paws, she could feel the cold dirt pressed on her paw pads. Some dirt was even stuck in between her individual toes. Her claws dug repeatedly into the dirt as she waited patiently. She kept her eyes closed, waiting, focusing. Any minute she would...there it was. In the next gust of wind, she picked up a familiar scent mingled with the smell of the morning dew and the earthy smell from the mud and trees and dirt. Suddenly her ears twitched again when she caught the crunching of leaves behind her. She felt her whole body freeze, anticipating the surprise attacker. She stopped digging her claws in the dirt, and put all her focus on the ground. In her paws, she could feel the vibrations of someone walking. They were close, but they weren't going to get me. Three, she started to count in her mind. The scent became stronger. Two. The vibrations on the ground became more noticeable. One. Using her hind legs, she launched herself backwards into the air. She felt her body gracefully twist mid air, and she caught sight of her target. She was on the ground, behind the target, within seconds, and she launched at the attacker without hesitation. Before the person could dodge out of the way, Clara dug her claws her to the dirt and pushed all her weight forward. She forced herself on to the surprise attack her and knocked them to the ground. She curled her lips back and snarled. Below her was the a young girl. She had her hair up in a high ponytail, and she was wearing typical Wakandan wardrobe.

"Geez, Ms. Peters. You have to stop doing that!" Clara backed off the girl, who then sat up and wiped the dirt off of her clothes.

"Sorry, Shuri." Clara sat back down and retracted her claws. "I couldn't resist." Shuri continued wiping herself off, then got up so we were now eye to eye.

"I still can't get used to the fact that you can talk now. You only see that stuff in movies, you don't imagine it can actually happen." Clara patted her tail on the ground enthusiastically.

"Well you were the one who said 'I can help you reach your full potential'. But honestly I feel the same way. It's nice not having to write in the dirt or play charades when communicating. And it's nice not having to choose between one or the other all the time."

"Yes well, I'm glad that you were able to grow into your powers. It's been a year after all, it would be quite depressing if you haven't picked anything up yet." Shuri finished wiping off her butt before facing Clara again. "Now, if you don't mind changing back, I was sent by my brother to deliver some news to you. Do you have any clothes with you?" Clara nodded her head and lifted her paw, pointing to a rock. On top of it was one of many robes that was to her back in 2016 when she was relocated to a small area by an enormous lake where some children and women were living.

"Yeah, I'll just put that on in a second. Excuse me." Clara went and jumped over some brush and efficiently changed from a wolf to a person in the blink of an eye. She got up from her knees and wiped the dirt of her hands and knees. Then she reached through the bush she was hiding behind and grabbed her robes. It was a simple robe, but still beautiful. It was a green strapless robe with blue patterns at the bottom of the robe, and it was held up by a blue sash that went around her waist. She was also give a pair of sandals, which were surprisingly comfortable even though they looked uncomfortable. Clara, after putting on her clothes, stepped out from behind the bush. Shuri was still standing there, and she had some kind of hologram that came from her bracelet. When Shuri saw her come out, she brushed the hologram away and smiled.