Waxing Gibbous

Confusion(A)

I was full of questions.

My mom was able to get me back inside and dressed because no surprises, when you morph into a giant canine yours clothes don't fit anymore. It was when I was redressing that I realized a few things.

One I was taller, in fact my mom measured, and I was wrong earlier, I wasn't 5'9 I was 5'11. Towering over my 5'8 relatives. And then there was something more, my body was no longer the thin frail frame it used to be, rather I was lean and athletic looking. I had muscles and a 6 pack... 

A wolf in sheep's clothes, I only looked like an athletic woman, not really a threat. But that was the illusion, because I was a lot stronger than I looked and a lot stronger than any man who wasn't a professional weightlifter. How do I know this?

Well, when I first got inside and had my break down or freak out; whatever you want to call it. Anyway, I freaked out, hyperventilated, and broke a chair, a real wooden chair, just by grabbing it.

Of course, that caused more worry and for me to freak out again.

But that was a while ago, I had calmed down now. And when I calmed down, I was finally hungry, my appetite came back full force, which was a positive because this last month I was not eating much of anything. So, I ate, and I ate more than I normally did, of course it makes sense I hadn't eaten in nearly a week.

This was not all the curiosities; I could smell things far better than before, I could smell the food, the scent of my mom and aunts soap and the scent of orchids. That was only one sense. All of them were better, sight, sound, touch, thankfully my sense of taste was the same, I didn't want to be put off of my favorite foods because they tasted different.

It had been a while since any of us said much, besides 'are you okay' and 'do you feel better'. My mom was still checking in on me and my temperature, every half hour. But that only told me my temperature was 112̊ way higher than it should be, for some reason this seemed to make her relax a little. Though not me.

I couldn't take it any longer. "what happened?" I asked looking between the two.

My mom sighed "I knew this could happen" she pulled out an old book. "your father went through the same thing when he was a little older than you. Of course, i didn't know it would be as bad as it was."

"dad turned into a giant wolf?" I asked, remembering the voice of the black wolf from my dream.

My mom nodded "when he was younger, before we got married. When we moved to Alaska, he stopped so that he could grow old with me and watch you grow up"

"but why? It's not natural. Is this why you made sure I could finish the semester at home?"

My mom nodded "we knew the chances of you turning into a wolf or worse" my mom trailed off in a whisper.

"worse? I could have died, couldn't I?" I asked remembering my fever, I knew it was too high for a human to survive, I mean 102 is high 104 requires a hospital stay. Then I thought about this year, my whole life was filled with ailments that I was surprised I lived this long. My immune system is botched.

I didn't need them to answer the question though, I could see it in their eyes. It made sense now, my mom was so protective, and Eve practically demanded I see the world. They were afraid I would die and not get the chance to experience life. I couldn't be angry, if I spent my life knowing that this could happen it would only scare me more.

And if I did die then at least I got a good life.

"it's okay, I'm okay." I replied. I wanted to hug my mom, but I was afraid I would hurt her. I didn't need to worry though. Because soon they engulfed me in a bone crushing hug or what would have been if I was a human.

The rest of the day passed with my mom constantly checking to make sure nothing goes wrong. My temperature has held out at a steady 112̊F, so no spikes and no drops.

Surprisingly though I wasn't hot, so we didn't need to change the house temperature. I also found that I don't really get cold, as I could sit on the back porch in shorts and a sports bra without any repercussions.

When I wasn't awake, I was passed out on my bed trying to regain any lost sleep I had the past few months.

I woke up late in the evening and trudged downstairs for dinner. In the kitchen Eve and my mom were getting ready to set the table. "Hey, Al, I was just getting ready to come and get you" Eve replied with a smile.

She was the only one who seemed completely unfazed by this morning's events. I didn't know if I should be concerned or grateful. Probably both. My mom on the other hand, just seems to worry things will turn bad and I'll get sick again.

"I uh... could smell it and I heard mom grabbing the plates"

My mom smiled with a sigh "your father was the same way. He could always tell when you would wake up in the middle of the night. Even from across the house." She looked up after putting the last plate down "sometimes it made me a little jealous that he could do that. I liked sleep, but sometimes I wanted to be the one to comfort you at night"

As we sat down to dinner, I worried how I would conceal this. If I went back to school, I would literally show up a different person, I didn't know if I wanted to deal with that. There was also Sam, what was he going to tell me tomorrow.

"Al?" my mom spoke the moment everyone was done eating. "everything's going to be okay, tomorrow you're going to see Sam and he's going to explain everything he can"

"what about school? All of that, I can't just..."

"I took care of that. After this semester you won't have to go back and your teachers agreed that as long as you turn in the projects and papers, you'll be okay."

I nodded at least that was a plus, it gave me more time to figure everything out. the last thing I needed was for everyone to accuse me of doing drugs or turning into a giant wolf at school. Plus being in gym with all this physiological advancements isn't really fair. "okay" I said finally. Before eating dinner with my family.

Once everyone was finished my mom ushered me to bed while she and Eve cleaned everything up. I was still so exhausted, so I didn't protest.

with all this physiological advancements isn't really fair. "okay" I said finally. Before eating dinner with my family.

Once everyone was finished my mom ushered me to bed while she and Eve cleaned everything up. I was still so exhausted, so I didn't protest.