Fly

Chapter 6

A spasm of pain flings my arm toward a tree, close enough I should have hit it, but I just barely missed. That wasn't my instincts that saved me. My arms are no longer that length to hit the tree! In my pain-induced haze, I don't recognize what happened at first. It takes me a moment to notice my arms are short. My eyes shoot open and I try to stay still long enough to look down at myself. My previously skin-tight clothes are now loose, flapping around. I tear off my shirt and look down. My torso and stomach are cylindrical, my ribs collapsing in. Now that I have control over my movements, I watch as a rib breaks and reforms, tighter to my body. I feel my lungs shrinking, getting thicker, needing more air for my blood. My blood, heated and boiling blood, pumps through my animalistic heart. My arms are coarse and black with hair. I'm afraid to see my legs. Just then, my knees pop into themselves, bending backwards. I screech in agony. My pants tear themselves to pieces and fall in tatters around me. The remaining cloth that didn't fall off I tear off with shaking and shrinking fingers. I was naked, bones breaking, reforming, me twisting, flailing, but no blood can be seen. My gums distort, my teeth push themselves put of my mouth and grow more round and sharpened. My tongue tears off of the bottom of my mouth and grows thinner, longer, wider. I scream unintelligible words, gibberish, from the loss of tongue ability. My tongue reattached, but it was very different. I tried to speak through the pain, but my tongue couldn't curl or turn itself to make words. All I got were strangled yips. I screamed, but my scream was a howl. I looked down at my body and saw the fur, the paws, the muzzle. I howled/screamed again in horror. I stood up, shaky, on my four stubby legs. The pain was quickly receding, moving to my lower back now. The pain formed a dart, a pinpoint, and shot up through my skin. I fell in surprise. The pain just dissapeared.
I stood up on my shaky paws again. I looked at my back, and saw a fuzzy tail where the pain shot up through my back. I ran around, looking for a puddle or something. I found a fairly large one that I could easily look into and see my reflection. I yelped and leaped back. I fell to the ground and put my front paws over my face. I had shape shifted into a wolf!?
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"Stand and show respect to your alpha, rogue!" I heard someone say. They had a deep, scratchy voice. I, on instinct, rolled up and sat on my haunches and lowered my heavy head to the ground, letting my eyes only look at the animal's (the tall one right in from of me) feet. "Acceptable, for the first time, Skin Changer." I was confused. Was I hearing a wolf talk to me? Or is this a human? Why am I bowing to a wolf anyways? I slowly start to stand up, stretching my back legs, and my tail flies up. I hear a growl and I freeze. "Get back down where you deserve, Skin Changer! You get no special treatment because you can change looks!" A different but still low and scratchy voice yells at me. I whimper in apology and lay back down. I guess wolves bow down to the alpha wolf like this.
Something steps, hard, on my tail. I yelp a little. "Tuck in your tail," a soft voice tells me. I look back and it is the she-wolf who I saved and who saved me! I tuck my tail under my legs. "Now place down your ears like this." I looked back and she had her ears halfway down and leaning mostly forward as if shading her eyes. I try and repeat the action. "A little more forward." She leans down and nudges my ears out with her nose. "Good! Now remember to do this every time your alpha walks by you." She licked my right ear and walked back into the crowd. I turned my eyes back to the alpha before me.
"Good job, Lyrca. What is your name, rogue? And what pack are you from!" The alpha interrogated me firmly. What do I want them to know me as? 'Samantha' doesn't seem right. I could use my nickname, Sammie? But that still doesn't seem right. How about RunningWolf? It is my avatar name at the School, so it can work. I'm used to being addressed it, so I can react as if it is my real name. And my pack? I belong to no one! So I'll just say I am from the human pack because, in a strange, twisted way, I am.
"My name is RunningWolf the Swift. I am from the Human Pack. I was a beta member, for the alphas are never good and cruel and power hungry in my old pack. May I join in your pack? It matters not the rank, I just have no home to return to now." I was surprised at how formal and Middle Ages I was talking like. Whatever. RunningWolf the swift. RunningWolf the Hunter(ess now. I wonder if I can switch to a male now and fit RunningWolf's true gender.). I felt a strange stirring in my abdomen. I twitched, trying not to show my shifting I am pulling off right now. Secret shifting. Sigh, I sometimes surprise even myself by my weirdness. Knowing me, I will probably end up just changing my gender and other small features back and forth to confuse the pack.
"Your name in my pack is now RunningWolf the Skin Changer, or Skin Changer for short. You will leave all ties to your past pack behind. Now, go with Lyrca and find an abandoned den." He addressed me. Then he turned his head and stance to address the rest of the pack. "No one is to harm Skin Changer. If I find her injured or scared with a name or face of someone in this pack, I will personally beat you into submission and teach you not to disobey my direct orders! Skin Changer will be given a small ration that I will decide when it comes to feeding time. And get someone to teach her the ways of the pack, the stench of her ignorance is befouling me." With that, he turned and climbed into his den.
"Can I get up now?" I whispered to Lyrca.
"Yes. Follow me." Lyrca was suddenly next to me and was walking past me. I scrambled to get up, having troubles walking from the pain of changing. Why did I think this was a good idea? I just wanted to see if I can confuse the people. The alpha already said I was female, so if the people get a whiff of male from me they will all be confused. I will use that confusion to rise ranks to a hunter, and I will find my katana!! Geez, I sound like some old creepy mad scientist, trying to take over the world with paper clips. I NEED MY KATANA IVE NEVER GONE SO LONG WITHOUT IT NOO~!
"It's getting dark. Why don't you stay with me in my den tonight? Its scary being alone after being attacked. You understand that, right?" She walked very close to me, rubbing haunches as we walked. I got uncomfortable and stepped away a bit. I don't feel pain anymore, so I'm male right now, so she could be feeling attraction for me. I gulp and take a deep breath as she walks closer to me. She rubs my nose and I jump back away from her. I keep backing up until I hit a tree. Lyrca puts her muzzle and rubs it against mine. I shudder and move my head. Lyrca makes a sad whine, as if human sad. I didn't know wolves had emotions similar to humans'. She looks down and away, as if ashamed and rejected. I smiled and walked along next to her, a little ahead to show my dominance over her from her weakness of emotions towards me. We headed to her den, chose spots on opposite sides of her den, as far away from each other as possible.