Blinded

8

Elder Nora walked through the forest, taking in the story that Kate had told her. It was tragic that the poor kit would have drowned if not for the two owl shifters. They were known quite well throughout the shifter world and many shifters thought of them as the Watchers of the Council. It would be befitting since they always managed to show up when someone was in trouble, almost as though they had the magic of the old world.

Nora shook her head at that idea and took note of the trees around her. The brown bark turned to white with black eyes that saw everything. An aspen groove that was hidden by the verdant forest. A true spectacular for those who did not know the forest well.

Nora took in a breath and perked her ears to hear the soft breeze whistling through the leaves. She smelled that of blossoming wild berries and the return of prey, old and new.

She continued her walk until she reached a clearing where a great weeping willow stood in the center. It's bark looked as though it was covered in ash. She was amazed at the sight of such an old tree but her eyes soon turned to the figure that sat beneath it.

. . .

The wind whispered through the trees as Oli listened to the silent song. He was alone but felt no fear as he took in the sounds of the forest. The chirping of birds, the whispering wind, and the babbling of a creek created a song known only to him. "The sound of the forest is beautiful isn't it?" A voice all to familiar asked. "Did my sister send you?" He asked, flicking his ears towards the elder fox. "No, I come on my own will." Elder Nora replied and Oli nodded.

He felt the elder sit beside him and the forest song filled the silence between them. "Only those who truly listen can hear the forest sing, but you must have listened to this since you were a kit." Nora said and Oli nodded and sighed, "She told you the reason why I won't shift." He said, not as a question but as a statement. "Yes, I understand your reasoning as well." She responded, "I don't like not being able to hear as well as I can in this form. It's foreign and odd." He said and although he could not see her, he guessed that Nora nodded her head. "What if I teach you a way of shifting that not many know?" Nora asked and Oli turned to look at her, his interest peeked.

"What do you mean?" He asked and Nora smiled. "You see shifting is a process, there's a beginning, a middle, and an end, but between the middle and the end of the process there's a stage that can be reached and kept in a form that would be more suitable for you." She said and Oli caught on to what she was saying. "So I'd still be standing upright but have some of my fox features?" He asked, "Yes, you'd keep your tail, your eyes, and your ears. Everything else would be human." She said.

Oli nodded and thought about it for a minute before responding, "I'll give it a try but Kate can't know... I don't want her to get her hopes up." Nora nodded and said, "It will be nice to teach someone this trick, and letting your sister know is none of my business. Meet me back here tomorrow morning, when the sun is still low." Oli nodded and listened as Nora left. The forest song returned and he listened to it once more before heading home.
. . . 

As Oli neared the hollow he heard hushed whispers as Kate talked to someone, I'm unfamiliar scent filling his nose. "Ami it's good to see you but why are you here?" Kate asked and Ami replied with a saddened sigh, "I came to see you. I figured that it had been a while since we last met." Oli, although curious felt as though it'd be rude to listen in on their conversation, "Kate, am I interrupting something? I can come back later if I need to?" Oli asked. "I'll come back later." Ami said quickly and dashed off. "I'm sorry if I interrupted something." Oli said, listening as his sister just let out a sigh. "It's good to know that your okay." She said and nuzzled him in a comforting way. "I'm okay but are you?" He said and Kate sighed once more, "Yeah I'm okay... I just didn't think I'd see an old friend." She stated and Oli pressed no further.

"How was your conversation with Elder Nora?" Kate asked and Oli gave her a slight smile before responding, "She said she was gonna show me how to mid-shift... I don't know how it's going to go but I figured I'd try it before giving up all together." Kate nodded and let out a sigh of relief, "Well, I hope it works out. I know that the last time you shifted didn't end up so good."

"You know it's not your fault right? I never could have blamed you. We were young, still trying to figure out how to survive, you were just trying your best." Oli said and heard a whimper come from his sister, he moved closer to her and sat with his tail curled around her. "Thank you, after that night, I could never tell if you held any anger towards me. As the years went by and we grew older I just thought you had forgotten it." She said with a deep sigh.

"I could never forget it. I was terrified, and still am, about shifting. I... I couldn't put you through that again." He said and silence enveloped the two siblings. "Thank you." Kate whispered.

The two siblings sat near their hollow, each basking in the presence and comfort of the other. Unknown to what the future held for them.

. . .

I would like to give a special thanks to CatsAndGames you've been a great help with grammar issues and having a keen eye for sentences that don't make sense. Thankyou for all your help!

Also sorry for the late chapter, I've actually been done with this chapter for a while I just haven't had time to edit it, thank you for your patience. I appreciate it. I also appreciate the feedback that I've been getting about the new Blinded. 

Thank you all and I hope you all have a lovely morning, noon, afternoon, or night!

LNF OUT!