Werehuman

Pool Time

Katie crossed the creak without me, jumping up into the tree to pull down our bag. It was untouched.

"Do you want your clothes?" she inquired. "And I can send your pack's clothes in the bag."

"Sure," I replied.

Katie pulled off the clothes she was wearing, fishing the others from the backpack. She repacked swiftly and tossed the bag to me. She tucked in the shirt into the pouch at her ankle. It poked out but she didn't seem to care.

"There's still a sandwich left," she called. "I owed you."

"Thanks," I answered, feeling oddly homesick.

Casey gave Katie a wave and the other woman changed, padding away from the creek quickly. I let out a sigh and turned back towards Keith's camp.

"Were you really following me just because you were curious?" I asked.

"It was a good enough reason for Keith; I don't know why it's not a good enough reason for you."

"Because it was a two hour walk and you didn't learn much about me," I pointed out. "You asked Keith to come?"

"It's not a good idea to just walk away from camp," Casey said. "Keith has lost pack members before and he'll be damned before that happens again. He would have followed me out here and then that would have been the most uncomfortable two hours of any of our lives."

"You don't seem to like Keith much," I noted.

Casey shrugged. "He's all about leading the pack. Keeping all of us on the straight and narrow and staying away from humans."

"Humans aren't bad," I protested.

She snorted, an odd response. I waited for her to explain, but she didn't. We kept walking. It was weird to be away from Katie; I had spent nearly every waking moment with the girl since she had followed me to the barn two nights ago.

"What?" I finally asked.

"Conor, you're a wolf. Like a real wolf who wasn't raised in a family in the city with a pet dog and a kid sister. You've met only a handful of real humans. You are incredibly fortunate to have met good ones."

She glanced up sharply at the sky and then sighed.

"We should shift and run," she said. "Keith wanted us to be back before noon. Or at least, he wanted me to be back before noon with you."

"I have stuff with me." I pointed to the backpack. I didn't want to lose it; it was my only connection to what I still considered home. Katie would be back in a couple hours, I thought. Then Ralph and Mel would worry, and there was nothing I could do.

"You can either carry it in your mouth or change and I'll tighten it to your back," she suggested. "I don't want Keith sending a hunting party for us, that'll be embarrassing."

I realized we had totally avoided talking about Keith and now we were going to avoid talking at all. Casey was definitely nothing like Katie. Reluctantly I changed and the backpack stayed awkwardly on my shoulders. Casey cinched it up; tight enough that I hoped it wouldn't come off. I would stop and get it if it did. She undressed, packing her clothes in the bag and then changed. Like the other werewolves I had met, she was much larger than I was. She sniffed me once, and then barked. I followed her through the forest, the backpack uncomfortable, but not slipping.

As wolves we made it to camp quickly, changing and redressing once we reached the edge. The other pack members were standing around the table, talking quietly as we approached.