Riley

17

"Alright. Now how do I turn this thing on?" I mumbled as I stared down at myself. I was currently standing in the woods, at the beginning of December, stark naked and freezing. The first time I changed had been completely involuntary, but as soon as I actually want to change, I have performance issues. "Oh, come on. Why do I get the defective animal? Just change already dammit! It's cold out here."

"It doesn't work that way."

I quickly spun around, using my hands to cover myself as best as I could. "Benjamin! What the hell are you doing here?" I exclaimed as I slowly started shuffling over to a tree.

"I was just stopping by." He leaned against a tree with a smirk on his face. "Although, I must say that I wasn't expecting you to be standing out in the middle of the woods naked and talking to yourself."

"Yeah, well, I have to figure this thing out at some point or another. Might as well be now."

"The change isn't something that you force. It's something that you just let happen. Just imagine what it is that you want your body to do and it will do it. Your change should be effortless. And when you do it right, it's painless."

I guess I could give it a shot. Being able to change without being in agony every single time would be nice.

"Alright. What do I do?"

"Close your eyes. Don't think about the change itself. Focus on your animal. Find that connection between both of you. Allow for your animal to become you. Don't force it. It should be like flipping a switch. You are both two sides of the same coin."

I closed my eyes and tried to picture what he was saying. I saw myself standing alone in a dark room. I slowly turned around and froze the moment that I saw a pair of bright grey eyes staring at me. Those eyes slowly moved closer until I had to tilt my head back to even be able to see them. And for a long moment, we just stood there, staring at each other. I don't know how long we just stood there looking into each other's eyes before they gave me a small nod. I returned it with a nod of my own. Then, all of a sudden, the room disappeared, and I found myself back in the forest with Benjamin smiling at me.

"You did it!" I tilted my head in confusion. It was at that moment that I realized I wasn't standing on two feet anymore. Looking down, I was met with huge paws covered in black fur. Holy shit! I actually changed, and I didn't even realize it! "You managed to do that way faster than anyone else was able to. It actually took me a couple of days before I was able to connect with my animal." I was filled with a sense of pride. However, that feeling quickly diminished as I remembered my original reason for coming out here.

'Thank you for the help, but I really have to go now. I'm sorry.' I quickly thought/said before turning and running off before he had a chance to respond. I was already running later than I wanted to be. However, I was certainly able to run faster like this then I would have been able to had I stayed human. I ran what is usually a fifteen-minute drive in a third of that time. When I finally came to a stop, I was standing in the tree line on the outskirts of Sara's yard. I haven't actually figured out what my plan is yet, but the moment that I dropped her back off at her house I knew I'd be back to keep a close watch on her. Of course, she didn't know that I had decided to keep watch on her. However, I promised to protect her, and this was me keeping that promise. I knew that I wouldn't be able to stand out here twenty-four seven, but I swore to myself that I would be out here every night that she wasn't with me. I settled down onto the hard ground, getting as comfortable as I could, and making sure that I stayed just within the tree line, unseen. Laying my head down on paws, I settled in and prepared for my vigil. Nothing was going to happen to her on my watch.