"I'm not sure I like the sound of that," he says, giving me a weird look.
I laugh and sigh. "Don't worry."
"What is it?"
"Just come with me," I say and pull him off the couch. I run into the door, pushing it open. We walk out hand in hand. I breathe in the air and smell the trees. Everything seems more beautiful at night. I squeeze his hand and let it go before walking towards the nearest tree. He stays close behind me and I put my palm against the tree. I drag my hand against the back as I circle the tree.
"You're acting as if you've never seen a tree before," he says and I hear him laugh.
"It feels like I haven't," I smile at him. "Do you ever hear them?"
"Hear who?" he asks.
"The packs. The ones that run around at night."
"Of course I do. I'm a part of the Elora pack."
"Why haven't I heard you lately? Is it because of the hunters?"
"Yes," he says. "We must remain silent while they're on the hunt."
"That must be terrible."
"It is," he looks sad. "So, what was this idea you had?"
I grin. "Well..."
"Well?"
"It's only if you're up for it and I don't get to do it very often."
"What exactly is it that you wanna do?" he asks.
"John, can we go running?" I ask, hoping he'll agree.
"Are you sure you want to?"
"Yeah, I mean, my dad practically keeps us locked up in the house and we never get to shift anymore. Only once a month."
"Let's go, then," he says and we walk over to an opening in the forest. "This is a great place. Try not to get too far away from me."
"Please," I say sarcastically. "If we were racing, I'd be so far from you."
"Yeah, so far behind me," he laughs.
I roll my eyes and smile at him. "Whatever."
"Okay, are you ready?" he asks.
"As ready as I'll ever be."
We both get on all fours and begin forcing the shift. This is the first time I've ever done it but I know what I need to do. I crack my neck and get ready for the pain. I feel my leg snap and I bite my lip. Painful, but bearable. When all of my bones begin snapping, I cry out. John looks back at me but I ignore him. I grit my teeth and a few minutes later I jump forward as an entirely new creature. The trees seem to open up infront of us, inviting us in.
My fur is grey and John's is a milky white. He is just as beautiful in this form as he is in human form. I nudge him with my snout and look at the space in front of us. He knows what I'm hinting at and we both get in a position to start running. We sprint forward and in the beginning of our race, I'm in front but a few seconds later, he pulls ahead. I don't care because of how good it feels to run out in the open like this, next to John. We run for a long time and I begin to get farther ahead than him. I run so fast that when I look behind me, he's almost out of view.
Shortly after I pull ahead we both rush to a stop. I jump around, teasing him then raise my head and howl at the moon. He joins me and the sound is soothing. When we stop howling, we just stare at each other. He nudges me under my chin and I know it's time to shift back.
