Shapeshifters

6

I WENT TO find Dust and found him talking to Rose and Thorn. He nodded a goodbye to them and came over to me. I nodded in acknowledgement to the pups. Rose and Thorn started playing a game of pounce on the stick, while Dust and I padded toward our rock. Dust was a bit shaky when we approached.  

"Are you okay?" I asked him. He nodded. "You're shaking pretty bad." A moment passed before I reassured him, "I promise you that I'll be careful."

Dust stopped shaking, just long enough for him to jump to to the top. I followed not long after. We both settled down before he asked the question I'd been dreading. "Why does Moon keep talking to you? Is there something you're keeping from me?"

I shrugged, not wanting to really talk about it. "I don't really want to talk about it," I eventually told him. "I don't think that it's my place to tell you. When you've seen what I've seen, I will then tell you."

He looked shocked. I couldn't figure out why he would be. Loc na mhunice. I chastised myself. He probably thinks I'm cag-mag. 

"What?" I laughed lightly, trying to act innocent.

"What do you mean. 'seen what you've seen'?" Dust asked. "There is something you're hiding!" He sounded mad. "Why are you keeping things from me? I thought we were friends who told each other everything!"

I was the shocked one this time. If I only knew that he felt this way. "Dust, I didn't know," I stuttered. "Things are complicated right now."

Dust went to leap down when I said, "I have to go away." He paused and slowly turned around.

"What?" He asked, more agitated than anything. "Did you say you have to leave?"

I nodded and told him that it was so he could calm down without me around. He jumped down and stalked off in the direction of Rose and Thorn. I took my time jumping down, careful so I didn't trip, and I cautiously walked to the entrance of the camp. No one is looking. I told myself as I snuck out of camp. As soon as I was out of sight, I ran all the way to the five pines, the place where the packs meet every big moon. 

It was nearly moon time when I arrived. I decided that by sun up, Dust would've been calmed enough for me to talk to him. I fell asleep thinking about my pup life. Dust and I running around for a moon, then all of a sudden we thought the pup games were too young for us.

*****

"My pup," I turned and saw Shapeclaw. "Why did you run?" 

"I don't want to talk about it," I told him. "It hurts to much." I teared up.

"Sometimes you have to go through the fog to see the sun," He said. It was times like these when I wished he wouldn't talk in riddles. He stopped and sniffed the air. "Wake up young pup! Wake up!" Shapeclaw started panicking. "You need to wake up now!" 

"How?" I yelled after him as he disappeared.

"You're smart," I turned around and saw a cat that looked like no cat I'd ever seen, or heard about, before. "Sorry, I shouldn't sneak up on such a young pup like yourself." I think he could tell I was shocked and confused because he said, "My name has no consequence to you, for you need to know one thing." He continued to say something in a made-up language. 

 "What was that?" I asked. "I don't understand."

"I said," the cat sounded a bit irked. "History is about to repeat itself. When you wake, run away and hide. The pup of light and the pup of dark will die. Leave while you can." With that the cat disappeared.

Shapeclaw ran toward me, "Why didn't you leave?" He sounded angry. "I told you to leave."

I started tearing up again. "I didn't know how. You've never told me how I leave here." I let a tear fall. "Now, I'm going to have to run away because apparently history is about to repeat itself."

Shapeclaw quietly padded over to me and tried to comfort me. "It's going to be okay, my daughter. Hush now. I promise that I will be with you every step of the way." 

I looked up with trust in my eyes. It would all be fine. I told myself. He will be there. 

"Now," Shapeclaw started. "To wake up all you need to do is, this might sound crazy so stick with me, but you just need to poke yourself with your front paw." Sounded easy enough. "You might want to know something before you go. When you wake, you won't be the same as before we talked." 

"I don't understand."

"When you wake up, you will be different," Shapeclaw sounded a bit worried. "I don't know what that cat did to you, but it couldn't have been good." 

"Did you watch the exchange?"

He nodded. "I wish I could do something about it, but I can't. Good luck, Light."

And with that, he disappeared. I poked myself with my front paw and woke up.

Time to go talk to a calmed down Dust.