Shapeshifters

17

IT HAD BEEN a week since school had ended. Dust and I had already set up a routine. We always made time to talk about the packs. No matter how busy the day was. 

I hadn't told Dust yet that Tawny was going to meet us that evening by the woods. Sunny must have done a lot of searching to get me an apartment with the woods lining the back.

"What's eating you?" Dust asked at dinner. "You're never this quiet."

"I have something I need to tell you," I said. "You have every right to be upset if you choose." He nodded and I continued, "We are going to talk to Tawny tonight."

He sat there quiet for a few minutes. It scared me. Last time he did this we got in a big fight. 

"Sounds good," He finally replied. "But how? We can't become our old self." I smirked. "You figured out how? Well, tell me!"

"I'll tell you tonight," I told him. "For me it just came to me, so I can teach you. But I need to ask you something first," Dust nodded his consent. "You said you understood why I couldn't tell you. Is it because you know the truth about yourself?"

"Yeah. Shapetail is my father," He replied. "He couldn't have been more straightforward about it. Before I left he said 'my son'. You can't be more obvious than that."

I didn't know what to say. I didn't accept Shapeclaw as my father until I pieced everything together. I was glad that Dust didn't have to piece things together, Shapetail straight out told him.

"I actually used to talk with Tawny frequently," I eventually told him. "When I first came here. She was something familiar in a world of unfamiliarities."

"I'm guessing that we are both here because of the same thing," Dust said. "We were talking to our fathers at the five pines and an unfamiliar cat told us something weird and repeated it where we understood the words?"

I stared at him. He had to be right. He looked at me, expecting a response. Most likely a simple yes or no.

"Did Shapetail talk to you before you ran?" I asked, completely avoiding his statement. "Or was the first time you met him when you ran?"

"The second one," He replied. "I didn't recognize him at the moment, so I asked. And he did say some things after the cat came that sounded kind of weird."

Maybe the same things Shapeclaw told me before the strange cat incident? I thought.

"Any chance it was something about changing your name?" I offered. "Or a guide? Or a prophecy?"

"Yes. Yes. And yes," He said. "How did you guess?"

"You forgot who your talking to!" I sarcastically replied. "I went through all this first. One of the first things Shapeclaw ever said to me was about the name change." He nodded in understandment. "Then next time something about a guide. I heard the prophecy from Pillpool. Then after the cat, all he said was that I was going to be different and wished me luck."

Dust stared at me for a few minutes. He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Wow! Now I know why you never told me any of this. It's a lot to take in." He paused for a minute before continuing, "Why would he push all this on such a young pup?"

"You forget that we were the most mature two-moon-old pups the pack had seen since our fathers! That's why!" I told him so matter-of-factly that it scared me a bit. "I told Tawny we'd meet her at nightfall. So let's hurry."

Dust looked confused but shook it off. That's not like him. I told myself. I'll maybe ask him later, if I remember.

*****

I told Dust what I said to shift my first time. He changed it up just a bit, to fit him. I shifted and walked a few steps away to give him space.

"I am known as Dust to Sunpack. I am know as Case to the human world. I call upon Nightpack and the human world version of Nightpack to allow me to change back to my original form. That of a wolf-fox. I feel it inside and know it isn't gone." Dust declared it loud and clear.

Then, the old Dust took his place. The beautiful wolf-fox that I fell in love with. Dust padded over to me. "Did it work?" He asked.

"Yes," Tawny responded for me. "Hi Dust. It seems you've adjusted fine."

"I have," He replied. "I'm sorry I've been gone for so long. As you can see something happened and—."

Tawny cut him off. "You've only been gone a few suns." She turned towards me. "I thought you were going to teach him the time difference thing between the two worlds"

I put my tail between my paws. "I haven't gotten there yet. We've only just gotten away from the up-walker Sunny."

Tawny nodded. "Okay, I needed to tell you guys that the next moon is the big moon. The meeting where Stormsky is going to announce the both you dead. He won't take my word that you two are alive."

"Wait," Dust said. "Did you say Stormsky? As in Sunpack's leader who was sick?"

"Yes, after the two of you disappeared. The leaders got better. Anyway, back on track, at the meeting Stormsky is planning on telling the packs that both of you are dead. But I get the feeling something is going to happen once the announcement is made. Be cautious pups."

"We will," I told her. "Don't worry. If the up-walker pack has taught us anything, it's that we always have to be on our paws." Using the up-walker version of 'keeping you on your toes' and changing it to a pack version.

"We promise," Dust added.

"There's something different about the two of you since you've been here," Tawny said in a judging way. "But a good different. I can't quite put my paw on it." She thought for a few moments then said, "Anyway, I'll leave the signal the moon of the meeting so watch for it."

I assured her we would while Dust looked confused. Tawny warned me again to tell him the time difference and the signal, so he could also help watch for it.

We said our goodbyes and I told Dust how we shift back. He did it almost flawlessly. Almost being the key word. He messed up a few words, causing him to be a cat. Not the up-walker he needed to be. After another try, he was back in his up-walker person. I laughed at him the whole way back to the apartment. He made me promise never to bring it up again. I promised as best as I could while still chuckling.

"No guarantees though," I told him. Remembering Petunia's promise not to bring up the chocolate. I thought to myself, I'm going to bring it up eventually.

And with that thought I headed to my room and went to sleep. Forgetting how tiring it is to shift back and forth.