Stealing Butterflies

Chapter Thirteen

Which came first? The chicken or the egg?

This has been a never-ending debate, since, well, the beginning of the Earth and the Universe and Everything. Or, at least, the start of thought processes within a cave man's teeny brain.

It's double sided, and coated with sticky glue on each edge. There's no certifiable answer, because, well, the egg makes the chicken, but, the chicken makes the egg...

So that is quite the dilemma.

Personally, I think the chicken came first. Because, when an egg hatches, a momma chicken would need to be there to raise the little chicky in order for the happy, content population of chickens to be produced, which we enjoy cooking today.

Otherwise, if the egg had come first, then the little baby chick would have to make it on its own. Then it would become all badass, like, "wolf man" in the woods or prairies or whatever. Like, it would have a little knife and sharp claws and look like a mini yellow Rambo.

Then, when it eventually had its own egg, that chicken would be all psycho survivor too, and then the chickens today would be massively wild and would never have been domesticated, and me, I would miss fried chicken. And eggs with breakfast, which are super yummy with milk.

Or juice.

Both work.

But back to the point:

The older werewolves who have been phasing now for over a year, are the chicken of this little scenario. The rookies, you know, the pups, who have only been at it for a couple months, are the egg.

We, as the sort-of-somewhat "elders," must protect the egg, before and after it hatches, then care for the baby chicken, nurture it, feed it, etc. etc. etc.

Unfortunately, all this responsibility means we must also educate it. Usually, this doesn't take much work. All you have to do is tell him, or her, the basics (that was for Leah. Look at me being all politically correct.)

These basics include: How to phase, how to behave around regular mortal people, how to kill bloodsuckers, and such. Then, just watch the baby chicken prosper, with you just sliding in advice and aid every once in awhile.

See, the "werewolf" gene usually kicks in after puberty. So, sure, you grow massively big, pretty much everywhere, and that sucks because it hurts and all, but it's not too bad. The pain only lasts about two weeks.

But keep in mind, this is when we're technically speaking, "men."

That's how it works: Become man. Become wolf. Kill leech.

Bam.

That's the way it has worked for hundreds of years.

But, you're not supposed to phase when you're thirteen. You're not supposed to go from making corny, immature jokes about poop to looking well over the legal drinking age.

You aren't supposed to go through puberty in three days.

It's not supposed to work that way.

But it can.

That's the really screwed up part of our system.

Because we've got this short written rule in the Elders' brains on what happens when a few bloodsuckers pass by town: You build the Pack.