Stormtamers: Lightning (Book 2)

14

Kasai wasn't sure how long she had been sitting all alone in silence. No one bothered her, which both relieved and confused her. Even if she didn't want them to, she thought they'd all be flocking around her and asking questions about what happened. She didn't feel like answering questions. She didn't feel like talking. All she wanted was to be alone, and here she was, alone. She knew she should get up and get the others so they could continue searching at least for a little while before the full moon rose, but she didn't even feel like continuing their search.

Finally, she stood up and peeked out of the tent. The light was already dimming. The full moon would rise soon, and the werewolves would come out.

She looked at the ground guiltily. If she wasn't so worked up about her nightmares, she would've been able to get moving by now.  She knew the thoughts and fears would never leave her head.  No matter what, they'd always be a part of her.  Deep down, the fear of her being a monster lurked in her heart.  She desperately tried to get the thoughts out of her head, but it was no use.  They wouldn't leave her alone.

She finally decided to go talk to Cory.

"...Cory, you in here?" she said quietly, peeking into his tent.

He jumped and turned to look at her.

"Yeah.  I was wondering when you'd come out."

Kasai's face reddened as she slowly went over to him.

"...sorry.  I'm just still scared."

"Why?"

"Because of the nightmares, duh."

"I feel like it's something more."  He raised an eyebrow.

Kasai just sighed.  "...do...do you think I'm a monster?"

Cory paused.  "...why do you ask?"

"Just answer me, Cory.  Do you think I'm a monster?"

"No, of course not!  Why would you be a monster?  The only reason you'd even think about hurting someone is if they're your enemy!"

Tears filled Kasai's eyes, but she quickly wiped them away.  "That's...not necessarily true."

"What do you mean?"

Kasai hesitated.  "...I... ...I'd rather not say."  She looked away.

"Kasai..." Cory sighed.  "Okay, not wanting to talk right after the nightmare is understandable.  But it's been hours.  Surely you're at least starting to get over it by now."

"But I can't!  I-"

She was interrupted by the sounds of distant wails and howls.  The two of them immediately looked towards the entrance of the tent and raced over, peeking out.

The full moon was rising.

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Orchid immediately yelped and howled in pain as she felt herself being forced to transform. She squirmed and thrashed, her sanity slowly starting to slip out of her grasp. Dessa wanted to comfort her friend, but knew it was a bad idea.

Doug was tense, but wasn't in as much pain since he was already in wolf form. He growled and shook himself, also trying to keep his sanity. He instinctively nudged his sister closer to him as her tail slowly grew out behind her and her ears turned large and pointy.

She panted and whined. Her hands and fingers slowly shifted into furry paws and her nails turned into sharp claws. Her face morphed into a long, pointy snout, and her teeth grew sharp as blades as they turned into huge fangs. After a while, it was all over, and she was fully in wolf form.

Doug immediately growled and glared at Dessa as she slowly backed away, afraid. He crept towards her, his lips curled back in a snarl and his razor-sharp fangs bared. He was interrupted, however, by a nip and tug on the leg from his sister, trying to get him to stop and follow her. He growled, but rolled his eyes and left Dessa alone, racing out of the tent with her, only to be tackled by another werewolf.

The two of them barked and growled at each other as they clawed and bit. Orchid whined and backed away, her ears back and her tail between her legs. She may not have her sanity, but she still had her smarts, and she was only a pup. The werewolf on top of Doug growled and snarled at her, but knew better than to attack. Doug quickly threw his opponent off, getting back on all fours and growling.

Orchid immediately raced to get behind her brother as he got into a fighting position, glaring the other werewolf down.  The other werewolf snarled at him and got into a fighting position as well. They were both interrupted by a gunshot sounding. A bullet flew past them and they snapped their attention towards the source of the sound to see Rosa standing over them.

"Blake. Leave the prisoners alone." she demanded.

Blake growled and narrowed his eyes, ready to pounce. Doug quickly bit his neck and slung him the other way, making him yelp. Orchid jumped back, whining.

Now everyone was standing guard at the entrance of their tents, even Barry and Choco.  Of course, Choco was more cowering than guarding.

Rosa kept the werewolves at bay, aiming her pistols at them until Fosc came out with a loaded tranquilizer gun, firing at the three of them.  Of course, Doug had to give a final growl at Blake before he blacked out with his sister doing the same right next to him.  Blake was the third one to black out.

"I hate full moons." Fosc growled under his breath, putting the gun away.  He shouted orders at the rest of the gang before going into his tent with Rosa close behind.

"Is there anything you need me to do, Fosc?" she asked.

"No.  There's nothing at the moment.  I already appointed a guard for tonight, so you can rest for now." Fosc muttered, his tail twitching.

Rosa nodded once and went into her cheetah form, curling up on the ground and yawning.  "Where will our next stop be?" she questioned.

"Well, that will be up to you, because tomorrow I'm headed to the Forbidden Hills alone to deliver Lightning to Nuclear." Fosc explained, going into his lion form to groom himself, carefully moving his paw under his bandanna to lick it.  "It will probably take a while, so you will be in charge while I'm gone.  If you do move, I'll catch up with you later."

Rosa nodded.  "Understood."

After Fosc finished struggling to groom himself, he curled up next to her and rested his chin on his paws.

"If I'm not back by the blood moon, you are in charge of asking Dessa what her choice is.  If she refuses to join, kill her."

"Yes, sir."

She yawned again before snuggling up to him and drifting to sleep, purring.  He lifted his bandanna up off of his mouth and licked her before putting it back down, slowly falling asleep as well.