hybrid on the run #wattys2018

chapter 15. base of operations part 1

I give each of the humans a family sized bag of chips, and tell them to eat them on the way. We don't have time to waste. The full moon is just hours away, and the sun will be going down soon. Emptying Dallon's bag, I put all the boxes of hair dye into the pack and the scissors. Kate is complaining the entire time. Soooo glad she's regained her original mental state (sarcasm). It seems to me that Dallon is already getting annoyed with her whining and complaining. I roll my eyes.
"Stop complaining and I'll let you all swim fur a few minutes afterward. "

She shuts up long enough for me to think. Upon approaching the river, we are met with a few teenage wolves. I think to the children Do not look them in the eye. We are on their land, and we don't need them to think of us as anymore of a threat. They do as their told. I nod in their direction to acknowledge their existence. They seem to come across as strong and untrusting. I tell the others in my group to cut the hair first. I watch from a distance as Colby cuts Dallon's hair, keeping myself closer to the other wolves in case something happens and they go after the others. Dallon groans slightly, but doesn't object too much. He waits until his hair is done with before removing his shirt. He is about to jump into the river before I remind him telepathically that his hair has to stay dry in order to dye properly. He sighs and goes to cut Colby's hair instead. They both leave a decent amount of hair so that we have enough to work with for the dye. The plan won't work if the color shows through too much. The only problem occurs when we try to cut Kate's long chestnut hair. She starts showing out and making a fuss until I command her to cooperate. Her eyes glaze over a bit and she zones out while they cut her hair to just below her ear lobe. She sits on a large rock and waits for the others. Colby cuts my hair from my waist band to about 3 inches below my shoulders. I sigh in disbelief and slight sadness as I watch the hair fall to the forest floor. Now onto the dye. The wolves are still watching our small group as I mix the light blue components for Colby's hair dye. I hand the bottle to Dallon. I mix the green components for Dallon and hand them to Kate. I instruct her to follow through and she does so without hesitation, and without speaking. I then mix Kate's bottle and my own, mine being a vibrant red and hers being a dark purple. I watch in disbelief as the cave child act comes back the minute Dallon's hair is completely saturated in the green liquid. I enter her mind, and it's as if she's a completely different person. I make a mental note of this, and put it in the back of my mind. The others finish without interruption, and I have Dallon dye my own hair. After enough time had passed, we all wash in the river. The oldest of the group comes up to me.
"Do you have anymore of the hair dye?"
This group seems a bit more modern than the other wolves in the area we had met.
"We have silver"
He implements an alliance in exchange for the hair dye. He gives me his life story. The boy, Luke, had been good friends with a human he had once met, but the alpha killed her after discovering they had sexual intercourse. The group were the rebels, discovering as much as possible about the human world and living their way. This was not only forbidden, but they used it as a way to bring wolves and humans together against the alphas wishes. While speaking to him, I discover an ancient ritual to turn humans into hybrids, as well as wolves, and an idea forms. I thank the group for the information, and they leave. I allow the children time to play in the water before we make our way back to the house.

I leave Colby with specific directions to stay put with the children. I don't tell him what I'm up to. I bring with me my journal and pencil, and map out a large portion of the land, taking note of everything. I leave markers in various places and draw blue prints for our new base of operations. I keep my plan private. It seemed to me that Luke didn't want to be human, nor did he want the world to know what he was. He just wanted to be a part of something more and not live in the shadows. He wanted to be free, and that's all any wolf ever really wants. They're not free in the pack, and they can see that now, just as much as they view our group as a way out. First, I make my family immortal. Then, we save the others. I will step up as alpha.

When I get back, the group is basically distraught. I simply tell them that I had some errands to run. It's nearly sundown. I decide to go out tonight to hunt for more food. It's unlikely that we will survive off of a few bags of empty calories. I phase and follow the trail from earlier back to the river. I see another wolf and keep quiet. It smells just like Luke, and when he doesn't attack upon my approach, I know it's him. I phase back to human form and tell him to meet me at the river the next morning to discuss the plan. This way the other pack members won't get wise. I phase once again into my wolf form and take down a buck, picking it up whole in my mouth to take home. I only go back to my human form when I'm home. We build a fire and cook every part of the animal that we could and saved the items we couldn't eat for future purposes.