Waking up as a Wolf

I stir in my bed, becoming conscious from a dreamless sleep. I can feel the warmth of sun rays seeping through my blinds and knew that it was morning. Groaning I roll over trying to escape the reaching tendrils of sunlight, and I feel a sharp pain like a stick or a stone poking into my side. I slowly open my eyes expecting to see my poster covered wall, only to see a green, lush forest stretching out before me. I jumped up from where I lay, shock coursing through my body. I whipped my head around trying to take in everything.

The forest looked silent unless you paid attention. Only then did I realize that I could hear everything and smell so many different things. Not just like how when you sit and concentrate on what you're looking at but like those two senses were on steroids. I could hear birds singing far above me and I could hear a slight bubble and laughter of a nearby brook. In the distance, twigs snapped and caught the faint smell of some animal. Everything looked and sounded so alive now, the trees swaying in the breeze like light whispers and the morning sun peeked through the web of branches far above my head.

I looked down at where I was previously laying and saw there was indeed a short, broken twig. As I studied the stick I caught a glimpse of my feet, or should I say paws. Where my feet would have been, furred paws took their place, long claws reached out of the rust-colored fur. I stared, frozen at the paws beneath me, shocked. Finally shaking my head, I looked behind me at my body and found that too had changed. I know stood on four feet and was covered in a thick, soft-looking pelt. Black, white, grey, and browns were mixed and splattered across my back and sides, the colors then faded to white as the fur reached my stomach.

Thinking about what happened to me and what I am now, I remembered the brook that I heard and started to make my way to it, hoping to maybe find my reflection in it. I wouldn't believe what had happened until I saw all of me. "Maybe it's just a dream," I thought desperately to myself. The brook came into view and I started to pad faster, finally breaking into a run. Or at least I tried to run, but ended up stumbling and tripped over an outstretched root, which sent me crashing to the ground. I startled a nearby bird in a bush and it screeched a warning sound while flying away in a flurry of feathers. "I don't think is a dream," I grumble to myself as the throbbing in my nose doesn't go away.

Hauling myself up I continue my way to the water, more careful this time to watch out for roots. As I approach the bank of the clear water, I start to feel nervous as to what I might find in my reflection. I step onto the soft sand and look down into the shallow river bed. As I look at my reflection I find instead of the young girl I was hoping to see, a pair of bright golden eyes stare back. The piercing eyes were attached to the white and grey face of a wolf. The wolf's thick chest fur was dappled like the rest of the body with blacks, and whites, and browns. Fluffy brown and white ears were situated on top of its head. I looked at this strange wolf and realized that was me. I was this strange brown, fluffy wolf. I started to panic thinking about everything that had happened and not knowing what to do next when my stomach growled in protest to its emptiness. "Ok first things first, find food." I thought, trying to calm myself.

Standing up, I start to make my way in a random direction, stopping to check for nearby animals or berries. After a little, I started to smell something and could hear a faint movement behind a nearby bush. Guess it might be something to eat, I crept towards the bush, trying to be as silent as I could. But I wasn't used so being in this form and ended up scaring the, what turned out to be a mouse, by stepping on a stick, breaking it in half with a loud snap. Letting out a breath, I didn't know I was holding, in a huff, I turned and continued on my way. After walking for what felt like hours, and scaring many more animals, I started to hear familiar sounds. Sounds of life, human life if it was what it sounded like. I felt happiness and hope fill my dejected heart. I was not only glad to know there were actual people and not just birds and mice, but I also knew that were there were people, there was going to be food.