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----Monday, 19th August 2019----

I wake up feeling oddly refreshed- I pinch myself again and feel in my pocket for the beads. Their metal spherical shapes feel familiar under my fingers as I pull them out and put them on. It was almost as if I'd been dreaming of this moment my whole life. I bet Shuri made these, I think definitely. I get out of the tent and stretch happily, content. "You left last night. Where'd you go?" one of my tentmates asks. "I didn't go anywhere. Maybe it was just all in your dream." I lie. "Oh- well, ok." I smile to myself again, trying not to shapeshift out of pure joy. The bracelet buzzes, bringing me back to real life. "I gotta go for a sec; I'll be right back."

Sure enough, it was Peter. "Someone wants to say hi," He says, me feeling his smile through the bead's nanotech speakers. "Hey! Peter told me all about you. I'm Shuri, inventor genius and successor to the Wakandan Black Panther. You sound like a cool person from what he's told me." I hear a rustling sound in the background as the voice cuts off momentarily. "Oh, right, I forgot- we called you because we thought you needed a name," Shuri laughs. I laugh too, a careless laugh. Ah, this is insane. "Yeah, well- I guess so. My normal name is Jakaranda, by the way. It's a pleasure to meet you!" She laughs again. "So, Peter told me that you made a particularly good wolf- So, I don't know, but- How does Wolfcry sound?" I nodded despite her inability to see me. "I love it! Thank you so much Shuri. Your vibranium nanotech is super impressive by the way," I hear her and Peter gasp. "She's smart too!" they say in unison. "Right, so what do you think about the flexibility to rigidity ratio of Falcon's wings?" Peter asks. I think to myself for a second, formulating my response. "It's amazing, considering the aerodynamic potential," Peter gasps again. He then lets out a laugh, riddled with giggles from Shuri.

"I suppose I get to meet Morgan too?" I ask hopefully- ever since her dad died I had felt the need to comfort her, and now I hoped I could. "Morgan? Wolfcry wants to chat to you!" Peter says happily. "Hi Wolfcry!" I feel a warm tingle make it's way down my spine. "Hey Morgan. How are you?" I ask. "Yeah, haven't really gotten over dad's death yet- It's just- it came-" she starts to sob and I imagine Peter leaning over to give her a hug, not only to help her but more so to help him. I imagine his tears running down strands of Morgan's hair. "I wish I could give you a big hug! You can call me anytime, Irongirl," I smile. She makes a noise of appreciation and happiness. "Ok, Pepper's calling us down to dinner. We gotta go. Oh, Harley, did you want to say hi to Wolfcry?" An older voice seeps into the speakers. "Hi, Jakaranda. You have a nice name." I hear him wander off. "Ok, we have to go for dinner now. Chat to you later, Wolfcry." I smile again. "Chat to you later, Spider-man." the line disconnects.

I return back to my group, helping them pack up our tents and our stuff. We get it all into our bags when another of my tent mates sees my new bracelet. "Hey, you didn't have that before we got here?" she says. "I brought it along with me- I didn't want it to get lost, so I put it in my bag. But I want to wear it now, so I'm gonna." I reply definitively. She just shrugs in a you do you kind of way. I haul my bag up onto my back, my mark glowing warmly and comfortingly under my shirt sleeve. I take a deep breath and let it go, getting myself ready to go on the next leg of the hike. "Let's go, everyone. Come on," the leader gestures for us to follow her, so we do. But this time, I don't feel like I'm lost, or like I'm blindly following the others; I feel like I know this place as well as the back of my hand. Suddenly I'm in sync with the wind and the birds, breathing with the gentle breeze and whistling along to the birdsong. Wow- It must have been the shapeshifting- I feel like I've been here all my life! I think happily to myself.

It came time for me to navigate, though I only pretended to use the map. I knew exactly where we were going, even though I'd never been there before. I felt my feet beneath me as surefooted as my wolf's paws, my eyes as sharp as my eagle's, and my head as clear as my lionesses'. I walk along, guiding and heading up the pack until a male kangaroo gets in the way of the track. I know he's showing signs of aggression, and he's about to attack. Oh god- I approach the kangaroo. "You don't know what you're doing. Get back here!" the leader calls. She tries to hold me back, but my mark glows and I feel a surge of energy as I push past her. I ignore her as I slowly get closer to the masculine beast. I put my hand out in front of me and the kangaroo bows his head to touch it. I lean closer until my forehead touches the kangaroo's, and close my eyes, feeling his breath warm against my face as his heart rate slows, seeing my distorted reflection in his deep brown eyes. "Hey bud. I'm sorry we're trespassing. We'll just go past and leave you to it, we promise." The kangaroo nudges my forehead affectionately before looking at me one more time. He looks straight into my eyes and nods as he bounds off into the bush.