Taming the lion

chapter 5

 Heath's POV

I slunk into the cave dejected and feeling quite sorry for myself. I'd returned to the lake again today, and nothing. I'd been going every day for almost a week now and nothing. She hadn't been back to the lake since the day I'd stupidly gotten too close and awoken her.

"GRRRawww!" Robert chose that moment to make his presence known. I was startled to see him.

"Sit down, cub."

"Ah, sure." I wasn't sure what he wanted. There was one person who I've told about visiting the lake, my best friend Cam, and he would never betray me to Robert.

"I have some news for you," Robert spoke into my mind. "I visited my brother today, and he informs me that the humans are back here to stay. The elders would prefer we leave and start somewhere new and more remote, but the choice is ours."

I sighed in relief at that. I couldn't leave, not yet. I had to understand what I was feeling for her.

So Robert continued, "I take it by the relief on your face. You won't be joining Sylvia and myself but staying with the others."

"What?" Robert and Sylvia were leaving. I growled softly to let him know this news did not please me.

He snuffled in response. "But," he continued. "The elders do have a condition of staying. I don't think you'll like it." he continued.

"In order to stay, you have to learn to shift. They want to know you would be prepared to mingle with humans and blend in, if necessary. It appears from what Ethan was saying that this woman you noticed now owns the lions' haven and is going to turn it into a tourist attraction."

"Like the park where Damien lives?"  I questioned.  Damien, a distant cousin and one of us who still lived a double life, lived in a park a long way from here. I had heard from other lions that passed through all about his life that he was something they called a 'ranger' and lived shoulder to shoulder with the humans, showing them around and stuff.

"Yes, like that but not as large at least. I don't think. So, young pup, you need to make a decision, and I need to talk to the others. I will have to tutor you all before I can leave."

I didn't need to think about it. I knew, and it scared me to death. I was going to turn into a human. I'd been thinking about it ever since I saw her. I just hadn't known how to, but now Robert was going to teach me. The possibilities of where this might lead ran loops through my mind.

"Good morning, young lions."

A strange human stepped through the arch into the communal area. I suppressed a growl and sniffed the air. It smelled... it was like Robert. Sylvia came in then, and the human ran a hand down her back. We all relaxed. It was Robert like we'd never seen before.

We had all assembled here; all 9 of us had decided to stay to get instructions from Robert. We are to learn to shift today. Robert had said it wouldn't be easy, and we had to learn fast. The first change would be painful; then, we had to learn to suppress our natural behaviours to blend in.

It normally took months for lions to learn these things, but we had to accomplish it in less than a week.

Robert smiled and raised his hands. "I know. I'm sorry I startled you. I forgot none of you had seen this side of me, but soon all of you will have this option too. Before we begin, though, you need to realize the 'you' that you are now," he paused, "you will never be again. Everything will be different. You will learn and grow, and even if you choose to never live as a human or even use your human side, it will always be there. It's always been there. It just needs some awakening." He, then, gestured toward Sylvia, who had crouched at her feet. "Observe the shift."

Sylvia lay on the ground; paws stretched in front and behind her. She seemed to be twisting, and tiny moans and growls escaped from her. You could see something moving underneath her fur. It seemed to be shaking and shrinking, then suddenly she was a human woman. It was the most amazing thing I'd ever seen. Almost instantly, before our eyes, she had transformed.

She stood and faced us all. She was covered in a strange liquid sheen, but as we watched, it was reabsorbed back into her body. She gave herself a final shake as if coming out of a trance and smiled up at Robert.

"Well done, sweetheart." Robert rubbed her back and stood level with her.

"Well, there you have it, and that was only Sylvia's 7th change. It gets easier and eventually will become as fluid as running. Any questions before we get started?"... "No? Alright. Well, all of you, find yourselves a spot and sit, and don't worry, you won't be trying to shift today."

"Firstly, you need to realize how hard this will be on both your bodies and minds. Completing the change is only the beginning. Our lives were intermingled with humans in the past, so it was easy to blend with them. Their lives are very different from ours with lots of rules and ways to behave. You will need to master these as well to blend in, though. I would advise minimal human contact; they cause nothing but grief." Robert had a strange look in his eyes. I couldn't identify although he quickly covered it and continued with his lecture. "A lot of the behaviours you will need to master are already known to you, and shifting should trigger them obviously, you've all noticed by now. You can understand what I'm saying, and it's the same for me. Even as a human, I can understand the different pitches and meanings from your roars and snuffles. We can also still communicate mind to mind, but the art of speech will be the first thing we tackle after your shifts."

"Next lesson, I'll bring some common human objects and explain what they are for and teach you to use them. This one, however," he said, placing a strange looking box on the ground, "I will leave here for you to study."

Looking at the box, I was the first to move forward and gently nudged it with my paw.

I jumped back in fright and growled at the box as strange noises filled the air. Robert laughed and walking over. Touching something on the box, the noise suddenly stopped.

"Relax. It's alright, young lions," he said, raising his arms to us in a calming gesture. "This is your first teaching tool. It's called a 'CD player,' and humans use it as entertainment. It plays music which I will allow you to hear in a while, but it also plays a mixture of human voices and will allow you to learn and interpret both what they are saying and feeling by the way they say it."

We spent a long time listening to the box and had made some progress by the end. I could identify some of the human noises, and from hearing Robert say them in different ways, I could pick up on what they meant, though it was still a little confusing, especially the music that Robert played at the end. It made my ears hurt. All the different noises and voices screaming had us running in fright.

"Apparently, they find this relaxing and fun, and in human form, we would, too."

I couldn't see how.

After Robert's class, I was so full of nervous energy that I went for a run. As I reached the lake, as was now my habit, I sniffed the air and... I did a double-take; herbs and freshness with an underlying tang of fresh meat. It was her.

Without thinking, I bounded into the clearing through the trees and was instantly stopped in my tracks. There was a man there. He looked like Robert's human form, although not as big. I couldn't help myself as a low growl made its way from my throat. She took a step towards me, and I growled again. That man had stopped her and the way he was staring at me, I didn't like it. My joy at seeing her was replaced by a realization that I really knew nothing of her kind. Slowly backing away, I left, hoping my actions hadn't scared her away.