The Winter Phoenix (WAYHAUGHT)

The shift

"To do nothing guarantees his victory. As much as it pains me to say this, she must return."

Nicole still had the stone between her fingers, listening to the strange communication, a conversation which she knew full well was about her. I hate this, all of this, I'm out of here. No one tells me what to do, no one. I'm a lone wolf. As the essence of her words seeped from her fingers into the stone a powerful surge overtook her thoughts, an energy racing through every bone, and every muscle, and every sinew, unable to stop it or control it, much less understand.

"What's...what's happening?" she cried out, as her arms began sprouting long grey hairs. "Fu-"

Before she could finish the expletive, her mouth distended into a muzzle, her form shifting to that of a wolf sitting upright at a stranger's kitchen table, fully clothed, staring at the mug of tea. Long claws appeared from the ends of her fingers, Nicole letting out a terrified howl as she became the animal she'd been thinking of moments earlier. With no memory of ever becoming a wolf, with no wisdom, no training to call upon as to how to tame such a beast, she simply became pure untamed rage, a second mug swiped from the table with such force it exploded against the wall into tiny fragments, Nicole ready to devour the two staring at her open-mouthed.

Wynonna's quick thinking saved her and Nicole's grandmother from becoming wolf chow. She let out a breath of fire, sending Nicole howling in pain from the room, Wynonna wedging the kitchen door shut with the table. "She hasn't shifted on this side before," she said, as Nicole clawed at the door to get to them. "She'll be terrified."

"It's her essence speaking to her," the grandmother said. "It's calling to her, telling her what she is."

"What do I do?" Wynonna asked.

"We must send word to Waverly. She has the power to keep her grounded."

"I cannot risk my sister. She has already made one crossing. If they catch her on this side I fear she will be made a sacrifice."

"Without her Nicole is but a wingless bird."

The growls and the scratching stopped abruptly, Wynonna waiting a few moments before opening the door. Nicole lay curled in a fetal position on the floor hugging her body. "What's happening to me," she repeated, over and over.

"Landoryn heard you."

"I don't know what's real anymore."

Wynonna lay next to her friend, stroking her hair. "You are a shapeshifter. You have the ability to turn into that which you think about, using the stone around your neck."

"I was...I had fur. And claws. I...I wanted to tear you apart."

"That's your wolf spirit. You have five under your control."

Nicole closed her eyes. "Please. I beg you, whatever this is, make it stop."

"Bear, dolphin, kite, and snake."

Nicole began laughing, a full-bellied hysterical laugh. When she finally calmed down the tears returned, Wynonna gently helping her from the floor. "I'm supposed to believe I can turn into different creatures just by thinking about them."

"Not exactly. You're linked to the spirit in the stone you wear. She protects you, facilitates your shifts. You must have been holding her when you changed into a wolf."

"So, I can control whatever this is. I'm not suddenly going to change into one of these creatures just like that."

"You shouldn't be able to shift your shape in this world. It's not where your power lies."