Odin's Prize

Learning

"Pick them up, Charlie." Her voice is irritating my skin.

"No." Stomping my feet as hard as a fifteen-year-old unshifted wolf can. "I'm done doing this!" Turning my body away from them, all they do is make me practice, all day, doing this over and over again, while I just want to be in the forest collecting my plants, or making things to help ease the suffering or older wolves.

"Charlie, pick them up." My mother takes a step towards me.

"I said no!" My turn to take a step towards her, everything for some reason is quiet. I can't look away from my mother's eyes. There is a great compulsion within me to hold my position.

We're almost the same height now, standing there regarding each other. Something deep inside that I'm not familiar with is making me stand tall, squaring my shoulders to her.

A whispering within myself to hold ground, do not turn tail, widen my stance.

Posturing my outward intent that I will not turn my neck in submissiveness. The wild 's seduction tremoring skin, something inside the marrow of me wanting to ascend to meet the wolf who is challenging her very nature.

A look of shock flashes in her blue eyes before refocusing on me, she steps slowly with caution to the side, so I have to turn my body slightly to keep tracking her movements. A low rumble from deep within echo's out in the quiet, a lift of lip to flash fang is without my control. It's done almost with the same ease of instinct that you would take a breath.

My turn to be shocked touching the spot on my chest where the sound reached outward from. The words of a wolf deep within has shuffled herself inside, scantly. A flexing of her voice that hasn't taken on fur form yet.

A percussion of sound vibrates around my exposed flesh, turning right Odin comes from where he has been standing, silent in the shadow of light that doesn't reach that part of the facility because no one is using that space at the moment.

Odin has just witnessed my wolf's first juvenile sound; her awakening has begun.

Another flexion of sound trembles outward, as she voices her sound for Odin's ears. There is a quick curve of his bottom lip that pulls at the corner of his eyes once the growl has died away. It's primitive without the refinement of how a shifted juvenile wolf sounds but to me it's magical to hear her for the first time. The deep ancient green of a forbidden forest holds me statue still. Taking a step towards me until my mother stands in his path, along with Uncle Grey.

He's always showing up unexpectedly since my injury, bringing me white sheets of paper filled with extraordinary descriptions of plants that even at times Lana our healer looks on with wonder. Her finger is going over the picture while her eyes take every detail in, I think deep down she must love plants almost as much as me.

He's holding two packages wrapped up with a few late autumn flowers attached to the bow.

Odin's stance doesn't change it's relaxed even with the threat of my mother and Uncle Grey standing shoulder to shoulder.

"Mother Wolf," Odin bows to her slightly, it's more a very minute tilt of the head but enough to understand it's meaning. He doesn't even acknowledge Uncle Grey, not with his body or his eyes. It's as if he's beneath regarding.

"Charlie pick those knives up." Odin's commanding sound makes me cringe slightly.

Hanging my head, before kneeling to pick up the knives. "I'm sorry mom, I don't know what just happened."

She touches my back before pulling me into her for a hug. "It's okay Charlie; I think you're going to be shifting very soon. The signs are all there." Kissing my cheek, rubbing hers on mine, before her teeth nip at my jaw it hurts slightly before she pulls herself away.