Randolf

Fulki

"A best friend is someone who is always there for you, especially when you don't want them to be."

-Ella Stabile

The soft moonlight soaked into her fur. The rays enveloped her ember body. She tipped her head back and let out a loud howl, it vibrated through the cool night air. To her left, a cactus merged into a tree, and to her right, an open road ahead. The moon seemed to be calling her. Getting up slowly and adjusting to her furry body, she stumbled towards the silver sphere floating gently above her. Her wobbled walk turned into a stable trot, then a swift gallop. She seemed to understand how to move her newly emerged body. Faster she ran, faster and faster, until there was nothing separating the trees and moonlight around her. The moon illuminated her world silver, she ran faster. There was only silver around her. Her legs stopped. The silver remained. The light seemed to flow around her, welcoming her with open arms, hugging her. A figure emerged from the light, and as he did, the light released her. She was sad to leave the comfort of the moon. The figure came closer, she soon realized it was different from her shaggy form. The figure was human. She wasn't. Confusion stabbed its way into her mind. "Relax, you are alright, you are a wolf." The figure spoke. She tried to respond, but all that came out was a low bark. He chuckled. At first, she thought he was joking, but after her bark, she realized, she was, indeed, a wolf. "We may never speak again, but know that you are not alone." Confusion once again stabbed her. She tried to say "what?" but instead a bark escaped her lips again. Loud, annoying alarms surged through the silver darkness. "Goodbye Little Lite". "Little Lite?" she wanted to ask, but even her bark was silenced by the ceiling of her bedroom forming from the silver moonlit blur.

The morning sun shone through her window, beckoning her awake. Her alarm was blazing louder than ever, sending vibrations of pain through her head. Moving her arm swiftly, it came crashing down on the alarm clock, shattering it.

"Oh God," she said, thinking of ways to hide her broken alarm clock, which had run so much of her life. Finally rolling out of bed, realizing she was running severely late, she got ready, ate breakfast, and was about to leave for Oak Ridge, her new high school. This was the first day of freshman year, and the nerves were high. But as she opened the front door, a strange face greeted her.

"Hiya!" the boy exclaimed. Ember jumped back in surprise.

"Name's Ash, and I'm a werewolf."

"Yea, sure you are." She challenged

"Yes, I am, and you are a werewolf too-"

"Sure I am." Disbelief evident in her voice.

"Just hear me out." He pleaded.

"Fine." She told him, she was already late for school and her parents had left for work an hour ago.

"Thank you, I am a werewolf, so are you. I am a few months older than you and I started shifting two months ago. This full moon will be my third shift ever, a werewolf has to go through five full moon shifts before he or she can shift at will. It is rare for a werewolf to remember his or her first change. The energy required for someone to change their body into something else normally knocks the human unconscious for the first five times. Although the human mind may wake back up as the number of shifts increases, but will not have enough energy to control the shift, only remember it. But on their sixth shift, they will not only be able to shift without the help of the full moon, but they will be able to control their wolf form. When a shifter turns twenty-one, they will be able to turn people by biting them. Any release of venom into a bite before then will kill the prey." Ash seemed to stop to wait for her reaction which of course was, PRANK. But one thing Ash said sent a shiver down her spine. The way he said the word prey shuddered her to the bone.