* Media pic is of little Mia in her fur.
On the street outside Fancy's home Alpha Troy and Penn were greeted by First Beta Lucas and his mate Jules, the six Orthos pack elders, Reagan, the pack doctor, and the Master at Arms - Anex. Troy had called Lucas just moments after Fancy had called him. And Lucas had gathered those who were most involved with Penn and the pups, to greet her.
Though, Troy noted, he and Jules had not woken Cassidy and Jackson to bring them along. Cassidy and Jackson had been officially adopted into Lucas' home that winter when all the other children were placed. It was a forgone conclusion. After all, Lucas was their maternal uncle. But, it seemed strange to Troy that he had not brought them. He scanned up and down the street looking for them, as he and Penn approached everyone, but they really weren't there.
Troy gave Penn's hand a comforting squeeze as he drew her to what amounted to his pack's leadership. They all stood, dishevelled and in different stages of dress, on the pavement watching Penn with a mixture of confusion and awe. On the one had, they were surprised to see her like this - in the middle of the night with no prior warning after being gone all winter. And, on the other hand, they were struck dumb by the transformation in her. The shimmering light that seemed to emanate from her so altered her appearance that none of them could even be sure it was really her. She looked as if she were of a heavenly origin rather than an earthly one in that moment.
Casting strange looks at one another and at their Alpha, no one moved or said a word in greeting for the longest time until Ruuni, the eldest of the elders, stepped forward and asked what was on everyone's mind, "Is that you, Penn?"
Alpha Troy looked at all the perplexed faces and he wanted to laugh. He understood their hesitancy. In some ways it was obvious who she was and in others, well, she appeared otherworldly. Dressed now in a T-shirt and jeans, she was not as effulgent as she was when naked under the moonlight in Fancy's room. However, the skin of her bare arms still glowed under the gentle touch of moonlight, and her face gave off a radiance that could only be classified as supernatural. The sight of her was captivating everyone's imagination - even the elders, who it was thought had seen everything.
Penn arched a single eyebrow at the lot of them in confusion. How did they not know her? Why were they confused? It seemed to her that they were caught up in the same sort of daze Fancy and her parents and even Troy had been. There was something terribly wrong with everyone and she could only hope that the children were not affected.
"Yes, Elder Runni," Penn replied politely and submissively, "It's me. I'm here to ... to see the children." She had paused a bit not sure if they would be happy about her sudden visit. Not after she'd spurned their invitation to become a part of the pack by running away.
Ruuni nodded and then walked slowly up to Penn as she let her eyes roam over the young she-wolf. "You don't look like yourself," she admitted. "What's happened to you?"
Penn looked down at herself and frowned. "I don't understand. I haven't changed," she replied thoughtfully. "What's so different?" she asked elder Ruuni as she took courage and looked the much older woman in the eye.
Reagan, the pack doctor, came forward then and rested her hand on Penn's arm asking in awe, "Can't you see it?"
Penn looked at Reagan's fingers, which gently clasped her arm turning it a bit to the right and then the left, but could not see anything strange about her limb.
"See what?" Penn asked with growing frustration and anxiety.
She didn't have time for this - whatever this was. She needed to find the children. That's what the dream or vision was about wasn't it? It was a message from the Moon goddess telling her to come and find the children. She felt a burning need to see them and instinctively knew that feeling would only intensify the longer she stood there waiting for everyone's bewilderment to abate.
It was the Master at Arms who came forward then and shared what everyone was thinking. "You look more like the Moon goddess right now than you do you."
"Moon goddess?" Penn repeated incredulously. "You've all gone mad," she declared with true astonishment. She was just a packless wolf, a nobody, a worthless mutt. It was sacrilegious of Arn to compare her in any small way with the Moon goddess.
Baffled and too impatient to get to the bottom of whatever was ailing everyone right then, she turned away from Ruuni, Reagan and Arn to look up at Troy, who still held her hand. He smiled gently at her. His warm, inviting smile was reassuring.
"I don't understand what's going on with everyone, but, I need to see the children tonight, Alpha Troy. Can you help me?"
"Of course," he encouraged her. After all, he'd already agreed to her request up in Fancy's room. He just didn't realize she was in such a panic to see them so urgently until that moment. That pleading look in her eyes said it all to him.
He looked over at Lucas. "I need you to contact all the children's families and have them bring the kids to the square." It was the most central location in the village. Everyone would be able to arrive about the same time.
"No," Penn said straight away, "not the square." Wasn't the centre of town the place in her dream where the pups perished? She shivered at the vivid and life-like memory. "No, no," she mumbled to herself. "Ah, let them meet us at the pack house. Will that work for everyone?" She asked as she looked from Troy to Lucas and then back to Troy again.
"Yes, no problem," Troy replied before he gave Lucas a nod. He then turned his attention back to Penn, taking hold of her shoulders and turning her to face him directly. "What's going on Penn?"
"I don't know," she told him truthfully. "I just know .. I .. I know I have to see them right now."
From behind, Elder Ruuni placed a comforting hand on Penn's right shoulder and spoke to Alpha Troy, "Leave it with us. We'll take care of it."
He gave her a grateful smile and a nod before looking down at Penn and saying, "Lets head over to the pack house and wait."
Penn gave him an eager nod and to Ruuni she gave the woman a grateful smile. It wasn't lost on her how keen everyone was to help. Not a single person present had offered any resistance or complained in any way about her presence there in the dead of night. They really were the most caring and supportive group of wolves she had ever encountered in her entire life. Penn gave up a silent prayer of thanks to the Moon goddess, who surely had a hand in all of this.
Alpha Troy took Penn's hand again and pulled her in the direction of the pack house. However, to everyone's amazement, they were greeted by a small pup, standing in the middle of the street, in its fur. Penn knew right away who it was. She let go of Troy's hand and rushed to Mia so she could scoop her up into her arms. Not being a demonstrative person, Penn was afraid she would frighten the child. However, she felt desperate to connect with her, to touch her, to reassure herself that Mia was real and alive and well.
Mia snuggled into Penn and sniffed her neck with her little wet snout. Penn's scent calmed her and made her feel warm and safe. Mia loved her new adopted family, but she had longed for Penn like she longed for sunny days during the rains. Not being able to resist, Mia energetically licked her saviour's face to show the older wolf just how glad she was, and didn't stop even when Penn began to laugh with relief and delight.
"Okay, okay, I get it," Penn exclaimed between laughs. "You are happy to see me." She grinned at the pup and held her closer.
But Mia squirmed to be put down. She had to tell the others. They all had to come and see for themselves that Penn was back. The moment Penn put her on the ground, Mia sat straight and tall before she threw her snout into the air and gave the best howl of her young life.
Penn had never heard Mia howl and it took her quite by surprise. The mournfully low and long sound was sure to carry clear across the valley at that time of night. Her little Mia had done some growing in the months she was away and it made Penn proud. But, Mia wasn't done. She let out a second and third howl after the first. Clearly, she wanted everyone in the valley to know that Penn was back. It made the she-wolf laugh inwardly. It was the best welcome she could hope for.
"What on earth is Mia doing out here on the street in the middle of the night?" Jules whispered at Lucas who, like everyone else, had stopped making phone calls to the pups' new parents when he saw Mia on the road.
"Better call her parents right now," Jules told him. He nodded in agreement and didn't waste any time dialing the Krols.
The small group of wolves, including Fancy and her parents, came to stand behind Penn in order to watch the happy but unexpected reunion. And then, the little crowd was stunned to hear the night air filled with answering howls.
Penn was just as surprised as the rest. She stood to her feet and marvelled at the pups. They'd heard Mia's call and they answered her. It was so touching that Penn's eyes watered a little. These were her pups and they were coming for her.
Not able to resist the pull to cast off her skin in exchange for her fur, Penn stripped in the street heedless of who was watching and transformed into her wolf form. She responded to the pups calls with a howl of her own. Then, she sat back down, tail wagging much like Mia's, and waited for the pups to find them.
A corporate gasp went up from those gathered. They stared wide-eyed at the she-wolf and then looked to each other, asking one another if they were all seeing the same thing. It wasn't that she stripped or took on her fur. These things most of them had seen before. It was the texture and colour of her coat that startled them and boggled their minds.
Penn had spent her first week in the Orthos pack in wolf form. So everyone there, except for Fancy's parents, was familiar with her dirty grey-white pelage, black streaked nose, and black tipped ears. Her colouring was neither beautiful nor striking. In fact, one might say there was nothing particularly remarkable about it. At least, they could have said that right up until this moment. But, in the moonlight, she was utterly transformed into something quite mystical.
It was not lost on any of them that something numinous was happening here. Each hair on her hide was made of a brilliant, polished silver. The fine, delicate hairs tinkled and chimed with every wag of her tail and move of her head. Penn positively shimmered from her nose to her tail like silvery white moonlight on a charcoal lake. It wasn't natural. Instead, it was as if they were looking at moonlight in a corporeal form. Each observer shivered with the realization that they were witnessing something supernatural taking place in their rather mundane and homey little village.
It was elder Nordin, Ruuni's male counterpart, who speculated saying, "There once was a legend, long forgotten now I suppose, that the Moon goddess had a companion ..."
"The moon wolf," Anex interrupted. His face was full of bewilderment. "Is it possible? Could she be the embodiment of the moon wolf?"