I thought I was going to upload Ch. 11 and Ch. 12 as one big piece. Turns out, I accidently blinked and wrote 16 Word pages (equals 8 Wattpad pages) so I have to split these chapters into two parts so I don't kill you guys of boredom.
The point is, Ch. 12 will be uploaded on October 11th to let you guys have a chance to read this chapter first!
Please comment and let me know about my lame-o typos!Enjpy! -FO97
There was a moment that I cannot describe in words. As searing pain lit up every fiber of my body, there was a moment, no more than a second, where I was inside two bodies. One was that of the wolf, the other was my own body, my human body. For no more than a flash of a second, the wolf’s consciousness and my own meshed, melded together, and we looked through each other’s eyes, while in the same moment looking through our own. This still does not do the sensation justice. I did not just see through two pairs of eyes, but I felt the wolf’s emotion as I felt my own, his pain and my pain, his senses and my senses. I was the wolf and yet I was the boy. Even as I say it, I wonder how it could be possible, though I am certain of what I experienced. And when it was over, I was human again, the wolf raging inside my mind still trying to react to the pain that was suddenly not there.
This takes a long time to detail, but in actuality, from the moment Cynd said my new name, Ryne, and to the point I was human again, took seconds and hardly that, nothing at all like the painful and gradual change that I was still not accustomed to.
I was disoriented and sick to my stomach. It had been so fast. My eyes were still trying to see through the wolf’s eyes, my legs refusing to accept that I only had two now, my tongue trying to flop around, though it was thicker and shorter now. Worst of all, however, was that my body was still trying to react to the pain that had been so intense for only a second, as if all the pain of the change had been compressed into a few seconds and forced through my body like a knife through butter. I was shaking violently, my breath coming in sporadic bursts, and my heart beating out of its regular rhythm, but instead was thudding at a rate that was so fast as to be distressing. The cold that came from the snow on the ground did nothing to help and I found my extremities numb with the temperature. Before I could stop it, I heaved from the pit of my stomach though nothing but acidic bile came up from my empty stomach.
Senrid knelt next to me and threw a blanket over my bare shoulders. I drew it closer.
“Wha. . .wha happ-“ I slurred and rasped, feeling as if no part of my body was in the right place. Bones felt misplaced, my skin felt shifted, when I flexed my muscles, I was sore as if I had been running for three days uphill.
“Don’t speak. Everything will make sense later. Right now, just relax.” I was not in a mental state to argue.
Cynd stood to the side, his massive form enshrouded by the bonfire. The people that stood around the ring where watching us. It had been long enough that they had grown bored watching me on the ground and were whispering excitedly to one another.
“-liked the way that he-”
“-must be awfully stubborn=”
“-I would have given up as soon as he got in my-”
“-you see what color he was-”
“-wonder if he is a demon-”
“-means death does it not-
I shook my head, trying to clear my mind and focused temporarily on my body. I made note of a migraine and a sharp aching in my shoulder in addition to the icy cold and the uncomfortable feeling of not belonging in my own skin. Senrid helped me slowly to my feet, looking carefully into my eyes, concern emanating from his own so clearly that I was somewhat touched.
I realized Cynd was speaking, but evidently I had missed most of the speech.
“-a time for celebration and a time for mourning, as we all are well aware. Please remember yourselves and welcome our new brother. This is a turning point in his life that he will slowly come to grips with. He will need our support. We may not be related by blood here, but we are family. You would do well not to forget it. For tonight, give Dheul his space. Tomorrow we will have a proper meal in Dheul’s favor.” There was a smattering of cheers and claps and then Cynd stepped away from the bonfire, a sure sign that they were dismissed.
Cynd approached me. He was as large as ever, though we were eye level in height. His breath came in white clouds, He offered one massive hand. I held my blanket with one hand and took his with the other. He shook it firmly, his eyes probing my mind in an unnerving gaze.
“You have much potential, Dheul. One day you will be a great leader.”
“Thank you, sir,” I replied, though I had no idea what he meant.
“I remember being your age. . .couldn’t’ve held a candle to your control back then.” He released my hand, nodding his head. “Yes, you have great potential. I look forward to knowing you.”
“Thank you, sir,” I repeated.
“Senrid, be sure to get him to his tent. Answer his questions, make sure he is as comfortable. You know what to do.”
“Of course, sir,” he replied.
He nodded once. “Good night, boys. Until the morn.”
“Until the morn,” Senrid repeated. Cynd disappeared into the dark shadows between tents.
“Well, Dheul. I’d say you’ve earned some rest. Let’s get you back.”
The going was slow because I was still not myself and the snow was cold under my bare feet. I shuffled along, wrapped in my blanket. It was still fairly dark, and the torches that lines the paths were significantly dimmer. Senrid walked slowly beside me, quick to catch me if I stumbled, watching my every movement out of the corner of his eye. I was silent, a billion thoughts bombarding my head.
Senrid must have noticed. “I know you want answers. Now’s your chance.”
I was quiet for a few steps. “I do not know where to start.”
“Just start. First thing that pops into your head.”
“Am I a mon-”
“No,” he answered before I even finished the question. “You are not a monster. Never think of it. What else?”
“What do I look like when I am a wolf? I heard the people talking. . .they said I was a demon. . .”
Senrid chuckled. “Demon, no. Intimidating, yes.” He tapped his chin thoughtfully. “For starters, your markings are all very red. Red just like your hair, you know. Bright and shiny. Your undercoat is white, though, so it only serves to make the red stand out. You’re tall too, like you are now, with long legs. And fast. I’ve never seen anyone move as fast as you did that night with the bear.”
“I was that fast?”
“I couldn’t see you, Dheul. I’d say that you are fairly fast.”
I smiled quietly to myself in the dark and there was silence between us for a few moments except for the frozen crunch of snow under our bare feet.
“Come on, Dheul. I know you have actual questions.”
“Am I a part of the tribe now?” I asked.
“Well, that wasn’t all for nothing back there, was it?”
“I suppose not,” I mumbled, a bit put out.
“Yes, Dheul. You are a part of the tribe.” He grinned and playfully punched my shoulder. “We’re brothers now!”
I yelped and a sickening throbbing issued from my shoulder.
“Dheul! Why didn’t you tell me? If I had known you had a socket out I would have fixed it sooner.” He stopped me and pulled back my blanket to grab probe my shoulder.
“Ow. . .” I muttered as he felt around.
“Easy fix. Just don’t move.” He lifted my arm to a horizontal position, which was astonishingly painful. I gasped involuntarily as he jerked it and pushed down. There was muffled pop and a cry of pain from me, but Senrid released it, and I found myself in no more pain.
“Thank you,” I said, putting my other hand on the semi-swollen bulge and rotating the socket experimentally.
“My pleasure.” He smiled at me.
“It is cold out,” I said and pulled my blanket tight.
“Come on. Let’s get you some clothes.” He walked me to a funny square shaped tent set toward the edge of the camp. He pushed back the flap and we entered into a room filled with racks and boxes all filled with clothes
“This is where you go when you need a new set. If you can help it, saving your clothes before you change is preferred. Tying them to your leg, or carrying them in your mouth tend to work best, but we all know that sort of convenience isn’t always readily available. So this tent will always be here. There are pants in that trunk and shirts hanging over there,” he said pointing. “Let me see if I can find you a cloak that isn’t in too many pieces.”
I found a shirt and a pair of jeans that looked closest to my size and pulled them on under my blanket, glad to once again be covered. The warmth was almost instant, except that my feet were still blue and freezing.
Senrid came up out of one of the trunks with a brown cloak and a grey one. They were in sad shape, but intact.
He slipped the grey one around his own shoulders. “I might as well take one for myself. It’s been cold lately.”
I pulled the brown cloak over my shoulders and buttoned the front.
“Are you all out of questions Dheul? Surely that isn’t it.”
I had been thinking on my next question for a while.
“My name. He said my name was-”
“Shhh!” he said urgently. “You’re not supposed to tell!”
I gave him a confused look.
“Your name is secret, Dheul. It is between you and Cynd.”
“I cannot tell anybody?” I asked as we slipped out of the tent and back into the cold night air.
“No. Your name is special. When Cynd said it to you, it forced you to change. Your name is power over your curse. You can tell. But it is very solemn and heavy matter to know somebody’s second name.”
“That is why I changed? Because Cynd said this other name that I have? Why could I not tell anybody else? Could these names not be used to control someone during the full moon?”
“Not at all. Your name controls your change, not your mind. Saying the name during the moon causes the wolf to invade your body. It is a dangerous secret even among our own tribe, and even moreso in the hands of someone not of our tribe.”
“You mean there are others? Other tribes?”
“Of course. Who do you think has been attacking Anultic for the past three nights?”
“I thought it was us,” I replied honestly. “Just wolves that couldn’t control themselves.”
“No, Dheul. We take great precautions here. Other tribes take less. And still other tribes fight for the opposite, hoping to take revenge on the perfect lives of the Anulticians. It is these wolves, these monsters that have invaded your old home.”
“I had no idea there were so many. . .”
Senrid nodded. “What else?”
“Will I ever be able to return to Anultic?”
He was very gentle when he answered. “No. No you won’t.”
I knew the answer to my next question, but wanted to argue anyway. “Why not?”
“Because. You are a werewolf now. Do you want to be a danger to everyone that you’ve ever loved? No. You don’t. So you’ll stay with us. Here. Where it is safe.”
“But surely they should know about us! We are not dangerous! And even if we are, we are people too!”
He stopped me by putting a hand on my chest and then he turned to face me. His mouth had formed an angry grimace, his eyebrows dark slashes of hurt, and his voice glazed over with frustration.
“Do you think that they will understand us, Dheul? To them, we are murderers. To them, we kill people, humans, left and right because we enjoy it. We crave it. But you know the truth. Have you ever ripped the throat out some small animal? Have you ever smelled blood and gone mad with lust? Have you,” he jabbed one finger into the center of my chest, “ever enveloped, no consumed, another so completely that they have hurt someone?” I knew then that he was not talking about me anymore. Shiny reflections had appeared in his eyes, that I knew where tears. The next time he spoke, his voice was barely more than a whisper. “Do you know what the difference between murder and insanity is? It’s a choice. A murderer always has a choice. When you are insane, you do not. That is why they will never know. They will never understand that we have no choice.”
He backed away and turned, becoming a shadow in the darkness.
I jogged to catch up with him, clumsy with cold and a persistent traces of exhaustion.
“I am sorry, Senrid.”
He stopped me a second time and said forcefully, “No! I am sorry. It is my fault that you are like this.” Silent tears poured freely from his eyes as he said it.
Emotion welled up in me and spilled over. I found myself crying also as I took Senrid in my arms and embraced him.
I could count on one hand the number of times that I had hugged even Leof, but sometimes people need to know they are not alone. For Senrid, this was one of those times. He felt remorse so complete for what he had done to me that he was breaking on the inside in a way that I had yet to understand. So yes, I held him as he cried. I held him in the dark, in the cold, under the waning moon, in the middle of a camp dedicated to sheltering werewolves, both of us knowing in our hearts that it was not really his fault, both of us knowing that his fate could be mine one day.
We walked each other back to my tent then, not a word said between us.