She often wondered how her father had been so lucky to marry her mom. It wasn’t that her dad was ugly. He just wasn’t what you would expect to have a wife so beautiful. He was tall, which is where Kat got her height. He was skinny, almost sickly so. His face was long, horse like and his cheeks were shallow. He had thinning, black hair that barely hid his scalp.
He looked a lot like a doctor, which he was, and one of the smartest men she knew. She wondered for a long time if her mom married him because he was rich. In one of her braver moments she asked her mom just that. Her mom laughed at her and then moved closer and told her that she had more money than her dad did. She was wealthy in her own right, so no, she hadn’t married him for his money. She did it because she loved him.
“Honey, come sit down.” Her father motioned her to take a seat.
She did but remained quiet. Her parents looked at each other and exchanged one of those knowing looks.
“Kat,” her mother began, “We need to tell you something and it is going to seem very strange and unbelievable at first, but you must believe us, for we are telling you the truth.”
Kat gave them a puzzled look. This was not the tract she thought they were going to go. What could they tell her that would seem strange and unbelievable? What was this all about?
After a pause her mom continued. “I know you are aware your body tends to heal quicker than most. Bruises disappear in moments and cuts heal in minutes, if not quicker?”
Her mom paused a moment and Kat took this as a cue to nod her admittance. Her mom nodded back. “There is a reason for this. You have a special affliction. Well, perhaps affliction is the wrong word,” she corrected after she saw her daughter’s look of fear. “I only use affliction because that is often what it has been called over the centuries. Your ability to heal is part of a genetic trait you carry, passed down from generation, to generation since early in history. It has been passed down because someday it might have to be used.”
“What is it?” Kat interrupted. “What is this…affliction?” She spat out the word, not liking the sound of any of this.
Her mom looked to her dad.
“You better explain this part dear.”
Her dad leaned forward. “I won’t bore you by explaining the simple stuff. I know you understand about stem cells and pluripotent cells, so I will skip that explanation. However, how this pertains to you is— you have an abnormally large amount of these.
Most adults have only a few; of course, few being a relative term, but a few that serve only a minor purpose. In your body, they serve a more important purpose. They respond to any damage your body takes and replaces all the damaged cells in the area, making the injury nonexistent.”
“Are you saying I can’t be hurt?” Kat asked.
“No. You can be hurt. The damage you receive still hurts, but because of the rapid response of your pluripotent cells, your body recovers quickly, and the pain ends quicker than it would in other people. You will age slower as well, for the cells that die as you get older will get repaired. We know from family history; you will probably die of old age. The body will eventually stop repairing itself, but you will live a longer time, and look and feel younger than you actually are.”
Kat looked at her mom and realized this is why her mother looked so much younger than she was.
“Yes,” her mom admitted. “I also have this same ‘affliction’ as you.” She smiled at the term, and Kat found it bothered her less. Of course, anything that meant she was going to stay younger and look younger long after all the other women her age were wrinkly and old couldn’t be all bad. But a thought occurred to her.
“Why are you telling me this now? Why not before or later?”
Her father smiled at her, always one to appreciate her quick reasoning and deduction.
“It’s just the way things are done, Kat,” her mother explained. “The first-born girl in my line always has this ability. It is an ability to be carefully guarded. If it was found out what we could do, we would be most likely hounded by scientist who would like to poke and prod at us and try to use us for their experiments. As to why now? I’m not sure. It has always been as such, my mother told me when I turned sixteen and so did her mother with her, as you should with your daughter when she turns sixteen. I suppose it is possible that what is to come could have come before your sixteenth birthday, but it never has before, and it didn’t this time.”
“What is to come? What are you talking about?” Kat was confused and she looked back and forth between her parents. She saw they looked uncertain about how to answer this question, though this was obviously where this conversation had been intended to lead.
“The affliction you carry, and that I also carry has a name. It is called lycanthropy.” Her mom paused, waiting for her daughter’s response.
Kat racked her brain. She had heard that name before, she just couldn’t place it now. It was there, in her head, she just needed to bring it out. She was just about to ask what that was when it popped into her head.
“What? You are saying we are werewolves? Are you crazy?” she shouted at them. They sat there as she railed at them. This was insane. Werewolves didn’t exist. Lycanthropy was something diagnosed with people who went crazy and they blamed it on the influence of the moon. Her parents must be playing some kind of joke on her, but when she looked to them, they looked very serious. She realized she was standing and sat down across from them.
“You’re lying,” she told them.
“You know we are not,” her mom replied. “And we are not werewolves. We are weretigers. There is a difference.”
Kat snorted. “Oh, forgive me for calling us the wrong make-believe creature. Okay, tell me this, if we are were-whatevers then why don’t we change when the moon is full?”
“It’s complicated.”
“I’m sure.”
Her mom ignored that.
“You see, a very long time ago, or so I have been told, there were many lycanthropes. They were guardians and warriors of the Druids. At some point the Druids, or maybe one Druid in particular, cast a spell putting the ability to change into other creatures dormant, until it was needed again. This is where a lot of this has been lost over time. It is said one of the Druidess became power hungry and waged war against the other Druids and civilization. One of the other Druidess’ fought back and defeated her, but before she died, she was able to create a contingency spell that would be brought about by her death. The spell spoke of a time when she would return to life and her guardians, the lycanthropes who had joined her cause, would reawaken to fight at her side. When the good Druidess discovered this spell, she was left with few options. She was forced to create another contingency spell that would bring her back when the first spell happened. She also placed in the spell that her guardians would reawaken as well, when that time happened.”
“You are kidding me, right?” Kat asked her mother when she finished.
“I’m afraid not. And it’s important for you to understand this. It is always possible the conditions for the first spell to go off. Which means the second spell will also complete, and at that moment you will change. You will change and you will then need to locate the Druidess who cast that spell to guard and protect her, for the other Druidess will not want her to cause her defeat again.”
Kat stared at her mother for a long time, not knowing what to say. She knew her parents well; they were not prone to flights of fancy. But this? This was too impossible. Too crazy. Yet, she felt in her gut it was true. She could admit that to herself at least, if not out loud.
“Well, why won’t you go to protect this Druidess since you are also a weretiger?”
Her mom shook her head.
“The moment you were born, that option was no longer possible. It only occurs in the last-born female in our line. I won’t be changing. It had been a possibility, but since you were born, it is no longer. Kat, believe me, I understand how you feel. I was told all of this on my sixteenth birthday as well
. It took me months to come to terms with it. That had a lot to do with my upbringing, though. My parents didn’t feel it as important to teach me science and history, and to exercise my brain. I’m not saying I was dumb, but my intelligence was minor compared to where you are at this moment. Your dad and I, hoped teaching you these things would make it easier for you to accept this.” Her mom looked to her apologetically.
Kat believed her. It must have been difficult for her when she was young to learn this, and it was nice she could empathize with her. She looked to her dad.
“So, what are you, a were-giraffe?” she asked him.
Her father laughed heartily, and it was infectious. Soon her mom and she were also laughing. When he could control his laughing, he spoke.
“When I was young and new to the medical profession, a young and beautiful woman was admitted into my hospital after having fallen and broken her leg. We were only able to splint her leg, because we were unable to reach her mom. I went to check on this young woman, and perhaps I did more than I was required to do, but she was a beautiful woman, and I couldn’t help myself.”
He smiled at her mom, who blushed and looked away. He continued. “I was making an unscheduled checkup on her. When I opened the door, she was standing and putting on her clothes. I couldn’t believe she was standing, and in fact when I looked, I saw the splint was gone and her leg looked fine. No bruising, no swelling. I was stunned. She looked at me and asked me to shut the door. I did as she asked. She told me she healed fast, she always had, but she couldn’t let anyone know. If they found out, she would become a lab rat. I told her nobody would do that to her, but I knew better. She told me nobody would do it if nobody found out. So, I promised her I would tell no one.” He had a faraway look in his eyes as he continued.
“She thanked me, though I could tell she didn’t believe me. But what could she do?”
I cleared her to leave the hospital and covered for her. I went to examine the blood sample we had taken. That is when I found the free-floating stem cells in her system. Little was known about them at that time, so I had to do some research. I found out what they did and figured that is how she was able to heal quickly. I decided I should inform her of my findings. I destroyed her blood sample and found her address in her files and went to see her. Admittedly, I had another reason to find her. I was desperate to see her again, for she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. I arrived at her doorstep.” He paused, remembering the moment. “I remember when she opened the door and saw me, she quickly stepped out and told me I shouldn’t be there, and I should go. I told her I had something important to tell her and it couldn’t wait. She told me to wait a moment and went back inside. I could hear her yell to her mom she was going out for a moment. When she returned, she took my hand and walked me down the street to a small café where we found a table in the corner. Do you remember that place, sweetie?” he asked.
She smiled. “Of course, I do. That was when I realized I liked you.”
“Really? That early on? You never told me that.”
“I didn’t? Are you sure?” Her mother queried.
“Can we get on with the story,” Kat interrupted.
Her father turned back to her.
“Of course, sorry. We were in the café and I told her I ran some tests on her blood. She was angry at me for invading her privacy. I explained that I was sorry, but I needed to understand what I saw. I told her I destroyed the sample when I was done. I also explained what she had, and why she healed quickly. I told her all I knew about stem cells and what their role in the body was and how amazing she was. She thanked me for the information, but asked I stop any other research on the subject. If her mom found out, she would be furious. She was supposed to avoid hospitals and despite that she had ended up in one. Her mother didn’t know about her leg and she didn’t intend to tell her. In the end, she left me there. I called her the next day and asked her to dinner. She told me no. So, I called her the next day, and she said no, again. The fifth time I called her, she finally agreed. More so to get me to stop calling, I think. Either way, we went out to dinner, had a great time and the rest is history.” Her father concluded with a smirk.
Kat realized this made a lot of sense. It explained how she always felt different than everyone else and that her healing made her unique. She had no idea what this meant for the rest of her life, she just knew she would not look at things the same way again.
“I need to go to my track meet.” Kat said and stood up. Her parents got to their feet as well.
“I will be back later.” She moved to head upstairs.
“Tomorrow you start your training, Kat.”
She stopped. “What training?”
“When lycanthropes were around it was a different time. They were all warriors, trained in combat and weapon use. We are not taught these things now, so it is upon ourselves to teach you those things. Tomorrow you will begin training in martial arts. We have hired an instructor and he will teach you everything you need to know about not only defending yourself, but how to bring the fight to someone. It’s all we can do, if the Druidess comes back. You will need to be able to fight, and we are not going to send you out there unprepared,” her mother told her.
Kat just nodded. She had always wanted to learn karate, so she didn’t mind this. She still wasn’t sure there was a reason for this, but she would play along, if it didn’t adversely affect her. She turned and left. Over the next four years she would come to understand the necessity for the training and appreciate it.
That was four years ago, and it still surprised her how easily it was to accept she could someday turn into some sort of half tiger, half woman. She had seen a representation of what she might look like in a Dungeon and Dragons™ book about monsters. It looked kinda cool to her, but she assumed she would live out her life the same way her mother did. One day she would have to explain this to her daughter and watch with empathy as her daughter battled with the idea.
She headed to the shower and cleaned off the sweat from the bout with Jeffery. In an hour was her gun class. Her parents decided knowing how to handle weapons would also come in handy, and she now could shoot as accurate as a marksman in rifle, and semi-automatic weapons.
She let the water flow over her, closing her eyes, and felt the hot water ease her muscles. She reached to turn the water off when pain like something she had never felt before struck her. Crying out, she braced her hands against the wall. Her entire skeleton seemed to break all at the same time. She was no longer able to hold herself up and collapsed to the tile floor. Her bones shifted under her skin as she looked at her body. Her feet were elongating. As the bones pushed through her skin, they were rapidly covered back over by skin which was erupting all over in orange-colored hair.
It took her a moment to realize she was changing. it was happening... to her. She closed her eyes and pictured the creature she had seen in the Dungeon and Dragons™ book and she felt the image lock in her head. Suddenly the pain eased a bit and the changing seemed to move more rapidly. In seconds the pain stopped completely, and she managed to rise.
She looked down over her body. Her orange and black-stripped fur clung to her, sopping wet from being under the shower. She moved out from the shower and shook herself as a cat might do, sending water droplets all over. She realized she had grown a bit, but not much. She was probably closer to Jeffery’s height. Her body was even more defined with musculature than before. Fingers ended in sharp claws she was sure could tear almost anything. Her breasts had gotten smaller as well and were covered in fur; her nipples were barely visible at the end of the modest elevation of her breast.
Momentarily, she frowned at her lower regions which she usually kept meticulously clean-shaven and saw they were now covered in fur. A tug at her back made her glance back to see a long orange and black tail emerged from her coccyx. She had to admit she looked beautiful. Her body was made for quickness and lethality.
As she continued to examine what she had c
hanged into, she could hear someone coming, and coming fast. She looked around for a place to hide, but she was in the bathroom and there wasn’t anywhere to hide. She just hoped they would have the sense to knock and not just come in. Her wish did not come true as her frantic mother threw open the door and froze, staring at her.
“Dear god, it happened.” Her mother quickly shut the door behind her. “I was watching the news and they said that Stonehenge had toppled completely. I knew the moment was here and I had to find you quickly. I see I was too late. How do you feel?”
Kat opened her mouth, now full of sharp incisors. “I am fine mom,” she growled out. Her voice sounded alien to her, deeper and gravelly. Like someone trying to speak through a purr. “Well, as fine as I could be, considering. This is amazing. No matter how many times you told me this might happen, I still never quite believed.”
“I felt the same way. I never thought it would happen to me. Some reason though, I felt as if it would happen to you. That is why I worked so hard to make sure you were ready.”
“Well. What now?”
“Now,” her mother said with the sudden ‘she meant business’ look, “We learn how to control it.”
“I think I already know,” Kat replied. Her mom looked at her perplexed. “Let me try something.” Kat closed her eyes and pictured what she looked like when she was human. She felt the picture lock in her head and felt the pain, again. She clenched her teeth against it.
The pain was less this time. She heard her mom gasp and she almost lost concentration. After a moment, Kat opened her eyes, and by the look of relief on her mother’s face, knew she had turned back successfully.
“That is… amazing,” her mother told her. “How did you figure that out?”
Kat told her about the book she had seen, and when the change started happening, she tried to picture what she might look like. When she did that, the image stuck in her head, and the change seemed to move quicker. She wasn’t sure if meant anything, but apparently, that is what she needed to do to change. She gave it another thought and looked back at her mom.
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