"Let me back up a little. First you need to know that it's not possible to become a Kitsune, or Kindred as we tend to call ourselves. You're either born one of us or not." Bill said. I saw some of the worry on Mom's face turn to confusion, "I've known since you brought Nickie home that she had Kindred blood. But because I couldn't tell if she would ever shift, I couldn't say anything." This only confused my parents more and I decided it was time for me to come clean.
"Mom, Dad, do you remember about a month ago when Brandon went out hiking?" I asked. When they both nodded I continued, "Well, on that hike I was bitten by a rattle snake." Panic and confusion spread across both of their faces while I spoke but I didn't stop, "I knew better but I panicked, and apparently my panic triggered dormant genetics from at least one of my parents.
"I was lucky that Brandon was with me, and that he has similar genetics to the ones triggered in me, only his were never dormant. He knew what to do, he kept me calm and he brought me to Bill."
"What exactly happened when these 'dormant genetics' as you call them, were triggered?" Dad asked carefully.
"I shifted. I turned into a wolf." I said it bluntly, but I had to get the words out before they choked me. "Brandon talked me through shifting back. He explained the basics of what was happening and told me he was taking me to see the pack leader. I wasn't until he pulled in here that I realized that Bill was the leader he'd been talking about," For some reason I was reluctant to use pack terms like Anikitos and Alekto in front of my parents.
"And what about the bite?" Mom asked.
"It healed. Amazingly fast. By the time I got home and took a shower that night there was no sign that the bite had ever happened." I pulled up my pant leg and showed my parents, "This is where I was bitten, see?"
The both looked at the spot I pointed out to them, but there was nothing to see, "Is that normal?" Dad wanted answers, and he wasn't looking to me for them.
"Faster healing is common. And shifting accelerates the healing." Bill assured him.
"Is that the only side effect of all this?"
"No, all of the Kindred have faster healing, better senses and reflexes and they're stronger." Bill left out the extra talents that many of us have.
"And what are the downsides?" Dad was apparently determined to find out as much as he could.
"The possibility of our secret getting out, and alienating our friends. There's some danger of being shot as a varmint when in wolf form, but basic precautions nullify that one. Better senses, being stronger, faster healing." He stated some of the benefits he'd listed earlier again as downsides as well.
My parents seemed to be taking this better than I'd expected. Not that I expected screaming and gnashing of teeth, but I had expected at least some disbelief. There was a few minutes of quiet as my parents absorbed what they had been told, they spoke, but not much and they didn't become involved in the conversation that Karen started with me. I waited anxiously for any reaction they might have.
"If all of this happened a month ago, why didn't you tell us sooner?" My father asked softly a few minutes later.
"Well," I said, knowing this was going to be the tough part, "First, this was a huge shock to me. I had a lot of adjusting to do and at first I didn't want to tell anyone.
"Second, there is the secrecy. If I were to tell you without permission, I could be severely punished. It isn't just the safety of this group that is the concern, but all of the groups like the one here, all over the world. I had to get Bill's permission to tell you, and he only gave it because he has known you so long and he knows you're trustworthy. I wasn't able to get permission to tell the rest of the family.
"Third, I wasn't sure how you would take it. This has been a huge change in my life. It's been really difficult not being able to tell you about it, but at the same time, I was so afraid that you wouldn't believe me, or would disown me for it."
"You know better than that!" Mom spoke sharply, she'd been mostly silent until now but she couldn't help herself, "You, like all the kids, are ours, no matter what you do, or what you are. We love you no matter what. If one of you were to end up in prison we wouldn't stop loving you. We might not approve of your choices, or what you did to end up there, but we wouldn't stop loving you because of them."
"Thank you, Mom" I spoke softly, some of the weight lifting off my shoulders, I'd been more worried than I realized about how they’d take the news.
"Your mother is right, Nickie." Dad spoke a little slower but there was no less conviction in his voice, "You're our daughter, and though you might have more to you than we realized, we still love you." I felt tears of relief running unchecked down my face as I hugged them both.
"I told you that you had nothing to worry about, didn't I?" Bill patted my shoulder, I sat back down in my chair.
We spent another hour or so answering the questions that my parents had about the Kindred. No, we didn't give them all the details but then again, I still don't have them all. It's going to take a while for me to learn all the details about the species I'm a part of, but we were able to set their minds at ease. I am still amazed at how much of a relief it was to share the secret with my parents.
Chapter 19
It was Friday again and I was spending another day at the clinic, mostly reading and visiting with Alexis as had become our routine, when a woman brought in her husband. He had been cutting open a box when the razor knife was using had slipped and he hand run the sharp blade from wrist to elbow cutting himself deeply.
He was bleeding profusely and more than a little pale when she brought got him into the clinic. Alexis and I jumped up immediately and helped them into one of the two exam rooms. Alexis carefully held the wound shut, and she asked me to hand her a roll of gauze out of the cabinet, between the two of us we held his wound shut and bound his arm tightly to stem the flow of blood.
"The best thing that we can do is to slow the bleeding, and get him to change forms. That will heal the worst of the wound, maybe not all of it but it will go a long way," She explained to me.
"I can't shift. I can't concentrate long enough to shift." Our patient said.
"That's all right; we can deal with that, just give us a minute. You're out of danger for a minute or two." Alexis reassured him before she turned back to me "Are you ready for this? You can do it, I'm sure."
"I'm willing to try."
She turned back to our patient, and calmly explained, "Okay, this is what we're going to do. Nickie here is still learning to use her powers; she is going to try to call your wolf. Now, don't worry, because if she doesn't succeed, which feel certain she will, I'll step in and you'll change either way. Now, here's the question, do you want to try to strip or do you want us to shift you in your clothes?"
"I don't think I could undress right now and the clothes are ruined anyway, just shift me."
"Ok, Nickie, go for it. Remember, you have to feel for his wolf." She tried to talk me through it but I tuned her voice out while I focused. I reached deep inside myself for that part of me that sensed energy. I pulled that part forward and pushed it gently into the man in front of me. I felt for the man's wolf, he wasn't hard to find, he was hiding just under the surface. I tried to coax him out, but he didn't seem to want out, he shied away every time I tried to send that part of me closer to get him to come out.
I pulled back and opened my eyes, taking a deep breath and letting it out, trying to calm myself before trying again. I once again called forth the part of me that senses energy and sent it into him. I could still feel the wolf he seemed unsure of me, but more curious this time. I tried to coax him again but this time when he got close I sent that energy surging forward to grab the wolf before he could jump away and I pulled him to the surface. When I opened my eyes there he was, the wolf I had sensed inside the man, laying on the exam table. The bandage we had wrapped so tightly around the man’s arm now hung loosely around the wolf's front leg. The wound still bled, but it was more of a seep instead of the steady flow it had been b
efore.
"Very good Nickie. Now, do you think you can shift him again?" Alexis said.
"Yeah, give me just a second."
"All right, sit down on that stool over there for a moment before you try it," she said before turning to our patient's wife and said "If you'll go down the hall to our kitchen and look in the fridge you will find a some of those meal replacement shakes they give the elderly, grab a couple, and bring them back in here."
The woman turned to do what she had been asked and I heard her talking to Caden in the hallway. I’d been so focused on our patient and calling his wolf I hadn’t been aware of Caden moving to stand outside the doorway. Alexis turned and grabbed a sheet out of a cabinet and unfolded it. "Ready when you are Nickie."
I focused again, and wrapped my energy around the wolf like a bubble. I gently encouraged him to retreat back to where he had been before I called him, pushing at him with my energy. The wolf seemed content to retreat now that his job was done and I saw a blur surround the form of the wolf, before the blur was gone, Alexis covered the reclining form with the sheet so that only his shoulders and head were left exposed. I knew she did it more for my sake than anyone else's, but I appreciated it.
I looked again at the wound on his forearm and it was still open but it seemed the bleeding had stopped. We could easily get away with a few butterfly bandages and then gauze and tape to cover the wound, and in a few hours or days it would be gone, depending on how fast he healed.
I was pulling out the bandages to close the wound when his wife returned. Alexis took the cans of drink from her and quickly shook one up before popping the top open and putting it in the man's uninjured hand while I worked on re-bandaging his injury. He quickly drained the can and handed it back to Alexis, she took the empty and handed him a full can. He quickly drained that one and as he handed the empty can back to Alexis, who dropped it to the same trash can where she had put the first.
"That stuff's nasty." He said.
"It doesn't taste the greatest but it's an excellent way to replace the calories and nutrients burned by two shifts. And it's fast too, far faster than fixing you something and eating."
"This is true. I feel much better now that I've had them. Why've we never used them before?"
"Because it never occurred to anyone to use them until this one shifted and started drinking them." Alexis said, motioning to me. I was just fastening off the gauze when I noticed they were all watching me.
"What?" I asked, looking at Alexis.
"We were just wondering, what made you think to use the meal replacement drinks?"
"Oh, we used to feed them to Shiloh when she was little because she was so underweight. So when I realized that I would need more calories, especially when I shift and something I can keep in the car for emergencies, they seemed like a good option."
"You're right, they’re perfect. We've even started using them here, they last in storage and they are quick and easy to give someone when they need it."
"I think if you look into it you can buy them in bulk cheaper." I said, not sure what else to say.
"I'll have to check into that." Alexis said turning to the couple and getting them ready to go. I worked on cleaning up the mess we had made in the room while she got them out the door.
The rest of the afternoon was uneventful and I when I went home I took a shower and went to bed early. Apparently calling animal forms was exhausting.
Chapter 20
Devon and I were finally able to find a time in our schedules to run on Saturday morning. We’d talked about going for a run together, only with a twist, for a week or more but since we didn't want to go in the evenings, we just had to wait till we both had a morning off. The twist was that he would run as he normally does, on two legs, and I would run as a wolf. This meant we had to go rural to run, but we had that handled. Devon liked to run up hill, at least sometimes, a left over from his military days. So we decided to run up the road on Mt. Graham. Well, he would run up the road and I would mostly run beside him, but if we encountered a vehicle I could easily take off into the trees and avoid being seen.
Saturday morning we climbed into his old pick up and headed up to the mountain. We stopped at the first picnic area we encountered on the way up and parked the truck. He got out his side and started stretching, working on loosening his muscles so that he wouldn't pull anything. I got out my side, which luckily was on the far side from the road, and started to strip; I folded my clothes neatly and set them into the bag I had brought for them. I didn’t want someone to pull up and see a pile of clothes on the seat of the truck; that would have raised some questions. Once I had all my clothes off I put the bag in the floorboard before closing the door and bending to shift. It only took moment to feel the tingling that told me I was shifting and in another minute or two it had passed.
In wolf form I walked around to the driver’s side of the truck and looked up at Devon. I wondered briefly it would work before projecting *You ready?*
"Sure, let's get started." He said, walking out to the side of the highway that stretched up the mountain and curved not far ahead. He started at a light jog and I easily padded along beside him, as he sped up some and I had to move up into a trot to keep up with him.
*You call this a workout?* I taunted, easily keeping up with his pace.
"It will be when we keep it up for five miles... or more."
*Ok, you got me there, I'm not used to distances*
"You'll get used to it, but you need stamina and endurance not just speed." He said. I had to admit, he probably knew what he was talking about. Devon might not shift, but he grew up among the Kindred. He really did still know more about what I am than I did.
I heard a car coming up the mountain behind us and I sent to Devon *Car, I'll hide. You keep going, I'll catch up,* and I darted into the forest surrounding us. I found a hollow to lay in where I couldn't be seen and I waited until I heard the car pass. I waited a few moments longer, until I was sure it was the only one before I got up and headed back toward the road, angling up the road some as I made the trip so that I would come out of the forest further uphill than I had gone in, and hopefully closer to where Devon had made it by now.
It wasn't until I reached the road that it occurred to me, how would I know if Devon had been here or not? Was he in front of me or behind me? I stood for a minute or two, looking one direction and then the other, trying to decide what to do before it dawned on me. I could just look for his scent; that should tell me if he had been through here yet. I tentatively bent and sniffed the pavement, not really sure it would work, but I was going to try it anyway, especially since there was no one here to see me and how ridiculous I looked if it failed.
I put my nose to the pavement and took a deep breath, thinking to pick up as much scent as possible. I overwhelmed my nose. I picked up the scent of tar and rubber so strong it burned the inside of my nose and I spent several more minutes snorting, trying to blow the strong odors from my nose before I could try again. The second time I tried to pick up Devon's scent I was more careful, I held my nose above the pavement and took short careful sniffs, trying to peel back the layers of scent. I could smell the rubber from all the tires that regularly drove over the pavement, and the scent of warm oil and coolant from the car that had just passed by, but under that, I caught Devon's smoky personal scent, the faint scent of pack that he still carried and the stronger scent of the sweat he was working up.
Now that I knew he had been by here and I turned and headed up the mountain. I was soon running to catch up with him; I found that I loved the feel of the wind in my face, blowing my ears back as I ran. I ran up mountain, maybe a quarter of a mile, my confusion and scenting error had given him time gain some distance on me. I rounded the next curve, at a dead run and found that he was just up ahead, maybe 200 yards. I slowed as I approached him and fell into the steady jogging pace he was keeping.
*So, how far have you made it?* I asked.
"You haven't been keeping
track?" he replied with a question of his own.
*Nah, I cut across off road, more ups and downs, more fun, less boring.* I responded.
"It's not boring, It just gives you time to think about other things."
*Boring...* I intoned with a mental laugh.
"It's been about a mile and a half, you still have a while to go..." He laughed in response.
*I can make it more entertaining...*
"Oh really? How?"
*You keep your same pace and I'll run circles around you.*
"Well, duh, we know you're faster than me. You could beat me easily."
*I didn't mean I would beat you,* I said, speeding up a bit and started circling his still running body. *I said I would run circles around you*
"Show off!" he told me, and I could hear laughter in his voice. The warm timbre of his laugh sent curls of contentment through me, never before simply making someone laugh felt so good.
I stopped circling him and started investigating the scents around us. I caught the scents of the cars that regularly drove up and down the mountain, the squirrels and chipmunks that regularly cross the road, and the occasional deer that roamed through the area. I picked my head up and noticed that Devon was a ways ahead of me. I caught back up with Devon where he was still as though I had never stopped.
"Having fun?" De asked, his breathing was slightly labored, not enough to keep him from talking.
*Yep, I was just investigating the local scents.*
"Find anything interesting?"
*Meh, lots of cars, squirrels, chipmunks, even a deer. Interesting? Sure, earth shattering? No.*
"Sorry to hear that."
*No big deal. Just thought I’d see what I could pick up. I'm still learning to identify a lot of scents.*
We continued up the mountain in silence for a while. I was seeing his usually slight limp become more pronounced the further we ran up the mountain.
*That leg is really bothering you isn't it?* I asked. He was starting to lose control of his breathing, he was almost gasping for air, but I wasn't able to tell if it was from the exercise or the pain. *Don't try to talk, just think your responses and I'll try to pick them up, I promise not to nose around in there.*
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