Chapter 2 – disclaimers in Chapter 1

A very short, but necessary chapter!


We drop everything on the floor in the kitchen and run up the stairs. Bursting through the door, we find out daughter on the floor, her hands over her face, screaming at the top of her lungs. This is exactly what I hoped and prayed would not happen. We crouch beside her and put our arms around her. After a few minutes she calms down and we're able to talk with her.

"Winnie, you're okay. Come sit on the bed with us."

She nods her head, her eyes shut tightly and lets us lead her to her room. We sit her down, and we each sit on either side of her, holding her hands.

"Winnie, we were hoping that this wouldn't happen to you, which is why we didn't talk to you about it before now."

I kiss my daughter on the head as my husband continues.

"We didn't know if you were going to get this passed down to you, or if you would be lucky, so we just hoped and prayed you would be lucky and not have the gene. I guess we have some explaining to do."

She just sits on the bed and stares blankly into space – as though she's seen a monster. I glance at my husband with a look that says 'well?' He nods his head.

"Honey, you're a Felingefӓhrte."

She laughs.

"That's not even a word, Dad. Try again."

"Winnie, you're a Felingefӓhrte."

She is now almost exploding in laughter.

"Winifred."

This gets her attention. She has always been her Daddy's girl – and he hardly ever uses her proper name. She stares at him with a look of disbelief.

"What am I?"

"You pronounce it feh – LIN – ge-fair-te."

"Felingefӓhrte."

"That's right."

"And what exactly does that mean?"

"It roughly translated means feline companion."

She stares off into the distance for what seems like hours, but in reality is only a moment. My husband and I look at each other with concern, then she looks at me.

"What does this mean?"

"Well, the short version of all of this, is that there are people who have a sort of dual DNA. The second form is called Wesen, and just like people there are good Wesen and bad Wesen."

"Okay. So how do you know about this? Do you look like this too?"

It's time. She has never seen me or my husband before, but it's time.

"You've never seen this before, so this is what it looks like when I woge. That's what it's called when someone like us, a Wesen, changes to their other DNA. Are you ready?"

She nods her head and watches as I change into my Wesen form.

"It's still me, this is just my other form, Winnie."

She looks petrified.

"You have the same face as I did."

I nod my head, but after I change back she seems much better.

"Dad?"

He looks at me and I nod my head as he woges into his form. She gets startled, but realizes that it's very similar to mine. His face woges to what almost looks like a tabby, where as mine looks like a normal black cat. He changes back and I can feel her calm as she sees the faces she's used to.

"This is going to take some time for me to get used to, guys."

"I can imagine. It took me almost a year to be able to fully control when I woged."

"What about you, Dad?"

"I was able to control it a little faster than your mother, but during times of high stress it can happen when I don't want it – as it can for any Wesen."

She seems remarkably calm for someone who has just seen her parents woge for the first time.

"So how do you control it?"

"It's something you learn over time, sweetie."

"Can other people see this? Who I, I mean, who we are?"

"Other Wesen can, and also... well..."

She looks up at him with a panic.

"Well what?"

"Well, there's the Grimms."

"What's a Grimm?"

I look at my wife with a concerned look and we know that we have to tell her about the centuries old battle between the Grimms and Wesen, but now is not the time.

"Winnie, one day soon, when the face that you're Wesen has sunk in, we'll take a weekend and explain absolutely everything to you. Until that happens, just know that we are here to help you make sense of it all, ok?"

She sits on the edge of her bed.

"How do I stop myself from looking like... this?"

I smile and rub her back gently as her mother gives her a gentle kiss on the forehead.

"It's something that takes practice, you almost have to shake it off, but the first step will be to calm your heart rate, and realize that you're safe. That's a big part of it."

It's going to be a long and difficult night, full of tears, frustration, and patience.


TBC - Reviews are lovely... like a warm and sunny summer day!

Teasers - our favorite Captain appears in the next chapter! :)