"Roxas!"

Roxas: what?

Mei: WE NEED AN INTRO!

Roxas: why?

Mei: cuz' we haven't done one in ages! Quick, think of an idea!

Roxas: *borrowing Sora's thinking pose*

Lydia: *walks in* what' cha guy's doing?

Mei: trying to think of an intro. Can you help?

Roxas: *coughdisclaimercoughwedon'townkingdomheartscough*

Mei: what was that?

Roxas: nothing!

Mei: oh really?

Roxas: yes really!

Lydia: AGAIN guys? REALLY?

Mei and Roxas: YES REALLY!

"C'mon kid, up you gets."

Groaning, I slowly sat up. I noticed immediately that we were in the middle of a forest clearing with several large boulders near the trees. My head was pounding and it felt like I had been kicked by a horse.

"What happened?" I said tiredly, and rubbed my temples. It was the middle of the night, but I could see everything in a sort of monochrome colour. Any small animals or insects that were alive were highlighted slightly against the dark area. The girl- Lydia- was crouched in the grass beside me.

"You started to shift; that's what happened," she said almost smugly, and stood up. "I'm sorry about having to knock you out but the last time someone tried to shift in my apartment, I had a very large mess to clean up afterward. I didn't want to have a repeat of that experience."

With a small stretch, she climbed up onto one of the rocks and continued. "That can happen sometimes though. When someone remembers their first shift, they can lose control. I should have anticipated that, so I guess it's my fault."

"But...how do you know all this? And why weren't you surprised when I 'shifted' in front of you?"

She smirked, and I could see a spark of excitement in her eyes. "What, you haven't figured it out yet? Man you're slow."

Crouching down again, she leapt off the rock. Her form shuddered in mid air, and by the time she landed, there was a large black and red she-wolf standing in front of me.

"Whoa!" I shouted, and instinctively moved backwards. This was one way to get taken by surprise I guess.

'Oh, shut up. I'm not that scary,' her voice emanated from my skull and she sat down. I could feel her consciousness brushing against mine, and it was a profound feeling. I felt naked in my own head. 'Now it's your turn.'

"Wait, what? My turn?" this was all going too fast. If she kept surprising me I was going to have a full on panic attack.

'Uh, yeah. Your turn to shift. Let's see what you look like in wolf form; I want to confirm something,' She snapped back with a small growl. 'Now hurry up. I don't have all night.'

I shook my head, terrified. I was afraid to lose control again. What If I ended up attacking her like I did Saix? We may have just met, but I didn't want to hurt her. "Not tonight. Maybe some other time."

'When then?' she snarled and bared her fangs. 'Our entire race is counting on you now to do the right thing. I was entrusted with the task of training you when the time came, and I don't plan on doing otherwise.'

"What are you saying? Are you going to teach me how to be a lycan?"

'Exactly,' she replied in a quieter voice, her expression softening. 'Though I guess you're right. You've had a long day and do deserve some rest.' Her body briefly shivered and went back to being human. "Come on; let's go back to my apartment. Hot coco on me."

Getting up, I followed with renewed vigour. What can I say? I love hot coco.

-Till November-

The next morning, Lydia woke me up bright and early to head back into the woods. I had slept surprisingly well on her couch; considering the large soft mattress bed that I usually sleep in at the castle. I hadn't had anything for breakfast though- Lydia told me that there would be time for that later, much to my dismay. I was used to a full meal as soon as I got up, and already my stomach was quietly complaining.

Swiftly exiting the apartment Lydia led me through the streets of Radiant Garden in the pre-dawn light. She said it was essential that no one see us or where we were going; apparently it was illegal to enter the outer forest. Or something like that.

We ended up climbing over the fence on the outer reaches of the city. I easily scaled it, climbing up it in no time and dropping down heavily to the ground on the other side. Lydia nimbly followed, also making quick work of the fence.

"Keep going," She whispered to me urgently, and motioned to go deeper into the woods. "It's too exposed here."

Nodding, I set off at a fast jog. Both of us wore no shoes- me because I had none, and Lydia because she simply chose not to. The trees and plants whirred past me in varying shades of yellow, orange, and red leaves, as well as the vibrant green grass beneath my bare feet. With every step my senses grew stronger- I could see farther, run faster, and smell everything.

Finally coming to a stop in the same forest clearing as the night before, I took a deep breath. The scents of the forest streamed into my nose, and I sighed at the simple pleasure in it. The crisp morning air carried the heavy scent of fresh rain, and the soil beneath my feet was slightly damp. Birds high above started the dawn chorus, and the branches swayed lightly in the breeze. I could taste heather on my tongue, and my bare skin tingled- this place was heaven to all of my senses.

'So, do you think you are ready now?'

I turned around slowly, already expecting the alien voice in my head. Lydia was sitting in her wolf form several feet behind me. In the morning light I could see her fur more clearly. Her neck, chest, and belly were all black with a flame like pattern reaching up towards her back. Her front paws were bright red, and her head all the way down to her tail was also red and her back paws were black like her belly. Lydia wasn't very muscular- she was more on the skinny side with a bushy red tail. She almost reminded me of a fox.

"What if I lose control?" I said nervously. I did not want to do this.

She mentally sighed. 'Look, I know you can do this. Even if you do lose control I will still be able to either snap you out of it, or defend myself until you come out of it. Just stop being a pussy and try!'

"Okay, fine." I muttered, defeated as I crouched down. I really did not want to do this.

Summoning up my memories from before, I let the hot spark in my chest slowly spread over me like a blanket. My pulse quickened and my breathing hitched. I could feel the transformation coming and, terrified, I fled deep within myself to avoid it.

'Pay attention idiot! That's exactly how you lose control!' Lydia mentally shouted at me. 'Don't shy away from it! Let it come to you. Embrace it. That's the first step.'

I really, REALLY did not want to.

She didn't seem to realize that that the transformation hurt- and not just a little either. When I started to come out from myself, it felt like I had hurled myself into a pool of lava- swallowing me whole and burning my body to ashes. It just hurt so much.

'Hang in there, Roxas! I know you can do it!'

Just then the heat surrounding me faded a little and it didn't hurt as much. I could feel another presence in my mind, but I knew for certain that it wasn't Lydia.

'Don't forget that you're not alone here. I'll help you as much as I can.'

'Who...who are you?' I called out. His voice sounded familiar to me, like a lost memory that I had just remembered.

'I can't stay. Call me when you need me again.' And then the voice faded away.

'Wait!' I shouted after him, but I was interrupted by the blinding white light from above.

I opened my eyes.

I could instantly tell that I was in another form, because my sense of smell, sight, and hearing had been enhanced even more. Slowly lifting my now fur covered head, I yawned.

'That... that was intense,' Lydia commented in surprise from across the clearing and when I glanced toward her, I could see genuine shock in her green eyes. 'No one has ever had that hard a time with the transformation ever. Even Ven had trouble with his, but never this bad.' Her eyes darkened, and I had a feeling that whoever this 'Ven' person was had been the source of painful memories.

'Well,' I said and wobbly got to my paws, not used to my new center of gravity. 'At least I'm myself this time. I don't think I'm going to be hurting anyone.'

'Don't get ahead of yourself,' she countered with a growl. 'Just because you're fine now doesn't mean anything. You could still lose control at anytime.'

'What could trigger it?'

'Anything from getting too angry to the smell of blood. That's why you have to be careful.' Lydia replied with a snort.

My powerful shoulders sagged. 'Outstanding...'

-Till November-

Once I had gotten used to my new body, Lydia had suggested that I go to the river nearby and see what I looked like. Eagerly I complied, trotting off through the trees and taking in the sights and scents. Luckily the stream wasn't far- only a few hundred meters from the clearing. Padding up to the stream bank, I looked over the side and into the water.

Bright blue lupine eyes gazed back at me, and huge canines were poking out from between my gums. Lightly peeling my lips back to get a better look, I almost grinned in morbid satisfaction. They were huge.

Carefully twisting around, I saw my muscular shoulders, bushy tail, and the dark stripe of fur that went from my nose to my tail. Twisting around even more, I clumsily lost my balance and fell into the river with a loud splash.

'Thank god it wasn't muddy,' I growled after I shook myself dry. Making my way back into the clearing, I saw Lydia staring at me with an amused expression. She must have heard what happened.

'Smooth moves kid.' She chuckled with a toothy grin.

I growled back, and she got the message. 'What else are we doing today?'

'Well,' she said, and shuffled her paws. 'Let me put it this way. Most Lycans and their mentors usually start out with learning how to fight in human form and from what I've seen and heard from you so far, we can afford to skip that step. The next step that is taken is learning how to control your wolf side and making contact with your spirit partner.'

'And the third step?'

'Learning how to fight in wolf form.'

I cringed when the memories of the bloody fight with Saix surfaced. If I could avoid that kind of fighting I would. Lydia's consciousness brushed against mine, and I struggled to bury the memories before she would see them. i felt naked in my own head.

'We don't fight like that all the time you know. We only do that if we have to act like actual wolves.'

My ears folded back in confusion. 'Then how do we fight?'

'Like this.' She said, and after a bright flash of light, a sword shaped weapon could be seen levitating inches above her back.

No way...

'Is that a keyblade?' I breathed in wonder. How did she get one?

'What? You're acting like you've never seen a keyblade before. All Lycans have keyblades- and have two different forms depending on the bearer. Mine is obviously in its true form at the moment,' she took several steps forward until she was directly in front of me, then turned to the side and let me have a better look. 'That's why you were able to identify it so easily.'

It was a sword- I could tell that much just by looking at it. The hilt was an orange and red flame-like shape, and the key chain on the end was another small orange flame. The blade was a polished metallic blue colour and was shorter than my own keyblade. The tip of the blade spiked out to the side with several orange dagger-like protrusions. The difference in contrast really made the colours stand out even more and for the slightest amount of time, I was actually jealous of her weapon.

'I prefer daggers or knives over swords,' she said matter- of- factually. 'And as you can see, it had been incorporated into my keyblade.'

I poked the weapon with my paw curiously, being careful of the sharp edge. 'What's its other form then?'

'My blade splits into two identical daggers- though one is metallic blue, and the other is a dull orange.'

I didn't know how to respond to that, so I just said: 'It looks nice.'

'It clashes with my hair and eye colour,' she growled sourly, and got to her paws. 'Now come on, that's enough for today. The real training starts tomorrow.'

So much had already happened today that I was both scared and exited at what tomorrow would bring.

okay, sorry for being so late guy's, but school is eating up most of my time. and not to mention A.N last weekend.

so sorry once again, but I'm probably going to have to keep on a two week plan untill the end of the semester. once summer starts though, i'll get back to the regular updates!

"AND REVIEW!"