"It will take at least a day, maybe two to get all the ingredients we need for the ceremony," Hamish explains. "The elders thought you could stay here until such time as we are ready. That way we can keep an eye on you for any other changes and protect you from the outside world as well. Would that be acceptable?"
I thought about it for a moment. "As long as you don't keep me locked in that cage and I am free to roam around the warehouse, I'm cool with it."
"Can I stay too?" Ahna butts in. "This is all my fault I want to be here to help in whatever way I can, even if it's just keeping Alyx company."
"That is up to Alyx, but it is alright with us," Hamish replies looking to me for the answer.
"Ahna can be my caretaker, making sure I'm fed and watered, keep me company, all that jazz." Truth be told, I wanted some alone time, but I knew how guilty Ahna felt about the whole situation. If watching over me helped assuage her guilt, I could do that for her. "Where are we anyway?"
"In the plains, East of your city about fifty miles. It was the closest sacred and safe space we had, nearest the location we found you. Which works out, as we need a sacred space to perform the ceremony. Now we only need to find the ingredients and bring them here. In the backroom, we have set up a sacred circle so it will be ready. The board room next to it will house the ingredients. Everywhere else is accessible to you and Ahna. There is a comfortable couch for Ahna to sleep on in the office." Hamish explains. "We will be off now." He hands Ahna a phone. My number is programmed in here in case you need anything. I will call you when we have news. In the kitchen is food for you both. Call if you need anything." He collected the other elders and they all left.
It was late morning so Ahna and I had the whole day ahead of us to kill some time. Possibly tomorrow and the next day too. I sighed. We didn't know how long it would take the elders to get what they needed. I stared at Ahna she stared and me. "So Alyx. Um…..." Ahna was at a loss for words. I knew she wanted to fill the silence full of apologies, but I'd had enough of that. What was done was done. There was nothing we could do about it but deal with what was in front of us.
"I'm actually pretty tired. I think I'll take a nap. You should too. It looks like you didn't sleep at all last night." I tell her.
"I didn't. I was so worried, watching you change. It was so different than any shift I've ever seen. I swear at one point I thought you had wings. Actual wings! I was probably delirious." Ahna chides herself. "Um, if it's okay with you, I'd kind of like to sleep next to you. Your fur is so soft and you're warm." She gives me big saucer eyes, hoping I'll say yes.
I'm so over her right now though. "Actually, I would like some time to myself. I need to think through some things. But I promise that tonight you can. Alright?!"
She nods and slowly fumbles to the office. "G' Night Alyx. Get some sleep. I'll check on you in a couple hours."
I grunt appreciatively. Stretching, I get up and go slurp some water before deciding to wander around the warehouse. See the exits, the space, before creating my own comfortable bed of blankets and flannel. As I explore the warehouse with my nose, I think about what I could be. "How could I not have known I had magic inside me? How could my parents not have known they had it inside them? Why does a wolf feel familiar? If I was a shifter like Beta, I would have changed at puberty like all the others, right? Why was everything so confusing!" It hurt my head. I could hear rats scurrying and decided to hunt them and get my mind off things that I couldn't answer. It took less than five minutes to track them down to their little rat home. They had a score of babies they were protecting. I nodded and left them to their own devices. There was no reason to kill them.
Heading back to the cage, I passed the office and Ahna was passed out on the couch a look of concern on her face. It made me feel guilty that she felt guilty. "Why couldn't she just let it go? Like Elsa." I snicker at that thought. "Ahna was Elsa's sister. I'm frigging hilarious!" I mutter shaking my head and plodded back to the blankets. They're already set up how I liked it, so I snuggle into them for a nice nap.
A few hours later Ahna nudges me. "Alyx. Alyx. It's time to get up." I stretch and let out an enormous doggie yawn.
"Do you have to go to the bathroom?" She asks. "I thought of that as I was going myself."
I laugh and nod. "Yep. It's about that time. Are we allowed to go outside?"
"I already texted Hamish and he said as long as we stay in the back and don't go near the road it's fine. We can even play some games back there. If you want." Ahna tells me.
"Games? What kind of games are you talking about?" I ask her.
"I hid a few things out there for you to find. I thought it might be fun for you. Or we could play catch. Really whatever you want. Or we don't have to do anything either. You tell me what you want to do." She says her eyes filled with remorse.
"OK, Ahna. First things first. I need you to stop." She looks at me. "Stop feeling guilty about what has happened. I can't stand to see you like this. It's making it hard for me to be okay with this."
"You mean you are okay with this?" She asks incredulously.
"Yes. I am. Well, I mean do I hope I change back? Of course, I do. But if not I'm really okay with being a talking wolf. As long as I don't have to be caged and/or living in a circus, it's fine." I smile at her. "I bet Dean would even keep me as a pet… that is if he likes dogs… for some reason, I'm thinking he doesn't. I don't even know. But I know he'd still love me. Or at least I hope so..." I lick her face to make sure she is paying attention.
"Ewww! You need a breath mint!" She laughs.
I grunt at her, "I see how it is. Now, will you please stop moping around feeling sorry that you caused this? Please?! I'll even hunt down your stupid objects." I give her a big wolfy grin.
"Okay. You've got a deal." She smiles and heads for the back door. I follow. Once outside she turns back to me. "I've hidden three objects. One is Dean's flannel." I glare at her. "Don't worry it won't get dirty! I put it in a box first." I nod and she continues. "The other is a steak and the third is something we probably need for the ceremony. It has immense power, I could feel it when I picked it up. I thought since it didn't have a familiar scent it might be a bit challenging for you."
"Alright. Sounds fun. Lemme do my business and I'll find those things." I wander out into the plains, mostly shrubs now, plants still dead from winter, but the ground has started to thaw so I know she buried at least one of them. A soft wind blows, and I catch Dean's scent. I follow it, finding a large cluster of logs and I know the flannel is inside one of them. I root it out and return it to Ahna.
"I wasn't expecting you to find it that quickly! What about the others?" she asks. But I was already off having smelt the steak on another wisp of wind. I yelp when I find it and gobble it down before Ahna even gets the chance to walk out to me. "Good job!" she calls as I'm off again looking for the last hidden object.
All I can smell is woodsy nature smells so I stop, sit, close my eyes and listen, hoping the last object will speak to me. I hear a buzzing and the taste of metal. Not copper, like meat but a mix of aluminum, silver and maybe gold. I blindly follow the bzzzzing and see how the taste gets stronger. Suddenly, the buzzing stops. I start digging, dirt flying until my claws scratch a tiny tin box. I bark, excited to see what I've found. That was weird. I want to know what's in it. Ahna comes up beside me. "I found it!" I exclaim excitedly. "What's inside?"
"That's not what I buried." She says walking a few feet over and digging up a ceramic plate. "This is."
"Really?" I cock my head. "This feels important to me. Open it!"
A voice from behind us whispers quietly but sternly. "I wouldn't open that," Hamish says. How he could have snuck up behind us I'll never know, but the look in his eyes lets me know that he means business. "Please. Give it here."
I pick it up gently and hand it over. "It's important isn't it, Hamish?" I ask. "What is it?"
"Something we need for the ceremony, that's all you need to know. How did you find it anyhow? It has no smell, nothing that would indicate where or what it is?" Hamish wondered.
"That's where you're wrong," I tell him. "It gives off a minuscule buzzing noise and it tastes like aluminum, silver, tin, and gold."
"Very strange. I have never known this object to make itself known before. Maybe it's a good sign for the ceremony to come." Hamish thinks aloud. Then addressing us, "It'll be dark soon and I wanted to come check on you before heading home for the night. There are some things there I need for the ceremony so I'll be back first thing. Any breakfast requests?"
Ahna and I both look at each other and call out "BACON!"
Hamish laughs and smiles. "You got it, ladies. I'll return about seven in the morning with loads of bacon. We follow him back inside where he takes the tin box into the board room. We notice several objects and plants already inside and I again start to wonder about how this is all going to work. I give another yawn and Hamish scratches my chin. "Looks like that nap was just a prelude. You need to get some rest. Tomorrow may be difficult, little wolf." He looks at Ahna. "You too lady. We're going to need all the help we can get so I need you to be fresh."
She gives a big yawn herself. "You got it, Hamish. She reaches for me and I plod to her side. Leaning against her we make our way to my cage and bundle of blankets. Ahna hands me Dean's flannel and I roll in it quickly before adding it to my pile. She crawls in next to me and pulls a blanket over us both. As we snuggle together, Hamish smiles and waves, walking out the door and we both drift off to sleep.
