This is the part that the story gets more juicy. Trust me, it won't go as you think it will. My goal is to build up the story to be a big dramatic thing but it needs some setup first, but the setup is almost over, I promise!
chapter four - hisaka
Hisaka ran up to take my backpack from me again the next day at school, and walked me to class. It was sort of sweet that he did that, but also made me uncomfortable sometimes. It was my second day and I was already getting weird looks from people. Hisaka would just stare them down til they looked away, but that only made it worse.
"Hey, so uh. About our date, I'm thinking movie, does that sound good?" He asked out of the blue. I was caught off guard.
"Uh yeah, totally. Movies."
"Dope. I gotta get to class, bye K!" He tossed my backpack back at me, and I caught it on autopilot. I looked after him in shock, reaching behind me for the door. I snapped to my senses and went inside quickly before the bell rang.
I got a couple more glares from girls in my class, but Kim was there to help alleviate the pressure.
After class, she came up to me.
"So, I hear you and Hisaka, huh?" I try to smile and nod at her. She hugged me. "I'm so happy for you! Now you'll REALLY be a part of the pack!" I frown.
"Pack?" I thought they called themselves the gang? Kim blinked.
"Yeah sorry, pack, gang, same diff. We call them both sometimes, you know." I nod. She grinned again.
"We're having a bonfire tonight, you should come! Hisaka always gets the guys around and comes up with a set of dares for them to do, last one standing wins. It's so fun!" She claps her hands.
"Yeah, I mean totally. I'm in. When and where?" She gave me a piece of paper with directions written on it and a time. She must've written it during class.
"Don't forget, and it's casual so like shorts and T-shirt. Can't wait!" Jared came up then so she was distracted while I stuck the piece of paper in my bag. She told me yesterday that she and Jared had been dating for three months, and are getting married after they graduate in May, so I guess things just move fast here. I've known Hisaka for a day and we're going on a date tonight apparently. I shrug. Could be worse I guess.
I headed to my next class, glad to get some free space after seeing him and Kim all morning.
XxxxX
Shayna saw me at the bonfire right when I arrived and walked up.
"Hey Kaliska. Welcome to your first bonfire."
"Thanks Shay, looks fun."
"Mhm, Hisaka already explained the dares for the night, so the guys are all getting warmed up now." She gestured to the gang smacking each other around and doing various exercises. "First dare is a chicken fight in the ocean. They're all paired up."
"In the ocean? It's like 60 degrees out!" I gasped. She hesitated.
"They'll be fine, they all run warm." I frown. So far I'm concerned more than anything. She quickly changes the subject. "But there's a bunch of stuff after this, stick around! It's so fun!"
"Yeah, I will. Looking forward to it." I answer.
And it does turn out to be fun. I laugh from the shore while the big beefy morons knock each other into the water, holding towels ready for the latest losers. After that, they do a race, although oddly enough, three come back wearing different shorts than they started in. The last few dares were intellectual, riddles, brain teasers and trick questions centered around the Quileute legends. It was all fun and goofy, and when Brady raised his giant arms in triumph, everyone cheered. I met more of "the pack," including Jacob, who was friends with Bella, Quil, Embry and Paul. I didn't meet Sam, he was busy with the older men, but he reminded me of my uncle from Miwok, who helped my mom raise me. I knew I'd like Sam. By the time Hisaka made his way over to me, I'd had a beer and plenty of food. I was getting tired and ready to go home. He bumped my shoulder, making me jump.
"Hey, you having a good time?" I nodded, smiling. I felt like I should spend at least a little bit of time with him, so when he asked me to go on a walk with him, I agreed.
Forcing my feet to move in a line was somewhat difficult considering my alcohol tolerance is low, and I drank the beer way too fast. If he picked up on it, he didn't mention it.
"So, I'm really glad you came tonight. I hope you had fun." He started.
"Yeah, it was fun to watch everyone do the dares. I had a great time."
"Good. I mean, I'm also really glad you came tonight because I wanted to talk to you."
"Okay, what's up?" I asked warily. He took a deep breath.
"So... have you heard about the legends? About werewolves and the cold ones?" I nod slowly. What kind of a conversation could he possibly be leading into?
"Sooooo, they're true. All of them. All the guys in the pack are werewolf shapeshifters, along with Leah Clearwater, Seth's older sister."
I stopped walking, swaying a little.
"Okay. Okay, cool." I nod slowly, thinking more. My foggy brain processed the information and I looked up at him. "Okay, you're a shapeshifter." He frowned.
"That's it? You believe me? You're not gonna make me prove it or anything?" I shake my head.
"I grew up native, of course I believe legends start as facts."
We started walking again and he reached for my hand. I look at him.
"What are you doing?"
He stared back. I tripped on something while we walked and he immediately caught me and set me upright.
"You don't know about imprinting." He stated.
"Imprinting?"
"Yeah. Like the fates picking out your mate for life. The shifter looks into the other one's eyes and bam, it's like soulmates."
"And you imprinted on me."
"Yeah. That's why I was weird that first day."
"You mean yesterday."
"Yeah... yesterday. Ever since then, it's like you're my new center of gravity or something."
I frown. I didn't sign up for this. I'm confused and not sure I'm on board.
"Okay. So what does that mean for me?"
"It means we're together for life. Just you and me, baby." He says, grabbing my hand. He swings it between us as we walk and I pretend to trip again so he'll let go. I put my hands in my pockets and he catches me again.
"Are you drunk?" He asks.
"No... just a little tipsy. I should get home."
"Okay, let's head back." He turned around and I walked a couple steps behind him, watching the ground as I walked and pondering the situation.
"There you are!" Emily called out when we circled back to the bonfire. "We served dessert, but there might be some left."
"Thanks Emily!" Hisaka called. He brought me over to the dessert table and picked up a slice of pie that was left, eating the whole thing in two bites. "Damn, that's really good." He mumbled, reaching for more.
"I gotta get home." I remind him. He nods.
"Yeah one sec. I'll be right there." He walked off to talk to Sam, then Jacob and Brady came up, starting a conversation. I sat down next to Leah Clearwater while I waited.
"Hey, I'm Kaliska-" I began, smiling. She nodded silently, making clear she didn't want to talk. She took a long swig of her beer. I nodded to myself and looked back at the bonfire. I don't know where Hisaka went but he he's not back soon, I'll just go home alone. It's not a far walk, I walked over here.
"Hi Kaliska, I don't know if you remember me. I'm Chesmu." I jumped slightly as another guy sat next to me.
"Hey, nice to meet you again." I smile at him. He's cute, with big brown eyes and a soft jaw, giving him a young appearance.
"Hisaka told me you need to get home, he had to go take care of something. Want a ride?" He asked.
"Uh, yeah sure. Thanks." I look around to see if Hisaka was still here. When I didn't see him, I looked back at Chesmu, and saw his face go from sympathetic to friendly.
"Ready?" I nod.
"Let's go!" He walked me to the woods, and right before I asked, he said,
"I'm gonna go shift into a giant wolf, I'll be right back, okay?" I frown.
"I thought you were gonna give me a ride?"
"Yep," he grinned, already peeling his shirt off. "On my back." As I gasped after him, jogged into the woods and less than a minute later, a huge wolf came back out. It - or he - came up and head butted my shoulder, knocking me off balance and grinning at me as I snapped to my senses.
"Yeah, okay, giant wolf." I whispered to myself, reaching out to grab ahold of his fur. He lay down on the ground and I climbed onto his back, leaning forward and wrapping my arms around his neck. "Okay, I'm ready." I said, locking my hands together. He nodded his massive head and turned in the direction of my house, starting at a brisk trot and then picking up speed until we were whizzing last the trees.
Just a couple days ago I had dreamed of this, feeling the air swirl past me as I went faster than I thought possible.
This must be what it's like to be a spirit warrior, and not for the first time since hearing the legends, I wished I could experience it for myself.
We arrived at my house in just a few minutes, just slightly faster than if we'd driven. As I loosened my cramped fingers and slipped off, the ground seemed to move under me. It had been a terrifyingly awesome experience and I couldn't wait to do it again. I patted Chesmu's neck and he trotted off. I wasn't sure if he was taking off or if he was just going to change back, so I stood at the edge of the trees for a couple minutes before realizing he was gone. I brushed my pants off and climbed over the fence into my yard, making my way around to the side door.
When I went inside, I heard my dad in the kitchen and went to wash my hands.
"Kaliska, is that you?" He called, and I went around to say goodnight.
"Yeah, hi. Just got back." I told him, filling a glass with water.
"You're back a little earlier than I thought you'd be. Did you have a good time?"
"Yeah, it was really fun. I had a beer, so I didn't want to stay out late." I told him. He dried his hands off on his jeans.
"Just one, right?" He asked.
"Yeah, but I drank it too fast. One of my friends dropped me off here." I assured him. I guess that's true, I was indeed dropped off.
"Okay honey, just be careful for me, deal?" He held his fist out and I bumped his knuckles.
"Deal. Thanks dad."
He smiled at me and I yawned before heading up to my room.
That night, right before I fell asleep, I heard a tap at my window. Thinking it was just a tree, I ignored it until it came again. I peeked through to curtain to see Hisaka clinging to the edge of our roof, standing on a tree limb. I gaped at him for a moment before reacting, opening the window a crack.
"What are you doing here?" I asked in a whisper.
"Being romantic. Open the window so I can come in." He told me, and after a second of not coming up with a reasonable excuse not to, I opened it and he slipped inside.
"What are you here for?" I asked, suddenly conscious of my flimsy pjs. He let his eyes run up and down me, licking his lips.
"Just to see you. I wish I could've brought you home but something came up." I nodded.
"Wolf stuff."
"Yeah wolf stuff. I asked Chesmu to bring you, he did right?"
"Yeah he did, it was really nice of him." He nodded.
"Good, good."
"Sooo, you just came to make sure I got here?"
"Yeah, yeah I guess. I was kinda hoping.. ah never mind. Too soon for that." I frowned.
"What were you expecting?"
"I don't know, maybe a kiss or something. But it's fine, probably too soon to expect that." He shrugged and looked at me like he wanted me to prove him wrong.
"Oh... okay. Yeah it's a little soon." I agreed.
"I mean, it usually takes like a week or so for the imprint to be fully on board and it's only been like two days."
I didn't respond to his statement, leaving an awkward silence. He cleared his throat.
"Yeah so anyway, just wanted to make sure you got here alright. I'll get going now."
"Okay, thanks for checking." I said, smiling. "I do appreciate that."
He shrugged.
"Just my job. I'll catch you later, K." He climbed out my window and jumped down to the grass below, and as I looked out, I saw his landing footprints and winced. I'll fill those dents in tomorrow and hope the grass grows back.
He ran to the tree line to phase, taking off from there in his wolf form. I had to admit, the wolf thing was pretty cool.
I could get over my reservations and just embrace it like the rest of the imprints do.
Or I could demand my own fate, see if my Miwok blood awakens something inside me...
I shook my head, that's crazy. Just a Dream that was destined to stay a dream.
I closed my window and went back to bed, having a hard time falling back asleep. I pictured myself whizzing through the forest like I had earlier and finally fell asleep with a smile on my face.