Clark's P.O.V.

After leaving some food and water out for Ember, I head to the bedroom with Jimmy.

Finally, I'm going to have some answers. I didn't even need to call Bruce for help with them.

Jimmy seems almost reluctant as he looks at me. "Some of the things I'm telling you are from the breaking of a five year old pinky swear. I'll start with what you might have guessed. Ember's part wolf. It's on her Dad's side so, yes, she was born at home with those ears and teeth. Her eyes are from him too."

He tells me what I learn are the rest of the things from the pinky swear being broken, adding a secret of his own with the explanation that it's only fair, and asking me what I want to know next.

"What about more about her parents?"

He nods. "As far as I know, Ember's never know her Dad. She used to tell me that she believed he got stuck in the form of a wolf. Like I said, she got the ability to shift from him. I think her Mom might be stuck as smoke. Besides the pyrokinesis I told you they share, she could both turn into and control it."

So, like me, Ember's not exactly human. She really is a wolf girl.

"Did she ever see Princess Mononoke?"

He laughs. "Are you kidding me? That's her favorite Studio Ghibli movie."

He pulls up a photo of her dressed as San for Halloween. "She had that costume ready on her birthday, a whole sixteen days before."

He chuckles. "She even taught me to howl, she was so excited. I never could learn Wolf like her though. Or Bird."

He puts his phone back in his pocket. "She never held those things against me. She said that you need to have wolf to know Wolf. When I asked her how she knew Bird without having bird, she just shrugged her shoulders. I think parts of her might even be a mystery to herself. Her development's always seemed a little off."

I raise one eyebrow and tell him to explain.

"Well, she started talking late. I think her knowledge of Wolf and Bird might have had something to do with that. She's also never really made eye contact with anyone. I know the wolf in her's responsible for that. That's it."

I nod. "When did she start talking?"

He holds up three fingers. "She always told me it was the same with Einstein. When I told her that he didn't know Wolf or Bird, she grinned and told me that meant she was smarter than him. She was always so smart."

He shakes his head. "It almost hurts seeing her like this. Sure, she got to live like San and I do like that but..."

He sighs. "I don't think she'll ever be the Ember I knew. That girl is gone."

Jimmy wipes his eyes.

I try to tell him I'm sorry but he cuts me off then leave me in the bedroom, closing the door behind him.

X-ray vision and super-hearing find him having a good cry in my splashes some water on his face then leaves.

He leaves my place, I leave the bedroom and, shortly after, I notice Kara come in.

She looks at Ember then pointedly looks at me.

Looks like I have some explaining to do.

Kara's P.O.V.

"Linda, this is Ember. I found her in the forest three days ago."

I raise one eyebrow. "Are you seriously telling me that you've taken in a feral child?"

Clark nods. "After her house caught fire when she was 12, she lived with wolves for three years."

I whistle. "Wow."

I grin. "So when do I get to tell your folks?"

He laughs. "Well, I'd like for her to adjust first. She's got some things she'll need to learn. As you might have guessed, living feral in the forest has left her stunted. She's not even potty trained yet."

I nod. "Language deprived too, I'll bet."

Whoa. "Clark, her ears are pointed."

He nods. "She also has slightly elongated canines. Apparently, she's part wolf. She can also shift into one and is capable of speaking and understanding their language. I actually first found her in wolf form." He tells me what she looked like.

"I bet seeing her shift back was kind of unnerving."

He laughs. "Yeah. The reporter, seeing his first feral shape-shifter, stunned into silence. I thought, at first, that I'd discovered a new kind of wolf. Guess it could be argued that I kind of did."

I nod then look over her.

Broken leg, likely doesn't have bipedalism...Huh.

She doesn't have any sign of breasts.

I guess being part wolf caused...Quick Google search.

Okay.

A bilateral form of Poland syndrome. Well, she'll never need a bra.

I wonder if she's able to get her period.

Clark blushes when I ask him. Men. "Linda, she doesn't seem to have any signs of having started puberty. I think her wolf genes might have made it so she never will, kind of like a form of Turner syndrome."

Oh, she's stunted, all right.

I google Turner syndrome. Looks like she does have some of the symptoms.

Wait a minute. I think I have a better answer. "Spending time as a wolf might have had a wonky effect on her estrogen levels. I think she must have shifted before she started going through puberty."

He snaps his fingers. "Living feral as a wolf must have made it so she wasn't able to."

We find out that estrogen also has an effect on communication in the brain. That's one more question on Ember answered. A lot more to go.

Clark pulls out an article and shows it to her. "You know this?"

She places a hand on one of the pictures. "Mother."

She rubs her hands together really fast then cups one of them, revealing a fire ball. She points to the picture of her Mom with her free hand. "Mother gone."

She dips her hand with fire in her water bowl. "Ember go forest. Go wolf. Howl. Wolf call. Ember live wolf."

She points to Clark. "Clark find wolf Ember. Clark talk. Ember girl. Ember try go wolf. No do. Ember fall sleep."

She blinks. "Water feel wake girl Ember."

She howls, low and mournful. "Ember no find wolf family. Live wolf girl."

Clark whistles. "That's the most I've ever gotten out of her." He grins. "I think she likes you."

Clark.

"Either that or the article unlocked something in her. Sounds like she could really use some grammar lessons. I'm uniquely qualified to teach ESL. Pretty sure I could help her learn to adapt too. She seems to be a good kid. Now, tell me, what else do you know about this girl?"

We have a long conversation that I hope will have some effect on Ember's vocabulary. Wow, she's got a cool name.

Okay. Time to see if she picked up any new words.

I run a few tests. Her grammar's still poor and she doesn't really seem to have a concept of time but her vocabulary does show signs of improvement.

Let's try getting her bipedal.

Clark and I both hold one of her hands then, carefully, we lift her to her feet. She's wobbly but she is standing. I guess walking might have to wait until her leg's healed.

No, wait, I've got a better idea.

Okay. Clark has one of his feet under the foot at the end of Ember's broken leg. It's a little awkward but she's kind of walking now.

There we go.

One little baby step at a time.