Finally, morning came. For hours, Tina had lost herself somewhere around town, she just can't remember where exactly that she went. Since she left Jeff's house, Tina worried herself, as she had over a lot of things these past two days, over her relationship with Jeff, and her not-really-a-relationship with Brynn.
Before this full moon, Tina had never dreamed of loving a human being, no matter how much she mingled with them whenever she was human. Her choices were narrowed down to the males of her pack, narrowed even further by the decision of her father. Brynn was...very sweet. He doted on Tina as if he were her protector. What's more, she didn't mind the sense of overprotection; she had been faced with it all her life due to the actions of her understandably-loving parents. And Brynn certainly knew how to treat her well. He was everything a good mate should be. But he was a wolf. And she was also a wolf, only part-time. Brynn could never fathom what it would be like to be a human. He would never be able to get used to not having her around to tend their young during a full moon. And she did want children, someday. But how could she possibly take care of cubs that she could not be around all the time?
Tina could see her having a child as a human. As a human, there were no worries about a full moon. Maybe Jeff or someone like Jeff would be the father of their young. For a two-legger, Jeff was certainly a kind person. Not to mention fun to be around. Brynn could never take Tina to the places Jeff had shown her. He saw the world in color, both literally and figuratively. Jeff was very independent, Brynn could probably not imagine life without her. But Jeff had his flaws as well. Tina...just couldn't name them. She was too busy undoing her clothes and watching the dark sky slowly turn a lighter shade of blue.
Color, she thought, what an odd sensation. Most of the time, Tina was used to seeing black and white and all the different tints in between. But for three nights a month, she had to deal with all different sorts of tints and "glows" - which was the name she gave to it at first - that all sorts of objects and people gave off. For Tina, color was a very complex concept to understand. Even as a wolf, she could not begin to comprehend how she saw color as a human being. On two legs it was...a beautiful experience. On four legs, though, it was a vague memory. A dream of a dream. Nonetheless, in any form, all she knew about color was that it was beautiful, and that she loved the sensation.
Tina carefully put away her clothes - both old and new - into the gym bag she always kept under the pile of leaves in front of two trees. The blue tank-top, the denim jeans, her bra, her panties, there were all taken off when the moon was well in the horizon. So, as the last bits of moonlight dimly lit the forest, Tina, with no clothes on, put in one last walk, her gentle feet brushing against the cool grass with every step. It would be her last steps as a two-legger until later tonight, which, all of a sudden, seemed a very long time away.
When the time of change came upon her, Tina sat down on the ground and crossed her legs. With the full moon gone, Tina closed her eyes and tried to will the change to happen, and as she concentrated on becoming a wolf, her naked body warmed itself. Oh my, she thought as she felt fur ripple across her body. At first, the tiny hairs already on her skin stood on end and began to lengthen as more hair sprouted from under her protective layer. Quickly, the fur wrapped around her body with a sense of warmth that no human clothing could provide.
Then, her bones and muscles reshaped themselves. Tina uncrossed her legs as they changed in form as well as her arms. She looked on as her fingers shrunk and turned into paws again, claws and all. Everything was completely black and white - or so the humans say - now, when her eyes and the rest of her face transformed. Her nose became darkened and pulled itself outward. Under her lips, her dull canines sharpened and lengthened themselves once again.
If the transformation were extremely painful at all, perhaps the most painful part of the change was growing back her tail. She certainly felt her tailbone shoot out of her skin and grow its own layer of skin, then fur. When she could feel it was at full length, she experimented by wagging it around.
Tina could stand on all fours now, and even as the change progressed, she tested her limbs by walking around. She had never been human for so long, and actually had to get used to walking on all of her limbs now.
This time, the last of the changes was her ears shifting upwards until they found themselves at the corners of her head. It was certainly the noisiest part of the change; the transformation was affecting her ears, of course. But when it was all over, she heard nothing. Complete silence.
The transformation was complete. Tina...Teyna was now a wolf again. After such a long time being human, she enjoyed being a wolf again, but couldn't wait for the next time she was going to see Jeff.
Uh oh, Teyna thought. She had to face Brynn. But she couldn't. Now right now, at least. Walking around all night long, she was too tired to even have breakfast, and she was definitely hungry. So she walked in the direction where the rest of her pack resided, having just enough energy to get back home before falling fast asleep.
"Teyna!" Brynn cried to Teyna, who was just walking in, "Where have you been!?"
"Oh, hi Brynn..." Teyna replied, sleep quickly filling her eyes. The transformation had left her drained of energy and dead tired.
Brynn approached Teyna, but quickly backed away, sensing a pugnant odor on her, "Teyna, what is that smell?"
"Human sweat," she mumbled.
"You certainly have a lot more of it on you than usual, Teyna!"
"That's because I've been human for a whole day, Brynn," she said, seeing the opening to the cave where she and her family slept, "Excuse me, Brynn, must sleep..."
Brynn was stunned, "But Teyna, a whole day!? What happened to you?"
Teyna laid down at the entrance to the cave, saying in a very tired voice, "Tell you later..."
And there, Brynn was left with a Teyna that very quickly drifted into sleep. And once again, he was left with a burning question, "What happened?"
And so Brynn took off on another post-full moon hunt - alone. The sun was nearing its peak, so all the places he usually looked in for food were emptied of animals; they had all scattered throughout the forest to perform their daily routines. It was bad enough he didn't have Teyna to help him out, now most of the meat was gone. All that was left for Brynn were small animals, too small to feed his hunger, which had grown because he had neglected to eat at his usual mealtime; he was far too busy worrying about Teyna.
Time and again, Brynn convinced himself that he worried too much over Teyna during the full moon. But on each occasion, he was eventually able to convince himself that his fear for the worst was justified. One morning just before the moon set, at the time when Teyna should be at the usual place, Brynn slipped into the outskirts of town for the slight chance that he could see Teyna. The rest of the pack advised against it; always stay far away from humans, they taught. He didn't listen, though, since the pack obviously didn't care for the two-legger that Teyna had grown up to be. With a bit of luck, Brynn was able to remain undetected that morning and, as the moon kissed the horizon, he saw Teyna scrambling down one of the roads into the forest. She was already beginning to change back when she had crossed Brynn's path without seeing him. Teyna later made some excuse that she just lost track of time, but that didn't stop him from worrying about her every full moon.
And why shouldn't he look after Teyna? She was his mate, after all. No, Brynn thought, she wasn't. She hadn't "agreed" to it. What a silly concept. It was so...human. As long as he could remember, the only thing a female ever had to agree to was whether or not she wanted young. It was the father that decides who she should mate with. And, lucky for Brynn, Teyna's father picked him to be her mate. Unfortunately for him, Teyna had to protest. She had never seen him as a "lover," a term Brynn was very much unfamiliar with.
It must be those human upbringings! Even for three nights every so often, Teyna knew enough to think like them! That was the first thing that came to mind the very day Teyna refused to mate with him. Almost...one mating season ago. Brynn recalled that memory time and again from that day on. Of all the females in the pack, why did this one have to put up a fight?
Of course, none of the other females ever had the experiences that Teyna had. Brynn did not have the experiences that Teyna had. He could only wonder.
Brynn and Teyna were having so much fun, racing alongside the river and catching fish under the water. By chance, they had gotten separated. It was when Brynn had caught his third fish with his teeth that he noticed Teyna was out of sight. He had also noticed that the sun had long set, so all he could count on were his keen eyes. Last time he saw her she was still playing in the river with him. Quickly, he searched desperately for Teyna. Perhaps she was in trouble. Perhaps she was hurt.
Thankfully, she wasn't. Brynn traveled a small distance down the river and picked up a sound of a creature breathing heavily. Sure enough, it was Teyna. Well, it wasn't Teyna. Brynn was about to kick himself. It happened again! She turned into one of those two-leggers again! But it was her, nonetheless, he recognized her from the few times she shifted into her second form. This was the eighth time already. The day before Teyna was found shifting while eating the meat of a deer she and her father killed.
Most unusual, Brynn thought. But there was no time to dwell on it. He couldn't understand any of the sounds she was making; all that he knew was that she was shivering. With no fur, Teyna obviously had no protection from the cold water. Luckily, her - what did she call them? oh yes - clothes were nearby. One day she slipped into the outskirts of town, stole a few pieces of clothing off a line outside one of the two-legger's dwelling places, and hid it away in a part of the forest. Just a short race past the hills. After he shook the water off his fur, Brynn lowered his head and let Teyna climb onto his back. Wow, he thought, for such a small creature she was heavy! Nonetheless, he took her to where she needed to go.
Teyna stumbled around to put those clothes on. Brynn laughed; the clothes she took were far too big for her! She put on the smallest pieces of clothing - which were still oversized - on her. Aside from being a small two-legger trying to fit on oversized layers of clothing, Teyna some difficulty on putting them on. She didn't know that the cloth that was shaped for her legs were not meant for her arms and chest. And she didn't know that those...things that go on her feet didn't fit on her pa---hands. On top of that, they fit perfectly...almost. They were curved outward, so they hurt her little feet.
Eventually, she finished dressing. Brynn laughed again; he was very young but he knew what a two-legger looked like and dressed like, and Teyna could barely pass as one of them! Her upper clothing fell halfway down her legs. Her hands and feet hid under her outer layer. Not to mention that her hair was all tangled up and her ears were pointed as she flashed a very silly grin.
Trying not to trip, Teyna inched closer to Brynn and laid her lips on his forehead. After that, she said something - he could not understand what it was - and left him alone in the forest. Obviously she went out to search for the dwellings of the two-leggers for the night. From then until morning, Brynn knew nothing of what happened to her until she returned when the sun rose.
Such nights made him wonder of what Teyna experienced in her travels as a human. SOMETHING must've happened yesterday, Brynn thought, for she was gone for a whole day between the first two nights of the full moon. But apparently, everything was OK, according to her. A frustrated Brynn pushed the thought aside and walked along, hoping to catch another meal.
For a second, he thought he was in luck, for he caught another scent traveling along the forest. But his hopes diminished; there was Lupa, in the distance. She was too far outside the pack dwellings. Despite the fact that she was in heat, Brynn went to her to see what was going on.
"Lupa!" he said.
She turned her head, "Oh, Brynn!"
"What're you doing out here?"
"This is where Kayn's hunting party said they were going."
"What--you mean, they haven't returned yet?"
Lupa shook her head, "I'm worried, Brynn."
"I see...come on, I'm sure there's nothing to worry about."
"You don't understand! It's not your mate out there that could've been attacked...or worse!"
"Believe me, Lupa, when it comes to fellow pack members disappearing for unusual periods of time, you and I are in the same boat. You're not going to find them out here. Come on. If you do see Kayn, it will be with the rest of the pack again."
Day turned to night, and once again the sun returned to rest beyond the horizon. Brynn, after seeing Lupa back to her resting place, spent the rest of the day hunting for food. Reflecting on past events, he was nibbling on a fish he caught in the river when he realized it was getting dark. His eyes widened. Teyna!
Quickly, Brynn returned to the dwelling. Some of the older pack members left in search of the hunting party, leaving just a few wolves to wander about at will. So no one was watching Teyna, who was still sleeping at the entrance to the cave. When Brynn had arrived, it was too late. The full moon had already risen.
Teyna---Tina jumped and screamed very loudly at the sight of Brynn when she woke up. She gathered her bearings; she had turned human in her sleep. "Why didn't you wake me up!?" Tina cried. Of course, Brynn could not understand her. He was sorry, though. All morning he worried about her so much that he let himself go hungry, and when he set out to feed his hunger, he was too involved in hunting for food that he forgot about her.
Tina felt her body. She was naked. Knowing all about humans (after all, she was one of them part of the time), she was embarassed to be without any clothes. Quickly, she darted off, and Brynn knew exactly where she was going.
"I'm late, I'm late," Tina said as she put on her clothes. Not knowing what time it was, she didn't know how long Jeff was waiting. But she didn't want him to wait for very long. When she was finished dressing, she dug deep into the side pocket and took out a bottle of perfume. She didn't remember where she got it, only that it wasn't hers at the time. No matter, she picked up the scent of perfume on human females all the time, and she figured Jeff would like that. So she sprayed it on her a few times.
Brynn entered Tina's hiding place while picking up yet another pugnant odor. The human sweat that Teyna smelled of was bad enough, this was a sharp scent that penetrated his nose. Still, Brynn approached Teyna, who was almost dressed up.
In the corner of her eye Tina noticed Brynn. In a hurry, Tina said, "I have to go, Brynn. It's...important." Tina kissed Brynn on his forehead and ran off to town.
Brynn, once again, could not understand Teyna, but he knew she rushed off to deal with something important. She was too eager to run off into town. Something was going on, and it must have had something to do with why she disappeared for a whole day. With extreme curiosity, Brynn followed her in secret.
The usual place, the usual time, Jeff thought, and again she was late. No big deal, he's had his share of dates and found out that girls always loved to keep their boyfriends waiting. But one thing's for certain; barring some major disaster or act of God, Tina would come, sooner or later.
Fortunately, it was sooner.
"Sorry I'm late," Tina said after walking in, almost short of breath.
"Nothing to worry about," Jeff winced.
"What's wrong?" Tina asked.
"Oh, nothing...well, that perfume you are wearing?"
"Yes. Do you like it?"
"Well, yeah! It's just...just a bit strong," Jeff admitted.
"Oh, I'm sorry."
"That's no problem. So...what shall we do tonight?"
Although he was close to the forest, Brynn had never been this far into town before. He had managed to hide himself inside a thick bush, undetectable from any person who happened to walk by. Across the way from his spot was the place where the two-leggers eat. Who knows what they ate in there. But Brynn quickly shifted his focus on something else.
The entrance to the eating place swung open, and out came two people. Brynn lowered his head. He did not know what to think. One he recognized. The other he couldn't. But they were both holding hands.
End of Part Five.
Click here to go to Part Six.