Pearl looked around her and saw only wolves.
In a small clearing among the trees they sat in a circle around her, waiting for the action to begin. Those, however, were the least of her worries, for in front of her snarled a giant wolflike creature with sharp claws and large, nasty teeth. But that was okay, because she was a giant wolflike creature with sharp claws and nasty teeth herself.
The creature lunged at her and she dodged his first swipe. His second swipe came quickly and nicked her arm. She ducked under his third blow, got in close and snapped at his stomach. Then she rose with clenched fist and delivered a strike to his chin. The other's head jerked back at the impact but he responded quickly with a well aimed elbow to her head. She jumped back, seeing tiny lights skitter across her vision. The next blow raked her shoulder and a punch to her jaw threw her to the ground, unconscious.
When she awoke, blinking and woozy, she was nose to nose with a wolf. "Recite," it demanded.
"Garou shall not mate with Garou combat the Wyrm where it is found and wherever it breeds respect the territory of another accept an honorable surrender submit to those of higher station the first part of the kill belongs to the greatest in station respect those beneath ye for all are of Gaia the Veil shall not be lifted do not suffer thy people to tend thy sickness in death the leader may be challenged at any time during peace the leader may not be challenged at any time during war you shall take no action that causes a caern to be violated." She took a breath, "Ye shall not eat the flesh of the humans."
The wolf peered at her. "A little slow on that last one."
"Just out of breath," she mumbled and slowly started to get up.
She stood on shaky legs and looked down at herself, no longer in Crinos warform but back in her normal human shape. Blood oozed from her wounds and she ached where she'd been struck. Her attacker hunched over her and scratched his chin. "Nice maneuver, getting close to throw that punch. Didn't expect that out of a Gaia pup. Take a breather; you did well. Shift so you can heal faster."
Pearl frowned but nodded. She pushed past the pain and concentrated on the form she wanted. For a moment she felt the change ripple through her like a slow-motion hiccup, then it stopped like a car running into a large tree. She fell hard on her butt, reverting to human form.
"I guess I need more practice," she mumbled, and pushed herself back to her feet.
She staggered away from the sparring field, a wolf by her side. The others stayed to practice with the Crinos trainer.
"I sucked," she said quietly, "He was playing with me, wasn't he, Uncle Dave?"
"We must often be harsh with our cubs," the wolf replied obliquely as they walked through the forest, "Because we have such a great responsibility. It would do us little good to seriously hurt our children, and few of us start as great warriors."
"I'm not a warrior," she muttered. "I'm a goddamn lawyer."
They stopped at a tree where the elders had placed her. She lay upon the ground and let the wolf lick her wounds. Even though the raspiness of his tongue stung she could feel her injuries fading. "Take a rest," Uncle Dave woofed when he finished. "I'll come back later." He trotted away.
Pearl gazed up at the green leaves shimmering against a summer blue sky. Ever since her first change she'd felt like she was in a strange dream where magic and monsters lived. Yet this was the real world; hidden from sight and human history. It was her world now, far from the cares of a college student on vacation. Living at the caern with the other Garou was difficult for her. She still thought of herself as human even though the Rage had come to her and activated the silent genetics deep within.
Her eyes flickered towards the backpack her mother packed for her, hanging high in the branches. Her mother had already seen two of her children before Pearl taken away when the change came to them, but never had a chance to do anything for them. Pearl grinned at the memory of seeing her mother face Uncle Dave down, demanding that Pearl be given a change of clothes and "other things". Uncle Dave had allowed Pearl to take the pack, but then forbade her to open it without his permission. That had been days ago. She sighed. Though within physical reach, whatever goodies it contained might as well be on the moon.
Pearl's growling stomach brought her thoughts back from the forbidden goodies within her pack - whatever they were - and back to more practical concerns. She decided she'd better start foraging if she wanted some dinner tonight. Her previous experience with herblore had turned out to be quite helpful for finding edible plants in the area of the caern.
Many of the Garou questioned - no, downright mocked - her adherence to her vegetarian ways. She'd had to make some compromises since there wasn't a grocery or garden for miles. There was little choice but to eat what the sept hunted, but she would only eat it in non-human form. However, mice were a guilty pleasure since they were crunchy like baby carrots in her jaws. But now in human form she munched on wild berries and roots that she dug up.
She returned to the tree with her mouth stained with berries, her knees muddy, her conscience clear. She was chewing on a sprig of mint when a rustle of undergrowth caught her attention. Trotting in her direction was a wolf with a dark tawny coat, someone she didn't know. The wolf came up and gave her a friendly sniff.
"Hi!" she barked.
"Hi," Pearl replied and sniffed back. They proceeded to sniff and snuffle each other, woman and wolf. "I haven't seen you before," Pearl said, "Are you a visitor or someone back from a mission?"
"Visitor," the wolf replied, and shook herself. "They call me Stalks Hidden. I am cliath of the Silent Striders. You must be Pearl. They told me about the grasseater. Are you sick? You don't smell sick."
Pearl laughed. After all the teasing she'd gotten, Stalks Hidden at least seemed to be honest about her concern. "No, no. You see, humans feed large amounts of food to animals which they then kill to eat. If humans stopped raising all these animals, there would be more room for the Wyld. And many people believe that all life is sacred." She blinked. "All are of Gaia and need to be respected."
The wolf eyed her dubiously. "That's good for humans, but you're not human; you're Garou. You need to eat good food."
"I'm a new Garou," Pearl said with a grimace. "It's all a little strange to me. And when I'm in homid form I should be a good example for humans to follow."
"Humans don't follow us."
"Maybe that's the problem." She stood up. "So did someone want me?"
"No, I just wanted to see the grasseater. You're an odd one, Pearl." Stalks Hidden sat down and scratched herself. "Why are you looking at that pack in the tree?"
"Oh, my mom packed some stuff in there for me but I can't get it."
"You must be short in fighting form. I'll get it."
"Wait..." but before Pearl could explain the wolf shifted into Crinos form, reached high into the tree and retrieved the pack.
"You may be weak from all the grass you eat," Stalks said. "Shall I open it for you?"
"No, no...."
There was a tearing noise and objects tumbled out of the pack. Stalks stood looking sheepishly at the broken tiedown strap. "Oops. Sorry. Sometimes I'm not good with hands."
Pearl opened her mouth to speak then closed it. Lupus, Stalks Hidden was a lupus. "That's all right," she said. "But I misspoke. It's not that I couldn't reach the pack, but I was forbidden to reach it."
"Oh," Stalks shrank back into lupus form and nosed at the items on the ground. "But I wasn't forbidden, was I?"
Careful Philodox, this could be a test. "You were not given permission, which is the more important thing."
Stalks let out an apologetic whine. Pearl's heart melted and she knelt before the wolf. "It's okay. It was an accident. Friends?"
"Friends!" And the two were soon happily rolling on the ground, Stalks licking and Pearl scratching.
"I'd better put everything back in," Pearl said and started gathering what had escaped the pack. Soap, a change of clothes, granola bars, and a small jar of peanut butter went back into the pack. She sighed as she picked her toothbrush; her mouth could use a good scrub.
Then Stalks ran over to one of the items that had spilled out of the pack. "Oooohhh! Fun thing!" She pulled out a frisbee from under an extra shirt.
"Pearl, let's play!" Tail wagging rapidly, she bounced off with the frisbee in her mouth.
"Oh, hell," Pearl muttered, and ran after the lupus. She'd stopped in a nearby field and was awaiting impatiently for Pearl to arrive. Pearl looked at the eager wolf and grinned. "Oh, well, since we're here already..."
She picked up the frisbee and threw it expertly across the field. Stalks shot after it, leaping up to catch the whirling plastic toy cleanly in her mouth.
"Easy!" she proclaimed as she returned it.
"Then let's get harder," Pearl said, her grin growing wider. She proceeded to go through the repertoire of frisbee tricks she'd learned in her years living on the Farm with a group of aging hippies. But after a while she grew tired of throwing the now slimy disk around. "Stalks, how about you toss to me awhile?"
"I'm not very good with my hands," Stalks admitted sheepishly.
"I'll help you."
"Okay, then." She shifted into human form.
Pearl blinked at Stalks' dedicated clothes. They were... very colorful and clashed with Stalks' curly brown hair and coppery skin. Stalks caught her look and spun around, displaying her raiment. "Pretty clothes!"
"Very pretty," Pearl choked on her laughter, wondering who took the lupus shopping. "Now let me show you how to throw."
They practiced throwing back and forth. Stalks was delighted at her growing success and Pearl felt glad to help her out. "You're doing very well, Stalks."
"Thanks to you." Stalks replied. "Now it's your turn to have fun; you run and catch."
"I'm afraid I've been having problems shapeshifting," Pearl said quietly. "I have to concentrate very carefully to change form."
"Maybe you're thinking too much," Stalks replied and winged the frisbee. "Just go get it!"
Pearl dug her heels into the dirt and dashed after the flying disk but she couldn't catch up to it. She picked it up and prepared to throw it back.
"No Pearl! Don't throw it. Bring it back and I'll throw again. You need practice, just like I did."
Pearl trotted back up with the disk in her hand. "I don't think I can..."
Stalks took the disk and threw it. "Don't think; do! Go, Pearl!"
Pearl gritted her teeth and took off after the disk. While Stalks was better at throwing the disk than she had been earlier, her aim was still often wild and it was very hard to follow the frisbee's erratic path. Frustrated, Pearl picked up the disk again and punched it. Damn lupus wouldn't get the best of her.
She returned to Stalks and handed over the disk. The other Garou only smiled serenely and flung it again. Speed became Pearl's friend as the frisbee became her only goal, her driving obsession.
She leaped high and clamped her jaws hard on the flying disk, puncturing the plastic. In triumph she began to trot back toward Stalks but stopped short, dropping the disk. Now in wolf form, she could feel the aliveness of the earth. She perceived the world differently, more intensely than she'd ever had before. It was if she'd been asleep, only dreaming of existence. Now she was fully awake, fully alive for the first time. She ran up to Stalks, tail wagging, then, remembering the frisbee, ran back and fetched it.
Just out of sight, two others watched the pair frolic in the field.
"They're well matched," Pearl's Uncle Dave said. "Pearl needs to learn more about her wolf nature, and Stalks needs to learn more about her human side."
The other Garou nodded. "They look like they're bonding well. Most of my Tribe are loners, but Stalks is a lupus. She's lonely without a pack of some sort. They should make good packmates."
"I'm glad things seem to be working out," Dave replied quietly. "We don't have much time."
"I know."