At Wits End

Breaking free

No Eli ! You have to think like a fox, picture your fur and how soft and colorful it is. Feel your paws and soil under the pads of your feet. Feel the wind on your whiskers tickling you and then open your eyes!

We'd been practicing our shifting all week and today Eli wanted to try being a fox but she gets so tickled trying to think like one that she starts laughing while she's trying to concentrate and then looses all her focus.

I see it! I'm running with the wind blowing through my fir

You're doing great!

I see some leaves shifting about

You've almost got it

And I pounce on them and roll around! She bursts into a fit of laughter and giggles as I huff in frustration trying to hold back the grin that I can feel trying to break through.

Come on Eli you have to stay focused this is important!

I know but I can't help it! They're so cute and fluffy and the way they pounce looks so silly! She says while trying to find her breath.

What if you went searching for berries or went to help a fallen birds egg and a human wondered through? You have to be able to cloak yourself and get back to your tree goofball! You can't be standing there giggling hoping to blind them with laughter. I sassed trying to look as serious as possible which was hard with her contagious giggles filling the air around me.

I could just sing to them! They like when we sing and they're nicer after they've heard a song too!

So you're going to sing to every person you see?

Well why not?

Don't you think people might start asking questions when half the village just doesn't come back from the forest?

Oh. She looks at her fidgeting feet with a blush covering her olive cheeks as she fails to fight off a grin.

Yeah oh. I lightly chuckle. You can't have them all missy! So we have to practice shifting into any form so that we can always hide which means you HAVE to FOCUS! I stress the last part slowly to make sure she hears every syllable.

Maybe later but I gotta go now!

What? Where?! Wait Elowen come back! I scream out as I watch her retreating form. All I can hear is the faint sound of her voice in the distance.

I'll tell the others how much you miss them! I promise!

Those are the last words I hear before I feel my body begin to stir and my eyes slowly open. I let out a deep sigh. I remember that day. It had to have been a couple thousand years ago give or take a century or so. We were just young sproutlings trying to master our cunning so we could one day protect the beautiful land that gave us life. We were so young and innocent without a worry or care in the world back then. We practiced all the way into the night before she finally stopped laughing at all her silly thoughts and shifted into her first fox transformation, of course the first thing she did was pounce around trying to catch every leaf and acorn she saw. She even chased a bunny for about half a mile before she realized the bunny wasn't playing with her and then cried for two hours that she'd scared the precious sweetie half to death. I remember laughing at her tears and comforting her by telling her the bunny needed his exercise and that she'd actually helped the poor thing from growing lazy. She didn't find it as funny as me but it did seem to make her smile a little that night. I always felt a twinkle of pride in myself when I could brighten her day. She was always such a sunny person all by herself so when she did need me it meant so much to be able to give her a little of what she gave me every day.