The Wand and the Wolf

1 - He Smelled Like A Disaster

Kyda

I nudged the small puppies with my snout, as they scampered around in the grass. Nearby, my sister lounged in the sun, her dark fur warming in the afternoon sun. I stretched and shifted back to my human form, bones crackling subtly, fur receding and replaced by dark brown skin.

"Kalina, I am leaving, I have a class in 20," I threw a daisy at my sister and she huffed as the flower hit her nose. She looked up lazily at her 3 children, who were busily burying themselves in the dirt and sighed. She shifted back also and began scooping up her litter.

"That nap was way too short, but thanks, I'm gonna go see if Ryan wants to see his neices and nephew," she flashed me a grin as she juggled the pups, one who was attempting to shift mid climb.

"Have fun with that, I have done my bit for the weekend," I said catching a puppy and settling them again for her before I quickly made myself scarce. I waved to my sister as I began jogging across the field. I passed by multiple members of the pack, greeting them quickly as I saw a group of younger wolves assembling in the training area.

"Hey!" I yelled as I caught up with them. I was greeted warmly by the younger pack members as I took position in front of them.

"Okay, for those of you who are showing up to this session for the first time this spring," I said, eyeing a few guilty faces, "I am Kyda, I recently was promoted to a fully fledged pack warrior and I will be over seeing your training until the end of the summer. In winter we will have the tournament of the warriors, and see how many of you can retain anything I say from here on out." I quickly quieted the whispers of excitement for the winter tournament. It was a huge deal for young wolves, a great way for them to prove themselves to the pack.

"Okay, shift, we are starting with a nice long run," I smiled as they groaned, pulling off their shirts and trousers, all standing in enchanted sportswear designed to withstand the shift between human and wolf, courtesy of our local witches.

I turned and began running, leaping into my wolf form mid leap, and I hurtled towards the forest. The younger wolves yipped and barked sharply as they took after me, pushing themselves to keep up.

'The point of running through the forest is all about helping your dexterity and seeing how quickly you can change your plan,' I said over the pack link as I veered sharply to the right, and leapt over a fallen log. I heard some panicked barks as they quickly tried to right themselves and I ducked under a low hanging branch, hearing the satisfying whack of it hitting another wolf behind me.

We ran for about 30 minutes, twisting and turning, ducking and leaping. At one point, I splashed through the widest part of the stream, the cool water reinvigorating their spirits. Soon, the fauna of the forest began to change. More and more brightly coloured flowers sprung from the ground and crawled up the tree trunks. The trees themselves were shifting and curling into towering masses. We had reached the heavenly thicket, home to the fairies and pixies.

“Okay, we have entered the Heavenly Thicket, keep your eyes peeled for pixies, they don’t like wolves trampling on their plants. And for the love of Ozidia, do not eat anything you don’t recognise, I will leave you out here!” I called out over the pack bond as I carefully leapt over the row of mushrooms and headed deeper into the thicket. I liked this part of the woods, the atmosphere here was electric compared to the normal serenity of the limeacre woods. The magic that was concentrated in the ground beneath us made the place hum with power that you couldn’t help but bask in.

As we reached a small clearing I slowed to a stop, satisfied with the run so far and watching the younger wolves collapse beside me in furry heaps. I sat down and shifted back, stretching out my legs.