A Sense of Mate

Glowy Animals

    I must have fallen asleep not long after Dad had left my room.  It was Esti who woke me up, scratching at my mind.  "Jessa, you need to wake up" she pawed at me.  I rolled over to my side trying to ignore her.   

    "Jess, please".  I put the pillow over my head.

    "JESSA WAKE UP!" she growled at me that time.

    I flung the pillow off my head grumpily.  "For the love of all that is the goddess, what is it Es?" I snapped.  I looked over at the clock, it was three-oh-five a.m

     "Something's changed, I feel different. Stronger." Esti was no longer pawing at me, it was like she was vibrating inside my head.  Esti was right though, something had definitely changed.  Our wolf link had grown heavier.

     I'd heard stories from my parents and others about what happens on your shift birthday.  How your wolf goes from being just a familiar voice at the back of your head, scratching, pawing and niggling to be heard.  To then have the ability to come forward to the front.  Urge you to shift.  Take over when your angry and over-emotional.

    What I could feel from Esti now was intense.  My skin buzzed all over with electricity and excitement.  I couldn't lie still in my bed.  I needed to get up and move.  No, to run.  Only it wasn't me that wanted to run it was Esti.  She wanted to break free and stretch.  A pang of guilt rushed over me that I couldn't let her.  Not yet anyway.  We both had to wait.

    "Sorry Esti, we will both have to settle for walking around the room for now" I apologised.

    I got up from the bed, popped the lamp on and then stood up to shake off the sleep, as well as the static buzz on my skin.  I walked slowly around my room,  this was probably the last night I would be in here so I took extra care looking over my pictures and ornaments.  I've got a bit of a thing for owls, and every winter solstice my parents bought me a new owl figurine.  I wonder if they'll let me take them with me when I leave?

    I headed over to the mirror, to see what kind of baggage was under my eyes.  I gasped when I saw my reflection.  It wasn't me I could see in the mirror.  It was mine and Esti's wolf image. 

I was surprised by how much our fur was like my natural hair colouring; Jet black with natural deep red highlights.  The only difference was that the red highlights now tipped our ears, and flecked sporadically around our muzzle and mane.  Our eyes were bright iridescent green, with golden edges.

    "Esti" I whispered.  "How is it I can see you like this?"

    "It's our bond Jessa", she said proudly.  "It will always be strong, but right now it is at it's strongest.  We are one!".

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   It felt as though I'd been staring at Esti for hours, probably a little self-indulgent of me, but I was in awe of how beautiful she, I mean we, looked.  It wasn't the breaking dawn that pulled me away from the mirror, it was a dim green glow that had appeared from the corner of my eye.  I turned and looked around my room to find the light source, nothing. 

    "Es, I think staring at us in the mirror is affecting my eyesight, or I'm just uber tired," I said to her, as I rubbed my eyes.

    "I don't think so Jessa, I saw it too". Esti replied.

    "Well, whatever it was has gone", I say and look over at the alarm clock.  I can't help but groan when I see the time, it's four o'clock.  If I'm lucky, I can squeeze in a couple of hours sleep before the alarm goes off for school and the rest of today's events.  I head over to the bed and curl up on my side, the dawn may be breaking through the ocean alcove, but the night is still present in the forest window.    I concentrate on the darkness, emptying my mind, and willing my eyelids to grow heavy.  Just when I think sleep is about to take hold my eyes are forced to open with the loudest owl screech I have ever heard.  Then from the forest window, I see it, the green glow.

     I quickly move from the bed to the window, but I don't need to scan the dark line of cedar trees at the front of the house to locate where the light is.  From my new position, it's pretty hard to miss.  The glow is not so gentle, and I have to squint my eyes to locate it properly.  Although I can't actually make sense of the light, it is definitely coming from one of the high branches.  I run through a series of possibilities - hopped up fireflies?  ooh, a radioactive squirrel perhaps? or maybe the conspiracy troupe have it right and it's one of the little green men?  Granted the first two are ridiculous ideas, for starters, I don't think I've ever seen a firefly in LoneBay, and the nearest nuclear plant is at least a couple of hundred miles away  - I think.  Aliens though, that one is a strong contender.  I know people say they're not real, but when you think about it people say that about werewolves, and well I know for a complete fact that we exist.

    As I continue to watch the beautiful bright green light, it takes me by surprise as it moves to another branch, but it does more than move, it screeches - like an owl - what the hell?   Maybe I got it right with the radioactive theory, but an owl instead of a squirrel.  I hear Esti chuckle in my mind.

    "What's so funny Es? You come up with a better explanation" I scowl at her.  I can feel her grinning at me but she stays quiet.  I turn my attention back to the green creature, staring intensely as it hops to another nearby branch.  I found myself stuck mid-stare, you know that thing that happens when you're staring at something, but you become fully aware that you are staring, and no matter what you try, you can't break the eye-lock. Yeah, that happened, but that stare forced me to almost look through the light and focus on what was in the middle.  It wasn't an alien, it was actually a very large owl, and floating all around it like some kind of energy field was a bright green light.  I held my gaze as long as I could, but it was broken when the owl hopped off the branch and disappeared.

    I stared out into the tree line with a sense of disbelief at what I had just seen but hoping the owl would come back, so I could prove to myself that I wasn't going crazy. 

    "You're not going crazy Jess" Esti sighs.

    "What else then?" I ask as I walk back over to the bed.  "I doubt that any sane person would admit to seeing what we just did.  I mean think about it logically Es, given everything that happened yesterday, stress-induced crazy isn't too far of a stretch." 

    "I think you know what it is Jessa, and crazy has nothing to do with it" Esti soothes.

    "Don't say it's my ability Es, just don't" I snap at her. 

    "Jessa"

    "What Es?" I can feel myself getting tearfully frustrated.  "When the Alpha summons us and demands to know what we can do what am I gonna tell him? That I see glowy animals? he'll kill us on the spot". With that, I push my face into my pillow and sob.

  "Look we both need some sleep, we don't even know if that was your true ability.  Let's rest on it and we can figure it out in the morning, okay".

    Esti's right, again!  Sleep is needed.  I lay back down on the bed and curl on to my side.  I close my eyes, but it's hard to shake the image of the beautiful green owl, and the sudden realisation that my ability may have consequences on my life.