Lost and Found Bearcat Bites

A mother? I find myself coming back to my pack on four legs instead of the two; I walked out on and with a small furry bundle. I have been gone from home for the last week, since it was a week ago when I lost my pups. It wasn't anyone's fault, it was just bad timing and a horrible accident. I left to grieve. Two days away in my wolf form was when I came across the small furry bundle, with a small meow hiccup like noise that was hungry. With my pups newly lost, I was still very capable of taking care of the little thing. So I took them close and led them up to get a drink from me. For three days we waited in the safe little valley they were left in and hoped that who or whatever had left them would come back. Then we journeyed back to my home. I feel like they are shifter too, but I've never seen this kind of furry critter cub before. They are mine now, my little miracle, a light when I was in so much darkness. I lost mine in an accident and found salvation in a small meow hiccup bundle. "Marissa, what have you got there?" was called out to me by my sister-in-law. "I'm gonna call them Angel, and they were out there alone too." Then I took them inside for us to start our lives again with each other. **** We quickly became the talk of the town, my angel and I. She, for it seems she's a girl and a shifter with bright green eyes and cute brown curly hair in her human form. Angel knows how to run well in both forms. Her little tail helps her get around sort of like a monkey, and she swings all over the house. She makes all the ladies giggle as she runs around naked and constantly changes from one form to another seamlessly. The other children watch her in wonder, as they won't be able to switch between forms for many years (sometime in their 12th to 16th years for the wolves). Her days have been spent shadowing me and avoiding all the other children. I'm sure it's just an adjustment like how she was with me. "AAAAAAAAAAA," I hear yelling from around the corner, and I am seen running to find my little bundle that has misplaced me. I call her "Angel" and she calls me "Attai-mu." She has no other words that I catch, that one is definitely for me. Our understandings are found mostly through the signs she takes to very quickly and other non-verbal queues. Today, when she finds me, she climbs me like a tree and starts jabbering, signing and growling, pointing from the direction she came from. Her annoyance pops their heads around the corner, and she stops talking and points at the team of five-year-olds from our local school. I've not had her going as I prefer to give her more one-on-one care so she can try to learn our language and culture. Angel takes to our non-verbal much faster than our verbal, and she has yet to say anything other than what she calls me. ***** I've had Angel for 5 years now and officially named her AnnieAngel Maple Bluewolf. All the wolves in my pack have the same last name to make it easier to know who to think of as family (though sometimes folks find their mates in the same pack it is generally not done). I gave her the Maple middle name to reference the tree grove/valley I had found her in, and her love of maple syrup. If I let her she would live off the stuff. She now speaks our language more than the one she started with, and she still calls me Attai-mu. Each day I drop her off at school and quietly remind her that clothes are required in human form and that it's best not to shift when I'm not around. While her human form is nearly 38 inches tall, her furry one is only about half that at 10 inches for her body and 11 inches of tail. Reaching out to other packs, it was discovered she is a Binturong or Bear-cat.... which explains so many of her qualities. She is like a raccoon, teasing others and giggling all the time, but insanely clean. She keeps me smiling and happy and I can't imagine where I would be if I hadn't found her. Her curiosity is huge, and we spend most of the days explaining the dangers of various choices. I love how her big green eyes follow me and smile and giggle as often as possible. Today we both feel ready for her to join the other kids at school. I watch her feeling a sudden bout of loneliness at the idea that she won't be with me all day. She has made my heart heal from the loss of my own cub. I find waking up feeling light and happy comes more days than it doesn't. My Angel is so excited to learn what this school has to offer. On my way to the kitchen to make breakfast, I can hear her humming and singing happy noises as she gets ready for day one. She makes lots of bouncing happy noises. I've decked her room out like humans do for their cats. It has big shelves and her bed is a hammock that is secured to the roof. She climbs up there in either form and, when she has too much energy, it sounds like a parade of elephants coming downstairs as she runs around the different levels. I have a couple pools and bars there for her to swing from and balance across. She moves like a monkey. Why walk when she can hop, swing, tumble and run about? I love her fearlessness in all her movements in the world. "Angel, it's time to go! Come down and grab your breakfast so we can start the walk to school." I call up to her and promptly hear a loud "THUMP" at the end of the hallway. " Are you okay, Angel?" "Mmmmm, Okay Attai-mu" she comes in, running breathless, rubbing her rump. "I just kinda fell down the stairs as i was putting my shoes on! But look, I'm all dressed and ready!" she does a quick dance around in a circle in front of me. "You look great, Angel!" I laugh and serve her up some eggs and rice. While she leaves after eating breakfast, she walks to the school that just yesterday we had gone to together for the orientation night. When we got home she announced to me proudly, "I can do that walk by myself tomorrow!" I miss her already as she moves and grows a little more. It's now that I realize she is my little girl, and I'm her mother.