The Real Bite

What if I told you that everything you knew about wareanimals was wrong? They aren't born that way, they are not bitten in, and it's not a course, it's something... a little more odd... A little of my back story, I'm Samira, I'm a textbook normal 16 year old. I live with my mother, father and the terrible triplets, my younger brothers - Jason, Weston and Toby. We are just an average family, living in Sydney. I am taller than the average woman, almost 6 foot tall, I have weird eyes that can't make up their mind if they are green or blue, and in all honesty, I can't remember what colour my natural hair colour is. My mother, Angela, has beautiful red hair and a firey passion, her animal half is a fox, my father, Geoff, a balding man with grey hair, which has strangely been grey for as long as I remember, his animal... an eagle. The triplets are all blonde hair blue eyes terrors. We are just a big mixed up family Now back to the interesting stuff.. All children across the world are born human, we go to school, learn to share, make friends, increase our knowledge, pass tests, play sports, and compete against each other. Everyone was brought up to become a good person and make correct decisions in life. What they do with their knowledge, is up to them. We were told while growing up that at 17, each young person would go to the selecting ceremony, a secret event, that no one ever talks about.. and they come out with their animal, or no animal at all (and stay human). I always found the whole thing weird, and so interesting, like I'm Fascinated... I must have looked at every website, read a thousand books to try and find out what happens, can I prepare? Will I be like my mum, or my dad? What happens if I don't get an animal? these questions have whirled around my head since the day I was told about the ceremony, but to keep it all a secret and keep everyone guessing they have mixed fairytales with outright lies, and maybe a hint of the truth? All I know is that we are not like the books. Not tied to the moon, are not blood thirsty (I hope) and our animal half is not a separate entity, it's just you, a little more animalistic. So here I am, on a Thursday evening, reading a book, 50km from home, when I should be making the terrors' dinner... I know I should have packed up an hour ago, but I am nose deep in a fiction novel that is so inaccurate it's like it is a different planet, Well I hope.. but I have read all the available history books, so now I'm looking at fiction. so I am almost at the end of my tether.. this book is about vampires and fairies, so fake.... though.. until I was 7 I didn't know about the shifting..maybe I don't know the truth there either. learning about shifting was interesting.. imagine the birds and the bees talk, but more animal.. I'll never forget that night.. it was the first time I saw my parents animals, and I got to be around them, touch them see the shift. Mums fur was a deep burgundy, and so soft! And dad's feathers were almost silver and much coarser than I expected... and there I go loosing focus into memories. Back to the library.. I'm sitting there reading my book and procrastinating going home, when from the corner of my eye I see a yellow flash and movement in the 'grown up' area. It's where the truth about our world is I believe.. and it has wards on it!! like magical wards! I have lost 2 nails and burnt off an eyebrow trying to get in there, I just want to know.. my parents have said it's just records of the shifters births, deaths and marriages. The yellow flash was probably some adult writing their Child who's just come into age into their animal book, a book that accounts for all animals of their kind - updated with death days etc . those books give me the creeps.. they are a book that can be edited at any library in the world, and it's a live record. So if someone from Berlin comes of age, it will reflect in the book here in Sydney too . Talk about fancy magic. ok I finally feel like I have procrastinated enough. I pack up my book, I see the yellow flash again. I try to ignore it and walk away. As I get in my car I see a group of teens around my age playing in the carpark, they are playing with smoke bombs, Ah that's where the yellow flash was, it all makes sense. Time to head home. I can feel the headache already coming from being scolded for being late home and not feeding the triplets, but I really just needed me time. I'm the black sheep of the family. they would never say it, but I'm nothing like mum, dad or the triplets. but I'm also the teenage eldest daughter and there is 10 years gap between me and the twins. so I'm almost a secondary parent, especially when I have to take care of the triplets when my parents go out on their gag worthy dates, seriously they are like loved up teens. As I rush home, I quickly stop at the local takeaway to feed the family, I know I will get scolded, but at least no one will starve. I get home, call out saying I have dinner and hear a stampede running down the hallway, and just like that I'm left with a cheeseburger, a small cola and the chips that fell out of each packet.. I head to my room to finally do the homework my parents thought I was at the library doing. history of Lycans, yawn...