And so it went. With that final kiss, that final tight hug, they left, setting out on their own to try and figure things out themselves. Tears flowed freely from her eyes, but she didn’t look back; She couldn’t look back, not once.<br/><br/>Once at the cabin, she was quiet, brooding, thinking over what would happen the following day. A goodnight was given, but nothing else, as she drifted off into a troubled sleep.<br/><br/>...Things didn’t improve the next day, however. Far from it. She was antsy, worried, unable to think about anything else but the coming full moon. Part of her feared it, feared what would happen after seeing how he’d shifted, changed in front of her and the obvious pain he’d gone through. Who would willingly want to feel that? Embrace that? However, there was another part of her that<span style="font-style: italic">wanted</span>to embrace it, to feel the pain, to shift into the very monster that her father feared her to be.<br/><br/>As night drew in, she felt like her skin was alive, that she could feel each individual hair on her body burning as her skin sought to remove itself from her slight form. She was almost jittery, toe tapping frantically whenever she stopped pacing, and her pacing was angry, heavy steps. “Do…Do I go outside? Do I stay in here? I don’t…I don’t know what I’m doing,” Eilidh said for what felt like the hundredth time, staring out the window with a hard gaze. Whirling around on him with a wild sort of gaze, one that shifted from the usual Eilidh to a different one, a more…animalistic one—back and forth—she continued. “I want to run, but curl up in a ball! I want to feel every bone in my body breaking and reforming, but I don’t! Eidhin, what am I doing?! Make this stop already!”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000"> That night they had made the cabin feel more like <span style="font-style: italic">home</span>, stuff unpacked and put away before they crawled under the furs together for a night’s rest, troubled though it was. The next day was no better and like her he too felt the effects of the approaching darkness, felt the call of the heavenly body even before it had begun to rise into the night sky. Fortunately for him, the beast and he had long come to a compromise at this time. On nights like this he was more liberal with his control of the wolf, allowed it to come to the surface more. Those nights Eidhin felt more confident, more dominant and instinctual than he ever did otherwise. <br/> <br/>This was the man who came out this night, the one who regarded Eilidh with a calculating gaze and allowed her to pace a bit before he even offered some advice.<br/> <br/>“Let’s take it outside,” he stated and opened the door for her to allow to exit first. Once outside he gave her some space, “Can you feel her yet?” he asked. “Can you feel your wolf? You need to not fight it and invite her to come forth, invite her to come and share the world with you,” he began to pace himself, the excitement of running with another of his kind already getting to him. “The bones are going to hurt the most, but you have to let it happen, you have to give in to her and let her run free,” there was a soft and soothing quality to his voice while he felt his own body get that familiar burning and itching sensation of something trying to claw its way out.<br/> <br/>“Let her out….”<br/> <br/>The moon was now high in the sky and there was no going back, no more words of encouragement he could give. Now it was up to her and her wolf to make the change happen.</span><br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">Take it outside, right,</span>she thought, though her eyes flashed in anger as she wanted to continue in the house, to keep herself contained. But, as he’d done it before, she followed his advice without an outward thought, stalking through the door before resuming her pacing.<br/><br/>This couldn’t possibly be right. Nothing felt right. Her body felt like it was on fire, the clothes she wore beginning to feel too tight, too hot. She wanted to tear them from her, along with her skin, to try and get some relief from the heat as another sensation joined in and had her whirling about on him as he told her to let her out. Told her to embrace it. “Why would I want to let her out?!” she snapped, eyes wide despite their narrowed demeanor. “It’s because of her that I’m going to become this…this…”<br/><br/>A twitch, her head snapping to the side as another voice invaded her mind, egging her on, goading her.<span style="font-style: italic">Shift…</span>it cooed.<span style="font-style: italic">Let me out…Let me out, Eilidh.</span>Another snap of her head, to the opposite side as the air seemed to leave her lungs. A crack, nearly deafening to her own ears, resounded throughout the woods as she dropped, spine protruding awkwardly as she loosed a cry, dropping to her hands and knees.<br/><br/>“I’m not! Letting this! Out!”<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">Let me out, Eilidh!</span>it cried to her, louder this time, more forceful.<span style="font-style: italic">Let me out!</span><br/><br/>Another crack as her spine cracked again, shoulder following suit as her torso contorted into an awkward angle. “Make it stop, Eidhin! Please!”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000"> Already his fangs had begun to crest through his gums, elongated and protruding slightly past his lips. In sync with her own transformation his body burned, each labored breath caused his chest to heave. A fine cloud of his heated breath misted before him despite the otherwise warm weather, so hot was his own body in comparison.<br/> <br/>“I can’t stop her,” he half growled while he knelt before her on all fours. “You have to let her out! She is part of you now…” a sickening crack and pop from his own spine halted and interrupted his thought process for a moment and it took a shake of his head to regain focus so that he could continue once again. “Listen to the woods…feel the world... you are now tied far more intimately than you ever were before. We are as one with nature in a way that humans long forgot…feel the earth, listen to her song…can you hear it? Can you hear the woods? Hear them calling to you…”<br/> <br/>Panting had set in and his back arched while he groaned in a mixture of pain and pleasure from the sense of freedom he felt with each passing moment. “Let her out, Eilidh…let her out and run with me…”</span><br/><br/>Her head was shaking, fingers digging into the ground beneath her palms as more bones broke. Her breath was nearly nonexistent as everything became excruciating. She couldn’t even continue to hold herself up as her arms started in, breaking, elongating as the bones reformed. Her muscles felt like they were being stretched, ripped, pulled in every different direction. The entirety of her body felt like it was getting ready to explode while the presence in her head grew stronger.<br/><br/>Did she hear the woods, feel the earth or listen to the song? No, all she heard was her own labored breaths, her bones reforming. She couldn’t even<span style="font-style: italic">see</span>the woods anymore as her eyes had long since squeezed shut, burning and unfocused before she’d given up holding tight to Eidhin’s visage so close to her own.<br/><br/>The longer this continued, the pain nearly too much, praying for death…another sound joined in. Ripping. Her clothing was becoming too much, too constricting, painful. Her shirt had begun to give way, but nothing else was giving as easily. Fists clenching, she let out a sort of guttural sound before instinct kicked in and started shredding at it. Yes, the movement of her limbs hurt as she sought to rid herself of the fabric, but it needed doing. It hurt too much to keep it on, far outweighing the pain she felt from the removal itself.<br/><br/>It continued on, the pain, the itching as she scratched harder at her skin. Harder and harder as the smell of copper began to fill the air, but then stopped as she healed, as her body reformed, continued its transformation. Where she’d been scratching at skin, something new was felt beneath her touch. Fur. A growl of pain came from her, far less human than the last cry she’d let out, as her jaw broke and reformed, as her skull shifted and grew.<br/><br/>…And then nothing. The pain was receding, her breathing was evening out, her heart’s beat was changing to something of a normal state for this new frame.<br/><br/>Eyes opening, she took in the world with her new gaze. Everything was sharper, clearer than it’d ever been before. The smells—oh god, the smells—were nearly too much, coming at her from all sides. Where did she focus on? Where did she go to? Where did she<span style="font-style: italic">want</span>to go to? It was only when she stood that she noticed how much taller she’d gotten, golden eyes staring out with an animalist, predatory, ears flicking in every which direction as new sounds caught her attention. A rustle of leaves in one area, shifting of a tree in another…footsteps of…some kind off in even another.<br/><br/>Maybe the pain was worth it? If this was what it felt like to be one…she had yet to see a downside.<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000"> When she shifted he shifted, the wolf brought forth in a mix of pain and excitement. There he stood before her, towered over her and watched her. Beautiful; that was what she was; a true sight to behold. There she stood in the woods, freshly turned and embracing a side that he long had to live with on his own. Now, here she was, his friend and family to share in a life that once seemed so bleak and hopeless.<br/> <br/>Unable to control himself much longer he wrapped his arms about her and picked her up in a huge hug. Promptly she was put down, though he indulged in some nuzzles against her neck and a playful nip at her ear.  When he backed off he took a few steps toward the woods, before he looked back over his shoulder at her. Another look to the woods and then back to her, before he took off at a dead run.<br/> <br/>It was time to run; it was time to be free. It was time for her first….hunt.</span><br/><br/>So focused on the world she’d not seen in such crystal clarity before, she didn’t look immediately in his direction. No, the song he’d spoken of was playing loud in her mind, along with every sound in existence; Or, so it sounded. She could have sworn that she could hear the call of some poor bird miles away. Yes, it wasn’t possible to hear so clearly so far away, but it didn’t stop her from feeling like she’d heard it. Each rustle of a leaf was loud, distracting, only overshadowed by the sound closest to her.<br/><br/>That sound alone pulled her back into her immediate vicinity, watching as the figure rose up, standing above her, dwarfing her even with this new form. Her eyes weren’t sure where to look, tracing over each furred contour of his frighteningly powerful frame when he rushed her, feet lifting off of the ground. Arms naturally embracing him, even as he put her down, she returned the nuzzles, eyes alight with something akin to humor in their golden depths.<br/><br/>In her mind, he backed away too quickly. He looked away, and her eyes followed the motion, obvious question in her gaze that went momentarily unanswered. Only when he broke off into a run did she chase after him. This…this felt right. This felt like what she’d needed: the world flying by her in a blur, her best friend at her side. It was overwhelming, yes, to see, smell and feel everything in such a new way all at once. But, he was right there with her, so she felt completely at ease.<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">Through woods they ran, their feet pounded the earth, claws digging deep into the soft ground. All around them the world was a blur, it all passed by them at such a rate that the rest of the world might have as well been moving at a snail pace. Up and over a fallen log, across a small stream they ran together and Eidhin could not remember when he had felt so alive. Could not remember the last time he had felt so at peace and happy with the world around him. To have her at his side, to have his best friend with him, a member of his pack; there were no words. <br/><br/>More, he wanted to do more with her, to share more with her. Though the man was unsure of what that what was, the wolf on the other hand knew just what they should do and adjusted their course accordingly. At a thick patch of brush he stopped and crouched down low behind it on all fours, his senses already honed in on their target. <br/><br/>As the scent drifted toward them so too did the sounds, the unmistakable sound of snuffling from a small herd of boar as they rooted about for something to eat. His stomach growled at the sight of them, his body already demanding a form of sustenance for the run they just did. This meal was not going to be easy, not by a long shot; boars were notorious for their aggression. Human hunters only hunted them from the safety of a tree and even then they never went down easy. However, for a werewolf, this was the kind of prey they lived for. Something that was tough, dangerous and a challenge; perfect for the two of them to hunt together.<br/><br/>Ears lay back against his head, he nodded to the boar then whimpered at her followed by a low growl; Hoping to convey that he wanted to hunt them, that he wanted to hunt with her.</span><br/><br/>For the first time in her life, Eilidh felt truly free.<br/><br/>There were times in her life that she’d<span style="font-style: italic">thought</span>she felt free. It was why she went outside so much, hiked into the mountains and took advantage of her time alone. She felt close to nature then, in sync with it all. Her phone was generally left off, or it was on vibrate if she expected any calls from Eidhin or their mother; Lorcan never called her directly, messages being passed from Aine to her in short order. But, to get a call always felt wrong while she was out there, like it was disturbing the peace of it all, disrupting the natural balance bringing something of that design in there.<br/><br/>Here, now...it was different. This blew every spiritual and freeing experience she’d had to date. This was the first time she’d felt…<span style="font-style: italic">alive</span>.<br/><br/>The sound of something up ahead caught her attention, crouching almost at the same time as he did. All of her senses tuned into this sound, into this scent that traveled on the breeze toward them. There was a new need joining in with all the other urges she was feeling, one she wasn’t at all accustomed to, but one she was fully willing to give into. So, all she gave to his whimper, his growl was the quietest of growls back, moving away from him to flank the boar on the other side, sure to keep him in her sight so that when he gave the cue, she’d see it. So that when he wanted to move in, she’d move in and take them down.<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">Tension. It began to build in the air between, began to build around them like a taut cable ready to snap. There, in the bushes, all of their focus was on the prey before them the rest of the world all but dissipated from conscious thought. These were the moment that they would live for, these moments of closeness when they were together as one. When they were a pack!<br/><br/>At that moment a twig snapped and it was like the signal gun at the start of a race. Eidhin was off like a racehorse on all fours he charged the boar without a fear or worry in the world. Why should he worry now? He was no longer alone, no longer on his own. No, now he had E, she was there at his side and there she would remain, as it had always been meant to be. So, when the boar and he collided there was enough force to send the both of them into a tree. There was a loud crack from when his head impacted with the trunk of the tree; a groan of pain emitted from both him and the boar. Neither was done just yet, as was evident when boar jerked its head and managed to gore him in the shoulder. <br/><br/>A howl of pain now tore from his lips as he clawed at the beast and tried to find some kind of weakness or opening.</span><br/><br/>On the edge of that proverbial cliff, Eilidh waited for the mark. She waited for the go ahead that they were attacking this thing head on, still as the grave, hunkered lower to the ground with her eyes ever trained on their mark. Her breathing was even, quiet, as her heart raced, pumping adrenaline through her veins while the wolf eagerly waited.<br/><br/>It was only that Eidhin had yet to move that kept her from making a break for it herself. But, he was her alpha. She’d await his go.<br/><br/>...And then the twig snapped and they bolted. He took the frontal assault, while she booked it to go around the other, ready to sink her teeth in. The sickening crack of bodies hitting the tree had her all the more focused, had her itching to tear into that boar and rip it apart, if only in the name of revenge for the pain Eidhin was feeling just then. That urge was only fueled further by the goring into his shoulder, a sight she caught while bumrushing it. Jaw open and a growl loosing, she latched onto its flailing body, teeth sinking into its stomach while her arms latched about the middle of it.<br/><br/>The moment blood touched her tongue, a sense of euphoria took hold, causing her to tear in further. She was unable to stop. The blood, the adrenaline. This boar was the only thing supplying that, and her body was now on autopilot, claws digging in and tearing at its hide while her teeth did the rest.<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">The boar screamed, Eidhn screamed and then the world became bathed in red. In all of her glory, there stood his sister covered in blood with her fangs buried into the throat of the boar. A howl was let loose into the forest, strong, powerful and proud of her kill; of their kill. This was their first kill as a family, as a pack and Eidhin was beyond thrilled. Once the beast was dead he gave a growl and nudged her aware from the kill. Though she had been the one to kill it, he was the Alpha of this pack and would take his rightful portion first. <br/><br/>When she backed away, he tore a huge chunk of meat for himself; more like the leg front leg. With it hoarded away he happily used his powerful jaws to crack into the bone to go after the marrow that was there. Every so often he would glance back at her, but he could not help himself as he shielded his meal from her, as if he thought she would try and take it. <br/><br/>Instincts were instincts.</span><br/><br/>More, she needed more. Her teeth were thoroughly embedded in the beast, snarling beneath her breath while she tore deeper into it, unwilling to declare it dead until she was certain she’d had enough. Even at his insistence, the need in her was strong enough to momentarily ignore the direction of her alpha, growling in response to his growl. But, after the nudge, she snapped out of it enough to back away, albeit begrudgingly, awaiting her turn at the animal as patiently as she could.<br/><br/>Patience that was tossed out the window the moment he tore off his piece and hoarded it away from her. Jumping back onto it, she tore into its stomach, ripping it apart before being satisfied to grab some of the meat around its ribs and taking it to her own corner. Eyes ever on Eidhin, she carefully shielded her own food, gnawing on the bone and lapping at the marrow that was readily exposed.<br/><br/>The longer the feeding continued, the more content the wolf became. She no longer felt like tearing into someone (at that moment, anyway). All the pent up rage and motivation that she had from the day before, the feeling of being trapped, was relieved. Bone picked clean, she kept chewing on it, relaxing on the ground in the dying heat of the carcass some feet off.