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The Coyote's Ring

The shop was located near an old theater, nestled near the back of main street. It's old wooden sign hung above the door, swinging lazily in the early autumn wind. Dust covered windows kept her from seeing more than a few feet inside.

Tala stepped up onto the sidewalk. The place was perfect. An old antique store, out of the way and seemingly abandoned. If she was going to find a good deal anywhere, it would be here.

The sharp ring of a bell greeted her as she slowly pushed open the front door. Tall shelves covered in cloth lined the walls, forming a labyrinth of artifacts and antiquities. A counter set off to the side drew her attention. Sitting at it was an old man, hunched over, face in a massive ledger.

"Welcome, welcome!" He said, not looking up from the book. Despite the intensity of his greeting, his voice was flat and disinterested. He raised an arm and gestured to the side. "Books and costumes are to the left, jewelry and dinnerware to the right."

"Oh, um, alright." Tala responded. The apparent shop owner was rude, but there weren't many places nearby that she could get to. Besides, maybe he was having a bad day. She didn't know what was going on in his life.

He finally looked up, small eyes squinting at her from beneath heavy eyebrows. "You break it, you buy. Got it?"

Tala nodded and scurried off to the right. She didn't have much time. It was getting late, and she needed to find something unique so she could identify and write about it tomorrow. Her report on historical objects counted for 12% of her grade for that semester, and she needed all the time she could get to identify whatever she found.

Down the right path she went, sliding and twisting between the dust covered shelves. Rows of China -like the old man had said- lined the path. Tala stopped and browsed for a bit. None of them looked especially old or valuable though. Was that a Bill Clinton commemorative plate? That couldn't possibly be worth more than $20.

Of course, I don't want something too valuable. She thought. Her college didn't exactly give her money for research grants, so it would be nice to find something practical and cheap. Something she could either sell afterwards or keep and use.

Past the dishware and tarnished silver cutlery was the jewelry, lined up neatly in glass cabinets. Rows of pendants, rings, and bracelets sat nestled into cloth pillows. There were some surprisingly good pieces back there, as well as some- less than ideal ones. Who on Earth would spend $40 on a Kermit the Frog bracelet? She wondered, gawking at the green and silver piece.

Tala sighed and checked her watch. 5:32 already. If she was going to get something, she'd have to choose quickly. Her eyes ran over the jewelry, searching for something.

A small ring near the back rows caught her eye. Made out of what looked like mildly tarnished gold, it had a silver paw on the front -the four small paw pads each having a small gemstone set into them.

Perfect. She thought. It didn't look like it was plastic, nor did it have that telltale seam marking it as the mass-produced product of an industrial mold.

"Find anything you like?" A voice said.

Tala looked up, startled. The shopkeeper had appeared seemingly from nowhere on the other side of the case. How had he snuck up on her? Those old bones must be more agile than she thought.

"Could I see that ring in the back? The one with the wolf's paw on it, please." Tala asked, pointing to it. The old man rolled his eyes, seemingly annoyed at her request. Tala groaned internally. What was his problem? He pulled a small key from his pocket and unlocked the case before passing it to her.

"$55 big ones, if you can afford it." He said. His mouth split open to reveal two rows of yellow stained teeth. Tala furrowed her brow. What did that mean? Sure, she wasn't wearing the fanciest clothing, but why would she be in here if she couldn't afford it?

"Excuse me? What's that supposed to mean?" She asked, pushing back.

The shopkeeper took a small step back, apparently surprised to be called out by the small girl. "I. I just meant. I just saw that-"

"That I was what? Navajo?" Tala spit out. She held up her arm, showing her tanned skin. The ring -still in her palm- caught the light. A ray struck the ruby set into the front exactly, casting small beams of red light across her skin.

The man sighed, shaking his head. "Whatever. Do you want the ring or not?"

"I don't know. After what just happened, I think $55 is a little too high. Don't you think?" She said with a small smile.

The shopkeeper sneered. "Fine. $30 is the lowest I can go. Now take it and get out."

Tala tossed a few bills on the counter and turned towards the door, slipping the ring in her pocket. It felt good to call someone out like that. Every day she faced ridiculous crap like that. It wasn't her fault she'd been born with skin the color of caramel. Just because most people were mature and sensible enough to look past it didn't mean there weren't a few bad apples in the orchard.

The shopkeeper yelled out from the back as she neared the door. "You'll regret this you know! Not all prices are apparent!"

Tala just rolled her eyes and stepped out the door. Crazy old racist.

...

Wikipedia had nothing. Running a reverse image search showed nothing either. Tala groaned and threw her head back. Four hours of searching every available medium she had had yielded no results. It's like the ring just didn't exist, or was a unique piece.

"Well, there goes thirty bucks and four hours I'll never get back." She muttered, reverting back to her habit of speaking out loud when alone. She couldn't find anything on the ring. Even using a magnifying glass hadn't show any hidden inscription or identifying mark on the inside of the band.

Tala stared at the ring sitting on her desk. At least it was a pretty thing. And admittedly, it hadn't been too expensive.

Not all prices are apparent!

She remembered the words of the shopkeeper, then shook her head. It didn't mean anything; he was just annoyed at being called out. Old guy probably wasn't used to people fighting back against his ignorance. Tala grabbed the ring and held it up to the light.

A small scratch on the side from her pen had confirmed that the main band was indeed gold, but she had no idea if the silver paw or the gems set into it were real. It didn't matter. She was gonna fail anyways. The paper was due that Monday, and she didn't dare go back to that store.

At least she got a nice ring out of it. Tala picked up the band and slipped it onto her middle right finger. It fit snugly, quickly warming up at her body heat. The red, orange, blue, and purple gems weren't the most visually appealing; not fitting into any apparent pattern or color scheme -but it was a nice piece overall.

Tala sighed. Might as well get to bed, and start fresh the next morning. She could probably get a ride from her roommate to the city just an hour away and spend the day searching there. Tala went to pull the ring off and get ready for bed.

The band stuck, refusing to budge. Tala pulled harder, thinking it was just stuck. The ring seemed to be sealed to her skin, the flesh moving with it. No amount of effort would get it to shift even a fraction of a centimeter.

"Dammit." She hissed under her breath. Just her luck too. Tala stood up from her desk and headed to the door. There was vegetable oil in the kitchen that should loosen it.

She stopped as the room swam in front of her. Had she stood up too quickly? She wasn't the shortest person, but there's no way she should have gotten dizzy from that. And had the room always looked so muted and gray?

Tala stopped in her tracks. Something was clearly wrong. She looked down at her hands, and at the ring. The red and purple gems had faded to gray, and her skin looked weak and pale. What...

Warmth flooded her body, emanating out from the ring on her finger. Her vision wavered again, and she fell to the floor, overcome with dizziness. Tala's mind ran a mile a minute. Was she having a stroke? A heart attack? A sudden tumor that was going to kill her? Her roommate was out, and her parents lived two and a half miles away. There was no way anyone was going to get to her in time.

Tala's skin began to itch and ripple, and a feeling like a thousand pinpricks shot through her. Her muscles began to burn and twist, and a groan escaped her throat.

Turning to her side, she turned and looked down at her body. Her limbs seemed to be growing shorter. No. That- Another cry of pain as a bolt of pain shot down her spine, collecting at the base.

What was happening to her? Her skin burned as she stared at her hands. The nails began to grow longer as her fingers shrank and twisted. They looked like-

Paws? Tala thought with horror. Another shudder tore through her body as thick dark hairs began to cover her skin. Her amá sání -her mother's mother- had told her tales as a child of Skinwalkers. Witches and sorcerers that had the ability to transform themselves and others into beasts. Tala had never put much thought into the tales, writing them off as just superstitious nonsense from an old woman who had never set foot off the reservation.

Maybe she should have listened. The pain in her lower spine reached a head, and she could feel a nub of flesh grow out from the base. Was that a tail? The top of her head burnt as her long dark hair receded, being replaced with more coarse hairs. Tala's ears twisted and moved upwards, growing longer and thicker with each second.

Her nose and throat burnt as well, her upper jaw and chin pushing forward and elongating. Tala's teeth grew longer and sharper as the tip of her nose blackened. A whole new array of smells met her as it grew wet and cold.

Tala struggled to her feet, standing up on all fours. The room seemed so much larger from where she stood. In muted grays, blue, and browns, she took a few hesitant steps forward. It was awkward, walking on all fours. And loud, so loud. Everything was like a jackhammer in her ears. She could hear her own heartbeat, and the rush of cars outside the small apartment she shared with her roommate. And the smells were overwhelming. Despite what she had previously thought, her room smelt disgusting.

The pain had mostly faded at that point, and she wiggled out of her top and pants, making her way over to the mirror. A tear came to her eye as she looked at herself. Just hours before, she'd been a tall, tan skinned woman. Long dark hair framing deep brown eyes.

And now? Now she was a beast. A wolf- No. A coyote. Of course she was a coyote. The creature played a large part in any number of Native American stories -Navajo in particular.

Tala took a few moments to compose herself. Was she going to just lay down and accept this? Of course not! If there was one thing she'd learnt as a child, it was never to give up. Never accept what life had given her. She'd been the first one in her family to go to college, to leave the reservation.

She was not going to give up. The ring might have disappeared, melting into her fur as she transformed, but that didn't mean there was no way back. And she knew just where to start.

The rumble of a car pulled her back to the room. Her roommate returning from work. Her roommate!

"Dammit." Tala muttered, making her way to the door. This was going to be difficult to explain. She paused, surprised to still be able to speak. Her muzzle had twisted at the word and it was awkward to make any sound involving her lips, but she could at least communicate.

"That'll make things easier." She said gratefully before nudging the door open with her nose. "Time to face the music."

(Author's note: Thanks for reading my latest story! I'm still working on GeoArk, so stay tuned for that. And fun fact, Tala means "Wolf Princess" in Navajo! This was because the transformation was originally going to be into a wolf, not a coyote.)