FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Warning, this story contains sexual acts between a male and a female werewolf. If you find this sort of thing to be offensive, or if you are under the appropriate age to read such material in your area, then turn back now. That being said, this is my first time writing a story of this length...or for that matter of this nature, so go easy on the comments. I appreciate helpful commentary but not outright attacks. Also, you may notice that the story is broken into chapters. Most of the chapters are very short, and are only listed as such to provide appropriate breaks in the story line. Sequels to this story will include Book numbers so as to lessen the confusion. Okay finally, all characters in this story are copyrighted to me DarkenedFire and may not be used without my permission. If you wish to use them, feel free to e-mail me at [email protected]

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Chapter 1:

The sun rose slowly over the wind-scarred valley curbing the elongated shadows of the village that lay at the bottom. The light was dim, for what was visible of the sun was shrouded by the cloudy sky. It was the morning of the first day of spring which as always meant a celebration was to be held in the little village. The peace of the land, however, was soon disturbed as people began to awaken in the village and go about their daily chores in preparation for the festivities. The first few to be seen up and about were the young men of the village who set out to chop firewood; much would be needed for the celebration. There was no shortage of trees to choose from, for the whole village was placed in the middle of a seemingly endless forest. However the task of finding firewood for the celebration was still a daunting one; each piece had to be perfect. There could be no knots or twists in the grooves, and each piece had to be perfectly straight. Anything less would dishonor the gods whom the villagers relied on for all their needs.

As the men set about their task, the women remained inside preparing the food for the Great Feast. Salivation would lack not at the overpowering aroma of such a delightful spread, the centerpiece of which being a roast pig, freshly slaughtered the night before. It had to be killed the night before since it is blasphemous to kill anything on such a sacred day.

Soon after, the children began to emerge to go about the easier tasks such as hauling water from the nearby stream and hanging the decorations. Some aided there parents by helping to shuttle the wood from the forest to the town center or track down herbs and spices that could be used in the various recipes. Many would try to sneak a taste of the sake from the town's brewery. This was allowed only on the day of the festival. Several special buildings had to be erected to meet the occasion. One of which was the "Great Hall" which was in reality nothing more than a lean-to elongated to allow sufficient space for a dining table. A large sheet of thin cloth would be added to protect the setup from the elements that would otherwise ravage the dinner. There was also made, an altar, to honor the spirits of the forest who protected them. This had to be made from the finest of the wood that was brought back and would become the centerpiece of the festival. Next to the altar would be a large bonfire wherein sacrifices would be burned as well as many strong herbs meant to flavor the air with fragrant and aromatic results. All of this was to be erected in the town commons so that everyone in the village had access to it.

As the dawn arose, all members of the village began preparation of the festival. Everyone that is, except for a young boy, justly bestowed with the name Setesh. Setesh had awoken before the sun could be seen on the horizon and had ventured away from the village for a brisk morning hike. This practice was far more than routine to him by now as he had began doing the excursion after only seeing his sixtieth full moon. At his current age he had seen at least a hundred. He followed the stream that ran through the village all the way into the forest where there were several paths that led off to distant places. He had no intention of going to any of them. Instead he continued to follow the stream to a point where he finally broke off from it and climbed through the brush to an area that appeared from a distance to be a very large and steep cliff. Just a few feet off to the side of it though was a small overgrown path which led down to a terrace that lay just below the cliff's edge. He took this route and came to his destination. By the time the sun came up, Setesh had stopped to rest in a clearing full of the most fragrant flowers. He came here often not solely because it was quiet and secluded, but also because he was the only one who knew of its location. He thrived more on these feelings of solitude and freedom than on any others, and for this reason would often lie amongst the flowers for hours without even moving. On occasions he would even spend the night here. Setesh stretched his thin lithe form out amongst the flowers and grass which surrounded him. He was not overly skinny, but had slim features and an otherwise typical build for someone his age. His eyes were closed as he faced the sun in all its brilliance. As he lied, he listened to the sound of the forest which was quickly awakening all around him. The birds had begun chirping their morning songs, and a cool wind was blowing through the leaves of the trees eliciting a gentle rustling from them.

The peace was soon interrupted by the sound of twigs cracking on the ground. This startled the boy who began to follow the noise intently with his head. It was growing closer to him.

"Who could that be?" he pondered all the while frustrated that someone may have at last discovered his secret spot. But as the source grew closer, an odd fragrance enveloped his keen sense of smell. This new scent was unfamiliar to him, but was not at all threatening. He leapt up from his spot on the ground landing on both legs at the same time and turned to face the origin of the disturbance. After some time of nervously and anxiously standing his watch, he saw a black nose appear from behind the brush. Then, slowly enough a white muzzle poked out as well followed by a set of golden eyes that seemed to have a certain radiance all their own and twinkled in the faint sunlight. Even with the light being dim where he was, there was still enough to make the creature look divine in its own way. Its fur glowed almost painfully due to the reflection of the sun. Setesh stood speechless at the face of his new encounter, and continued his pose as the rest of the figure appeared from behind the bush. Now, Setesh could see clearly before him a beautiful white wolf. As the wolf stepped out, the light reflected off her pure white coat, almost blinding him. The wolf approached him tentatively drawing her face up to gaze into Setesh's own. As this happened her features became increasingly blurred, due to the light, though he could still make out the black outline of her lips as they parted into a bellowing pant exposing, among other things, pure white fangs, and a soft pink tongue. In that moment he could smell the same scent he had before, it was the scent of spring flowers. The scent was strong and, made him forget any fear or anxiety he might have had before. Approaching the wolf, he now began to see the true beauty of her form. Her lips pressed against his in an instant. He didn't know how to react to this, at first he was far to overcome with shock to do anything. After a moment, he gave up on trying to figure it out. Returning the kiss, Setesh was now getting very aroused. He could feel his hard-on pressing against his pants. This was the strangest feeling to him; it was just so peaceful that all the awkwardness of the situation faded away. Their lips finally separated and he could now see the wolf face more clearly with his shadow cast upon it. Her whiskers still tickled his face as he gazed upon hers. The scent of flowers had returned now stronger than ever. He soon felt himself beginning to lose focus and began to struggle just to stay awake. He lost this struggle and succumbed to the defeat of unconsciousness. When he awoke, the stars were out, and the moon had begun to rise in the western sky. As he slowly came to, he saw the moon as it was almost fully waxed. The memories of the wolf came flooding back to him. He jumped to his feet and began to look around, with no success. He could not find any trace of the lupine that had approached him the night before. Then he remembered his village. He couldn't believe that he had been asleep all day. His mother was going to very upset with him for not coming home. He started back to the village as fast as he could.

He ran quickly through the brush and back down the trails that led up the mountain to his secret spot. He continued down the paths passing the stream which fed its contents to the rest of the valley. Without it, the land below would be barren and uninhabitable. Right now, its flow seemed abundant as it usually did at this time of year when the snow would melt off the top of the mountains. Setesh stuck close to this stream as it was the most direct path to the village and was a ready source of water for someone who had been too busy sleeping all day to keep well hydrated. He stopped running for a time to take a drink. He bent down and leaned over the edge of the bank to lap at the water. As he peered over the edge, he could see the bright reflection of the full moon in the water below. "I thought tonight was supposed to be a new moon" he said before he plunged his head under the water to take a drink. After his momentary break, he stood up and shook his head off before continuing to make his way back to the village. He kept up a fast pace as he did not want to miss the festivities that would be going on in the village about this time. He certainly did not want to miss the Great Feast as he was extremely hungry, even for not having eaten all day. While he ran he could just imagine the taste of the succulent pig in his mouth and began to drool a bit at the thought of eating it as well as the rest of the cornucopia of delights that surely awaited him when he got back. There was also the dancing and games which he had looked forward to every year. It was tradition for the children of the village to play a game of Kuts, a local sport wherein a ball was made to go through a hoop hung in a tree, mobilized only by ones head or feet. It was a game Setesh excelled at, and he was eager to show off his skills to the other children.

He ran down the stream for some time before he got to the clearing where his village had always been. As he continued to move into the clearing, he noticed another odd smell. It was the smell of something that had been burning, though it was very faint. "Someone must have burnt the food," he said to himself as he continued walking into his village. The more he continued though, the more he began to notice that something wasn't right. "Where are all the people?" he wondered, "What happened to the festival? It should be in full blown activity by now." Before he could finish contemplating this, he also became aware of the fact that all of the houses and farms had disappeared from the area. He began running faster toward his own home. He did not get far before he fell into a deep hole filled completely in with black ash causing a large plume of it to arise as he came to a stop amongst the soft bed. He picked himself up and looked at his hands and arms which were now covered in the black substance. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. He scrambled out of the hole and ran to where his house had once stood only to find a similar hole filled with black ash. He ran quickly around where his house once stood encircling it completely. "Mother", he shouted, "Mother, where are you?" Receiving no answer, he turned and ran to the back where the chicken coop once stood, only to find it in mere shambles as was everything else in the village. He searched frantically everywhere he could, but all he could find were some broken pots and other ceramics. Until he eventually arrived at the town common, where to his horror, he had found what he was looking for. In the middle of the common, where a large stake had been pounded into the ground, probably in construction of the great hall, a copious amount of charred bones lay scattered. He ran over to look at them, but he could not tell one body from another as the flames had burned away all of the flesh leaving nothing but brittle broken bones for identification. He turned to leave with tears in his eyes falling to the ground as he ran. Suddenly, he tripped on something on the ground. As he stood up, he could not help but look at what he had tripped on, though he already knew what it had probably been. As he peered down at the ground though, he received even more of a shock than he suspected, for on the ground lay a skull with some of the vertebrae on the neck still attached. The skull was now half-imploded from the impact of his foot, but the vertebrae had a clean cut as though it had been severed by an axe. But what really startled him was that around his ankle was his mother's locket. It had been caught on his foot when he tripped which could only mean one thing. His mother was dead. He screamed and ran as fast as he could into the forest. He kept running and didn't stop even as the sun appeared on the horizon. All the while, he couldn't, and wouldn't even if he could, allow himself to think about what had just happened to his village and his mother. Nor would he allow himself to think about where he would go now, or what he would do to survive. He just kept running deeper and deeper into the forest until he could not run anymore and collapsed from exhaustion. As he lay there, on the ground where he had fallen, he gave up his struggle to put out of his mind the most recent events. He began to face up to the horrific sight of his village burned to the ground the people, dead in the field, and the most pressing image of all, the sight of the skull, and the locket around his leg. He glanced down his beaten and tattered body to see the object of his memory still ensnared on his leg. He tried to reach for it, but to no avail. He quickly discovered that he could barely breathe, let alone move his body. In his struggle he also began to taste the familiar combination of iron and copper in his mouth that meant he was bleeding. It now became clear to him why he was struggling to breathe. He had blood in his lungs due to his rapid intake of the ash which contained small particles of glass from the intense heat of the fire. He managed to turn his head slightly as he coughed up a large amount of it on the ground beside him where it began to pool around him and absorb into his cloak. He again looked up at the sky which held the false moon there to mock him. "Why was there a full moon tonight?" he said aloud though only to himself, "The full moon isn't due for another fifteen days. Could it be that on that mountain I slept a whole fortnight?" He tried to think, but his brain was far to addled to make sense of anything he could ponder. He again felt his consciousness begin to leave him, and once again his world grew dark. Chapter 2:

"Hey, are you awake?" Setesh heard an unfamiliar voice calling to him. His sight was cloudy as he began to awaken. As his vision began to refocus, he looked around searching for the source of the voice. When he found it, he was startled to find that it belonged to a girl about his age, though just a couple inches taller. "What's your name?" she asked not all too unpleasantly.

"Me?" he stammered, his voice audibly shaken, "I-m' S-Setesh." He looked at his surroundings to find himself in a warm bed covered with freshly cleaned blankets inside a clean but under-furnished room. He sat up in his bed only to realize that he was not wearing any clothes. "Pulling his blankets tightly around his waste he returned his gaze to the girl. "Where am I?" he asked, his nerves resettling from his awkward circumstances.

"My name is Kira! my father found you half-dead lying not too far from this here inn," she said with just the slightest bit of frustration in her voice. "He brought you back here and put you in one of his rooms. Your clothes were covered in mud, so he took them to be washed. Mind telling me just what happened to you?" Setesh was a bit relieved to hear this, and took a second to articulate his thoughts. "I am not really sure what happened, I was running and running and I guess I just collapsed."

"Why were you running?" she asked, tilting her head slightly with a tinge of curiosity.

"I was just scared, my village was burned and everyone I knew was dead, and then I found my mothers necklace after I kicked her charred skull..." Setesh began to tear up as he said this and he trailed off in a rampant fury, burying his head in the blankets.

"Woe, slow down, I can't understand you when you're talking through the sheets," she placed a hand on his covered knee causing him to twitch at the sensation. "Now calmly, tell me what happened to you."

Pulling his head from the sheets, he stared blankly at the girl who now seemed a lot more gentle than before. He decided to start from the beginning. He told her about his village and the festival that took place after the season of the harvest moon. He regaled her with the story of how he had left early in the morning to go to his secret spot in the forest. He told her about the wolf and how he fell asleep amongst the flowers, and how when he awoke it was night. Then he told her about what he found in his village when he returned, and what was left of the people he knew. "Wow, that's quite a story," she said with a look of concern in her eyes, "What is...was the name of your village?"

"The name?" he questioned as though looking for the answer in her eyes "The name was Sheranfolk." It was a town built on lumber and protected by the great spirits of the woods.

"Sheranfolk!" Kira exclaimed, "I've heard that name before. Yes, I remember now it was a town that was attacked by bandits a long time ago. Come to think of it, nearly a year has passed since the raid."

"A y-ear?" he said puzzled, "Just what is that?"

"Oh right, I realize now that you are not from here," she settled down in her seat. "Here in the city, we measure time differently than most others. Our time is based around the cycles of the sun. If I remember correctly, about twelve full moons occur every year. If you say you were from Sheranfolk, just what have you been doing all this time?"

"Oh what time has passed," he mumbled pensively. "But like I said the last thing I remember before returning to my village was seeing the wolf and falling asleep." "Well," she said, "If that's the case, it seems like that wolf saved your life.

The loud creeks of footsteps could be heard approaching the room through the long rickety hallway. The door opened and an old man walked in.

"This is my father," Kira said, "he is the one that found you in the woods.

"Aye, it be true lad," the man said smiling "Who knows what would have happened if I hadn't stumbled across you. You might have been food for some animal of the forest, who knows, maybe a bear or maybe a wolf."

Setesh looked up at the old man sick with the irony. His stubby grey beard was a sign of his aging, and his skin was beginning to wrinkle, but other than that, he did not seem too ancient. "Yeah wouldn't want that to happen."

The old man seemed to become more serious now. "Well, I just came up to bring you some fresh clothes, the ones you were wearing were filthy. Dinner will be at sunset, we can talk more about your predicament then. By the way, my name's Norris."

The old man left the room, and returned to the task of running his inn. "I had better go too." Kira said, "I need to help prepare the food for our guests. You probably need your rest anyways. I'll see you at dinner in a few hours."

With that she left, leaving Setesh alone once again. He looked out the one window that was in his room. The sun was not quite over the surrounding hills yet. Outside he could see a pen where sheep were raised, and next to it was a windmill connected to a building which he assumed contained a spinning wheel inside. He figured that Norris spun wool on the side, as the inn alone would not be enough to make a very good living. In the near distance, he could see a town. Not more than an hour's walk away.

Setesh threw off his bed sheets and began to dress himself in the new garments that were left behind for him. He still had plenty of time left before he had to be at dinner he decided to go for a small walk to think over what he would say at dinner. He didn't want to think about what had happened just yet, but he knew that that's all he would be talking about come time for Dinner. He finished dressing and opened his door which led into the hallway. Each step he took there caused the floor boards to creek just as he had heard in the footsteps of the old man before. He made his way to the end of the hall wherein he found a stair case that led down two levels to the main floor. He began his descent feeling the toll of sleeping for so long as his joints creaked and popped with each new stretch.

When he finally reached the bottom, he found himself in a room with several tables in a line where several people were already sitting having casual conversation before the meal.

Kira walked in from the adjacent kitchen when she saw Setesh. "What are you doing up already, you should be resting."

Setesh looked at her puzzled. "Wasn't it you who said I had been asleep for a whole year. I don't think I'll feel like sleeping for a while."

"I guess your right," she said, "But where are you going?"

.Setesh sighed at being caught leaving. "I just thought that I would go take a walk to clear my head."

"Oh is that right she said, well it seems to me that sneaking off by yourself is what got you into this situation in the first place." She said this in a tone that was as much sincere as it was mocking. Setesh looked at her, knowing she was right. "I..."

"I'll tell you what," she said interrupting him before he could respond. "Why don't you stay here until after dinner, and later, we'll go for a walk - together."

Setesh growled a response that Kira could barely make out to be an agreement.

"Then its settled," she said, "In the mean time, why don't you go clean yourself up in the bathhouse? You'll find it down another flight of stairs in the cellar where we have tapped natural hot springs."

Setesh didn't know what she meant by hot springs, but he knew that he needed a bath. He turned back to the stairs, and found a small stone spiral leading under the inn. It was dark down below, but nearby he found a candle and striker which he used before taking the candle and making his way down the stony steps. When he reached the bottom, he discovered that the roof of the room he was in a little too close to his head for comfort. He wasn't even fully grown, and his hair already was touching the ceiling causing him to crouch slightly and making his walk just a bit more uncomfortable. As he moved through the hallway, he began to notice the temperature rise tremendously and steam began to make it difficult to keep the candle lit. Eventually it was snuffed out, leaving Setesh wandering in the dark. He didn't mind it so much; the corridor was narrow, it's not like he could really get lost.

When he reached the end, he found a room that was just as dark as the hallway which led to it. This did not really surprise him. He began to walk carefully feeling his way in front of him with his hands. As he walked, looking for some sort of washing basin, he suddenly found nothing but hot water beneath the foot which he had used to take his step. He fell almost straight down with a splash. Luckily, he had managed to swing his other foot in before he fell too far.

"That was close," he said to himself "I nearly twisted my leg off."

Standing up he found the water came up to his chest. It was hotter than anything Setesh was used to, but not so hot that he couldn't stand it. He quickly grew too enjoy it, especially since his head was no longer touching the ceiling. He walked too the edge of the pool and took of his clothes which he set on the edge to dry. Then he walked around to get an idea of the size of the pool he was in finding it to be about four paces in every direction. From the sound of the splashes echoing in the room, he surmised that the room must be big and probably had more than one of these pools in it. He found that he actually enjoyed the darkness of the room as well; it added a sort of calm that could otherwise not be achieved. He began to clean himself, but once he was through with that, he just sat in the water, leaning on the edge until his hunger reminded him that it had been a while since his last meal. When he decided that enough time had passed, he got out, and put his clothes back on, which were still moist, but not intolerably so, then headed back to the dinner hall.

Chapter 3:

When Setesh had once again reached the top of the stairs, he placed the candle back in its spot on the table, and made his way into the room where he could finally get something to eat. He opened the curtain that masked the doorway, which had been left open before. The room greeted him with wonderful smells of food, and a few travelers who for a short time would call this place home. They all had side conversations going on. At the end of one of the tables, he spotted Norris and Kira who waved him over.

"Come on over boy," said Norris, "Your just in time." Setesh walked over to where they had prepared a seat for him. He sat down at the table, and began to consume a portion of the corn that was set before him. "Thanks for the food," he said, "or for that matter, everything else."

"Oh, I just did what any person with the slightest bit of a heart would." Norris said, blushing a little bit at the statement. "Actually, Kira here is the one you ought to thank; she is the one who took care of you the whole time you were asleep."

"It was nothing," she said after a short pause.

"By the way, she told me your story while we were preparing the meal."

Setesh stopped chewing at this, and instead just swallowed the chunk of food in his mouth whole. This was somewhat of a relief to him though, as he would not have to tell his whole story again.

"I found the part about your village particularly intriguing," Norris said before licking his fingers off one by one. "That place was destroyed by bandits nearly a year ago. Yet you say it is the last thing you remember before you slept." "Yeah it has been a while I guess." He said as he continued with his meal.

"Excuse me," Norris said, "But it seems to me that you are not very concerned with yourself at the moment. You just came from a very peculiar predicament, and yet you don't seem very troubled by it at all"

Setesh stopped eating once again to stare at the man before giving his answer. "Its not that I don't care, it's just that I don't really know what to do." He took another spoonful of mashed potatoes. "I was just hit with this all at once. It's a lot to think about and right now, that's not something I care to do."

"Calm thyself lad, tis' no matter to worry tonight." Norris was unsure of the boy now, but he decided that he would learn more eventually, and did not care to push the subject. "Anyways there is still the matter of what to do now. You can stay here if you like, I could always use an extra set of hands around here and from the look of things, you don't have anyplace to call home either."

"Thank you Norris," Setesh opted for a well exaggerated sincere tone so as not to sound overly hostile as he had before. "I think I will take you up on that offer." "Then it's settled," Norris Said "You can start here whenever you feel like you can work."

With that, Setesh dug in to his food once again before returning to his room.

A short while later, the creaking of the steps alerted him to the approach of another visitor. Kira knocked on the door.

"Is it okay if I come in?" She asked, just loud enough to be audible through the thick oak wood door.

"Sure, come on in, I am decent" he said as she began to turn the knob.

"You know," she said, "We still have to go on that walk you promised me after dinner."

Setesh recognized her play in this as he was the one who had originally wanted to go for the walk...by himself. "I had almost completely forgotten about that."

Sitting up in his bed he stretched out his form before sitting up all the way and then rising to a full stance. "Ready when you are."

Kira looked at him and chuckled a little at his overzealous attitude. "Alright then come on."

They both left the room together and headed down the hallway to the stairs. When they got there, Kira suddenly stopped, grabbing Setesh by the wrist. "Wait," she said, "I can hear my father's voice downstairs. He must still be awake." Setesh stopped when she grabbed his arm. "Doesn't he know were going out".

"No!" she said in a firm but quiet voice, "Normally, I would, but I don't think he will be all too happy about you going outside so soon. He barely knows you, and after what happened, he is still not sure whether he can trust you."

"This won't exactly help his trust if we get caught." Setesh thought more than said aloud.

"Don't worry, he expects you to be in bed all night, he won't know a thing." She was very reassuring. "Come with me now." She said as she crept passed the stairway to where a shelf held a knotted rope. "Help me get this to your window so we can climb out, it's not far to the ground.

They carried the rope to his bedroom where Setesh opened up the window allowing the cool night air to flow in. Kira was busy tying the rope around the bedpost so that they could climb down. Once finished, they each slid out the window and down the rope, one at a time.

This was just the sort of thing that Setesh needed to take his mind off his troubles, which is what he had been trying to do ever since he had awoken in the inn. He looked up in the sky, the moon was not out yet so everything was nearly pitch black save for the little light that the stars would put forth. "Let's go this way," she said pulling him by his arm in the direction she intended.

Setesh looked at the long path that wound across several hills to the stream which he had seen the other night; this made him feel uneasy. "Yeah maybe or hey I got another idea, why don't you give me the grand tour of this place, after all, if I'm to stay here, I will need to know my way around.

She looked at him a little puzzled. "Sure I guess that's a good idea" She said in a way that was almost too submissive for comfort.

They walked around together for a while, Kira pointing out various portions of her surroundings, and Setesh inquiring about their subtleties. Eventually the full moon began to rise in the sky and Setesh grew more energetic and less cautious than he was prior.

Setesh seemed to be less interested with his surroundings, and more interested in the sky above him. Kira began to notice this change in him, as he had not been paying attention to much she was saying; always wanting to move on to the next area.

"Is something wrong with you?" Kira spoke after a long while. "Actually, I have never felt better. I just want to run around and do something... anything!"

"Well, we have all night." She said, smiling at him, "How about if we got to the city. We will be back before anybody takes notice of our absence."

Setesh was panting quickly as he spoke. "Let's go," he said, sporadically jumping about as he ran from place to place.

"You certainly seem energetic tonight, that's quite the change from your state last night." She was watching him the whole time as he darted back and forth. "Did you get taller?"

"I don't think so," he said "Which way is the city, is it this way?"

"Yeah!" she said, "how did you know?"

"I can smell it."

She had noticed that she had been sniffing the air a lot. He was acting very strange, she thought, but she hadn't really known how he was before. For all she knew, he was always like this. "Let's be off then."

They followed the path to the city. The walk lasted nearly an hour, though they would have taken a lot less time had Setesh not been so interested in everything he saw. He didn't even seem to remember what happened to him earlier. He was just craving the new. They arrived outside the wall of the town called Namouré. It was a high wall of monoliths stacked two thick with a tower every twenty in length. "This must be a big city." Setesh thought to himself.

The main gates were locked as was tradition at night. This policy had been enacted a while ago to help keep crime to a minimum.

"How are we supposed to get in?" Setesh asked as he had now stopped moving around so much.

"It's easy." She said. "They close the main gate to all travelers at night, but as long as you ask the guard, you can still come in through the side entrance.

They approached the guard and asked to go in. Seeing as they were only a couple of children, he let them come in. Once inside, they saw the city in all of its magnificence. It was quite the sight. Even at night, the city was very much alive. There were torches everywhere which lit the streets well except for a few back alleys. In addition, light could be seen through many closed curtains and from the top of the flat-roofed buildings as well. Even now, merchants filled the streets. Vending their wares to whoever should pass. Continuing through the streets, Setesh looked with increased interest at his surroundings. He had never been to a city of this size before. Everywhere he looked was filled with life. Here it existed collectively, one was without significance. It was truly a place to lose one's self.

They happened across a deserted building. It looked as though at one time it had been a house, but now it seemed to be falling apart and there were dusty footprints about it that would leave one to believe that children had been at play here.

They decided to inspect it out of curiosity and a desire to do so that was expressed by Setesh in the form of blunt persistence.

Upon entering the building, it became clear to them why the place had been abandoned. The roof was missing, clearly from a strong mixture of rain and wind. The walls were beginning to crumble as well. It appeared that water had caused the mud brick to disintegrate entirely in some places. Still there was a certain mystery about the whole thing that caused the place to be less of a deterrent. They walked further in and noticed the floor to be hollow as made apparent by the sound of their footsteps. After a few minutes of searching, they found a trapped door. They tried to open it but it was locked tight from the inside. "I wonder what could be down here." said Kira inquisitively. "I don't know," said Setesh with a smile, "But we shouldn't stay around here for too long, there must be much more to see."

"Your right," she said, heading back to the entrance, "why are we wasting all of our time here anyways?"

They both left the building shortly thereafter to find themselves back in the city. Kira heard a growl coming from behind her. "Hungry?" she asked Setesh.

Setesh nodded. "Is there a restaurant around here anywhere?"

Kira thought for a moment then looked back at Setesh, "No, the only restaurants that I know of are open during the day." Usually, it's only street vendors who are around during the night. Perhaps we could find one that is selling food. Though I can't believe you'd still be hungry after the big meal we just had a couple hours ago.

"I know," he said, "but it seems as thought sleeping for a year causes one to work up an extreme appetite."

They walked through the streets looking for someone selling food, when finally they found one that was serving a variety of fresh confectionaries. Buying a few sweet tarts, they continued on their way. Before long, they sat down to take a break and observe the view. They glared across the wide variety of wares being pedaled at the many street shops. As they watched, one vender waved them over. "What brings you children around these parts so late, it could be dangerous you know."

"We will be fine." said Kira glaring at him with suspicion.

"Whatever, it's not like what you do matters to me. Did the two of you by chance come to pick up something of particular interest?"

"Just what are you offering?" Kira asked.

"I have little to offer to children, indeed for I am apathetic in what I do as an apothecary I am. Truly though what I offer is not poison, but what you will seek...a remedy"

"We're not sick, why would we need a remedy?"

Setesh was still away in the corner. The merchant looked at him with a watchful eye. "Sometimes a remedy may cure something besides a disease. I will tell you what, I will give this to you know and you can pay me when you need it." The strange man handed a stone vile to Kira. "I'll see you around, whether you know it or not."

Setesh stood beside Kira, and they both looked at the strange vile that was placed before them. The man had returned to his tent where moments ago there was light, but now it had gone black. Kira removed the quark stopper to view its contents. A strong scent arose from the jar, one that smelled strongly of flowers. Setesh began to get more restless. He perked his head towards the container to better grasp the aroma. When he got a strong enough scent he froze and began to stiffen in an unnatural way.

"What's wrong?" asked Kira who was startled by his sudden lapse. She got no response, but saw his body begin to grow even more. She ran into the merchant's tent to demand that he tell her what was happening, but when she pulled back the opening it was empty. The whole tent just collapsed in her hands. She turned back to Setesh in time to see his body becoming even more deformed. His fingers were detracting and beginning to form calices on the bottom. His face was changing in a similar fashion. His jaw and nose lengthened into a snout, and his ears began to grow more pointed. All the while, he began to grow a thick coat of white fur. His clothes, which had fit him loosely before were now stretched and torn. As his transformation peaked, he grew a tale just long enough to allow him to balance in his new form, and claws began to form on his new fingers. Setesh looked at himself, and then at Kira who was frozen in fear. He struggled to try to make words but found it very difficult with his new mouth. Kira watched in turn, and seemed to understand that he was not going to hurt her. "What are we going to do with you?" She said, "If we stay here too long somebody is bound to see you."

Setesh understood, though he could not respond. He slid off into the shadows of a nearby alley. Kira followed him into the darkness, but could not see him anywhere, it was far too dark. She suddenly ran into him, feeling his soft fur against her.

"Setesh!" she spoke softly to him with a few tears in her eyes. "What has happened to you?"

Chapter 4:

Kira was clutching his fur tight. Setesh returned the gesture by placing a hand on the back of her head. "I don't know what's happening," he tried to say. His words couldn't be understood, but neither did they need to be. Their message was clear enough.

They stood there a moment longer before one of them finally spoke up. It was Kira.

"We have to get out of here," she said we can't stay around here with you looking like this.

Setesh only nodded but they couldn't go back the way they came. They peered around looking for a way out when suddenly they stopped. They stood still ears perked to listen to the sound that was approaching. It was footsteps and even now distinct voices could be made out though it was impossible to hear what they were saying. They quickly looked around for some place to hide, and finding the old building that they had earlier explored, they quickly ran into it. After the footsteps passed, they looked out again. "That was close," said Kira, "We have to find a way out of here before you are spotted. Receiving no response from Setesh, Kira turned to find him on all fours clawing at the trapped door. "That's no use," she said, "The door is locked."

Setesh became only more driven to open it and grabbing both handles with his paws which were not fully for digitigrade use, he ripped the doors wide open, snapping the chain and startling Kira.

"Well that's one way to open a lock, but how is that going to help us get out?"

Setesh responded with a grunt and then leapt down the chasm head first. Kira ran to the entrance and saw Setesh at the bottom waiting. Not being able to argue at this point she climbed down the ladder and into the hole as well. Once down, she reached for Setesh struggling to see in what little light there was. When she found him, she could hear him sniffing the air.

Suddenly, he grabbed her, picking her up in one of his giant arms, and ran swiftly through the system of tunnels that lay below.

Kira all but screamed as he did this. She had to hold her hands over her mouth to stop herself. Once the initial shock was over, she began to calm down. She looked at the one who made her his captive, and did not detect any sign of ill intent. They continued working their way through the complex system of underground tunnels in what seemed to be nearly complete darkness other than the occasional light breaking through a hole from somewhere up above. After a few minutes, they suddenly came to a stop. She could again here sniffing, and then she felt the oddest sensation. It was as if the floor had simply dropped out from under them before she slowed to a stop a few feet below where she was before. Then she felt a stomach turning rush as together, they launched straight up into the air Setesh's head clearing the way through the wooden door that lay above them. They landed on the ground with the same sickening drop they had felt before.

Kira was in shock at this point as she was placed on the ground not at all roughly. She sat there a moment noticing that they were no longer in the city. Setesh had found a way out.

Still catching her breath, she looked around, unfortunately, they had come out on the wrong side of the city, this meant that they would now have to walk all the way around in order to get back home. This wasn't too big of a deal being that nobody would be outside the city at this time of night. The problem was that they weren't sure that they wanted to return home. "We can't let anyone find you like this," Kira said, a worried look in her eyes, "We have to find somewhere to hide you. And it will be easy for you to be spotted under this full moon. Well, let's get back to the inn, and we can figure the rest out from there."

They headed back to around the city wall staying close to it to avoid being spotted by the guard. It felt awkward to have such a huge beast following close behind her. On several occasions she had to remind herself not to be afraid. On several others she had to decide if she should. As they rounded the front of the city, they once again saw the road that on which they had come in. Following it further, left them wide open to sight, but it was the shortest way. At this time Setesh knew the way and began to walk in front of Kira instead of following her. Taking notice of this, she began to observe his feral form with more intent. She observed the awkward digitigrade walk that flowed with him so well even being on two legs most of the time. Her fear of him had evaporated. She actually began to appreciate this new form of his. It had a sleek design all its own. His legs were curved at the knee like a dog's, unlike a dogs however, his muscles were stretched long enough to allow for an upright position without struggle. His stomach had lengthened forward, but not to a very significant amount. And it hadn't shrunken at all lengthwise. His mouth had elongated into a muzzle and his face had widened a bit to accommodate. In addition, his ears had grown pointed and had rounded off in the back as well. In truth, she found him to be more attractive in this form. They continued ahead on the road, until they reached the property of the inn. Luckily, they hadn't seen anybody along the way. Once there, Setesh lost no time in scrambling to the back. Kira followed unsure of where he was going. He ran around the corner of the inn, and by the time Kira arrived. Kira looked around for him but could not find him anywhere.

"Setesh," she called in a loud whisper, "Where are you?" There was no response. After looking around for a while, she decided that there was nothing she could do and she went inside for the night.

She opened the door to the inn which led through the dining hall. Once inside, she opened the curtain that separated the Hall from the stairwell which led to the rooms. She glanced once again at the door she had come through, and sighed, thinking that Setesh was still out there somewhere. Continuing on to the stairs, she passed the corridor that led to the bath house. Suddenly, she felt something grab her. She would have screamed, but she was too traumatized by the events of the night for this to be more of a shock. She was dragged into the darkness. To her relief, she found that it was only Setesh. She figured it out after she collided with his furry chest. "There you are," she said, "how did you get back there?" Though she talked to him, she did not expect to receive an answer so all was purely rhetorical. Setesh grabbed hold of her arm and pulled her along with him as a signal for her to follow him. She continued after him down the corridor and followed him through the door that led through to the bath house. She realized now why he wanted to be down here, it was dark; even Setesh's lupine eyes could not make out a single thing in this room. It was the perfect place to hide.

"I thought this would be a safe place for me," Setesh said with surprise that he could finally produce words.

"When did you start being able to talk?" asked Kira.

"I don't know," Setesh said, "I couldn't say a thing on the way here; it must have been just a few moments ago." As he said this, he felt his face and realized that his muzzle had shrunken considerably, it was now barely noticeable, and it also seemed that his fur had begun to thin out.

"I think that I am beginning to change back," he said feeling the rest of his body, "I can feel it. Though I have to say, the other form didn't feel at all bad." "I wonder what might have caused you to revert back into your human state." Kira wondered.

"I'm not sure," Setesh said, "It seems like it started when I entered the house. I wish the moon would not have been out so I could hide outside."

"Wait!" said Kira, "That's it; the moonlight is what caused your change. Once you came down here it was blocked out so now you are changing back.

"You could be right," He replied, "But then again, the moon was out all night long and I was not affected until I sniffed that phial. For all we know, it was the apothecary's solution that turned me into this form, and it might have just now worn off. Do you still have it?"

"No," replied Kira, "I must have dropped it when we fled the city. Its probably back in that tunnel we went through. I say good riddance!"

"That may be," said Setesh, "But it would still have been nice to have, maybe then I could have figured out what it was. I think I am almost back to my original form, though my I lost my shirt along the way."

"I will bring you a new one," she said, blushing behind the veil of darkness, "In the meantime, I think it is best if you stay down here until the morning, just to be safe. Tomorrow we can try to track down that old apothecary." "Well enough," he replied, "I should be okay down here for the night."

"I will tell my father that you got up early to take a bath if he asks any questions.

With that, Kira passed through the corridor and headed up the stairs where she passed by Setesh's room to take in the rope that they had used to climb out. After this, she continued quietly off to bed leaving Setesh to the darkness that surrounded him.

Setesh followed her trail with his ears which were still partially pointed, until finally he could hear no more. He wasn't sure if it was because his ears had transformed back all the way or if she had simply stopped moving, for all else was silent.

Sighing, he moved off to the side where he could sit more comfortably. Since he was already in the bath house, and there were little but shreds left of his clothing, he removed it and sank into the water, where he relaxed in its soothing heat. The whole night before him had seemed a mere dream.

Now that the moonlight was gone, Setesh found that he could have more control over his transformation. He began first by focusing on his hand; he remembered what his hand felt like when he was a human and imagined the sensation in his lupine hand. It began to shift back to its original form. He tried this with a few other spots on his body as well including his legs. As he worked his way around, shifting his form as he did so, he inevitably came to his newly formed sheath. The water was invading it now which was a very odd sensation to him; odd, but not the least bit unpleasurable. Focusing on this, he lost all track of keeping his human form. His body shifted back into its lupine state. He began to rub the underside of it with his finger. It was smooth and the motion made his red tip stir a little inside. Moving to the top, he gently pushed down on it; gently at first, but after a short time, he pulled it down all the way exposing his sensitive red flesh directly to the warm water surrounding him.

He continued rubbing it in a similar fashion causing his thick cock to swell even more in his paw. Now he noticed something new. At the base of it, he began to notice a bulge that wasn't there before. He squeezed it gently sending a shiver of pleasure up his spine. Using his other hand, he began to stroke himself while he continued to squeeze his knot. Eventually, his body tensed up and he squeezed his knot even harder. After a few last strikes of his hand, his back arched up a little and he unleashed load after load of thick wolf semen which blended quickly with the water. After a moment, Setesh sat up more still panting from the roughest climax he had ever had. Refocusing on changing back now, he assumed much of his human form. What little that hadn't changed yet was gone by the morning. Chapter 5:

Kira Woke up the next morning to the call of her father, though this was not entirely necessary as would have woken up anyways out of habit. She awoke groggily today having had an extremely long night, and truthfully, she wasn't even sure that it had really happened at all. Passing her father on her way out of her room, she asked, "Have you checked on Setesh this morning?"

"No," he said scratching his beard a little, "I figured I would let him sleep in a little longer today."

Relieved at this, she took her first opportunity to slip away from her chores and go into the bath house. "Setesh!" she called, receiving no answer, but came to find more voices of the inn's other residents. "Setesh!" she called again, but still received no response.

Becoming worried now she left to go about her chores. The first on her list being to clean the rooms of the patrons who had left that morning. She started with the rooms behind that remained on the first floor. These were the more expensive rooms as they did not require a climb up the stairs in order to be reached. After some time she managed to work her way up the stairs to the second floor. She looked around only to come to the realization that there were no empty rooms on this floor as of this morning, they were all filled up by a group of actors that had been requested to the city. She excitedly left again for the stairs to make her way to the third floor. Upon reaching the top she saw she had her work cut out for her on this floor. There were many rooms that needed to be cleaned out up here, at least twice as many rooms as had been filled on the second floor by the group of actors.

Before she could begin her work here though, she heard movement coming from one of the rooms. She froze when she realized that it was Setesh's room. She feared that it was her father who had decided to check on him after all, and if he wasn't found there, then that meant that there were going to be questions, or even worse he could be found in his current state and that would insight a mob.

She rushed over to the room, and pushed the door open a tiny bit, just enough to allow her to peak in and see what was happening in there. After catching a small glimpse, she immediately closed the door and laughed to herself. Apparently, Setesh had changed back into a human completely last night and had gone up to his room at some later point. She had just now walked in on him changing.

After regaining her composure, she knocked on the door a couple times. "Just a minute," said Setesh she waited eagerly for a moment until finally he opened the door. "Oh, its just you," he said, "You made me think it was your father come to wake me up."

"I was worried about exactly the same thing," She said. "When did you... you know change back? She entered the room as she said this, and made her way over to his bed where she sat down.

"Well actually," he said, "It has been a while. I am not sure exactly how long it has been, but I changed back shortly after you left last night. The thing is though, that whenever I would go up the stairs, I would be hit by the moonlight and its like I could feel the change starting again."

"So it was the moonlight that caused your change then." She asked.

"No," he said, "it seems like the moonlight only keeps me in that form once the change has occurred. I figured that out last night as well. Watch this." Reaching out his hand, before letting it rest in open air, he stared at it trying to relax as best he could. Eventually his hand began to feel warm, and his fingers began to grow more rounded while his finger nails curled into the shape of claws. Seeing the startled look on Kira's face he let the feeling go, and his hand turned back into what it was before. "I figured out last night that I could change at will, at least with part of my body, I haven't tried a full transformation yet." "Well that's a good thing," she said, "We wouldn't want you to get stuck that way."

"I don't know," he said, letting his arm hang down at his side once again. "It wasn't such a bad feeling being that way. In truth, I had never really felt better in my life."

"What!" she said completely shocked, "You mean you actually like being that way... Never mind, after I finish up my chores here, we will leave and go back to the city to find that apothecary and find out just what he did to you."

"Sounds good to me," he said, "in fact, why don't I help you out so we can leave sooner?"

"Great!" she exclaimed at the prospect of having her work load shortened, "I just need to finish cleaning these rooms, and then do the laundry. Here I will show you how to do this one, and then you can start working on the rest."

Showing him first how to make the bed the proper way, Kira then proceeded to show him the other facets there were to being an innkeeper.

Once she was done, she proceeded to work on the first room of the floor, while Setesh worked on the other end. They eventually worked their way to the middle in less than half the time it would have taken for Kira to do it by herself. "Thanks!" she said as they both worked to finish up the last room, "Now we just have to do the laundry and we can leave, it wont take long to start at all. In fact, it is really more of a one person job, why don't you grab something to eat in the kitchen, and then wait for me outside?"

"Sure thing," said Setesh, "I will see you in a little while."

With that, Setesh and Kira headed down the stairs, splitting at the base of them; Kira was heading past the bath house to the laundry room, and Setesh was heading past the curtain to the dining hall, and past another to the kitchen.

Upon entering, He saw Norris making some food. "Well look who's up," he said, "I trust your night was well."

"Sure, yeah, it was fine," he stammered, "I was just helping Kira with her chores."

"Well I am sure she appreciated it,' he said, sometimes, she gets bogged down with her workload. But what am I saying, you probably came here to get something to eat right, well there's some fresh bred on the table over there as well as some other things if you like." Setesh walked over to the table and looked at the assortment before him. Indeed there were other things, and a lot of them at that.

There was quite the bouquet of foods about from an assortment of breads and cheeses to even a wide selection of fruits and meats. Grabbing a plate, he took some and left the kitchen to sit down in the dining hall to eat.

Kira in the meantime had just walked into the laundry room and began to pile all of the clothes into the clothing trough before opening up the wooden hatch that would allow water to flow in from the hot springs. With that done, she reached for the chemicals on the shelf that would aid in the cleaning process. Finding the container to be empty, she realized that this was the perfect excuse she could use to go into the city. Leaving the clothing to soak, she went back up stairs and veered into the dining hall where she saw Setesh among the other patrons.

She sat down next to him startling him at first for he had not seen her coming. "Are you about ready to go?" She asked, an overly enthusiastic smile about her face. "Just about," he said, "I am just finishing up my food like you told me to."

"That's good," she said, I will just go talk to my father real quick so that we can leave for the city. He will be worried sick if we just leave without telling him."

Standing up yet again, she walked over to the curtain that separated the kitchen from the dining hall. Opening it she found her father finishing up the preparation of the meal.

"Good Morning!" she said, "Are you almost done with the food?"

"Just about," he said, "How are your chores coming along?"

"They are just about done," she said "But we are all out of the cleaning chemicals for the laundry, and I was wondering if I could go into town and get some more. While I'm at it, I would like to show Setesh around a little bit as well."

"Sure, that sounds like a good idea to me." He said, reaching into his pocket "Here is some money for the supplies, and a little extra too in case you two get hungry while you out."

"Thanks dad," she said, and with that she left, returning to the dining hall where Setesh was just finishing up his meal. Setesh stood up from the table placing his plate among the other dirty ones. He turned to her and waited for her to say something.

"Are you ready?" She asked, "I have already talked to my father, so he knows we will be going into the city."

"I believe I am" he said, "let's take our leave then."

They walked out the door together headed toward the city where they were last night.

Chapter 6:

Leaving the inn, the two walked sometimes hand in hand and other times just near each other. Finding the trail that led to the city, they followed it for a while. It was a fairly straight road, and because there was a semi-thick forest, surrounding it, there was not a whole lot to see along the way.

After walking to the point where they could no longer see the inn, Setesh closed his eyes, letting Kira lead the way. He held in his mind the feeling that he had as a wolf, and let his body remember as well. Before long, he could feel his body change slightly starting with subtleties such as a slight change in height, soon his hands and feet began to change as well to resemble paws. Kira had not noticed up to this point, but as the hand she was holding began to grow fur, she suddenly stopped and let it fall back to his side. She turned to look at him. "Setesh," she said, pulling him from his trance. "What, oh" he stammered, "Sorry, I guess I didn't realize that I was actually changing. I was just thinking about it and I remembered the sensation from last night, and well, I guess it just got away from me."

Standing still for a second, he let the feeling go, and in no time at all, he began to change back to his normal self.

Kira just looked at him before returning to her own thoughts. She knew Setesh wasn't dangerous, and she didn't want to admit it to herself, but she actually admired him in his ability to shape shift.

They continued along the road as they were before. Eventually, the came across the city and walked through the main gate which had been closed the night before.

The city was crowded at this time, as everywhere people lined the streets buying and selling, or just going about their daily work.

Kira and Setesh worked their way through the crowd to where they had been the night before. There were still many street vendors around, but as they had feared, the tent where the apothecary had been was gone. In its place was a small stand selling handcrafted gold jewelry. They looked behind the counter and were shocked to find that it was the apothecary who had given them the phial just last night. They walked up behind the counter cornering him while he had his back turned.

Without turning around, he responded to their presence. "So you two have returned I see. And were you pleased with my remedy?"

"What did you do Setesh?" Kira asked firmly.

He turned and looked at the boy who was standing before him. Grabbing his face, he looked closely at him. After a thorough examination, he said "Well it appears that I have done nothing, now, why do you ask?"

"Don't play dumb," she said, "you turned Setesh into some weird beast."

Setesh looked at her at this comment. He fancied his new form and didn't think of it as a beast; after all, he was still himself for the most part. Never the less, he let her continue.

"Nay child," he said, "That is not my work, I am but a goldsmith."

"A goldsmith," said Setesh, "But just last night, you were an apothecary."

"That's quite possible," he said, "I do many things."

"What was in the phial that you gave us?" Kira demanded.

"In a phial there are many things," he said "Among them, essence of wolfsbane is prominent" "Wolfsbane?" she asked, "So then you poisoned him."

"Nay," he said, "tis not poison to those who possess the blood of the wolf. No, to them it is but a catalyst which affords them strength."

"What do you mean by those who posses the blood of the wolf?" he demanded coming closer to the mysterious man as he did so. "What did you forge in my blood?"

"It was nothing I could do," he said coolly, "It is something only given by the wolves. Given to those they seek to protect."

"Why would the wolves want to protect me?" Setesh asked.

"That, I cannot answer," the man said flatly. "I am but a servant of Lykos, the wolf god, not his advisor. Lycos is the creator of the wolves, and his decisions are his alone."

"What can you answer then," Kira demanded, "What do you know?"

"There is power in you blood boy," he said, "It is in your blood that the power of change lies. Whatever you do, you must not share this power unless you're sure that the person with whom you share it can be trusted to it. It shall forever be in your bloodline as well for generations to come, never the less powerful in diluted form." "The boy here," he said, "has been given the blessing of Lykos, and you would both be better off not to think ill of it."

"Come on Setesh," Kira said, "It's clear that we won't be getting anything out of him."

They departed from the mysterious vendor in a huff and returned to the task of picking up more of the cleaning chemicals for her chores.

Finding a shop that sold it was not too difficult, and once this was completed, they decided that they had neither reason nor desire to be in the city anymore, and so, they departed through the main gate.

It was not yet even mid-day and it was still fairly warm out. They decided to take their time on the way back. Setesh again fell into his routine of absentmindedness, although this time it was different as his thoughts were centered mostly on the words of the mysterious vendor that had known so much but said so little. He remembered what the vendor had said about the wolf, and wolfsbane, he thought about this and compared these thoughts with those of the wolf he had encountered in the field of flowers. The phial he had smelled, smelled a lot like the field now that he had thought about it. Continuing up the path, he again let his mind lose control of itself, and his body began to reflect this change with a change all its own.

Kira stopped suddenly upon realization that she was not holding a hand anymore, but rather a paw. Setesh was startled back to reality by this and quickly began to change his body back to the way it was.

"You know," Kira said, "You are going to have to work on that. You can't just be changing into wolf all the time, if somebody sees you, you will be hunted. They don't understand that it is still just you even if your body has a different form."

"I know," replied Setesh, "It's not that I can't control it when I want to, but sometimes, it's so hard not to want it. The change feels so good, its like all my senses get sharper, and every muscle in my body is stronger, it's almost like I am freed from the confines of this body."

Kira looked at him a moment, entrenched in thought. "Okay then, she said, try a full out transformation once, like you did during the full moon. Then you can carry me home quickly." Setesh was shocked by this; he had never imagined that she would actually want him to change. Not about to further deny his desire, he let his mind go and fully embraced the feeling that was rushing through him. He felt his body begin to change once again. He grew taller, and gained an overall larger mass, as hair began to grow on his body, by this point his hands and feet had already changed to become the paws that they now were. His head was widened and elongated to make room for the muzzle which grew in as well. At the same time, his ears migrated to the top of his head and grew more pointed before they began to fur over.

When the transformation was completed, Kira was no longer walking with Setesh, the boy she had found half-dead in the forest, she was now walking with a beautiful wolf, as white as the sun that shown off it. Kira smiled a bit at this. She had seen him this way before, but only at night when he was not as easy to see. In addition to this, she was less frightened by him because it was during the day that she was now looking upon him. She walked up to him and he stooped down to meet her. She through her arms around his neck and kissed the side of his snout. "Now there's a wolf if I've ever seen one"

Setesh made a noise that was a cross between a pant and a snarl which Kira could only take to be laughter. He grabbed her in one arm as he did last night, though this time it was with a bit more care, and proceeded home at a strong pace.

Along the way, they did many things only a wolf with amazing strength could do including jumping extremely high and landing smoothly without injury. They played this way well past mid-day, not even realizing the time.

Eventually, they decided that they should return home before Norris became too worried. Setesh once again suppressed his lupine feeling and reverted to his normal self, at least to whatever normal used to be too him.

They were now in close range to the inn, and returned carrying the chemicals for the chore which they had set out to do.

Chapter 7:

Upon returning to the inn, they found that Norris was too busy with a new band of guests to even notice that they had been late in returning. "It's been a good day for business" he said with a smile on his face. By this point, he had already started to prepare a dinner for his guests; it was a typical meal for his inn, with much the variety it always had. The new guests that had arrived were among the best kind because there were a lot of them, and they were only staying one night. This meant that there was little to be done besides one nights work, and the cleanup of the next day, before they could collect a large sum of money.

The band that had come to the inn was not at all ill-mannered either. They were all knights in service of the kingdom of Iad which was the political center of the entire area that the inn was located within as well as far beyond.

The two children made their way through the crowd in the dining hall, talking with some of the knights. They seemed to be very nice. When the food finally came out, they dug into it making casual conversation as they did so. Kira was interested in what the knights were talking about, hearing the stories of their many exploits, but her mind was elsewhere in that moment. Her mind was on Setesh and the day they had spent together. There was so much to think about that she didn't even know where to begin. She thought long and hard about what the strange man in the city had said to them about the blood of the wolf, and about the power being in Setesh's blood. This all rang heavily to her of the many myths and rumors she had heard over her lifetime. Now, she began to think that they may not all be pretense. After the meal, she headed down to the wash room to add the chemicals which she had now bought to clean the clothes. Once they had been added, she left them to soak overnight. Afterwards, she went to Setesh who was in his room, thinking much the same thought that she had been earlier. Upon seeing her approach, he sat up in his bed. He was frantic as he had been the night before when they had gone to the city originally.

"I think it's starting again," he said, "I feel like I have so much energy, I just can't contain it."

"It's the moon again isn't it?" she asked, a solemn tone in her voice, "It does this to you. It makes you lose control."

"I don't think so," said Setesh, "After all, it is out now and I can still contain myself. And besides last night, I walked all the way to the city before I changed. It seems like the moon just gives me energy. I just want to run around in circles."

"How can you not be tired after all that we have done today?" she asked. "We ran around all day today. Even I am tired, and you were the one carrying me most of the way." "I don't know," he said, "It seems like ever since I woke up after sleeping for all that time, I no longer feel tired. I slept once, but that was only because I made myself do it."

Kira thought for a moment, "Maybe because you have slept for so long, you just aren't tired right now. At any rate, nobody can survive without sleep forever I'm sure you will need it eventually."

The two of them sat there pensively for a moment neither really doing anything for a while until finally Kira sat down on the bed beside him. "You know," she said, "Regardless of the circumstances which led to this, you now have a gift. It would be a shame to just waste it."

"I know," he said, "Believe me; I have no intention of doing so."

"Maybe," she said yawning, "Maybe you should practice and learn to use your abilities to their full potential. That way, maybe you won't lose control of yourself so much."

"Don't worry Kira," he said, "That will never happen. I won't let it."

"I hope so," she said standing up once again, "I really do."

With that Kira left through the hall that she had come in through leaving Setesh alone in his bed. He looked down at himself for a moment, he didn't feel like sleeping at all, and after what Kira had said; he was beginning to doubt himself as well. He decided to go outside where he could have free range to practice controlling his transformation. He walked up to the window and peered out at the sky above. The full moon was out again. It had barely waned since the night before, and standing under it in that moment was the most comforting thing in the world to him. With a sigh, he opened the window feeling the warm breeze of the night air. The air was hung with a bitter smell; it was as if something was missing on the earth below him. "Maybe," Setesh thought to himself "My nose is just dull from this human form. It lacks so much."

Taking a final look, he leapt out the window in a flash. There was little discomfort in his descent or his landing. He jumped from the third floor, but he was not hurt at all.

Once on the ground, he dashed down the distant path which he had now traversed twice. He knew that down this path lay the city which was active at night. He had no intention of going there, but he knew that along the way was plenty of open field.

Even in human form he was a lot swifter and more agile than any other human, but it still wasn't even close to his speed when he was transformed. Setesh dug his legs into the ground before allowing them to transform slowly. His new feet were more suited for running, than his old pair, however with this new stance, he couldn't keep his balance and fell flat on his face. He realized now that he needed a tail for this to work, standing up carefully, he let it grow out as well. Controlling his form on specific parts of his body didn't seem too difficult thus far. Next he tried to shift his nose into the form of a wolf. He hated to keep away the scents that called to him so dearly. Still, even after trying for a while, he could not get this part alone to shift, after several attempts; he ended up with his entire body shifted before he could finally shift his head. "It's just as well," he thought, "There really is no reason to maintain human form out here any ways." Now that he was transformed, he suddenly became aware of his environment. He was completely surrounded by so many things he could not perceive as a human. The leaves were rustling on the trees, but now, they seemed more distinctive to him. It was as though he could hear each one independently from all the others. The world before him was alight as though it were day, though now, like him, it too was basking in the moonlight. Above all though, the earth smelled sweet to him. Plant and animal's alike all reached his nose in a pleasant way.

Setesh sighed at this. Being in this form was such a pleasant feeling to him. It made him feel as though he could never die.

He ran swiftly through the woods testing his newfound abilities to their extreme. For the longest time, he bounded about from place to place with no real goal in mind. He desired only the pleasure of his new body, not realizing that he was not alone.

Suddenly, he heard a cracking noise coming from the ground. He turned to find one of the knights he had seen at the inn. He was clearly drunk from the fact that he could not even stand straight up. The man looked up at Setesh, "What is this I see before me," he said aloud though only to himself, "Is this creature hell spawn, or only in my imagination."

Drawing his sword, he stumbled toward Setesh who was by this point frozen from the shock of being caught in this form.

Without warning, the man charged at him thrusting his sword at Setesh's stomach. Luckily, Setesh was able to overcome his shock in time to avoid the blow.

Both of them landed on the ground after the assault. Setesh stood up and looked at the man. He was laying face down on the ground, but was quickly coming to his senses. He stood up in a flash and made a second lunge, but this time, Setesh was ready for it and caught the knight off guard by throwing his whole body against him in a tackle before wrenching the sword out of his hand and tossing it aside. From the looks of it, the man was knocked out cold. Setesh picked him up off the ground and looked at him before dropping him back to the forest floor. "I probably should be getting back," he thought to himself, "There is no way to know how many more of these knights could be crawling around here." Letting his pleasures go, he slipped back into his usual form and returned to the path that had brought him. He followed it all the way back to the inn where he quickly went around back and slipped into the bath house that lay below. He slipped into the darkness here, and rested out of sight, and out of the moonlight. The more he came here, the more peaceful it had come to seem to him.

He sank down into a pool of hot water before he decided that he would much rather soak his fur. He changed his form now, which was a lot harder than it was with the moonlight, though it was still non-the-less enjoyable to him. He could feel the fur matted against his body, and enjoyed the rush of water that would get trapped against each follicle as he moved. Overall, it felt as though somebody was gently pulling on each of his hairs. It was probably one of the better feelings he had in a while.

After soaking for a couple hours, he headed out through the building and wound his way up the stairs to his room. He again walked over to his window and looked out. The sun would be coming up soon, and he would have to change back before he was spotted by anyone. For this time though, he lay content in his form and listening for anything that may approach. Chapter 8:

Kira, who was up with the sun, ran to see Setesh in his room first thing. She flung open the door without even knocking only to catch a glimpse at Setesh as the last wisp of tail vanished from beneath his covers.

"You know," she said, "You will really have to be a lot quicker than that if you want to avoid being caught with your tail between your legs."

"You don't have to tell me twice," was his retort, "I was practicing it all last night. Then one of those Knights that are staying here got too drunk and thought I was a demon so he attacked me."

Kira looked at him a little shocked, "What happened?"

"Not too much," he said, "I was just outside a little off the path, and he suddenly yelled something about a demon and came charging after me. I knocked him out though, and that's the last I saw of him."

Kira thought the situation over for a moment, "Did anyone else see you?" She asked.

"I don't think so," said Setesh, "After that I changed back to my normal self and followed the path back here."

"Well that's good at least," she said, "If nobody else saw you, and that guy was drunk, then nobody will believe him. You really need to be more careful though." "I know," he said, "I will. In the meantime, I hope he turned out okay."

"I'm sure he will be fine," she said, "Well come on, let's go downstairs and get something to eat before we start our chores."

Setesh looked at her for a moment, he hadn't realized until now that he was starving. His stomach was even growling at him. "That sounds good to me."

Getting up from his bed, they both made their way out the door and down the stairs yet again.

Curling down alongside the banister, they finally reached the bottom. Once there, they opened up the curtain that led to the dining hall where they found that the food had already been set out. A few of the Knights had already come down to eat as well. They were all eating quietly, only mild conversation between any of them. Setesh and Kira walked right by them and proceeded to get food before taking a seat themselves. They too did not say anything as they ate. It seemed wrong to disturb the silence.

After a short time which was quite uneventful, a commotion began to arise. The man that had seen Setesh the night before burst through the door into the dining hall. His face was smeared with dirt and mud as were much of his clothes. It was something that would be expected of somebody who had spent the whole night on the ground.

When the man came in everybody was gathered around him; asking him all sorts of questions such as, "What happened?" and "Where were you all last night?"

The man tilted his head up to give a reply. "I was out on a late night walk, and I was accosted by a demon wolf."

Setesh looked at the man sharply. "I don't look like a demon," he whispered.

Kira laughed a little, "Well maybe not, but to someone who is drunk and alone, the resemblance is remarkable."

The man went on to tell his story to everyone around. About mid-way through his story, which was about the time Setesh entered, the crowd began to disperse. It was clear that nobody had believed him.

One man approached him afterwards, "You know, you really should stop drinking so much, it can't be good for your health."

With that, everything seemed to return to normal for the most part.

Setesh and Kira finished up their chores shortly after the band of knights left. By this time, however, it was past noon, and they decided all to rest as it was far too hot outside to do anything. The two were in the kitchen together getting something to eat for their lunch. Norris walked in on them. "Well, it looks like you two took good care of our guests. I suppose I should give you your pay now."

Norris handed them each four silver pieces which they received gratefully. "Well, there is not much left to do around here for now, that group of actors won't be back until late tonight. You two enjoy yourselves then."

With that, he left Setesh and Kira in the kitchen. They finished eating and decided that the sun had gone down enough to allow them to play outside. They left the inn and went out into the forest.

There were many things to do out here. They decided just to walk around for a while though. Kira separated herself for a moment to look out over a cliff. At a vast gorge lay below. It had a beautiful stream running through it. Setesh walked over to her. "What are you looking at?" he asked.

"I used to always come over to this cliff." She said. "I have been doing it since I was little." There is such a beautiful valley below, it's nice just to come out and watch from time to time." "I know the feeling," said Setesh thinking about his secret spot back home. "I used to know of a place just like this back in Sheranfolk"

"Oh...right," She said, "That's where you were when you fell asleep."

"That's the place," he said, staring out along the valley's edge. Kira went over to join him.

Kira screamed suddenly as the ground below them gave way. Setesh jumped back onto more solid ground and managed to grab hold of Kira's arm. By this time Setesh had managed to turn most of his body into its altered form. His claws were digging into Kira's arm drawing blood. His arm also now bled from being cut on the rocks as they fell to the ground far below.

Setesh pulled her up with his newfound strength and held her back away from the cliff. They had avoided one disaster, but this nonetheless left them in a state of shock. They headed back to the inn where it was safe.

Upon arriving at the inn, Kira made a stop inside the wool shed and came out with a few spools of gauze. She wrapped some around her own arm, and then moved toward Setesh. While she was inside the shed, Setesh had turned back into his normal self. To Kira's surprise, Setesh's arm was already healed for the most part. All that remained was a small scar that looked as though it was years old. "I don't think I will need any of that," he said. "That's amazing!" said Kira, "How did you heal so quickly?"

"I don't know," Setesh replied, "Maybe its because I am a wolf now. Whatever the reason, I am not complaining."

"If only I was so fortunate," she said "Maybe then I wouldn't have to explain claw marks to my father."

"Well I'll think of something," she said in a more happy tone, in the meantime let's go get cleaned up, I would hate for this mess to give us away."

Setesh simply nodded and followed her off to the bath house where they cleaned themselves up before they had to eat dinner. Once they were finished, they left out into the dining hall once again. Here, they ran into Norris who questioned her about her arm. She told him that she scraped it on a tree branch while they were playing, and this seemed to satisfy him.

They grabbed some food from the kitchen once again, and ate it in the dining hall. As they were sitting there, Setesh looked closely at Kira's bandage. It was blood stained, but it didn't seem like much had occurred since she had wrapped it. "Let me see your arm," Setesh said, "I want to check something."

Kira held out her arm without question and Setesh turned it over to where the scratch was. Grabbing it from the top, he pulled it off. Kira was in as much shock as he to find that her wound had also healed over.

"What does this mean?" she asked though not sure she wanted the answer. "Am I a wolf now too?"

Setesh hung his head down lower. "I am not sure, but there is only one way to find out. Meet me outside tonight and I will see if you can transform as well."

They finished eating and did some cleaning around the inn. Shortly after the actors had come back from their show and were now all turning in for the night.

Setesh and Kira each went into their rooms where they pretended to go to sleep, though neither of them really could.

After she was sure that everyone had fallen asleep, Kira got up out of bed and wandered over to the window sill. She decided not to risk trying to climb out again and instead took the alternative route down the stairs. When she reached the bottom, she hurried quietly past the curtain and out the door. Setesh was already outside waiting for her. "What took you so long," he said "I have been out here for a while."

"Not so loud," she yelled in a whisper, "I wanted to make sure everyone was asleep. Wow, I haven't felt this good in a while. It's no wonder you were running around so much the night we first went out.

"Yeah, it's beginning to look as though you are a wolf after all." Setesh said, "Do you feel anything, any sensation in your body to change."

"Not really," she said, "What exactly does it feel like?"

"It's a warm feeling," He said, "Its almost as though your skin is being pushed out but something is stopping it from moving. It's not a bad feeling though."

"No, I don't feel that," she said questioningly, "Are you sure that's what it is?"

"Definitely!" was his response, "You know come to think of it, I didn't feel that sensation either until I smelled that phial. That must have been what the strange man in the city meant by it being a catalyst. It makes the change easier. Didn't you say that you left it in the tunnel?" "Yeah" she whispered, "The one back in the city when we escaped."

"So let's go get it" said Setesh, "The only way to find out whether or not you're a wolf like me is for you to smell it and see if you transform.

"Well, let's go track it down and find out for ourselves then, shall we?" Kira pointed to the road ahead signaling for Setesh to lead the way.

Setesh took the hint and started off down the road. He started slow, but then quickly picked up the pace upon discovery that Kira could keep up quite easily. This was yet another sign to him that she indeed had acquired the gift as well.

When they arrived at the city, they decided not to even go in through the main gate. Instead, they hurried around to the opposite side where they had come out from the secret passage a few nights ago.

To their surprise, the wooden door which had been broken by Setesh on the night of their flight from the city had now been replaced and was now locked with three locks.

Setesh looked around for a moment, "Do you think this is still in use by whoever made it?" "I don't know," she said, "but if it is, let's hope that they aren't here right now."

Setesh looked around a second time to make sure that no one was watching. Upon seeing no one, he transformed into his full lupine self. The transformation took only a second, he was getting faster each time.

With his new form, he reached down and grabbed the handles which were bolted to the wood. He pulled as hard as he could, but instead of snapping the chains as he was trying to, he ended up ripping the handles out of the wood, flinging him on his back. Kira chuckled slightly at this.

Getting up, they opened the door together now that the chains had come off with the handles. Setesh jumped down into the pit landing with a soft thud. Kira stared out over the edge, but was unsure of whether or not she should try to jump as well. After considering the ladder, she decided to try jumping anyways. As she fell, her heart was racing; she began to regret jumping at all. Suddenly she hit the ground as softly as Setesh, though with a lot less grace. She stood up after a second as she had rolled onto the ground shortly after impact. "Are you okay?" Setesh asked.

"I am just fine," she said a little surprised herself. "Come on, let's go look for that phial."

Setesh helped her up, and they continued down through the tunnel being careful not to miss anything in the faint light. After a while, they reached the point at which they had come in the night that they had escaped.

Unsatisfied with their search, they went back through the tunnel once again, In hopes of finding the phial. This time, however, they came to a bend that they had not realized up until was actually a split in the tunnel. Following this split, they walked quietly for some time before Setesh stopped and made Kira do the same. "Do you here that?" he asked unsure of himself.

"No, what is it?" she asked in return.

"I thought I heard voices up ahead." He whispered. Let's move up slowly and see what it is."

They continued up the hall and found that there was light up ahead. Proceeding even more carefully now, Kira could also hear the voices.

Now that they were closer, they found the source of both, behind a wooden door; they could see light coming in through the cracks. It was beyond the door that they could hear the voices quite clearly now. From the sound of it, it was a gang of rogues. This did not surprise the two children, as they suspected that the tunnels had belonged to this type anyways. They took a moment to listen in on what was being said. "Fellow frayers of the law," continued the voice, "We have been called here tonight to report that someone has found the location of our escape route." The room went silent for a moment. "Three days ago, someone came down here and smashed the doors of hideout. We were at first unable to turn up who it was that had done this, but after searching around, we found two very important clues. First, we found tracks like those of an animal, and second, we found this. This stone phial contains essence of wolfsbane which at first we thought belonged to one of our own given its poisonous properties; however, in corroboration with a story from our contacts in the knighthood, we have learned that one of the knights saw a giant wolf-like demon in the area not a night ago. I am afraid to say that we now have a shape shifter on our hands, for it is the only thing that fits the profile. If that is the case, we have no choice but to assume that we missed our target in Sheranfolk, and the prophecy has been fulfilled despite our efforts. We are going to have to take part in yet another raid if we don't want to see this land lost to anarchy..." Setesh pulled away from the door. This last part of the speech had disturbed him the most. Not only did these rogues have the phial, but they were the ones that had burnt Sheranfolk to the ground. Worst of all now, it seemed to him that they only did it to try and get to him.

Tears began to form in his eyes and Kira moved over to comfort him. "Come on," she said, let's get that stone phial, and then we can worry about them later."

"Let's go outside, I will wait on one of the exits and you can wait on the other, we will keep watch until they all leave. If one of them is carrying the phial signal me and we will track him down, otherwise we will search the place after they all leave."

Kira nodded and they split up, Kira went into the city, and Setesh went outside. He quickly closed the doors, and pushed the handles back into the wood so that it appeared as though nothing had been disturbed. They each waited a considerable amount of time near the exits before anyone came out. When they did, some came out through each of the exits. Neither Kira nor Setesh spotted the phial being carried on any of the bandits that were leaving. Eventually the flow of people stopped and the path was resealed. Kira came back around to Setesh through the main gate as the path that she had come through before was now locked.

"Did you see anyone who was carrying the phial?" Setesh asked; a dark and angry tone in his voice.

Kira simply shook her head. They went back over to the door which Setesh again ripped off. They headed back over to where the meeting room was before. It was too dark to see there even for a wolf's eyes, but luckily, they found a torch with some flint nearby. Upon lighting it, they scoured the place looking for the phial.

They found it in an alcove off in the corner. It wasn't well guarded, but then again, it wasn't common for thieves to guard things from being stolen as they were the ones who would be likely to steal it anyways. Setesh grabbed the phial and they turned to leave. As they walked out to where there was enough light to allow them to see without the torch, Setesh looked back into the dark room. He thought twice about burning the whole place before they left but Kira reminded him that there were many innocent people above. He shoved the torch into a barrel set out to collect rain water. It quickly extinguished.

They left the hideout and didn't say a word to each other until they were back at the inn.

Once here, they vanished into the wool shed. Setesh looked at the phial and then handed it over to Kira. She looked at it for a moment and then paused. She wasn't sure now if she really wanted to become a wolf now. Still it wouldn't change anything as long as she could control it. After a few second thoughts about it, she opened the phial and sniffed its contents. For a moment, nothing happened, then suddenly she felt the same sensation that Setesh had described earlier. She couldn't contain it though and her body began to shift in the same way Setesh's had. She, however, possessed fur of the purest black.

Chapter 9:

Setesh looked at her a bit awestruck. He was surprised to find himself in a state of attraction to this new form.

Kira in turn loved her new form. It felt so good to lose the constraints of her old form. In this new form, she felt as powerful as ever. Any second thoughts she had up to this point were now distant memories. She leapt left and right just testing her new abilities. "How do I change back?" she wanted to say, but faltered to do so under her new guise.

This put a semi-smile on Setesh's face. He had learned after the first night that in order to talk, one has to transform their head into a human state. Changing back into his human form entirely, he grabbed her paw and led her into the bath house where he had spent his first night as a wolf. This was one of the few places that were so well covered that no moonlight could enter. He led down the back stairs to avoid letting anyone hear her as they went through the inn.

"Stay down here for a while," he said to her in a more calm tone than he had had all night. "Once your out of the moonlight long enough, you will begin to change back. Remember how it feels to lose that energy and the sensation you get when you change back. It is only by replication of those thoughts that you will be able to change at will."

Kira nodded her head, in acknowledgement only realizing shortly afterward that Setesh could not see her anyways. She sank down into a pool of water beside Setesh as they waited. It didn't matter that their clothes were getting wet because they were going to have to wash them anyways. Setesh stripped his off entirely, though Kira could not see this. Soon enough, Kira felt the change occurring. It wasn't long before she got her vocals back. "Wow," she said, "That was certainly an interesting feeling."

"I thought you might like it," Setesh responded, though still in a low whisper. "Now just wait a little bit longer, and I will show you how to change at will."

They waited for a while until sure enough; Kira was back to her normal self.

"I think I have changed back fully," she said, "now what do I do?"

Setesh backed away from the edge of the pool. "Okay, first off, do you remember the feeling that I described earlier just before you changed?"

"Yeah I do" was her response. "It felt so good at the time."

"Okay good," he said, "Now call that feeling back to memory. Make you body feel that pull once again."

Kira tried this unsuccessfully a few times but then finally, she felt her body start to twitch with the feeling."

"You're doing well now," said Setesh. "Just don't stop your body from taking the shape it wants."

Soon Kira was back into her wolf form. Setesh approached her with a new appetite than he had had before. "Now I want to show you another pleasure I have found as a wolf," he said. Without waiting for a response, he pushed his head forward forcing his lips onto hers. She struggled for a moment before she finally gave in, parting her lips to allow his soft lupine tongue into her muzzle. After a moment, Setesh finally broke the kiss and stared hard at her intent on making out even the faintest outline of her face. He was unsuccessful. Kira wrapped her paws around him and pulled him back into the kiss which he was not at all hesitant to rejoin. During this second kiss; Setesh lowered his paws to where he thought she needed to be more comfortable. She whimpered a little with pleasure as the back of his paw stroked her in the perfect spot through her clothes. Kira didn't care to ask any questions at this point. Her animal instincts took over, and she quickly tore her clothes to shreds exposing her new wolfish form fully to the water and fully to Setesh.

Setesh grinned a wolfish grin as he could now smell her arousal even through the water. He leaned forward and began nipping at the joint of Kira's ear to her head. This sent a shiver down her spine. At the same time, Setesh's hard-on had begun to poke Kira's chest. She didn't mind at all though. She pulled Setesh forward for another kiss that left them both panting into each other's muzzles. During this kiss, however, Setesh made a strong move. Taking his paw down between her legs, he began to stroke her exposed flesh all the while not breaking the kiss. She kissed him harder for this, and instinctively grabbed his dick in both hands. She began to stroke him in slow fluid motions but Setesh increased her pace by moving his hips into it enjoying the feeling thoroughly. In addition, he now began to work his pawtoes over her tight wolf pussy even harder now. She began to hump back into his hand at this and kissed him even deeper. Soon, he had managed to work in a couple of his fingers so that he now felt the soft lining of her insides. She humped his paw frantically now, wanting to cum all over it. Sensing this, as well as his own nearing climax, he pulled his hand from her. Kira whimpered at this a bit disappointed. She didn't even realize that she had let go of his cock as he did this. Without a moments warning, Setesh did what he had wanted to for a while now. Lowering his hips in the water, he pressed the tip of his cock against tight opening. Kira's heart skipped a beat as he did this, and she lowered herself as well to accommodate what was inevitable. Setesh pushed in slowly wanting to take in every pleasurable moment he could. He felt the tip of his lupine cock being enveloped by her warm silky texture. After he was a couple inches in, he stopped. It was all he could to keep from filling her on the spot. Kira put her arms around him. She wanted this just as much as he did. She broke the pause by pulling his body into hers all the way in one quick motion. Setesh loved the feeling as his semi-formed knot popped into her. This surprised her a little, not knowing what it was, but she embraced it nonetheless, feeling its warmth surge through her.

Setesh pulled back letting only the pointed tip of his cock remain in her. He held it there for a moment before plunging it straight back into her. He repeated this again and again, each time finding it harder and harder to get his knot in. Kira began to match his new pace wanting him to fill her up. Setesh, not being one to disappoint, pulled back one last time before pushing his length in slowly but forcefully until his now full-sized knot was trapped inside her. This sent Kira over the edge. She clamped down on him tightly as her climax tore through her causing Setesh to reach his at the same time. They pressed their muzzles together tightly as they did this. Setesh could feel Kira's already soft walls grow even softer as his wolf semen began to trickle out around his knot and mix with the water. They sat there tied together for what seemed like ages. After a short time, Kira transformed back into herself once again. "Why couldn't I maintain it?" She asked. "There is no moonlight down here," he said. "That's what caused you to have the strength to change in the first place. If you want to keep your form when there is no moonlight, it is at the cost of your own strength that you do so."

"If that's so, then how is it that you are able to change during the day?" she asked "And at the end, you weren't even tired."

"Well," he said, "That was only because I had basked in the moonlight the night before. It seems like once you have absorbed so much, it stays with you throughout the day. It is getting near dawn now, so if you want we can come back out tomorrow and I can show you how to better change back, even in the face of moonlight."

"That sounds good to me," she said, "We should also track down that apothecary again and see if he can give us some answers as to how I came to be a wolf as well."

"Alright," he said, "In the meantime, you should probably stay here until the sun is up. We wouldn't want anyone to spot you before you learn how to change back."

"Wait," she said, "Don't leave yet. I don't want you to be out of me just yet. Wait until you have shrunken a little bit more." Setesh agreed and stayed with her for the better part of an hour, still tied by his knot. Eventually, it shrunk enough that he could pull out of her without causing too much pain, even to her smaller human form.

Setesh got out of the pool and exited the room by way of the stairs that led to the inside of the inn. Before he reached the wooden floor, he took off his clothes and headed to the laundry room where put them in with the other dirty ones. He grabbed a clean set off the clothesline and put them on before heading up the long flight of stairs to his room where was just in time to watch the sun rise.

After it arose, he returned to the bath house where he hoped to find Kira. It was obvious now that she had left as many of the actors who were spending the night there had gone down to take their baths. He called for her nonetheless and received no answer.

Leaving from there, he went back up stairs and found her in her room. She too had changed her clothes and was now actually waiting for him.

When he came into the room, he was surprised when she through her arms around him. She was just in such a good mood that she wanted to express it. Setesh didn't know how to respond to this, he was not used to these kinds of displays of affection. She released him eventually and Setesh smiled at her for a moment. "Let's get our chores out of the way today," Kira said, "That way you will have all day to teach me how to be a wolf."

Setesh blushed a little at this. They set about their chores; each of them cleaning rooms opposite each other as fast as they could. Once the rooms were done, the two of them split the remaining tasks. Kira took care of the laundry; folding the clothes that were drying, hanging up the clothes that were soaking overnight, and putting in a new load to soak. Setesh, in turn was taking care of the pantry. The inn, had just received a new load of food stuffs, and it all needed to be put away.

It didn't take them more than a couple hours to get everything cleaned up. The sun was about a quarter of the way through its daily path. Kira told her father that Setesh and she would be going into town for a while.

They left and started towards the city. Along the way, Kira tried to change, but found that she could never maintain her shape for more than a few minutes at a time. It appeared that Setesh was right about basking in the moonlight. They continued along hurriedly and found that as with the night before, Kira could keep up well even when she wasn't in lupine form.

The main gate was open at this time of day which meant that they were free to stroll through the city as they pleased. They returned to the place of the apothecary and found him this time to be a purveyor of freshly baked breads.

"Ah a couple of children," the man said, "What brings you here today? Is it that you are in search of some fresh bread, or perhaps you need a cake for a special occasion?"

"How many professions does this guy have," Kira asked.

Setesh didn't day a word. He walked behind the counter and approached the man.

"Well if it isn't my old lupine friend," the man said with a smile, "What brings you today?"

"We're! Here," Setesh said, "Because somehow Kira has now become a wolf as well. Since you seem to know so much about this, we figured you could fill us in on some of the details of how this came about."

"Well that is an easy one my boy," the man said, "There are only two ways in which the gift may be spread. One is through consummation of marriage, or just plain breeding, I won't tell, and the other is if the one who has been given the gift has drunken the blood of one who has the gift." "But that doesn't make sense," Setesh said, "Kira hasn't drunk my blood, and I certainly haven't lain with her." he added a bit timid on his last remark. But he realized that he had not done so until after she had already been transformed.

"Well tell me then, what happened the first time you noticed this change in her?" he asked.

"Well," said Setesh, "We were playing out side. She nearly fell of a cliff and I grabbed her. My claws cut her arm when I caught her, but she healed up extremely fast just like me."

"I see," said the man, "Now tell me, when you grabbed her, were you also bleeding at all?"

"Yeah," said Setesh, "I scraped my arm as I was catching her, that's how I knew that healing fast was a sign that she was a wolf like me."

"It was more than a sign of it," the man responded, "The blood from your wound must have fallen into hers. That is quite nearly same as consuming it I'm afraid."

Kira who had been listening in on this conversation the entire time but was too nervous to talk finally spoke up. "So does that mean that Setesh made me a wolf, simply because our blood mixed together?" "That is precisely it," the man said, "Do you regret this change he has made in you?"

"No," she said "I was actually a bit jealous of him before. In truth, I love this new form."

"Then it seems all I well after all." The man said, "I have a feeling I will be seeing you two around."

With that, Kira and Setesh left the man to his business. They hurried through the streets to get something to eat. Since they had just been paid by Norris, they had plenty of money to spend. They ate their fill at a local confectionary shop. Seeing as it was now nearly noon, they decided to go somewhere out of the sun. They stopped into a local book dealer's shop and browsed around for something to read. To their surprise, they came across a book entitled "Were: Anthrosizing the Wolf" In it were depicted all of the common folklore surrounding shape shifting. Setesh bought it without hesitation. Kira and he read through it together for a while. They were quite intrigued to find that much of there experience lined up with what was in the book. Once the day had finished waxing, they started their trip home. Along the way, Setesh and Kira talked of many things. Most of it was about the obvious transformation they were both undergoing. Setesh paused along the way once. "Kira," he said, "I have a favor to ask of you."

"Whatever it is Set, I will be more than happy to help," Was her reply.

"I want you to help me kill the bandits that destroyed my village," He said. "I can't stand the thought of those bastards getting away with it any longer. At least before I could imagine that they had all been captured and executed, but now, after seeing them thriving back in the tunnel, I just can't bear the thought of them getting away with it."

"I understand," Kira said, "I couldn't imagine having to go through that and seeing the cause go unpunished. I will help you."

"Good then," Setesh said, "We will begin training tonight."

Chapter 10:

Night came fast at the inn where the two had decided to help Norris with the cooking. After a final meal for the day, the children now waited for all the actors to go to sleep. This was to be the final night that they would be in town doing their performances. Once it was clear that everyone was fast asleep, the two headed out for the night. Kira could definitely feel the need to change forming in her as she stepped into the moonlight. Setesh let himself go, embracing his new form fully and motioned for Kira to do the same.

She did and felt the warm embrace of the wolf's form herself. After a moment, Setesh pulled himself back to his human form and walked Kira through the process as well. He explained to her, that in order to change back without depleting the energy, she had to suppress all of the happiness and joy she got out of the form. She had to make herself in mind a human and her body would in turn follow. In addition he told her that it helps if you can imagine the feeling of the change on your body.

She tried this with little success, but after a while she began to slowly change back to herself.

"You are really picking this up quickly," said Setesh pleased with her progress. "Okay, try it again, but this time, do it a little faster."

Kira nodded and again let her self feel the pleasure of her lupine form. She held it for a few moments, and then let the feeling go fading more rapidly back into a human form. "Okay," said Setesh, "I think you have the idea. Now this time try to allow the feeling only on a certain part of you body. Oh and if you choose your feet, you will need a tail as well, otherwise it just doesn't work out."

Kira did as she was told and chose to do her hands this time to avoid the balance conflict all together. Her hands shifted in their form and claws grew in their appropriate place. "This isn't so hard," she said "I think I am getting the hang of it."

"Yeah," Said Setesh, "Really once you get a hold on your emotions and you imagination, the control of your form is easy."

"We will have to work on our fighting capabilities at night as well." He thought rather than said aloud. "Perhaps we could have some sparring matches."

"That's fine with me," Kira said as she pounced on him in nearly full wolf form, "I'll try to go easy on you."

Setesh leapt off the ground with her still latched on to him sending them both flying through the air. "I will try not to fair so badly myself against such a worthy opponent." For the next few months, they trained together every night, never needing to sleep as the moon gave them the energy they needed.

After the first week, they had shape shifting down pretty well. They could both do it quickly, and in sections as needed. Sparring was a bit tougher as neither of them really had any experience with it. They did pick up most of the basics though.

During this time, they went about their daily lives as if nothing eventful had happened at all. Even Norris who spent the most time around them did not really notice a change in their behavior.

After they trained for a while and were fairly confident with their skills, there remained only one thing; they had to track down the bandits and ensure that they would never wreak such destruction again. Winter was coming around now, and soon there would be snow. Since they didn't want to leave tracks, they decided that they had to do their deed soon or else wait until the next year.

One night, after completing their daily chores, they set out to the city to search for their prey. They kept their lupine forms hidden along the way. To the rest of the world, they appeared to be normal children. They asked the guard for passage through the main gate, and he allowed this as he had done many times before. Upon entering the city, they searched the usual are of the gang. They ripped the door to the tunnel off its hinges and searched it out. To their disappointment, they found nothing inside. It appeared that the hideout had been abandoned for some time. The children began to scope out the rest of the city now. Their search led them to an old tavern which they had heard was home of the thieves guild.

They snuck in through the back door and climbed the wooden rafters with ease. From here, it was easy to see that the rumors about the nature of this place had been proven true.

Looking down, they saw many who were akin to a rogue's life. They, however, were not the ones who Setesh was after. The rogues he was looking for were a group that wore red earrings as a sign of membership into their underground organization. This was an organization even more secret than the rogue guild itself.

Eventually they spotted their targets and did nothing for a time. They watched from the shadows sitting above gazing upon the essence of the spectacle. Now as the night drew on the tavern began to empty. Soon enough, the only ones left were their targets.

Sneaking down the planks, the two crept along the ground shifting into their lupine forms as they did. Even as they had trained hard for this night, there still seemed to be an impossibly large number of them to fight.

After a short conference in the back of the tavern, they decided to go with their second plan which was to capture their leader. From the position, it was clear who that was. A man was seated in front of the bar with a long black beard which was knotted up into a long crooked shape ending with a strap of leather which kept the end from fraying. Earlier, he was commanding the group of rogues as a whole. They watched and waited some more for a moment when he might separate himself from the others.

That moment came after he gave a final speech to his crew of death mongers and then left for the night. They followed him out of the tavern and through the back allies of the city. When they figured that they had him cornered and alone a last, Setesh decided to show himself. Reverting back to his human form, Setesh walked out towards the man.

"Excuse me sir," he said faking an innocent and polite tone.

The man turned around to face the boy, not at all in a threatening way. "What can I do for you lad?" the man asked.

"I was just wondering if you ever heard of a town called Sheranfolk before." Setesh said.

The man took aback as though he had seen a ghost. "Yeah," he said, "It was a town to the east that was destroyed by bandits almost two years ago. They were searching for a very evil demon spawned wolf."

"Why were they searching for this wolf?" Setesh asked his tone unchanging.

Setesh could see now that the man was old and pale. He could hear his heart racing inside his chest.

"It was evil," the man responded, we had to eliminate it.

Setesh looked at him his head drooped a little. He shifted his form slowly in a controlled manner until he had reached his full wolf form.

The man backed against the wall. "Tell me," Said Setesh shifting the part of his neck that contained his vocal cords back to their human form. "Do I look evil to you?" At that moment the man's heart stopped and he collapsed onto the ground. Blood could be seen dripping from his mouth. Setesh called for Kira and together they leapt over the wall.

There was nothing that needed to be said on the way back to the inn, though much was said that night about the state of humanity. They do not judge themselves or their measures; instead they judge only others only by their selves. This ultimately led to their destruction.

In the months that followed, nothing was reported of this man. A vagrant as he was he was known only amongst the rogues whose lust for power made him replaceable. His body was picked up by a guard and tossed aside to rot. As for Setesh and Kira, it seemed that their story was only beginning.