Family Tails

A Story of a Mixed Family in the Genetic Age

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Names of actual businesses, their products, etc, are the property of their respective owners.

Story and characters © 2013 Ronald J. Lebeck

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Chapter 33

Dr. Nemeth's trip to Alaska to "recharge" as it were was a success. One evening while she was there, Darcy had spent some time in the glade, just sitting quietly, letting her mind wander, and then she had an "eureka" moment. Darcy pulled out a little pad of paper and a pen, and began writing down what came to her. It wasn't just scientific inspiration--other images, ideas, and thoughts came to her as well, and she fervently wrote down everything, whether she understood it at the time or not. Afterwards, Darcy shared her experience with Ron and the others--one thing that was in common with Ron's own experience was a circle with two figures in the center. Darcy knew somehow that this was something big, monumentally big--and it made her both elated and scared. The human race--and indeed perhaps the world itself--was at a crossroads. This one little thing, this selfless gift of a part-human wolf, would most likely change forever life on Earth. Edgar's concerns about the other animals taken from the lab eventually proved to be correct--just before the raid conducted by members of the "5F" group, many of the other animals had been given the same treatment that showed promising with the wolves and the lynx. Those that had survived after being released into their native habitats soon began to flourish, spreading the enhancements through their respective populations. Miriam Swiftcloud and her cohorts had let one genie out of its bottle, and loosened the seal on another--now others are about to pull the cork on that other bottle to let out a much larger genie.

When February rolled around, Lupina made the decision to hold off trying to get pregnant this year, so she got a prescription for "the pill", which greatly cut down the length of her heat period to slightly less than a week, as well as its intensity. Ron also used appropriate measures, just to be safe. One day, Kapik came to the house--it was her time. Lupina and Rosie both razzed their mate good naturedly, though deep down, each did actually feel a twinge of jealousy, even though they had agreed to and actually encouraged this. After all, this was to be a gift to all humanity--G.E.L.F.s and humans alike. They had explained to the kids that Kapik needed daddy's help with something very special, and it would require him to be gone overnight. Ron loaded into his pack what he would need to spend the night out in the extremely cold winter weather. They could have simply done this in the house, which would have been far more comfortable at least temperature-wise, but it was decided that Kapik's home would be the better choice. "Time to let the wolf in you out," Lupina had told him with a wry grin. Ron hugged and kissed each one of the kids, then Rosie, and finally Lupina.

"I'm only doing this for the good we hope it will bring," Ron said pensively to his wife/mate.

"I know, baby. You be careful out there, we don't want anything freezing off," Lupina said with a little humor.

Ron wrapped his arms around Lupina and hugged her tightly. When he looked into her eyes, she knew what was in his heart.

"I know, baby. Rosie and I will be right here waiting for you with the kids."

Kapik watched the whole time, sensing with her special awareness the strong feelings of love and loyalty between Ron and his mates. Kapik experienced regret for the first time in her life, knowing that she was coming between them, even if it was the only way she could pass her gift on to future generations. Kapik had thought as long and as hard as her mind permitted on this, and she simply saw no other way. She did have feelings for him that she never quite understood, and had been frustrated at being unable to tell him until after Lupina came and Ron received the additional enhancements. By then, however, it was too late for he had chosen the "tall furry person" as his mate. Sesi did her best to console her eldest daughter at the time, though Kapik spent time alone in the glade, trying to deal with her feelings. Iluq and Mumik tried to get their older sister to play, but she didn't feel like it, and eventually something else caught their attention. Even Amaguq, her brother of the same age, tried to cheer his sister up by bringing the t-shirt she had "appropriated". She laid her head on it and whined softly to herself, until she fell asleep. Kapik dreamed, and in her dream, a great white stag appeared before her--she had never seen such a being in the forest before. She could sense immense strength and power in him, and great age, too.

"What troubles the heart of a young wolf so?" the stag asked Kapik in her dream.

She tried to explain as best as she could about how she felt and why.

The great white stag walked fearlessly up to Kapik and said, "We know the one you speak of, young wolf. Be patient, you may yet get your heart's desire. We will meet again when the time is right."

When Kapik awakened from her dream, she rubbed her eyes with her paws and looked around--she was alone in the glade. Kapik stretched, stood and shook herself, and reached down to pick up the t-shirt with her mouth so that she could carry it back to the den. When she lifted it, she froze for a moment, seeing something that wasn't there before--hoof prints in the ground.

Ron followed Kapik through the snowy forest to the little dry cave that served as den to his wolf friends. It had been a while since he was last inside it, and he had never ventured far into it during the times he had been in it.

Crawling through the small opening, Ron called out, "Knock-knock, anybody home?"

He was promptly met with enthusiastic face lickings from the rest of Kapik's family.

"Heh alright, alright now...I did take a shower before coming over, I don't need another bath!"

"Kapik got wet, too! Man-brother Ron made Kapik get clean, fur all soft and fluffy now!"

Kapik proceeded to show her family through mental images the shower she had been given, being blown dry, and brushed. None of them had ever seen anything like it before, though Ron had at times washed them outside during the summers to help get rid of pests, and they always enjoyed a good brushing.

The little cave opened up into a room that was almost tall enough for Ron to stand up. He dug into his pack and pulled out a few dripless candles, lit them, and found places to set them.

"Well, that makes the place a little more homey," Ron said with a little chuckle.

Looking around, it was just an ordinary little cave as far as he could tell--no cave paintings, no relics, or anything else that would make it remarkable. Ron did notice that a current of air did move through the cave, so perhaps there was another opening somewhere farther back. A passage went on back, though he couldn't see far enough to get an idea.

"Has anyone been back here?" Ron asked as he peered into the passage.

"Magnus did once, said too dark, couldn't see," Atka replied.

"Maybe one of these days somebody should---just to see where it goes," Ron suggested.

"Why? Too dark."

"Not if you bring your own light," Ron said with a grin, pulling out and turning on his little flashlight.

"You look now?" Kapik asked, cocking her head to one side.

"Not today, sweetie...maybe another time," Ron replied, putting his light away.

Ron unrolled his self-inflating mattress pad, opened the valve to let air in, and sealed it after the foam inside expanded sufficiently. When that was ready, he put a section of tarp down for a ground cloth and set the mattress pad on top of it. The wolves watched with curiosity while he got his sleeping bag out and unrolled it. After he sat down on the bag, he spied something that looked familiar.

"Kapik, is that my shirt over there?"

"Was yours, mine now," she said, wagging her tail a little.

"I wondered what you did with it after you took it. Wearing my shirt, eh? I thought only Rosie did that," he said with a grin.

"Kapik sleep with it, remind of you. Scent gone now."

"Hmm, well, I'll tell you what, Kapik--I'll take that back home with me in the morning, wash it, and I'll wear it for a while, and then give it back to you, okay?"

"You put scent on it again for Kapik?"

"Yes, I'll put my scent back on it for you."

That made Kapik happy.

Later that evening, after he had dozed off with Kapik lying against him, Ron had an unusual dream. In this dream, he saw Kapik change into something part wolf and part human female, and then she stood up on two legs and walked shyly towards him, holding her paw/hand out to him. She looked strangely beautiful, even though unlike G.E.L.F. females, this dream image of Kapik was not totally covered with fur. She had fur on her shoulders and back, fur on the upper part of her chest and running down between and around petite, bare breasts, down her abdomen to between her legs. Her forearms and lower legs were covered with light gray fur that blended into white. Her eyes were amber and somewhat lupine, though the shape of her face was somewhere between wolf and human. Her ears were a little lower on her head, but still pointed and furry, she had a bushy wolf tail and very long hair on her head that was light gray with white streaks.

"Kapik?" Ron asked in his dream.

"It is her," said another voice, old, but full of strength.

In the dream, Ron looked in the direction of the voice, and saw a huge white stag. "We meet again, man who is no longer of Man," he spoke.

Ron's dream form knelt and bowed his head in respect and reverence towards the white stag.

"You remember, child of She who claims you, and you do me this honor. You may ask of me three questions and I will answer with what wisdom and knowledge I may give."

Ron thought very carefully before asking his questions.

"When Kapik passes her gift to her offspring, whether by me or another, whill she retain full use of the abilities she now possesses?"

"Yes, her abilities shall remain intact. Ask another."

"The offspring Kapik and I will produce, how many will there be of male and female?"

"The number shall be two, one female and one male. Ask one more," the white stag answered.

"How will Kapik's gift be spread throughout the world?"

The great stag looked off into the distance, cocking his head a little as if listening to another.

"By direct lineage, and by the efforts of she who is mother to many not her own. We have one question for you--why do you choose to do this?" he asked after a moment.

"I do this for love."

The stag nodded his head once.

Ron's dream form bowed his head once more, and he thanked the great white stag for the honor of his presence and for the knowledge he gave.

"Few there are who still harkens to the ways of old, son of this world, yet you are counted among them. We shall always be close by as long as the path is followed."

And with that, the great white stag turned and walked away, fading from view into the mists of otherwhere.

"Ron?" Kapik asked in the dream in her part-human form.

"Kapik?"

"Do you accept me?"

"I do. Do you accept me?"

She put her arms around him in the dream and held herself close.

"Yes."

In the dream, several others appeared, similar in form to Kapik's part-human, part-wolf form. Somehow, he recognized them as Kapik's parents, Atka and Sesi, and her siblings, Amaguq, Iluq, and Mumik. They all pressed close, touching, sharing thoughts and feelings. After some amount of time--Ron really couldn't tell if all of this happened in mere moments, or much longer--Kapik took his hand and they went to a soft spot, and then they lay down together.

"Make me yours..."

"Geez, Lu, this bed seems kinda...empty, ya know?" Rosie commented as she ran her hand over the place where their mate usually lays.

"Yeah, it does," Lupina agreed quietly, doing the same thing as Rosie.

"Lu...are we doin' the right thing?" Rosie asked hesitantly.

"You mean with Kapik?"

"Yeah. This is kinda weird in a way," Rosie said.

"Yeah."

"I miss him."

"Me, too."

"I hope he's okay out there...it's awfully cold tonight."

"I know. Sesi said they'd keep him warm."

"I'd rather we'd be keeping him warm."

"Yeah."

"Lu? Is Kapik gonna move in with us now?"

"Um...I don't know. The kids would probably like it."

"Yeah."

Several minutes whent by, but Rosie just couldn't sleep. She got up and went into the kitchen to make herself a cup of herbal tea. After a little while, Lupina walked into the kitchen and got something to snack on from the refrigerator.

"Couldn't sleep either?" Rosie asked.

"Nope."

"Why did we talk him into this?"

"Because we all thought this would be a good thing in the long run," Lupina replied.

Early the next morning Ron woke up--he was in his sleeping bag, spooned against Kapik's back, and the rest of her pack snuggled around them. "I wonder how much of that was real, and how much was imagined?" he thought to himself, thinking about the night before.

One thing he was certain about--make that two things--was that he needed to get up and take care of the usual morning routine...right after he could find his clothes, and that someone's leg was across his neck. Finding his flashlight, he discovered that it was Iluq's leg--and it wasn't her front leg, either.

"Whew! It's a good thing I didn't roll over! I'm sorry Iluq, but that's just not gonna happen, girl!"

It took a little while for Ron to find and gather up his clothes. As soon as he was dressed enough, he slipped outside into the frigid air to take care of his immediate need. It didn't take too long to pack up the few things that he had brought with him to the cave, and soon it was time to go back home.

"Well folks, I guess it's time I head back home. Thanks for letting me spend the night with you," Ron said when he was ready to leave. All but Kapik nuzzled him, though she nuzzled and licked the faces of her family. As soon as Ron got down to crawl out of the little cave, Kapik came to the front carrying the old t-shirt.

"I go, too."

Ron looked at Kapik and asked, "Are you sure?"

"Kapik yours now, go where you go."

Ron looked at the others and then nodded once to Kapik.

"Well, let's go home then, sweetie."

"Yea! Daddy's home!" Violet called out after he came inside. She had been watching old cartoons on the TV in the great room, along with her brother and sisters. They jumped up and ran to him, greeting him enthusiastically, and then they greeted Kapik. Lupina and Rosie heard the commotion and got up, not having slept much, and hurried out from the bedroom to greet their mate.

"We were worried about you out there!" Lupina exclaimed, hugging Ron fiercely.

"Yeah, Lu and I hardly slept any all night!" Rosie said, throwing her arms around him, too.

"It wasn't too bad in the cave, and I had plenty of warm bodies snuggled up with me all night," Ron said with a little grin.

"Lucky you...that big ol' bed seemed kinda empty last night," Rosie said with a little pout.

"I imagine so, luv."

"Well, at least you didn't freeze anything vital off last night," Lupina said in a way that made Ron arch an eyebrow.

He almost came back with a snappy comment, but decided to say something else because the kids were still nearby.

"I think I'm going to get a shower and clean clothes, and then fix something for breakfast."

"Okay, baby, I'll get some coffee going," Lupina said, giving Ron a kiss.

"I'll take one with you," Rosie said, and followed Ron to the bedroom.

Lupina glanced down at Kapik for a moment, before kneeling down to stroke her head.

"Are you going to be staying here with us, Kapik?" she asked quietly.

"This Kapik's den-place now. Lupina accept Kapik?" she asked with a submissive, though hopeful posture.

Lupina gently hugged Kapik and said, "Of course I do, sweetie. Um...I guess you'll have to do your business outside for a while, until we can fix up something in the basement for you when it's too cold or rainy outside. I suppose we'll have to get a bed for you, too."

"Kapik sleep on this," she replied, and then picked up the old t-shirt that she had brought in with her.

"What's that?" Lupina asked, wrinkling her nose at the dirty item.

Kapik held it up in her mouth and let Lupina look at it. When she saw that it was an old t-shirt, Lupina laughed a little.

"Was this the shirt of Ron's that you got from the hamper in the bathroom and ran off with?"

"Used to be Ron's, mine now."

Lupina noted how Kapik no longer referred to Ron as "man-brother", and seems to be using proper names, even calling her by her own name.

"I think maybe we should wash this, it's kinda...dirty."

"Ron said he put scent back on it for Kapik."

"Okay, we,, it's going to get washed before he does. I'll put this in with the rest of the dirty clothes."

"Kapik know! Kapik remember where goes."

"Well, okay, here you go, then. Go put it in the hamper in the bathroom--in our bathroom."

"Kapik do!" she said, and taking the shirt from Lupina, she headed for the master bedroom.

Even though the door wasn't shut all the way, Kapik could have opened it easily enough. All of the doors in the house have lever-type latches instead of the usual round doorknobs, and since Kapik--like the rest of her family--is larger than a normal wild wolf, she could easily work the lever using her muzzle. Kapik pushed the door open enough to slip in, and then padded across the bedroom towards the bathroom. She heard water running and voices, so she waited a little bit to listen.

While Ron worked the lather into the fur on Rosie's back, she asked, "So what was it like last night?"

Ron sensed Kapik's presence nearby, so he chose his words carefully.

"It was...different."

"How so?"

"Well, it's kind of difficult to explain," Ron said, lathering up her tail.

"Why?"

"Well, I'm not sure how much was dream, mental imagery being projected into me, vision, or what."

"But you did...," Rosie started to say before Ron cut her off by putting a finger to her lips.

"Rosie, you should know me well enough by now to know that I don't 'kiss and tell'. I don't tell you all about what Lu and I do, just like I don't tell her all about what you and I do. I definitely don't tell Rob or anyone else what we do in private, just like he won't go blatherin' about what he and Helga does. Kapik's a sentient being just like the rest of us, and she should have the right to her own privacy, too," he explained gently.

Rosie dropped her ears and tail, and snuggled against her mate, letting the water run over them.

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

When the air-drying system started up, Kapik put the old t-shirt on top of the hamper, and then went quietly back to the great room to be with the kids. When he and Rosie stepped out of the shower, Ron saw the shirt lying on top of the hamper and smiled a little to himself.

Over the next several months, the household adjusted to having Kapik being a full-time part of it, and they watched her belly grow. Her parents and siblings came by often, especially Sesi, who kept fussing over her daughter's well-being. Kapik received periodic check-ups, even though she didn't much care to go to the animal hospital because it reminded her of the memories her parents had shared with her from their days in the lab. The veterinary staff were surprised to see Ron bring Kapik in, and at first didn't want to have anything to do with what they thought was a regular--albeit unusually large--wild wolf. When they were told that Kapik was part human, they didn't believe it, until Ron showed them the DNA results Dr. Nemeth had sent, but then they really didn't want to have any responsibility for her.

"We aren't allowed to treat humans," they said after reviewing the papers.

"She's only part human, and the regular hospital won't take care of her because she's mostly wolf--they said to bring her here," Ron countered.

"Yeah, that's stupid because I'm a wolf, and they took me when I had our kids," Lupina added.

"Maybe we oughtta see if the docs at The Center could come up and check on her," Rosie suggested.

"Hmm, that's not a bad idea, Rozer. Lu, get on the horn and call Nemeth, see if she can do anything," Ron said.

Lupina gave him a questioning look and mouthed the word "horn", Ron grinned, shook his head, and rolled his eyes...and then held his hand to his head in the gesture for talking on the phone. Lupina stuck her tongue out at him while she made the call. Eventually, things were worked out so that Kapik could receive proper pre and post natal care, as well as delivery of her offspring.

When the day finally came, Kapik's little ones were delivered normally, and just as had been foretold, she had one female and one male. The female was the first to come out, and she shocked the medical staff, for the little one looked partly wolf and partly human. When the male came out, he, too, looked partly wolf and partly human.

I suppose the media had the right idea after all," Lupina said with a grin, referring to when her kids were born.

"Yeah, just got the wrong set of parents," Rosie snickered.

Well, they're going to have a proper chance at life, and not get dumped somewhere like their grandparents were," Ron said with determination.

Kapik was happy to know that her little ones have a good home and a good pack to care for and raise them properly. When it was time to head home after it was determined that mother and babies were okay to leave, Ron had a ramp for Kapik to use so that it would be easier for her to get inside the SUV. Lupina had made sure to bring the baby carriers that were used for Sierra and Cormac to put the little ones in for the ride home. As soon as they pulled up to the house, everyone was waiting to greet them, including the G.E.L.F.s who had moved in along the south side of the property. Atka and Sesi in particular were first to greet Kapik and her two little ones, with Kapik's siblings also crowding around.

"Well 'Mom', you're a grandma now," Ron said happily to Sesi as she fussed over the two newborns. Sesi leaned into him, so Ron hugged her and Sesi wolf-kissed him excitedly.

"Sesi happy! Live to see Kapik's little ones!"

"I think you might still be around to see their children, 'Mom', Ron said with a smile.

Sesi looked at Ron, dropped her ears and wagged her tail a little.

"Sesi feel old, get tired quicker. Atka, too."

This was the first time Sesi mentioned anything about being old, which made Ron wonder about how much time both she and Atka might have left in this life. They both are at least twenty-five years old, well beyond the normal lifespan of regular wolves. He did not want to think about his friends eventually passing into the Other World just yet, even though it is an inevitability that must be faced.

This day is a day of joy, a time to celebrate new life--and a heralding of a new age of humanity.