To Grow

Now that it was lunch time, I had to regretfully leave my new friend, Em, short for Emerald. I was still brimming with happiness and energy. I made a new friend! A friend! And she talked to me, and we had a conversation, and I had a conversation with someone other than the Dean!

I walked happily to the trees, and took off my clothes, then shifted into my quick furred form. The prey had been getting scarce due my hunting. Soon, I would have to move farther away from the school. The fence wasn't an issue, and finding my way back wouldn't be one either, but something about it just rubbed me the wrong way. But why? Why would hunting rub me the wrong way? 

As I absentmindedly bit into a rabbit -a rare treat- I froze. My ears pricked up, and I lifted my head into the air. I sniffed deeply into the wind, and focused pass the scent of blood from my lunch.

I stood up, and crouched down. I could smell the scent of... something sweet, yet sour. And multiple sources of that sickly sweet scent that radiated from many male and female students alike that made my nose tingle uncomfortably and sometimes painfully. 

Fuck. I let my guard down. I should've checked! I snarled to myself. I had grown complacent due to the fact that students rarely came here during lunch, as students were required to eat in the cafeteria. I stopped snarling and calmed down. I followed the scents towards its source. I stayed low on the ground, and prowled forwards slowly and patiently. The students -all female- were crouched together, whispering to each other. I could catch a few words, but not all.

"....where...nose...here...we..." was all I heard. I slowly circled around them, making sure to not step on the fallen branches and leaves. Once I was in position, I planned my next move. There were three girls crouched between two bushes, blocking them from the school's view somewhat. They were also a distance from the school.

Two were unfamiliar, and one was Em. Should I pounce, or should I not? But they probably saw me shift and hunt... I can't kill them, or I would get in trouble, so I should scare them into submission? But humans were complex things, so who knew what they would do? Do they have evidence? I should ask them for any evidence they have of me, dispose of it, and let them go. The worse thing that'll happen from there will be rumours.

I shifted into a big furred one slowly. It was hard to control the speed of shifting, but I managed to do it slow enough that it didn't register as a 'sudden movement'. I coiled the muscles in my hind legs, and pounced on top of one of the unfamiliar ones. I wouldn't hurt Em, because after all, she was my one and only friend.

Once I was squarely on the girl's back, I ignored the panicked screaming and shifted into a quick furred one. I bit onto the other unfamiliar girl's shirt, and tugged her so she fell. Then I tugged on Em's shirt -though more gently- and made sure she fell on top of another girl, rather than the ground.

I then placed myself between them and the school, and shifted into my human form. The two unfamiliar girls were still screaming, though Em was laughing hysterically. Is this how she dealt with stress?

"Did you see?" I asked them over their high pitched screaming. They sounded like prey about to be killed. 

Their screaming was irritating my ears. I furrowed my brows at them, and asked them, in my best human growl, "Did. You. See?" 

The two girls and Em stopped their screaming and laughing. The three of them stared at me like prey about to be eaten. I stared back at them. My hair had been pushed back, and for once, I could see properly. Maybe I should find a way to push all my hair back?

One of the girls cracked, and she nodded hastily. "Y-yes w-we saw! We s-saw everything!" Em and the other girl stared at her in disbelief. 

"Evidence?" I growled.

"H-here!" The same girl stuttered, and handed over her phone. I glanced at it. I was taught how to use one, but I had forgotten most of my lessons on using a phone. So instead, I did the easy thing. I smashed her phone on the ground. I dug a hole, and buried the phone.

"Evidence?" I asked Em and the other girl.

The other girl brought out her phone, hesitated, and said, "I'll delete the video and photos, alright? Just don't smash my phone." I hesitated, but grabbed her phone anyways and smashed it. Humans were very tricky. Their -our- trickery was how I had been captured in the first place.

I looked at Em. 

"I didn't take any photos nor videos," she said. I could smell fear off of her, but her voice was the calmest of them all. As expected of my friend. 

I stepped to the side, and watched as the two girls scrambled up and ran away. I suppressed the part of me that wanted to chase them down. 

"I-I'm sorry," Em muttered. I looked down at her, sitting on the ground.

"It's fine. But I am disappointed." I replied. And I was. She could've asked me, and I would've told her, because she's my friend.

"I-I was just curious, and I just wanted to fit in. I...I'm so sorry," She muttered. Her head was down, but I knelt down, and put my fingers under her chin, and lifted her head gently, just in case I accidentally ripped her head off.

"It's fine. And meet my eyes. A real predator doesn't cower and shake." I tried my best to give her a pep talk. I could see a shaky smile forming on her face, and I smiled back at her. She flinched, but continued to smile. I smiled wider, and picked her up. She only reached up to my shoulder in the first place, so it was easy to do so. I then set her down onto her feet. I could see that her face was red. Blushing, it was called.

"I need to find my clothes. Bye." I shifted into a big furred one, because a big furred one is just slightly faster than a quick furred one, but their endurance is worse. But I wasn't running long distances, so it was fine.

"W-wait! Can I go with you?" Em asked. I looked back at her, and nodded. I knelt down, and waited patiently for her to get on my back. With her additional weight, it was harder to run, and I had to go slower, but it was alright. I felt her shift on my fur, and rub my back, stroking my fur. It was sort of comforting, actually.

I easily found my pile of clothing, shifted into human form, and put them on. While I was doing so, I could feel Em's gaze on me the whole time, and I could smell something...hmm...where did I last smell something like that? For me, fear was the easiest to smell, because that was what I smelled the most often.

Once everything was on, I turned around and asked her, "Is there something on me?" 

Her face turned scarlet, and she stuttered, "N-no." I shrugged, and began walking back towards the school.

"I have woodworking next. What do you have?" I asked her.

"Oh, I also have woodworking. They said that it was the only class with slots open. Couldn't you have chosen something else?" 

"I chose woodworking," I replied. I saw her face flush again.

"O-oh. Sorry."

"It's fine," I replied. What was she sorry for? "Let's go together."

She nodded. I began walking to the woodworking building. 

I love the scent and feel of wood. The smell brings me peace, and wood just gives me a sense of security and calmness. It was my personal sanctuary. I breathed in deeply, and exhaled, then breathed deeply again. With each breath, I could feel myself calm down more.

Then, I suddenly remembered something. My forms' mating periods are coming soon. 

"Ah, hello, Storm! And you have a friend with you!" Mr. Hidely said. He was an old man, with light wrinkles and grey hair. He was also my favourite teacher.

"Hello, I'm Em, short for Emerald," Em introduced herself.

"Hello, Em!" He greeted her back. I walked to my workstation, and continued on my project from where I left off.