well here it is! i have to admit im not so sure how this chapter will be responded to, i think i did ok but not that many exciting things happened. well ill just let you read and see for yourself!
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Chapter 5
Time stops for no man. But werecats, oh that’s a completely different story. See, for werecats, especially a transformed one stuck in a room with three untransformed females all trying to sleep, time practically stands stills. It’s hard enough trying to sleep as a werecat in a strange place, but try sleeping as a werecat in a strange place with three strangers that all act like you’re infected with some horrible disease.
Which I probably am.
I flicked my tail and tried to block out the sound of whispers. Whispers that I could suddenly hear way better thanks to my improved cat hearing. It wasn’t working.
“… won against Griff too?” The first voice was soft and scared.
“Yeah I saw her, it was amazing!” low and excited.
“Great yeah but do you know who took her under his wing? Rourke Wooten,” high and scheming.
The first two voices gasped.
“You mean Llewellyn’s right hand man?” the second voice asked in amazement.
There was a pause.
“She must be pretty important. I wonder where she’s from,” the second voice murmured.
“I don’t trust her,” snapped the third, “I heard she nearly killed Rourke.”
Another pause ensued.
I had a feeling that being a werecat wasn’t usually easy, but under my circumstances, it was going to be pretty crappy.
I twisted on my cot, burying my head deeper in my paws. The plus side of being a werecat is that it’s so incredibly awesome to be a giant cat. How did I ever survive without a tail? Or fur?Under normal circumstances, I would be totally in love with myself. But these weren’t normal circumstances. I wasn’t normal. What was I? Why was it that I, unlike all other werecats, changed into a giant cat without a full moon? Why, why, why?
My ears flicked, my tail twitched, my whiskers quivered... I was real. I wasn’t dreaming. Sadly.
I heaved a huge sigh and pushed my body into a sitting position. The three girls’ eyes were locked on me. I yawned, teasing them with the sight of my enormous teeth. They shrunk back against the wall as I slunk off my cot and onto the floor, assuming a comfortable, curled-up position. I tried to force my eyelids closed, but they were being unusually rebellious. I sent a ripple down my spine, shaking my fur slightly and stood up. I could feel my audience’s eyes on me.
I stretched my forearms out in front of me, unsheathed my claws, yawned hugely, and circled my spot on the floor once before curling up on it again. Finally, my rebellious eyelids gave way to the warmth my fur offered, and began drifting slowly shut…
That’s when it happened. Transforming back from a werecat was much less painful than transforming into one, like rubber that has been stretched too far and is slowly released. I shrank back to myself. I had just enough time to watch the fur on my arm sink back into my skin, leaving an odd pattern that slowly faded into skin. Bare skin. Everywhere.
Crap.
Furious, I shot my arm out for the blanket on my cot and wrapped it around myself. That was when I realized that the light had been off and I had only been able to see with my night vision; someone flicked the light on. My three cabin mates began sniggering softly. My frustration slowly ebbed away into passive observance. Now that I was back in my human body, I did not want to become so angry that I exploded into a werecat again. Also, now that I was back in my human body, I could talk.
“Anyone got some clothes I can borrow?” I asked as politely as possible, face burning.
A blond girl I recognized as the second voice spoke up, “Yah, right here.”
She dug in a bag beside her feet, pulled out a lump of clothes, and tossed them toward me. I caught them and pulled them on as fast as possible. When I was fully dressed in black jeans and a black t-shirt, I took a seat on my bed and tried to regain as much dignity as possible.
Ah, the joys of being a werecat.
“So,” a red-haired girl that I knew as the third voice sneered, “You’re the one everyone’s been talking about.”
I fixed a steely glare on her, not liking her tone of voice, “Yes. I am.”
She looked a little surprised.
I held her gaze with a glare for a couple of minutes and then turned and smiled at the blond girl, “So, who are you?”
“Me? Oh my name is Rheeba, this is Erin”-she gestured to the redhaired girl-“and Clarissa”-she pointed to a shy looking girl I hadn’t noticed until just then-“Welcome to our cabin!”
It felt like Girl Scouts.
I nodded, trying to think of something to say, “I’m Coden,” I mumbled lamely.
An awkward silence fell. I glanced from girl to girl, studying Erin the hardest. She was tall and thin, with a pointed nose that she looked down at you from, slanted purple red eyes, thin, hard eyebrows, tight lips, and an angry expression. She flicked her wispy red hair in annoyance as I watched.
It was amazing how big a difference there was between her and Rheeba, who was bright and happy in the extreme. Her eyes were bright green with yellow flecks that reminded me slightly of Llewellyn and she had a large talkative mouth, a flat nose, and a friendly smile. The only werecat-like feature I could find were her eyebrows and jaw, which were set in predator-like positions.
Clarissa was completely different, closed off, reserved, shy. She had thin light brown hair that framed a round face, a pair of unusually innocent brown eyes and a small mouth. She could pass for human much easier than any of us could if it weren’t for the slightly cruel set of her jaw.
“Well,” Rheeba clapped her hands together, breaking my scrutinous gaze, “I ‘spose we better hit the sack.”
Taylor shifted from her cross-legged position on her bed to curl up under the covers without another word (not that she said one in the first place).
Rheeba reached over and hit the lights.
I climbed back into bed and sighed, feeling even more confused than before.
* * *
“Coden,” a voice cut through my stupor of sleep.
Hiding behind my eyelids, I mumbled, “Go ‘way.”
“Coden!”
We seemed to be having an earthquake.
“Mmph!” I grumbled and tried to roll over, something stopped me. I felt the after affect of the earthquake as something locked onto my shoulders.
“Coden! Wake up!”
Hmmm, this after affect seemed even worse than the first one. Stupid earth. Wait… if it was an earthquake, why did the things on my shoulders grip tighter when the shaking started? And why the heck were we having earthquakes here?
Oh. There was no earthquake. Someone was shaking me, trying to wake me up. I fought with my eyelids for a while until they finally gave in and the world flashed in front of me. Light seared my retinas and I automatically threw an arm over them; someone released my shoulder.
“Good, you’re up. Come on, or we’ll be late for training.”
I recognized the voice vaguely, but where had I heard it before…?
The events of the past couple days flashed back to me with startling clarity. The voice belonged to Rheeba, one of my bunkmates. With my free arm, I reached up and touched my fangs, just to be sure. I was a werecat.
Not only that, I was a freak werecat.
I whipped my arm off my forehead and out in front of me with one swift movement, seizing my blanket and ripping it off at the same time. In the time it took for momentum to carry my arm through that motion, I was on my feet.
Rheeba stepped back, surprised.
I attempted a smile.
She regained composure and launched into an explanation, “Sorry to wake you but training starts in a couple minutes and you weren’t up. Erin and Clarissa have already left. We’re all supposed to meet at the council house, I think we might actually get instructed by some members of the council! That would be, like, the most awesome thing ever!”-she waited for a reaction and when I gave none, hurriedly explained again-“Well I suppose you wouldn’t know but the council members are all practically famous, they’re the most talented and experienced cats out there! I was surprised to find out that we might actually get to train with them! I guess you wouldn’t be quite as honored, seeing as Rourke brought you here in the first place, Rourke!”
I could tell if I didn’t shut her up, we would be late so I cut in, “Yah well more time for that later, we don’t want to be late.”
“Oh right sorry! People are always telling me I talk too much but I can’t help it, yah know? It’s almost like a habit or something, maybe an addiction. I think it bugs Erin but Clarissa is always happy to have someone else do all the talking.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“Oh sorry! I’m doing it again aren’t I? Well, come on follow me then,” and with that she finally led me out the door.
We half sprinted across the leaf-strewn ground towards a square, windowless building to our left, where a small crowd of young werecats was gathered. Hurriedly, we joined them just as they entered the building.
On my left, I heard Rheeba whisper to a tall Asian kid with long black hair, “What’d we miss?”
The kid flipped his hair out of his eyes and whispered back, “Not much. Just telling us something about our training and who’s training us. Said that each would take three students and to follow them.”
Rheeba nodded in rapt excitement, “Who’s training us?
“Council members. Stryder owes me five bucks,” he grinned and flipped his hair again, “we bet on if the council guys would train us; he didn’t think so.”
I found myself laughing along with them for the first time in a while; reminded of kids I had known in my human life. It was like a breath of real life after being stuck in an underwater of strange experience and unfamiliar things.
We followed the werecat leading the group into the building and across the narrow hallway.
“By the way Coden, this is Raymond, but we call him Ray. Ray, this is Coden, you know the one who turned into a werecat?” Rheeba announced after a while and I almost wished she hadn’t.
“Right on,” Ray grinned. He held up a fist and I tapped it with my own, a smile breaking out across my face. But every werecat within a foot of us turned to look at me.
“Is it true?”
“How’d you do it?”
“Did you really fight with Griff too?”
“Yah and win?”
I sighed, “Yah I did.”
The small crowd erupted with pleasure; pelting me with more questions until the werecat leading us turned round and instructed everybody to quiet down. I was saved for now, but I could feel their curious eyes on me.
We turned the corner and entered a large, tiled room. Inside, seven old, wise looking werecats sat on long polished benches across from a large wooden podium.
“These are your instructors, stand over here”-the guide gestured to an open space near the podium-“and wait for further instruction.”
We shuffled obediently towards the spot and waited. Whispers of anticipation rippled through the crowd. I turned my eyes toward the instructors and tried to find a familiar face.
“Throughout our entire history, the art of master and pupil has been held in the highest honor,” our guide droned in a nasally voice, “Therefore, each and every one of you will come up”- he motioned towards the podium-“and tell the instructors your skills. When everyone has spoken, the masters will choose their apprentices.”
There were several groans and I joined in, it seemed like they were doing it the hard way. Why not just assign masters to every cat? I suppose it may have had something to do with the delicate tempers of werecats and the ‘honor’ that our guide was speaking of, but still… every person come up and describe themselves?
It would take forever!
I sighed and leaned against the wall, ready to wait out what was sure to be a long, boring meeting. I tried to ignore the worry struggling in my mind, but it made itself clear soon enough:
What were my skills? Picking fights and losing control? Was that really what I had become?
My entire being fought against the accusation, but the monster inside me seemed to disagree.
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please tell me its not too horrible!
