Chapter1: Initiation

Thunder boomed overhead as Katrina crept through the forest. The cliché dark and stormy night was not a good setting for one’s Rite of Initiation, she decided. She wasn’t very far from the village, but she couldn’t turn back now. Tonight was her sixteenth birthday, and tradition dictated that she enter the forest in search of her animal counterpart in order to become an adult. Being a girl she wasn’t required to go alone, but she chose that anyway. Besides, she heard about what often happens when a guy accompanies a girl on a Rite, and she didn’t really like any of the boys in the village like that.

Lightning flashed again, briefly illuminating the forest. The instance was the exact opposite of comforting. All it did was change the shadows, forcing them to take on more ghastly forms. This gave Katrina a stronger sense of dangerous somethings moving about in the darkness. Telling herself that it was all in her head wasn’t going to help, for those somethings were very real and likely to be both moving and dangerous. She just hoped they weren’t very hungry.

Katrina pushed onward. She reminded herself that it wasn’t the first time she had been in these woods. She used to play here all the time and knew the area like the back of her hand. Of course, she rarely stuck around after dark and she never had to find something she never saw before. She had no idea how long she would be out here. The elders were tight-lipped when it came to the Rite, as it was a carefully guarded secret, but she knew some who stayed out all night and others who disappeared for over a week.

Her skirt caught on a bush and she immediately regretted her choice of outfit. Sure, the tan skirt looked cute enough with her lambskin blouse, but ceremonial garments were hardly meant for roughing it in the forest. She gave the skirt a rough tug, tearing it slightly but freeing her nonetheless. She gave an exasperated sigh.

“This is just perfect,” she grumbled as she continued onward in no particular direction. “I knew I should’ve worn pants. Maybe I wouldn’t be so cold, either. What the Hell was I thinking? I’m just glad it’s not raining.”

Katrina felt a small drop of water penetrate her jet-black hair and hit her scalp. Another collided with her nose and yet another splashed against her knee. Lightning flashed again, later accompanied by the requisite thunder, and revealed the stains left behind by the water droplets on her blouse. She groaned audibly and put her arms over her head in a futile attempt to shield herself from the rain. It was a light rain so far, but she would eventually be soaked just the same.

She trudged on with no clear sense of direction. The dark was bad enough and now she was going to be wet, too. She didn’t even care about the creepiness anymore. She was too fed up to be scared. Now she just wanted to find her new pet and go home. She had hoped this would be a spiritual experience, but so far it’s been a real pain in the ass. But this was an important Rite, and if it wasn’t for the fact that this was the most important event of her life, she would’ve just turned around and left the forest.

Katrina tripped and fell face-first into a puddle. She sat up and wiped the mud from her eyes. Her favorite blouse was now caked with mud. She growled fiercely and slammed a fist against the puddle. She felt tears well up in her eyes and moments later she started laughing. She laughed like a madwoman.

“Is that it, huh?” she shouted to the thundering sky. “You wanna humiliate me, right? Send me home cryin’ to my mommy? Huh? Is that it? Is that what you want? You want to make me the butt some kinda cosmic joke? Huh? Well I’m not that kinda girl, so you can just find yourself another butt! You freaked me out with the lightning, you soaked me, you tore my skirt, you ruined my top, and now it’s personal! I’m seeing this through whether you like it or not! Whaddaya say about that, huh!?”

Lightning struck a nearby tree and toppled it. It landed right in front of her.

“Okay, I’m outta here,” Katrina said. Lighting flashed again as she scrambled to her feet and in the din she saw eyes reflected in the shadows. Yet another flash revealed the canine features of a wolf just before it bolted into the darkness.

“Whoa,” she remarked. An instant later a thought occurred to her. Was this wolf her animal counterpart? If she let this wolf run away, would any other creature appear to her? What would she do if she couldn’t find her counterpart?

“Wait!” she cried out, chasing after the wolf. She tore through the woods with only the occasional flash of lightning telling her where the canine was going. She pushed through bushes, stumbled over roots, and scrambled over rocks. Katrina had no idea where she was being led, but she knew she had to catch that wolf.

Katrina stumbled to a stop to catch her breath. Lightning flashed again, but the wolf was nowhere to be seen. She sighed dejectedly, but as she began to wander off she heard the wolf’s howl followed by a painful yelp. It was a sound that filled her with dread. She ran in the direction of the howl.

It was raining harder than ever now and she was surprised to find the light of a lantern. She came across a small glade that was flooding into a shallow river. As she drew near, she could see the wolf was staring down a large man. The man had his back to her, but from where she was Katrina could see the blood dripping from the man’s sword. The same blood was dripping from the wolf’s shoulder. The adjacent leg quivered under what little weight was put on it and tried its best not to buckle.

“Well, well, aren’t I a lucky one?” the man said, the Cheshire grin apparent in his voice. His white hair cascaded over his dark shoulders like the sheets of rain pouring through the canopy. “Here I thought I was having a bad night and here you come running through the trees right into my waiting blade. I should get a good price for yer skin, yes siree.”

“No!” Katrina shouted as she saw the man raise his sword. She grabbed the first large stick she could reach and ran towards him. The stick broke over his head, causing the man to stoop over slightly. Katrina cowered a little when the man looked back at her with a spiteful eye.

“Oh, an animal lover, eh?” the man noted. Before she knew it, Katrina was slumped against a tree nursing a gash in her shoulder. He knelt down, bringing his face into hers and lifting her chin with his blade. “You oughtta mind yer own, gel. Else’ll get more’n a bloody shoulder, eh wot? Now, if ya ask real nice, and promise not to squeal on me, maybe, just maybe, I’ll let you live ‘til mornin’.”

The man turned back to the wolf, who was already in mid-lunge. The man knocked the wolf away with a flash of steel, opening a new wound in its hind leg. The wolf landed with a limp.

“Now hold yer horses, I’m gettin’ to yer,” the man admonished. “If ya get too antsy, yer skin won’t be worth nuthin’ and we can’t have that now, can we?”

Katrina leapt up and latched her arms around the man’s neck and attempted to wrestle him to the ground. He was knocked off balance but despite Katrina’s efforts managed to remain standing. He backed her up hard against a tree, causing her to lose her grip and fall into the mud.

“What did I just say!?” the man roared. “What, the, bloody, Hell, did I just tell you? Now, if yer gonna be misbehavin’ I’m gonna havta lop yer naffin’ ‘ead off!”

The wolf latched its jaws around the man’s sword arm just as he began to raise it. Katrina followed suit, grabbing the man by the wrist and attempting to disarm him. The man threw her to the ground, her head bouncing off a thick tree root, then grabbed the wolf by the scruff of the neck with his free hand and threw it on top of her.

“Now, unless you have anymore surprises, I think I’ll move on to killing both of you,” the man said keenly. “That’ll teach you to mess with Rossiter.”

Katrina couldn’t tell what was going on. Images were blurring around her as her head exploded with pain. Despite the fact that it was on top of her, she felt like she was falling into the wolf. Time felt as if it were slowing down and Katrina knew that if she didn’t do something they would both die.

“Katrina…”

What? Who’s voice was that?

“Become one with me, Katrina. I have not the strength and you have not the experience, but together we can overcome. Trust me if you want to live.”

Katrina could swear the voice was coming from inside her head. It also had a very good point. She didn’t know what it meant at the moment, but she knew she felt the same way. They must fight together.

Her vision began to clear and she saw the flash of steel as the man brought the sword to bear. Katrina instinctively parried with her claws, bringing the weapon to a stop. But Katrina didn’t recall having claws a second ago.

“Strike now, Katrina!” the voice said.

Katrina swept a leg into the man’s feet, knocking him to the ground. She shakily climbed to her feet.

“What the Hell is going on?” Katrina asked. She looked at her hands and remarked, “Whoa.”

For lack of a better word, Katrina was now wearing the wolf. It’s limbs stretched over hers like gloves and boots. She could feel the warmth emanating from the fur covering her chest, shoulders, and back. The wolf’s head was wrapped around her own.

“You are doing good, but do not let your guard down,” the voice said. Katrina realized it wasn’t a voice in her head but a deep growl from the wolf-hood. The wolf was talking to her.

“Um, what?” Katrina asked.

“Well, congratulations,” the man, Rossiter, said maliciously as he rose to his feet. “You bonded with the Wearwolf. Armor-types are hard to come by. I should know. I make a living hunting the little blighters down. Rare beasts make big money and, quite frankly, I’m not about to let a silly little girl’s Rite of Initiation keep me from my prize!”

Rossiter swung his sword and Katrina backed out of its range.

“We must fight him, Katrina!” Wearwolf urged.

“But I don’t know how!” Katrina replied, narrowly dodging another slice.

“Just follow your instincts,” Wearwolf instructed. “Allow me to guide you.”

Rossiter swung downward, but hit nothing but water. Katrina launched herself up from the blunt back edge of his sword and gave him swift kick to the head. Rossiter stumbled backwards a little before getting his bearings.

“Hey, I got him!” Katrina exclaimed.

“Do not get cocky,” Wearwolf said. “He is not down yet.”

Rossiter stepped forward and swung for Katrina’s neck. She ducked the attack and drove a fist into his gut. She punched him there again, causing him to double over, then she slammed her head into his chin. They both stumbled back, Katrina clutching the top of her head.

“Ow, that one hurt!” Katrina complained.

“We can cover the intricacies later,” Wearwolf said. “Just keep your head in the game.”

Rossiter thrust with his sword, but Katrina sidestepped it. She spun around, grabbing his wrist with one hand and ramming the opposite elbow into his head. She then twisted back around, tossing him to the ground in front of her. With a quick wrench of his wrist, she forced him to drop his sword.

Rossiter broke from the hold and scrambled to his feet. He plucked his sword from the water and brandished it at his foe only to find she had disappeared. He circled around cautiously, expecting a surprise attack. None came.

The rising rainwater eventually flooded the lantern he had left on the ground and extinguished its flame. It dawned on Rossiter that his prey had long since fled. He gave a cry of rage and cleaved some branches off a few nearby trees. Grumbling, he picked up his water-filled lantern and sloshed off for drier ground.

Katrina and Wearwolf watched Rossiter, unseen from the boughs of a nearby tree.

“We did not finish the battle,” Wearwolf noted. “He is not even unconscious. Did you not want to fight him to the end?”

“We could’ve,” Katrina admitted. “But why should we? All we wanted was to stay alive, and now we are. It didn’t matter to me how it ended. All that mattered to me was, well… you.”

Katrina sensed surprise from Wearwolf. She leaned back against the tree trunk and hugged herself a little.

“What about you?” Katrina asked. “What would you have done?”

“I would have killed him if I had to,” Wearwolf answered. “But I did not think about fighting him until you tried to defend me. He might have taken it out on you if I tried to escape. I would have defended you until the end, but… I have no regrets for how we handled that fight.”

“You’re just glad I’m still alive?” Katrina inquired. She sensed that Wearwolf agreed. Her eyes closed a little.

“You’re tired,” Wearwolf noted. “If you feel your Rite has ended, we can return to your village.”

“I guess,” Katrina replied with a slight whine. She sat back up, wincing slightly at the pain in her shoulder. “We should at least get these wounds looked at. Can’t start the first day of the rest of our lives with gangrene now, can we?”

Wearwolf grinned in appreciation.

“No, I suppose we cannot,” Wearwolf replied.