Taylor stepped out into the cool morning air of her family's backyard with a carton of milk and a bowl of cornflakes. To effect a shaman look, she was completely naked and had painted strange patterns on her exposed skin with her mom's lipstick. She had also recently masturbated to ensure that her consciousness was fully awakened to the spirits. Taylor's nude body shivered a bit; she was relieved that she'd grown so much new body hair last night, so she could retain at least some heat.
Taylor poured the milk into the dewy grass and cast the cornflakes into the wind. The young shaman closed her eyes and concentrated on her inner power. She mentally reached out to the hidden world.
"Greetings, O holy spirits!" Taylor called out. "A new shaman dwells in these lands. I am Taylor Wagner, shaman of the Stokerville tribe of werehyenas. I humbly bow my head to your majesty and ask that you accept my offering of milk and grains, and that you send an emissary to speak with me."
At first, Taylor was worried that nothing had happened. Then she felt the wind pick up speed. She swore that it carried a strange music on it, but it wasn't quite a sound, but rather a feeling. Taylor slowly opened her eyes, and she saw a luminous cougar creeping towards her. A spirit!
"Greetings, Taylor Wagner," the spirit cougar said, its voice female and authoritative. "I am Sholeetsa. I speak to you on behalf of all the spirits of this region."
Taylor recognized the name Sholeetsa as belonging to the Salishan languages. It made sense to her that the savanna spirits Kweli had showed her would have Swahili names while the spirits around Stokerville would have names ancient to the Pacific Northwest. "I am honored by your presence, noble Sholeetsa," Taylor said, bowing her blonde head.
Sholeetsa nodded back. "We have been aware for some time that a new werehyena pack has been forming in our territory. Most of us are pleased. Werebeasts are fierce guardians of the wild places of the world, after all. On the other paw, there are those spirits who serve as guardians of the local werewolf pack. They are wary of your young pack, seeing them as potential rivals of their charges. Deal very carefully with wolf spirits or the spirits of trees close to the werewolf homestead. That is not to say you should not speak with them at all. You may soon have to negotiate their silence, lest they speak of your pack to the werewolf shaman, Fenris Hunt. He is not your enemy, but he is honorbound to tell his alpha what he knows."
"I understand," Taylor said.
"I shall be watching over you, Taylor," said Sholeetsa. "If you ever wish to know anything of what transpires in these lands, call out for me. I see all in the wilds surrounding Stokerville."
"What have you seen lately?" asked Taylor. "Please tell, Wise One."
"I imagine you know of the werefox skulk in town," said Sholeetsa. "I must warn you, though, there may soon be two. A girl called Renata Hamilton, the sister of your packmate Beck, has begun a relationship with a werevixen and has used a magical belt to become a werevixen herself. Armed with both the foxskin belt and a Werebrush, she intends to build herself a skulk just as Selena is building herself a werehyena pack. She uses an inhibitor potion to tame her mischievous instincts, but you should still probably keep an eye on her."
"Good to know," said Taylor.
"There is also news from the werewolf pack," Sholeetsa continued. "Artemis Lyall, Alpha Caleb's mate and your own alpha's mother, is growing angry about Selena and Tatiana's love. She confronted the vampire clan's matriarch and attacked her. Alpha Caleb was furious and punished her with a temporary rank demotion."
"At least the alpha doesn't want a fight," said Taylor.
"True," said Sholeetsa, "but Artemis does. She may yet try something. Be very careful, and advise Tatiana von Karnstein to do the same."
"I promise," said Taylor.
"I have also sensed a mermaid approaching Stokerville," said Sholeetsa, "but her smell was wrong... almost like a human's. And I swore I heard... footsteps. Perhaps she transformed herself to travel over land, or perhaps she is under a curse. Seek her out. Whatever she wants, maybe your pack can help her."
"Wow, I've never met a mermaid," Taylor said. "Every time I think I've discovered all the magical beings in town, there's more."
"On that note," said Sholeetsa, "I think you should know that Stokerville is home to some of us spirits' cousins from the Hell Realms, the demons."
"Demons?" Taylor repeated a little nervously.
"Succubi mostly," said Sholeetsa. "They run Inferno, the human place for drinking and dancing. Their leader is Delilah du Charme. I assure you, Delilah and most of her employees are fairly harmless. One, on the other paw, is not. Her name is Obyzouth, though she uses the name Opal when masquerading as a human. Obyzouth is wild and undisciplined; she's been known to hospitalize humans by glutting on their life force. Keep an eye out for her."
"Thanks for warning me about her," said Taylor. "She sounds like a real... scoundrel." Taylor wisely decided that "bitch" was far too rude a term to use when speaking with a spirit.
Sholeetsa nodded her tawny head respectfully to Taylor. "It is here I leave you, Shaman Taylor. Go in peace and thrive in your new role."
Taylor waved to Sholeetsa as she left. "Blessed be, Sholeetsa, mighty cougar spirit! May our paths cross again!"
Taylor took a second to savor her triumph. All on her own, she had contacted and conversed with a spirit! For perhaps the first time since her transformation into a werehyena, Taylor felt like a true shaman. She couldn't wait to tell Selena and the rest of the pack! Once again, Taylor's nudity caused her to shiver as the breeze blew over her bare skin. She buried her fingers in her thick bush for warmth. Once Taylor was sure her fingers wouldn't fall off, she ran back inside to wipe the lipstick patterns off of her body, get dressed, and prepare for school.