You sit up and hold Rachel's hand. With your other hand you grab Themis's. “Perform the initiation on me and Rachel - now. Please! Before I become a weretiger!”
Themis looks at you sadly and shakes her head. “It cannot be done here. We can only work the magick at our alter, with our tombs and other relics.”
“Hold on!” Rachel urges, “you’ve got to hold on, Ben.”
Anger fills your heart, ‘why, why not here, not now, before it’s too late?’ you think.
“Calm down,” Rachel says as she drops to the ground and wraps her arms around you. “You’ve got to stay calm. Remember what Themis said, your adrenaline will only accelerate the changes. Calm down,” Rachel says again as she kisses you on the cheek. “I love you.”
You try to steady your breathing and remain as calm as possible. You look over the cliff to the ocean where the sun is dipping into the sea. It is undoubtedly the last sunset you will ever see as a human, you only hope that you’ll be able to see the sunrise on four hooves with Rachel as your centauress mate by your side.
Staring off at the sun as its light fades helps you steady your emotions. “That’s good, Ben,” Rachel encourages you. “Stay calm, everything’s gonna be alright. Just remember that I love you.” It feels good, safe … then you feel something pull at you from behind. No one is touching you, but you feel a pull nonetheless. You turn abruptly and grunt. Rachel backs away in fear.
No one else is there. Then you look past your scared companion and see it! The moon! It is peeking over the horizon. You can feel its strong pull even now. It’s not full, you can sense that, but it nearly is. In its gibbous phase, nearly all of its face shines down on you. Your breath becomes ragged as your heart pounds within your chest.
“Calm yourself, halfling,” Ixion urges you as well, but the pull of the moon is too great, too strong. Your body is bathed in sweat and you feel the soft fur erupt from the cut on your wrist.
“RRRRRR – Rrrachel!” you half moan, half growl as you twitch your nose as whiskers sprout from each side.
“No, Ben, No!” Rachel cries, “you’ve got to hold on.”
“He’ll never make it back like this,” Ixion says.
Themis nods in agreement. Then she turn around and scans the woods next to the cliff.
“Marina, Michael,” she shouts and points to the trees, “Grab those flowers over there, the purple and white ones, and bring them to me! Quickly”
The pair gallops over the edge of the forest and grabs several handfuls of flowers from a bush there. Even as they come closer the scent assaults your enhanced nose. It is vile!
Each hands their bundle to Themis. She cracks the stem and brings the plant to her nose. After a few quick sniffs, she shrugs and says, “This’ll have to do.”
Quickly, she rubs the plants between her palms, crushing it. Her movements open more of the plant and the unbreathable odor permeates you surroundings. Your lip curls in disgust. You want to run away from the stench, no you want to FIGHT. Then you look at Rachel. No, you want to calm down and stay.
“Monkshood?” Lara asks as she looks at Themis.
“That is one of its names, child.” Themis says as the petals in her palms become little more than a paste. “But it has another.”
Rachel looks deep in though at Themis’ words. “Wolfs bane!” she shouts.
“Quite right, child,” Themis says, “you may make a fine apprentice.”
Rachel blushes at the suggestion.
Themis torts over to you with the concoction balled in her fist. “Here, eat this. It is your only hope to avoid a feline life.”
Holding your nose, you take the ball in your hand. The smell is making your stomach do flip-flop even from here. But you look at Rachel eyeing you hopefully as a single tear runs down her cheek. You want to wretch as you choke down the crumpled leaves, but you look again a Rachel and steel you resolve. You shove the ball into your mouth and force it down your throat before your gag reflex take over. The wolfs bane burns all the way down your throat. When you have finished, everyone breaths a sigh of relief.
“Come halflings,” Themis calls from ahead. “There’s no time to waste.”
Themis kneels down and takes both you and Rachel as passengers.
Seeing that everyone is situated, Ixion begins down the trail. With Harry, lost, he does not have a rider. Deirdre and Felicia have your to mount their rides. You thought they were guarding against weretigers or mad satyrs, but they are looking far in the distance.
“Come on!” Rachel shouts, “Hurry! WE DON’T MUCH TIME!”
Deirdre and Felicia linger a moment longer before scurrying aboard Michael and Lara. “Didn’t you hear that?” Deirdre asks.
“Hear what?” Rachel asks as she stokes your cheek from behind to calm you further.
“The singing,” Felicia says. “It was beautiful wasn’t it?”
Rachel leans around you and whispers into Themis’ ear. “What are they talking about?”
“They’ve heard the call of the sea,” Themis says rather matter of factly.
You had thought nothing would surprise you, but that did.
“You mearrrn,” you mumble through thickening lips.
“Shhhhhh, don’t talk,” Rachel admonishes you as she pats you on the forhead.
“They’ve seen the mermaids,” Themis says matter of factly. “and the mermaids have seen them.”
Rachel fishes into her pocket and fishes out the receipt. “Helps” for Harry and “Keep” for Krista have vanished completely. Of even more concern is the fact that “Devotion” and “friends” are fading fast. Rachel scans to the bottom of the document and pounds her fist against her thigh in disgust. She holds the receipt in front of your eyes and whispers “hold on” into your ear. You name is fading fast. It is dim shadow of what was written there moments ago. You’re in a battle with a beast, and the beast is winning.
You shake your head vigorously in an attempt to quell your emotions. Then you gaze off into the forest.
Krista and Harry are there. You can sense it! Then you see two pairs of emerald eyes gazing at you from the forest. You feel them in you heart, telling you that it’s alright. They’re out there waiting for you. Waiting for you to join them. You sense them in you mind, telling you that it would be so easy to slip off Themis’s back and stumble into the woods. The woods aren't dangerous, if you’re not strong and cunning and so eager to run thought the night and cry to moon.
“Hurrrrr-rrry up!” you shout, and Themis takes off in a gallop.
“So are Harry and Krista lost for ever?” Rachel asks.
“Not forever, but nearly so.” Themis explains.
“The moon affects lycanthropes differently here than on Earth,” Ixion says as he falls in beside the other ancient. It is much stronger here, and all weres on the island transform once they are infected.
"They say in tiger form whenever the moon is full. They are fully human during the new moon and add or gain two hours of tiger form a night as the moon waxes and wanes. They are in that from about half the day when the moon is at each quarter and more or less in between depending on the time of the month.
"Younglings are slaves to Luna and her pull, but as they mature, weres can control their desires. While they cannot remain human, many, with training can keep their hybrid form in all but the height of the full moon.
“When they are not taken moon lust, like your friends, they are helpful allies.”
Finally, you arrive at the hall and drop off Themis. You start to run toward the door.
“Wait,” Rachel calls out. “Ben,” Rachel says as she brushes your hair back off your forehead. It has darkened to a deep orange and has a shock of dark black hair down the middle.
“I love you,” Rachel says as she pulls you in for a hug.
“I rrrrrovf you trrroo,” you say disgusted at the rich tone of your voice, saliva dripping from your lengthening eye teeth.
You turn to walk into the hall.
“Listen, Ben,” Rachel says. “If you’re not, cured by this, I want you to do something ….” Rachel swallows hard, “…. for me.” She laced her fingers between yours. You now have paws, and Rachel’s fingers barely fit within.
You know what she is going to ask.
“For us,” Rachel continues, “if your not cured,” Rachel says in a halting voice that quivers as she speaks. “I want you bite me.”
“NO!” you shout. “I couldvvv nevvvre do tharrrrt to you.”
“You have to, Ben. If you’re not cured, I want to be your mate. I want us to be together, no matter what!”
If you're a weretiger." she says, "I want be one too."