Agitated, you began to twist the ring around your finger, making the same wish over and over, wanting to end the nightmare that you suddenly found yourself in.
Wanting to cry, you want nothing more than to go back to the cave you have been sharing with Nort...but instead, you tell yourself, "No! That is not who I really am! I am not an Anthropomorphic Vixen...I am not female...I am a human male...I am..."
Your thoughts trail off as you suddenly realize that you don't even know who you were before you had made your wish, only that you are sure that you were a human male at some point.
Confused, you begin to wander the forest, staying away from areas you know Nort to frequent and refusing to go back to the cave you have made a home of for the past several weeks. And then, as you are wandering, lost in thought, it suddenly dawns on you that you can hear voices and that they are familiar.
Creeping through the underbrush, staying downwind of the two talking, you peer through the foliage, realizing that they voices you are hearing are Nort and the old woman you assisted by returning her purse.
And the more you listen, the more you come to the conclusion that you don't like what is being said. Tilting your head, you listen to the following conversation, question after question racing through your head.
"Thank you grandmother spirit," Nort quietly told the woman. "The one you have chosen suspects nothing, nor does she apparently remember her old life."
A nod from the old woman and then, "So you can guarantee she is with childe?"
Nort barked out a laugh and replied, "She is more than just pregnant with one childe. The smell on her tells me that she will give birth to a litter of about five to six kits."
"And what of the ring?" grandmother spirit asked.
Nort looked at her seriously and then moved in closer. Shifting about in the bushes, you try to hear what is being said, but Nort is suddenly whispering, almost as if he feared something.
Grandmother spirit nods and then asked of Nort, "So our bargain is complete then? You have the necessary means to carry on your species?"
Nort nodded and then explained, "As she moves deeper in the pregnancy, she will start to shift back to human. When she has fully shifted back to human, then..." but you didn't want to hear what Nort had to say and shifting back, making as little noise as possible, she move back out of the underbrush.
Moving silently through the forest, you finally stop next to a stream, realizing that you are crying. Placing a hand to your belly, wondering if there was indeed life growing inside, you look at the ring, curing it and the old woman you had helped. Bending down to take a sip of water, you wonder what you can do about Nort and if you can do anything about the old woman.
Sitting up, you idly play with the tassels holding the front of your dress closed. After a moment, you look back at the ring. As you look at it, you ask yourself, "I wonder if this thing still can grant wishes...or was it only fashioned to turn me into this form and quit."
Unsure, hating what has been done to you, you twist the ring around your finger. After bit, you decide to try something...reaching over with your other hand, you grasp the piece of jewelry and holding it, taking a deep breath, you attempt to slide it off.