Sarah stood by nervously as her grandmother ushered her over to the table and chairs where their discussion had originally began before Bigby had come back in and Sarah had her more formal reunion with her childhood friend. She occasionally glanced to the door, as if hoping to see him there, though a good part of her mind knew the wish was not for a childhood friend but for something much more then that.
"I'm sure you'll see him again," Balthilde said to her, "The whole Pack does gather from time to time for meetings, hunting, marriages, congratulating new mothers, etcetera, etcetera."
"The whole Pack?" Sarah wondered.
Her parents commonly went off on "meetings" as they had described to her for as long as she could remember. She asked if she could go from time to time, but was always told "no" and that she'd understand when she was older. Sarah guessed that these meetings were to be with the rest of the pack, but now she wondered even more why she was left out. She'd been told that she was born a werewolf, she'd never been told that wolves were evil and not to be trusted, wouldn't that make her part of the pack, even if she couldn't change?
"All that are able to transform," Balthilde responded, "Not all do, as your father generally comes to these meetings in human form, but he still can change if he wanted to."
"Why?" Sarah asked, "wouldn't you love me? Wouldn't you want to include me?"
"We do love you," Balthilde said firmly and pulling Sarah into a hug, "We love all the children born to the pack. Even Bigby when he acts a little to rashly. But werewolves aren't born with their abilities fully active. You lived your childhood as a normal human, and could have never joined us on the hunt or stood up to any human werewolf hunter."
"Why is that? Why did I have to wait till today to become like this?" Sarah asked.
"No one really knows," Balthilde sighed, "this is only a guess on my part, but I'd imagine it's a sort of survival adaptation for werewolf pups. Humans do have ways of forcing a werewolf to change if they can capture one, and human hunters commonly use them to try and execute werewolves. But since werewolf children CAN'T change, those methods don't work and don't expose them. The humans then assume that the werewolf parents had kidnapped the child or children from somewhere and simply hadn't gotten to eating them. This allows packs that have been destroyed to be reborn when those children mature and replace their parents."
"Has that ever happened here?" Sarah asked.
"Not that I can remember," Balthilde answered, "but I have heard stories. They could be true and they could simply be morality tales to keep young werewolves wary of humans."
Balthilde then ushered Sarah back into her seat, and then left the room for a moment. Sarah sat quietly and waited for her grandmother to return. When she did, Sarah saw that she was carrying two dresses.
"You'll have to make due with one of my dresses, dear," Balthilde said, "even in human form, you'd get in trouble with only that hood and cape."
"We're going into town?" Sarah asked.
"After you change back to your human form," Balthilde replied, "which is one of the key for all werewolves. It's our key method of defense against human attack."
"What about the fangs and claws?" Sarah wondered.
"They're our wolf form's prime weapons, but relying on them will create more trouble then its worth," Balthilde explained, "Bigby has lived under that sort of philosophy to protect the Pack, and it requires him to be extremely careful with those actions. One mistake, and he could unleash a horde of hunters on us, and armed with guns and silver, our strength would count for little."
"Has Bigby eaten anyone?" Sarah wondered.
"I believe so, yes," Balthilde answered, "Trespassers and aggressors against the pack... nothing that the pack looks down on officially. Though, as I said, it is risky, and I'm surprised that today was the first time that Bigby's actions has lead to him mistaking pack-mates for invaders."
Sarah felt a little nervous about that, but the image of a man with an ax standing over her transformed grandmother, made her surprisingly "ok" with Bigby's actions.
"So how do I change back?" Sarah wondered.
"It takes a lot of focus," Balthilde explained, "and a calm mind. And retaining human form will also require these things. Anything that makes you lose focus, could make you change. Bigby gave me a start and that is why I changed... but now... I'm feeling better and calmer. So it is time to change back."
Sarah then looked up to her grandmother from where she was sitting.
"I just think of being human," Balthilde said softly and breathed deeply.
Sarah then watched as her grandmother began to slowly shrink, getting shorter. After hearing the cracking of bones, she looked down to see that her grandmother's feet were shortening, and she was already back down onto the heals of her feet, assuming a plantigrade stance. Her claws were shrinking, and her fur looked like it was being sucked back into her skin. Her muscles were also losing the look of strength that they had in wolf form.
"Urrgh... unnnnrrrgguuuuhh..." Balthilde grunted, feeling some discomfort as her teeth began to shrink down to human proportions and take on human shape.
"Grandma! Are you alright?" Sarah asked as she got up, reaching out to her grandmother.
Balthilde held out her own hand, claws rounding into fingernails, fur nearly gone, her pads lightening from black and into pink flesh.
"I'm... fine..." Balthilde began to say, just as her skull cracked and began to compress, "arrrrrgggggh!"
Sarah felt frightened and almost sick as she listed to her grandmother's bones snap and crack as her muzzle pushed back into her face. Her ears rounded and moved to the sides of her head. And as the last of her grandmother's fur was sucked backed into her skin, she stumbled forward.
"Grandma?" Sarah asked, as she caught Balthilde.
"I'm okay, dear," Balthilde said softly, and caressed Sarah's furry cheek, "transformation, be it to wolf or human form can be a bit uncomfortable. So long as you retain your focus, you shouldn't have any trouble."
Balthilde then stood up and moved to the clothes she had carried out. Sarah stood by and noticed that her grandmother had also included a set of underwear for herself as well. She looked away for a moment while her grandmother dressed herself.
"I'm dressed, dear," Balthilde said after dressing herself, and noticing that Sarah had looked away, "are you ready?"
"To change?" Sarah said nervously, "I suppose so..."
"Good, remember focus on being in human form, which is every bit as beautiful as your wolf form is," Balthilde said, "and the focus is important. A lack of focus will slow it down and make the change even more agonizing then it normally would be... or worse, you wouldn't change back at all, which is commonly Bigby's problem."
"He can't change back?" Sarah asked.
"Oh he can and he DOES know how," Balthilde answered, "but he's been so focused on protecting the Pack and being a good wolf that he's neglected his human side... the result is that he rarely changes to human form, and when he does, it's taken him nearly twice as long as it took me just now."
"Can't we help him?" Sarah asked, looking to the door.
"After you change," Balthilde said firmly, "Just keep your focus."