"You're welcome, Harkaal," Lartara said with a knowing smile as she looked to me. "It warms my heart to hear that you are pleased with your new form."
Something in her tone of voice indicated that I wasn't the first newly transformed Lycothan who wanted to see what he or she looked like after they changed. Though, there was a slight teasing edge to it as well, which I understood. She and all of my new sisters had commented that I was beautiful after my transformation, and I had to admit that I had found Lartara beautiful in her wolf form and had the same feelings as I watched Eira and the others shift forms in front of me. I expected I'd take a bit of teasing for a while over that, but to a degree, I felt willing to take it. I did feel strong, confident, and beautiful as a Lycothan, but that didn't mean I didn't want to see what I looked like. If the others wanted to make jokes, I figured I could take it and come back with something.
Though I did make my way out of the creek, and shook my feet off as I stepped out. The water had completely soaked my fur on my feet, and they did feel a bit cold, particularly as they left the cold water and were exposed again to the air. Though, seeing what I looked like outweighed the negative affects of standing in cold water. I was pleased with my new form. Privately and personally, I still wanted to do what I could for the other prisoners... give them as much of a choice as possible with regard to when they changed or if they changed and make sure that Alpha didn't bully them, but I had found myself pleased with my new form.
"And so... now that our beauty queen is sure of herself, what shall we do now?" Eira asked with a teasing smile toward me, "Explore the woods a bit more? Or maybe Harkaal wants to inquire about males..."
"Have you seen a male warrior?" I asked her.
"No," Eira admitted, "but Verozza says there is a male wing in the facility."
"There is, though its smaller than the female wing where we work," Lartara spoke, "Fewer male prisoners means fewer male guards are needed. And the Alphas aren't likely going to give us a shot a courting a male until after the facility is no longer needed."
That made me think back to just before my transformation and the conversation I'd had with Lartara. She'd commented that because they Lycothan population was mostly female that it was likely their concept of family would likely be a lone male taking several females in sorts of "sub-packs." Part of me also figured it could be possible that a Lycothan female might only go looking for a male when they were ready to have children of their own, but I also remembered the size of the male Servant Lycothan's sheath at my last recruitment session. The memory of that began to make me feel rather warm and I figured that there was also the potential that Lycothans liked sex just as much as humans did, and for females with the added interest in both genders.
I was about to say something in response to Eira's comment when I heard a howl rise from elsewhere in the forest. I turned my right ear toward it, and soon recognized that the others had finally caught dinner. The dinner I'd wagged my tail at the prospect of eating. Eira and Lartara turned an ear toward the howl as well.
"Dinner's ready," I spoke, remembering the instructions Lartara had given Raksha before the others left to hunt.
"Yes," Lartara nodded, "and they aren't too far away. We can get though quickly..."
"And Harkaal already gave us a warm up," Eira laughed, taking a jibe at the rush I'd taken to get to the creek I'd looked into.
"Just be glad I'm making sure your muscle stays perfect," I replied and began to jog toward where the howl had come from, "Just the way I like it."
Eira didn't answer, but I did hear Lartara chuckled. We jogged along briefly and soon began to pick up the pace. In no time at all, the three of us were again in a full sprint, dodging trees, rocks, bushes, and anything that might have tripped us up with ease. It felt good. I could feel the "wind" in my pelt and it felt good. It made me feel free. My human memories found it a little strange, but even my human mind felt free in being able to run and feel the wind in my fur. It was odd, but I loved it. And in no time, we arrived at the scene where the others had caught dinner. They stood in a sort of half circle around three dead White Tail Deer, each with a noticeable bite mark at their throats. Each of the other warriors had a smile as we approached.
"You all arrived sooner than we expected," Nyl commented.
"Harkaal had to see for herself how beautiful she was," Eira teased, "Took us on a run to a creek..."
"Says the wolf who loves my hair," I teased back.
There were a few chuckles among the the others, but no one said anything for the moment. I meanwhile focused my eyes to the deer. They lay still, just waiting to be eaten. I could smell their scent as it stood in contrast to the musky scent of myself and my sisters. Part of me expected them to be cooked, but the more I looked at the dead deer and remembered my own hunger, I felt my mouth begin to water and my tail begin to wag. Lartara, Eira, and I came closer.
"Good job, girls," Lartara complemented them.
"Thank you," they answered.
Lartara, Eira, and I soon joined them and I noticed that together, we'd completed a circle around the three deer. All of them looked hungry as well, and I noticed several tails wagging in anticipation of eating. I soon recognized that we were about to eat it raw, and while my human mind did want to protest, I couldn't stop my tail from wagging and I was salivating at the prospect of feeding on the deer. As such I crouched down on all fours beside my sisters and licked my muzzle at the prospect at taking a bite.
"Looks good, doesn't it?" Lesroia asked.
"Yes," I nodded, "Good enough to eat."
I then leaned in and bit into the rear leg of one of the deer. It's fur tickled my tongue a little, but meat beneath it was savory and quite good.