It didn't take long for us to make a mess of the deer. Table manners were out the window as soon as we tasted it, especially Eira and I who had not yet learned the restraint that had allowed the others to wait for us. We became... animals, to be frank, and I surprised myself with the savagery I showed as I tore the creature apart. Every bit of raw desperation I'd felt at mealtime, the habits they'd cultivated in all of us during our imprisonment, came out in the snarling, gnashing display I gave that night. Before long both Eira and I were covered in blood, along our muzzles, down our chest fur, and nearly up to our elbows. I barely gave it a second thought, it felt so right. It looked outright beautiful on Eira in my eyes, seeing her this primal, this deadly. I couldn't help but put an arm around her when we were done, and give an affectionate licking of her bloody muzzle. Some of the others gave us amused looks, but I couldn't quite hear the whispered comments.
Lartara led us back to the stream after Nyl buried the stripped carcasses and we washed most of the blood off. Still I could see, and smell, the remnants of it on all my sisters.
"Time to hit the showers," Sartari said. "You too, newbies."
"What? But we just cleaned off!" Eira replied.
"You're clean enough for the barracks," Sartari retorted. "You're not clean enough to go on-duty."
"She's right," Lartara cut in. "If the humans can see you've been hunting, they'll be spooked."
"What does it matter if they're spooked?" Eira whined. "This is what we are, and they know that."
A part of me reared up as well at the thought of having to hide what I'd become, and I bared my teeth in a snarl, backing up Eira's point.
"You're both still high on the change," Lartara scolded. "If they fear us, they'll make bad decisions, panic, or worse. This isn't the battlefield."
We both tucked our tails and nodded before Lartara led all of us back towards the facility. The lot of us went on all fours, only standing back upright once we reached the security checkpoints. There was a rhythm to running together like this. As a pack. It was a living thing, flowing through the forest, darting between the trees, always keeping the tails of those in front of me in sight. Once we arrived, the guards on duty gave us a sniff and a look before chuckling. Acknowledging Lartara, they let us in.
We were still giddy going through the corridors, and getting back to the barracks with all its smells was already starting to feel like home. The other warriors already knew the way to the showers, and I followed them in. Before long I was scrubbing the blood out of my fur.
"You'll want to shift back before you're done," Raksha said to me, her own fur already receding, her skin starting to peek through. "Trust me, no matter how fun you might think it'll be, you're not going to want to dry off all that fur."
"How do I do that? I've never tried before," I admitted.
"Easy way is to focus on sensation," she answered me. "Let the water run over you, and focus on how it would feel on your skin rather than your fur. Don't look while you do it, or you'll get distracted and probably wolf out again. Just close your eyes and think about the feeling."
I nodded to her, positioning myself under one of the shower heads. Shutting my eyes, I just let the water run over me. My human memories had seemed distant to me while I was prowling the forest as a wolf, but they were still there to guide me as I thought back to showering while I was still human. I heard my joints crack and pop under the hot water as the wolf retreated back inside me, my muzzle shortening, my lips growing plump and feminine again as they pressed together. Then I felt it, water on bare skin, my wild, manelike hair plastered against my back and over my breasts.
"My my, you're a big girl even without your fur," I heard a voice say. Eira's.
My eyes fluttered open to a surreal sight. It hadn't occurred to me while we were shifted but I was taller than her at the time, her eyes coming up to the chin of my muzzle. Somehow now it struck home now that we were both more human again. Eira, the valkyrie who had towered over my human self when I was escorted in... was a good half a head shorter than me.
"Some are," Raksha chuckled. I looked over to see that both Eira and I were taller than her, larger. "We didn't think you'd turn out that big, Eira."
"I think it suits you, Harkaal." Eira gave a sly grin, running a finger along my bicep.
"Save it for bunk out time Eira," Raksha laughed before turning her gaze to meet mine. "Still, I bet Sartari is going to want to give you warhammer training once Lartara finishes showing you the ropes. Not many of us are her size, but you are. You look like you're strong enough to handle the hammer."
"Warhammer training, huh?" I mused, imagining myself hefting a large hammer with both hands.
"See Eira? She likes it," Raksa teased.
I smirked, and headed out to get dried off.