Page 1/2: New Beginnings

Everything smelled brighter today. Richer. Like the mountain itself was giving her a parting gift. Honeysuckle clung to the air so heavily they could taste it on the wind. Lilac closed her eyes and lifted her nose:

“Got your toothbrush? Underwear? Passport?” June repeated her checklist for the third time that morning. Lilac smiled wryly and assured her mother once more. June’s seriousness softened; pointed, tan ears lowered slightly. “Sorry. It’s not every day your firstborn goes to college.”

Lilac’s brother butted in, and the bench beneath them creaked as he leaned over. "Um, excuse me! It's me, Arlo, and then Lilac!"

“She’s my firstborn today, Max—when it suits me.” June nudged her son. Arlo sat on Lilac’s other side and rolled his eyes with a smile. He rarely joined their antics, but found them amusing. It was like watching him argue with his future self, topped off with a bob, a floral blouse, and little chains on her glasses and around her neck.

Lilac and Max were definitely their mother’s children. Of the triplets, Lilac was mostly muted blues with some tan, and Max was gold all the way down. Both had white undersides from their necks to their toes, tightly curled tails, and their mother’s bright lavender eyes. They weren’t exactly a “show” family, but they were Shibas in every sense.

Their brother Arlo sat beside them; the pendulum swung in the exact opposite direction for him. He looked just like their dad, a tall, scrawny thing covered in light grey fur from the ground up. His eyes were bright gold; a silver wolf through and through. They always supposed genes were just funny that way. Sometimes they were mixed, and sometimes they were just drop-downs of one parent.

Lilac’s attention fell to her forearm. There was a small patch of dark grey fur on the underside of her wrist. Only a few bundles of hair, no bigger than a quarter, really. It was a strange little spot; It was soft like puppy fur and stood out against the white of her wrist. Her hand swiped it downward once, twice, five times. But each time her fur would rise ever so gently, as though compelled by static or nerves. It appeared only a few days ago. Her mother chalked it up to early greying; her father suggested she was finally starting to take after his sterling silver coat. Any thoughts Lilac had of bleaching it went out the window when he’d said that.

A nudge on her shoulder brought Lilac back to the present, pulling her focus from her thoughts.

“Here,” Arlo yawned, placing a paper in her hand.

“You’re kidding,” Lilac whispered with a bewildered laugh just out of earshot of Max and June’s conversation.

It was her train ticket. She’d actually forgotten it. She gave a defeated groan at herself.

 “Just don’t do that at college. I can’t walk your lunch to you anymore.”

“That was only like, twice.” Lilac tried to convince them both. But they both knew better, and Lilac was always thankful.

“Twice a week, maybe-” Arlo mumbled before their brother yelled next to his ear.

“Dad!” Everyone looked to Max as he practically fell off the bench with his enthusiasm.

Sure enough, in the distance, a wolven man was running toward them, his face contorted with exhaustion. By the time he reached them, he was slumped over with his hands on his knees, wheezing for breath.

Lilac’s smile grew ear to ear before barreling straight into him for a hug that only added to his coughing fit. She nuzzled her cheek into his chest. Rodwin chuckled, leaning down to return Lilac’s embrace with lanky arms. As tall as he was, Lilac could wrap her arms around him with ease.

“I’m so glad I didn’t miss you. I didn’t think I would make it. Sherry called in just as-oh none of that matters right now.” Rodwin threw his hands down to stop his own imminent long-winded explanation. He was here now, and as brief as it would be, that’s all that mattered and more than Lilac could ask for.

“Little Li is growing up; she’s gonna be a changed woman by the time we see her; we won’t even recognize her.” Max wiped an imaginary tear from his eye, giving a theatrical performance for his family.

“Absolutely not! My girl is going to come home just the same and in one piece. Or I’ll come down there and bust her up myself,” June huffed, aggressively batting dust off of her gown.“I still don’t know why you couldn’t go to college here. We have the best medical schools in the country, and you want to go to Domestica of all places. Do you know the kind of riff-raff there is there? I read a study that one out of every five college kids-”

“I know, I know…drugs, sex, and alcohol,” Lilac joked. Her mother was terribly cute. They’d been over this a hundred times at least, and she knew that her mother was easily ready to do it a hundred more. “ I know, Mom. Something just really tells me I gotta go there.” Lilac wished she could explain it better; she really did. That some part of her desperately wanted to stay, but another part of her wouldn’t rest unless she left. She’d always hoped to swallow that desperate urge down someday, but at 24, she just had to accept that late was better than never.

“Well, stay safe. And find a nice boy while you’re there! I need some grand-puppies. We’re not getting any younger, you know." June’s voice dropped in exaggerated seriousness. Rodwin’s mouth dropped open, coughing awkwardly as he adjusted his glasses. Lilac offered a reassuring look.

“A boyfriend, maybe, but I don’t know about all of that,” Lilac snorted. "Besides, there's still hope for Max and Arlo, why's all the pressure on me?"

 “Are you serious?” June gave a bemused look, “I’d have a better chance of winning Best in Show.”

“Hey!” Max laughed, and Arlo shrugged, but neither moved to dispel the jab.

 Rodwin arched down to place a pacifying kiss on his wife’s cheek and spoke softly. She turned her head away, if only to hide the slight uptick in the corners of her mouth.

The train whistle echoed in the distance, and the five of them waited for it to come and take one of them to a new life somewhere else. Joking and laughter filled the high mountain air with all the ways to say “I love you”. Even though Lilac was nervous, excitement filled her to the brim. Max lifted Lilac in a bear hug, spinning her until she breathlessly signaled him to let go. June all but lept into her daughter’s hug, trembling with silent sobs and desperate relief. Arlo rubbed one of her shoulders and gave a smile that said more than he could aloud.

Watery smiles, exchanged promises to call, and a train stopped right in time. Her brothers handled the luggage, and her parents whispered reassurances. Lilac’s heart pounded mightily in her chest as she boarded, a part of her wanting to turn around and go home and crawl back in her bed and wake up to Arlo making pancakes and Max making a ruckus. To wait by the door for her father to come home just as she was leaving for school. To sit by her mother’s side and be sung to under the warm summer sun.

But her mother’s hand pressed on one of Lilac’s shoulders, and her father’s on the other, both sensing Lilac’s hesitance to make the first step in the plans she'd been walking around for years in her head.  One final reassurance pushed her forward as her father reminded, “You'll always be our little girl. We love you.”

Li,ac took her seat, and pushed down the window while the train stirred to life. Her family jogged slightly along the train as it finally began its powerful crawl forward, and Lilac knew she was the luckiest girl in the world for it.

Her smile was bright and full of teeth as she finally closed the window. It made their sad smiles just a bit wider, and ones she would feel slightly less guilty about having to leave behind. She waved outside the window. Inevitably, they had to stop running, and she had to keep going. But no matter what life brought her, she knew she would always have a family that loved her, and nothing would ever change that.

.

.

.

That was 3 months ago.

Lilac caught a glimpse of the morning sun through the ambulance window.

A grating pain dug into her limbs, sharp and sudden. It felt like hundreds of teeth crushing and grinding the ends of her arms and legs. Suddenly, a needle stabbed deep into her shoulder. Cold flooded her veins like ice. The air around her grew colder. A gust of wind ripped through her fur. Sluggish thoughts swam in the darkness. They fought for purchase amid panic.

Screams and shouts rang out all around her. They sounded muffled, as though she were a thousand miles away from their sources. The bed she was on was moving fast. Her eyes dipped in and out of focus. The soundscape was abrasive. Hostile. She heard her pounding heartbeat. Metal against metal. Racing footsteps echoed against the hallway walls.

Scenery and faces smeared together. Sterile white walls flashed by. Horrified looks. A muddled mind fought to ask itself a question as her eyes pried themselves open.

Where am I?

A monstrous growl ripped out of her throat, dying behind clenched teeth. The sound of metal bars creaking followed it, her arms flexed tight against their confines, acting of their own accord. She couldn't open her mouth wide enough to scream.

“40 milliliters, now!”

Her body writhed in pain without her—searing, brief, heart-wrenching agony. Then numbness. Then panic. Her racing heart tripped into a sonorous pounding. Like a fist slamming into a wall: steady, powerful, filling her ears. Squealing wheels against linoleum. Nurses shouting words she couldn't understand. Through the agony, a half-conscious brain asks: Why does the bed have chains?

The panic came in rolling waves. Another injection. Another muffled scream. She knew it was her own from the feeling of her throat clenching, as if she was being choked. How many shots had they stabbed her with? Her midnight-colored fur stood on end. Her jaw clenched and unclenched, testing its leather bindings. Let it out. A voice growled from deep within. Let it out.

“She won’t stay under!” A nurse shouted nearby. Lilac’s breath whistled through her razor-sharp fangs. Her golden eyes shot wide open as she jerked her gaze between the blinding lights and moving figures. They flitted rapidly, unable to take in anything of value. As they focused and unfocused, her pupils alternated between sharp slits and black voids. Her gaze darted around as she was moved into a room full of beeps and bright lights.

The bed's metal frame creaked under her vice grip. It was cold enough to sear, as if branding her hands. It grounded her. A final, frostbitten injection forced her back down against the bed with a snarl. The sounds of leather snapping ricocheted against her ears. Suddenly, she was screaming bloody murder. She stopped only to choke on air. Violent hysteria from within her cried out from every inch of her skin. Every strand of fur on her body stood on end. Begging, crying, pleading: Let it out. Let it out! LET IT OUT-

“Hey.” A soft voice cut through the roaring static. Lilac’s jaw hung wide open as her howling came to an abrupt stop. Slowly, gentle, baby-blue eyes entered her view, looking down at her softly.

“I need you to rest now.” A hand ran gently along the side of her face and through her fur, applying a soft pressure to the back of her neck. “It’s going to be okay.”

Inch by inch, a thousand pinpricks rippled through her body. The darkness at the edge of her vision engulfed her. Then nothing, except the sound of her slowing heart.

Consciousness returned all at once. Her eyes snapped open. She bolted upright, instantly aware of a burning soreness everywhere in her body. The ache became sharp when she moved. Her muscles quivered when she was still.

Where am I? This isn't my bed.

She dragged a trembling hand to her face, only to find it weighed down by heavy leather and metal shackles. The large cuffs clanked against her forearms as she struggled. When her hand finally reached her face, all the air was ripped from her lungs. It was a muzzle.

It was several sizes too big for her and fit loosely. She figured she could open her mouth all the way if she needed to scream, and oh, she just might. Her teeth began to chatter, panic washing over her. The bed she lay in was massive, stretching a foot out on either side.

I'm in prison. I hurt someone…?

An unnerving realization set in as she glanced around the room. She noticed the IV tube piercing her arm, the heart monitor clipping her finger. She was in a hospital, or at least something adjacent to one. But hospitals, as far as she knew, didn't have barred windows. Or chains hanging from the beds. She squirmed. As she gripped the cold railing with her paw pads, a sharp sting shot through her forearms. She jerked back. Examining her arm, she saw a red mark burned into her flesh.

Her attention was stolen by the sound of someone clearing their throat.

“You’re awake." The voice belonged to a cross-armed wolf sitting near the doorway. Her amber eyes burned above her square jaw. Her body was rigid. Her imposing frame threatened to crush the hospital chair beneath her. She was old, with healed scars littering every visible inch of her body. Her face was framed with delicate silver hair. "I’m Henna. You must be Lilac…?”

Even as Lilac lay there, trembling and chained to the cot, unsure of how she got here or why, the sharp look in the wolf woman's eyes made her shrink with shame. Henna's brawny body was tense with agitation, her claws tapping against her arms, or perhaps it was annoyance. Lilac couldn't decide which would be worse.

Lilac's gaze shifted to the barred windows. A sardonic laugh escaped the large woman to her right. "What? Never been in the Feral Unit before?"

Unsure if she could speak, Lilac shook her head at the question. The oversized muzzle moved awkwardly along with her shake, and her eyes darted between Henna and the barred window. Henna watched Lilac's silent response, her expression unreadable, with an air Lilac hoped was bemusement.

The question replayed in Lilac's mind: Feral Units were only for dangerous canines. Individuals who had lost control of their bodies and were deemed a danger to themselves and others. Distemper, rabies, rage syndrome... this room was open only to the seriously afflicted. Of all the canines that entered, few left alive, and even fewer left able to live well. Her breath wheezed from underneath her muzzle.

"You're not dying," Henna stated as Lilac’s distress grew. Henna's mouth quirked at the edges to reveal her bright white fangs. A knock at the door made both their ears flick.

The door opened to reveal a slender, caramel-painted border collie. Her fur was lustrous, even under the harsh white light of the hospital room. The soft, snowy fur of her bangs kissed her brow and curved along her face before falling like a curtain of silk thread. She was wrapped in a light gray jacket and form-fitting jeans that tightly hugged her delicate frame. Her long, perfectly groomed tail nearly touched the floor with the length of her fur.

When their eyes met, Lilac felt her entire body go stiff. She'd seen those blue eyes before. Despite her slight smile, her gaze was nothing short of intense. A wave of self-consciousness made Lilac shrink into herself.

"Oh." The collie breathed quietly.

Something in her tone sent a pang of dread down Lilac's spine. Looking at her body, even with her overwhelming soreness, she looked the way she always had. After what felt like decades of quiet discernment, the collie spoke again. "She is… as described."

Piece by piece, the collie woman broke down Lilac's appearance aloud. "Short, triangular ears. Round face, double coat," She tilted her head to the side. "Curled tail." Lilac's legs pulled closer to herself at the clinical tone of the observation. "You must be a type of Inu. Fascinating."

The bewildered laugh that bubbled out of Henna felt like it shook the room.“Certainly a far cry from the version that arrived." She glanced back at Lilac, who visibly tensed. "Say the word, and we'll request some morphine or something. Your bones must ache something fierce."

The collie only hummed in agreement before striding towards the hospital bed with confidence. Her hands grazed over Lilac’s leather-bound wrists with feather-light consideration. There was a deep intensity in her composure, one that would make anyone have to fight to maintain eye contact.

The sounds of leather unbuckling echoed in the room's quiet.

“My name is Teddy. I'm told your name is Lilac?” The border collie - Teddy - asked. Her voice flowed over Lilac’s disheveled maw as the restraints fell against the floor. Snowy white hands glided further down to her feet, undoing their shackles. Lilac's voice came as a hollowed grunt from the back of her throat, still too overtaken by her full-body paranoia to form proper words, instead transfixed on the hands moving down the length of her imprisoned arm. Teddy hummed as she considered the cuff's necessity before deciding to unbuckle them, too. The touch sent a shiver up Lilac’s spine, though the motion was far from intimate. "Can you speak?"

“…I-.” Lilac's voice came out as little more than a dry moan, still garbled with terror and an ache as though she had spent the night swallowing glass. “Yes.”

Once freed, Lilac rubbed her irritated wrists as a knot of embarrassment grew where the initial hysteria had sat. She realized dark bruises had formed under the shackles. Her skin itched terribly.

"Silver,” Teddy supplied. "You are likely allergic, given your condition. We can request burn cream, if you would like." Lilac shook her head and begged silently for one of them to explain why she was here.

Teddy backed up to give her space as Henna finally rose from her seat, easily dwarfing the collie by a foot. Despite the threatening height difference, Teddy seemed unbothered by Henna's imposing size and predatory appearance. Lilac shifted to sit more comfortably in the bed, attempting to mirror the unconcern.

She desperately needed any explanation for why she was strapped to a hospital bed, any explanation for why the two pairs of eyes locked onto her were looking at her as though she had grown a second head. A heart attack, a freak accident, an arrest for a crime she didn’t commit - she would sooner take any absurd explanation for why she was there than accept what they were suggesting. Despite Teddy's seeming indifference and Henna's loud attempts at joviality, it was clear there was a confusion that sat between all three of them as Teddy announced to the room.

“Ms. Kimberlite, you tested positive for the Lycanthropy mutation. You’re a werewolf.”

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