With both of them setting up the snares, they made quick work of all the ones in his bag. Giving the final one a tug, he stood up and dusted the dirt off his pants from kneeling on the ground. Zipping his now empty bag up, he couldn’t help the smile tug at the corner of his mouth as she rambled out all she wanted to know. ‘We’re going to need you to learn more about that kitty cat just hanging out inside of you first before you can at least start to get where I’m at with my canine...’ Once those words were out of his mouth,, an idea sprung to mind. His blue gaze slid over to her as his lips parted to reveal his teeth in a full wolffish smile. ‘How do you feel about meditation? I have an idea. Follow me.’ He shouldered his pack and set off toward another game trail that led to an area he figured might help. As they were walking, he continued to answer her earlier question left as honestly as he could. He was never worried about telling anyone, mainly because he had no one to tell. But he supposed since she was so well set up in the city, she probably knew more people in her day to day life than he had ever met. And not to mention she most likely had a loving family that would be worried about her if she just disappeared like she did. Suddenly a part of him felt guilty for pulling her here. There was no way she was going to stay forever. This isolated lifestyle was not for everyone and after seeing how she lived and worked, he doubted this was a lifestyle she would want for herself.
‘So I suppose you could tell whoever you want, as long as you trust them. I’ve found that people take it different ways. Either in disgust because you’re so different, or way too curious about how everything works in your body, or they just don’t care because they know who you really are. I’ve never really had to break the news to people because I avoid everyone I can.’ He held a particularly thick bunch of bish limbs out of the way for her as she followed through. His eyes tracked her movements as she walked past, her head held high and her body sure of with every step. ‘You can do anything you want. This isn’t a disability like some might think but just more of an extension of your personality. Everyone I know with this ability lives a normal life, most in the city and a few out in areas like this. Some have families with people that aren’t shifters. Once you’re comfortable with your ability, things become easier. We’re going to get you to a place where you aren’t afraid of this. And then you can decide how you want to deal with it and where you want to go from here. There are quite a few of us out there, but it’s a rare thing to have. I’m sure people have their guesses that we exist but we try not to make it too public since a lot of us don’t enjoy being looked at and tested on. As far as I know, there is no known reason why we have this ability and it seems to be completely random but I have heard of shifters having offspring that shift as well. So it’s hard to say where it comes from and why it happens.’
Running a hand through his hair, he could feel the beginnings of the day heating up by the small amount of sweat collecting in his hair line. Sure enough as he glanced up though the branches, he could see the sun had begun its climb toward the center of the sky. It just have been mid morning by now, and the day was promising to be a warm one. Sighing, he paused for a moment and listened. The birds were going about their day, flitting about and chirping as they continued. Once he sorted out the sounds of nature, he heard what he had been looking for. The softest sound of a trickling stream fought to be noticed through the sounds of everything else. He headed in that direction, hoping Arianna was still following. It wasn’t long before he eyes found the source of the trickling. It was a decent size stream, moving peacefully in the forest around them. Everything seemed to quiet down around it, providing for the perfect area to do what he was hoping for.
Turning toward the female, he gestured to the area around them. ‘This is a good place to start if you’re up for it. We’ll have to wait a bit anyway if we hope to catch anything from the snares, so we might as well make the most of the time. I want you to sit and just listen, to everything around you, but mainly just yourself. Find out where that cat likes to hang out and become familiar with it. Do not, and I mean it, do not touch it unless you want to shift. I just want you to find where you can reach for her. You can talk to her and see if she’s in a talking mood, but I have a feeling she might test you a bit because of her species.’ He gave her a wink before continuing, ‘I’ll be here, but I also won’t be. Take your time and tell me when you’re ready to go, but I want you to learn something before you’re done. Just remember you can’t be scared of this, you’re going to have to learn to live with it.’ With that, he gave her a soft smile, set down all of his items, and with a soft sigh he shifted. A large white dog stood where a man was once, blue gaze holding the female standing in front of him. Giving a little tail wag, he padded over to an area where the sunlight was streaming though the trees, giving him a direct beam of sunlight. He stretched out his upper half and let out a large yawn before flopping down in the soft grass and shutting his eyes.
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