Wolf: A Hunting We’ll Go
You give it some thought, before you make your decision. ‘I… I think I’d like to try hunting. I’ve never done it in the past.’ You pause, then, after considering something, you add, ‘although to be honest, I’m a little… wary about it.’
Ali chortles internally. ‘I’m guessing because you’ve never killed an animal before, yeah?’
You nod.
‘It’s a fair thing to take into consideration,’ Ali remarked. Her tail swishes about a few times. ‘I’m not gonna say that the idea of hunting and eating a living creature is entirely inhuman, since plenty of people have done it throughout history for survival. But, I get it.’ Her eyes hold yours with sincerity. ‘It’s not the easiest thing in the world. I’ve done it a handful of times, though, ever since I met Shira.’
You’re a little taken aback at this, although you suppose it would make sense in a way - you hadn’t considered that someone with the ability to transform into animals would use that power for something like hunting, if only because, well, if you could turn into an animal and back to human, why bother?
Ali eyes you as if she knows what you’re thinking. ‘There’s… I guess you could call it a sort of thrill to the hunt, depending on the creature whose form you assume. The predator animals, like the wolf, or the fox, they have this sort of…’ She pauses and thinks. ‘How did you describe it, Shira?’
“A predator’s mentality,” Shira replies. She nods and grins. “Assuming the body of a creature has its perks, particularly when you maintain your humanity - something that many djinn will give you even if you don’t ask, although, as with all things tied to our kin, it’s not a certainty. Either way, one of those perks is that you can tap into the mental state of that creature, if that makes sense.”
“It’s not the same since you retain your human lens,” Akam adds, and he regards you when he says this. “It’s like trying to communicate with the dog in the park, Master. Your mind is human - thus, you think and see and experience and understand things in a human way, including the words I’m saying to you right now. You can feel a taste of what a wolf thinks if you allow yourself to, yet it’ll always be framed by emotions and concepts you think as a human.”
“But, it helps with things like hunting,” Shira says. “If that helps, anyways.”
You suppose it does, although you aren’t entirely sold on the premise - you’ve killed bugs before, sure, but that is a much different thing, at least as far as you tend to think of it. The idea of hunting and killing a creature with your bare… well, not hands since you’re a wolf, but, your teeth? That’s… much different.
‘We’ll be smart about it,’ Ali says. She holds your gaze with a steady look, and you get the sense she’s being earnest with you about it. Not that she’d have a reason not to be, mind. ‘And I know a good route that’ll take us to where we’d find game. I can tell you’re overthinking it, and I can tell you’re thinking about it the way you would if you weren’t a wolf.’
‘It’s a little hard not to,’ you say.
She nods. ‘That’s true. Definitely not disagreeing. But, trust me. When you tap into that bestial side… it gets easier, because you can not only work through it, but, you’ll be able to better accept and understand. So, shall we get going?’
You sigh, then nod. ‘Yeah.’
Your stomach gurgles as if adding onto the conversation, to your mild embarrassment. Ali simply giggles at you, before she stands on her legs.
‘One moment, please,’ Ali says.
You blink a few times, but say nothing. Then it dawns on you, right when you watch as Ali’s body starts to transform - her body stretches out and grows in size and bulk, her fur darkening to a deep-grayish color, all over the course of seconds. Her features thicken, and her snout extends, and so does her tail, and within about a minute, she’s no longer a vixen, but a wolf just like you.
Her transformation was smooth and brisk, and to your eyes, she’d changed forms so fluidly, it was almost like watching something out of a cartoon or a movie, but with really, really good CGI. You’re astounded, but then, the appearance of a fox isn’t too different from a wolf beyond the size, admittedly.
‘Ahhh,’ Ali says. She licks her snout, and eyes you again, with yellow eyes now. ‘You forget the benefits of being in a bigger body when you’ve spent hours on end in the form of a fox. This is much, much nicer.’ She sniffs the air, then leans toward you and sniffs. ‘Yup. Feels good to be a wolf.’
‘What made you choose to be a fox in the first place?’ you ask, earnestly curious.
She blinks a few times, then smiles at you with a big, wolfish grin. ‘Oh, that’s easy. I love foxes. They’re one of my favorite animals, have been since I was a little girl. To me, they’re awesome because they’re fast, smart, gorgeous, and tricky little stinkers by nature. Plus, I’ve always seen myself as being pretty keen and crafty, so, there’s that, too.’
You smile back at her. ‘Makes sense, I suppose.’
‘Let’s talk more after we get some grub,’ Ali remarks. She licks her chops now, and nods her head to the side. ‘We can decide to find some food together, if you prefer. I’m not against letting you take the lead, though, or if you’d prefer I be the alpha in the equation, that’s fine with me, too.’
‘Didn’t you say you know a good spot?’ you ask.
She snickers. ‘I do. I know several. But, you said you knew the area, right? I don’t want to invade on your own pride if you felt like you’d have a better chance at getting us to where there’s wild animals roaming about.’ She grins again. ‘Or, we can do it together. I don’t have a preference right now, I just wanna get something in my belly. What do you think?’
You blink again, and then start to consider this.
Written by Hollowpages on 26 July 2020