Shift

"Bye North, see you tonight!" Jazmyn shouted while Lupita just waved at the white wolf and smiled as she held her girlfriend before they walked away. "Are you sure you are ok with shifting with me? I have a pretty gruesome shift," Jazmyn said and Lupita just smiled at her.

"It is completely fine. You aren't a Lycan at least," she said and smiled. Lycans were close to werewolves like her, but they were the more historically accurate ones, or as some would say, "Greek werewolves", as they came from Zeus' curse to king Lycos. Modern werewolves reclaimed the name thousands of years ago, and renamed the cursed wolves "Lycans". The main difference between them was that the Lycans had no connection to their wolf and therefore would go rampage on the full moons. They also seem more human-like when in their "wolf" form, and their transformations are always painful.

"I take great offense in that," Jazmyn said and looked away dramatically, causing Lupita to laugh.

They didn't say anything as they walked to Elizabeth's car, they just walked in peaceful silence. It had been slightly awkward after the whole thing with Ambrosia but they had managed to get through the day without being much different from how they were. Though, Lupita wasn't quite sure how they "used" to be as they had barely known each other for more than only a few days. If she had to guess, their "usual" would be just being around each other…?

"Hi girls," Elizabeth said in a jolly voice. Lupita smiled while Jazmyn kissed her mother's cheek and sat in the front while Lupita sat in the back. The car started up and Lupita ended up scratching up the back seat and apologizing profusely as she realized what she had done.

"Now," Elizabeth began while Lupita looked out the window and at the trees passing by. "You will go to the location I drive you to before sundown. You will not go into the neighboring territories and howl if you need help, any werewolf near you will come and help. I will come and pick you up at 7, and you better be in the same place as where I left you or you will be grounded for eternity."

"Ok mom," Jazmyn said and kissed her cheek then looked back at her friend. "You good back there?"

"I hate cars," Lupita answered shortly and tried her best not to damage her face more with her claws as she rested her face in her hand.

"We are only 3 minutes away," Jazmyn said and turned in her seat before placing a hand on Lupita's thigh. The other girl just nodded and took a deep breath as she continued to stare out of the window, trying to distract herself from the sounds and jolts the car would make.

They eventually reached the house and Lupita just about fell out of the car as she tried to get out. She followed Jazmyn and Elizabeth into the house and waved at Daniel who was lying sick on the couch.

"Hello my ladies," he said with a smile as Elizabeth walked over to him and kissed his cheek and Jazmyn hugged him tight. "How was school?"

"Interesting," Jazmyn said after looking over at Lupita who had taken off her shoes and was now looking around the room to see if there was anything she could eat.

"Ah, the wild one is back!" Daniel shouted and Lupita smiled at the sick, human man. "Where did you run off to? We didn't scare you, did we?"

"No," Lupita answered simply and walked into the kitchen where Elizabeth was stressing about; running around and trying to get something done.

"What are you doing over there honey?" Daniel asked, dropping the subject about Lupita.

"Making lunches for these two as they have to shift elsewhere because Lupita can be seen as a rogue if she is spotted near us, and that could bring us into danger," Elizabeth said while cutting up a few slices of meat and putting them in boxes.

"Won't that be dangerous?" Daniel asked and tried to sit up but Jazmyn put a hand on his chest and pushed him down.

"It will, but North will be there, along with Lupita and Valeria. The rest will come in the morning. The area they are going to is one of the safest there is for people who want to shift outside of their territory. They will be fine," Elizabeth reassured, but that last bit seemed to be her convincing herself.

They began to make small talk after that. Lupita mainly stayed quiet and just happily ate the bowl of fruits Elizabeth cut up for her and listened as the family talked. She missed her own family more and more as time went on. It was hard to sit and see and hear a happy family and not think back to her own. They always had fun back in Norway. Her mother would constantly compliment her or talk to her about everything she needed or wanted to know. Her father would tell her stories, or play fight with her in the grass outside their house and teach her how to climb trees and other acrobatics to do while in them, both in human and wolf form. They would also always have one or 3 nights that they just spent together as a family, whether that would be to stare at the stars, go hunting, tell stories or just be in the other's presence, they would always try to find ways to spend time with each other. That was difficult to do now though.

"Ok, we need to get there if we plan on getting there before the moon rises. I can't drive a car with my paws yet," Elizabeth said and Lupita immediately dried the silent tears that had been falling and got up, though she chuckled slightly at Elizabeth's comment.

Back in the car they were, off to the place that Elizabeth had chosen for them. Lupita decided to just close her eyes and breathe throughout the whole ride and listened to the music playing on the radio. It wasn't awful but it still wasn't the best experience.

They got to their destination and Lupita got out quickly but managed not to faceplant into the dirt this time. It was a very nice place from the first impression. It was open and the grass was soft. The trees looked like a fence, which wasn't very pleasing but they looked nice to climb. It was still nice after a short inspection and would be a perfect place to shift.

The sun was starting to set at this point and Lupita already felt her skin itch and her body needing to move. Her nose was also going wild. There was a strange smell somewhere in this place, but her senses were so overwhelmed by the full moon that Lupita couldn't focus on it.

"Stay in this area, I don't want you guys to get hurt or lost. North should arrive very shortly with Valeria. I love you both," Elizabeth said quickly and kissed Jazmyn's entire face before moving to Lupita to kiss her forehead and cheek, then she ran to the car and drove away.

"Have you ever shifted without your parents?" Lupita asked Jazmyn as she began to take off her shoes and socks.

"No, never," Jazmyn answered and followed Lupita's actions. "I haven't shifted a lot in general. My shifting came in late, mom was scared I was fully human with werewolf instincts and half speed and strength. But it all ended up being just fine."

Lupita smiled as she remembered that normal werewolves couldn't shift until a certain age. She had broken that rule at the age of 3 months. Her poor parents had had a heart attack when a small puppy stood in front of them when they went to check on her after they had shifted. Her shifting wasn't any less painful because of that, she was just slightly more used to the pain than other werewolves.

"When did you first shift?" Jazmyn asked and Lupita silently cursed. She jinxed it.

"When I was 14," she lied quickly and went over to climb a tree.

"That is very early," Jazmyn said and Lupita nodded while still climbing the tree. "Did it hurt?" Jazmyn asked as she also began to climb.

"Of course it did. But I have gotten used to the pain by now. Not entirely, but I don't feel the need to claw off my skin every time I shift," Lupita said and helped the girl onto the branch she was sitting on. "How are you with the pain?"

"I am awful with any kind of pain," Jazmyn said with a slight chuckle. "So sorry if I end up screaming a lot because I still can't get used to the pain."

Lupita smiled and took her hand, making Jazmyn look up at her and smile shyly.

"I am here and you will be ok. It is better when you shift with someone," Lupita said and squeezed her hand.

Jazmyn's cheeks had gotten very dark by this point and Lupita mentally facepalmed. She forgot about the crush thing. But she couldn't help but be kind to the girl. It wasn't like she was flirting with her.

They continued talking until the sun had finally set and their bodies began to itch and ache. Lupita cautiously looked over at Jazmyn to find her holding her arms and scratching them a little too roughly.

"Careful Jazmyn," she said and took her hands before she hurt herself. "Let's get down." Lupita carefully held her friend's hands and guided her down while she winced and let tears escape her eyes. Once they were safely on the ground, Jazmyn collapsed and fell to the floor while trying to rip off her clothes. Lupita carefully helped her take them off, but left her in her bra and underpants. She was still writhing in pain and as her claws extended she began to try and claw at her skin.

Lupita could feel the pain in her own limbs as she tried to calm down her friend. It was obvious she was in much more pain than she was and needed comfort.

"It hurts," she cried and clawed at Lupita's chest. It would most likely scar but at the moment she didn't care.

"I know," Lupita said and stroked her hair. "It is only a few more seconds Jaz, you can do it."

Jazmyn kept crying loudly into her chest and clawed at her back and arms as she slowly began to shift in Lupita's arms. Lupita was trying her best to keep her wolf in as Jazmyn was crying, but it just became more and more difficult. Her wolf was pressing at her mind, begging to come out as the call of the full moon rang loudly to the both of them.

With one last cry, Jazmyn had finally shifted into her beautiful, dark brown wolf. It was the size of a big dog, but not nearly the size of a full-blooded werewolf. Jazmyn's neck fur was different from the rest, it was slightly matted and thicker, and the rest of her fur was soft and medium-length.

The second Lupita saw that her friend was ok, she rushed behind a tree, took off her clothes, and held in a cry of agony as her wolf burst out. Her bones cracked and her skin tore apart and in only a few seconds, the world turned black.