Greykin Mountain

| 10 | Mountain Edge

⥐ ⋞ ☽ ⋟ ⥐

Tokala clung to Jackson's side while they headed through the woods. Those in their wolf forms walked on either side of the rest, cautiously scanning the forest with their eyes.

          The sound of gushing water grew louder as they headed towards the treeline, and when they emerged, Jackson set his sights on a wide, flowing river which cut between a pebble-covered opening. Just across the water sat the foot of a steep white mountain, and two hundred yards or so upstream was a small splashing waterfall.

          Jackson followed Tokala over to the river and watched as the wolves drank while everyone else kept a close watch on the tree line. Then, when the wolves were done, the rest of the group crouched down and used their hands to cup some of the water to drink.

          "How come everyone doesn't just stay as wolves?" he asked Tokala.

          "It takes a lot of time for a wolf walker to learn to shift at will but staying as their wolf for longer periods of time takes even more. If you try to stay as your wolf for too long, you run the risk of becoming a Delta."

          Nodding slowly, Jackson watched him drink from the river. "How long is too long?"

          "About twelve hours is the average time a wolf walker stays as their wolf. But those of us who have learned to remain as our wolves longer can do so for an indefinite amount of time. We still like to shift back sometimes, though."

          Evidently, Tokala was one who had learned to shift whenever and for however long as he wanted. Jackson wanted that—if he could shift without risking losing himself, then he'd be one step closer to being ready for what waited out in Greykin. "How long does it take to learn?"

          "Drink," Tokala told him.

          Jackson crouched down and scooped some water into his hands.

          "It takes around a month to six months to learn to shift at will."

          A month?

          "As for learning to remain as your wolf for as long as you want, it really depends on the person. It took me a good year or so."

          Tokala's answers made him feel nauseous. The thought of spending even a month with these wolves dismayed him—and a month travelling through zombie-infested woods horrified him. But he'd be doing that either way, wouldn't he?

          "Stay here," Tokala said. "I need to speak to the chief."

          Jackson glanced over at him, watching him head over to Damon. Then, he stared down into the water. Several fish swam past, their silvery bodies shining in the sunlight, and when a rather large number more hurried past, Jackson stared upstream.

          His eyes widened in angst as he watched a huge, bulky beast stroll through the water. At first, he thought it was some sort of mutilated zombie wolf, but when it turned its head to try and catch a leaping fish, he saw that it was actually a brown bear. It didn't look so threatening in size now that Jackson had seen his fair share of six-foot wolves, but when it stopped walking and turned its head to stare at Jackson, he shuddered and moved away—

          Jackson's back collided with someone, and with a panicked grunt, he stumbled forward and swung around...to see that it was Damon.

          "U-uh—"

          "Don't look at it," Damon said, a vacant stare on his face. "It won't come over here unless it thinks you're sizing it up."

          He nodded and scratched the side of his face. "Right. Uh...when can I start learning to control my wolf...and stuff?" he asked unsurely.