Chapter 10: 10. Change in the Weather

I set up the camp stove and filled the pot with the right amount of water, but Soneya stopped me before I lit the burner.

"I want to try something, ok?" she asked as she leaned closer.

"Like what?" I asked.

Rather than explain she just went ahead and did what she had in mind. She opened the valve on the gas, then instead of pressing the piezo-electric starter she stuck her finger in next to the burner. A frown settled on her face like she was concentrating on something, but nothing else seemed to be happening.

I was just about to ask what she was doing when she snatched her finger back and started laughing. Meanwhile I did a double-take as I realized the stove was lit.

"How'd you do that?" I gasped.

The wolfgirl shook her head, "I really don't know? Magic I guess. I'm sure you noticed something weird happened when I hit that guy right? I've been thinking about that on and off all afternoon."

"Yeah," I grimaced. I'd actually been trying to forget about it, or at least I'd pushed the whole encounter as far back in my mind as I could.

"I'm going to go hunt up some dry bedding," Soneya said as she headed back outside. "See you in a few minutes."

Lia was already out there, she'd gone to scout around the area to make sure the three of us would be safe here.

While waiting for the water to boil I pulled off my hoodie, and sighed at how wet it was. Our blanket was soaked too. I'd been hoping stuff would dry out during the afternoon, but the air was wet all day long and things never really had a chance to fully dry. Then the rain right at the end was enough to undo whatever drying our things had managed during the day.

Wet clothes and wet bedding was going to make for an uncomfortable night. It was still raining too, so we weren't going to have much luck trying to dry stuff overnight.

I ended up sitting crosslegged on the wood floor, with the stove in front of me and the wet blanket on my left, my wet hoodie on my right. My oversized t-shirt was clinging to my skin and I wanted to take that off too, but I didn't want to make Soneya uncomfortable when she came back.

As I looked down at the stove I wondered about her little magic trick. If she could somehow manipulate fire, maybe she could warm up our stuff enough to dry things off. That in turn made me wonder if perhaps I could do something like that as well. I had more exposure to the magic water than her, so I figured maybe I'd got the same thing she did, without even noticing.

I picked up my hoodie again, I could feel the added weight of the water that had soaked into it, and I frowned at it as I tried to concentrate. Not knowing how Soneya did it I was kind of flying blind, but she didn't have instructions either and she figured it out.

For a long while nothing happened, and my mind started wandering as I came close to giving up. There was frustration, disappointment, and maybe even a tiny bit of desperation. And that's when I felt it. Like discovering another limb you never knew you had before, something in my mind just clicked.

I could somehow feel the water in my hoodie as a separate thing, distinct from the fibres of the material. And being able to feel it, I sort of flexed that new limb and gave the water a push.

"Holy shit," I whispered to myself as I stared. My hoodie was suddenly lighter, because it was completely dry.

It wasn't warm or hot, I hadn't cooked the water out of it. I just somehow pushed the water out of the fabric and into the air.

With an excited smile I put my hand on the blanket and tried again. It took me another minute or so of focus, but I was able to repeat the effect, and just like that our blanket was dry. By that point the water on the stove was boiling so I had to focus on dinner. I turned off the stove then scooped in some dehydrated mix and got stirring.

Meanwhile Soneya brought in a couple armloads of pine boughs and Lia returned from her scouting. I decided to keep quiet about my magical achievement for now, but I had a happy smile on my face as I served up the food when it was ready. Both my companions were probably as hungry as me, considering how eagerly we all tucked into our reconstituted meals.

"I like this better than the other one," Lia commented as she licked up the last of her beef stew from the lid of the pot.

I smiled, "I'd offer you some of mine but I added hot sauce, so you probably won't like it."

Soneya grimaced, "I prefer the chicken and pasta one myself."

"Well I'm not making two dinners," I stated with a laugh. "We don't even have enough bowls for everyone, forget about two pots. And I doubt the gas canister will last very long if we're using twice as much every night."

The beautiful wolfgirl smiled, "It's ok Tori. I don't dislike the beef stew. As long as Lia doesn't mind chicken alfredo every other night I'm sure we'll all get along."

"Anyways," she added in a more serious tone, "If we have any luck at all tomorrow we might be eating real food in Amqui twenty-four hours from now."

"Yeah," I sighed softly as my mood suddenly dropped.

Soneya gave me a funny look and asked, "You ok Tori? I thought you'd be more excited about that."

"I am," I nodded. "But it brings something else up, that we haven't talked about yet. Not that we've had time to discuss it, and it wasn't even on the horizon until today."

The wolfgirl ate another spoonful of stew then offered the pot to Lia, "Here you wanna lick this clean? I didn't put any hot sauce in mine."

"Thank you bigger sister," our little fox responded as she happily lapped up the sauce and smaller morsels of food that Soneya left behind.

"You're welcome," Soneya smiled. Then she looked to me and asked, "So what's troubling you?"

I had a gulp of water, then took a deep breath before letting it out in a long sigh. After all that I finally opened up to her. My voice was quiet and I did my best not to get too emotional, though I couldn't really help it.

"For the last... Hell I don't even know? Has it been two days, or three? It feels like weeks, but whatever. Since all that stuff started, we've been in survival mode. Just focusing on getting through one hour to the next, or focusing on putting one foot in front of the other. Me and Lia met and sort of became a team, then a few hours later we met you and all three of us joined up. And we've all had the same goal right, we're trying to get out, get to safety. Our goal's been to get to your vehicle in Amqui, but we never really talked about what we'd do after that?"

I took another deep breath then looked up at her and said, "I guess that's what I'm worrying about now? Touch wood, we might reach Amqui tomorrow if we find that guy's car. Like you said, we might be there in time for our next dinner? I'm worried about what happens after that."

Soneya frowned, then reached out and took the jug from me. She had a couple gulps of water, then tipped some into the pot so Lia could drink too.

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She finally asked, "What do you want to happen after that? I guess, what's your long-term goal? What do you see happening after we reach Amqui, whether that's tomorrow, the next day, or next week?"

That's where I maybe broke down a little. I wasn't even sure why it made me cry as I admitted, "I just want to go home. I want to crawl in my big comfy bed, pull the duvet overtop of myself, and hide. Maybe for a day or two? I want to talk to my parents and make sure they're ok, and let them know I'm good. And somewhere in there I'll have a shower, or maybe soak in a bubble-bath. I want to get pizza delivered, so I can sit crosslegged on my sofa in a flannel nightshirt and drink cheap white wine from a juice glass, eat pizza slices straight from the box, and binge some crap on the TV."

I sniffed and wiped my eyes and added, "I don't want to think about impossible mountains and weird auroras and lightning that blows people up. I don't want to worry about getting shot at, or whether we'll run out of water or food and if we can make it to the next shelter or hut before dark. I'm grateful for the instant magical transition, but everything else has been too damn much and I just want to get back to my little apartment, my mundane little life. And I want that as soon as possible."

"Getting to Amqui is the first step to getting you home," Soneya responded softly. "So why's that worry you?"

"Because I don't know what your plans are," I half-whispered, as fresh tears rolled down my cheeks. "If you're going back to Williamsport then I'm stuck in Amqui, that's like twelve-hundred kilometres from home. I can't take a bus or train, assuming those are even still running. I promised Lia she could come with me, but they won't let her on public transportation. So basically my only option is to try and rent a car, except without proper ID I can't see that happening."

"It's not even about the promise anymore," I added. "I won't leave Lia behind. I'm not sure I can put it into words, but I feel like she's as close a friend as anyone I've ever known."

My cheeks suddenly heated up as I whispered, "I feel the same about you too Soneya, and now that I've said it I'm afraid of how you might take it. I don't want to upset you, and I know you have your own goals and plans. I really want to go home, but I don't want to lose either of you."

The wolfgirl nodded slowly, "Ok. I get why you're worried. And worst case scenario, if that guy's car gets us to Amqui there's no reason not to take it all the way to Toronto. But I'm pretty sure that's not the real issue here. And I guess that means it's my turn to share what's on my mind, about what happens after Amqui..."

Soneya's voice trailed off there, and she paused for another swig of water. Then she handed the jug back to me, and paused a moment to collect her thoughts.

"I need to be somewhere safe," she finally stated, in a quietly intense voice. "Right now survival is the only goal, but I know that once it isn't I'm not going to want to be alone. My home feels like it's a million miles away and I'm scared that if I do head back there, being by myself won't be healthy for me."

She sighed, "In fact I don't think America's going to be that safe anyways. If anything like this happened there, the military and government as a whole won't be anywhere near as gentle about what they'll inevitably see as non-humans."

After another pause she looked at me and continued, "You know the situation here, you've shared in the weirdness. You and Lia are probably the only people in the world I can talk to about this stuff. And on top of all that..."

A very cute blush crept across her cheeks, and I knew whatever she was about to say was something that embarrassed her. I kept quiet, but offered her the water incase she wanted more.

She shook her head then after another deep breath she admitted quietly, "This is maybe like what you were saying about Lia but um, I don't know what to call it. Instincts maybe? I feel like you and Lia are... Ugh this feels awkward as hell. I feel like you two are part of my pack or something. I have to protect you both, I have to keep all three of us safe, and together."

Her voice faded to a whisper as she added, "You two might be all I have left."

I ended up wiping my eyes again, then asked softly "Would you like a hug? Is it ok if I hug you?"

Soneya seemed almost frozen by my request, she was silent for a few seconds. Finally she blinked, nodded, and responded just as quietly "Yeah, ok."

We both moved a little closer together, then I wrapped my arms around her midsection while she tentatively placed hers around my shoulders. It was a sort of tense, awkward hug, but it was a hug. And it felt nice.

It only lasted ten or fifteen seconds, then Soneya broke off and pulled back so I let go as well. We were both blushing, but both our tails were swishing back and forth behind us.

"So uh," the tall wolfgirl was still embarrassed as she maybe looked for a way to change the subject. Her eyes settled on our small fox friend and she asked, "Lia how about you? Me and Tori have both shared our goals and the stuff we're hoping for or worried about. You're part of the team, so how about you tell us what you want or what you're hoping for?"

Our little sister sat up then tilted her head slightly as if she was thinking it over.

She finally responded, "I want to be safe with my new family. I want to stay with my big sister and my bigger sister. I don't know what has happened to me or to the world around me, but I know I've changed too. And I feel a strong bond to both of you, as if I am meant to be with the two of you. I feel like there is something all three of us are supposed to do together, something important. I don't know what it is, but I think when the time comes we will know."

Soneya smiled, "I'm glad all three of us want to stay together. So I think the plan right now is we keep pushing for Amqui, and from there we're heading to Tori's place in Toronto. That feels safe to me."

I smiled too, but I had to wipe my eyes again. Then I gave the wolfgirl a funny look and asked, "When did you start understanding Lia?"

"Uh, some time this afternoon?" she replied with a blush. "I didn't really notice it at first, it just sort of happened."

"Nice," I grinned. "Makes sense though, as leader of our pack it's important for you to be able to communicate with the rest of us."

That made her blush even brighter, and I giggled softly as I gathered up the dishes and cutlery. I excused myself, then went out to the river to rinse everything off.

The rain was coming down hard, and both it and the river were cooler than I was used to. Then it occurred to me it was probably the right temperature for this time of year, I was just used to the changed water in the park being warmer. Either way, between the cold water and the rain I wasn't the least bit interested in trying to bathe in it. Maybe in the morning I'd feel inspired.

When I got back to the shelter Soneya had our bed pretty much ready to go. She commented, "How'd the blanket get so dry? I thought it'd still be damp after getting rained on."

That put another smile on my face and I wrapped my arms around the tall strong wolfgirl once again.

She tensed up a bit before she tentatively hugged me back. As we held each other she teased quietly, "No offence Tori but you're soaked again, and your tail smells like wet dog fur."

I grinned, but I was too busy concentrating to reply. It wasn't quite as hard this time, and I had a feeling the more I practiced the easier it would get.

After only about half a minute Alpine gasped, "Woah, what just happened?"

"I dried us off," I replied with a cheeky grin. "You can do fire magic right? I figured out water."

Looking to Lia I added, "Come here little sister, I'll dry your fur too."

After that all three of us cuddled together in our warm dry makeshift bed, and as I drifted off I couldn't help thinking ahead to tomorrow. If we really did get to Amqui, I was going to try and talk Soneya into letting us stay the night in a hotel. Maybe we could even find somewhere to do some shopping, since we were both in desperate need of some proper clothes.