Chapter 63: Chapter 62 - Nat

Thursday 31 December — Full Moon

~*Nat’s POV*~

“Brother? What do you mean, ‘brother’?” What the hell?

“Your wolf is male, Nat,” Nahi said gently, her eyes peering into mine. “And he’s my brother. We share the same parents.” She stroked my cheek, her face lighting up from the contact.

“What?!” This completely floored me. “Alex, she’s got this wrong, right? You’re female. You SOUND female.”

“Breathe, kid,” Alex reminded me as I tried to settle my spinning mind. “Nahi’s right. I’m male. And we are indeed siblings.”

“But… Your voice… It’s female…” I felt myself sway like I was going to faint. This was getting to be too much.

“You heard what you wanted to hear, Nat. Didn’t you think I sounded husky?” I could hear the laughter in Alex’s voice.

“Yeah, but there are plenty of husky-voiced women out there. I just assumed…” I trailed off. Assumed. I had assumed that Alex was female. He was right. I had heard exactly what I wanted to hear. “Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked quietly. It could have saved so much trouble.

“I’m sorry, kid.” He sounded so sad. “I didn’t know how to. It’s not like something that can easily be brought up in regular conversation. Plus, I kept hoping that your memory would come back so I wouldn’t have to.”

“Do you remember? What happened to me before Matlock?” A flicker of hope sprang up. Would I finally know where I came from?

There was a long pause. I could feel Alex getting incredibly anxious. “I do, kid. But it’s best if you remember it on your own.”

“No! Alex, for God’s sake, please tell me. I’ve waited so long for answers!” I could feel an enormous tear well in my eye as an overwhelming sense of torment ran through my body. Nahi brought her arms around my neck and hugged me. “Please, Alex. I’m begging you.”

“I can’t, Nat. Some things are better left forgotten.”

I lifted my head to the sky and howled in agony. How could Alex be so cruel? Why would he deny me this? I felt my heart break as the hope I had felt sputtered and died.

Roux crept towards me, her head nudging the underside of my neck that was away from Nahi’s arms. “It’s okay, Nat. We’re here for you.”

I felt a wave of sorrow overcome me. “Wyatt… He snarled at me. Why did so many snarl at me?”

Nahi sighed. “People fear what they don’t understand, Nat.”

A rustle at the top of the falls caught all our attention, except for Nahi. She kept stroking my neck in an attempt to settle my anxiety.

“We’re going to need to move,” Takeshi said at the edge of the waterfall. His naked form was littered with bruises and scratches. A long gash ran up his right arm from wrist to shoulder. He looked behind him anxiously. “Nahi, can you escort us into your territory? It’s likely the only place Alex will be completely safe for tonight, and I think we’re all due some answers unhindered by interruptions.” He leaped over the lip of the waterfall headfirst, transforming into Kairu in a flash of light on the way down the three-metre drop to land on his paws in the water in front of us.

A howl ripped through the darkness some distance from the north-east of us. Kairu, Roux, and I all faced the sound.

“Scout…” Nahi breathed. I turned back to her only to notice that her eyes had turned a dark lilac colour. She looked directly at me with concern clear on her features. “Spence is after you. Takeshi is right; we need to leave here.” With alarming speed and agility, she bounded over the rocks of the creek to the other side.

Roux took off after her. Kairu nudged me to get me moving and soon we were all sprinting through the forest, heading in the opposite direction from where Scout had howled. Soon enough, we were approaching a clearing in the trees ahead and Nahi slowed.

“There’s a two-lane road ahead. Once we cross that road, you will be in my territory. Scout can’t follow you there without an escort.” She looked up into the sky and I heard a magpie squawk. Gidja and Yamparti appeared out of nowhere and swooped around us.

Nahi held out her arm for Gidja, who dipped her wings and aimed for it. Once she had landed, Nahi brought Gidja up level with her eyes. “Alert Tuka that I’m escorting three. We have the potential for hostiles tonight. We must be ready.” She lifted her arm and Gidja took flight again. She joined Yamparti, who was still circling us, then headed towards the road.

Nahi turned back to us. “I need to escort you one by one onto our lands. Might I suggest I take Alex first, seeing as he’s the one that’s being hunted?”

Kairu huffed his agreement and nudged me again towards Nahi. “Go. We’ll be right behind you,” I heard Takeshi say in my mind. Hearing him when he was Kairu was going to take some getting used to.

Nahi placed her hand on my head, and I felt her fingers draw a quick design on the fur between my ears before coming to rest again. A warmth spread through my body, starting from where she had her hand lying, through to the tips of my paws.

“Let’s go.” Nahi stepped through the last few trees at the side of the road and coaxed me forward to walk next to her. The road was dark and deserted and she moved swiftly across the two lanes, with her hand resting on my back, urging me to stay with her. I felt a ripple of energy as we stepped through the tree line on the other side of the road, reminding me of the ripples emanating from a tossed rock in a calm lake.

“And just what time do you call this?” A tiny, naked woman with long raven hair appeared in front of us, her hands on her hips and her cupid lips pursed as if in annoyance.

My eyes were level with hers, even though she was standing tall. I dipped my head to appear as non-threatening as I could, but she burst out laughing, a deep rumbling echo that reverberated off the surrounding trees. She threw her hands in the air and took two steps forward to embrace Nahi. Where Nahi’s pale bare skin glowed with white lines and dots, this woman’s tanned skin lit up with black tendrils that snaked around her face and body like vines creeping across a forest floor. Small birdlike shapes flew across her body like crows or bats across a dusky night sky, some appearing near the corner of her mouth and rising up her cheek to disappear into her hairline, while others floated up her legs and onto her torso.

“Welcome home, sister,” she said in Nahi’s ear. “Your message sounded ominous.” She let go and turned to me, staring with unbridled curiosity. She laid a hand on my head, then gasped. “Alex?” Moving to my front, she grasped my jaw with both hands and stared into my eyes. “Is it really you? After all this time?”

“Tuka, there is time for pleasantries later. There are two more I need to bring through. Can I ask for your assistance?” Nahi grasped her friend’s forearm in urgency. “There’s little time left.”

“Of course.” The diminutive female, Tuka, disappeared through the trees with Nahi and reappeared moments later with both Roux and Kairu. Just as they came through the rippling barrier, Spence’s wolf, Scout, appeared on the other side of the road, a mess of snarling teeth and spittle.

I took a step back, as did Roux and Kairu. Nahi and Tuka stepped in front of us, held hands and moved their free hands around in the undulating barrier.

Scout sprinted over the road towards us. Nahi and Tuka held their ground and pushed their free hands against the barrier.

“You are not welcome here,” Tuka announced loudly, her markings moving on her bare skin ever faster as Spence approached. She splayed her free hand and pushed forward just as Spence opened his jaws and leapt at her face.

The barrier shuddered as he collided with it, forcing him to bounce back onto the bitumen of the empty road. He rose to his feet, shook himself, and snarled at us, pacing back and forth impatiently.

Tuka and Nahi dropped their hands from the barrier and each other before they turned their backs on Spence, still growling at us from the other side of the invisible barrier.

“You always bring such interesting friends to visit,” Tuka said to Nahi, with a raised eyebrow.

Nahi gave a wry grin back to her friend. “Some are more interesting than others.”

Placing her hands on her hips, Tuka took Roux, Kairu, and me in. “Let’s move out of his eyeline. He won’t be able to get through the barrier now that it’s got a taste of him, but it probably won’t stop him from trying something stupid.” She moved past us, leading us further into the trees.

While Kairu and Roux followed Tuka and Nahi, I looked towards Spence one last time, catching a flicker of a pulse in the invisible barrier. My eyes followed the flicker up and up until my eyes lost sight of it. The barrier was incredibly tall; there was absolutely no way Spence could jump over it. His eyes were locked on mine, his teeth bared and dripping with saliva. I tilted my head at him as I heard him growl menacingly at me before turning around and following my friends deeper into the forest.

As I walked, a scratching noise came from my left. I turned my head and noticed a lyrebird keeping pace with me. It let out a chorus of sounds, some electronic, others musical. At one point, I could have sworn I heard a robotic chirping that sounded very reminiscent of a character in Star Wars. My heart fell as it reminded me of Bells, and the image of Wyatt snarling at me flitted through my mind. Why would he do that to me? He knew me. Was seeing Alex really such a shock or a bad thing?

“Ah, I see you’ve met Shirina,” Tuka said from my right. “You’ve met Nahi’s familiar, Gidja, right? Shirina is mine. She’s been with me for over five years now.” After waiting for me to pass her, she joined me on my left. She let her hand drop and Shirina nipped at her fingers playfully, making Tuka chuckle.

Nahi led us to a clearing where there were several fallen logs. She stopped to sit down on one of them. “Kairu, could you shift to Takeshi, please? This might go easier with him in human form.”

There was half a second of light flare before Takeshi stood in front of us.

“Well, hello there, big boy,” Tuka muttered under her breath next to me. I chuffed in amusement. Sounded like someone had a crush.

Takeshi moved to sit at Nahi’s left, letting his elbows rest on his knees, his head hanging low and his long black hair draping his face in shadow. “Talk to me, Nahi. What do I need to know?”

Nahi took a deep breath as Roux and I settled in front of them both. “Nat is a Rainbow Serpent. Her wolf, Alex, is my brother.”

“You have a brother?” Takeshi turned to her with surprise, completely ignoring Tuka, who was settling herself quite comfortably on the other side of him.

Nahi nodded. “Alex is two years older than I am, but it’s been many, many years since I’ve seen him.”

Takeshi frowned as he looked over Nahi and then at me. “Please don’t take this the wrong way, Nahi, but I’d say you’re a little older than Nat.”

Nahi laughed. “Alex has been around a lot longer than Nat’s been alive.”

That intrigued me. “Alex, how old are you?”

He laughed. “Older than you’d think.”

Takeshi pinched his nose in thought. “Reincarnated?” Tuka took hold of Takeshi’s free hand and the vines on her skin appeared softly. Startled, Takeshi looked at her and raised an eyebrow in question.

“Hi, big boy,” she said, the birds floating across her face slowly. “I’m Tuka.” She pressed his hand to her bare sternum. “It’s very nice to meet you.” She licked her lips in obvious desire.

“Uh… hi,” he stammered, his cheeks flushing. “Takeshi…”

“Oh, I know.” She tilted her head at him, and a very cheeky grin appeared on her face. “I can see why Nahi is so enamoured with—”

Nahi coughed. “Tuka, if we can keep this on topic, please?”

“Of course, sister.” Tuka winked at Takeshi but didn’t let go of his hand. Takeshi looked completely out of his element.

Roux leaned into me. “Looks like Takeshi has found his match, huh?” I could hear Cody laughing hysterically.

Nahi glared at Tuka. “Alex has been cycling through wolves for many, many hundreds of years—”

“Hundreds of years?! Alex, how fucking old ARE you?” I couldn’t stop myself from asking the question.

I could hear Cody laughing again. “Just go with it, Nat. It’s easier to just let the information roll through you.”

“Easy for you to say, Cody! You’re not the one with a centuries-old wolf spirit in your body!”

Nahi coughed again, staring at Roux and me.

“Sorry.” I felt the sting of embarrassment flicker through me, even when I heard Cody, then Alex, giggling away.

“As I was saying…” Nahi continued pointedly. “Alex has been trying to find a suitable wolf for a while. He’s had trouble, because the vast majority of wolf packs kill his human host as soon as she comes of age and shifts into Alex for the first time.”

Nahi’s words from earlier flutter through my mind. ’People fear what they don’t understand.’

“Packs don’t like ‘different’, and unfortunately, because Alex is a Rainbow Serpent, ‘different’ is his entire being.” Nahi looked over at me affectionately.

“I can’t help what I am, sister,” Alex said. I could sense the sadness in his words, however I could also sense a growing hope. “But times are changing.”

Nahi inclined her head at his words. “A Rainbow Serpent is always half female and half male to create a perfect balance. They can come from anywhere and any source, whether it be human or some other mystical means, but over the past thousand years or so, they’ve tended to gravitate towards werewolf born children as they are one of the best were forms to cope with two separate souls in one body.”

“Are you a werewolf, Nahi?” Takeshi blinked in astonishment. “If Alex is, and you share the same parentage…”

“No.” She shook her head. “Werewolves have two spirits. We only have the one.”

I was utterly confused. “Alex, if you’re not a werewolf, how am I one?”

“You want to take this, Nahi?” Alex responded to my question. “I have a feeling that Takeshi might be curious as to the answer.”

Nahi nodded and smiled at me. “Unlike Cody, who was made a Bunyip, Alex and I were both born as Bunyips. Many, many years ago, Alex met an untimely demise, and instead of moving on, his spirit went looking for a new host. He found he couldn’t be born to human parents, as humans typically can’t cope with having more than one spirit inhabit their form, so he searched for a were family that were struggling to conceive, knowing that their offspring could cope. He created the spark for life and became the were spirit for that child.”

“Okay,” said Takeshi, frowning in concentration. “If Alex was a Bunyip, shouldn’t he have remained a Bunyip?”

“I think that’s what he expected to happen, but when he created that first spark of life, he forgot about one tiny detail — at that time, he couldn’t control the sex of the child.” Nahi grinned at me with something akin to humour. “He’s had more practice since then.” She laughed. “When the baby girl was born, he thought that his spirit might have turned female, but when she shifted for the first time, her were form was male.”

“Just like me…” I muttered.

“Exactly like you, Nat,” Alex said. “Your parents were struggling to conceive, too. I helped them.”

“That first shifting created the first Rainbow Serpent,” Nahi said proudly. “The perfect balance between male and female with an affinity for water.”

“You’re the original Rainbow Serpent, Alex?” I was stunned.

“Yes, kid. I told you I was older than you think.” He started laughing.

“Wait… Nahi said for the past thousand years or so… How old are you?” I blinked, trying to wrap my head around it all. “How old is Nahi?!”

Alex continued laughing. “Older than that.”

“Since then, several more Rainbow Serpents have been created, always from Bunyips that have refused to move on after death.” Nahi reached out a hand and caressed my head with affection, then moved to stroke Roux’s head. “Roux and I both have that option if and when we die.”

So engrossed in what Nahi was telling us, we hadn’t noticed the sky getting brighter. It wasn’t until the first rays of sunlight started streaking across the night sky, painting the clouds with oranges and pinks, that I realised the moon had set.

Takeshi raised his head to the sky to judge where the moon was. “Roux, Alex? You can shift back whenever you like now.”

Roux shifted first. Cody knelt on the ground next to me, panting a little from the exertion.

“You’ve got this, Nat. Just take it in reverse, just like you told Skye.” Alex was full of confidence in my abilities.

I took a deep breath and started the process. Surprisingly, it went easier than it had last night, presumably because I knew what to expect.

“The first shift is always the most difficult, because you don’t know what you’re doing,” Alex said. “You can shift at any time now, and each one will be easier than the last.”

Once my shift was complete, Cody gave me the thumbs up sign and flung her arms around me. I gave a startled giggle as I realised we were now leaning on each other, completely naked.

“Everyone’s naked here, kid. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

“I think it’s just going to take a little getting used to, Alex.”

“Nat, you need to heed my warning,” Nahi said, grabbing my attention. “You’ve already lasted longer than most Rainbow Serpents, and you’re still very young. Most packs don’t like different. Their first instinct is to always destroy what is unusual. You will have to convince them you’re not a threat to their way of life.”

The blood drained from my face, and I turned to Takeshi. “What do I do, Takeshi? I don’t want to make things harder for you.”

Takeshi shook his head, his eyes narrowed in determination. “Matlock is one of the most accepting packs in Australia, if not the most accepting. I can’t make you stay, but if you don’t come back, you’ll always be running, always coming up against the same prejudices that you encountered last night.”

“But the snarling—”

Takeshi cut me off. “I dealt with that. Most people in the pack trusted me to find out what was going on and have given me time to do that.” He paused, considering how to continue. “Spence is one of a small minority that see things differently. I fought him last night to give you time to run, but I couldn’t stop him from going after you later because you’re not a pack member. If you decide to stay in Matlock, I can make you one today. That will give you some protection.”

“But if I’m a pack member, won’t that create new issues?” I frowned.

“Maybe,” he conceded. “But I’m still the Alpha. Dealing with issues is part of the job.”

“Come back with us, Nat,” Cody said in my mind. She was leaning against me, facing the other way, her hand on my shoulder and her cheek on her hand. “Your place is in Matlock.”

I patted her on the back. “Thanks for the vote of confidence, Cody.” I reached out to Alex. “What do you think we should do, Alex? This body is just as much yours as it is mine.”

There was a pause, as I could feel Alex contemplating things. “Takeshi is right. If we run now, we’ll always be running. My vote is for Matlock. At least we have a fair sign of what to expect there.”

“Looks like I’m heading back to Matlock.”

Cody shook my shoulder in excitement, and Takeshi gave me a broad grin. Even Tuka was smiling, although I was sure that had more to do with the fact that she still had hold of Takeshi’s hand.

I heard a bird start singing a tune in the branches above us. I looked up to find a bird that looked remarkably like a magpie, but where a magpie was black and white all over its body, this bird had a black body with white only in the tail feathers. It swooped down acrobatically, but then crash landed in front of me. It righted itself to gaze at me with clearly intelligent yellow eyes.

“Hello there, little one,” I said, tilting my head to the side as I studied it. “What’s your name?”

I waited for an answer from Nahi or Tuka, but nothing was forthcoming. I looked up to see them both watching me with joy on their faces. It walked over to me somewhat awkwardly and stopped just out of arm’s reach of me.

I stretched my hand out to it with my palm down to see what it would do. It bobbed its head at me, then waddled over to my outstretched fingers and brushed its beak against my index finger. Instantly a feeling of calm came over me, and I knew the bird in front of me was a young currawong called Tyipa, and she was my familiar.

“Hi there, Tyipa,” I whispered in awe, my finger gliding softly over her head. She chirruped at me and hopped onto my wrist. I brought my hand up, and she jumped onto my shoulder. “Welcome to my world.”

“I do so love watching new matches,” Tuka said in sheer delight. “It happens so rarely when I’m around.”

“We’d best get back,” Takeshi said, trying to pull his hand free of Tuka’s grip. She wouldn’t let go, instead rising from her seat at the same time he did. “I’m sure Auden will be wondering where we are.”

“Oh shit, I completely forgot about Mum.” Cody sounded panicked. She scrambled to her feet and started moving around absently, taking a step away from me, then back, then towards Takeshi. She was moving like a pinball, bouncing from one idea to the next.

A familiar kookaburra swooped down and landed on Cody’s head. Cody immediately calmed down as Yamparti burrowed into her hair.

“A little help, Nahi?” Takeshi held his hand up with Tuka still holding onto it.

Nahi rolled her eyes in exasperation. “Tuka…”

“Okay, okay,” Tuka said as she reluctantly let go. As she licked her lips, she dragged her eyes up and down Takeshi’s naked form, lingering lasciviously around his groin region. “Don’t be a stranger, big boy. Come back for a visit anytime you feel like it.”

Takeshi immediately covered his manhood with both hands. “Uh, sure. Thanks for your hospitality, Tuka.”

Nahi stepped forward and hugged Cody, then me, after Tyipa hopped to the top of my head. I watched my arms light up with blue lines. “Nahi, will these lines show up all the time now that I’ve shifted?”

“Not yet,” she said as she pulled back from me and ran a hand along my arm. “They’re only showing up now because Alex recognises me as his sister. Once you regain your memories, they’ll start showing up more often because you will be whole again. Alex will then need to train you on a few things. Managing your markings is the first of them.”

“My memories… I’m going to get them back?” The tiny spark of hope fluttered into being again.

Nahi nodded sadly. “Sooner than you think.” She stroked my cheek with her thumb, her eyes flashing purple for an instant. “I’m sorry, Nat. So sorry.”

“Sorry?” I frowned at her. “Sorry about what?” I stared at Nahi, willing her to elaborate.

She shook her head but remained silent. She looked down at Shirina, who was still absently scrounging in the forest debris around us.

“Nat, we need to get moving,” Takeshi said, his hand on my shoulder. “It will take us a couple of hours to get back, and the sooner we get you back, the better.”

I sighed. “Okay.” I pulled away from Nahi and turned to Tuka to say goodbye. Instead, she threw herself at me and hugged me like her life depended on it.

“You found a good one this time, Alex. Train her well,” she whispered into my ear.

“I know, Tuka. I will.”

Tuka patted me on the shoulder. “And don’t be a stranger, Nat. You’re welcome back here anytime. If you want to enter, just stand at the barrier and say my name. I’ll find you.” She turned to Cody and Takeshi. “That goes for you two as well.” She let her eyes wander over Takeshi again, who immediately blushed and went to cover himself again. “Especially you, big boy…” She licked her lips and winked at Takeshi.

“Enough, Tuka,” said Nahi as she narrowed her eyes. “Honestly…”

“What? He’s–”

“Enough, Tuka,” repeated Nahi, more forcefully. She glared at her friend, who roared with laughter.

“Can’t help a girl for trying.”