I had just finished setting up the tent when the storm hit. The day before, I had thrown my tent, camping stove, sleeping bag and pad, onto the back of my old truck, and drove to the woods. I also packed a light jacket, in case it got cold. Cold was an understatement. A big understatement. After I had set up the tent, I had wandered deeper into the woods in search of branches to make a fire. Thats when to storm started. Just the day before, the weather man had announced, with a goofy smile, that it would be slightly cloudy, and cold, with a tiny bit of snow. Understatement. Again. As I gathered up branches and dry twigs, soft, fluffy flakes began to fall from the clouds. The wind picked up suddenly, and more flakes fell. The temperature had dropped to below zero, and I could barely see my outstretched arm as I was pelted with hundreds of snowflakes, and I struggled to stay standing. I forced my body forward, into the wind, but I could see nothing. I struggled for what seemed to be hours, the relentless wind pushing me back. I constantly fell onto my knees, or stumbled into an unforeseen obstacle, my world nothing but empty, cold swirling whiteness. I had no idea where camp was, or where even I was, in the snow. My freezing hand suddenly touched a hard, jagged wall, and I felt along it, afraid to loose my only hope. Suddenly, my hand dropped and I fell forward into an opening, landing on a hard, rocky surface. The cave was big enough to stand up in, but it seemed to go farther in for hundreds of feet. The cave wasn't much warmer than the outside, but it was sheltered from the wind. I stumbled to my feet, and walked deeper into the cave, feeling my way, the passageway twisting and curving until it reached a huge room, deep into the rock. I stared into the cave, illuminated by a single shaft of light, coming through a tiny hole in the high, vaulted ceiling. The walls looked natural, but strangely smooth and, as I examined the walls, had a carved pattern of swirls and something that looked like a form of writing. I shivered, I had forgotten how cold it was in the large room, my breath forming large clouds in the cavern. My eyes moved to the center of the room, where a pedestal sat, covered in the strange carvings and curious markings. It crudely resembled some type of canine head, pointing up to the hole from which light and drifting snowflakes. Clasped in the jaws of the carved head was strange relic, an ice blue gem, carved in the same likeness as the carving that supported it. My hands reached out on their own accord, clasping the medallion with both hands, almost on impulse. The second my hands touched the blue stone, all thoughts of despair, loneliness, and fear vanished, like they never existed. I felt my hunger, pain and the cold seemed like they were no longer a part of me, drifting away. I could feel the stiff jacket, and hear the wind howling and screeching, and it seemed...louder, more intense. Disembodied voices seemed to whisper things, but they came out garbled, and indistinguishable in the howling of the wind. The whispers became frantic, the wind howled like a beast, and I suddenly felt...warm, no longer tired, and my entire being crackled with feelings and emotions that I cannot describe. The whispers shriek and yell, and my body tingles with something that I can only describe as magic. The alien feeling intensifies in my face, feet, and fingers. A strange wind ruffles my clothing. A voice that seemed to come from right next to me whispered harshly in my ear "The gift!" I swat at my ear in annoyance, but I feel an almost fuzzy, no, furry something brush my head. I pull my hand back, in time to see a thin coating of hair or fur cover my palms, and I feel my palm harden, and blacken into pads that remind me of a paw. The paw of a wolf. My nails harden and blacken, sharpening into claws. The tips of my fingers become square, and shorter. I watch my changes with a type of fascination, and I feel myself almost...enjoying it. My shoes rip as wolves paws grow, and a feeling of excitement flows up my body, as my fur does, becoming a rough, gray coat on my back, legs, arms, and a softer white on my hands, now paws, and my chest. I tear at my useless coat and shirt, pulling them off my changing body, no longer cold in my new coat. I feel my spine stretch out, lengthening, pulling out of my body, pushing through my pants and swishing behind me. I suddenly realise that I can control its movements, with indescribable feelings of happiness and joy. I stroke my chest fur feeling exhilarated as my changes continue. My muscles develop rapidly, along my chest and legs, and I feel a rush of pleasure and pure energy. My ears become pointed, and roll to the top of my head, and I feel the muscles used to control them grow. I realise I can hear things that my human ears could never of heard, and they pick up on the echos and sounds of the cave. My heart beats wildly, frantically, a wild drumming in my ears. My nose becomes black, leathery, and suddenly I smell everything. The dampness of the cave, the smells of the cold stone, of my clothes that smell of...me. My face pushes out, my teeth sharpen to become sharp, vicious tools. My tongue lengthens, and it flops out of my mouth as my heavy breaths become pants. I kick off my jeans, as my legs become ready for running, my balance shifting to the balls of my feet as I fall forward, my spine cracking and changing. My face pushes out, becoming a wolfs face. I take one last look around the cave, the blue stone that changed me floated upwards, to my neck, becoming a collar. I follow my own sent through the tunnels, and I come to the entrance. The storm had passed, leaving deep piles of snow. My heart pounds, as I feel a feeling of bliss impossible to describe. I open my jaws, and howl, my song of release, joy, happyness lifting and flowing through the wilderenss, my soul rising and falling with the cords, I sing my song to the heavens, I run out, the snow crunching beneath my paws as I run, faster and faster, my heart singing and I finally grasp the meaning of it all, the gift, the gift of the wolf.


Another story I found lurking in a dark corner of my computer, I must of written this a while ago