To Lose a Life and Gain a Life

         Excitement coursed through Robin as she flew down the stairs. It was finally the day she had been awaiting for years--her sweet sixteen. However, as she burst into the kitchen, the smile fell off her face when she realized her parents were arguing. Again. They looked over to her in apparent frustration as she entered.
         “Robin Smith, you know it’s rude to interrupt. Please leave; your father and I are having a discussion,” her mother said sternly.
         Robin felt anger well up inside her. “Do you even remember what day it is?”
         “It’s Saturday. Now, listen to your mother before we have to take your phone away,” her father replied, obviously impatient.
         Robin just shook her head in shock. “No, I suppose you don’t remember. I guess I should have known, since this is the third time it’s happened. But, I thought maybe because it’s my sixteenth birthday, you wouldn't forget. Apparently, I was mistaken!” With that, she stormed out of the back door, not missing the fact that as soon as she was gone, her parents went back to their “discussion.”
         Robin sprinted away from the house and into the woods, stumbling her way through the reaching claws of undergrowth. She finally halted at the base of a large oak, and, with a yell of fury, brought her fist back and into the rough bark. She winced at both her stupidity and the sudden pain, and proceeded to inspect her hand; her knuckles had begun to bleed. But, instead of doing anything, she simply turned and collapsed against the forgiving tree, tears shining on her cheeks.
         Out of the corner of her eye, Robin spotted a smooth, azure stone, out of place in the green forest. Gingerly, she picked it up, mesmerized even through her echoing sobs. She felt the need to say something, and heard herself whisper, “I wish I never have to go back there.”
         And then, someone was saying in an eerie voice like the flowing wind, “Be careful what you wish for...” There was a flash of white light, before everything went black.

Robin woke up in the weirdest way possible. It was as if she had entered a whole different world; the first thing she noticed was the lack of color. Everything was black and white, with faint wisps of blue and red. Even so, everything was sharper; her eyesight was better, and she could detect every rustle of every leaf. To be honest, this barrage of sensations was beginning to give her a headache.
         But that was not the worst; for when she breathed in, she was greeted with a plethora of new scents. She blinked, trying to make it go away. It would not. Frantic, she scrambled to her two feet. Or, she tried to, but it seemed the only way she could get her balance was to stand on all fours. With a glance down, Robin realized that her hands were not hands at all, but clawed, canine-looking paws. She craned her neck around, confirming that she had a tail bushy tail and fur. When she turned back, she was staring into the piercing eyes of a wolf.
         So Robin did what any sensible person would do: she screamed. However, what came out of her mouth was not an earth-shattering shriek, but a yowl of despair and terror, so animalistic that she clamped her jaws shut the moment it registered.The wolf in front of her curled his lip back to bare two fangs, giving off a putrid scent of what could only be described as hostility. He growled, and Robin got the message that she was on his territory. Obviously, he did not like that. Robin should’ve been surprised that she could somehow understand this creature when she had never before studied wolves, but at this point fear had overtaken her. She shrunk away, and something clicked in her brain. She knew what to do.
         Robin pressed her ears back against her head, and crouched down to the ground. Her tail tucked between her legs in a sure sign of surrender, and a whine void of any true human meaning dragged itself from her lips. The scent hanging around the other canine suddenly morphed into that of curiosity and only slight wariness. Finally, he flicked his tail and turned around, obviously expecting her to follow him as he set off into the woods. But, by that point Robin had realized something: she had been transformed into a wolf by that rock. And that was not acceptable.
         Robin whirled back around to the gemstone and pushed her paws over it. She tried to say, “I wish I was human,” but all that came out was a low howl. Again, she attempted to somehow form words with her inhuman mouth, and again she failed. Finally, after many failures, she pivoted to face the direction that the other wolf had gone in. However, it seemed that he had not left at all, but was standing a slight distance away, head tilted in confusion at her antics. Robin let loose a heavy sigh--at least she could do something remotely human in this form--and padded towards him in defeat, ready to follow him wherever he would take her.
         As Robin wandered through the woods with her canine companion, for the first time she decided to truly evaluate him. He was large, from what she could tell, with a thick, dark coat speckled with lighter streaks. His tail was up above his back, and in the back of her mind she knew this meant that he was the leader of his pack. He had a ruff of denser fur around his neck, like the mane of a lion, and he carried himself with the arrogance of one, too. As she was inspecting this animal, she decided she should give him a name; Shadow, perhaps, for the black of his pelt.
         Abruptly, Shadow stopped in front of Robin, his mouth open to take in more smells. He dropped into a hunting position, creeping forwards until he reached the base of a tree. Robin peered around him, and spotted the unfortunate rabbit that was his target.
         Shadow then darted forwards, grasping his prey between strong jaws. He killed it swiftly, before proceeding to swallow the small animal in a few ravenous gulps. Robin blinked, both amazed at the scene and disgusted. Yet, at the same time, she found a semblance of hunger gnawing at her insides; she wanted some of that rabbit. It was sickening, but her mouth was watering. She was thankful when Shadow finished and set off at a faster trot.
         Eventually, after travelling many miles, Shadow approached a cave deep into the expansive territory. Inside, there were about eight other wolves. One looked to be female, and was nursing four pups. There were two youths play-fighting in a corner, and one other near the entrance, watching the woods with mild interest. When Shadow entered the cavern, though, everyone stood except for the mother and her babies. Shadow simply acknowledged them with a glance, and went straight to the she-wolf, touching the top of her head with his muzzle. It was clear to Robin now that these two were mates; the two alphas of the pack, to be treated with respect and awe.
         The wolves’ reaction to Robin, though, was far different. Some gave hostile growls, and others snarled. The alpha female--Robin decided to call her River for her flowing fur--curled protectively around her pups, eyes narrowed. The scent of distrust filled Robin’s nostrils.
         Suddenly, she felt a force slam into her and she was forced to the ground. She yelped and struggled, but all was in vain. Before she could do anything, Shadow lunged forwards and grabbed the other animal off of Robin. He threw the wolf--Robin was now calling him Fire-- to the ground, baring his fangs and lashing his tail furiously. Fire raised his hackles, and Robin noticed that his fur was bristling, before eventually lowering his tail and whining in a sort of apology. Shadow held his gaze for one more moment before accepting it. Robin watched this all in amazement--the hierarchy within a wolf pack was extremely strong. The leader was clearly in charge of every aspect of pack life, and to go against him or her would be to go against the natural order.
         She was brought back from her thought process when Shadow lifted his head upwards and out to the moon. He let out a victorious howl, one of joy and celebration. Gradually, the other wolves joined in creating a beautiful harmony. It was not just animal noise--it was a song. It created such a strong feeling of unity and happiness that Robin became tangled up inside of it.
         It was only when it all ended that Robin realized she had been a part of the howling as well, and this was when the dread set in. She had never even noticed that she was joining in; it was as if some sort of wolf instinct had found itself within her, and taken over everything she considered human in herself. In a burst of panic, she ran out of the cave that she was very quickly starting to consider her home. She tried to steer herself back to her house, but discovered that she did not know where exactly that was. She was not lost, the memory was simply not there. Frantically, Robin combed through her mind for any pictures of her house, but all she got were vague, blurry jumbles of colors and shapes. When she couldn't even recall her own street address, she snapped and stopped sprinting. Her life as she knew it was crumbling, and there wasn't anything she could do. She wanted to run as far as the moon and beyond, but even her new, endurable wolf body could not keep up with how fast she wanted to go. Pieces of her mind were missing, and when she reached for them, all she got was thin air. It was like she was scrambling for something inside her that was only getting farther and farther away. Within the time-frame of a day, her life had turned upside down and now she was fighting to keep her human self away from her animal self.
         Abruptly, Robin heard a slight crunch of leaves underfoot, and again she was a wolf as she whirled around, Shadow’s scent filling her nose. Immediately, she dropped down to the ground, tucking her tail down under her and licking his chin, as was required. After acknowledging this, Shadow tilted his head, seemingly confused as to why she ran from the cave. Robin looked at her leader, then back around at her surroundings.
         The leafs were in full bloom, and the birds chirped in happiness. It was the perfect picture of spring. The scent of prey hung heavy in the air, mingling nicely with the smell of blossoms. All around her, petals floated down to the ground, littering the forest floor with a breathtaking beauty. Flashes of red (or was that green?) accompanied the blue of the sky, standing out against the greyness of everything else. At first, this near-colorless world seemed dull--even with the heightened senses of hearing and smell, it had seemed too strange to even begin to accept. But now, she suddenly never wanted to leave.
         Back with her parents, nothing ever seemed right; they fought too much, and she was never all that close with them. According to them, she was a mistake. Yes, she had friends and a life that she would surely miss, but she had never felt at home. Here, in this majestic forest, there was just a sense of peace and comfort. When she didn't know what to do or how to act in this alien society, some sort of primal instinct took over and everything fixed itself. She felt whole again; it was as if she had a real family that, although wary at first, accepted her. In time, she knew that she could become as much a part of them as they were a part of each other.
         So when she turned back to Shadow, she smiled a smile that, although probably not natural to this form, was more real than anything she had ever done for the past three years. And then, she let go. She let go of everything she once held dear to her from her old life, and embraced everything about her new one.
         As she raced back to the cave with her alpha that, in her fully-wolf mind, had no name, she knew nothing of her old life; all she knew was that she couldn't wait to go hunting tomorrow with her pack brothers and sisters.