{"sf1_id":284782,"sf2_id":"YnLwpDZm","title":"Story Segment -- Impossible Things","author":"Tristan Black Wolf","words":554,"posted_at":"2011-09-08T01:59:00.000Z","tags":["Male","Moonkin","Werewolf","White Wolf","Wiccan","Wolf"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/284782-story-segment-impossible-things","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/s/YnLwpDZm","image_url":"https://cdn.sofurryfiles.com/submissions/thumbnails/8c/55/8c55b5b2-f32b-47bd-87cd-446c09093ba1","description":"This is a scene from my recently published short story \"Impossible Things.\" Jason Winter Wolf, a Cheyenne werewolf, answers a call from across the world to answer to the charges of insurrection in his clan. Only he knows that his purpose is to fulfill a duty that could end with his death. Published in the anthology \"Children of the Moon,\" the story is available in full at www.misanthrope-press.com/anthologies in print and e-book editions. The full story would be rated Adult for violence; this segment is suitable for general audiences.\n(Note that Wyndsong has created art for this story, which is also among my submissions here -- be sure to have a look!)\nJason Winter Wolf, in human guise, has come to a forest clearing to begin his journey...EDIT 20 May 2016: I have since published the full version of this story at  Impossible Things, with artwork by  Soro, which was published with the story in Children of the Moon. A draft of Wyndsong's art appears here.","content":"  \n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; In a smooth place in clean grass, I visualized what I needed. I took off my clothes and set them neatly to one side. The breeze around me was chill; it helped me to cool my emotions. From one pouch, I poured corn meal into a secure circle around me. From another pouch, I offered a pinch of tobacco to each of the Seven Directions. I invoked my Totems, my Guides, my Ancestors, and the help of Great Spirit. I sat upon the ground, legs folded properly, took a deep breath.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; I relaxed my hold.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; The change began almost immediately. No one is ever truly prepared for the sensations involved in shifting. No one has ever performed a scientific study of the phenomenon; the reports are all anecdotal. For some, it's agonizing; for me, it's more like forcing clenched, overstressed muscles to relax into their normal shape - it hurts, but it feels so good when it's over. The wolf form is my natural state; being human causes far more and far more constant pain.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; I am Wolf. I am whole. I am my Self, and my power is mine to wield.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; From outside the circle, I heard an artificial chirrup from my cell phone. Midnight. I began the invocation and the meditation that I had memorized and could not put into practice until this moment. One does not call the Goddess for amusement.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; The light from Grandmother Moon shifted, wavered slightly, opalesced, congealed, until a long cascade of silvery-white light wove through the sky and filled the circle around me. My eyes slitted against the brightness, but I did not blink. As the light thickened around me, seeming to press against my full white fur, I raised my head and waited.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \"I am called,\" the soft voice said. \"Who has called?\"\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \"I am Jason Winter Wolf,\" I said gently. \"I draw down the moon to beg a boon.\"\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \"You are my child, but you are not of the Sisterhood,\" the voice observed. \"I cannot bestow a boon to those upon whom I cannot call.\"\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \"Goddess, I am_berdache._ I am a twin soul, with male and female in me. Gaze upon my spirit and know this.\"\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; A long silence. \"This is how you have called upon me. Yet I do not know if I can grant this boon.\"\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \"Goddess, I must perform a duty this night. You know that I have been called by another of your children. You know that I must answer. He too has called, and we are to meet upon the bridge of your sacred light.\"\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \"All has been prepared.\"\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \"Should I survive, I ask that my heart be healed.\"\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; In the stillness around me, I remained unmoving, muzzle turned upward, ears forward to catch any sound, a tableau of white within white.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \"You are called,\" said the voice. \"Rise.\"\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; I unfolded myself and stood within the circle.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \"Prepare.\"\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \"Goddess, I am ready.\"\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; The whiteness thickened further, and I traveled without moving. My hind paws felt something solid under them, soft grass and firm ground, and the whiteness thinned slowly, pulling back to reveal a small clearing not unlike the one where I had begun. Here, I was not alone...\n\n  \n  \n\n"}