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As I woke up I couldn't help but stiffen at the feel of a warm body lying next to mine. I looked over and saw Luna laying next to me and smiled as I remembered the night before. After a quick shift into my wolf form I headed away from the camp to find some game. A few hours later, I returned slightly mollified with a single rabbit to show for my effort. I may have the body and senses of a Wolf, but I had none of the skill or practice with hunting that I had hoped to have.

Luna was already up and boiling something in a pot. I walked back into the camp as the half-human form of me and asked, "Do you normally carry random pots and pans, or is this just your off day?"

She smiled at me. "Well, it helps that I was on a backpacking trip," she replied.

I nodded and tossed her the rabbit. She gave me a very skeptical look. "What? Rabbits are great eating!" I said defensively.

"Uh-huh," she said.

I took the rabbit back and about half an hour later we had a nice rabbit stew boiling away. I watched her walk around and finally had to ask, "So... About last night... Do you-"

"No, I don't. I was just excited and happy and it felt really good to finally have this body and... No, it's not going to happen again. My boyfriend is going to have a fit as it is... and I don't want to ruin things with him."

I held my hands up defensively and decided that silence was the best way to go for now. We finished cooking and ate silently, and I followed Luna out to her car. She offered to give me a ride out to her farm, but I declined.

"I have a bit of work to do still," I replied somewhat sadly, "and I think you need to see your family. Good luck, Luna."

We said our farewells and I returned to my four-legged state. It was far more comfortable than the semi-human one for running through the mountains and I relished the sensations that surrounded me as I ran.

*

For the next couple of days I found myself getting more and more lost as I slowly went north and east. I had long since left behind the roads and trails that I had known as a child and was now guided by the stars and sun alone. The few towns I saw were too modern and inhabited for me to come anywhere near, and I knew that each day I was lost was another day I would have to make up for later.

On the fourth or fifth day, I finally passed into a town that looked to be empty for the time being. There were no cars to be seen and no people to be heard. The smell of people living there was still lingering, and it was strong enough to tell me that it was more likely that a lot of them were just out at a fair for a day.

I found a clothing store and grabbed a few shirts and a pair of jeans in case someone found me. I left the money for them on the counter with a note saying what was taken. Finally, I went over to a Coffee shop that advertised free wi-fi internet and checked to make sure it was empty.

The connection was slow, but I was able to figure out where I was and get a map to where I needed to be. I stowed my laptop and got ready to leave when I heard marching steps coming down the street. I looked around frantically and decided to hide in the church. Looking back now, that was probably a twist of fate that led me there.

I ran in and hid up in the rafters, thinking about how people seldom looked up and counting on that to hide me in case something happened. The doors were opened wide and a funeral procession came into the church. I listened and waited as the stories of the mans life were told and somewhere in my chest I felt the pain of the peoples loss.

He had been a police officer, one of the best men in the community of about two hundred people. A couple of nights earlier, a gang member had blown through town and started a fight outside the bar. He had gone down to break it up, and when he got there he had been shot. The wound took him slowly, and this morning he had died. The only blessing was that he had been able to say goodbye and set his affairs in order before he died, and I couldn't help but cry as the funeral wound to an end.

I heard the song somewhere behind me, and turned to see what it was. I couldn't figure it out. The song just kept coming from behind me, and it echoed and swelled until it filled my mind. The Aria from before was nowhere to be heard in this one, only mourning and loss. It sounded like the howls of the wolfs and dogs who had lost the ones they loved to the sirens. I couldn't help but begin to sing along.

I climbed along the rafters and out of the church to avoid being heard as I slowly began to sing louder. When I got on the roof of the old building, I realized that someone must have heard me for shocked exclamations were coming from the people below. I left behind my worries about being caught and sang the mournful tune for the world to hear. Shock and worry gave way to tears and sobbing below as I poured the raw emotions into the song for a man that I had never met and truly regretted not meeting.

Slowly, as the weight and pressure of grief in the song grew heavier than I could bear, the song began to turn towards hope, towards what would come with the next sunrise. My voice sang in a language that I had never heard and heralded the hope and wonder of the world yet to come in a way that I could not describe. I looked down as I sang and saw tears drying and faces lifting, and heard new voices join my song. The night's long shades of black and navy blue gave way to the coming morning as my song echoed over the town, and as the first rays of the new day broke over the churches peak and into the valley that the town was laid into, my song came to a resonating end.

My throat was raw from singing through the night, and I hadn't thought of what could have happened to the people below me with my song, but that didn't matter much as the exhaustion finally hit me and I slowly drifted into a nearly instant sleep on the steepled roof of the small-town church.

*

I was slowly getting used to the idea of waking up when I heard voices nearby. It seemed to be a long way to sit up when I finally did, but I was glad that I had when I saw where I was.

It was a small room such as you'd expect in the guesthouse of any church; a single simple bed, a few pieces of art on the walls, and a cross over the door. The paint was a calm shade of cream white and I felt comfortable as the light smell of clean fabric touched my nose. In one corner sat who had escaped this observation and was quietly reading a copy of the bible. He wore a clean black shirt and neatly pressed khakis that seemed somehow odd with the visage that lay behind the neatly squared glasses. He was, if the pun were to be applied, a churchmouse in both senses of being, with white fur and black-brown eyes.

He looked up from the bible as I sat up and I was fixed in place by those eyes. They seemed to look past me and into my very soul, piecing together who or what I was. Finally, he spoke with a calm, quiet voice that held the tone of one who was well used to dealing with many people.

"They're trying to decide what to make of you, you know. You look like something that should not exist in this world. A Demon, if you would hear them talking about it. But that song... that song could not be sung by any voice that held a Demon in it, could it? It was something that I have never heard before, and do not expect to see again. If I were to guess, I would say that something is coming, and you are but a messenger."

I nodded, not knowing what to say. Someone came through the door and I quickly shifted my attention to the newcomer. He was taller and broader than me, and more importantly still very human. He ignored me entirely and asked the priest, "What are you doing, talking to it? It's just going to fill your head with whatever slimy message that it wants to spread!"

"She," the priest responded harshly, "has not said a single word to me. If you think that she is a demon so strongly, then please, show me the proof of what she has done that is so demonic."

The young man pulled out a small cellphone and played a video of me finishing the song and slowly floating down into the arms of a waiting person. He'd been transformed into a centaur and carried me quickly into the church before the crowd could get to him. "It's a damn demon, and it's better to just kill it and be done with it than to let it stay here and rot our minds and souls away without a fight!"

"Mr. Carpenter! If you would think for a moment instead of playing the role of the witch hunter, then by all accounts the entire town should be counted amongst those you call Demons!" The little man belied his appearance and cowed the taller man into silence with his words. "You were as good as crippled last night, and thanks to whatever miracle led this woman to us you can walk again. Also, would I let a demon lay here in my own home? Ms. Wolf, if you will pardon the name, would you be so kind as to hold this and swear that you are no demon, to satisfy whomever would come to call?"

I nodded and took the book. "A cross would be better, though I'll use this if it will satisfy you. I solemnly swear upon my soul and my life that I am no demon and mean no one here any harm, excepting that they should attack me, in which case I shall do all that I can to defend myself without harming others."

The priest nodded and I returned the book. "Why would a cross have been better?" the young man asked.

"Because over the course of two thousand years, the Bible has been translated three times, the last time into a language that did not exist before; Angelo-Saxon, or English," I said quietly. "There has been much that was lost both in translation and to the acts of omission that were sanctioned by the Church's upper ranks. The Cross, on the other hand, is a symbol of faith that has not changed or been altered in all that time, making it a truer article of faith."

The priest nodded, and the man looked thoughtful. "Why did some people change and others not?" the priest finally asked. "If you're willing to answer another question, that is."

I nodded. "I was told a week ago, when I got this form, to 'heal those in need'. I do not know how they may be in need, only that I should do my best to follow those words."

"I think that is the best answer that I'll get for that one-"

The priest was cut off as another person barged into the room. This one was wearing a clean black suit and carried a briefcase. The smell of gunpowder and chemicals came in with him, and I was immediately wary. "Father Mulcahey, I am with the United States department of Defense and I would like a word with this young lady. If you would be so kind as to depart for a small time, this will not take long."

"Now wait a minute!" the young man said. "It may be hypocritical of me, but damned if I can't say that it... she fixed me up. Don't even think that you can just take her wherever you want!"

"I think no such thing, Mr. Carpenter. I merely suggest that you two leave while I talk with her. No harm in a little talk, now is there?"

I narrowed my eyes at him. Somehow, I knew that he was lying and that I was a fool to even trust him as far as I could push him with a feather. The priest and Mr. Carpenter left the room, much to Mr. Carpenters protests and I was left alone with the agent.

"Now, What's your name, Ms...?"

"My name is none of your business without an explicit warrant," I replied as he set down his case.

"That's no way to talk to the Government, Ms. Wolf. Now, would you mind coming back with me and running a few tests?"

I shifted as he opened the case, and the smell of chemicals got stronger. "No."

He sighed and pulled out a syringe. "Be that as it may, you can come one of two ways: Consciously and willingly or unconscious and unwilling and with the whole town coming with you."

I felt outrage boil in me as I realized what he meant. "How dare you," I said heatedly. "How dare you come into a place of peace and contemplation. How dare you come into a town that has suffered such a terrible loss so soon and threaten to take away their home. How dare you even think that this can be allowed."

"I dare, Miss, because you represent a threat to the man behind the curtain, and I'm making sure that you don't tip the balance," he said with an evil grin. "A Thousand Years of empire may seem long to you, but he wants it to keep on going for another eternity or so. Humans make such great pawns, and you are a pawn that has gone far out of whack, so it's time to reset you, do you have that?"

I shuddered and remembered his face. "You are one of The Watchers, aren't you? Your 'Consulting' jobs were always the worst."

He stopped and seemed slightly surprised. "A Consultant? Well, never expected you to turn on us. Well, we'll just make sure that this mistake-" He lunged for my chest. Quicker than he could move out of the way, I grabbed his wrist and crushed it in my grip.

"This mistake," I said quietly, "Is no mistake. It's fixing all the mistakes that I have made throughout my life and making sure that I fix all of the other mistakes you and your Watchmen and your Man Behind the Curtain made for humanity." His hand hung limply and I plucked away the syringe, and naked fear showed in his face. "My mistakes ended when I heard them singing. It's MY life. It's time for all of us to learn what our lives have been and for our wants and needs to be appeased."

I tossed the needle to the side and began singing. Just as before, the words were in a language I did not know, but they rang out with the thunderous force of retribution, hammering through the air with the will of all those that had been wronged by this man in front of me. He yelled in pain and terror and I saw him become the man that he could have been; good and righteous and full of vibrant life and hope; and then he showed who he was. A skeletal grimace masked his face and his features became darkened in shadows that sought to catch all in its grasp for power. Finally he returned to his old body and I looked him in the eye as he sat there in shock. "Repent, you damned fool. Fix your ways. Cast aside that foolish leader of yours and return to what hope you have left. As long as there is life in you to be lived, you have hope of returning."

He just sat there as I stood up and walked to the door. As I turned the knob, I looked back and saw the tears running down his face. "It isn't hopeless, like I said. You have done more wrong than I have, and you have a harder road to walk. But it isn't hopeless so long as you do not return to that foolish master of yours."

*

I walked down the hall and was met with another pair of agents. They reached for their guns and both froze as spoke some of the words that had been forced into the song in the room behind me, grasping what each of them meant as though lighting a match in a pool of shadow.

Father Mulcahey and Mr. Carpenter were waiting for me in the main hall of the church and I was glad to see them. "'Father," I said as I approached, "I know that I have sinned.' That is something that those three haven't said in more years than we have been alive. They may need some help coming to themselves when they get out here."

The old holy man eyed me warily and nodded. "What about you? Care to talk?"

I smiled at him and said, "I don't think that that I see eye to eye with this church. I know there's someone good up there in heaven, and someone bad down below, but I'd be lying if I knew for sure who they were. So, I'll just do what I feel is right and hope for the best."

With that, I picked up my pack from where it sat by the door and walked out into the street, a couple songs wiser and a mission clearer.

*

I found my way down the mountains and started heading straight east. My trail had led me farther to the north than I would have imagined, and I had gone all the way from southern California to the middle of Washington. I would have said before that it was impossible for me to travel so far so fast, but with what I had been doing, seeing, and singing... well, I was willing to believe a lot more now than I would have a few days ago.

I found more places to link into the internet and the story of my workings in the town was plastered all over the internet. Most were calling it a hoax, and very few actually considered that it could be real. More and more people were catching glimpses of me as I ran through the towns and I found a few more occasions where my voice began before I realized it.

Soon, the legend of a wolf-woman running through the northern towns and singing people into health, new bodies, and good fortune was spread like wildfire. People still called me a myth, and I was just fine with that for now. I knew that the Watchers were after me and I needed to move more quickly than they were able to find me.

I worked my way through the north towards the one city that would be hosting a large event where I knew I would be welcomed. A new convention was starting in Chicago and I would get there right in the middle of it, when there would already have been, more than likely, any number of 'Ms. Wolf' costumes of varying quality. What was one more exceptionally well made Ms. Wolf in that number?

I put on a large trenchcoat that I had bought at the store in the small town and covered my features as best I could with heavy clothing. I got a few odd looks from people since it was only the first snowfall of the season and most people were up to light jackets at the most. I didn't blame them. With all of my fur on me, I was roasting under all the layers. But I didn't let any of that stop me from getting where I was going; Furry-con 2012.

Outside the convention hall I took off a couple of the layers and got in line. Indeed, I saw several other tan-furred wolf women in line of varying quality. Most were rather... terrible, if I'm going to be honest (no offense to those people, but it's true, sorry.), and a few of average make. One or two were good enough to fool me at a distance, and I heard a rumor of a competition to see who had the most accurate and realistic version.

The guy ahead of me turned back and blinked at me. "Whoa! Here for the competition too?" He asked. I nodded yes and he continued talking. "Well, good on you. How'd you make that mask? It's almost like a real face, the way it emotes and moves!"

"Animatronics," I replied with a deadpan.

"Cool! You'll be a shoe-in for that competition!"

He kept talking all the way to the front of the line, and really he was an interesting person. If I'd had a chance to do things over, I would have liked to have met him earlier. I was almost sad to see him leave when he got the ticket, and the girl behind the counter was not nearly as interesting as he was. I got my ticket and wristband as quickly as any robot could have done and with about as much emotion.

I winced when I got inside at the sheer volume of everything. Loud places had been my least favorite to go before the change, and now the volume was just plain painful to my new ears. I took a seat and was barely able to get my bearings straight when an enthusiastic young man showed up and started pulling me to my feet.

"Come on! The Competition is starting and you'll be late if you don't go!"

"Wha-? Wait, competition?" I asked. It took half a second for me to facepalm when I realized what he meant. "But I'm-"

"Probably having a case of the nerves," he replied sympathetically. "Don't worry, we all get there sooner or later." He ignored my protests and halfway dragged me up into a lineup of all the costumes. Unlike what I'd seen before, all of the ones that actually stood in the lineup were fairly well made, and if I would have looked one or two in the face I probably would've thought I was looking in a mirror. One by one they went on stage and did a quick song and show-off of their costume until it was my turn to come on stage.

And I admit it, the nerves were worst than I'd ever felt before. I found myself thrust into a place where I had avoided going for years: directly in the attention of hundreds, if not thousands of people. The judges all tapped their feet and murmured to each other until a voice behind my ear said, "Don't worry, hon, we all get there. Jes' take a deep breath, an' show 'em what you've got."

I turned to see another version of me as I might have looked with a bit of a country bent. She gave me a thumbs up and I took a deep breath.

It was the Aria again, sweet and ringing and resounding. There were no speakers, yet my voice carried through the building. Crowds of people went silent and I sang out the melody that had changed my life and the lives of others as they heard it, brushing away their hurts and fears and giving them the means to make their dreams reality. I heard voices joining mine and I realized that it was everyone that could hear me, singing out with their own voice in a harmony that swept through the building and out into the streets. The choir that had formed with all of those people was sweet and bitter, merciful and wrathful, joyous and weeping, singing out what they had been through and what they had hoped to do, all within the melodies and notes of the music.

The song ended and the silence was deafening in the crowded space. Not one person spoke as I slowly walked off the stage, not a single noise was heard but my footsteps leading away from the spotlights. One of the security people nearby had been changed into a leopard and he quietly showed me to a side room, away from the crowds who were beginning to discover what had happened to them.

*

The next few hours were filled with people trying to find me, both those in the convention who wanted to talk to me and those outside who wanted to get to me. I learned a short while after being let into the room that the song was being put on news stations, where its effects still resonated through the recordings and into people's hearts, and that the transformation was sweeping across the world with anyone who was within reach of a recording.

It felt good to know that I had finally done something that had a good effect... and I knew that I was far from done. The Man Behind the Curtain was after me, and he had all of the Watchers and a good number of Consultants to help him get to me. I'd have to find him sooner rather than later to make sure that he did not find me.