{"sf1_id":777559,"sf2_id":null,"title":"The Wandering Shadow: Chapter Six","author":"LucarioZer0","words":6262,"posted_at":"2014-11-03T06:15:00.000Z","tags":["Canine","Clean","Human","Magic","Plot Development","Wolf"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/777559-the-wandering-shadow-chapter-six","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/777559","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=777559\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"6The Horizon's horn blared, waking Will from what had already been a less\nthan restful sleep. He rubbed his eyes and looked up to the small round window\njust above the bed. It looked to him as though it was early morning, though it\ncould be tough to tell as the window didn't let much light in to begin with. He\nsat up and shook his head, wondering what had possessed the crew to wake up the\npassengers--few though there were--at such an absurd time and in such a noisy\nmanner.Then it clicked. After nearly ten days at sea they were about to arrive\nin London. Will licked his lips nervously. While it was undoubtedly good that\nthey had made it without incident, something had come to worry him as they\ntraveled. There was a good chance that this woman Quentin was sending them to\nwouldn't be able to do much--if anything--for Jenna's condition. If that was the\ncase then Will knew that Jenna would likely be just as upset as when she had\nfirst changed.He pushed those thoughts from his mind, resolving to stay focused on the\ntask at hand and worry about possibilities as they arose. His mind back to\nwhere he felt it needed to be, he looked down beside him where Jenna was still\nfast asleep, snoring softly with her tail wrapped around her. At least that was\nwhat he assumed based on what he could see in the dim light.He squinted as he looked at her, confused. He wasn't sure if he was\nimagining it or not, but it almost looked as though something was flickering in\nher slightly parted mouth. He leaned in close to her, trying to get a better\nview. It was entirely too dark to see clearly enough to confirm it, but he was\ncertain there was something there.He edged slightly closer until her muzzle was an inch from his face. He\nheld his breath, trying not to do anything that could wake her. He gritted his\nteeth in frustration a heartbeat later when she closed her mouth completely. He\nback off from her and let out a sigh.Will shook his head. What did it matter? He had probably just been\nseeing things anyway. Besides, there were more important things to deal\nwith--waking Jenna so they would be ready when the ship docked, for example.Per their usual pattern her placed a hand on her shoulder and nudged her\njust enough to rouse her. With bleary eyes and a questioning scowl she looked\nback at him, less than thrilled with being woken up. He fought back the urge to\nlaugh at her expression. Much as he longed for her to return to her normal\nself, he had to admit she could be rather adorable at times in her new form. He\nsmiled softly as he said, \"I think we'll be docking soon. Thought you'd like to\nbe awake when we did.\"Her scowl faded as she closed her eyes and snuggled up closer to him,\nmaking a contented sort of grumbling sound. Finally,\nshe thought, We'll be able to put all of\nthis behind us.She made a less contented sound when Will pushed her away a moment\nlater. Once more she looked to him for an explanation, to which he responded,\n\"We may not have much time. I'd like to get ready to leave now.\"Jenna nodded reluctantly. The sooner they could get off the ship the\nbetter.With her approval Will slid out of bed and proceeded to gather up their\nfew belongings, making sure everything they needed was packed away in his bag.\nThen he got dressed, trousers and suspenders going on over a white buttoned\nshirt with a jacket over it all. Last he put on the cloak, the black fabric\nmatching well to the dark greys he wore underneath.Once he was dressed he attached his holster and sword to his belt and\nput his bag over one shoulder. Turning back to Jenna he asked, \"You ready?\"With a dissatisfied grumble she stood and stretched out before lightly\nhopping off the bed to stand in front of him. She nodded to say she was ready\nto go.The two of them left the room behind, making their way to the upper\ndeck. From there they watched as England's shoreline drew near in the minimal\nlight of false dawn. As time ticked by the Horizon made its way around the\nsouthern shores through the English Channel until reaching the mouth of the\nThames around an hour after sunrise. The little ironclad ship chugged along\ndown the river until finally London's skyline was in sight, the rising sun\nrevealing what buildings could be seen through the fog that covered the city.When the Horizon pulled into and docked at the port of London Will and\nJenna were the first ones to disembark. After spending an hour dealing with\ncustoms they finally set foot in the city. Following a map Will picked up at\nthe port they made their way through the cobblestoned streets. As they went\nalong they did their best to ignore the strange looks the two of them were\ngetting from some of the residents of the city, focusing instead on finding the\nresidence of Quentin's friend Anita.Finally--after having to ask for directions twice--they found the right\nstreet. After checking a few of the two story buildings they found the one that\nmatched the address Quentin had given them. They walked up the steps to the\ndoor, and after a brief moment of hesitation Will gripped the brass knocker and\npounded it against the door several times.The most immediate and notable effect was indistinct angry shouting\ncoming from within the house. Jenna's ears splayed out in concern. That\ncouldn't be a good sign.A minute or two passed in silence after the initial noise. Then the door\nflung open, nearly knocking Will off the steps. Standing before them was an\nangry looking brown haired woman in a nightgown. She looked Will up and down a\nfew times before asking in an English accent, \"Do you have any idea what time\nit is?\"Will hesitated for a moment before saying, \"Uh...not really.\"\"Of course you don't! Otherwise you would not dare be knocking on my door!\"She pointed to the north and asked, \"You see that big clock tower there?\nCare to tell me what time it has?\"Will looked to where she was pointing. Through the fog he could just\nmake out the clock face. \"It looks like...it's about 8:30.\"\"That's right! Half past eight in the morning, and you're disturbing me!\nIt had best be for a very good reason.\"\"Well that depends. Are you Anita Conlin?\"She gave a curt nod. \"Yes, I am. Who are you then? What is it you want?\"He hesitated then said, \"My name is William Keller. I have a bit of a\nproblem to deal with, and someone I know recommended--\"\"Do you have an appointment?\"\"No I don't--\"She held up a hand to cut him off. \"Then come back in two hours time. I\nwon't be doing any business before half past ten.\"Before he could say another word she shut the door in his face, leaving\nboth Will and Jenna in a state of shock. After a moment Will found his voice\nand--with more than a hint of sarcasm--said, \"She seemed...pleasant.\"Jenna nodded, thinking, This may\nnot have been such a good idea if that's who we're looking to for help.Will sighed and walked back down the steps with Jenna following at his\nheels. He looked around for a moment, then dropped down to sit on the bottom\nstep. \"Well what are we going to do now? That...woman clearly isn't a morning\nperson.\"Jenna nodded and sat beside him. She had no more idea of what to do than\nhe did in their current situation. Not\nknowing what to do is becoming far too common for us, she mused.They both sat there for a while, lost in thought. After half an hour of\nsitting on the damp stone steps Will stood up and turned to face the door\nagain. \"You know what Jen? I suddenly don't care that she's upset by us waking\nher. We have far more to be upset about, and I'll be damned if some self entitled\nwoman is going to make us wait any longer.\"He took all three steps at once and immediately knocked on the door once\nmore. A single frustrated shout came from the upper floor, followed a few\nmoments later by Anita throwing the door open again. \"What? Didn't I already\ntell you to come back later? Or are you just too thick to understand simple\ndirections?\"Will shook his head. \"No ma'am, I understood perfectly. But I just spent\na week and a half on ship to get here, and I'm in no fit mood to wait any longer.\"She didn't respond with words, but chose instead to stare him in the eye\nas though waiting for him to back down. He stared right back with unflinching\nresolve. A few quiet minutes passed before Anita spoke. \"I suppose you won't be\nleaving then, yeah?\"Will nodded and Anita sighed. \"If I get my hands on the poor bastard who\nsent someone so bloody stubborn to me they'll regret it.\"Will smirked. \"I was sent here by a man named Quentin. He said you were\na friend of his.\"Anita quirked a brow and looked him over again. \"Quentin eh? Haven't\nheard from him in while. You can be sure my next letter to him won't be too\npleasant. Well then, I suppose you and your er...wolf...can come in. She's tame,\nyeah?\"Will nodded. \"Perfectly, as long as you don't do anything to irritate\nher.\"She eyed Jenna for a moment then said, \"I'll keep that in mind. Come on\nthen. Hurry up.\"She stood aside to let them through the door, closing it behind them\nonce they were inside. They stood in a smallish entry way with a doorway\nstraight ahead as well as one on their left while to their right was a stair\ncase to the floor above. Anita pointed to the doorway on their left. \"You two\ncan go find a seat in there. I'll be with you once I've changed into something\nmore acceptable for entertaining guests.\"She then left them to their own devices as she went upstairs.  Doing as she had asked, Will and Jenna walked\ninto the adjoining room to find themselves in a room where there were two sofas\nfacing each other across a small oval table that was bare except for a small\nwood box. There was a large window at one end of the room, letting in a small\namount of the sun's light. At the opposite end was a fireplace made of red\nbrick. Will took a seat on one of the sofas and Jenna curled up beside him as\nthey waited for Anita to return.After ten minutes she finally came back down the stairs, now wearing a\npink dress. She sat across form them and crossed her legs as she looked them\nover a few times. \"So then. This problem you're having. What is it, and what makes\nyou think I can assist you with it?\"Will gestured to Jenna and said, \"It starts with her. Until about two\nweeks ago now, Jenna wasn't a wolf. She was as human as you or I. But something\nhappened. She was surrounded by some sort of energy field that changed her\nbody. When I went to Quentin and asked if he knew anything that could help, he\nrecommended I come to you. He said you were doing research into applying\nalchemical practices to living creatures. He though you may be able to help\nreturn her to her true form.\"Will waited, wondering how she would react, or if she would even believe\nhim. Anita said nothing, but instead leaned forward an opened the box on the\ntable. From within she withdrew a cigarette and a book of matches. She pulled\nloose one match and lit it, using it in turn to light the cigarette. She\nreturned the book of matches to the box then leaned back against the sofa. She\ntook a few long puffs before asking, \"How much do you know about alchemy mister\nKeller?\"\"Uh...not much beyond the basics. I know it involves working to change the\nstate or make up of chemicals.\"Anita nodded. \"Essentially yes. Years ago it was thought of as a 'dark\nart' that held no real value. Once we discovered energy manipulation we were\nable to start working in the field in ways we never could before. Some are\nstill foolish enough to try to change lead to gold, but most alchemists work\nwith more realistic projects. Creating new alloys. Mending objects. Even\ndiscovering new elements along the way. That's what I've been doing for ten\nyears. That was until about two years ago.Science has yet to teach us everything about biology, but we do know\nthat humans--and other animals--are made of chemicals just like everything else.\nWe're mostly carbon and water, with some calcium, sodium, and a dozen other\nless significant things. In theory we shouldn't be all that difficult to effect\nwith alchemy. In fact, I've had rather promising results with changing the\nchemical properties of plant life so far.The difficulties occur when I try to work with something more complex,\nlike a mouse for example. I've done tests on more that a few mice. Aesthetic\nchanges are easy for the most part--like changing their fur color.\" She paused for a moment to take another hit off her cigarette then\ncontinued. \"However, if I were to try to change one on a larger scale, say to\nlook more like a rat...the results are unpleasant. Not only do they suffer\nextreme pain during the process, but it almost always results in a fatality.\nAnd even when they don't die immediately, what's left is usually little more\nthan twitching bloody fur that dies after a few very painful minutes.Give me twenty years and I may be able to do it, but as things are now\nit would only result in her death if I tried to change her back.\"Will and Jenna both sat in stunned silence, trying to absorb all she had\nsaid. Both were thinking the same thing though. All the time and money spent\ntraveling, and they were no better off. When they offered no response Anita\nasked, \"I may not be able to change her back, but would you mind if I did an\nexamination of her? Nothing too intrusive mind you, just looking her over.\nCan't say I've ever heard of something like this before, and in all honesty I'd\nhate to pass up the chance to have thorough look at her.\"Will hesitated before saying, \"That's up to her.\"Anita looked to Jenna for an answer. After a moment of consideration\nJenna nodded. Maybe she can offer some\nadvice or insight, she thought.\"Lovely. Let's not waste time then.\" Anita opened the box on the table again\nand pulled out an ash tray, putting out her cigarette before standing and\nstepping over to Jenna. \"On the ground please. I'd rather look at you\nstanding.\"Jenna nodded and hopped off the couch. She did her best to keep still as\nAnita knelt beside her and began to examine her. After a minute or two she\nsaid, \"I've no wish to be insensitive, but this really is amazing. This isn't\nsome illusion or deception. She really has had her physical form completely\nchanged. Her mind is unchanged though, yes?\"Will and Jenna both nodded in response. Anita only seemed more\ninterested then. \"If her mind is still her own, then that means it was\nsomething that changed every organ in her body--including her brain, as a human\nbrain wouldn't fit at all  in a wolf\nskull--but it also managed to preserve her personality. Whatever did this came\nfrom an incredibly powerful source to be able to do accomplish something so\ncomplex.\"Anita spent a few more minutes looking Jenna over before saying, \"I'm\nnearly done here. I just want to check her body's energy. It may be able to\ntell me something about how this actually works.\"As Will watched Anita's left arm began to glow with a whitish light. She\nplaced her left hand on Jenna's side and the energy began to flow from her to\nenvelope Jenna's body. The effect was immediate, with Anita yelping in shock as\nshe was thrown backward a few feet by a surge of energy. Will was on his feet\nin an instant, both he and Jenna rushing over to make sure Anita was alright. Before they could help she pushed herself up and stood, waving them\naway. \"I'm fine. Just caught me off guard is all. Whatever it is that changed\nher, its energy is still in her body. Not only that, but when other energies\nget too close it seems as though it defends itself. That would make it rather\ndifficult to remove. Unfortunately, removing that energy may be necessary to\nreversing this change.\"Will sighed. \"It seems like everything is difficult lately.\"Anita nodded. \"The good news though is that that energy doesn't seem to\nbe having any negative effects, aside from the obvious of course.\"Jenna shook her head while thinking, It\ndoesn't matter if there's only one negative effect. That's bad enough!Will sighed again and ran a hand through his hair, scratching the back\nof his head. \"Well uh...thank you for your time if nothing else.\"Anita placed a hand on Will's shoulder in a small gesture of attempted\ncomfort. \"It won't be easy--in fact I imagine it shall be rather difficult--but I\ndo believe you can discover some way to reverse this. Also, for whatever it\nmight be worth, I am sorry I wasn't able to do more for you two.\"\"It's...well frankly it's depressing but I think I speak for both of us\nwhen I say the effort was appreciated.\"Jenna nodded in agreement, albeit reluctantly. She was really only being\npolite. She hated the only thing they had been able to do had turned out to be\na total waste of effort.Anita yawned and covered her mouth before she replied. \"Well I suppose\nappreciation is all I can really ask of you. I'll be nice and not ask you to\npay me. However, I will ask you to be so kind as to leave now. I'd like to get\nwhat sleep I can before I have to start dealing with my day, and you two have\ncaused me enough trouble already.\"***Bereft of any purpose, Will and Jenna spent the rest of the day\nwandering the city as they tried to think of something they could do. Both felt\nan empty sadness in the wake of the morning's events. With Anita unable to help\nthem, neither had even the most remote idea of what to do next. Eventually,\nwith the sun setting over the city, the two found a cheap hotel to stay for the\nnight that was willing to accept a wolf. Both barely slept that night, their\nminds too occupied to find the necessary peace.When the next morning came they didn't bother to leave their room,\nneither feeling the motivation to do much of anything. Jenna was curled up on\nthe bed and Will sat on the one chair in the room, both struggling to find any\nbright point of hope in their situation. Eventually their stomachs won out over\ntheir moods though, so the two begrudgingly left behind the comfort of their\nroom.Their hunger led them to a restaurant where they sat at one of the few\noutdoor tables available, eating in silence. Even once their stomachs were\nfilled they stayed there for a while, neither having any desire to move. After\nnearly an hour Will spoke for the first time since the previous morning. \"At\nthis point, I think our best option may be to head home.\"Jenna raised her head sharply to look at him. He's not serious, she thought. He\ncan't be ready to give up so quickly.Seeing her surprise he explained his reasoning. \"We have no leads to\nfollow, so there's no point in staying here. The longer we stay here the more\nlikely it is that we won't have any money left when we do get home. That means\nwe could lose our apartment and we're no better off. I'd rather at least be\nhome if we have to keep dealing with this transformation. I'd rather at least\nbe able to have a stable life while we try to figure this out.\"Jenna considered his words for a moment or two then nodded slowly. She\nknew he was right of course. There was no where else they could go, and at that\nmoment, nothing else they could do.With the two of them in agreement they both stood and--after Will left\nmoney on the table to pay for their meal--the two started walking on the\ndirection of their hotel. As they walked Will outlined his basic plan. \"We\nprobably won't be able to leave immediately, but I'm going to go to the port later\nand find the earliest--and preferably cheapest--ship leaving for home. Then it's\njust a matter of waiting until we can ship out.\"Jenna nodded. She had already figured that would be what they were\ndoing, as it was really the only way to do things. Were she able to speak she\nmight have said something to him about explaining things that didn't need it,\nbut she would have to let it pass for now.They had almost reached the hotel when they heard shouting voices coming\nfrom around the corner of the intersection up ahead of them. The source was\nrevealed as two police officers who came running around the corner, looking\nfrustrated and out of breath. As Will and Jenna were among only a few people on\nthe street--and were the ones closest to them--the two officers zeroed in on\nthem, one immediately asking, \"You there, did someone just run by here? Black\nhair down to his shoulders? Long grey coat? Sound familiar?\"Will shook his head. \"No. May I ask what's going on? I might be able to\nhelp.\"One officer--that taller of the two--laughed and asked, \"And what's it that\nmakes you think you can help then eh?\"Will didn't answer, but instead reached into his bag and pulled out his\nI.O.M.E. badge, holding it up for them to see. The shorter officer rolled his\neyes. \"Well that explains the sword, the cloak and the wolf. You I.O.M.E.\nblokes are all touched in the head. Never met one who wasn't some sort of\nstrange. Still you could help...plus I think you outrank us in this instance.\"Hiding his irritation Will asked, \"So care to explain what's going on?\nAnd provide some names so I know who I'm addressing.\"The taller one nodded. \"I'm Constable Smith. This'd be Constable Morris.\nWe was just chasing after this sod what been stealing everything that weren't\nnailed down. Been using some sorta illusions or somethin' to keep us off 'im.\nMakes 'imself invisible, or tricks us into followin' him the wrong way. Ain't\nthat right?\"Morris nodded. \"He's a real slippery one. Most of what he does is petty\ntheft. Pick pocketing really. He's still wanted for quite a bit though. He's\nbeen keeping us rather busy of late. Which all in all I suppose it's a good\nthing that the worst we've got is a thief.\"Will thought for a moment then asked, \"These illusions, can they only be\nseen, or is there more? Can they be heard? Or felt?\"Smith looked confused by the question. \"What you want to know that for?\nDon't matter do it?\"Will shook his head. \"It does matter. It would tell me whether this is\nlight based energy he's using, or if he's screwing with people's senses and\nperceptions. And believe me, the second is far more dangerous.\"Morris nodded. \"Quite right. I do think it was just visible, but there\nmight have been sound. I don't quite remember.\"\"We should be careful just the same. People who use energy to create\nillusions are tough to deal with. You can't trust what you see. When you came\nchasing after him, you thought he came this direction, correct?\"Morris nodded again. \"That's right.\"Will sighed. \"Then odds are he ran in the complete opposite direction.\nYou even said he had tricked you into going the wrong way before, right?\"Both nodded and Smith said, \"We was even sure we had 'im cornered once,\nbut he wasn't actually there at all.\"Will nodded. He was beginning to get a clear picture. \"He obviously\nskilled. There's no doubt about that. However, when pressured, illusion makers\ntend to make errors. Small things really. Not giving an object a shadow. Giving\nsomething the wrong texture. Things like that. So, here's what I want you to\ndo. The two of you will head back the other direction, and see if you can track\nhim down. I'll see if I can find anything this way. Look for anything out of\nthe ordinary. Anything that doesn't quite fit.\"While Will added a few more instructions for them Jenna sat by\nimpatiently, waiting for him to finish. She really had no desire to help these\nmen. While she knew Will had a sense of duty that was driving him to help, she\nreally just felt it was going to waste their time.She was distracted by the two officers setting off down the street. She\nlooked up to Will who said, \"I know what you're thinking, but we should at\nleast try to help. They seem a bit lost and--\"Will looked up in surprise to see the two of them walking back. He\nquirked a brow and asked, \"Is something wrong?\"Morris nodded. \"Yeah, actually I think there may be. You told us to look\nfor anything out of the ordinary, right?\"Smith added, \"You was saying to look for anything that don't fit too.\"\"Yes. So where are you going with this?\"Morris shook his head, chuckling. \"You know, you almost had us there.\nBut then I thought, what is more out of the ordinary than an American I.O.M.E.\nofficer in Britain, wearing a cloak and a sword, and traveling with a wolf? You\nshould've been more discreet.\"Will scoffed. \"What? You think I'm this illusionist?\"Smith said, \"Yeah, we got good reason though don't we? You was right on\nthe street corner there when we came around, right where that illusionist ought\nhave been, weren't you? That seems awful suspicious, don't it?\"Will rolled his eyes. \"You're grasping at straws. I'm no illusionist. I\ncan't even use any magic.\"\"We can't really be too sure, now can we?\" Morris asked. \"We should take\nyou in just to be sure. Let the local I.O.M.E. office take a look. See if you\nand your wolf are what you appear to be.\"Will gulped. He didn't want I.O.M.E. any where near Jenna. He had no\nidea how they would treat someone in her condition, and he didn't want to find\nout. Since Morris and Smith seemed convinced he was a criminal in disguise he\nreally didn't have many options. \"Well...I can see you two are beyond reasoning\nwith at this point. So...uh...Jenna, run.\"It\ntook no more than a split second for what he said to register in Jenna's mind.\nBefore Morris or Smith could react, Will and Jenna took off down the street,\ntrying to put as much distance as they could between themselves and the\nconstables. After a second or two of dumbfounded shock, Smith and Morris\nstarted to run after them. Will\nand Jenna could both hear the officers' foot steps, their voices ordering them\nto stop as they raced down the narrow street. Each breath burned in their\nchests but still they ran. Will was having a worse time of things than Jenna,\nsomething she could clearly see. He had to deal with the weight of his bag, his\nweapons, and the resistance provided by his cloak. She had four legs and\nnothing to carry but herself and her scarf. Even though she could have easily\nout run him she stayed by his side, determined not to have them split up. It\nhad been just a minute or two but Will could already feel the effort taking its\ntoll on him. He\ncouldn't keep going for much longer, but the road in front of them seemed to be\none unending stretch. There didn't seem to be any way to--Suddenly\nWill's vision blurred then cleared again almost immediately. He stopped cold,\nJenna bumping into his leg from behind. They were standing in some back alley,\nwhere only seconds before they had been running down a street. What the hell\nhad just happened?They could hear the voices of Smith and Morris, receding into the\ndistance and still shouting at them to stop. How had they managed to lose their\npursuers? Will certainly didn't remember any point where the officers had been\nmore than a few yards behind them. Looking to Jenna he asked, \"Do you have any\nidea what happened?\"She shook her head in response. She didn't understand why he was so\nconfused. He had turned down the alley and she had followed. She didn't know\nhow they had managed to evade the officers, but she wasn't overly concerned\nwith that question.\"I could tell you what happened mate. Actually, you could thank me for\nwhat happened.\"Will and Jenna both turned around at the sound of the voice. Standing\nthere was a man with shoulder length jet black hair and a long grey coat over\nhis clothes. Will gritted his teeth and Jenna growled softly. There was no\ndoubt in either of their mind that this was the illusionist Smith and Morris had\nbeen after.Keeping his expression neutral Will asked, \"Who are you? And what do you\nmean we could thank you?\"The man grinned, his expression radiating congeniality. \"The name's David.\nI said you could thank me because I'm the one who got you away from the\nconstables. I'm sorry to say I'm the one they were after originally. I was\nnearby when you spoke to them. You provided a pretty good distraction for me,\nso I thought I'd lend a hand and return the favour so you could escape as\neasily as I did. It was a bit tricky getting you to think you were still on the\nstreet while making them think you\nwere still on it as well. But it all worked out.\"Will quirked a brow. \"Why make me think I was still on the street?\"\"Well, if I hadn't you would have kept running and it would have missed\nthe point of helping you escape. So, feel free to thank me.\"Will's frowned and shook his head. \"I'm not going to thank you. You're a\ncriminal. And we could have been arrested because of you. No, I'm going to deal\nwith you the way you should be dealt with.\"Will drew his pistol and leveled it at David's chest. \"You're under arrest.\"David gave an amused snort in response. \"Who are you to arrest me then?\"\"Lieutenant William Keller of I.O.M.E. Now then, are you going to\ncomply?\"Silence fell as the two men stared each other down. Jenna looked back\nand forth between them, wondering who would back down first. She knew Will could\nbe incredibly stubborn and David didn't seem like he would back down easily.\nAfter a moment David took a few steps to the left, still starring at Will. Will\ndidn't react though, to the point where he even kept his pistol pointed at the\nspot where David had been standing.Jenna tilted her head to one side, trying to make sense of it. Will didn't\neven seem to realize David had moved. Then it clicked. Will wasn't reacting\nbecause he thought David was still right in front of him. He could alter people's\nperceptions so easily. The thought of it sent a shiver down Jenna's spine. But why can I still see the real David?,\nshe wondered.Then it occurred to her that--much like others who had mistaken her for just\na wolf--David hadn't thought to use his power on her. She had an advantage, and\nshe was all to willing to use it. Before David even had a chance to react she\ncharged him, jumping up and slamming into his chest to knock him to the ground\nwith a muffled thump before pinning him down by standing on his chest, fore\npaws pressing on his shoulders. David started struggling, trying to push her\noff, but she was too strong for him to move.Will blinked a few times as he realized that David wasn't in front of\nhim any longer, but was now on the ground, held in place. He smirked as he\nrealized what must have happened. He holstered his gun and walked over to the\ntwo of them, watching as David fought to get out from under her. He knelt down\nbeside David and asked, \"I'm guessing you used you power on me right? Guess you\nshould have made sure to use it on both of us.\"Looking to Jenna he said, \"Thanks for that. Who knows how long I would\nhave stood there like a moron.\"Jenna nodded, wagging her tail a few times.David snarled as he continued to fight her. \"Oh piss off the both of you!\nGet this bitch off me already!\"Will shook his head. \"I don't think so. As I said before, you're under\narrest. You're a thief, and you use your abilities to commit thefts. Both\nqualify as criminal acts.\"David gulped. \"Look, I don't...I can't go to jail. I just can't. I wouldn't\nbe able to live confined like that. I'll do anything you want. Name your price.\nJust let me go, alright?\"\"I don't have a price. Unlike you I actually have morals.\"David shook his head. \"Oh no. Everyman has a price. Come on now, what is\nit? Money? I can get you a tonne of it quite easily. If not there's got to be\nsomething I can do! Maybe I can do something for you with illusions eh? They\ncan be useful in more ways than you would likely imagine.\"Will laughed. \"I don't want money. Or anything you could give me for\nthat matter. And unless your illusions can safely remove powerful and potentially\ndangerous energy from something or someone, then you have nothing for me.\"David blinked a few times, and a hopeful sort of smile spread across his\nface. \"Wait a tic. I...I can't do anything like that, but I know someone who\ndoes! Promise you'll let me go and I can take you to him!\"Will frowned. \"Is that so?\"David gave an emphatic nod. \"Yeah. Someone I've known for years. He does\nstuff like that all the time. I swear!\"Will didn't answer immediately, taking a moment to think things over.\nDavid could easily be lying. But if there was even a slight chance of helping\nJenna he should look into it. He glanced over to her, trying to guess what she\nwas thinking. She seemed as pensive as he was. Noticing his stare she looked at\nhim, and after a moment nodded.Will sighed. \"Alright then.\"Turning his attention back to David he said, \"You're sure about your\nfriends abilities?\"David nodded. \"Absolutely.\"\"Where is he?\" Will asked. \"Who is he?\"\"His name is Maxwell Greyson. His home is in a town in the south\nof France.\"Will nodded. \"Good. You're going to take us to him. Do that...\"He hesitated. What he was about to say went against all his instincts as\nan officer, but he didn't have much choice. \"Take us to him and I'll let you\nwalk away free afterward. Do we have a deal?\"David nodded. \"Of course. I never break a promise if I can avoid it. I'll\nget you to him.\"\"Good. Jenna, let him up.\"Jenna complied, though with some reluctance and stepped away. David\npushed himself off the ground and stood up, brushing the dirt from his clothes.\n\"Bloody hell...she is strong. Well trained though. You'd almost think she was\nhuman the way she behaves.\"Will gave a hollow laugh. \"That's because she is.\"David started to laugh then stopped when he realized it wasn't a joke. \"W-what\ndo you mean 'she is'?\" \"Exactly what I said. She is\nhuman, but something changed her into a wolf. We're trying to find a way to\nchange her back.\"Jenna nodded to confirm what he said was true, an action which seemed to\ndistress David a fair amount. \"I...you...what the hell? How is that even possible?\"Will shrugged. \"We don't know. But we do know that whatever energy\nchanged her is still in her body, and is likely what's keeping her in this\nform. I know it sounds difficult to believe, but it's the truth.\"David didn't answer immediately, instead looking back and forth between\nthe two of them, as though trying to decide whether they were crazy, or he was.\nFinally he said, \"That may well be oddest thing I've ever heard of...but you both\nseem pretty convinced. Which for her to even look convinced...well it must mean something\nright? I'll be honest, I don't know if Max can help with something like this,\nbut I'll still take you to him.\"Will and Jenna exchanged a brief glance then looked back to David. Will\noffered a grateful smile and said nothing more than, \"Thank you.\"David nodded. \"Right then, let's move out shall we? No point in wasting\nanother moment here!\"Without waiting for a response from them he turned and walked back out to\nthe street, clearly expecting them to follow. After a second or two Will and Jenna\nset off after him, both of them hoping that they were following the right path\nto undo what had been done to her."}