“No pressuring him, Beth,” Honey said. “It’s good to push your limits, but also sensible to be aware of them.”
“It’s more fun to fly with someone, though,” Beth said. “Finley? You’ll come with me, won’t you?”
Archie, who was busy wriggling out of his shirt, paused. He squinted at Finley through one armhole. “I thought you said you were a shark.”
“I am,” Finley said. He made pointed eye contact with Beth, jerking his chin in Ignatius’s direction. “But I’m sure someone else would fly with you, Beth.”
Beth pulled a face, but reluctantly approached the dragon shifter. “Ignatius? Would you like to—”
“I wouldliketo go home where I have internet access and no-one force-marches me up mountains,” Ignatius spat. He turned his back on the others, stalking away as though the whole world existed to persecute him. “Leave me alone.”
Beth shrugged at Finley, looking more relieved than put out by the snub. “Well, I tried.”
Honey had seen Buck and Archie shift before, but she’d never been in a position to properly appreciate the process—in the former case, because she’d been too busy freaking out over the wholegiant glowing winged wolfthing, and in the latter because Archie tended to simply explode into fur without warning.
Now, she finally had a chance to watch properly. It was nothing like the werewolf transformations she’d seen in a horror movie. Beth didn’t drop to all fours, stretching and contorting in pain. She just shimmered, her shape blurring into a smudge of colored light. And then, like a camera refocusing, something else was there.
Honey couldn’t help her catch of breath. Even though there was nothing left of the girl, somehow she still looked like Beth—the same long limbs and attentive gaze, that sense of quivering eagerness. Her coat was the same russet red as her hair in human form, gleaming with auburn highlights. Long black socks marked each leg, as though she’d been dipped in ink. Her mane and tail were black too, soft and silky.
With a whisper like satin rubbing together, the pegasus unfolded her wings. They were mottled in a striking pattern of red and black, each feather fading to white at the tips. The pegasus turned her head in Honey’s direction, ears pricking.
“Oh, Beth.” Honey couldn’t resist reaching out a hand to those astonishing wings. The feathers flexed under her touch, warm and living. “You’re so beautiful. Look at you. Just look at you!”
The pegasus ducked her head bashfully, mane tumbling over her neck. Her ears flicked toward the cliff, and she let out a little whinny, one hoof pawing at the ground.
Honey patted her neck. “Yes, you can go.”
Beth didn’t need to be told twice. She launched herself off the cliff, legs tucking up underneath her like a horse clearing a jump. Honey’s hair whipped across her face as Beth beat her wings, soaring into the air.
Something bumped against Honey’s hip. She looked down, and had to bite back a yelp. Two golden eyes regarded her solemnly, set on either side of an enormous hooked beak.
“Rufus?” she whispered.
The young griffin blinked at her. He head-bumped her again, like a friendly cat.
Surprise giving way to delight, Honey kneeled, holding out a hand. Rufus rubbed his beak against her fingers. She ran her hand down his neck, feeling the place where the gold feathers changed to tawny fur. A low, deep rumble started up in his chest.
“Youpurr!” She laughed, ruffling his feathers. “You may look tough, but you’re just a big kitten, aren’t you?”
Rufus playfully snapped his beak at her, then bounded away. Flora and Archie were already in animal form, chasing each other around the meadow. Rufus joined in the game, his half-eagle, half-lion form dwarfing both of them. Even discounting the wings, he was easily twice the size of Archie’s bear.
If that’s what he’s like now, how big is he going to be when he grows up?
A pang went through her heart as she realized it was something she’d never know. She wasn’t going to get to watch any of the campers grow from quirky, funny kids into strong, confident young adults, let alone help them on that journey.
A tentative tug at her elbow pulled her out of her melancholy thoughts. Looking down, she found Claire peering up at her, expression worried.
“Honey,” Claire whispered. “Do wehaveto shift?”
“Not if you don’t want to,” Honey whispered back. “Why don’t you go join Finley and Estelle at the waterfall? They aren’t shifting either.”
Looking a bit happier, Claire went to join the others. Honey did a quick head count, checking that she could see all the kids. Ignatius was ostentatiously ignoring his fellow campers, moodily flicking pebbles into the stream. Flora, Archie, and Rufus were a noisy, tumbling ball of fur and feathers, Flora’s wombat holding her own against the two boys despite her much smaller size. The three campers still in human form seemed happily engaged in poking about the waterfall. Beth turned effortless spirals above them all, her shadow skimming across the ground.
Honey bit her lip. Kids who could fly were well outside her comfort zone. Bethlookedlike she was in control, but it was still a long way down…
“Don’t worry about Beth,” Buck said, as if reading Honey’s mind. He dumped a pile of sticks next to the area that he’d cleared. “She’s been flying since she was knee high to a gnat. She’s not going to fall out of the air if you take your eyes off her. Sit down and rest, damn it. How’re you holding up?”
Honey gingerly lowered herself to the grass, wincing as her abused knees protested. It really had been quite a hike. “Oh, I’m fine.”
