“Sounds delicious.” I brought Aria to the kitchen to help wash her hands. When we went out to the table, Leo had set up the booster seat I brought for her and was cutting up her bagel, an already cut-up apple next to it.
My food was set out too, a toasted bagel and cut apple next to it.
“Thank you,” I said. I helped Aria up before sitting down and eating with her, Leo on the other side.
“Good morning,” Hawthorne said from behind us.
I almost choked when I saw him. He was dressed in a pair of jeans and a simple henley that clung to his body in the most delicious way. His hair was still damp, water dripping from it.
“Hi, Hawthorne,” Aria said, snapping me out of my dangerously smutty thoughts.
“Hi Aria.” He joined us at the table. “Are you excited to learn how to shift?”
“I’m gonna be a wolf and go grrr,” she said.
He laughed. “You’re gonna be the coolest wolf out there.”
She started yapping about wolves, which led her to talking about dogs, which somehow turned into talking about space.
But Leo and Hawthorne took it all in stride, chiming in on all the nonsense easily. This all felt so easy and domestic, but the doubt that it could last came creeping in.
“So, about the shifting,” Hawthorne started, pulling me from my thoughts. “We can coach her a bit, but it's something that happens naturally. When the small things start, they pick up quickly, and it probably won’t be long until she starts shifting fully. What we need to teach her to do is switch back.”
“And you can do that?” I asked.
“Yes. Though some people describe their wolves as something separate, like a conscience, it’s really just another part of you. Like any other emotion, kids need to learn how to regulate them.”
Explained like that, it sounded less difficult and scary, which made me feel better. I was so worried it would be something I couldn’t ever understand or help her with, but laid out like that it seemed manageable.
When we were done, I tried to help clean up but was shooed away. So, Hawthorne and I played with Aria for most of the morning. We built block towers and knocked them over, just to do it all again.
A little while later, we went outside where Hawthorne raked up a bunch of leaves and let Aria jump into the piles.
She leap into one, and I gasped when she popped back up and had ears and a snout.
“Mom!” she squealed. “I feel like I’m going to explode again.”
I looked to Hawthorne, who had a light smile on his face. “Aria, come here.”
She bound over, her speed seeming a bit increased. He squatted down to her level, looking her in the eyes. “Can you feel anything else?” he asked. “Like something else wants to take over?”
She looked to think about it. “Maybe. It feels weird.” There were nerves in her voice, and I wished to ease her.
“That’s okay,” he assured. “I want you to take a big deep breath for me and try to relax. Let the feeling happen. Can you do that?”
She nodded. She inhaled in an exaggerated way before exhaling. A few more breaths later, and more of her started to change. Her body crouched, and she seemed a bit uncomfortable.
Hawthorne didn’t show any signs of concern, so I continued to watch. Soon, her entire body was small and furry, and she looked like a baby wolf. Her hair was a reddish blonde, her eyes a bit gold.
“Oh my Gods,” I said, eyes wide. I couldn’t believe my daughter just turned into a wolf in front of my eyes.
“How do you feel, Aria?” he asked.
“I feel much better!” she said. Her voice sounded a bit different like this, but she was herself, which made me relieved.
“That’s good.” She bumbled her walking a bit, but I had to imagine having paws was different than feet.
“Mom, look how cool I am!”
