Page 70 of The Spellreader and the Phoenix

Rory told them, “You have to treat all the stories as fiction. They are not how-to guides for an actual shifter. The thing is, most shifters live with their families, and a number of them live in packs or prides or groups or whatever.”

Another rumbling growl from Alex, and Rory explained, “Wolves and a variety of cats are some of the most common shifters, but there are actually all sorts. Mostly land-based, some air like me, and water-based are extremely rare. They’re not very practical for land-based humans, and they don’t seem to have developed—or they’re really good about hiding.”

It had never occurred to Max that water-based shifters could be hiding, but that was a good point. Would he want to trust those around him when his animal form required water to survive?

Rory continued, “Some of the packs and prides are very traditional, but not all of them. I’d say it was probably about 50/50 the last time I talked to anyone about it. I spent the last few years as a bird, so I wasn’t paying that much attention to anything.”

Alex stiffened in obvious alarm.

Rory patted them soothingly. “Oh, no, sorry, I shouldn’t have said it like that. That was my choice. You’re not going to get stuck like this, and you definitely shouldn’t spend the next few years in bear form. Way harder to hold paintbrushes as a bear.”

Alex made one of those huffing noises that actually translated pretty well in bear form.

Rory was grinning again. “Sorry, sorry. Like I said, most shifters stay with their families, at least to get through all of this. Their group of shifters help them through the transition and make sure they learn how to control their shift. Then they can go off and keep living their lives. Many go to college or whatever else they want in the wider world.” Rory paused for a second, like he was figuring out how to say something. “You’ve got animal instincts now. But this is still you. You can be startled and be more likely to react like a bear, for example, so that’s why it’s important to practice, but the whole full moon thing is a total myth. There isn’t a point where a bear brain takes over without your control or anything like that.”

Alex slumped in what Max was pretty sure was pure relief. Max readjusted his position and kept petting them. This no doubt broke all sorts of employer/employee rules… but it wasn’t every day your employee turned into a bear and panicked.

Rory looked like he was trying to put into words things that he didn’t normally have to articulate. “With shifters, it’s more like… it’s you, but in bear form, and bears have different instincts than humans do. So you get those instincts that mean you’re more likely to walk on all fours instead of two legs—although as a bear, you can actually do both!—and you’re not going to instinctively wipe your eyes in bear form because you’ve got claws. Right? Those animal instincts are there to protect and help you, not harm you. Got it?”

The bear—Alex—nodded again.

“The bear instincts are louder when you’re a bear,” Rory continued, “like you’d expect, so that they can help you do bear things. You always keep your own mind, but just like you can run on emotions and instinct when you’re human, you can do the same thing as a bear. But you don’t have to. You can also be calm and focused and as close to human as you’re going to get when you’re a seven-foot, 300-pound black bear.”

Ah, black bear. Max trusted that Rory knew what he was talking about. He’d follow up later.

Rory’s smile was kind as he asked, “Now, I’m assuming you’d like to change back?”

Chapter Fourteen

Rory

Alex growled, Oh, my god, holy fuck, yes, please.

Well, it wasn’t words precisely, but it was the meaning of the words delivered straight to Rory’s mind. Non shifter animals conveyed sentiments, but with shifters, it was extremely close to human speech.

“Sometimes, it can take a little while to get the hang of the transformation. That’s totally fine,” Rory explained as reassuringly as he could. “It just takes a bit of practice. It’s a big change, but I know you’re going to get it.”

Rory and the mythical shifters hadn’t experienced this at all. They had simply become when the Magic had willed it so. They’d all started out in their animal forms, and they’d turned into humans when they were ready to do so. Rory had no idea how long he’d been alive before becoming human; it hadn’t occurred to him to try to measure it. When the time had come, he’d instinctively known how to shift between forms, and it had happened without hesitation.

Over the centuries, though, he’d spent time with a variety of shifters, and he was confident he could guide Alex. If he was wrong, he was sure they could find someone else to talk to. If they couldn’t find anyone closer, Mr. Jones’s secretary, Peter, was a shifter, and they could probably drive up there and get help. Or maybe not, with a bear. Would Peter come down and leave Mr. Jones for that long? Rory had gotten the sense that Peter barely left his side. But they’d cross that bridge when they came to it.

Rory might be atypical, but he was still a shifter. What else did Alex need to know?

“Oh,” Rory exclaimed, as he realized he hadn’t mentioned this yet. “One thing to get out of the way right away: romance books and monster movies made it up completely. When you shift back to human, you’re still going to be wearing all your clothes. None of this, ‘oh look, I shifted and tore through all my clothing,’ or ‘somehow, I perfectly ripped off my shirt, but my pants are clinging to me with only strategic tears.’”

Alex laughed, a weird grumble of noise as a bear. Rory beamed at them.

Thank god. Alex sounded incredibly relieved.

“Yeah, magic is weird,” Rory confirmed, “but it’s got us covered for that one. Literally. Remember, shifters have existed for thousands of years just like humans, and they absolutely did not have the resources to keep tearing up their clothes. Plus, there are plenty of countries and seasons where running around naked wouldn’t work at all. So if you’re envisioning anything from books and movies, it’s probably totally wrong.”

Alex’s bear face tried to grimace. It always looks painful.

“Yeah, definitely don’t rely on anything you’ve seen or read,” Rory reiterated. “The thing is, it’s magic. Witches like Max can cast spells to perform specific tasks—we’ll get into that later, I promise—but shifter magic only manifests in their ability to shift between their animal and human form. But it is magic. It’s not painful, it’s not bones crunching or anything like that. For me, it’s more like stretching and compressing, depending on which way I’m going. I feel heat, but I don’t know if everyone does. There’s a moment where I feel either too big or too small, and then I settle in my new form, and that’s exactly how I’m supposed to be. I mean, it’s how a human brain can fit in something the size of a cardinal, right? Nothing but magic explains that.”

Max scoffed, and Alex gave their garbled bear laugh.

Rory grinned at them as he added, “Exactly. It feels more like flowing than anything else. It’s disorienting in the moment, but then you’ve changed from the one to the other, and you’re how you’re supposed to be. For this first change, since you didn’t expect it, I think your human instincts won out over your bear ones. You panicked and got scared—which is a totally reasonable reaction to unexpectedly turning into a bear.”