"Oh mercy, I certainly would not want to cause a stir, nor have an audience for some bungled endeavor, I--- I cannot believe I'm even taking this seriously. Lord Wolf..." She paused and turned to him. "I really have no will for magic. I don't understand it at all, which is surely quite apparent to you. Should I even be dabbling in this?"

Wolf smiled down to her and brushed her cheek with his fingertips. "Magic, energy, what you insist on calling power... It's part of who I am. It's in the world. It's in you too, more than you know." His hand slipped down to tap the pouch of stones perpetually hanging from the silver chain at Wenndolyne's waist. "Do you not use magic when you work with the stones?"

"No nono. The magic is within the stones themselves. I don't even know what each possesses nor am I knowledgeable enough to choose among them. They... They come to me, whichever is appropriate at the time. A stone will present itself in my hand and then..." She made a funny grimace, wondering if Wolf would think her an idiot for this explanation. "The stone... um... speaks to me... what needs be done."

Wolf's grin broadened. "My lady, that is indeed magic and surely you can see that there must be some magic within you for you to understand what the stones say?"

Wenn tilted her head slightly and narrowed her eyes at him, merely while considering this. She then turned and they continued walking. "I have much to learn."

"And you'll not do it during one stroll in the garden. Allow me to invite you once again to my Keep for an evening meal. We can continue these discussions and I can try to ease your concerns about the pendant. Perhaps you can even practice a shift of form?" He was half teasing her with the suggestion of shifting but so looking forward to having her presence in the Keep again. He took seriously Poet's charge to him and was more than willing to fulfill it, even if the bard had not been involved. However, he could not force Wenndolyne to seek his company, but perhaps they could begin to forge some real connection.

She turned a wary eye on Wolf but also had a smile with it, "Let us agree on the meal. I'll have to consider the other. I haven't even made use of the protection, much less anything more daring."

Wolf nodded and began to direct their stroll toward the carriage house. "In truth, I would be satisfied with only your company. After all, I already know how magic works." He chuckled and Wenn relaxed into a giggle herself.

Dinner that evening was strewn with questions and answers, some of which were totally unrelated to magic and merely about life and experience in general. Wolf put away any thought of drawing out deep magical theories and such to Wenn. She was bright and quick enough to understand them. This was not the problem. In fact, he was afraid she'd understand them all too well and realize the ramifications of energy use. It might paralyze her with fear of any magic use at all, even the stones within her own possession. So, he merely let her guide the discourse with questions while his Keep staff kept the meal running smoothly.

"I think I see what you mean about... envisioning intent. That is, I somewhat understood this when you explained the protection of the pendant. I need but focus on the pendant and put forward a thought, a strong thought, of being safe from attack, yes?" Wenn, relaxed in her chair at the dining table, the unbelievably large dining table. Yet it seemed cozy with Lord Wolf sitting in his grand chair at the end of it and she, just around the cornered edge from him.

"Precisely." He took a long sip from his goblet of spring water then set it down and leaned toward her. With a conspiratorial whisper, he grinned, "Care to experiment?"

"Oh," was all that escaped Wenn's lips as she slowly set her wine glass onto the table. "I suppose." She was now sure that her curiosity was overrunning her good sense.

Lord Wolf rose from his chair and extended his hand to her. She let him lead her out of the great hall and the Keep, into the courtyard. The night was cool, but not too. The moon was nearly three-quarters full and so the light was enough to see by, particularly while shining on Wolf's white hair and Wenn's pale skin.

Lord Wolf took both her hands as he turned her to face him. He put her in the moonlight then released her hands and took a step back. "Beautiful," he whispered.

"Aye," Wenn was looking up at the moon. "Tis indeed a beautiful night." When she looked back at Wolf, she blushed. She could tell that Wolf had not been speaking of the night.

"Shall we practice a shift to the wolf form?" He asked calmly.

"Oh, but can we not begin with something simpler? What of the protection?" Her heart raced nervously just thinking about changing form.

"We could do that but you'd notice very little. I will certainly not even pretend to attack you. I hope you never have need of the protection, but if you do, you must trust that it will serve. I think a practiced shift will accomplish more, even toward that end."

She sighed and acquiesced. "A shift then."

"Your enthusiasm is enthralling, M'Lady," he chuckled.

Giggling her apology, she then set her face more seriously and awaited his instruction. "Let us begin, hm?"

He nodded with a grin at her studious pose. "To aid your concentration, you may want to grasp the pendant in your hand." He waited for her to do so and watched with a soft smile as she took a deep breath to calm herself, then he continued. "Stand quietly and close your eyes. Listen to the sound of my voice." This was no hardship for Wenn. His voice was calm and soothing. It might help soften the quickened beat of her heart. Not knowing what to expect during such a thing as the shifting of one's form, she was terribly nervous. She wasn't sure what she feared most, that it wouldn't work, or that it would.

"Free your mind, clear out all other thoughts save that of the pendant. Picture it in your mind's eye even while you feel it within your hand, although the pendant is not the power but merely the focus of it."

Wenn's brow furrowed and Wolf saw her confusion.

"The object is to fill your mind with intent, that is, your intent to change your form from human to wolf. You may see the pendant as a doorway, as a focal point, for channeling that thought. In a way, you will begin by sending your intention into the pendant."

With a whisper, Wenndolyne voiced her most overwhelming thought. "I'm afraid."

Wolf's voice softened and soothed, "I am with you. I will help. You can do nothing in this to harm yourself or me."

Again she took a deep breath and slowly released it. Her eyes were still closed but Wolf saw her nod. Now both her hands were clutched together over the pendant as Lord Wolf set his concentration on her. He reached out with his mind and gently made contact with the pendant. Through it, he sought Wenn, so he might guide her. She gasped as she felt his mental touch to some depth within her, as if she'd never realized there was such a place within her own mind but now Wolf was there.

"Good." He said quietly, as she did not fight his contact with her. "You're doing fine." She dared not speak any response but continued to wonder at his presence within as she awaited his next instruction. "Now, with your mind, feel the top of your head, feel your shoulders, your arms and legs. Be aware of your body in its present form."

Slowly Wenn nodded and Wolf smiled softly. He could sense that she was working very hard on this. He also knew, whether she was aware of it or not, that she wanted to perform well for him. She wanted him to be pleased with her. This warmed his heart and filtered back through the link to her.

"Feel your feet. Feel the ground beneath them. Envision the soil as you stand upon it. Concentrate on the warmth and texture of it."

Unconsciously she continued to nod as she proceeded with him on the journey led by his voice. He began to speak to her from within that place in her mind, not with his actual voice, yet she was perceiving him as if it was his voice, soft, gentle and soothing. It was very much like his wolf communications yet richer somehow. **That's it... yes, the earth. Let yourself sink into the earth, beneath the soil down through the warmth and into the rock below it.**

Within her thoughts, Wenn pictured this, though she dare not stop to reason how. She became less a solid human body and somehow slipped easily down through the soil to bare rock and then even began to sink downward through that. She could not have conceived of anything of this sort on her own, but Wolf's presence in her mind let her know, with all certainty, that such a thing was possible and would not harm her. She met no more resistance than water flowing through sand.

The hard rock grew cooler further down and more dense, then began to warm again and soften or become sparse. She sensed light radiating through the rock, though she knew her eyes were actually closed. The light glowed within her mind's eye. She perceived a richness and translucence like amber, then bright beams of white light started to escape through cracks in the softening and distintegrating stone.

**Yesss** Wolf whispered in her mind, encouraging her. Though Wenn did not see him in this vision playing out in her head, she knew he was there. **Feel the warmth. See the light. Tis the earth's inner fire...**

Suddenly Wenn's thoughts shuddered in a bit of panic. What she was seeing, what he'd said, had reminded her of some soothsayers' description of death and what may happen after. She wanted to fight her way out of it.

**Wenndolyne...** Wolf called to her, filling her mind and helping her still the panic. **Feel for yourself this living heart of the earth. Her light is bright but not blinding. Her warmth is intense but comforting and protective. There is no harm here.**

**Yes** Wenn thought and somehow it was not strange to her that she had no mouth to speak it, not in any usual sense. Once again she was close with him and embraced by the warmth and light of this... place.

Wolf's voice echoed through Wenn and seemingly all around her. **Come, my love.... Enter with me. Enter into the magic of the earth....**

In a paradox she was too overwhelmed to consider, Wenn felt Wolf take her hand, though she felt she was not truly here in body, not in her ordinary form. Her thoughts tried to stray into this notion but the warmth and light were so compelling, Wolf's voice and inner touch were so encouraging, that she managed to gently let those unanswered questions fall away. She relaxed as she and Lord Wolf seemed to step together into the heart of the light.

Wenn could almost hear the earth's pulse or was it her own heartbeat or were they one and the same here? She could feel without a body, although she seemed to have a form with which to move, to touch and be touched. She could see without eyes, hear without ears.

Again Wolf drew her thoughts back with his voice... **Now leave all thoughts of your human form here, in the protection of the Mother.** He let this notion sit with Wenn a moment. She mentally stepped outside herself or rather, let her mental image of 'body' step away from her... essence. Yes, there was something that was the very essence of herself and somehow it could continue without the body. She released her form to the care of the wonderful light, although she dare not dwell on it too long else she'd get confused again. It was so strange to be leaving herself, to exist outside her own form, but at the moment it seemed perfectly possible.

**Yes** came Wolf's voice again. **Now think of the form of the wolf. Envision yourself within the body of a wolf. Your arms are forelegs, your legs are hind. Your eyesight is keen for night hunting. Your sense of smell is sharp. Your body aligns with the ground, comfortable there, and ready to spring. Your skin is covered in the warm protection of fur. Your ears are tufted and twitching, listening for the stealthy movement of prey.**

It began. Wenn first imagined looking at a wolf in every detail then somehow she felt herself drifting into the form. It was at first like slipping into a dress but instead within the living pelt of a wolf. Then she began to take on the form in earnest, molding, reforming, shaping into a wolf as complete as any she had ever seen, until she seemed to be looking through sharp eyes that could pierce a dark night, able to see in crisp detail.

**Feel the bone and muscle of your wolf form. Feel the hot blood of the wolf flowing through you. Feel the hunter's heart beat within your chest.** He knew she was accomplishing this task and how hard she was struggling not to question it because it would thwart the effort. Even as Wenn successfully shifted into form, Wolf did so himself and gave her one more bit of instruction, **Now... Return to the air and the night on the surface, Wenn. Just as you came to be here, you may now return in this form.**

With a burst of energy which Wenn felt through her whole being, whatever being that was, she felt propelled upward through all the layers and onto the surface again, onto the familiar ground, the soil, the cool breeze, the darkness of night.

Wenn scanned across the terrain to see everything in such clarity and also to note how much closer to the ground she was! She lowered her muzzle and peered down at her own... paws!

What she thought would be a shriek came out as a wolfish yelp and she turned to be eye to eye with a large white arctic wolf. The impulse to run was about to make her do just that, but the soothing voice came again inside her mind.

**It gets easier.** Ancient Wolf's thought to her was laced with a feeling of humor. It was in fact just the touch Wenn needed to stop her heart from thumping out of her throat, her wolfish throat, no less.

She wanted to say something but found it impossible to force anything but a whine or hiss out of this mouth. Finally she stopped and formed the words clearly in her mind. She released them in what she hoped was Wolf's direction. **I.. hope... so.**

Then, Wenn could not help but begin to prance around in this body. Her steps were exaggerated as she wondered how it was possible to coordinated four legs and a tail and all.

**You're making it more difficulty than it needs to be.** Wolf snickered. **That form knows what to do. You need only be yourself within it, become one with it.**

**Your birthright, not mine.** Her thought was a bit sarcastic. **I need more practice... to catch up.** She found her own hissing wolf snicker to be quite funny and so it continued for a bit. In the meantime, Wolf began to romp around her, nuzzling her and nipping at her ears. With her attention drawn in this way, Wenn began to get more comfortable in the form, responding before thinking. She pretended to bat at Wolf with her paws and tried to step on his tail tip.

Wolf curled to rub his muzzle against hers and growled softly in her ear. Wenn was stirred by it, but felt terribly awkward too. She turned and padded away a few paces then sat down on her haunches. **I don't know if I like this. I mean, I haven't even a face.**

The white wolf padded past her then looked back at her over his shoulder. **You certainly do have a face and a beautiful one at that. Come see.** He continued on then and Wenn rose to her paws to follow. Each step was more sure than the last. She even began to trot after him as they rounded the Keep toward the gardens. By the time they reached one of the fountains, she was pacing Wolf in a relaxed lope. Wenn stopped trying to translate her thoughts of human movement into wolf movement and just let the form work for her. It was indeed much less stressful.

They both paused at the edge of the fountain and Wolf was already looking over into its surface. Wenn leaned forward and looked then jumped back, tumbling over too many legs.

**Come, come. No need to be frightened.** Wolf said. He was not taking this lightly now because he could sense how disturbing this was to her. She was right. He has been accustomed to this for millennia, from the beginning. For Wenn, it was something not even considered before.

Wenn slowly approached the fountain's edge and nosed her muzzle over to be reflected in the water. She tilted her head down with her eyes closed then slowly opened them to see... **I'm a red wolf!**

Wolf chuckled aloud through his form and also into her mind. **So I see.**

She turned her head this way and that, watching the reflection move the same. Without much thought, she dipped her head lower and lapped up some water. It tasted fresh and clean. Only as she raised up again and caught herself licking the droplets from her muzzle, did she think, **Oh, my...** and felt the implications of what she'd just done, so very much a wolf thing and not at all a thing she would do in human form.

Peering at herself in the water again, she asked, **Why am I a red wolf, while you are white, and...** her mental voice got very quiet and embarrassed, **Where is my clothing?**

Wolf hissed a wolfish snicker and nuzzled her, looking at the both of them in the water. **Your coloring shall follow in any form, unless you choose to alter it. I do not. Hence my coloring is most always white. As for your clothing... it is with your human form." He said the last slowly. He was concerned that she might have a panicked moment, thinking strongly about her natural form left within the bosom of the Mother.

**Oh.** She looked at their reflection in the fountain's pool, her gaze drifting between her warm reddish-brown furred face to Wolf's shining white wolf face. Her eyes were still blue, which she thought was a bit unusual for a wolf, yet no more unusual than Wolf's green ones, perhaps. **So then, you are a white wolf because your human hair is white?**

**Well, in my case, tis actually the reverse.**

Wenn moved away from him enough to turn and look at Ancient Wolf directly. **Your true form...** She mulled this for a moment. **You are not a human taking a wolf form, as I have just done? Your true form is... is that of a wolf?**

The large white artic wolf sat on his haunches to regard the smaller red wolf standing before him. What a lovely creature she was, in any form. **Something on that order, aye.**

**Well, I suppose...** Wenn turned and padded slowly back along their path toward the courtyard as she pondered this. Wolf followed pace with her. **I suppose that it matters not then what the form, for I still feel mostly myself and you still seem familiar, but...** She shook her head and thought how odd it was that her ears moved so much. **I think I've had enough experimentation for one evening.** Turning her head to look once again into the eyes of a white wolf, she added, **I assume you will also teach me how to trade back into my own form, yes?**

The white wolf chuckled, **Of course! Tis the same process and believe me when I say that it gets easier and faster, with practice.**

As they approached the entrance to the Keep, they both paused and sat on their haunches, facing each other. Wenn had one more question, **So, that light is what I see when I watch you shift?**

**Aye, while in transition, while in direct contact with the core of energy, some of the light escapes, one might say. Thus what you witness is the light of transformation which fades upon the emergence of the new form.**

**Ah, well then. It must indeed become easier, for it seems you do such a thing in literally a flash.**

**But as you noted, I've had much practice. Ready to change again?**

**Yes, please!** Wenn hissed her own snicker. While this had been one of the most fascinating experiences in her life, she was worn out from trying to decipher it and coping with all this change at once.

Wolf was again with her throughout the exercise, coaching her as she reversed the change to retrieve her own human form. He explained again about the pendant. Though she did not have it physically with her as a wolf, she was still connected with it for it was in the possession of her natural form. This transformation was indeed as he said, more easily accomplished than the first time.

Soon Wenndolyne stood on two legs again, as a young woman in her brocade gown, with the pendant resting against her bodice, although she was still looking at a large white arctic wolf shining in the moonlight.