Law of Kanya
Episode 1: The Family Secret
By Josh Buckby

Chapter 7

Laid out flat on her back, Kelly opened her eyes peacefully at first. The air was cool and brisk. Her head rested comfortably just below a window sill, and slithers of weak sunlight beamed through from a layer of bright green leaves, the calming shade almost lulling her right back to sleep.
   Perhaps it would have, if it had been her bedroom window.
   Kelly leaned forward. There was a horrible thumping in the side of her head like a hammer and she felt winded, automatically gasping for breath without really knowing why. As she drifted awake she’d still been hoping, fingers crossed, that it had all been a dream. Was that really too much to ask?
   She wasn't home.
   But if it hadn’t been a dream, then where were Evan and Ricky? Where was the dome, or the vacuum cleaner robot? The last thing she remembered was being lifted off her feet, and a bolt of lighting descending from the sky, aimed squarely at her head.
   Why wasn’t she dead?
   Wait… she was starting to remember more. A riverbank and… had she been rescued by a dog? She could remember a big, mangy yellow Labrador dragging her out of the water. Man, she must have hit her head harder then she thought. She could’ve sworn it had answered her questions.
   Desperate for bearings Kelly glanced around, but there wasn’t a familiar thing in sight. She’d woken laid out on a rather comfortable bed, the rugs of which were like woven tapestry. There were four of them in the room altogether, squeezed side by side like some cheap hotel room, but all empty save for hers.
   The room felt big despite the cramped style and it was heavily and unusually decorated on all sides. Big pots filled with ferns and flowers were laid out under the windows. Woven tapestries like the ones on the bed were nailed to the walls, along with what looked like tanned furs and skins. The walls and floor surrounding her weren’t made of familiar brick or concrete. They were made from brown tree stalks that resembled thick bamboo. Just where in the world was she?
   Kelly pushed the blankets away and stepped off the bed, brushing her eyes to clear the groggy feeling. It seemed like she was wearing a soft, silky gown under something very thick and heavy. She realised with one glance down she was covered in what looked like a large, white bathrobe. It was so overly large the sleeves covered her hands, and she could feel it trailing down around her ankles.
   Exploring the room, she caught sight of a big wooden mirror and a door to her immediate left. She did the first logical thing that came to her head. 
“U…Umi? Er inumaat… Gassa?!” 
What on earth was that?! ‘He… Hello? Is someone out… what the?!’ That was what she had tried to say, but those strange words had escaped her mouth in their place. Kelly recoiled, stunned. She’d done it on impulse, and she knew each words meaning without a moments hesitation.
“Kai! Teesio, lykia anisi!”
She didn’t even blink. Kelly’s fear grew as their meaning once more jumped into her head. ‘Yes! Perfect, you’re awake!’
   A shape shuffled into the room, and Kelly quickly received quite a doozy of an answer. In no time at all her feet left the floor and she was back on the bed, curled up and cowering at the sight before her.
   “How are you? It’s okay, you don’t have to panic!”
   It was too late for that. Standing over Kelly was an enormous animal. A big, hairy, terrifying animal with dark grey fur, pointy ears, a big nose, and a mane of hair trickling over its shoulders. 
   It looked like a wolf, exactly like a wolf. But it couldn’t be; it had talked. Not just talked – spoken in a human voice. And it wasn’t walking on four legs… it was walking upright, just like a human. And... And it was wearing clothes too! Kelly struggled to find the right word, and one came to mind very quickly…
   “W… W… W… WEREWOLF!”
She flinhed again, and here eyes widened to hear THAT word, of all things, come out in clean English. But what else could that creature be? The wolf forelimbs were long straight arms, and its paws were shaped just like hands, complete with opposable thumbs and sharp, curved claws. Its legs were almost exactly like dogs hind legs, short and hooked in shape, but even bending over, it still stood at full height nearly a head taller then her. The unusual size of the dressing gown she was wearing suddenly made sense.
   The werewolf’s own clothing was made up of a sash top and tasselled vest a little similar to her jacket, and baggy pants loose around the ankles. Over them both she wore a white cloth like an apron. Her left arm seemed to bear some kind of white bracer with green writing, though the markings were incomprehensible to Kelly.
   The creature had backed away too, also flustered from her terrified reaction. Shivering, Kelly sprawled out on the bed and kicked away from the unusual animal. “It’s okay, dear!” it continued in a definably female voice. “Just relax!”
   Huffing for breath, Kelly couldn’t believe her eyes. The female werewolf leant down over her. She shivered uncontrollably as it went for her neck. It bared its teeth, and Kelly felt her heart leap out of her chest. 
   Oh no, she thought. The memory of those ghostly apparitions was still fresh in her mind, fuelling the fear. This was it, she told herself. It was ready to bite – it was going to maul her. Eyes clenched closed, Kelly braced for the snap of sharp fangs against her neck…
   They didn’t come. Instead, a cold nose prodded lightly against her hair.
   Taken back, she opened her eyes. The werewolf was sniffing softly around her neck just like a common household dog would. It was a more friendly, albeit stranger action then she had expected.
   “What… are you doing to me?” Kelly stammered uneasily.
   “I’m just catching your scent, girl.” the werewolf explained. “So I can recognize you later. Nothing unusual about that, is there?”
   “Oh yeah, sure!” Kelly answered, feeling embarrassed. “nothing unusual…”
   A few moments later, the werewolf flared her nostrils. “I’ve never met your kind before and I have to say, it’s not like our scent trails. Yours is almost fragrant, like a perfume.”
   Awkwardness overcame Kelly; she wasn’t wearing any perfume right now. Was that really how she smelled to a dog or, more presently, a werewolf?
   “Well, great to know if I’m ever cornered in a dark alley by a supernatural creature, my hygiene’s in tip top condition!” she squeaked. She immediately wanted to thump herself for being so light-hearted when there was a beast that could only be described as a werewolf bearing down on her.
   “I’m Benita, by the way.” the big wolf explained hastily. “And don’t you worry. You’re in well trained paws.” She lifted her arm and flashed the white and green bracer for Kelly to see. It was rather meaningless to her though. Trained? Was Benita some kind of doctor? How was that even possible for a wolf?
   Against her better judgement, she rolled with it. Thinking about it hurt too much. “I’m… Kelly.” she huffed, her eyes drifting. “The names Kelly.”
   “A pleasure to meet you Kelly.” Benita said and grinned, a rather harkening appearance with all those pointy teeth. It was quite surprising the amount of expression Benita could show with her mouth, far more then a normal dog or wolf. Kelly imagined that must be how the wolf in red riding hood looked during the big reveal. 
   “Where did you come from?” she went on.
   “Um… Chicago.” Kelly replied after looking back up. “And if I’m to buy all this, where am I now?”
   “I’d hardly call it the safest of locations, but you’ll be safe where it counts here.” Benita explained. “Welcome to the mount Borsa fort. Skota governed and owned, naturally.”
   “There’s a mountain here?” Kelly asked, eyes wide. “I’m totally lost then.” 
“I can only imagine.” Benita pouted to herself.
   Now that she was closer, Kelly realised there was another unusual thing about Benita. In fact it was probably the strangest of all. She’d been so taken back by her wolf-like resemblance that she hadn’t bothered to look at it closely, but it was hard to miss.
   Benita was wearing a sash under her vest that covered her upper half. Not surprising actually. She appeared to have human-like breasts. Kelly didn’t mean to be rude, but looking closely, she realized that underneath Benita’s top, there was both a dark and light shade of fur on her chest that didn’t seem to match the rest of her markings. That wouldn’t be too strange, except that it had a shape to it. From what Kelly could see, it looked like a circle. Benita soon caught on to her odd attempts to peer closer.
   “What are you…”
   “You… is that a marking?”
   “This? Well… yes!”
   Benita took hold of her collar and lowered it as much as she could permit herself within decency. Kelly was right: It was a perfect symmetrical circle. It looked too perfect, as if it had been branded on.
   “Yes, that’s my symbol. We all have them, including you.”
   Kelly laughed and shook her head. “I don’t think so. Not me.”
   “…You’ve had a rough time, haven’t you?” Benita paused, and tilted her head. “Take it slow. Try to piece yourself together. We’ve got a ton to clear up.”
   Benita looked so weird and intimidating and yet she seemed so civilized, and she had such a kind voice. It was soothing, and reminded Kelly a lot of her own mother. It painted a clear picture in her mind of an aged, resourceful woman.
   Whatever the case, Kelly felt her fear fade away when she realized Benita had no intention of hurting her. Her headache was doing a far more effective job of that. She thudded her hand against her head, trying to shake off the hammering going on in there. 
   “Easy!” Benita ordered her, wrapping her paws around Kelly’s arm. “You’ll only make it worse like that. Can you remember anything?”
   Kelly cringed, wondering what to say. But if a giant talking wolf was possible, then maybe anything was.
   “There was this big robot. He broke into my house and attacked me and my friends.”
   “Sounds like you were ambushed by a B-Unit.” Benita grumbled. “There’ve been more and more of them showing up round here.” The simple act of Benita acknowledging a robots’ existence made Kelly’s head spin even more.
   “I remember a stream. I don’t remember how I got there, though.”
   “A shame.” Benita shook her head. “We were hoping for some answers there ourselves. Nuran and his sister just happened to be foraging nearby. Next thing he knew, you were floundering about for your life in the water!”
   “Nuran? Is he…”
   “…The one who fished you out?” Benita finished for her. “You might just owe that boy your life!” 
   So she hadn’t imagined it. “But… then there were these wolves made out of smoke, and lightning hit me and… and now, to top it all off, I’m speaking some bizarre language!”
“Are you really, now?” Benita asked, perplexed. “You’ll have to demonstrate that sometime!”
Kelly grumbled, fearing that response. “Actually, I meant this one! And I’m speaking it like I’ve known it my whole life, just as well as English! How can that possibly be?”
“English? Forgive me, I thought your kind shared our own spoken language?”
“Well apparently, I do now!” Kelly said rashly, waving her arms. “Except I said werewolf clearly, so maybe… He…heaaalllo? Huh, how about that?!” she huffed in delight to hear that all come out in English. “Testing, one two three? She sells sea shells…” 
Her blabbing was drawing truly the oddest looks from Benita. She was glad she could still talk like before, but the fact she felt so at home speaking the other language was unsettling and alien to her. Not to mention the compulsion to use it first – sure enough, the moment she tried to respond, she couldn’t help but do it in that tongue.
“I know it all sounds absurd, but I swear this is happening to me!” she went on. “I thought Evan and I were done for.”
   “Nuran said he thought he heard thunder, and saw a flash.” Benita shrugged, leaning against the bed. “But it was a clear sky. He was certain!”
   Benita edged closer before finally sitting at her side, while Kelly wracked her brain for an answer. “When you say your friends…” Benita began slowly, drawing a reflexive nod from Kelly. 
   “My brother and my fiance. I don’t know what happened to them!”
   “You mean they’re the same as you?” Benita exclaimed, eyes widening.
   Kelly frowned. Did she mean humans? “Uh… yeah, I guess.” she replied in uncertainty. 
   Another giant toothy smile dawned of Benita face. “That’s incredible. I promise we’ll do everything we can to find your friends immediately!”
   “Really?”
   “It’s the least we can do!” Benita smiled. “I’ll see to it myself, if I have to.”
   Kelly felt like she was getting somewhere at last, and warmed to Benita. Surely her friends couldn’t be far. “Thank you so much. You have no idea how much I appreciate it. Um, what about me though? Am I free to go?”
   “Just about. Your headache will pass, provided you don’t keep punching it like you were!”
   Kelly shrugged. “Sorry. Painkillers don’t work much for me. It’s just kind of reflexive.”
   “Trust me, it’ll do more harm then good. I checked you for fever while you were asleep, but let’s make sure nothing’s broken before you step back on the streets. Come on, out of bed.”
   “So are you a doctor, then?” Kelly stammered.
   Benita held out her white bracer again, confirming Kelly’s suspicions. “The best one there is left round here. Up and at it sport!”
   Kelly pushed herself off the linen mattress and bounced merrily to her feet. For a surprisingly pleasant change, she felt light-headed. Actually, she felt lighter and more boisterous in general. She had an almost rampant urge to run about, the likes of which she hadn’t felt since childhood, as if she’d been cooped up in a room for ages. She kept it in check by humming and waving her arms back and forth. 
   “Fever and broken bones?” she asked Benita, with a blank stare. 
   “Well you did get thrashed around in the water pretty badly.” Benita explained. “Also, I’m very sorry but you’ll be needing some new clothes. I gave you a dry gown under that because yours were burnt beyond repair.”
   “But you said I was in the water?” Kelly groaned. “Burnt? How the…”
   “We were hoping you could tell us! I’m sorry, but there was no way you’d have been able to patch them.”
   “So you threw them?! Great… I’m surprised you had something that would fit me.” Kelly blushed. “You seem so much larger then… wait, does that mean you stripped me down earlier?”
   Benita frowned. “Yes of course. I’ll have none of that look, thank you very much! I’m very professional! Would you have rather kept them on all wet and soggy, and let a fever grip you?!”
“Of course not!” Kelly pouted. “Still, that feels compromising.”
“It was necessary, I assure you. It’s not like I let anyone else watch or anything! Arms up straight, if you could!”
   Kelly did as she was told, still cringing at the thought. Benita shrugged the gown back and lightly pressed her big round fingers into the joints on Kelly’s arms, being very careful to keep her claws from scratching her skin.  She repeated the process with each leg. After a minute or two, Benita was satisfied and released her. 
   “Well I can’t feel any bruising and you seem to be able to walk without trouble. Any strange aching at all?” Kelly shook her head, drawing a smile from Benita. “Well, that leaves only one thing. Just a quick concern.”
   “What’s that?”
   “I’d like you to turn round and put your hands on the bed please.” Benita instructed her. “Try to keep your body as horizontal as you can.”
   Kelly took a cautionary step away. “What is it? What’s wrong with me?”
   “It’s probably nothing. Please. It’ll only take a moment.”
   She was a little jittery but Kelly did as she was told, turning and pressing down on the mattress. “You sound worried.” she continued. “Am I gonna be oka… HEY!”
   Kelly felt Benita’s fingers pressing firmly against different parts of her spine and tailbone, but she nearly jumped clean into the air when she felt something else on her body reacting to the pressure. Something was thrashing behind her, something she could clearly feel but couldn’t quite control. Something that was suddenly tugged back a few notches, causing the gown to ride up and dragging her feet along the floor.
   “Wait!”  Kelly panicked. “What is that?! What’s going on?!”
   “Oh Sorry,” Benita answered calmly. “That didn’t hurt, did it? I was worried your tail might be a little disjointed, and that’s bad news for your spine. But it’s alright. Better then alright, actually! It’s like a newborn puppies!”
   “My… did you say my… MY…”
   Kelly glanced over shoulder, and her fears were quickly justified. What she had felt Benita take hold of was indeed a long, brown, mangy tail. A tail that seemed to be sprouting out from under the dressing gown. 
   “…MY TAIL!”
   Kelly bounded away, tearing herself and in turn the tail out of Benita’s hands in a startled mess. It fell back under the gown and she whimpered, cringing as it brushed against her legs and she could feel its every reaction ripple up her spine. It couldn’t be. She threw the white dressing gown off without another delay.
   In place of her body, all she could she was a shivering little mess of fur. From what she could see under the dress Benita had given her, she was covered in the stuff, not a speck of skin showing beneath bright orange hair, with brown striped markings covering her arms and thighs.
   Turning her hands over, she found them just as easy to use as she remembered, but the thick brown skin exposed on her palms and fingertips made them look like little more then furred paws. “No!” she whimpered, glancing between herself and Benita. “Oh no, not this! Anything but this!”
   Under the dress’s hem she could see her feet had grown in length into long joints that made her legs look arched and curved in shape. As she leapt around manically, the presence of each thing began to sink in stronger. Kelly wanted to be able to close her eyes and just make them go away, to no avail.
   “What’s going on?!” she cried out to Benita. “What have you done to me?” 
   Mouth hanging open, in a flurry, Kelly pushed her way past a bewildered Benita and rushed to the mirror she’d seen beside the doorway. She gulped in expectation of the worst, and stepped anxiously in front of it. Sure enough, her face wasn’t there waiting for her. A tanned furred, bolt upright canine was standing in her place, tears welling up behind its pale blue eyes. Her eyes.
   “It can’t be…” Kelly reached for her mouth, and realised it was a very long, very round mouth poking out about an inch and a half away from her face. She reached for the tip of her head and took hold of the long, pointy shapes poking through her hair. They were her ears. Ears that pricked down, limper and limper the more terrified she grew…
   “I’m… a dog!” she sobbed. “I’ve been turned into a dog!”
   Perhaps it was too simple a term, but she couldn’t really call herself a werewolf. Benita looked strikingly like one but Kelly… the thing looking back at her now didn’t resemble any kind of wild or domestic dog she could name.
   Benita crept up beside her. “You’re a dog?” she asked discouragingly, placing her hand on Kelly’s shoulder. “Whatever’s the matter, girl?”
   Kelly reached out, touching the reflection by the fingertips and whimpering. Her claw tips tapped against its surface, sending shivers down her spine. Looking in the mirror in detail, all of Kelly’s neglect suddenly turned into rage. Of all the unfamiliar things in that reflection, she was immediately drawn to her hair.
   It was far ruddier than she remembered and it had grown into some kind of mane. She twisted her hips and saw that it continued under the dress, all the way down her back to her newly sprouted tail, of matching colour.
   But there was something more… There were two long brown markings draped over her shoulders, which eventually blended together with the fur the on her chest. They joined each-other, and another marking leading up and under her chin, and down all along her stomach. All three markings wrapped around her body creating the clear impression of a cross. A slightly skewed one, but a cross nonetheless.
   She did have a symbol after all. That was no coincidence!
   “You did do this to me, didn’t you?”
   Kelly was terrified but she turned and marched, pointing in accusation. “I knew it!” she roared at Benita. “You are some kind of werewolf! You bit me, and you turned me into one too!”
   Benita threw her hands up, but despite being set upon she had a stern, commanding look in her eyes. “Kelly, I don’t know what you’ve been through, but I’m not responsible! I don’t even know what you think is wrong with you!”
   “Look at me!” she shouted back. “Everything’s wrong! And if you didn’t do this to me then what… what did?”
   She stopped pointing, slumped and trailed off. That gas she and Evan had breathed in suddenly seemed like a prime culprit. One breath had made them convulse and sweat. It had felt like her skin was on fire. Maybe it was the gas?
   Then there were those ghastly white wolves leaping at her like monsters. Her accusation trailed right back to Benita for a moment, but she was nothing like those wolves. Kelly’s legs went wobbly at the mere thought of them. 
   That robot had said they were real, but surely they couldn’t have been? Could they?
   Her gut aching, she slid to her knees on the floor. “I’m sorry.” she whimpered. “I shouldn’t have accused you, but this doesn’t make sense! It’s fairytale nonsense! Humans can’t just transform like this! Nothing on earth can do this!”
   “Transform?!” Benita stammered.
   “Don’t you get it? I’m a human! I’m not a dog or a werewolf or whatever the heck I’m supposed to be now! How do I change back? Oh no! Can I even change back?! Wait, the stories say full moon causes this, right? So if I just wait till morning I’ll be… wait, it’s day already! Oh no no no, this is too much!”
   Kelly didn’t look at Benita once as she babbled. She was too muddled to think straight, let alone see, but the werewolf had managed a rather boisterous smile as she jabbered on.
   “Human?” she giggled under her breath. 
Kelly didn’t notice at first, far too gratified that there was a word for that in their language. “Yes! You know what they are then? Well yes, I’m human! At least I was, and I want to be again so… so…”
“Is this… some kind of a joke? You think you’re a… a human?!” Benita covered her mouth, the edges of her smile visible behind her paws. But she couldn’t control it for very long, and in no time at all the big wolf burst into tears of laughter. It was anything but the reaction Kelly had hoped for, and she gritted her teeth and sulked. 
   Eventually, and with some difficulty, Benita composed herself. “Oh, that’s a good one kiddo! I’ve never heard an excuse to get out treatment like that before.”
   Kelly held her head low and growled under her breath. “You think it’s funny?!”
   “I’m afraid it really is!”
   “But it’s the truth!” Kelly shouted. “I’m a…”
   Very suddenly, Benita jumped forward and raised her hand over Kelly’s mouth, stopping her in her tracks. She looked concerned, though it was hard to tell as she was still desperately trying to stop laughing.
   “Okay, okay, fine, you’re a human!” she grinned. “Whatever you say! Just don’t go shouting it out to everyone you see unless you want them to think your absolutely loopy! And especially not to…”
   There was a faint, but sudden knocking. Benita released her at the sound of it. "Typical." she scoffed. "I’ll handle whatever that is. I don’t suppose you want to get out of that rag and into some proper clothes?”
   “You really think that is the worst of my problems right now?!”
   “Just relax and take things as they come, girl. That cupboard over there: I’m sure there's something of mine in there you can wear. By then maybe you’ll be thinking a bit clearer and…”
“I’M THINKING JUST FINE!” she growled loudly.
Benita closed her eyes and grinned. “Alright then! You tend to that and I’ll be as quick as Kan… oh, I mean humanly possible, hey?”
   As Benita hurried away, Kelly scrambled over to the drawers, scooping out handfuls of old clothes inside. She was still perplexed to find several cotton or silk shirts and dresses, remarkably similar to human clothes. Kelly didn’t want to obey her at all anymore, but as priorities went it looked like she did need something to wear. She didn’t much favour the idea of giving up her own clothes but she had a bad feeling they’d been tossed into some crevice far away, never to be seen again.
   She certainly wasn't about to be as fussy, she told herself. This was hardly the time. Whilst tossing the dressing gown in the corner, she was lucky enough to spot and settle on a pale white top with draped, open sleeves. 
   “Okay, so never wear white with colours… or is that black?” she muttered after throwing the top on, but quickly scolded herself. “No you don’t Kelly! Focus here, don’t be picky! Ah, here we go.” She found and snatched up what looked like a matching skirt.
   The dress carried a long, winding trail of patterned squares around the hem. It was cut long at the front and back, but had two slit openings down either side for her legs. Easier to move about in, she told herself as she shrugged into it. She gave herself a quick glance over in the mirror as she made for the door. It looked okay, she guessed. As much as she could manage for her strange new body, anyway. 
   She crept over to the door and peeped out, and saw what looked like a shop in the adjacent room. Or in Benita’s case, maybe it was a clinic. There was a counter on the other side of the door, and several brown cabinets littered with pestles and mixers, bottles and bandages.
   Across the room was a straw door, her only means of escape if she decided to run, unlikely as that seemed. Unfortunately it was being blocked, and standing against the light beyond was a very familiar figure. As he’d pulled her out of the stream, ears hanging wet like dishrags, he’d looked remarkably like a Labrador. Those ears were now pointed to the sky like sharp daggers, but she wasn’t going to forget a face like Nuran’s.
   He had bright, fine fur similar to hers but a crisp, pale yellow. His hair was a mattered blonde fringe that somewhat hid his cat-like, forest green eyes. It was oddly contrasted by his tattered clothes, which while as bright and vibrant as his fur still managed to look like rags.
Stranger still were the bandages. Nuran’s had long, nimble looking legs more suited to a kangaroo then a dog, but his feet were wrapped from the calves down in very thick bandages, and there were lighter, less effortful wraps clinging to his arms. If they were some kind of wounds he showed little to no reaction to them, rocking back and forth against the doorframe boisterously.  
   “I’m really sorry to bother you again Benita,” he said, a twinge of nervousness in his voice as he shuffled back and forth. “But is she awake yet?”
   He received an energetic nod. “She’s recovered quite well, Nuran.” Benita said. “You should be proud of yourself. Did you do as I asked when you first brought her in?”
   “They’ve moved the storehouse, but it won’t take me long to find it again.” Nuran nodded back. “I’ll be ready so long as master Makara doesn’t intervene.”
“Well, no promises there.”
   Unlike Benita, who spoke most of her words very methodically, Nuran moved at a much faster pace. Not only that, but his voice carried a very distinctive Irish accent, the presence of which only baffled Kelly further.
   He was smiling worriedly now. “Is something else the matter?” Benita asked, tilting her head.
   Nuran put his hands behind his back and looked up at her shyly. “I don’t suppose I could… say hello?”
   She put her hands on her hips and sighed. “Nuran, I’ve explained this already. She’s been though heaven knows what! I can’t let anyone see her just yet.”
   “Hey, don’t I get a say?” Kelly called out. “I don’t mind, y’know!”
   She stepped out from behind the counter, drawing both of them wide eyed to her appearance. She hung her head and waved shyly back at the young canine. She’d been certain Benita would berate her without delay, but the wolf hesitated, silently glancing at her from head to toe.
   “Where did you find those?” she stuttered after regaining her wits.
   Kelly tugged at the unfamiliar clothing and shrugged. “Just picked something at random. I don’t suppose my jewellery survived intact either?”
   Benita didn’t answer. Nuran blinked back and forth between the two several times before deciding to speak up. “You never had anything like that on you when we found you. Just a stuffed animal.”
   “Oh…” Kelly said nervously.
   “A stuffed toy?” Benita scowled. “Aren’t you just a little old for that kind of thing?”
   “It’s a keepsake.” she tried to explain, cringing with embarrassment. She hadn’t worried in the least just messing around with Ricky and Evan, but knowing these two had seen it was making her feel like a three-year-old. “I wanted to keep it safe, but it got dragged into this mess. Can I have it back?”
   “About that…” Nuran muttered glumly. “My sisters took it. It might take me a while to track her down, but I’ll get it back for you. Promise.”
   Kelly didn’t get the feeling Nuran had lied to her about her jewellery. He looked raggedy and seemed very nervous, standing lankily with both hands behind his back. However he was acting too noble to be a petty thief. Truth be told, Kelly had known a few amateur thieves in her youth and he didn’t seem anything like them.
   “It is Nuran, isn’t it?” Kelly asked to break the silence. “I’m Kelly. I hear you might have saved my life!” She spoke too quickly for Benita to stop her, leaving the wolf reeling angrily. Nuran smiled back at her.
   “I was just doing what anyone would, right? Wow, you really are one of them, aren’t you?”
   “One what? Hey wait… You have one too!”
   She pointed, causing Nuran to look down at his chest. Just like her and Benita, he had a symbol branded there. In his case it was a long streak of jagged brown fur. It took Kelly a few seconds of studying to realise it was a tree. A pine tree, without a doubt.
   “What are these things?” she stammered, looking at her own, which was now heavily exposed. “Do you really all have them?”
   “What are you talking about? They’re… uh oh.”
   They had more company.