Mythe: A Fairy Tale (42 page)

“When I was fourteen I thought it would be cool to collect a skunk. I didn’t know of anyone else who had one. I thought it would be unique. It took me about a week to find a decent one, and a few more days to master it. When I had it, I thought it would be funny to play a little joke on Mom, so I snuck into the horse barn and waited for her one morning. I thought I’d just startle her a little. You know, make her scream or run away or whatever.” He looked decidedly sheepish as he recounted the tale. “Before she ever showed up, though, our big tomcat spotted me in the barn. I guess he didn’t appreciate a skunk intruding on his territory. He snuck up on me and jumped me before I heard him coming.”

“It startled Josh so badly that he accidentally stunk up the whole barn…and the cat!” Richard’s laughter was hindering his attempts to remove his socks and he hopped on one leg to maintain his balance.

“The barn was uninhabitable for days. When Mom and Dad found out, they grounded me until the smell was completely gone.” Josh was chuckling now too. “Stupid cat got what he deserved. He was miserable for a week.”

Manda laughed along with the men. She tried to imagine how Josh would have explained the ill-fated prank to Sarah. She would have to remember to ask her about it when she saw her again.

Richard had finally managed to strip down to his pants and stood shirtless and barefoot in the frigid sunshine, seemingly in no great hurry to begin his segment of their little show.

Manda took a sip of tea and tilted her head expectantly. “I’m ready when you are.”

“Okay, okay.” Richard took a deep breath and then bent at his knees and waist, coiling his entire body like a spring. He released the tension explosively, launching himself off of the ground and throwing his arms wide. His arms completed their arc as wings, for in the split-second when his feet left the ground he became an owl. His now empty pants dropped forgotten to the blanket as he climbed high into the air on powerful wing-strokes.

“He makes that look so easy,” Josh muttered wistfully.

“Does he not like to change shape?” Manda asked quietly. “He seemed kind of hesitant, like he didn’t want to do it, but it was his idea.”

“No, he loves to shift. That’s when he’s happiest.” He glanced at Manda. “Well, it used to be anyway. I just think he’s worried about how you’ll react. You know, when you actually see him transform. I mean, you seem to be okay with it all so far, but what if deep down you think we’re freaks of nature or something?”

Manda lost sight of Richard in the glare of the sun. When he re-emerged from the brilliant halo of light, he had transformed from the owl to something much, much larger.

“He shouldn’t be worried about that,” Manda said, shaking her head dismissively. “I do think you two are freaks of nature. This doesn’t change anything.”

“Oh, well…I…,” Josh stammered uncertainly, taken aback by Manda’s blunt statement.

She grinned and expanded upon her declaration. “Oh come on, Josh! You two are much more talented, handsome, kind, and intelligent than is even remotely normal. Even without the whole therianthropy thing, you are completely freaks of nature…but in a very good way.”

“Ah, I see,” Josh chuckled. “Well, it takes one to know one, doesn’t it?”

“Fair enough,” Manda laughed, taking Josh’s teasing with the good natured humor she knew he intended it.

Richard glided in low across the treetops and then dropped lower to soar across the clearing, much as Josh had earlier. When he was a few yards from the blanket, however, he backstroked with his wings and dropped lightly to the ground as a reddish-brown, thickly maned African lion.

“Wow!” Manda exclaimed. “Was that a condor?”

“Yep. Andean,” Josh verified. “The biggest one on record, to be exact. His wingspan is well over thirteen feet.”

“It’s beautiful.” Manda commented. The feathers had been a sleek, glossy black with some white on the wings and around the neck. The vulture-like head hadn’t been particularly appealing though. “Well, except for the head,” she added apologetically.

“You’re right,” Josh agreed. “That’s a face only a mother could love.”

Lion-Richard paced back and forth in the snow as they spoke and then growled softly at the uncomplimentary comment about his condor.

Manda chuckled and scooted closer to the edge of the blanket. “Oh, don’t pout. Come here. I’ve never been close to a lion before. You’re very impressive.”

Richard padded close and dropped his head until he was eye-to-eye with Manda and just a few inches away. Manda didn’t even flinch this time, even though the lion was every bit as impressive as Josh’s polar bear had been. This was Richard after all, and that made all of the difference. She buried her hands in his thick, dark mane and pressed a kiss to the velvety fur between his eyes. The king of beasts was like a kitten in Manda’s hands. He closed his eyes and purred contentedly—an odd, growling rumble.

Manda stroked her hands through his mane. “What else?”

Before she could move her hands, he flashed from lion to tiger, and Manda’s fingers were buried in dense orange and black fur. The only sign that he had startled her, however, was her quick intake of breath.

“Oh, Richard! He’s beautiful!” she breathed appreciatively. The tiger wasn’t quite as tall at the shoulders as the lion, but his body was longer and he must have outweighed the lion by several hundred pounds. His striped coat was luxurious and Manda buried her face in the fur of his neck.

“Shall I leave you two alone?” Josh inquired with a grin. “I hate to be the third wheel.”

Richard growled menacingly. Taking one step away from Manda, he batted at Josh with a large paw, knocking his brother over onto the blanket

“Hey! No fair taking cheap shots when I can’t fight back,” Josh protested. He slapped Richard away and righted himself. “Okay, she likes the tiger. Can we move on?”

Richard leapt away from the blanket and obligingly demonstrated a quick sampling from his collection. Bear. Gorilla. Snow leopard. Horse. Elk. Fox. Cougar.

When he got to the cougar, Manda gasped and her hand flew up to cover her mouth. This form she had seen. She was powerfully reminded of the fear and confusion she’d felt the last time she’d seen Richard this way, though this time those feelings were overwhelmed by love and gratitude. This was her protector. This was the Richard that had saved her. The unexpected maelstrom of emotions constricted Manda’s throat. Tremors racked her body, defying her attempts to suppress them.

“Are you okay, M?” Josh asked. He placed a comforting hand on her trembling arm. “It’s still just Richard.”

“I know,” she managed in a strangled whisper. “I’m fine.” It was a ridiculous lie. She didn’t sound fine at all.

“Really, he won’t hurt you.” Josh wasn’t a fool; he knew better than to believe her words when her reaction was so completely contradictory. He misunderstood what she was feeling, however, and was at a loss. He looked helplessly at Richard, silently seeking his brother’s aid.

Richard knew Manda better, though. He saw the softness of her eyes and understood. In one lithe leap he was standing before her with his golden eyes just inches from hers. His breath was warm and clean on her face, and he placed one snowy paw on her leg. Except for the tremors that shook her, Manda was still, overpowered by emotions that she was unable to control.

“Jeez, Richard!” Josh barked. “You’ll scare the...” He trailed into silence when Manda flung her arms around the cat and held on as if her life depended on it. Richard laid his head on her tense shoulder with a soft, growling huff.

Manda battled her rebellious feelings in silence. This was uncharted territory for her. For as long as she could remember she had been the master of her emotions—always in control, always steady, never showing the weakness that would make her a target. Even when her parents had been killed, she’d buried herself in her school work, only allowing herself to cry at night, and even then so quietly that her roommate couldn’t hear her from the other side of their dorm room.

All of her carefully cultivated control had crumbled since she’d met Richard though. Since he’d come along, she seemed to wear her emotions on her sleeve. Still, she didn’t want to look like a hysterical fool so she tried to calm down. She took deep breathes until she thought she could speak. She had so many things she wanted to say, but she was only able to force out two words before her throat closed again.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

Josh cleared his throat discreetly and Richard’s head swiveled in his direction. “I think I’ll get in a little air time—leave you guys alone. Do you mind?” He made a spinning gesture with his finger. “Just for a sec?”

Manda released Richard as if she’d been burned, then quickly scooted around until her back was to the men. She felt like an utter fool. Could she possibly have overreacted more? She wrapped her arms around herself protectively, still shaking slightly, and closed her eyes tightly. She heard Richard growl softly behind her, followed by the rustling of cloth. Before she could even begin to sort herself out, Richard spoke from directly in front of her.

“You can open your eyes now, sweetie.”

She opened her eyes hesitantly, certain that there hadn’t been enough time for Josh to undress and transform, much less for Richard to don his clothes. She was only partially right. Richard was kneeling in front of her dressed only in his pants. Josh was nowhere in sight.

“Come here,” Richard said softly, pulling her toward him. Her self-control was a house of cards that collapsed as soon as Richard’s arms encircled her. His bare chest was warm against her cheek.

“Thank you,” she repeated, no longer trying to control her quavering voice.

“You don’t need to thank me. Just having you here with me is thanks enough,” Richard murmured into her hair. “I was so afraid I was going to lose you, and I’ve only just found you.” His voice was no steadier than hers, and his arms held her as tightly as hers clung to him.

Neither of them spoke again for a long while, each content with silence. Manda later wondered how long they might have quietly sat there on that blanket had it not been for the sun’s inevitable progress across the sky. As the sun descended toward the mountains in the west, the shadow of the trees stretched longer, eventually falling across
Richard and Manda. Without the direct radiance of the sun to warm her, the chill of the air began to seep through the layers of Manda’s clothing. She was far from uncomfortable, yet she could no longer imagine that it was a warm spring day either. Richard’s chest was still warm to the touch though.

“How come you aren’t freezing?” she asked, breaking the silence at last.

“Oh Manda! I’m sorry!” he exclaimed, clearly mortified. “Of course you must be cold. I’ll take you back to the car. What was I thinking?”

Manda cut short his self-recriminations as he hurriedly began pulling on his boots without even bothering with socks. “Richard, slow down. I’m not cold. Not yet. We can start heading back to the car, but we don’t have to play beat the clock. I’m not in any imminent danger of freezing to death…or even being uncomfortable. I just wondered how you can sit here half-clothed and not be miserable.” She picked up Richard’s neatly folded socks and tossed them into his lap. “Here, start with these.”

Richard considered the socks in his lap and chuckled, pulling his boots back off and starting again.

“That’s one of those things we do without thinking. It’s another one of those partial change things. We have a certain amount of control over our body temperature, since different forms naturally vary in that regard. Staying warm makes you hungry though. I’ll be famished tonight.” He continued to dress as Manda pondered this. Tucking his shirt into his pants, he scanned the sky. “I hope Josh didn’t go too far.” He raised his thumb and forefinger to his mouth and whistled a piercing blast. Then he took the blanket from Manda’s shoulders, folded it, and tucked it back into Josh’s backpack. He closed the thermos tightly and slipped it inside as well, then left the pack on the ground blanket next to the untidy pile of Josh’s clothes. He scanned the sky once more, and then pointed to the east.

“There he is.”

Manda squinted in the direction he indicated and could barely discern a tiny speck above the trees in the distance. “If you say so,” she said with a shrug. “I’ll take your word for it.”

Richard just grinned. “Shall we head back to the car? We can wait for him there.”

Manda agreed eagerly, relieved that Josh wouldn’t be witness to her return trip over the ridge on Richard’s back. When they arrived back at the car, Richard started the engine and turned up the heater. Manda snuggled into the plush seat with relish.

“How’s your ankle?” Richard asked when she’d finished her little show of luxuriating in the warmth.

“Much better. Hardly feel it now.”

Richard nodded his approval. “So, what did you think of our little demonstration?”

“It was incredible! Thank you for showing me. It’s going to take a while for me to assimilate it all, but it made everything a lot less…,” Manda paused, searching for the right word, “…scary.”

“Were you afraid of us?” Richard asked with an anxious frown.

“No, not of you two,” Manda corrected, regretting her clumsy word choice. “But the shapeshifting thing was this huge, mysterious unknown. I didn’t have a frame of reference for something like that; I didn’t know what to expect. So, yes, it was a tiny bit frightening.”