Chatterbox: Inkwell

Here's a new story that I'm working on, constructive critisism and comments welcome. :)

This story is loosely based on the RP in Pudding's Place: 

http://www.cricketmagkids.com/chatterbox/puddingsplace/node/89327

Chapter One

Marus, Leo, and Sylvia all ran beside me through the streets, the wind hitting our faces as we went. We ran faster than was humanly possible, only slowing when a hominem-- sorry; human-- turned our way. Our run took us around town, down main street, and back to the manor. I grinned when the gate to our property came into view, and with a quick glance around to make sure no hominems were watching, me and the others leapt up over the tall gate. Our jumps were easily higher than 15 feet. We literally hit the ground running, then sped off across the courtyard and toward the mansion.

We stopped at the giant double doors, opened them, and were greeted by an angry looking Uncle Richie walking toward us. He scowled at us, fangs bared, and stepped aside so we could enter the house. I noticed that his hands were clenched into fists, and when he opened his hands a bit, I could see that his fingernails had  grown into long, sharp claws.

“I saw you out of the study window,” he said, sounding disappointed and angry at the same time. “You shouldn’t be running above hominem speeds in town, and especially not in broad daylight. What if someone saw you just now; jumping over the fence like that? Especially you, Tala.”

“Richie, no one saw us,” Leo said dismissively, acting like Richie’s anger and the fact that we could have been seen was nothing. Richie just glowered harder at Leo instead of at me.

“Don’t worry, Uncle Richie,” I said slowly and quietly. “No one saw us out there.” I laid my hand lightly on my Uncle’s arm. He opened his mouth like he was going to say something, but he just grumbled something under his breath and turned to return to his study.

My cousins and I ran through the house and into the backyard, away from our uncle. Yes, our uncle, not their dad. None of us our Richie’s children. My father, (whose name was Fredrick) and his older brother, Helios, used to run the pack. Richie is the youngest brother of the three. Marus, Leo  and Sylvia (the twins) and Danielle are all Helios’s children. Or were, in some cases. Danielle, Helios and my Dad, as well as mine and my cousin’s moms, Richie’s family, and dozens of others, were killed by hominems when our pack was discovered six years ago. Those of us who survived ran and regrouped, and Richie took.  All of us-- his nieces and nephews-- in.

We ran out into the large backyard, and a slight breeze ruffled my hair as we sat down on the grass. The full moon (or Purnima) was already starting to rise over the tops of the trees, and wolf howls echoed through the late afternoon air.

“The pack is coming.” Sylvia said quietly. The rest of us simply nodded. We could all feel the presence of our pack nearby. We could also feel Purnima’s calling, and come around midnight it would become too strong to ignore; our whole species (or at least those of us on Eastern time) would transfigure into our graceful wolf forms.

Just then a movement in the forest to my left caught my attention, and my gaze was drawn to where I had seen motion in the leaves. I squinted into the underbrush for a moment, but then went back to staring at the moon.

Richie’s property went all the way from the edge of town to the large stream in the center of the woods. The backyard of the manor borders the forest, and all our land is surrounded by a ten-foot iron fence, one of those “fancy ones with spikes on top” as I used to call it when I was younger.

No one-- except the pack-- gets onto or off of our land without our permission. Only insects, squirrels, rabbits, rodents, birds, and the occasional fox inhabits our forest. Nothing large, like deer or bears, or natural (natural here meaning the kind that can’t change into humans at will) wolves. That’s why when I saw the leaves rustle a second time, I got suspicious, thinking it was one of the pack playing tricks. Or maybe worse.

I turned my head towards where the rustling had come from, and my hunter instincts kicked in a little. I blinked, switching from hominem vision to my sharper, clearer wolf vision. The black void beyond the first line of trees was suddenly lightened, and I saw a figure silhouetted in the darkness. A tall, hominem figure. Not one of our pack; the pack shows themselves first as wolves, so we know it’s them.

“Someone’s out there.” I said quietly, so that only my cousins could hear me. I could sense  jet-black fur starting to sprout on my arms and legs, and my nails grew into claws. My fangs (which when I’m in human form can pass for unusually-long-but-not-freakily-long canines) elongated and nearly sliced open my tongue. I nearly jumped out of my skin when Marus placed his hand on my shoulder.

“What are you doing, Tala?” Marus asked nervously. “There’s no one out there.”

I looked back out into the woods. He was right, there was no one in the trees. I reverted back to hominem form, realizing that whoever it was must have ran away while I was focused on transforming. I growled.

Just then the last of the sunlight disappeared, and a loud, keening howl started from in the woods somewhere. More joined in from all directions. Marus joined in, changing from human form to wolf form as he did, his body changing from hominem boy to dark brown wolf. Sylvia and Leo did the same, their brown/blond hair spreading over their bodies until they were encased in dark golden fur. I copied them, my black fur thickening by the second. Richie came out of the house and changed to wolf form, dark brown fur with grey streaks covered him. All our eyes changed from their original colors to pure black.

Right as the howl stopped, the first of our pack emerged from the trees, all in wolf form. The full moon hadn’t reached it’s high point yet, but we stayed in wolf form anyway, enjoying the freedom of being dogs, or in the girls’ cases.... well, a word that’s beeped out on TV shows.

Though we had a wonderful time, we didn’t know how bad things were going to get.

That was the first night of the nightmare that is now my life.