by Robin Roseau
"No can do, it's not mine to wager."
"Fine, come up with something of that size. Lara, come with me."
I got up from the sofa and led the way into the basement, Lara following behind me, and we turned into a storage room located under the living room. "I figured you would freak if I grabbed these myself." I pointed. "Under that shelf, taped to the bottom near the front."
Lara crouched down, her fingers fumbled, and she found the knife I had stored there. She pulled it out.
"Hang onto that." I pointed out six other knives, three more in the storage room and two in the basement bathroom. "Okay, let me see which ones these are?" I looked through them. "Some of these are crap. We need a couple more." I led her into the wine cellar. "You can't reach these two," I said. I fumbled around and pulled out two more daggers, still in their sheaths, and handed them to her. "Okay, we're good."
"What are we doing with these?"
I smiled and turned to the stairs, Lara following me, her eyes narrowed at me in suspicion. Once we were upstairs, I asked Lara to put the knives on the coffee table.
"All right," I said. "These are all steel blades coated in silver. A couple of them are crap, but the rest are decent. Who is in?"
"Not me," said Vivian and Francesca simultaneously. The other four eyed me.
"Okay, Elisabeth, please pick the five best blades based on likelihood to do the most damage from the silver."
"This is stupid," Lara said.
"Yeah yeah. What are you wagering?"
"I don't know what the competition is."
Elisabeth sorted through the blades, pulling each of them from their sheaths. She rejected the same two I hadn't liked, declared the other five roughly equal, although she thought one was the worst.
"Lara, please verify that you agree with Elisabeth: that blade will cause the worst silver burns." So Lara looked through them and agreed with Elisabeth.
"I concur as well. That one is mine then. Everyone else pick a blade."
Shortly, the five of us were each holding a silvered blade.
"All right," I said. "Now, just to show you silver burns me the same way it burns you." I laid the blade against my bare arm for several seconds. There wasn't a dramatic hissing sound or anything like that, but I could feel it burning.
Lara snatched the blade away from me.
"Oh for crying out loud," I said. I pointed to my arm. "Are we agreed silver burns me the same way it burns you?"
"Yes," she said. "You are doing a fine job convincing me you're crazy."
I looked at Elisabeth. "Is what you did to Lara yesterday morning worse than the burn on my arm?"
"I am vowed to secrecy," Elisabeth responded immediately.
"Oh please, was it worse?"
"Yes."
"Lara don't talk to me about crazy. Give me my blade back." She reluctantly handed it back to me.
"All right, I was actually thinking we should all just break an arm, first one healed is the winner, but I don't think I can break my own arm, I don't think Lara would break one for me, and I think she'd kill anyone else who did it."
"Damned straight," she said.
I was the only one who laughed.
Vivian was the only one not looking at me like I was insane.
"So here is my idea. If you don't like it, then come up with your own. You guys are the big macho wolves, after all, and I'm just the timid little fox."
"Timid my ass," said Elisabeth.
"We're going to tightly clasp the blades in our hands, tightly enough we start to bleed. For how long? Scarlett, how long do you think you could hang on?"
"I don't know. Fifteen seconds."
"I can last five minutes," I said. "I'd go longer, but I haven't done this in a while, and I don't know how good my control is to manage the silver poisoning."
They stared at me. "No way," said Lara.
"Once we're done holding the blades, we heal the damage. First one healed to nearly indistinguishable is the winner. It doesn't need to be entirely gone, but healed and healthy. Vivian to judge. You are betting against me, only. I don't know if this is one wager or two. Lara, can you hang onto your blade for five minutes?"
"Yes, but the poisoning is a lot worse than you just suggested. You are insane."
"You're the macho wolves. Figure it out."
"One minute," Elisabeth said. "Hold your blade for one minute."
"I can't," Scarlett said. "I know I can't."
"I'm not sure I can, either," Angel said.
"All right," I said. "You two come in after thirty seconds have elapsed and hang on for as long as you can. If you drop yours early, that's okay. Are we agreed?"
"Our burns won't be as bad as yours," Scarlett said.
"I don't care," I said. "Maybe I am crazy."
Lara was clearly getting upset, but Vivian remained calm, and oddly, so did Francesca. The latter stood up and said, "I will get towels and everything we need to rinse the silver. It will take me a few minutes."
"I just need a bucket of water," I said.
"For crying out loud, Michaela! Rinse it properly!" said Lara.
"Angel, can you summarize what I hate most about Lara?"
"That she doesn't trust your judgment."
I smiled sweetly at my lover.
Francesca was gone for several minutes, then she called Scarlett and Angel to help her. Once they were in the kitchen, she assured them they didn't have to do this. I listened in.
"Michaela is our friend, and she needs our help," Angel said. "If this is how we can help, we will."
"It's going to hurt," Francesca said. "And if you don't flush the silver, you're going to be sick for days."
I didn't hear if there was a response, but soon they helped to carry out towels, large bowls of water, and several large sports bottles with more water. We could use the sports bottles to flush our cuts. They passed everything out then everyone sat back down.
"Francesca is right," I said. "You two don't hold your blades so you get cut. I don't want you getting silver poisoning for this. You can take the silver burns, but don't let it get into your blood stream."
"But-" said Scarlett.
"Do it my way."
She nodded.
I looked at Elisabeth. "Hold your blade for a minute, then first to be basically healed, Vivian to judge. What are we wagering?"
"I can't give you your house. I can pay you fair market value for it, however."
"No, I don't want your money, think of something else. Lara?"
"This is stupid."
"Lara, you will let me be on top for sex whenever I want. It won't be very often, but it will be sometimes. Biting your neck is permission to flip us over though."
That earned some chuckles.
"If you think this is stupid," I added, "and that I don't stand a chance, this should be an easy wager. What do you want in return?"
"I want out of my promises from earlier," she said.
"Not the cage one. No cages."
"All right. Not the cage one."
"Scarlett and Angel?"
"A major favor," Scarlett said. Angel nodded.
"All right. We're wagering major favors. Unless I really am crazy, mine is more valuable than yours right now, but I guess that's okay."
"Do you want something else?" Angel asked.
"No, major favors is perfect. Elisabeth?"
"I want your throat back."
"Just to you or to all the enforcers?"
"Just to me."
"All right. And I want yours, once, after the wedding, in front of the entire pack. A little fox throat isn't worth the head enforcer's throat, although the alpha's mate carries a little weight."
She thought about it.
"If you think you're going to win, this is an easy wager, Elisabeth."
"Agreed."
"All right," I said. "This is not down to the second on the healing, or anything like that. If Vivian says it's close, then it's close. These bets are too large to tr
ade over a few seconds difference. I either win or lose by an appreciable amount, as judged by Vivian. Close is a tie. Everyone agreed?"
They all nodded.
I smiled. "All right, get ready." I arranged my towel over my lap and picked up my dagger in my left hand, holding it by the handle. Everyone else did the same thing, but they were all going to hold the blade in their left hands. Lara glanced at me and switched her grip to match mine. "Vivian, say go, and then tell the girls when to join in."
"Ready," Vivian said. "Go."
Lara, Elisabeth and I each grabbed our silvered dagger blades by the blades, squeezing tightly, and after a few seconds, blood was oozing out between our fingers.
I smiled sweetly. Elisabeth and Lara were both grimacing.
"Shit," said Scarlett. "She's smiling."
"Crazy people do that," I said with a grin.
It hurt of course, it hurt like hell. I could feel my hand burning, but I sat there and smiled.
"Thirty seconds," Vivian said. "Girls go."
They each grabbed their blades in their left hands, and Scarlett immediately hissed, but she held on. Angel's expression wasn't far behind Scarlett's.
"Fifteen seconds left," Vivian said. "Ten." Scarlett dropped her blade.
"That's fine," I told her. "Start healing."
"Drop your blades," Vivian said.
Angel and Elisabeth immediately dropped their blades. Lara and I continued to hold ours. I looked up into her eyes. "I love you. Make sure you let go before you'll be too poisoned to enjoy me tonight. The rest of you start healing, we'll catch up. Don't wait for us."
"Damn it!" Lara said, and she dropped her blade. She swore some more.
"Enough, Michaela," Vivian said calmly. "You made your first point."
"Oh, not yet," I said. "Francesca I should have asked for a scrub brush, I'll drop my blade when you get back here with one."
I never saw her move so fast. She was gone fifteen seconds, and as soon as she was thrusting the kitchen scrub brush at me, I calmly dropped my blade into my lap.
Everyone else was already rinsing their hands, flushing the traces of silver from their system. Elisabeth was hissing, and Lara's mouth was pulled tight. I smiled sweetly, looked down at my hand, and imagined the silver that had crept into my bloodstream was crawling back out, dripping into the towel with the blood that was still dripping. I dipped the scrub brush in the water then began scrubbing my hand, smiling.
"God, this hurts!" said Scarlett. "It's still burning."
"Rinse it good," I told her. "You can have my sports bottle if you need it."
I scrubbed my hand, letting the blood drop in big drops to the towel in my lap. Then I rinsed it in the water, scrubbing it some more and flexing my fingers.
"I think I'm good." Scarlett began stripping out of her clothes and began her shift. Angel was right behind her, and then Elisabeth.
I looked at the burn on my left arm and watched as it healed. I looked up. Vivian had seen me do it. No one else noticed.
"Good god," she said.
I hadn't stopped smiling. "Vivian, please make sure I'm not a danger to the pack."
"I don't believe you are, but you're damned scary."
I turned to my hand and concentrated. I watched the cuts heal, a little more silver pushed to the surface. I scrubbed it away with the brush.
Lara shifted to wolf while sitting on the sofa, then shifted back. She stared at her hand. It had stopped bleeding, but the silver burns were still prominent.
I looked back at my hand, concentrated on the burns, and they faded. I held my hand out to Vivian. "Tell me when you are satisfied. It will stay red for a day or two." Then I looked at my hand, concentrated, and it healed just a little more.
"The fox won," Vivian said, "Unless Lara can show me her hand and it is healed."
Lara was a wolf. She shifted to human and held out her hand. The silver burn was still prominent. I held mine next to hers, and she stared at the difference.
"Finish healing," I said quietly. "I have a story to tell."
* * * *
It took Lara another four more shifts and ten minutes before she was healed as much as she was going to without just letting nature take it's course. Her hand was still bright red, and it probably hurt much like a sunburn might, but she was fine. Elisabeth and the girls took longer, due in large part to the time it took them to shift into fur and back.
"Lara, are you afraid of me?"
"Oh, Little Fox," she said. "No."
"Do you still want me?" I asked.
"Yes!"
"All right, can I cuddle with you while we wait for them?"
"Oh honey," she said. "Of course."
We sat quietly for a while, waiting for our friends to finish healing as best they could.
"I don't understand," Lara said eventually. "A concussion laid you up for days."
"I'll explain."
"But-"
"Patience," I said. I smiled. "You know, I wonder if my drinking tolerance has changed."
"Please don't pick today to find out," Lara said.
I laughed. "All right."
I dozed a little. It was a warm day, and Lara smelled so good. I didn't sleep, I don't think, but was just very relaxed and happy.
Every time I looked at her, Vivian was watching me. I finally asked her, "Are you afraid of me, Vivian?"
"No. But I wonder what other surprises you have."
"Well, I am still very brittle, and I understand I am considered quite the shrew."
Vivian laughed, then she noticed my expression. "Who called you a shrew?"
"Hadley Smith."
"Ignore her," said Lara. "You are a bit excitable, but not a shrew. You are sweet and everyone loves you."
"And you are biased."
"True," Elisabeth said. "But this time she's right."
"Well, thank you. Are you biased, too?"
"Yes," said Francesca. "She is. But it's true."
I laughed. I looked over at Elisabeth. "Thank you, by the way."
"For what?"
"The recording of Lara talking about me."
"You are welcome."
"May I have a copy?"
"Of course. I already emailed it to you."
"And I have the one of you talking about me," Lara said. "I love you, Michaela."
"Good. How's your hand, Elisabeth?"
She held it up. It looked ugly. I held up mine, and from where she was sitting, she couldn't see the slight redness. She narrowed her eyes. "Let me see your other hand." I laughed and held up both hands for her. "Unbelievable," she said. "Did you really burn?"
"She did," Vivian said. "She was burned at least as badly as Lara, and it was probably deeper. She held the knife much longer."
"I was healing it while it was burning," I said. "So it was not as bad as Lara's. I took more damage, but I healed it at the same time. Speaking of which." I turned to Francesca. "Could I be terribly impertinent and beg some food?"
She laughed. "Yes. I'll bring a platter of something."
"I could eat almost an entire quarter chicken," I said. The wolves chuckled. For some reason, that joke never got old for them.
Scarlett and Angel finished healing about the same time. They got dressed and showed their hands. They were red and ugly, and I imagined very sore, but they were healthy and would heal over the next few days. I showed them mine in comparison, and Lara showed hers as well.
"Vivian," I said. "Would you be willing to use the phrase, 'kicked their asses'?"
She laughed. "That's not normally the phrase I might use, but I admit it has a certain amount of accuracy in this case. The fox won by a distinct margin. She healed more completely and in significantly less time."
"All right," I said. "You two can write up yours promises to me later. I'll be hanging onto them for a while." I sighed. "I sure wish I'd had them banked this morning."
They laughed.
Francesca returned with a platter of food and sent the girls in to
collect everything else. They also took the remnants away of our recent demonstrations. Soon we were all munching on a little something, and I thanked Francesca profusely.
"I don't eat a lot at a time," I explained. "But doing that takes a lot of energy. Thank you."
Scarlett and Angel returned for beers for everyone. I waved mine away, sticking to lemonade.
"All right," I said. I looked at Lara. "I promise, I didn't remember. If I had, I would have told you this. You deserved to know."
"It's okay," she said.
"I gave birth to twin kits three days after my nineteenth birthday." I looked around. "This is a real good time for anyone to leave who can't handle it."
They all stayed, but I shoved Lara over further on the couch and invited Angel and Scarlett to sit on my other side. I turned to Vivian. "I have this story and one more I need to tell, and I do not promise I won't ...um. Hit the insane switch."
"You won't," she said. "But if you do, we will take care of you, Michaela."
I nodded.
The Kits
I was living deep in Canada at the time, well north of Ottawa, deep in Quebec, about two hundred miles west of the Hudson Bay. It was a deeply isolated location. I had spent a few weeks with a group of foxes near a place called Lac Cibougamau several months previously, but I had my nightmares back then, and they reluctantly asked me to move on. That was when I conceived my babies.
I had spent much of the intervening months as a fox. That part of the world is not very hospitable, and even my thick fox fur had trouble. But I was searching for somewhere I could be safe, and once I knew I had kits coming, it became even more imperative I find a place I could raise them. I had only three criteria: no wolves, ample game, and a hole in the ground I could call home. Nothing else mattered. And yes, that was the correct order.
I thought I had found the right place. And I probably had, by and large.
The kits arrived right on time. I spent the days prior to their births preparing, making a warm den, using the skins of other animals to make it homey. I had food stored, and in the cold, it lasted a long time, although it could be difficult to chew. I had to bring things into the den a day or so before I wanted to eat if I wanted it to defrost. It was often easier to hunt for fresh game, but as it drew closer and closer to the birth, that became increasingly difficult.