by Robin Roseau
"It is," Lara agreed.
"So tell her 'no'."
"I don't think so," Lara said. "There would be advantages."
"I think whether or not I learn to fly helicopters, I should learn to fly airplanes first. We can come back to this next year."
"I agree," Lara said. "Are you done now? May I please ravish your delectable body?"
I lay back against my pillow, putting a wrist against my forehead. "If you must," I sighed.
So she did.
* * * *
I called June in the morning before school. She laughed and told me she had been expecting the call; Elisabeth had called her last night.
"If she wants it, and the weather holds, I can get Angel her license before her classes start. Ground school begins tonight, seven PM in the school. Three hours a night."
"We're flying up to Bayfield Friday afternoon."
"Good. Your first flight is this afternoon at four."
I laughed. "So soon?"
"Yes." She paused. "Alpha?"
"Enforcer?"
"May I teach Benny to fly?" Benny was a human June was dating. He ran the boathouse in Bayfield where we rented kayaks. He and I had been friends for years. Years ago, Benny had caught me wistfully eyeing the kayaks leaving his boathouse.
"Did you want to try it?" he had asked.
"Oh, I couldn't," I told him. I'd been embarrassed; I very much wanted to try it, but I couldn't afford it.
"Can you swim?" he had asked.
"Yes."
He had studied me for a moment then said, "Look, my employee is sick today. It's quiet right now but it will be busy later. I'll teach you to kayak now if you'll lend a hand later."
We'd been friends every since. He was a kind, decent man.
"You haven't been?" I was surprised.
"They aren't my aircraft," she said. "He flies when we're together, but it's similar to the lessons you have been getting. Not formal."
"I don't know how much of Lara's money you're asking to spend."
"None," she said. "Other than maintenance on the aircraft. I pay the fuel I use but Lara doesn't charge me anything to use the airplanes. It's a very good arrangement for me, and I am careful not to abuse it."
"Lara said she bought a trainer," I pointed out. "Are you going to start taking that to Bayfield?"
"No. It needs to be here for you, Angel and Scarlett. Benny would come down here and learn in that airplane when it isn't being used."
I thought about whether I needed to defer this decision to Lara. I decided I didn't. If I was out of line, I would apologize and offer to pay for it.
"All right," I said. "Yes, of course you should teach him to fly. And invite him to pack play night this weekend. We're doing something that should be human friendly. Will we have enough space in the aircraft?"
She laughed. "Probably not, but he and I can worry about that."
* * * *
At dinner that night, neither Angel nor Scarlett nor I could sit still. A lot of hugs were thrown around; Angel and Scarlett bussed Lara right on the lips twice, much to my amusement.
"Thank you! Thank you!" was the general sentiment.
Scarlett and I both had received our first formal flight lesson. Angel went on an intensive course designed to complete her license prior to the beginning of classes; Scarlett and I learned at a more leisurely pace, each getting a one-hour lesson daily from June. With the exception of the first night with June, our ground school was done on the computer, and all three of us worked on that in the evenings, studying together most nights.
We had a great deal of fun.
* * * *
Friday afternoon arrived. It was a beautiful autumn day. We piled into two airplanes, Lara flying one, June the other. I sat in the back seat behind Lara, Elisabeth in front and Rory next to me.
I quietly talked to Elisabeth and told her, "No races. Lara is too competitive, and I don't want her straining herself."
Elisabeth grinned at me and said, "Yes, Alpha."
It was a short visit, only one night, but we made the most of it, staying on the water until sunset, then having dinner at the Rittenhouse. I got everyone out of bed early on Saturday, and we spent the day on the water. We caught a bunch of fish, including two large lake trout. When we got back to the marina, I eyed our catch critically. I had asked Elisabeth to tow me the last mile, which she thought was odd, but I'd cleaned the fish across the top of my kayak on the way back.
"There isn't enough for everyone tonight," I said. "But I want to share."
Lara chuckled. "I thought you might. You caught most of them-"
"I got one of the large trout!" Scarlett interjected.
"So you did," Lara said. "Will you share your trout with the pack tonight?"
She smiled. "Of course. As long as everyone knows which one is mine."
"That won't be hard," Karen said.
"It will be the fishy-tasting one," Elisabeth explained.
"Fish should taste like fish," Angel said in defense of her girlfriend. "Scarlett's fish will be the most flavorful." She turned to me. "Sorry, Michaela, but yours will have the most delicate flavor."
I laughed. "I'm sure you're right." I looked pointedly at my kayak. "I'm sorry I made a mess of my kayak. Thank you for cleaning it."
They both looked at me. "Whom were you talking to?" Angel asked.
"The two of you," I said. "I recall a certain wager lost."
"I think, Alpha," Scarlett said. "You seem to have lost track of the calendar. That wager was for a year."
I started swearing a blue streak. I never would have cleaned the fish across my kayak if I'd remembered; they weren't obligated to clean it anymore. The year had expired. Scarlett and Angel crowed at my discomfort.
"Mark this in your calendars," Lara said with a grin. "The fox out-foxed herself. Michaela, I believe this is a first."
I sighed. "Can I at least get a couple of big strong wolves to carry it for me?"
Still laughing, Angel and Scarlett grabbed my kayak and carried it to the washing station next to Benny's boathouse. That was when I realized the boathouse was closed up. When I looked at June, she said, "He's driving down. We didn't have room in the plane, and he wanted to come. He closed at noon, so he'll be there in time for dinner."
I turned to Lara. "Fix this in the future."
She grinned. "I am fixing it. Get your license."
Rory, Scarlett and Angel walked up to the house to pack the fish for travel. I spent the entire time they were gone sanitizing my abused kayak, grumbling at my own stupidity. I was good-natured about the ribbing I got, especially when the wolves took turns pointing out fish scales I had missed.
"Just helping," Lara said sweetly.
When I was satisfied, Elisabeth and June put my kayak away for me. I watched after them, sliding underneath Lara's arm. "Did you ever think you would see that?"
"What?" she asked.
"Me asking anyone to help do something I was able to do myself." I could have put my kayak away myself. I was certainly strong enough, although my size made it awkward to handle alone. But to a wolf, a kayak weighs nothing, and I had grown increasingly accustomed to letting the wolves around me handle things I used to do myself.
Lara kissed the top of my head.
"You'll stop me if I start to take anyone for granted, won't you?"
"I can't imagine that will ever be a problem, but yes, if you promise not to scream at me when I do it."
"If I scream, you can expect a groveling apology afterwards."
She laughed. "With good make-up sex?"
"Yes," I said. "With totally excellent make-up sex." I looked up at her. "Thank you so much, Lara."
"What did I do now?"
"Everything. But I was thinking of yesterday and today."
"Did you know the enforcers fought over who got to come with us?" she asked.
"Literally?" It was certainly a possibility.
"No," she laughed. "They played poker for the two op
en places. I understand there was a lot of grumbling that Elisabeth pulled rank."
"Serious grumbling?"
"No, no," Lara said. "Playful grumbling. Elisabeth hates when she has to decide which of us to guard, but when we're together, it's a simple decision for her."
The wolves cleaned the remaining kayaks and put everything away. Scarlett, Angel and Rory appeared in time to help haul their own kayaks up to the house. And soon we were on the ferry to Madeline Island where the airplanes waited for us.
* * * *
Pack play night had a good attendance that night. We had our normal group from the compound plus the parents of all my students. Vivian and Janice were also there. I hadn't seen Janice in a few weeks, so it was nice to get a chance to talk to her. We had become friends of a sort over the last two years.
Lara got pestered about the game to be played that night. "I don't know," she replied repeatedly. "Ask the fox. It's her game tonight." I refused to answer. Then I noticed Elisabeth taking wagers and I laughed.
"They're betting on what the game is?" I asked.
"Yes," she said. "And don't tell me, because I am making a wager as well." She handed me an envelope. "That is my guess. I wrote it before accepting anyone else's. You'll have to judge."
"Is there time for my wager, sister?" Lara asked.
I laughed. I had never seen either of them wager on the big pack wagers, just on the various games we played.
"I will be the final judge," I said. "But the two of you need to narrow it down," I said.
They agreed to that stipulation.
The fish was a hit. There was enough no one had to be shy, and we had fresh venison as well. The enforcers who had been left behind had organized a hunt.
Once dinner was over, we assembled in the courtyard outside the house I shared with Lara and a revolving, endless supply of other wolves. "All right," I said. "Has everyone made their wagers?"
Elisabeth hurriedly collected two more.
"All right," I said. "This is a team game. We're playing a twist on the tennis ball game."
We had been playing this game quite a bit. I didn't think anyone was tired of it yet, but by itself it wouldn't have been worth the build up the night had received. I could tell who thought they had won the wager, but I could also tell they were disappointed I didn't have something more clever.
"The teams will be myself as captain of team one and Lara as captain of team two. My team will be the humans here plus anyone twenty years old or younger. Lara gets everyone else. My team will hide our tennis balls."
I explained the basic rules for the benefit of those who didn't know. My team members would have ten minutes to each hide a tennis ball somewhere in the woods. Lara's team would have a half hour to find them. With smaller numbers we used half that time, but I wanted more time for a reason.
"Now, here are a few twists. We are hiding two tennis balls each, not just one. However, because there are a few more members on your team, Lara, I will hide four, and mine are medium favors, not minor favors. Each of the adults thus may find up to two tennis balls each, but you are obligated to come back here and record the first one before searching for the second one."
I finished the rules then turned to Lara. "Do you accept my game, Alpha?"
She looked around to the other adults. "We do."
"Now, to make it extra juicy, if either team is completely skunked, each member owes a major favor as passed out by the opposing team captain."
Lara laughed and agreed immediately.
"Lara, I have a personal wager with you. If your team finds fewer than half our tennis balls, you owe me a major favor. If you find more than half, I owe you a major favor."
She eyed me dubiously. "What do you have up your sleeve, little fox?"
I lifted my sleeves from my wrists, exposing my sheathed knives. That earned me chuckles.
She continued to study me. "I retract my last agreement," she said quietly.
The wolves drew immediately silent.
"If you skunk us, we owe medium favors, not major favors," Lara counter-proposed.
"All right," I agreed.
"As for this personal wager, did you have something in particular in mind you wanted for your favor?"
"Not a thing," I said. "I am just trying to sweeten the pot."
"All right." She closed the distance and spoke quietly in my ear. "If we find more than half, then I want your complete obedience on a future issue of my choice, and if three or four of your tennis balls are found, I want five completely accepted apologies." Sometimes it was hard to forgive Lara, but if she used one of the apology notes, I was obligated to forgive her on the spot, to the best of my ability. It was basically a get out of jail free card. From past experience, I knew Lara would end up using them.
"All right," I said. "But I don't know what I want that compares. You already give me anything I ask you for, but I almost never ask."
She smiled. "Will you let me surprise you with something?"
"You have something in mind?"
She nodded.
"All right," I said. "Whatever you have in mind to balance the obedience, and ten backrubs to balance the apologies."
She laughed. "Ten?"
"Apologies are worth more than a backrub," I said.
She laughed. "Agreed."
We kissed quickly then broke our huddle.
"Last two rules," I announced. "We will give the three humans a head start. And the finders will wait in the barracks while my team plans our strategy."
Lara laughed. "All right."
"We'll only need a few minutes," I said. I gave Angel the keys to my car and told her to retrieve the large gym bag from the back. She ran over, grabbed it and brought it back. I opened it up. It was filled with fresh cans of tennis balls. I passed them out complete with markers, telling everyone on my team to write down their names carefully. "Show them to the alpha when you're done," I said.
It took a minute or two. Lara checked that everyone had signed in permanent marker. I signed four balls for myself. There were a bunch of extra tennis balls left over.
"All right," I said. "Lara, take your team into the barracks and no peeking. We're going to discuss our strategy and then the kids will start to shift. I am sending the humans into the woods when the kids start shifting, and we will get you before they are done."
Lara collected her team and they all headed to the barracks. I clustered all the kids around me plus Michele Lassister, Benny, and Scarlett's father, Nick.
"All right," I said. "You guys can hide your own tennis balls however you want, or you can trust me."
"Trust you," they all said.
"All right. Here's what we're going to do..."
They were all laughing by the time I got done explaining. The kids all started shifting. I kept Angel and Scarlett in human form. I sent the humans into the woods carrying the remaining, unlabeled tennis balls still in the gym bag. "Stay together, we'll catch up with you."
Once the humans were out of sight, I sent Angel to get the adults. "Don't answer any questions," I warned her. It was a good thing, because Lara and Elisabeth were after her to find out why she wasn't shifting.
As soon as the last child had shifted, I told them to each pick up their two tennis balls. That was a challenge for the younger kids, but they managed with a little help. I collected my four and told Lara, "Howl our start please."
She immediately howled, and the kids and I all tore into the woods, heading straight for the humans. It took a minute to catch up with them. They were waiting in a small clearing for us.
I hadn't shifted to fox yet; I couldn't have carried all my tennis balls if I had. I told the wolves, "Everyone drop your tennis balls here then grab fresh, unmarked ones and go hide them. Hide them good." I kept Angel and Scarlett with me. In the gym bag were a couple of net sacks, and we shoved all the balls into them.
"All right," I told the humans. "Bring those along. Come on." I shifted to fox and ran to the first hiding s
pot. Benny handed me a length of cord, then Angel and Scarlett picked me up and threw me straight up as hard as they could. I shifted to human as soon as I was out of their hands.
Two adult wolves can throw a thirty pound fox exceedingly high, and I carried every bit of that momentum with me when I shifted. Don't ask me to explain the physics; it doesn't work out. I climbed higher as a human then dropped the cord, holding onto one end. Benny tied one of the sacks of tennis balls to it and I pulled it up after me, hiding it high in the tree. I dropped out of the tree as quickly as I could, shifting to fox at the end. Scarlett and Angel caught me and set me down exactly where they had picked me up. We took a left turn and ran to the next tree I had picked out. We repeated everything, and suddenly all our tennis balls were hidden. "Michele with me," I said. "Bring however many balls you can carry. The rest of you hide the rest of these, I don't care how carefully, just spread them around."
We tore off in different directions.
I left a semi-obvious trail to a tree, accepting a tennis ball from Michele. I stashed it into a tree. I did that several more times, and then we were nearly out of time. Michele and I tossed the last couple of balls into the woods, not caring too much where they ended. We headed for the compound together.
Everyone made it back to the compound in the nick of time.
I shifted into human and wrapped a blanket around myself. Michele had my clothes and laid them on the porch for me; I would dress later, after our games were over. Lara knew I had something fishy going on, and she continued to study me. I smiled sweetly at her.
Benny had rolled up the gym bag and shoved it under his shirt. No one noticed. I sent Angel inside for paper and pen.
"All right," I said. "Is your team ready, Lara?"
"We are," she said. She, Elisabeth, Serena and Karen had remained human. I wasn't surprised to see Lara still on two feet, but I would have expected the rest to shift. They didn't do an immediate shift the way Lara and I could.
"Lily!" I said. "Howl the start for the searchers, please."
Lily raised her wolf nose to the sky and howled. The adults took off for the woods, four of them remaining human.
I set the kids to playing games around the courtyard. Scarlett and Angel organized it, each forming a team, and it sounded like they made some private wagers, but they spoke in shorthand with each other, and I didn't understand what they said. They both grinned at me when they caught me watching them.