Percy's POV

Glancing over I see Thomas' wolf showing off it's simple grey fur with a black spot just under his chest, forever earning me a smile as it's always comforted me knowing that it's him and not another grey wolf. Yasmine however most definitely stood out from the bunch, her wolf was completely rose coloured almost complete to match with her now wolf eyes.

My wolf wasn't anything special but a pitch black tone to my whole body, ending off with a grey tipped tail. I've always had that piece of my tail a different colour but, over the years I could have sworn its decided to extend further up my body for whatever reason. If I were to guess it was from the time I got the smart idea to bathe in the sun as my wolf...yeah doesn't sound too smart now that I'm thinking about it. Realising Chris has already darted off with his group we decided to split up and begin the short outing.

Running off with my small pack of pups hearing them almost chirp away like birds while attempting to jumping over twigs and rocks made me bring a wolfish grin to my face. While we can speak in wolf form, it isn't really effective for communication, almost as if a wolf tongue wasn't meant to shape certain words humans speak out loud. "Here...we stop" I managed to speak out, grabbing the attention of the pups following me who were very clearly out of breath. The forest wasn't nesseciarally pitch black but it definitely wasn't the easiest to navigate or see through, only leaving a few curtains of light between the trees that overcast the sky from our view. "Scared?" a pup I think was called Kevin, spoke out to me.

"No...why?" - Percy

"Wolf" - Kevin

"Yeah, Wolf" I said, thinking he was confused for some reason

"No, not Wolf" he says, tilting his head maybe unsure of his own words but still looking deep into my eyes

"Kevin...what...do you mean?" as I stare into his blue tinted eyes, suddenly feeling uneasy

"Wolf"

"I...don't understand" I try again to comprehend what he means but ultimately to no avail, as he turns his body to me suddenly startled by a bird flying away. 'Hey Crest, you're listening out for us too right?' referring to my inner wolf 'Hm nope, get out' he says nonchalantly as if I disturbed him in the middle of something...did he just tell me to get out of my own head? 'I thought our subconscious wolves were meant to communicate with us but this lazy ass pile of fur actually just rejected me like a piece of trash.

'I'll allow you off this once, just keep yourself alert please' - Percy

'no' - Crest

'Are you being stubborn cause I haven't let you take control for a while now?'

'no'

'Okay then why with the attitude?'

'Oh look! they're shifting into adorable balls of naked flesh, go dance along now thanks' He exclaims, with the most sarcastic tone a wolf could muster. And god forbid I made him pull a muscle trying to move to do something, oh the horror. But he was right in that all the pups I was given are ready to shift, I was both excited and horrified since this is their first shift back into humans they probably won't want to turn back into wolves for a long time considering the pain of this first shift.

All pups have naturally black or white fur that later on changes as they get older, which makes me think how Yasmine's developed to such an unrealistic colour for a wolf-I'm letting my mind wonder, I need to be focusing on these pups and their soft whines of pain.

"C'mon guys just a little more, I know it hurts, please just bare with it for a little longer" I attempt to encourage them hopefully to distract them even for a second. Fully prepared to cover their bodies with the towels I've been carrying in my mouth I wait patiently for their shift to complete, remembering my first shift was somewhat easy? I think I'm recalling it right. But it was apparently due to the size of my wolf not being far off from my human size, almost as if my wolf didn't change much from a human when normally bones extend and snap to reposition themselves through the process. Saying this I was pretty small all through my life so maybe that had an influence on it too...now I'm rambling again 'You're just scared to remember what actually happened' Crest speaks out finally.

'I remember it perfectly' - Percy

'Yeah you do' - Crest

'Clearly you remember it better than me, so explain'

'no, bye' I felt him roll his eyes with that comment alone but I saved myself the headache and came back to reality to notice the cute little...yeah no I can't fake it, I don't like human infants and seeing their baby fat making their faces look all pouty all the time albeit, it's a funny sight. Smiling to myself at the sudden thought I remember to toss the towels out for them so they can cover themselves. "Perrrrr let us ride youuuuu" one of the children ask out, and I had to explain it's too dangerous cause their grip was too weak as they're not used to using their muscles as a human.

Much to their displeasure they had to walk the way back to learn how to use their new legs and infant toes, some had the smart idea of walking on all 4s and faceplanting the dirt, god do I respect the creativity but it just wasn't working. "Hold...onto me" I spoke out, "Okay" they said in unison as they each grabbed a bundle of my fur and began walking along with me far more easier. It hurt for sure but there wasn't much I could do to encourage their learning.

'Run' - Crest

'What?' I ask in response

'I. Said. Run'

'Crest you're like the personification of anxiety" or whatever the wolf version would be for that...wolfification? I laugh to myself in response to my stress levels rising...totally the reaction we need at the moment.

'The pups are going to die because you're being an idiot, FUCKING RUN PERCY!' Crest's voice near breaking at the sudden increase in volume that makes my head ring.

"Pups...we race...yeah?" I try to distract them as best as I can. "YEAH!" they scream in unison, of course they'd agree. "Since you're...all...much faster than me, follow...trees with...yellow band, it leads you...to home" I explain in a hurried pace. "3, 2, 1 GO, I'll...give you...a head start!" as I see them all scatter off as best they can still remaining in a group coordination luckily. However Kevin stops to look behind me "Red. damaged. pain" He calls out in an almost trance like state when suddenly a blood curdling howl shakes my body and then Kevin becomes alert again and proceeds to follow the other kids without any questions.

I take up a defensive stance with my two front legs apart and my body aimed low at the ground, we were taught to always strike for the throat so having an arched body both protects your throat and allows for an easier kill...guess it's time to put that to use. In the distance with a body covered by the shadows of the trees I see two glowing eyes, it spots me and without any hesitation begins bursting towards me in thirst. It's eyes clearer to me now as they shift from blue to red back and forth shaking it's head in frustration and slamming into a nearby tree causing it to shake, until it finally stops and stays at a dark musky red fully decided on the intent it was about to make.

"Please...not here" I plead to the obvious rogue trying to avoid this fight but, there wasn't a response and instead blood from it's leg came running down it's paw. 'Could that have been from another fight or did it bite itself?' I wonder to myself. Then suddenly the smell of blood completely fills the air making it near unbreathable, as the earlier tree headbutt caused a gash in it's head. Drunkenly swaying up to me looking barely conscious, the wolf leaps into the air at an attempt to take my life. My fur starts to flux with a grey tint in reaction as I begin to hold my breath preparing for a burst of flames to defend myself but in return...nothing came out. 'CREST PLEASE!' I call out to my wolf knowing he's better at using this form than me, the wolf laches itself onto my ear refusing to let go, I feel useless, powerless knowing that I'm near nothing without my abilities as a Daybreak member. Swapping out with Crest I fall unconscious as my vision turns black, only hearing the sounds of crunching and snapping which I can only assume to be the environment breaking from the fight.