It has been to long since my last post my friends. Forgive me.
I want to share a journey. Not your normal story of a trip through the physical world we traverse day to day. No, this will be a passage into the astral. Come with me, run wild with me, follow me as I Chase the Moon.
I can feel it coming. The waxing moon turning full. The energy building. The anticipation as I prepare for my transformation. Not a transformation of a physical nature. The opportunity to sluff of this tattered, slowly failing body I am chained to through my waking existence.
The sunlight fades over the horizon. Darkness falls. For a brief few minutes the black envelopes everything, gaining weight in the silence.
I use this calm to slip into a meditative state. My breathing slows, becoming metered. I begin to open the energy points through my body. My aura flexing in time with my breath, timing the release of the energy I am building to coincide with the first liquid silver rays of the full moon rising. Brilliant white light explodes out of my minds eye. Detaching my higher mind from my body. My spirit knows where it is going. This isn't our first journey. The world blurs as I speed to my destination. Then I feel them. My pack. They understand, they are waiting.
The feeling is exhilarating. Pulled into my new form, my spirit anchors itself to the mind already inhabiting this body. We have done this before, the switch is almost instantaneous. He gives over completely, he is the primitive mind to my higher conscience.
I am free.
Almost without thought the first cords of a howl, deep, melodic, pushes it's way from my throat. One, then two follow in chorus. Breaking the silence of the night the whole Pack joins me in our song. We are fifteen individual grey wolves. Not a large pack, but strong. The Alpha cuts our song short. There are protocols to follow. He is the leader. I am welcome by his grace alone. I must show that I understand. I take a posture of submission. He approaches. A guttural growl emanates from his chest. The whites of his canines are evident, glistening in the moon light. I bow low. Tail curling around my hind legs. A slight whimper rolls out from my mussel. This is what the Alpha needed. Slightly nipping at me he brushes his entire length along my body. All muscle and strength, He turns his back to me. Proving He doesn't view me as a threat to His leadership.
Now the Alpha begins his own song. One by one we add our voices to His. Chilling, mournful. The song doesn't last long we have work to be done tonight. Still the rest of the Pack takes a moment to welcome me back. I use this opportunity of camaraderie to remember this body.
Sleek, muscular. Big even by grey wolf standards. My coat oddly reminiscent of my physical hair color, brown grey. Vibrant blue eyes take in the night. Seeing things in the dark my human eyes could never perceive, sharp clear images in the moon light. My ears pick out the sounds of rodents slinking through the foliage. I can identify every member of the Pack by scent alone, and still pick out a multitude of scents of the woods. The decaying leaves kicked up by our movements, the crisp water flowing through the nearby stream.
Then it happens. I notice I am not the only skin walker riding the Pack tonight. She is black, a shadow, green luminous eyes watching me. This revelation has hit us both at the same time. I have been running with this Pack every full moon for months, She is new. I can feel her surprise. Does She feel mine? Is She a natural skin walker? Does She think this merely a vivid dream? Or is She a practitioner, a witch like myself? I move closer, She steps away, unsure. I try to project a feeling of welcome as I get closer. She stops backing away, allowing me to get close. I rub my side along hers, taking in her scent. I can smell the magic around Her. Witch. Strong magic emanates from Her. I let my defenses down allowing my magics to slide along Hers. I feel Her whole body shiver in recognition. You are welcome here, you are safe, we will take care of you. She licks my mussel, I feel the smile form along my jaw line. She understands. Instantly trusting me to watch over Her and guide Her through the night. This is Her first Running. I can hear Her voice in my head, Her human voice. I stop using canine language and speak to Her in my own voice.
"Welcome"
She wags her tail. A smile forming along Her own mussel. Together we walk over to the rest of the Pack.
Suddenly the energy shifts through the Pack. Something is changing. It is time. We feel the Alpha draw us to him. It is about to begin. Muscles tense, ears peak. The Alpha raises his head into the slight breeze. As one the entire Pack follows suit. The scent is almost instantly picked up. Our quarry is near but on the move. We must be swift. We must move in unison. We know our part to play, every individual working towards the same goal. The Alpha snorts and we are off. We break into two groups. The Alpha heads up the ridge line followed by half the Pack. I bound off towards the stream with the other half. She is right beside me. We cover ground swiftly. Weaving our way through the trees. Reaching the stream I leap across the width of it in a single fluid motion. Landing on the other side, softly barely a sound emanates through the forest as one by one I am followed by the rest of my half of the Pack. Flowing through the trees instinctively we pursue our prey. The pure predator mind takes over. One goal firm in our minds. To the left I hear the first call of our Alpha. We are closing the gap. We break into smaller groups. She is still right beside me as we head towards the center of the smaller groups. Then the scent changes. Fear. They know we are coming. Good. Fear tastes good to my predatory brain. I pick up the pace.
In the distance I can hear the first of the Pack reach our goal. They start to push the quarry harder. Beginning the long game of wearing them down. Working the weak from the rest of the herd. A howl from the Alpha signals a change. The next group takes over the push. The rest of us take up our positions and slow our pace to conserve energy for our turn. I pick up the full scent now. Elk. I haven't even seen them but I know that smell. The next group takes the lead. Quickly I catch the call of the Alpha. We have a target now. An individual elk has fallen from the pack. Another call. It is our turn.
A burst of speed and seconds later we see her. She is old. Weak from an injury received early in the chase. With a low growl we split taking positions on each side of her pushing her towards the trap. The Alphas' group already ahead of us. Silent in the dark. We take turns nipping at the elks hind quarters weakening her further. Suddenly the elk kicks out. I see the new skin walker stumble from the glancing blow. Wincing when I hear Her yip in pain I break off, letting the third in our group continue the push. Then I hear Her voice.
"I am Okay. Startled. Go!"
I am off. Back in pursuit. Barely missing a step I am back on the elks side. Almost vindictively I lunge at her and take a hard bite to her foreleg. She stumbles. That is the Alphas Que. Bounding out of the tree line ahead of us the elk startles and hesitates. We converge on her. The impact is loud in the still of the night. The Alphas jaws clench down on her throat. She cries out. The force of our bodies force her down. The smell of fresh spilled blood fills the crisp night air as the Alpha tears at her throat. The smell whips the rest of the Pack into a fevered pitch. She is finally dead when the rest of the Pack arrives. We wait our turn as the Alpha feeds first. Growling to confirm his dominance he eats his fill. When he backs away we move in. The fighting for the right to feed next is violent but relatively just a show. I am next, it is my right as the Beta male. The blood is hot on my tongue as my teeth tear into the flesh. A wet ripping sound fills my ears as I pull the meat from the carcass. My teeth are strong enough to crush the rib bones.
I see Her. Our new skin walker watching me feast on the kill. I tear of a large piece of flesh and carry it over to Her. Dropping it at Her feet I look at Her, smiling licking the blood from around my mouth. She seems unsure. I bend down, pushing the offering towards Her with my nose. Giving a little whimper I look back up at Her. She bends down tentatively. Takes a small bite. When the blood hits her tongue She involuntarily starts wagging her tail. I understand. She wasn't sure She could take it all the way to the feeding. Now the instinct takes over. She eats Her fill.
Soon the Pack is satiated. Happy sounds fill the night air as we rub against each other. Licking the blood from one anther's faces. The Pack begins to bed down, close together. She comes near to me, my new friend. Settling down with Her head laid across my shoulders. I hear Her voice in my head again.
"Thank You. Same time next full moon?"
