Silent Heroes: Wildcat

Chapter 25: Self Control

I wasted no time putting my plan into action.

The next day, I was up bright and early.  I had run straight across the entire village and back, climbed up and down the spiral staircase in the courtyard and lifted weights in the gym for half and hour before Jewel had even opened her eyes. 

When we got to class, i was more than prepared for Deanna's version of shifter boot camp.  I threw myself into every exercise, sprinting around the room a full speed, blocking all outward distractions.  I did sit-ups and pushups until my abdominal muscles were crying out in protest and my arms felt like limp, over-cooked noodles.  (no small feat, for a shifter with almost unlimited energy).  I performed squats and lunges until my lungs burned and my vision blurred with sweat.  I was more driven and focused than I had ever been in my life.

To the wildcat, this was pure bliss.  The restless anger it had been feeling  since the encounter with the horses simply melted away.  It was feeling so calm and relaxed that it actually curled up in the back of my mind and went to sleep.

“All right, everyone!” Deanna said, while we ran about our millionth lap around the room.  “Eyes on me!”

We all stopped at random points along the floor and turned on the spot, facing her like a well-trained army.

She was quiet for a moment, standing with her feet shoulder-width apart, hands folded behind her back.  “We’re going to change things up a bit.  I want you all in cat form.  I’m going to run you through some control exercises.”

What? I thought.  Control exercises?  As in, she was going to test our ability to keep the animal in check?  I wasn’t sure if I was ready for that yet.  What kind of exercises was she talking about?  Did she have a mouse or something hidden up her sleeve?

Around me, everyone began to shift form.  For just a few seconds, it felt like a hurricane was tearing through the room.  Huge gusts of wind struck from every direction.  Flyers came loose from the walls and skittered across the floor.  Exercise balls bounced and recoiled off each other as if thrown by invisible hands.  My hair swirled crazily around my head.

When it stopped, I was surrounded on all sides by huge cats.  I still wasn’t used to the sheer size of them, the smallest big enough to rival a male Bengal tiger, the largest big enough to saddle and ride like a horse.

They came in all different colours.  Rich, chocolate brown, golden yellow and solid bluish-grey.  Many really did resemble over-grown housecats.  A handsome black and orange tortoise shell lounged near the back wall.  A fluffy ginger tabby sat close to Deanna, long tail curled around his legs. 

The one standing right across from me had extremely long, snow white fur and emerald green eyes.  I assumed that was the blond I had briefly mistaken for Danielle.  The cat on her right was silver-grey and flecked with gold, ears tufted like a lynx.  The one on her left was speckled black and white like an appaloosa horse.

“Eve,” Deanna said.  “Is something wrong?”

I snapped back to attention.  The astonishing beauty and variety of my classmates had left me momentarily distracted.  “Umm, no.  It’s just that… I’m not sure I’m ready for this.”

“There aren’t any horses for you to chase up here, Eve.  Don’t worry.”

I did not find this particularly reassuring—there were a million other things that could go wrong—but I couldn’t very well refuse to participate.  I brushed a few stay hairs out of my face and closed my eyes, focusing on the animal inside me.  The change happened instantaneously.  I barely had time to blink before my transformation was complete.