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“Oh, right. You need to get dressed first.” He chuckled and stood. They both left and I slid into my underwear and pants. My insides felt gooey. I wished I had a tissue to wipe with. I straightened my shirt and headed out. I wandered down the hallway towards the receptionist desk. Had it been a right or a left? Every six feet there was another exam room door. How many doctors were within these walls? There were ninety recruits. Could they have invited nearly one hundred doctors to join our recruiting class? How many times had they done this before? It was newly opened for non-shapeshifters, but had the shapeshifting women been put through such scrutiny? When I made it back to the receptionist, I found a few familiar faces milling around in the lobby. Man they worked fast.
“The doctor told me to come to you. It’s Catalina.”
She smiled and typed a few words into the computer. “Ah, yes. Catalina. You and Vivica are due for orientation. It starts in fifteen minutes in the bathhouse.”
“How do I go back to the bathhouse?” All of these cabins looked the same on the outside but were completely different on the inside.
“Just go out the doors and ma
ke a left, keep walking down this row until you get to the end. It is the last one on the left.” The last one on the left. It seemed like all I did was to enter the end buildings and ignore the ones in the center. What were the center buildings for?
“Thanks.” I waved to some of the other girls and swung open the doors into the bright sunshine. Birds chirped from every direction. Puffy, white clouds were visible from the clearing. The forest surrounding us seemed to be full of life.
A few men played soccer at the far end of the clearing. Their shouts floated through the clearing along with rays of warm sunshine. Wind blew strands of my hair in different directions, tickling my cheeks. It felt so good to be outside. Even though I had only been here two days, it felt as if we’d been inside forever. Strolling down the sidewalk that lined the cabins, I kept a leisurely pace. A whole fifteen minutes stood between training and I. It would be a shame not to use it. Every once in a while, a man would leave one of the center cabins. Were these the warrior’s residences? Perhaps that’s why we hadn’t been anywhere near them. I kept my eyes on the men playing soccer. Most of them were shirtless. All of them were muscled, tanned, and fast. They looked like they did nothing else with their lives but exercise. If they looked this good from far away, what did they look like up close? They continued to run back and forth chasing a ball with such passion. They acted as if that game was a life or death situation. Some people didn’t live with that much passion, let alone play with it.
Sex was the only thing in my life that I felt enthusiastic about. When I was a child, I used to feel excited about magic and potions. In fact, I wanted to become a healer. Where had that all gone? For some reason, I’ve been stuck for the last few years. Never putting down roots, simply going from bed to bed. It wasn’t easy being a nomad. It was exciting at first, sure. But now it was simply par for the course. Having nothing, building nothing, not getting attached, this was the code that I now lived by. Did I still want it? It was supposed to make me feel free. However, now all it made me feel was tired. I looked up and saw that I’d made it to the end of the street. Orientation here I come.
-8-
When I made it into the cabin, I looked around for Vivica. Had she finished and made it here before me? I should have waited for her. The desk at which Kara had previously greeted us was empty. The lobby was darker than I remembered. Was I in the right place? Maybe they were in the shower room? I walked behind the desk to the entrance to the shower room. Low voices emanated from within. I guess Vivica was here after all. I pushed through the doors and found myself face to face with Kara and a young man. He stood almost a foot over Kara. His tank top exposed his well-defined shoulders and arms. Arms that looked as if they’d been cut from marble, beautiful and ethereal at the same time. His face was covered in a manicured beard, just messy enough to still be rugged. On his bottom half were unassuming sweatpants, almost as if he was on his way to the gym or from a nap. His face split into a wide smile and he extended his hand out.
“I’m Arkan. It’s nice to meet you.” His hands were rough and strong. Our hands clasped for a few seconds longer than the usual human greeting. Arkan’s eyes never left mine.
Kara spoke up. “You’re on time. Finally. Although I can’t say the same for your friend. I wonder what distractions she’s gotten herself into.” I glanced at the clock on the wall. I’d failed to notice that last night, but I was quite busy with Vivica. It was nearly one.
“Did you ever actually tell us a time? I don’t remember that. I think you just said after our medical appointments. Maybe hers is running over the normal time.”
“Nice try. Humans went in first. She should have been here before you. Maybe she’s talking to someone.”
I really hope not. There could be a lot worse out there than Ava. A door creaked in the distance. Please let it be Vivica. Please let it be Vivica. The door opened to a flushed and sweaty Vivica.
“I’m sorry. I’m here.” She brushed her hair back and smoothed it with her hands. Her face was flushed, and she was breathing hard. Had she been running? Or something else…
“Okay. Well, now that you’re both here we can get started. Vivica, this is Arkan. He’s going to be giving your orientation today. I’ll be assisting.”
Vivica held out her hand to Arkan. He closed over her hand with both of his hands. “I love humans. I really do. I spent some time amongst them. They are very kindhearted.”
“I like to think so.” Vivica smiled warmly.
“Okay, well let’s get started. I want you both to take showers and to get clean. Shapeshifters are very particular about hygiene and I will tell you why – our sense of smell. Because we are highly integrated with our animal selves, our senses are heightened. That is one of our greatest strengths,” Arkan paused for a second, “and weaknesses.” He winked at me. “Do either of you have any idea why heightened senses would be a weakness?”
Before I’d learned to control my empathy, it was quite distracting. “Could your senses get in the way of your cognitive processes? Like for example in the way of distraction or sensory overload?”
“Yes. That does happen. For example, we might be sitting close to a smell that drives us crazy. Something that we can’t resist or even begin to understand.” I could feel the warmth of his amber eyes on me. He inhaled deeply. Purposefully. “What are some other reasons why enhanced senses would be a problem?” Arkan turned towards Vivica.
“Um…well it might be difficult to sort through all of that information at once and prioritize it.”
“That is also true. Our senses can tell us to stop and act, when we really should be doing other things.”
I checked to see if I could catch Arkan’s eyes again, but he was keeping his head down.
“So, you want us to shower so we don’t distract you?” I giggled. I wondered why they had showers available in different areas. I didn’t even think about that.
Arkan cracked a smile. “Something like that. It’s also a part of your orientation. All species have different hygiene standards and bathing frequencies. It might seem like a small detail to you, but it is a huge benefit to us if we can get this square off the bat. If someone doesn’t like the way we do things around here, they will know in the beginning.”
“I think that sounds fair. I don’t mind another shower. How about you Vivica? Are you up for another scrub?” I stuck out my tongue at her. She smacked my shoulder.
“Are you trying to say I stink?” Actually, I was trying to send her mind back to where I was licking her in the shower, but okay sure. I’ll be a thirteen-year-old boy.
