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Hands linked, they ran up a small hill, and without even thinking about it, Kade launched himself into the air instead of running down the other side. Mermae copied him, and the three of them floated to the ground.
“What! Wait! I flew!” gasped Iain. “Again. Do it again.”
At top speed they ran up the short hill and launched themselves off the summit. Working with Mermae, Kade turned them back in the direction they needed to go, and let them float. When an updraft tickled his legs, he launched into it, Mermae copying him instinctively, but Iain helping as well, and they floated higher and higher, twisting and turning.
Gripping Iain tightly, Kade gave directions to Mermae, and they showed Iain how much fun flying could be, flipping him over and over, tumbling on the breezes, flying back and forth as the whim took them. Finally they dropped much lower and Kade said, “I’ll be right here, but I’m going to stop holding on to you. I want to see if being with Mermae is enough to make you fly, or if it’s only when the three of us are linked.”
Kade made sure to stay within arm’s reach of Iain, but unclasped his hand. Iain wobbled, straightened up, and then flew.
Mermae let go too, and Kade watched panic flash across Iain’s face, then joy as he realized he was truly flying by himself.
“Catch this current,” said Kade, letting the air taken them higher.
“Over here,” called Mermae.
So they played tag in the currents, back and forth, up and down, but with enough of Kade’s brain remaining connected to keep them away from the boundaries of the property, and over the uncultivated areas.
For the next half hour they flew, and Kade’s heart almost burst with joy at the happiness on Iain’s face. Okay, he may not have formed a werewolf family, but they were truly connected now, whatever the hell they actually were.
When they dropped to the ground, Iain shook himself and turned back into a wolf, then transformed again into human form. “Wow. I don’t know how that works, but now I’m both. Stand perfectly still and think “wolf”. See if you can transform as well. If we can all do both forms that will be the best thing ever.”
Kade had never even thought of that. Quickly he stood still and pictured a wolf like Iain, only with sandy-brown fur, the color of his own hair. He thought hard, willing his body into wolf-form but nothing happened. He looked over at Mermae, but she was still human too.
“Okay, it evidently doesn’t work like that. There’s two of us and only one of you, so it looks as though you got our genes, instead of a complete transferral both ways,” said Mermae.
“I can still hardly believe I can fly. I’m sorry you can’t both be wolves, though. But at least now when you fly I can come too.”
“Do you think it only happened because it’s Halloween? Or do you think it would have happened anyway?” asked Kade as they started to walk back to the cabin.
“I have no idea, but I like it.”
“It was a Halloween gift to us,” said Mermae firmly.
****
They talked until late in the night, and Iain even jumped off the table a few times, just to prove to himself he really could glide to the ground instead of falling flat on his face. But eventually they fell asleep in a tangled, sweaty pile of limbs. By the time they all woke up and showered the next morning, it was well toward mid-day, but they still went for a walk to the creek, and then to the grassy area where’d they formalized their commitment.
“I’ll never forget this place. I can’t thank Dwyer and Nelson enough for letting us be here. It’s so very special,” said Mermae, hugging both her lovers.
She felt a few tears lurking in the corners of her eyes, but refused to cry. It was just that she was so excited and happy for Iain. Now they truly were one, even if she wasn’t a wolf.
Over lunch they told Dwyer and Nelson a bit about their thoughts for their own future. Mermae hoped the two wolves wouldn’t feel threatened. She had no intention of harming their business. “I was thinking we could grow some kinds of herbs, or maybe lavender. Lavender has a lot of uses, in perfumes, soaps, potpourris, and so on,” she explained.
“I’ve talked to Kalman at the Botanical Gardens a few times. I was thinking we could likely grow seeds for endangered plants. Apparently some thieves came there, stealing the most valuable plants a year or so ago,” said Kade.
“We’ve talked to James Jewel, the Head of Horticulture, a few times. There’s a worldwide project to produce seeds for endangered plants so they can be grown in safe environments, such as the Botanical Gardens. He’s asked us if we’d participate and we said yes, but we need more help here if we’re going to do that,” said Nelson.
“Don’t answer straight away, but you’ve said you’re thinking about moving to a farm. This one is properly set up. We’ve got plenty of space in the greenhouses to expand production, and with closed circuit TV at the gate and around both houses, and the electric fence, this farm is about as safe as we make it,” said Dwyer.
Mermae said, “But it’ll take us years to learn agriculture properly. I’ve been checking online and there are a few courses I’d be happy to do, but until then, all I’ll be able to do is help with paperwork and maybe some manual labor in the greenhouses. I wouldn’t have any great knowledge to share with you.”
But inside she felt a flicker of happiness. First, Iain could fly. Now it seemed there could be a way for them to learn about farming without having to take on a huge debt first.
“Help with the paperwork would be wonderful. I spend far too much time doing it,” said Nelson.
“There are also other things you could be doing while you’re learning. Either as wolves or people, we have to check the fence-line constantly to make sure there are no plants or underbrush growing too close to it. A few extra pairs of eyes and legs would be great. I’m going to put in an automatic warning system to tell if there’s been a breach, but I haven’t even ordered it yet, and even once it’s up and running, we have to prune back the bushes and so on,” added Dwyer.
Mermae couldn’t stop a huge smile spreading across her face. She looked over at her partners. Kade was beaming too, and Iain was almost bouncing up and down in his chair. Oh yeah sure, they needed to do a lot of talking and planning. They’d need to build a house of their own for a start, and then learn the horticultural side of their job. But it sure seemed to her as if their problems were about to be solved.
