4.2-Wild

“Candidates!” Theo yells in human form, motioning for them to gather.

After stretching, all the Candidates line up in their proper groups, with enough space to move. Everyone quietly looks to Theo and me for their next set of instructions.

“First, we lap the perimeter as a warmup,” he circles the map on display.

“Then we team up here to capture the flag!” I point to the wooded area just beyond the arena.

“Take down your opponent to stun. The flag is the kill.” He concludes.

“Yes, sir!” Shout the candidates in unison.

“Then let us begin,” Theo blows his whistle again, and everyone disrobes, then goes down on one knee when finished.

“And you may shift!” Theo yells once everyone is ready.

The candidates start to transform with some cries of agony. The sound is almost deafening as bones are breaking and resetting. You can hear the skin pull as their bodies stretch onto all fours. The fur erupts like a wave as the shift ends, with roars of satisfaction.

‘ATTENTION,’ I command over pride link to all the candidates.

Everyone snaps up, sitting to face us. We tied the bandanas around their left foreleg; Group A, orange, B, yellow, and C got bright pink, as that group had all female candidates, and D, Magnus’s group, got red.

‘Ready, Princess?’ Theo links and starts to take his clothes off. I turn and do the same.

Theo shifts first, still standing; he leans forward, hitting the ground. His hands turn into paws already as the rest follows. Once he was done,

‘Your turn, princess.’ Theo links.

I growl through the link at him, taking a step back to face the Candidates and begin my shift standing as well.

Not crying out in pain as my spine extends to form a tail and bones break and set along the way. The ground comes into view as I fall to it with my paws. I feel my skin hot and stretching, followed by the sprouting of my white fur—such a rush of sensation. Shaking myself out, the sun catches my coat, shimmering a beautiful purple, gray hue.

I roar up to the sky loudly, and everyone follows suit. A cacophony of primal sound erupts, and it’s spectacular.

‘LET’S RUN!’ I link everyone, sprinting to the arena exit first.

Theo is hot on my heels as we bound for the perimeter. Getting there quickly, I push faster and harder as my muscles need this release. I can feel the warmth of the sun above, and the air is crisp against my senses. The smell of animals nearby. As I stride along, they scurry away.

This is the best feeling; so savage yet freeing. I’m vigilant, weaving in and out of the tree line. The sound of my paws hitting the ground as I run free.

The run took us minutes, as the Island was only a ten-mile radius, so I doubled it just for fun. Along the route, there are obstacles and jumps to tackle, adding to the challenge of keeping up with me. When finished, we lightly jog back to the wooded area after the second lap to debrief.

‘You may rest for five minutes,’ I link the group.

‘Just five minutes, Princess?’ Theo sounds like an exhausted child, and I roll my eyes.

‘You don’t get a break Theo,’ I say, tackling him in his lion form.

‘Again, really,’ he replies.

‘Pay attention!’ I link everyone and show submission poses and killing blow maneuvers.

The Candidates watch as I take Theo out more than a few times. He finally relents, staying down after putting up a good fight. I won yet again.

‘Now it’s time for the rest of you to try taking out the other groups. Work as a team.’ I remark.

‘Yes, our Queen,’ everyone replies, snarling they are ready.

‘Huddle up,’ I commanded.

The groups disperse for a moment, and you can see they are pride-linking to each other plans and strategies. Only allowing them a few moments to converse, I link them again.

‘Get ready.’ I can see a few in sprinting holds, teeth bared

‘Now kill!’ I roar happily.

Lions, lionesses, along with wolves run about, tackling and snarling. The Yellow team is taken out quickly. The Orange team is in good form with only one Candidate down, and Pink is the same. Of the red, only two remain Magnus and another.

Magnus is now leading to attack a lioness. She tries to fight back, but he gets the upper paw. Overtaking her quickly was very impressive.

The skirmish takes a few more minutes before only Magnus and an orange candidate are left. Magnus leaps off a tree at the orange Candidate before he knows what’s happening. They paw box before Magnus snarls and pushes him into a tree for the win, stomping on his chest.

Claiming his flag, Magnus is now the victor of his group and the game. He stands proud and helps the orange Candidate to rise with his head. No hard feelings, simply good sportsmanship.

‘We’re done with this exercise, everyone,’ Theo says through pride link.

‘Let’s get back to the arena!’ I say as we run in shifted form back to our clothes.

‘Congrats, Reds. Magnus got you the win.’ I praise them through the link, and they roar in triumph.

‘Those of you who went out in less than two minutes will be getting extra training with me now!’ Theo chides through the link.

‘That was a horrid display. You know who you are.’ he concludes.

A few whimper but continue to the field. He channeled my father well, and even I shivered a bit running beside him.

‘It’s your turn not to scare the candidates, Theo.’ I say to him only, and he laughs at me in response. I hope Theo doesn’t channel too much of my father at them. Maybe I am going soft.

‘The rest of you may shift and retire for the day. Good job, everyone.’ I ring through the link to everyone.