"A kid? There was a kid in your dream?" Shannon asked, feeling flabbergasted. After all, this world was not a kind one any more, even more so for a child. Shannon was worried that, if it was just like the prophetic dreams that led Nat to her, what this kid might have seen and gone through up till now.
Natalie then explained what she saw and experienced in the dream. As she did, Shannon's face became increasingly pale as more was revealed. It definitely felt like the prophetic dream she had before after all, especially with the line asking about help at the very end. After hearing all of it, they both sat there in silence for a good few minutes. Natalie waited as Shannon started to think on this. This must have been what made her not go over to the coyotes first thing this morning. Which was entirely fair, as it was a lot to unpack. However, one thing that they both agreed upon was the fact that if it was true, they did not want to stay idle for too long. Agreeing to revisit the issue while they were travelling, they started to move about and help with cleaning up their camp.
Thankfully, by the time they started helping get stuff packed away, the shifted canines had already dealt with almost everything. That turned out to be an added benefit of having everyone shift, as setup and cleaning times had drastically been reduced. After all, instead of carrying everything with their jaws, they now had hands and arms. They were able to lift, carry and manipulate more than they ever had before. Now everyone was starting to understand exactly why Kali and Maia stayed in their shifted forms as often as they did. They were just so hand-y.
Once everything was squared away, all except for the current three that travelled outside with the two women went back into the Soulscape. Scout was willing to give his spot up to Bryden, but the wolf had insisted on staying inside the Soulscape for the time being. Apparently, he had been getting pretty far with farming, and was wanting to do his best to learn how to do it better. He was setting up a bunch of different fields, with different access to different things such as water, shade, light, anything that could perceivably make a difference. He was going to try growing wheat in each one, and see where it both did the best and tasted the best after it was processed. That made Natalie start up a new list, of things that they would need to get for when the canines different projects bore fruit. Or well, in this case grains.
As the five started heading up the road towards Red Deer, Shannon finally had to ask, "So, what is the plan for the kid?"
"And what makes you think I have a plan?" Nat responded. None of the usual mirth was there, just an exasperated sigh that showed how exhausted her mind was.
Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.
"You mean to tell me that you spent all of that time thinking about that dream, about that kid, and you still don't have a plan? Bullshit."
Nat shook her head and let out another weary sigh. "No, I don't have a plan. Sure, I have ideas that could be used, but I do not have a plan that will work. After all, everything we would try to do either has to be done with the consent of the kid. Otherwise, we would just be kidnapping them." silence carried on throughout them. Shannon had not thought about that angle after all. If the kid did not cooperate with them or behave in a dignified manner, there was no chance of any plan that they made up working. If they just kidnapped him, they would constantly have to deal with the kid fighting them and trying to escape every step of the way, even if it meant drawing monsters towards them.
As they walked in silence, everyone still did various exercises like they had the day before. After all, they were proving to be working given by the light soreness that pervaded their bodies. Thanks to the extensive amount of stretching that Shannon had them do, all of their muscles were limber and loose, leading to their muscle fatigue and soreness the next day to be minimal. As long as it was not hindering their motion, the group felt no problem in continuing to do the repetitive but strenuous motions. After all, Kali and Maia wanted to continue being right beside Nat as they traveled. Scout kept up with it for a far different reason. His mate was larger and stronger than he was, so he was working on getting stronger in an effort to be able to keep up with her for once. He only had about another week and a half before she finished nursing and weaning their pups, then she would be joining in the process of working out. He planned to use that time to get as much of an advantage that he could.
While Nat mindlessly moved her body in the same way that she had the day before, she shifted her attention into the Soulscape. Now that the six coyote pups were weaned and joining in with the physical training, thirty of the other forty pups were soon going to be ready to join in as well. She went through, taking a look at progress, and saw that many were already wandering around, eating small bits of meat, and generally getting more motion into their lives. Seeing this, she remembered the fact that smaller breeds take longer to reach this point, and with coyotes being smaller than wolves and wargs, those other pups caught up to them in no time. Chances are, she would have to shift them all either tonight or tomorrow morning, as they were at a point where they and their mothers would finally be able to join in. Even the three that joined them at the zoo seemed to be at a similar point. Their mother Ariel was one of the canines she had not really interacted with at all, but she seemed as adamant as the rest of the group to get stronger. It might have had something to do with why all of them wanted to become stronger and more capable, to help protect their newfound family.