Efraim let them go back to the cafeteria for lunch. He came with them, which was all at once odd and strangely comforting. William hadn’t seen Efraim eat before and knowing that the man was going to eat somehow made him seem more human. They ate their lunch in silence for the most part. William’s body was sore but in a good way. He was in pretty good shape already but these new techniques and work outs that Efraim had been making them do was putting a strain on his lean muscles. Efraim sat across from them at the same table. The four of them took their cues from him. He didn’t seem to be in any rush and so they all took their time.
When they had finished Efraim got up and deposited his tray. William and his other three pack members dropped their trays off as well. William watched Efraim go back behind the counter and disappear around a corner in the kitchen. Shrugging his shoulders, he followed his other pack mates outside. Efraim emerged a few minutes later with a sizable box. Efraim didn’t say anything. He walked past the four of them and led them away from the cafeteria back to the large cave where they had trained that morning.
Efraim placed the box on the ground off to the side. He turned around to find the four of them watching him. “What are you waiting for?” He stared at them waiting for them to do something. William felt a little stupid for not knowing something that Efraim obviously expected them to know. Efraim folded his arms across his chest. “Get out of those clothes and change into your werewolf form, now.” His quiet overly patient voice was more intimidating than any shout that William had ever heard. William ripped off his shirt and then he saw Katherine do the same. He couldn’t help but turn away slightly just as she was doing. The small gesture went without criticism by Efraim. William yanked off his shoes and pulled down his pants and underwear in one fluid motion and as he stood up, he saw out of the corner of his eye Katherine undo her bra. He closed his eyes and found the void. Floating there he knew that he had changed. When he opened his eyes, he was back to his werewolf form. Katherine had made the transformation as well.
William turned just as Aceso and Achelois were walking into the massive side cave. Ares was behind them. They were still in their wolf form. William nodded to the three newcomers and they simultaneously melted into shadows. A moment later they emerged from those shadows in their werewolf forms.
“Now let’s see how much you remember from this morning.” Efraim said.
For the rest of the day the six of them, with the help of Ares, Efraim ran them through the obstacle course and practiced their maneuvers on the large empty buildings behind it. At first William found his larger werewolf body to be a little awkward. He was faster and more agile but having to squish through some of the smaller holes that in his human form were easy for him was frustrating. After a while though he mastered some of the things that he had been able to do that morning and the obstacle course became fun again.
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Efraim showed them how to scale a building using the two-man technique. He was paired up with Katherine and they faced each other in an alleyway. They gripped each other’s hands above their heads. Then they slowly placed a hind claw on the wall behind them. Placing a lot of pressure in their grips they slowly backed up the wall, one step at a time. It was hard work, even in werewolf form. Their grips were shaky, and they had to constantly readjust and reposition their arms and hands. They made their way up the building, pushing against the wall and each other. William and Katherine were almost horizontal as they continued to climb. One of them slipped and they fell crashing to the ground from the three feet height that they had managed to gain. They tried several times but even in werewolf form they couldn’t seem to get any higher than about four feet.
They heard a familiar howl erupt through the large cave. They all stopped what they were doing and went back to the front of the obstacle course. William had never been sore or tired in his werewolf form, until today. Every muscle in his body hurt. His shoulders and arms felt like they would never be able to lift themselves over his head. Groaning and massaging different body parts, the six of them emerged from the obstacle course to find Efraim sitting behind the box that he had brought from the cafeteria.
Efraim didn’t waste any time but starting throwing things at the six of them. William got a large sack bean him right in his gut which produced a soft grunt. Nicolas was tossed a rather large bag filled with large round objects. William walked a little closer to Efraim and sat down on the padded ground. He opened his bag to find an assortment of foil wrapped balls. He took one out to find that they were still warm. Without thinking he instinctively handed out the balls to his other pack mates, while tossing one to Efraim and Ares.
It turned out that the box Efraim had brought contained all sorts of bags like the one he and Nicolas had got. The meal proved to be a premade barbeque potluck, kind of. He got potatoes, Nicolas got fruit, Katherine got carrots that had been roasted with butter, and Aceso got large chunks of meat. The eight of them ate their meal in good humor. The food was passed around and everybody ate what they could. After they had finished Efraim collected all the trash and put in back in the box. He stood up wiping his hands with a towel that had come from the box as well. Efraim tossed the towel back in the box and gestured that the rest of them stand.
“Now we see if you were really practicing today or just goofing off.”
Efraim pushed them through the obstacle course, over and over again timing them each time. William had the thing memorized but it didn’t seem to help. Even with the pack bond that he and Aceso shared he was unable to move any faster. His whole body was sore and even though he could still feel energy, his muscles were all used up. He wasn’t used to these kinds of movements.