Chapter 26: Bond

After Leona left, Ezekiel and Belle said they’ll follow her and left me alone on the roof. I don’t know what she’s upset about, I thought she got WAY stronger. I shrugged and went back into Ms. Clare’s apartment. When I got there, she had her hands buried in her face so that meant she must’ve been sad. I rushed inside and knelt down in front of her, “Ms. Clare! Are you alright? Are you sad? Do you need a hug?!” I asked worryingly. She lifted up her face, “What?” She responded, “I’m not sad, relieved is more like it. I was just on the phone with Buck and he wanted to apologize for him running off as he did.” “It’s understandable,” I said, “What else did he say?” “He wanted you four and I to meet him at his place. Where are the others?” “They left, so it would just be you and me.” She nodded and the two of us got ready; Mr. Buck had given Ms. Clare his address, so we’d drive over there.

Once we got there, Ms. Clare knocked on the door, and Mr. Buck opened it. “Hey, guys.” He said and told us to come inside. Mr. Buck’s house wasn’t like Ms. Clare’s apartment. It was a normal house that a family would live in; wooden floors, a large ceiling fan above, a long brown couch, and a T.V. not AS big as Ms. Clares but not small. The air smelled nice and everything felt….calm. I didn’t know how to describe it, but the smell just made me feel light. “You guys can take a seat if you want.” He said, and we sat on the couch. He sat on a leather chair, “Let me just start by apologizing. It wasn’t right for me to react the way I did; especially without hearing an explanation from you.” I looked at Ms. Clare to ask her what to say, but she responded for us. “I understand your reaction,” She said, “When I first met Ferral, I had similar feelings but I knew he was harmless.” “Is that right?” Mr. Buck asked, “Well if it’s alright with you Ferral, I’d like to see you as your true self.” “True self?” I responded confused. “He means in your animal state.” Ms. Clare said. “Ohhhh. Alright then.” I stood up and transformed; my arms getting covered in fur, my wolf-like feet bursting out of my shoes, and my tail busting through my pants. It was always annoying to transform when I wore my normal person clothes because my body grew which would always result in my clothes ripping.

“Wow. That’s something,” Mr. Buck responded, “Just like that, huh?” He got up and looked around my body, “Does it hurt? I mean, you’re growing ears on top of your head with claws on your hands, so I would assume it be kind of painful.” “A little,” I responded, “But you get used to it. Plus, I think we’re only supposed to do it when we get into a fight. The adrenaline would make it so you wouldn’t feel the pain.” Mr. Buck and I both sat back down. “Aren’t you going to revert back, Ferral?” Ms. Clare asked. “It’s too late, I already ruined my clothes and shoes.” “I can go back to the apartment really quick and grab you something.” She responded. “Oh you don’t have to do that, I’m fine.” “It’s okay, I don’t mind. I’ll even pick up some pizza on my way back, how does that sound?” She looked at Mr. Buck. “You don’t have to do that, I was actually going to order some over the phone.” “Nonsense, if there’s a place a few blocks from my apartment. I insist.” Mr. Buck scratched the back of his head, “Well, if you want. Ferral and I can do a little bonding, right mate?” “Sure! We can talk about……uh, stuff.” Ms. Clare stood up, “Then it’s settled. I’ll be right back then, mind your manners Ferral.” I nodded, “Right.” Ms. Clare walked toward the door and Mr. Buck went over to open it for her.

It was just me and him now. Wonder what we should talk about? Mr. Buck walked over to me and sat on the couch, grabbing the remote that was on the edge and turning on the T.V. “You watch sports, mate?” He asked. I shook my head, “No, I usually watch the animal channel. But I know what sports are.” “So you know what rugby is then?” I scratched my neck, “Uhhh, yeah. That’s the one where the person throws the ball and the other catches it….right?” He chuckled, “You just described eighty percent of sports.” He flipped through the channels until he stopped at people running across a….field! Yeah, that’s what it’s called. “This is rugby, it’s a popular sport in Australia. I actually was part of my college’s rugby team. I was the full-back.” “Really? Wow, that’s….um, cool.” I chuckled nervously. “Here…” He got up and jogged out of the living room and into the hallway. When he came back out, he was holding a ball exactly the same as the one they were using on the T.V. “This is a rugby ball, my aunt bought for me as a going away present when I came here to live here in Central City.” He tossed the ball to me and I caught it. I looked at it, it was the shape of a long egg and had these bright colors on it. “Let’s go outside and I’ll show you how to throw it.” I tossed the ball back to him and we went outside to the front yard.

“Alright, are you right-handed or left-handed?” Mr. Bucked asked. “Uh…both?” “Really? Huh, well you can use your right hand for this, okay?” I nodded. “Now, we’ll be about ten feet apart.” He walked back a few steps, “You wanna hold the ball with two hands, having your left hand underneath the ball and place it on your right hip. Then turn your upper body toward the person you’re throwing to. Next…”

There sure are a lot of steps just to throw a ball.

“...you toss the ball, keeping it at hip height and horizontal. And, this is the hard part, you spin it.” He threw the ball, making it spin really fast. It came right at me, so I lowered my arms and caught it. “Wow, that was pretty fast. You’re pretty good, Mr. Buck.” “Heh, it could’ve been better. I’m a little rusty, I haven’t played in quite a while. Now you try.” I nodded and followed every step he said but when I threw it, the ball went upward. “That was a good first try, but you have to keep it straight. Try again.” He tossed it back to me, and I tried again. This time it wobbled in the air instead of going straight. I tried again, and again….and again. On my tenth try, I finally threw it right. “I did it! YES, I DID IT!!” “Good job, mate. Now let's see if you can do a little back and forth.” He threw it back to me and I threw it perfectly back. It was like after that tenth attempt, I instantly remembered how to throw it right. We continued to play catch until Ms. Clare came back. It was fun, bonding with Mr. Buck…it felt like something that was missing in my life.