“Just like when you open the earth above your head or you are dressing yourself, you must pay attention to detail. I will have an image in my head. I want you to take that image and study it from every angle. Put it in your head and make certain you see it all. You are good with details, Elisabeta, meticulous about them, but anyone, when they are eager to try something, can get overexcited. Take your time. Eventually, even shifting will become automatic to you, but this is the foundation and it must be solid.”
Ferro waved his hand, covering the ground with a soft, furred mat, and sank down, drawing her with him. She faced him, closing her eyes, concentrating. He felt her moving in his mind, finding the small Western Screech Owl. The owls mated for life and almost always used tree cavities to nest in. During courtship, the male called to the female with a song, and when a lady accepted him, they sang back and forth in a duet, getting closer and closer until they found each other. Throughout the various seasons of the years, the male continued to sing to his chosen lady, as he intended to sing to Elisabeta.
The Western Screech Owl was particularly fierce when it came to protecting its nest and young, as he was certain his Elisabeta would be in spite of the fact that she thought herself timid. He didn’t want her fighting vampires at his side. He would definitely forbid such a thing, but he wouldn’t want her to be so terrified that the creatures could easily kill her and their children should he be away. Knowing her, he doubted if that would be the case. She was beginning to see her power, and although her voice might bring peace, he knew he could teach her to use it as a weapon.
“Look at the facial disk. Note every feather. The colors. Pale brownish gray. The lines are subtly dappled and darker in waves. The rim is very dark, not protruding much, with pale speckles along the edge. Because the eyebrows are slightly paler than the surrounding plumage, they do not show as well, but you cannot forget they are there. Take a good look at the eyes, Elisabeta. They are round, wide, bright yellow. You will be amazed at what they can see. The smallest rodent on the forest floor.”
She wrinkled her nose. “You are not going to make this so real that I am going to have to eat a mouse, are you?” There was a hint of laughter in her voice.
In spite of the fact that he was feeling a little anxiety over her first time at attempting to shift—it could be dangerous—he shared the moment of happiness with her. She’d had so few, and they were both learning.
“You will have to learn to hunt, but fortunately, it isn’t unusual for owls to miss prey, so that looks natural.”
“That’s a relief.”
There was such vehemence in her voice, he found actual laughter rumbling in his chest. She joined him before they both sobered, and he went over the details of the Western Screech Owl with her several times, just to make certain she had all the features stored in her mind.
Ferro was the most exacting taskmaster in the world. Elisabeta had successfully shifted into the female owl dozens of times, spread her wings, hopped around and shifted back without one mistake, only to be told to do it again.
The male owl called to her with his song. He sounded mellow and calm, just the way Ferro always sounded. Elisabeta felt the female owl’s immediate response, the pull toward the male. She wasn’t in the least annoyed with the male. She wanted to be with him. She hopped closer, singing back to him.
He spread his wings and took to the air, not high, just flying in a low circle along the ground, calling to the female to follow him. The female hopped several times, wings spread wide. Nothing happened.
Elisabeta turned what her lifemate said over and over in her mind. She was making the actual act of shifting and flying far too complicated. Ferro was telling her that in the form of the Western Screech Owl, she was the owl. She became the owl, and she had to be that female with all the instincts of the bird. She had to let go of Elisabeta just as she did when she entered another Carpathian who was in need in order to heal them.
