Druidification

The rest of the day was slow and easy. None of the group outside spared any time to working out, just so they would be ready should another fight break out. There was no point in going looking for them, but they could not run away easily right now should one come to them. Not with the kid that Shannon was carrying. Thankfully, the route that the highway ran through the rest of the city was just like 17 Ave down in Calgary, not many buildings, with a fairly spread out plan. It was just easy walking, with mostly desolate roads. There was the occasional semi that was stalled out along the road, but they did not even bother checking for anything useful. Every single one had a similar look to the tourist center they had left, completely torn apart and gutted. Either the people were not considerate enough to duplicate anything, or more likely they just did not know or possess the ability to do so.

By the end of the day, they had left Red Deer and passed through Blackfalds without any incidents. Spirit ran around the entire time as a forward set of eyes and an advance guard in case any monsters noticed them. Somehow, by the time they were setting up camp to the west of Lacombe Lake, the pup still had plenty of energy and was still moving. Thankfully, his mortality peaked through, as he had finally started to slow down. His breathing was heavier, and he was not making as good time, but the fact he was able to keep going was mind boggling, especially to Shannon. There was just no way someone normal should be able to run that much and only barely get exhausted. Even when they checked on him using the energy vision, it did not look like he had been using any.

As they were setting up camp in another grouping of trees, Nat decided to check Spirit once more. She had checked when the sun was at its peak, and she had not been able to notice a drain. However, now that he was starting to feel exhaustion, something may have changed. As she fed energy into her eyes, she did her best to remember what his energy looked like earlier. It turned out to be a completely unnecessary gesture, as one could immediately tell that Spirit's battery was coming up on empty. Where there had been a large bunch of energy inside of him, just like any other wolf, now sat small wisps. He must have been using energy this entire time to help fuel his desire to run.

Once she saw this, Nat filled Shannon in on what was happening. Agreeing that tests were necessary, they first asked Spirit if he knew what he was doing. When the pup looked visibly confused by their words, they knew that he had been doing it subconsciously. Then, having got a base line of data, they had him go in and out of the Soulscape to recharge. Not only did he seem to be far more energetic then when he went in, but all of his exhaustion had apparently disappeared. The energy seemed to have similar effects on him that it did to Nat when she was flowing it through her system. Upon watching him as he started to run around, they noticed something that they had forgotten about earlier. He was standing still when they first examined him, which obviously would not have any sort of drain. As he ran, they saw the energy diffuse through his entire body. Not as a veil or through blood vessels, but completely filling up his entire form. As if there was a second version of him there purely made of energy.

That was it. Lightbulbs went off in both of the observer's eyes as they realized the implications. Both of them were only applying partial knowledge and theories onto the use of the energy. They were treating it as something foreign, something different. Something that they had to control to be able to use. All it took to debunk everything they thought they knew was to watch a wolf pup run around with a smile on his face. This was not going to be easy for them, as they had to completely change their way of thinking before being able to replicate the effects. They were trying to control the energy, when they just had to let it fill them entirely.

When this was brought up to the other canines, it took them no time at all to adopt Spirit's method. They did not have any medical knowledge or pre-existing thoughts on how their bodies worked after all. They just moved their bodies when they felt well, and stayed stationary when there was pain. When this happened in front of their eyes, both Nat and Shan looked at the crowd of shifted canines with jealousy in their eyes. After all, all of them felt fine moving about, and were doing more and more strenuous activities without worry. Sierra, as an example, went from barely able to do fifteen push-ups, to now doing well over fifty and still not having any issues. Until the two women were able to put aside their knowledge, they would now permanently behind any of the canines in stamina or strength.

Thankfully, they still had the superiority in dexterity. Watching the canines attempt to do delicate motions, such as making a tower out of cards was incredibly cathartic for the two. Years of medical training and experience had finely honed what work they could do with their hands, giving them the temporary advantage. After all, Scout and Mike were both getting better at using their hands quite fast. Sure, they could barely get the first level done without it falling over, but it was far better than anyone else. Maia was visibly frustrated as she tried to get two of them to lean up against one another.

As everyone else tried to get more coordinated, Shannon started work on dinner. After the day they had, she felt better about where everyone was at, especially after every canine easily picked up what Spirit was doing. Feeling like making some pleasure food, she made up some mac and cheese with hotdogs cut into it. A throwback for her, as it was one of her favourite meals as a kid. As the smell of hotdogs filled the camp, the kid they had rescued finally started to stir. This whole time, their hands held onto Shannon's clothes. She hadn't tried to remove them, as she felt it would be better for whenever the kid woke up. As their head tilted up to look Shannon in the eyes, a rumbling was heard from their belly.

Huge thanks to my Elder Wolves Selvaria, Viktor, Saganatsu, Eeleater, John, Jacob, Onean, Neal, Sebastian, Ethan, Sir Hellington, Adam, and Kevin for supporting me and my writing! Remember that I keep Patreon ten chapters ahead at all times. Our next goal on Patreon will be getting up to 50 patrons, which I will then spend more time each month writing some side stories and shorts that show other perspectives throughout my stories!

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