Chapter Nine: A Gift Received


    Living on his own since he'd moved into his apartment shortly after graduating high school made Corbin no stranger to washing dishes or tackling any of the other routine chores required to maintain a decent residence, so he insisted on helping with the clean-up after brunch. Gale was prepared to refuse his help on the basis of him being their guest, but he scooped up a couple of plates from the table and followed Shade into the kitchen before she could protest. Lydia trailed behind them with more dishes and the four of them made short work of restoring the dining hall and kitchen to a clean, ready state.


    Corbin and his new found sisters reassembled around the table in the dining hall afterward, standing with awkward expressions as they contemplated how to properly spend the afternoon that was upon them. Corbin still harbored many questions about the parents and sisters he never knew, as his sisters still wanted to investigate his life further also, but Gale knew of a more pressing matter that she felt deserved everyone's involvement.


    "Corbin, I think it's time we discussed helping you with your gift," Gale said, turning beside Corbin to face him directly.


    Shade and Lydia became attentive at Gale's suggestion, but Corbin frowned at the idea since a terrible uneasiness accompanied the mention of his so-called gift.


    "Don't worry, we can help you to understand and control your gift. You don't have to be afraid," Lydia assured from across the table.


    "She's right. We'll have you in full control in no time," Shade contributed from beside Lydia.


    "Trust us, we know a little something about this," Gale remarked lightly, hoping to chip away at Corbin's fears.


    "I can't help but be afraid," Corbin admitted. "This thing inside me could hurt someone, and I could never forgive myself if it was someone I cared about."


    Gale stepped closer to Corbin, then said,"All the more reason for you to learn control, but fear not; the thing inside you is not malevolent. Once you embrace it as the part of you that it so rightfully is, then it will become obedient to your will, just as each of our gifts have."


    Corbin sighed heavily against Gale's push to explore his gift, but after scanning the imploring faces of his sisters around him, he resolved to accept their help. "Okay, so what do you have in mind?"


    A short time after asking the question, Corbin found Gale's answer to be him standing barefoot in nothing but a bath robe belonging to Shade next to the table in the dining hall, where the vast, uncluttered room wouldn't crowd his alternate form. He was beginning to shiver a little from nervousness  as he watched Lydia and Shade leave the room with instructions from Gale, who made her way back to him with such a graceful stride that she almost seemed to glide on the air beneath her feet.


    "Now don't worry Corbin, when you receive Lydia's vision, just relax and give in. Don't struggle against your gift and there will be no pain," Gale calmly advised.


    Corbin nodded with a second-guessing frown that brought Gale close to his state of robed trepidation with her warm smile. She studied his worried self silently for a moment with a cherishing gaze, then she raised her slender hand and caressed his cheek with it's backside. She hoped her gesture, which she'd wanted to do since the moment she'd realized who he was, would comfort his concerns.


    "Today is the beginning of something wonderful for each of us; you being here has restored our family, and when you receive the gift of your mother you'll start to understand just how deeply she loved you," Gale said.


    Corbin's resolve was strengthened by Gale's heartfelt counsel, his chest expanded with a deep breath of readiness that he confirmed with a more confident nod, much to Gale's delight. She turned to leave the room, and for a few long minutes after she left, Corbin steadied himself with the reminiscence of her touch.


    Soon, as they had planned, an image of Lydia crept into Corbin's mind. He closed his eyes to concentrate, but the vividness of her projection required little effort to believe. She was running down a dark corridor, breathing hard through terrified gasps and throwing frightened glances behind her. Corbin felt his heart speed off at the sight.


    Lydia ran until she tripped and fell hard to the ground. Checking behind her before she could pull herself up, she screamed at the presence of a shadowy figure that was suddenly upon her. When the figure reached out for her, Corbin's eyes opened and his body became tight with the power pushing from within. Reflexively he tried to contain it with a grimace, but Gale's instruction surfaced amidst a desire for relief and he fell down on all fours after scrambling out of the robe. With a grunted exhale he gave up the fight against the thing inside him, allowing the form of the Beast to emerge almost instantly, without any dramatic transformation.


    Corbin looked down at the huge, black clawed hands on the floor that were attatched to his fur-covered arms. He pulled himself up on his knees as he turned each of the hands in front of his snout to examine them. Lowering his hands, he followed them with his head until the sight of his massive, furry torso caught his attention. He brushed a hand against his broad chest and felt the sensation of the fur move as his hand swept it. Slowly he brought one leg out from under him to steady himself, then he used it to rise from the floor. Looking up at the iron chandelier hanging from the ceiling above, which was still out of reach though it was closer to his towering stature than before, he felt that the powerful legs under him could propel him to it with ease. 


    As he looked around the dining hall with keener eyesight than he'd ever known, he realized that Gale was right.  No longer did he feel trapped inside some other being with limited control. Letting the power of his gift overcome him without a struggle had made it's form his own. He felt his essence intertwined throughout the powerful body of the Beast. The two entities of Corbin and the Protector were now one, joined together with his mother's purpose; to watch over the ones they both loved.


    Shade peeked around the entrance to the dining hall from the hallway, with Gale tucked in close behind her. There they had waited while Lydia went off on her own to concentrate on her task of sending Corbin a vision that would trigger his gift. When Shade saw the Beast standing next to the sprawled robe on the floor, she looked back at Gale with a nod motioning for her to follow, then they both entered the room. The Beast noticed them immediately and fixed It's purple eyes on them as they wondered near, taking in the sight of their changed brother with breathless amazement as he stood still for their inspection.


    "Corbin?" Gale asked the Beast.


    An affirming nod of It's great head acknowledged Corbin's presence within, eliciting twin smiles from the sisters who exchanged equally pleased looks.


    "Told ya he was something else, didn't I?" Shade remarked to Gale with a smirk.


    "Indeed," Gale confirmed without taking her eyes from the Beast as she circled around to gain a complete view of the hulking, fur-covered, pointy-eared being resembling a massive black wolf standing on two legs.


    The echo of Lydia's racing steps filled the hallway outside the dining hall and took everyone's attention to the room's entrance as they awaited her arrival. She flew into the room, but came to an urgent stop with wide eyes and a fallen jaw at the towering sight of the Beast standing behind her sisters. She froze in astonishment before the presence of her brother's alternate form. 


    Gale walked over to her, amused at her speechless awe, and said,"Lydia dear, don't be afraid, it's Corbin."


    "Oh, I'm not afraid. It's just that he is...he is...," Lydia replied, stammering for the words that escaped her mind at the moment.


    Shade chuckled at Lydia's befuddlement, then said,"Yes, he most certainly is."


    The Beast went down on bended knee while It focused on Lydia, but was still much taller than anyone in the room. Lydia started toward the Beast with an affable stride and followed it's gaze through her two sisters to the kneeling, hulking figure that was still Corbin in her eyes. She looked up at it's bowed head, smiling fondly into it's soft, but deliberate eyes, then uttered,"You're gift is magnificent."


     The Beast lifted a hand, then gently stroked Lydia's delicate cheek with the back of it's large index finger. Her smile brightened, then she stretched upward to return the gesture on the Beast's fur-covered face, beside it's muzzle. Shade and Gale drew near behind Lydia, then the Beast acknowledged them with a roving glance as it extended it's arms out past Lydia to offer each of them an open hand. Without hesitation they both placed a hand inside the huge palms waiting for them, which then closed carefully around their hands with clawed fingers. Lydia turned around to face her sisters from under the looming shape of the Beast, and smiled happily at the union of hands around her. Gale and Shade smiled happily back. 


    When the intimate moment passed, Gale explained to Corbin how Gideon had informed them years ago of the abilities possessed by the Protector, so she suggested that Corbin and his younger sisters partake in a game of hide 'n' seek to help him exercise control of his gift while learning it's abilities. Unable to speak in his alternate form, he agreed with a simple nod while his two willing siblings consented with the eagerness of playful children. They left the dining hall with cunning inclinations of finding the perfect hiding place.


    Gale kept Corbin at bay by advising him to make use of the full range of his senses during the game, while also adjusting himself to the difference of mass and movement of his larger form. He listened intently with sharp hearing from his tall, pointed ears; then he sniffed the air to find invisible trails of Shade and Lydia. Their distinctive scents would have been faint at best to his normal nose, but were perceived unmistakably with the enhanced senses of his gift. After what Gale considered an appropriate amount of time for her sisters to hide away, she sent Corbin to find them with the encouragement to enjoy the game and his gift.


    Corbin had no problems finding Shade and Lydia despite their best efforts. Whether buried in  cluttered closets, crouching behind cars in the garage, hiding among the scents of a food-filled pantry, lying under beds, or seeking the aid of total darkness deep within the manor's basement he found them with pinpoint accuracy each time. The fun of the game helped to put him at ease with his gift. Lydia's startled gasps, followed by playful giggles when he found her, spurred him to be more stealthy during his approaches to her hiding spots so he could enjoy her reaction over and over. He toyed with Shade by allowing her to feel secure in her hiding places before suddenly revealing his knowledge of her locations by lurching into view. The game allowed him to develop a feel for how his gift greatly enhanced all of his natural senses, while he learned to maneuver his larger, more powerful presence with surprising agility and grace. 


    


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