Chapter 135

The rest of the day was hard on everyone, as instead of making any forward progress along the road, they had decided to try and get everyone used to their shifted forms. And for those who already were, were already being pushed further and further. Shannon kept them going all day, giving half hour breaks every two hours. The gorillas who were awake in her Soulscape watched with interest, as they heard that the plan was to make everyone stronger. The four-armed gorilla was especially keen, seeing that they were working with their bodies to become stronger with them. On Nat's side, the day itself seemed to become nothing but Hell on earth. Pain became a shared feeling across the canine bonds, but so was satisfaction and determination. And every single one of their feelings and emotions ran straight through Nat.

Every sore muscle, shortness of breath and even the many beads of sweat were all passed through the bond unfiltered. After all, the training was tough and intensive, so they did not have the leisure to think about how anyone else was doing. It was all about getting stronger to better protect not just themselves, but one another. This also meant that every bit of satisfaction, determination and pride flowed through as well, serving as motivation for her to continue. After all, she was part of the group getting pushed the hardest right now of the four that were made.

Shannon felt that getting partners to train beside helped motivate people to not only bond, but compete and try to grow further. The first group was the pups, who were the least used to the entire shift and new forms, as well as having the least amount of strength and stamina. Sure, it was easier than the training anyone else got, but only in terms of scale. Most of the focus was on balance, form, and coordination. Before they could run, they had to be able to crawl after all. Proper form would allow them to grow smoothly and adjust to the forms easier. Balance was needed to maintain that form, let alone perform more intricate motions. Which all needed coordination, to get their limbs to work together. Thankfully, they were seeming to adapt to the change in body far easier than two of the other groups, proving Kali's advice true.

Those two were currently working together, but would be separated later. The wargs and the wolves. Their training for the day was far more violent than the pups was, and with good reason. For it was not to teach them new habits, but to break the bad ones. And there were many, as spending most of your life walking on four legs would ill prepare you to walk on two. Everything was harshly cracked down on, but the older members of the pack had an easier time. After all, Shadow and Bryden had spent a fair amount of time getting berated in those forms, and were trying to gently help their fellows in suffering.

The last group was regarded as special. Shannon did not pay nearly as much attention to them, but still yelled at them if they attempted slacking. Five bodies made this group up, and they were just following the guidelines that had been laid out before them earlier on. Shannon teasingly decided to nickname the group the 'Over-Achievers", filled with those that showed where everyone else could get to if the canines stuck with the harsh training. Nat, Kali, Maia, and Scout all continued working on their growth, but their training regimen was dialed to eleven, the intensity radically higher than even the first day where Nat's muscles decided that they would not work after. Their fifth member had picked up the new form surprisingly fast, and no one could contend with him in regards to stamina anyways.

Spirit followed along and did everything with this group, not having any issues manoeuvring his body. His form even got top praise from Shannon, but it was hard to tell if he was happier due to it. After all, his tail was constantly wagging and a smile never left his face. While it was surprising that he managed to keep up with the special group, what scared Natalie was the fact that all she felt through their bond was joy. That it, no pain, no determination, just pure unadulterated happiness at being able to move so much. So much so that during pillow talk that night, she brought up to Shannon that he should be a group all in of itself. After all, he seemed to have enough energy and stamina to be pushed far harder than any of them, possibly even her.

Lunch was just a rehash of old food, but the steak bites that they had so soon after the event tasted better than anything they had tasted before. It was as if an angel had delivered them on a shining platter. Platters of the chunks of meat disappeared as fast as they were brought out, with every canine and Nat wolf-ing them down as fast as they possibly could. At least, until Shannon cut them off to go back to more progress. Everything was finished off later on after Shannon quickly made up dinner as the sun started to set. Tonight was hamburger hash, a quick and easy meal with just three ingredients that were all dog friendly, to a degree. Ground beef, cooked till brown, then corn and tomato soup were added, cooking all of the juices together to make a lumpy, meaty soup that tasted delicious. That had gone down even faster than the steak bites had.

The time after dinner was a symphony of groans and whines, as everyone was made to stretch out their muscles from head to toe. Throughout the day, some stood out and above the rest, such as Spirit, who seemed to be ready for much harder exercises. Other, such as Sierra, were not really used to working on their bodies and visibly dragged behind the rest. Sierra was expected, given that she had professed a want to read and learn more, but was still pushed to follow through with the same training as everyone else. After all, their pack was only as strong as their weakest link, and this world was starting to become exceedingly punishing to anyone who attempted not to grow physically at least in some way. However, the tired bodies all agreed that tonight was a good night for an early sleep. As the coyotes started their watch/workout, everyone quickly went to sleep, plenty fine to lay where they were in the grass underneath the starry northern sky.

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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