Hearing Stella as she spoke to the spirit I stared at her in slight shock and wonder. She spoke as if she had spoken for years to the spirits, as if she knew how to pitch her voice or lower it just right for the perfect tone. Rotating my head slowly to look at all of them I saw Max approach me once again, his head down, tail low as he trotted up to me quickly then did a wide C around me standing behind me, hidden in the bushes and ever so closely watching over Stella.

looking back to him my eyes dulled to a soft glow as I spoke, "Requiem facilis amicum, non ut quisque noceat" * rest easy friend, they do not intend to harm any of us* Max stared up at me then whined ever so quietly before finally sitting down. I listened to Stella speak to the creature and as the last sentence left her mouth Max jumped up circling in his one place, looking around, un-easy. Feeling his anxiety a sudden sound began to rise. At first it was only one and then a second, a third until the entire group had joined in. Every Spirit laid their ears back and as they opened their mouths the ever curiouser whale songs which now held an easy, yet playful chime to them trickled out and all at once became an overwhelmingly Spiritual choir who's sound though loud, was gentle enough to leave the trees unshaken, and Max finally back into his sitting position. A smile pulled at the corners of my mouth as I looked around at the mass of glowing orbs surrounding us, off in distant packs, some rather close, close enough to feel the vibrations of their song.

As I watched this phenomenon unfold I looked to Stella as every other creature was,

" You, Stella. They feel your confusion and fear from past and previous memories and thoughts." listening closely to their songs it danced in my ears and floated through my mind.     

" They're here for you. They want to help" I repeat over the song as notes changed and songs though completely different blended into another's  and made a unique melody. Even in a forest of massive trees, I felt as if we were submerged in the sea, with millions of whales singing around us.

Standing up as a last tiny spirit zipped past me and into the trees I trotted over to Stella and laid around her curling my tail over her lap and emitting the heat from my body to hers as snow began to fall.

" If someone or something is ever lucky enough to witness such events as I just did they're never quite sure, what did you see?" I asked as she sunk into my fur her skin chilled from the snow, Max pacing a foot from my paws whining prominently his eyes on Stella. Moving one paw ever so slightly Max slowly moved back then stopped and sniffed  in my direction before slowly moving forward. Seeing he'd have to step on my leg to get to her he stood for a second, whined and did a few circles then ever so gingerly set his paw on my hind leg and lifted his front end up snuffling Stella and licking her softly.

Re-living the moment in the forest I turned to leave when my front claws hooked on a fabric dragging it a little. Setting my paw down I recognized it as Stella's bag immediately. Lowering my head I picked up the top strap in my mouth, turned and loped through the forest back home. The wind sat at a steady 5 degrees the snow plowing in from the east and covering everything it touched. Coming to the highway I watched for the glare of headlights before dashing across my nails barely finding grip on the patches of black ice beneath my feet before I leapt over the edge of the highway and dropped down onto the slope on the other side. Keeping the bag away from the razored ground I broke into a lope through the snow.

Finally reaching my house I slowed to a walk a good thirty feet from the front steps. Feeling the shudder as my body got ready to transcend back I felt my joints popping and re-shaping, I never would get used to the strange shrinking kind of discomfort of pushing my true form into the tiny human -to me- human body that kept me ' normal and acceptable'. Shaking the snow from my now steaming human frame I held the bag close and headed inside.