4

Training

A ghostly howl split the night.

"No, no, no," Ulanda said walking over to Storm. "You have to make it deeper and more unearthly; also you're not standing right, you have to stand like this," she said placing her footing so that her right forepaw was exactly five inches in front of her left, and her right hind paw was exactly five inches behind her left, "Now try again, you've almost got it." She walked a few feet away to watch.

Storm scratched up a fresh pile of mud–the easiest way to call on the earthen wolf was to use mud instead of dirt or hard packed earth–and placed her right forepaw on it, then carefully placed her footing the way Ulanda had showed her and howled again, an unearthly howl such as she had never howled before. Then the mud shifted and the face of a wolf formed in it. Then a head and shoulders, and the feet came up and a wolf twice the size of Storm pulled itself out of the mud.

"Who are you?" the wolf said clearly a female by the voice, looking at Storm then to Ulanda.

"I'm Ulanda, she's Stormcloud," Ulanda said the first to speak, "she summoned you."

"Then why isn't she talking?"

"Well this is her first time; she's still a little shocked."

"I see," she turned to Storm, "hello young one."

Storm blinked twice and shook her head, "Hello, I can't believe I did it, do you have a name?"

"We critters of the elements have no names."

"Critters?"

"I like that word better than creatures."

"I like her, she's fun . . . and fuuny," Storm said to Ulanda.

"Elemental critters normally are," she replied.

Ulanda left and Storm and the earthen wolf talked, Storm learned many secrets of summoning elemental critters that only the elemental critters were allowed to tell and only allowed to tell to the summoner.

She got back to the den clearing at dawn covered in mud. Ulanda was the only one still awake; she was waiting. "Have fun?" she asked as Storm stumbled tiredly into the clearing. She nodded wearily and flopped down falling asleep almost immediately. She's going to be sore tomorrow, Ulanda thought as she walked into the woods to the waiting earthen wolf, and so will I.

(no you perverted guys, this has nothing to do with them having sex)