A/N: I'm so sorry I took so long to post this chapter but I moved recently and i started college not long after. I'm sorry for the wait!
This chapter is shorter than I would have liked, I meant to include a bit of skinwalking but I wanted to post this as soon as I could. I hope you enjoy it!

CHAPTER 4

Ratonhnhaké:ton awoke to a familiar, dizzying white.

He sat up slowly, casting his gaze around him in search for Ahanu. He found him sitting comfortably a small distance away with his back to him, sliding his hands across the floor to form white dust clouds absentmindedly. Ratonhnhaké:ton wondered if Ahanu always found himself in this eerily empty place whenever he slept, for he seemed familiar with it. Would he be dreaming of this place as well from now on?

Ratonhnhaké:ton slowly came to his feet and approached the Skinwalker, calling his name as he did so. Ahanu turned to look over his shoulder from where he was seated, a roguish grin already in place. "I was wondering when you'd show up!" he teased. He pushed himself to his feet gracefully and turned to face the younger man as he clapped his hands together to rid them of white dust.

"Is this where you'll be teaching me?" Ratonhnhaké:ton inquired.

"No," Ahanu replied with a shake of his head, "It would be better to teach you in the waking world but I will need to communicate with you in order to do so."

"How are you going to do that?"

Ahanu offered him another secretive grin and gestured vaguely between them, "May I?"

Ratonhnhaké:ton eyed him warily for a brief moment before nodding. Ahanu stepped forward and raised his arm to place his palm on Ratonhnhaké:ton's forehead. He was about to ask the man what he was doing but a sudden flash of light momentarily blinded him and then he felt something strange. It was as if something was pushed into his head where it swirled like a whirlwind and he forgot how to breathe. Ahanu's hand retreated and the whirlwind calmed abruptly. Ratonhnhaké:ton stumbled back a step, winded and unsettled.

"What did you do?" he gasped.

"A wolf pack communicates telepathically. I have acquired the same ability because I have been stuck in my wolf form for quite a while. I have passed on this ability to you so I can speak with you in the waking world." Ahanu told him, sounding suspiciously smug.

"Wolves can speak?"

"They do not speak with words like you or I. They share their senses with each other."

"I don't understand."

"You will understand soon enough. Have you recovered?"

Ratonhnhaké:ton let out a quiet, frustrated sigh to calm his erratic breathing. "Yes."

"Walk with me, then. We might as well take this opportunity to discuss a few things." And with that, Ahanu turned and started to walk lazily in a seemingly random direction, Ratonhnhaké:ton at his side.

"I know you have bear pelt but do you have any other animal skins?"

Ratonhnhaké:ton frowned at the strange question. He glanced in Ahanu's direction, noting the skinwalker's attire and quickly deduced that the pelts were somehow connected to changing forms.

"I have deer skin and…eagle feathers." he added hesitantly.

Ahanu turned his head to study Ratonhnhaké:ton's face as he walked, "Eagle feathers…" he murmured distantly, obviously considering something, "Yes, I think that would suit you more." He decided finally. Ratonhnhaké:ton was about to ask the man what he meant but he refrained. He probably wasn't going to give him a straight answer anyway.

"Skinwalkers need a connection to the animal we wish to transform ourselves into, we can't just simply change form spontaneously." Ahanu explained, "When a living thing dies, it leaves traces of its spirit behind in its remains. We use these traces as a bridge between us and the animal spirit. If the animal spirit finds you worthy of it, it will grant you the ability to take its form. This is how one becomes a Skinwalker."

"Is everyone capable of becoming a Skinwalker?" he asked curiously.

"No, it's actually quite rare for anyone to qualify." Ahanu replied with a shake of his head.

"Then how do you know that I qualify?"

Ahanu chuckled, halting for a moment to face him, gesturing at the world around them with spread arms, "Well, you're here, aren't you? Not everyone can appear here but I knew you would. Tell me, why did you speak to me when we first met, if you thought I was only a wolf? How did you know that I would understand you?"

Ratonhnhaké:ton frowned. He had asked himself the same thing and dismissed it as another aspect of his strange sixth sense, like his second sight that no one else seemed to possess.

"I don't know. I just…had a feeling you would." He answered cautiously.

"Exactly. That is why you qualify. Only those who are capable of Skinwalking get that feeling."

Ahanu resumed his aimless stroll, "The animal remains and the spirit within them will lead you back here, to the Skyworld," he continued, "where you will be faced with the animal spirit. It will study you, judge you, and it is important that you do not falter. Once you've changed form the first time, it will become second nature to you, but you will need to practice to fully control it."

Ratonhnhaké:ton nodded to show he understood.

"We will begin tomorrow," the man announced confidently.

Ratonhnhaké:ton stopped in his tracks and scowled disapprovingly at the Skinwalker, "No, we will not."

Ahanu stopped as well to blink at him in surprise, "We will not? Why not?"

"You haven't healed yet. We are not doing anything until you have." He asserted firmly.

"You can't be serious."

Ratonhnhaké:ton gave him a flat look in reply.

Ahanu sighed and he seemed to deflate, his broad shoulders hunched in defeat, "Fine." He conceded with a childish pout, the air of mystery gone.

Ratonhnhaké:ton snorted.

Ratonhnhaké:ton was entertaining the two pups under the young wolf's distrustful supervision. The pups were currently attacking his hands playfully, occasionally leaving him to wrestle each other on the cavern floor before resuming their campaign, their teeth and claws leaving thin scratch marks on his arms.

Ahanu had not moved since Ratonhnhaké:ton got up that morning. He was still lying on the bear pelt with his head resting on his paws and turned away from them. Ratonhnhaké:ton had the sneaking suspicion that the Skinwalker was sulking and he felt like snorting in amusement every time he glanced his way. For all the man's age and wisdom, it was obvious that he was still a child at heart.

Ratonhnhaké:ton had spent the morning trying to gain the young wolf's trust. It started out with him sitting nearby and apparently too close for the wolf's comfort. The wolf had growled on and off at him for a long time, making sure the pups did not near him by snapping his teeth at them warningly whenever they stumbled in his direction; until, eventually, the wolf seemed to tire of it. Now he simply watched him, his blue gaze following his every move with rapt attention.

"What should we name you?" he muttered to the pup currently chewing on his finger.

"They already have names."

Ratonhnhaké:ton jumped as he heard Ahanu's voice outside the Skyworld, causing the pup that had been playing with his finger to lose his balance and fall onto his back with a yelp and the young wolf snarled at him for it.

There goes all my progress.

Ratonhnhaké:ton turned to stare at the Skinwalker, eyes wide. Ahanu had finally raised his head with his customary grin in place, his tongue hanging and eyes sparkling with laughter. Realizing that his mouth was hanging open, Ratonhnhaké:ton snapped it shut and tried to regain his composure.

"Did you…Did you just speak to me?" He managed.

"I did, indeed." Came Ahanu's cheerful reply, but it seemed as if the sound had not come to him through his ears.

"How are you doing this?" He demanded.

"I gave you the ability to communicate with us, remember?"

There was a moment of silence as Ratonhnhaké:ton tried to regain his balance and adjust to this new development.

"What are their names?" he asked softly.

"Why don't you ask them yourself?" Ahanu replied, as if speaking to a wolf psychically was easy.

Ratonhnhaké:ton let out a sigh of frustration. Why couldn't he just give him a straight answer?

"How?"

"Reach out to their minds and ask them. They will understand the intent behind the question and answer you with their names."

He looked down at the pup he had startled. He was sitting on his haunches before him, his head tilted curiously as he watched the human consider him. Ratonhnhaké:ton was not sure how to 'reach out to their minds' but he was willing to attempt it. His eyes locked with the pup's and he imagined pushing the question towards him. There was nothing at first, they simply stared at each other, and Ratonhnhaké:ton felt foolish. Just as he was about to give up, an image of water flashed in his mind. It was a vivid, as if he saw it with his own eyes and it was filled with meaning. Suddenly, he understood.

"Ohne:ka*! Your name is Ohne:ka!" He exclaimed, astonished.

The pup barked as if in confirmation and Ahanu's gleeful laugh echoed in his mind.

A/N: *According to an online Native American Language website, Ohne:ka is the Mohawk word for water.
I figured wolves would have nature related names. I didn't want to name him "fang" or "shadow paw" or something like that because i felt that it would be a bit of a cliche.