Rite of passage
Written by Allen Kitchen
Nov 6, 1998
All rights reserved.

	Amanda ran to keep pace with her older brother, 
trying not to trip or fall as she struggled to keep 
up with him.
	"But I don't understand big brother." She 
choked out.  "Why do you have to go away?"
	Efrit stopped walking, and waited for his 
little sister to catch up to him.  Once she reached 
him and caught her breath again, he gently put a 
hand on her young shoulder.
	"I know you don't understand." he calmly 
explained to her.  "But this is the way of our 
people.  I must prove myself to be an adult.  And 
to do that, I have to live in the wild for a time."
	"But what if you never come back?"  she cried, 
wrapping her arms around him and holding him 
tightly.  
	"You know that I'm coming back Amanda."
	"Others don't!  Others go into that awful dark 
place and never come out again!  You know I'm 
right!  I've heard you and your friends talking 
about others who decided they liked it in the wild 
and refused to return!"
	Efrit ran his hand behind Amanda's head and 
gently replied.
	"I know some of our people decide they prefer 
the wilds and don't come back.  But I must come 
back.  Even if only for you, I will return after my 
year is up."
	Amanda sniffled and leaned back to stare at her 
big brother.
	"You mean it?" she asked.
	"Of course." Efrit said soothingly.  "After 
all, somebody has to keep you out of trouble.  And 
besides, I want to teach you all that I learn out 
there so you have an edge when it is your turn to 
prove you are of age."
	"I'm not gonna go.  Ever."
	Efrit chuckled.
	"Yes, I said the same thing when I was your 
age.  But here I am; going away to live in that 
menacing lonely place for a year.  When your time 
comes, you'll have to do the same thing.  But I'll 
see to it you know a bit more about what lies ahead 
than I know right now."
	"Promise me you'll come back to civilization 
Brother." She insisted.  "You've never broken any 
promise to me.  You promise me that you'll come 
back to the real world when your year is over!"
	Efrit took a step back, and stared into his 
younger sister's face.  Strong, he thought.  And 
getting stronger.  She was growing so fast.  It 
wouldn't be but a few more years before she herself 
left the comforts of home for a time, just as he 
was doing now.  He took a short breath, and 
answered her.
	"I promise." He said.
	Amanda nodded, and hugged him one last time.
	"It's getting late, big brother." She told him 
as she released him again.  "You had better change 
and make your way down there while you still have 
light."
	Efrit nodded, and began to walk away again.
	"I love you brother!" she called to him.
	"And I love you sister." He called back to her, 
turning his head to catch sight of her grey tail 
vanishing through the brush and back into the 
trees.
	He began to change shape.   His fur shrank back 
and became a thin hair.  His muzzle pulled into his 
face until his nose was only an inch away from his 
eyes.  Soon he was walking down the trail on two 
feet instead of paws, and he came to an opening in 
the trees that allowed him to see his home for the 
next year.
	The lights dotted the landscape, and machines 
raced all along its paths.  Smokestacks belched 
smoke into the air creating a haze that touched 
everything in the city below.
	Efrit turned away and continued on his journey 
with a sigh.  There had to be a better way for a 
werewolf to prove himself than leave the warm woods 
for the cold hard city, he grumbled.