A New Peace

Life is different now, and yet the same in aspects I never expected it to be. I have a home and family, but both my husband and son are so different from me. Shapeshifter. As a child my wild imagination never came up with that one. My new reality isn't impossible, and neither is the peace we've found between humans and shifters. However, I can't shake the sensation that it is tentative at best. I live in fear of losing all I've gained through my blood, sweat, and tears.

In the Land of Humans...

It's been a while, things here have settled into a sort of peace. Not true peace. Not like it was before. To be honest, I'm not sure I even remember what life was like before I learned to shoot a gun, swing a sword with deadly accuracy and defend myself against beings so much stronger than humans. I've learned to live with this new reality and am content in my role as wife to a man who isn't quite human.

My new life doesn't make me any less human, or any less sympathetic to human needs. I've seen the anger on many of your faces as I walk the streets of Georgetown. I've heard the whispers. If you're not brave enough to say it to my face then fuck off. I've paid my dues. I lost a son to evil shifters and learned the hard way not even my neighbors could be trusted. However, not all shifters are created equal. Know your enemy, not just by physical traits but by deed as well.

For those who are interested, the Alpha of FNT, Sandulf Theodereiks, will be visiting the Animal Menagerie a day or two next week. He invites any human adult who wishes to meet him to do so. You will be given free entry. If you follow all posted rules, you will also be allowed to leave at any time of your choosing.
Know your enemy. I assure you, those you perceive as the enemy certainly know you.

Interview with Alexia Williams

Alexia Williams was a young mother and wife before the war started. She baked bread, planted flowers in her garden and kept her household running smoothly day-to-day. Her transformation into a soldier for the Combined Human States (CHS) wasn’t a subtle thing. In a matter of hours from the shape shifters making themselves known to the humans who’d been blind to their existence for centuries, Alexia’s neighbors and closest friends turned her world upside down. Disbelief and defensiveness clashed until an argument ensued. It escalated quickly and in the aftermath Alexia’s husband and baby boy were killed. Her pain kept her alive and before long she made her place in the human military, fighting to keep shifters on their side of the wall.

MJ: Hello, Alexia. The readers have been very curious about your background. It isn’t everyday a “Suzy Homemaker” goes from that persona to a gun-toting soldier. Care to tell us about your transformation and which personality you feel is more you?

AW: Hello, Missy. I appreciate you taking the time for this interview so I can set the record straight on a few things. I know shifters and humans alike have a few preconceived notions about me. I don’t appreciate it from complete strangers.

MJ: Understandable. What misconception would you like to address first?

AW: Honestly, this idea about me being a gun-toting, ass-kicking, wonder woman is ridiculous. Sure, I’m a very different person from the Alexia people knew before the war. Hell, who isn’t? The civil war was too many decades ago to know any of those people, but I’ll bet war in their front yards changed them too.

MJ: Well, the shifters do call you “Death”.

AW: Did. They did call me “Death”. Since the Alpha has accepted me into his lands that’s no longer the case. But I would like to point out that his reasons for calling me that were beyond my control. It was never a conscious decision to be the best killer or kill the most shifters for CHS. I was just surviving and doing my duty. It also helped that I manned a part of the wall notorious for shifter migrations. The shifter city of Circe has long had a problem keeping their citizens in check. That’s why the human city on the other side, Georgetown, has such a heavily manned wall.

MJ: That makes sense. It’s odd though that shifters would congregate there when the wall stretches from coast to coast. Surely there’s a weaker crossing point.

AW: Not really. From what I’ve been told the Circe/Georgetown section is one of the lowest points. The ground beneath the ten-foot wall has sunk in some spots. That’s why the guard towers were built to keep an eye on it. Most of the less populated areas have robots and cameras, as well as sensors to keep anyone from crossing. I’ve heard one stretch of wall uses an ultra-sonic system with a pitch that deters any type of animal from wanting to get within miles. Ear plugs are great for human ears, but not so much for many animals. Plus, Circe is one of the largest shifter cities in the Federal Nation of Therianthropes.

MJ: Interesting. You seem to know a lot about the wall. Do you miss guarding it?

AW: (grins) Sometimes. My life has changed quite a bit since meeting Andor Olavson, but I’m still a soldier at heart. Before the war I never would’ve guessed I’d enjoy time on a shooting range or training with a sword. I still do both and keep in shape just in case. My loyalties might have altered a bit but I’m still human. I still have human friends and count them among the people I trust. I was surprised by how many people stuck by me when I left.

MJ: So, you haven’t reverted back to “Suzy Homemaker” then?

AW: (laughs) Not quite. Every now and then I’ll make a gourmet meal just to keep in practice, but I don’t have time for scrapbooking anymore.

MJ: So, if the shifters’ misconception is that you’re “Death”, what is the most common human misconception?

AW: That being shifter-friendly is the same as hating humans. How in the hell can I hate humans? I am one. It’s ridiculous but you’d be surprised by the crap I hear walking down the streets of Georgetown. Few will say anything to my face, but hate for anyone to think my feelings for Andor affect my being a “good human”. The intolerance is what led to the war and our precarious peace is still in danger because of it.

MJ: Intolerance and prejudice are as old as time. Do you think humans and shifters will ever be able to live together peacefully without the wall?

AW: I sure as hell hope so. I once watched a recording of the Berlin Wall being torn down. People were using their bare hands to pull the bricks apart. There were tears of joy and mourning for the many people affected by that damn thing. It broke my heart to watch it even as it gave me hope. History has a habit of repeating itself. Maybe we’ll one day show our children or grandchildren a recording of the CHS/FNT wall coming down. I know North America isn’t the only continent with one, but it has to start somewhere.

MJ: Very true. Time will tell, I guess. Well, that’s all the time we have for this interview, but hopefully you’ll join us again for part two?

AW: (smiles) You can count on it.