"OK everyone, time for some camp planning."

Mr Wilkinson managed to sound enthusiastic about the annual camping trip, even though he organized it every year. Three nights at Lake Quill... Biting insects and no internet, Caleb thought. As a wolf, he should learn to love the outdoors. Perhaps he should try to make the most of it. But of course he wouldn't actually be a wolf. He'd double-checked the dates; it was four or five days before the full moon, not even close enough to feel tingly. That was probably for the best - even if he could turn into a wolf, it would lead to difficult questions. It would be awesome, though. He fantasized about being an amazing (and really good looking) wolf, instead of a nobody.

He didn't let himself daydream about mating with the Great Dane girl, at least not during school time - that was too dangerous! He'd thought about it plenty of times in the following days, though - at night, when he was alone, and free to play with his cock. He'd tried to change again the next night, but clouds hid the moon and he still felt drained. The wolf stayed hidden and he'd had to content himself with fantasies.

"Remember, you need to form yourselves into pairs for the camp. You'll be sharing a tent with your buddy and looking out for each other during the activities."

The teacher's voice bought Caleb crashing back to the present. Terrified, he looked around the room, but everyone he knew - everyone he'd even vaguely consider sharing a tent with - seemed to be partnered up already.

"Caleb, do you have a partner?" Mr Wilkinson was looking right at him. Caleb wanted to sink into floor. Could he request to go solo? Wilkinson would never go for it; that wasn't how things worked.

"I..." He stammered. But then a familiar voice spoke up from across the room. "Caleb is with me, sir."

Caleb glanced around, not believing what he'd heard. Brent. Of course it was Brent speaking. It had to be some cruel joke, and yet he sounded serious - and now Mr Wilkinson was nodding in approval, and so they were committed to the unlikely marriage. Caleb hung between relief and terror. He was saved from the moment of public shame, but his only interaction with Brent in the last two years had consisted entirely of the other boy making smart-ass comments to humiliate him, and Caleb trying to ignore it.

The teacher handed out a list of things they needed to bring, then everyone milled around talking about the camp. Brent sauntered over. "Hi, er... Partner..." Caleb said.

"Hi, darling!" Brent put on a stupid high-pitched accent, messing around like usual. But then the mask slipped a bit, and Caleb spotted a moment of genuine excitement in his face. Like he was looking forward to the camping. Like he was actually pleased about his little coup to get Caleb as a partner. It probably meant he had some nasty practical joke planned.

"Don't worry about the tent," he said, and for once he sounded kinda nice. "I've got a real good one we can use."

The trip started on Tuesday morning. Everyone lined up in the parking lot with their tents and backpacks and boxes of food. Parents and teachers ran about here and there checking everyone had the required equipment, then they all piled on to the bus for the long trip out to Lake Quill. Caleb ended up sitting beside Brent near the back. Awkward - what do you say to someone who's always been your nemesis? And to start with, Brent was his usual smart-ass self.

But as the bus wound its way up a narrow road through the hills, Brent's attitude began to change. It was like he was leaving School Brent behind along with the suburbs and the malls. He pulled out various bits of equipment - a Swiss army knife, a compass, a little set of binoculars - and showed them off with great pride. Caleb felt disoriented by New Brent, and part of him still assumed it was all a mean joke, but he did his best to look interested, because hey, anything was better than snide, annoying School Brent.

Lake Quill was actually pretty nice when they eventually got there and everyone clambered out of the dusty bus. There were toilet blocks and a cookhouse and lots of sheltered spots between the trees for the tents. The lake sparkled in the bright sun. It lay nestled between steep hills, where tree-lined slopes rose up to rocky peaks. The scenery did stir something of the wolf inside Caleb, and he imagined running free through that forest in the moonlight, bounding through the trees, the air fresh and cold in his fur. Well, he'd just have to make do with imagining it for now.

They grabbed their bags and the tent as everyone fanned out to set up camp. Caleb was ready to get the tent out at the first flat spot they came to, but Brent rolled his eyes as if to say "why did I pick this idiot!". They circled around and weaved between the trees, with Brent casting a critical eye over each potential tent site. "Ah huh! Here we go!" he said at last. "The perfect spot." Caleb dumped the gear, but he must have looked skeptical.

"Look," said Brent, pointing to the various features as he listed them. "A flat spot, but with good drainage - it won't turn into a lake if it rains! Some good trees for shelter, but not too big so they won't fall on us if it's windy. And even a view of the lake if we face the door the right way."

Caleb had to concede that it really was a great spot. It was also some distance from any other tents, and mostly hidden by the low bushes. Still, a bit of peace and quiet might be nice.

After that, they shook out the tent and all its complex poles and ropes and pegs. Caleb tried to be useful as they set it up, but he had no idea what to do so mostly he got in the way and Brent kept complaining and re-adjusting everything Caleb had already done. But Brent looked happy despite his complaints, and he had a new spark which made him seem more interesting and a lot less snarky than normal. Caleb felt a small ray of hope. Maybe the camping trip might be fun after all.

The activity program called for swimming and kayaking on the lake in the afternoon. The chilly water felt like it was sluicing away the tension from school along with the dust and sweat from the bus trip. Dinner was simple food but it tasted great sitting outside in the beautiful evening. If only the bugs would bite someone else, Caleb thought. Brent must have noticed him constantly slapping at them; he passed Caleb a tube of "Tropical Strength" insect repellent.

As darkness fell over the camp, they sat around a bonfire and Mr Wilkinson told a terrible ghost story which wasn't scary at all. Then it was officially Lights Out time, and Caleb realized he was ready for bed even though it was only nine PM.

Dark clouds rolled in to hide the stars as they walked back to their campsite, and a breeze sighed through the trees and worried at the tents. He sensed rain on the way. Perhaps Brent's tent site would soon be put to the test.

It felt great to snuggle up in his sleeping bag even though the ground was hard through his thin camping mattress. The wind stirred the tent roof but inside he felt cozy and safe.

"You done any camping before?" Asked Brent from his side of the tent.

"Nope... What about you?"

"Sure, lots."

"You seem to really like it." Caleb was still surprised that he could have a normal conversation with Brent. He was waiting for the catch.

"Yeah man..." Brent paused, as if he had been about to say more but changed his mind. "Well, you know, always good to get away from home for a bit."

Caleb didn't understand exactly what that meant but he didn't want to pry. Instead he rolled on to his side and tried to find the most comfortable spot on the hard ground.

Caleb was facing the tent wall. He could hear Brent moving about, and he got the strange feeling that the other boy had shuffled closer to him. I guess he's just trying to find a comfortable place too, Caleb thought.

Then he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was wasn't scary or uncomfortable, just unexpected. Caleb tensed up, and the hand moved away.

"Night, Caleb." Came Brent's sleepy murmur.

Caleb lay still for a while, pretending to drift off to sleep, but actually wondering about that hand. It was probably just a friendly pat - but even that was pretty weird, for Brent. But could it mean more?

Then the rain arrived, a steady patter on the tent fabric. It felt wonderful to be so close to the weather and yet comfy and dry. It washed away all Caleb's remaining tension, and he drifted off into a deep sleep.

                           ---

"C'mon, slo-bo!" Brent yelled. Caleb trudged up the hill while Brent waited at the top. They were doing an orienteering exercise where you had to find points marked on the map, and answer a question when you found the spot. Mr Wilkinson called it "Rogaining", which sounded more like a treatment for baldness.

Brent studied the map as he waited. "If we cut through this gully, there's a checkpoint right up there." He pointed towards a craggy ridge which rose above the trees. "I bet nobody else finds that one!"

The skies had cleared early that morning, and now the air was warm and humid. Caleb enjoyed the challenge of following the map and picking a route through the forest, but he wasn't so sure about Brent's latest suggestion.

"I think that's out-of-bounds", he said, referring to the red lines on the map which marked the area they were supposed to stay inside during the activity.

"Nah, that's further down the hill! We're fine!"

Caleb was pretty sure he was right, but Brent was already jogging down into the gully, so Caleb decided he'd better follow. It did look like a good short-cut. He hurried after Brent, slipping on pine needles and hanging on to tree branches as the slope grew steeper. Through the trees he could hear the chattering of water.

He caught up at the bottom of the gully, where a stream poured down through a series of rapids and waterfalls. The overnight rain had swollen the flow to an angry torrent, and Brent was inching his way across a fallen tree which spanned the gorge.

"What are you doing?" Caleb yelled, terrified at the thought of trying to cross on the rotten trunk.

"Come on," said Brent, looking back with a grin. "You're not scared, are you?"

"No, but -"

Caleb didn't get to finish because the log gave a sickening cracking sound and broke, right in the middle.

Things happened in slow motion after that. Brent turned as if he was making a leap for the bank, but it was too late. The log was gone from under his feet, falling towards the torrent below, and Caleb could only watch as Brent went with it, curving down to vanish into the water. There was a terrible moment, just a couple of seconds, when the he was under, but then he surfaced again, arms flailing as he tried to stay above water.  

"Arrgg..." He cried, and then he went under again. He bobbed to the surface on the crest of the next rapid, and his flailing arms caught a boulder in the middle of the torrent. He clung to it as the current surged around him.

Caleb finally unfroze. "Brent!" He yelled as he scrambled down the bank to the water's edge. "Are you okay?"

Brent tried to haul himself up onto the rock, but it was too slippery.

"I ... hold on... get help!" Caleb could barely hear Brent's shouts over the roaring of the rapids. Should he run back to the camp? But that would take at least ten minutes, and then he'd have to lead the rescue party back. He didn't think Brent could hang on that long.

Something else was nagging at Caleb. That roaring noise... It was very loud, louder than it should be. Then he looked further down the gorge, and realized why. The land dropped away, and the stream cascaded over a high waterfall and thundered down into a hidden ravine somewhere below. Brent would certainly be swept over the cataract if he lost his grip.

Caleb wasn't very strong, and he wasn't a great swimmer. He knew he couldn't pull Brent to shore - they'd both go over the falls. There wasn't time to get help. Panic rose up, and despair. He'd been bugged and tormented by the other boy, and he'd often wished Brent would just disappear, but the idea of him trapped and terrified, about to be swept away to certain death... It was horrible.

But then Caleb felt a tingly heat moving through his limbs, along with a gleam of hope. He wasn't strong enough to rescue Brent, but the wolf was. Perhaps the fear gave the wolf extra power; whatever the reason, suddenly he could feel the lupine form right there, in the back of his mind. Maybe, just maybe, he could change, even now, without the night or the full moon.

Caleb kicked off his shoes and then his shirt and shorts. He hesitated for a moment with his underpants. Despite his panic, he still had the thought that he was going to look mighty silly if this didn't work. And he knew what happened when he changed; he needed to be naked. Apart from tearing his clothes, the wolf needed that sense of freedom, of throwing off human constraints. The undies came off as well. He stared into the water; it looked freezing cold. But the wolf would come... He had to.

Brent yelled something, but the roaring water drowned out his voice. Caleb closed his eyes and focused on the wolf, on bringing him into focus, on becoming him. And there he was, sliding forward out of the dark recesses of Caleb's mind, huge and strong and real. Then Caleb felt the surge of heat and excitement ripple through him, and suddenly he wasn't the scrawny naked boy any more; he was big and shaggy and gray.