“What's happening?" said a still slightly confused Jane.

"My scalp feels tingly."

"That's not surprising," Tarloh muttered, leaning in to get a better look. Suddenly, strands of Jane's hair reeled up and almost lashed out, behaving much like a snake threatening to strike.

"That's not right," the big man said, backing away.

Talia took a step forward, but Jane's hair kept her at a distance.

The same happened with Arthur. Until Jane's eyes were open and clear, the only person who could get near Jane was Red, who was actually bound to the girl by a series of locks.

“Living hair . . . that's a first," Arthur muttered.

"And it seems to protect her out of instinct."

"“Whuh . . . what are you talking about?" Jane said, her feet finally touching the ground. Without warning, her hair released its grip on Red and fell back into place. She took a step, began to stumble and reached out with . . . her hair. A clump of strands actually stretched out and braced against the ground, keeping Jane upright.

She was actually amazed. She stood upright and looked at it, willing it to float in front of her, which it did. She looked at Red, amazingly pleased with herself.

"Well I'll be damned," Red thought.

Talia looked from Jane to Red and back again. ‘You may very well be damned indeed,' she thought smugly.

"C'mon, keep your eyes up. Don't react to the hands! No, you're telegraphing!" Red growled.

Jane was incredibly frustrated. Once declared healthy, Tarloh and Red decided it was time for Jane to start her training. Jane wasn't sure how exactly she was drafted into this group, but she had acknowledged that she didn't have anywhere else to go. So Jane was playing by the house rules, and that meant learning self-defense, stealth, and “other skills," which Jane didn't inquire about too much.

Red had taken the younger woman aside for the second straight day and began trying to get Jane's feet, fists and hair all coordinated.

While a number of people initially found the idea of “living hair" to be silly, Red had quickly realized the potential. Jane's hair had become as strong as steel and was able to stretch to lengths of thirty feet. She seemed to be able to manipulate eight groupings of hair, so Talia had suggested creating eight distinct braids. This had actually done wonders for Jane's control, and she found herself with twelve limbs at her disposal. And she was able to lift tremendous amounts of weight with her new hair appendages . . . the total amount was still to be determined. But for all her potential, Jane was moving around like someone with two left feet and a broken leg.

She was trying as hard as she could, and desperately wanted Red not to give up on her, but she seemed to be failing at everything.

Red was conducting a drill where she would approach Jane and try and lightly tag her by touching Jane's side. All Jane had to do was keep Red away, and Jane was failing miserably. She kept trying to run, periodically pushing blindly away with her miscellaneous extremities.

She tried anticipating which direction Red was going to go, but the lycanthrope always seemed one step ahead of her.

Jane hadn't seen Red's “other" form until the previous day. When Red morphed, her shoulder's broadened, her breasts seemed to shrink a little bit, her legs bent backward at the knee, her hands grew claws, her skin grew a thin layer of reddish fur and her head became that of a great cat. Quite frankly, she scared the shit out of Jane. But when training, that was the form Red always took.

Jane whipped her head around and extended her braids until they were ten feet in length, using them much Like a series of giant weed- whackers. But Red quickly ducked underneath, lunged forward and lightly tagged Jane on the side.

Jane wanted to cry, but she quelled the tears. Her hands were trembling and she hung her head in shame. Then, she felt a soft hand underneath her chin, lifting her face.

"Don't stress," Red said, morphing back to human form and trying to show the girl some support.

"I've been doing this for twenty years.