“Donovan, Where does your mind go and how, exactly, does it feel to change to your wolf form?” – Deb
My mind stays exactly here. I can see and feel everything, though my vision goes a little blurry in the middle of the process. I’m still me in either form. Think of it like a very extreme version of putting on glasses.
What are your favorite smells that a non-were human would detest? Or what “favorite smell” like cinnamon buns and cucumbers do you hate? – Victoria
Dead flesh is a fine smell! Though many human medical examiners and forensic scientists get hungry for barbecue over a dead body, to me, it’s just a detailed smell that’s too interesting to be bad. Some flowers are awful! Roses are heady and too deep, and daisies smell like crap. No, actual crap smells better than daisies.
If you no longer had the option to “shape shift” and had to choose between your wolf form and your human form, which would you choose and why? – Lauren
Human. Hands down.
Before I was an agent, it might have been wolf. It probably would have been wolf. But now, it would be difficult to stay—and communicate well—with the family I’ve found if I was stuck as the wolf. But my skin would itch and I’d want to run if I was stuck as a human. It would be like losing a limb… Maybe I should ask Lucy about that…
How do you deal with ticks and fleas? ??? – Dana
Do YOU get ticks and fleas? No. I mean, sometimes a tick or two in the woods. I deal with them the same way you do… A mirror, a pair of tweezers and some swear words.
A few questions got asked more than once:
What do things feel like under paw pads?
More like things feel under my feet when I’m human. So, not as much detail. But the feel of dirt or grass under the skin there is like nothing else. It’s like a connection to the earth.
How is your vision different as a wolf?
Definitely grayer, almost like when my eyes adjust as a human—though I don’t think my human eyes are the same as everyone else’s, so that’s hard to say. But it’s got fewer colors, mostly blues and grays. But the clarity and distance is amazing, even compared to my own human vision.
What was it like in medical school being a wolf?
It was difficult as fuck. I had no friends—but I’d never really had any before. Everyone suddenly felt qualified to analyze my weird eating habits. The lack of sleep wasn’t an issue, but finding time to change and run was. I lived in the city close to the school and the hospital—medical schools are almost always close to cities—and it stank of exhaust. Also it turns out, it’s not a good idea to tell the doctor leading rounds that you can smell cancer.