Darrin looked to her 'stepfather' as he entered her room, still not quite believing how big he- well- how small 'she' was. She wasn't sure what she could guess from his looks but he seemed rather stern, sporting a mustache and black hair with a rather reserved voice. Probably in his thirties? He had rather nice black hair. It was just he was... so tall... as she looked up at him. He looked down back expectantly for an answer. "I I'll... I'll behave" Darrin replied quietly, though she realized her tail was still rather puffed up especially with someone in this... this room she couldn't help but feel he was... intruding; what with cat instincts getting in the way again. Now was really not the time to make any fuss of 'territory' so she reigned in the cat instinct as she had to find out as much as she could about this life...
...her life... Diana's life.
Her father then approached with a large hand and gave an affectionate smile as he batted the top of her head with a playful rub of the soft fur on her big cat-ears. Darrin cringed as he patted her there with a gentle scratch for good measure. The cat-girl responded by purring, which only made her father all the more entranced and forgiving. "Good girl. Go ahead and get dressed Diana, you must be drenched in those clothes. Just... please understand we love you, alright?" Her father closed the door behind him.
Alone once more the cat-girl blinked. What just happened? "Get.. dressed?" Darrin looked wide eyed at the implications of that. This wasn't her body! Worse... it was the body of a young girl. She... she really shouldn't- she couldn't! She was an intruder... and it sickened her as she realised all the implications. She should get through this situation touching herself as little as possible so as not to feel... disgust.
...But her clothes were a little damp so... maybe... it would be alright? If this was her body 'for now', maybe she should do what she had to. She had to take care of this body until Diana came back. It's not as if she wanted to handle it like- like this but- the real Diana was not going to be happy if she somehow returned without taking care of the most important thing anyone can have...
Darrin somewhat unsteadily started to explore the room with it's soft green carpet and white- slightly pink walls in the hunt for clothes. It wasn't really that much of a girl's room but it was uncomfortably feminine enough for her liking. She found a few odd scratch marks here and there... 'Weird' she mused as she started to scratch on the bedstand with her own nails for a moment. She was just looking for some clothes when she found something in the lowest drawer; a book bound in leaves with rough yellow pages. Opening it she found various passages that made her realise it was her diary- That is 'Diana's Diary'. She held the book for a long while. How much more violating could she get if she started to read the life of a little girl's diary....
" I have to read it," she decided reluctantly. Darrin started to thumb through the first page when her eyes widened on the realisation of something. "I-Impossible..."
This... couldn't be. It had to be a trick! Looking at the passages though somehow Darrin and Diana shared a very similar handwriting. There were just a few odd twists and curls to a few things but... not unlike her own. Carefully she drew out a pen and started to write out a few sentences, and found to her astonishment she was doing exactly the same handwriting. The odd curls naturally forming in that way due to her smaller hands.
"Am... I... really... Diana?" She had to ask herself feeling a really weird and almost claustrophobic identity crisis.
'...The others are always pulling my tail at the orphanage. Nobody will tell me how I got here. Nobody seems to know anything. I just want an answer...'
"You and me both," sighed Darrin. She started to go to the middle.
'I just found out what happens to me just because I'm a girl. It's so unfair! I don't want to be a girl! I'm going to wear pants and stuff from now on, I don't care if dresses look better on me-'
Darrin bit his lip. Reading this diary the walls between these two identities seemed to be just breaking down. Darrin could have easily written all of this... There was so much more to learn but her ears twitched to the sound of foot steps.
A woman's voice called out knocking on her door. "Diana? Aren't you getting dressed? Do you want mommy to help you?" she asked.
Darrin blanched. "N-No I'll get dressed. Really mom..."
"Please do, your food is getting cold."
Darrin sighed and put the diary inside for now.
Darrin didn't really like her options for clothes. They all apeared so.. girly. She tried to use the least feminine ones, with what appeared to be loose pants and some kind of top. She put it on quickly, not looking too much at her new body. She did have to work a bit though to slip the new tail in the buttoned hole. It looked to be a custom job, stitched in. She then went downstairs, barefoot.
"Here's your food dear," said Diana's mother cheerfully.
She hoped up on the chair and sniffed at it. Rice? Hm... she did like rice.
Dinner was... mostly silent. Darrin had a lot of thoughts in her head as she used the spoon to eat the rice. She was mostly thinking of her own parents... her real ones. They must be getting worried about her. She had to find a way back... there had to be a way back-
"I'm glad you're using the table Diana," smiled her 'step mother'. "It's a lot better then that bowl on the floor. Do you want to try using a glass to drink with again?" She asked hopefully.
Darrin looked blankly. Why in the world would she have trouble with a glass? "Uh... sure..." she frowned slightly.
The water was poured and the cat-girl took the glass like she had at any time before. She started trying to drink it, but then her tongue did something a little weird. It started to stick out into the surface of the water, curled inward. She had no idea her tongue could even do that! Then it flicked back inward and- water started to spill everywhere. Oh God she had a lapping instinct!
"Oh dear pumpkin-" her mother bit her lip. "Well- you got a lot better since the last time. Let me get you a tissue." Darrin looked at his clothes again confounded. Her mother dried her up and... placed a bowl of water for her. "You can drink from this sweetie. Don't worry, that new school will teach you how to be a proper human..."
Darrin's ears flattened at the mention of that again. "Y-Yes mom..." but she knew she would be gone again tonight. She had her meal and... she would have to say goodbye to them.
Jon was naked and... very annoyed. If she could she would stomp with her harpy feet, but she was trying to stay calm. She wondered just who would steal her clothes? Who would have the audacity to do that to her! Strangely enough she didn't seem overly bothered. The feathers did a good job hiding 'most' of her but she still felt a slight blush and need of modesty. She wasn't some... animal.
The harpy started to walk around in circles, trying to find some kind of sign of her clothes. Eventually she found a torn piece of garment on one tree that might have come from her tunic. It looked the same color anyway. She followed in that direction, carefully moving over larger roots and strangely colored mosses. There was the sound of a small river, though the currents looked somehow quite rapid compared to the size. She might have been in a flood plane, as the area was starting to get quite muddy. She was quite sure she stepped correctly over one of these larger rooted trees but somehow her claw got caught at the back. She lost her footing and fell, face first into the mud.
Jon cursed slightly. She got up using her wings which were now feeling very heavy. Her feathers had a coat of mud all over them, as did her tail feathers. She looked like one of those filthy birds on a commercial. Could she even fly like this? She flapped her arms a little, feeling somehow... stiff. The mud was hardening quickly, and she suspected she would be grounded for a while, until she washed this all off her. "At least the river isn't too far," she said with a sigh.
She could clean herself up, then look for her clothes...
Sarah noted some of the first curious signs of the village. There was a mass of tree stumps, from logging work. However she was somewhat taken off guard by how many. Then the village itself, surrounded by a ring of incredibly huge trees.
Tom twitched a wary eye towards Sarah as they approached the Village of Arbolia. He wasn't quite sure what to expect, as it had been a decade since he had last heard any news of this place. They were quite independent... independent being their key desire.
"What's the story here?" Asked Sarah as they approached.
Tom bit his lip. "Well, the town has a secret... They protect an artefact of the Ancients." he said a bit sheepishly. "Some kind of artwork they think. Well when I was little, I was brought here. My father wanted to see what was in the village..."
"Do a lot of people come to look?"
"Yes. Artifacts as this are quite rare. This one, is said to have been around a long time and caused no trouble... so for the most part people can come and look though not touch. Just in case."
"Oh.. what kind of animals live here?" Sarah asked now very curious.
"I saw many. There were Fox-kinds, Rabbits-folk, squirrel-kin, I even saw what I think was the mayor at time time. A lion... with... with a human head, and wings. Oh- yes I forgot to mention, most of the folk in this village walk on four legs. Lower bodies tend to be very animalistic and clothing is not in demand... so.. uh..."
Sarah glanced flatly. "I'll be careful where I look." She said matter of factly, though she wasn't sure it did bother her.
"We're here..." Tom said looking to the guards. "Just do as I do Sarah..."
Sarah mimicked him with a deep bow, her hood hidden. She looked at the two guards and indeed, they were quite muscular male four legged leopards. They had human heads though which was somewhat unsettling.
"Arbolia, we seek shelter for a few nights. Please allow us passage..."
The two guards looked at them.
"A human and... what is that species?" Asked the guard on the left.
"She's a friend of mine." Said Tom. "Species has not mattered here for a hundred years.."
The guard shrugged. "I suppose... so... Why... do you desire the safety of Arbolia?"
Tom glanced to Sarah. "We have nowhere else to go..." he said honestly. "We just need to rest..."
"Very well.. state your names."
"Tom, Tom Steamer." Tom said quickly.
The guard appeared to go through a rather 'short' list. " Steamer.. hm..." There was a pause. "... yes... well, do stay out of trouble. And you?"
Sarah looked up. "My name is Sarah," she spoke, though there was little she could do to hide her synthetic like voice.
"Hm... you may... proceed. Tom and Sarah. The usual rules apply. Please discard all metal from your persons. They will be returned to you... once you leave the village."
Sarah blinked. "Um- Tom...?"
Tom felt around and the only metal thing he had was his belt buckle. He put that away with a bit of a sigh. He glanced back to Sarah, a being currently just 'made' of metal. "Just- uh- don't worry about it..."
" I'm not carrying anything made of metal..." Sarah said cautiously.
"Very well... proceed."
Stepping past the gates, Sarah was astonished. The circle of trees continued slightly in the distance, but inside it felt somehow warmer. The weather was pleasant.. she could even see children playing in the streets. They were not even human either!
Tom looked with a light smile. "It's not actually that different from what I remember. The pub was around here somewhere..."
Sarah marveled at the sight. There was thatched roofing made of straw, it looked like a village made from the Sixteenth century or even before that. Before the industrial revolution anyway. The streets were quite large, and there was a fountain. Perhaps one thing though that would have inspired a more visceral response was the smell. There was an awful lot of manure around perhaps for the farmland. It was clear there was no sewage system in place. That being said, it was quite clean with buckets of water from a river, and a small irrigation system.
"What a strange village..." Said Sarah. "What's that over there? Is that the... Ancient Art?" She asked pointing to an odd object in the center.
"Yeah.. come on lets have a look." As they walked Tom continued to explain. "Some think It could be some kind of altar. The village is here to protects it. But whatever they learn, they don't talk about it outside."
Sarah looked curiously. The artifact was -very- recognizable to her. It was a projection of a screen, depicting an old windows screen saver on a glass screen. "Um.. that's a laptop." she said with a blinking gaze of her artificial eyes. "The people here are protecting.. a laptop?"
"Lap... top?" Tom asked confused by her words. "You speak well Sarah but that word makes no sense to me..." he said scratching his head. "Do you not see the strange images bouncing on the glass? It confuses the mind... it's the art of the ancients."
"Well yes but- it's being generated by that laptop.." she explained. "I need to get at it..." Sarah wanted to look at it more, but the artifact was protected by tigers. Not just any kind of tiger either, they had human torsos upon tiger bodies. They looked very strong. She wasn't going to get near it...
The 'laptop' itself, was quite large and looked to have been built from the sixties in her own time. but it was built into what was some kind of metallic casing. Sarah recognized it as a docking station. "Um- what exactly do they think of it?"
"A curious art of the Ancients... that's all. It doesn't seem to do anything."
Sarah looked exasperated. "Has anyone tried pushing a button on it?"
