The sun rose, and it's warmth roused the two skunk-girls.
Eric looked up seeing earth and plant, various roots sticking into her fur... She really was here. It was not a dream. She was in the past... a hundred years away from home.
"We should go hunting now," Said Nikki moving- with a very curious grace that skunks were not generally known for.
Eric lazily got out, more slowly paced. The teen-skunk noticed how Nikki was certainly quite a lithe. Eric herself was similarly built. Petite even. It was a 'nice' figure certainly, but not anything unusual. Were it not that she was a skunkette, she would barely have taken anyone's notice.
Nikki was in her element it seemed. She jumped into a bush, and eagerly found a bird clamped into her claws. "Got one!"
Eric was shocked. "H-How..."
"If you're fast you can just grab them."
Eric looked at the little bird squirming, fighting for it's life... They... they had to kill it?
Nikki quickly snapped it's neck with a twist. The child looked very proud of herself to the bewilderment of the teenager. "What's wrong mommy?" she asked with confusion.
Eric swallowed. It.. was... just a bird. She had never slaughtered an animal to eat before... the truth was farms did this every day. it was normal... but to actually do it oneself... to see the animal struggling for survival...
"I-s it dead?" She asked eventually.
"Yep. We just need to gut, feather, and cook it now. It should be enough for a nice breakfast. You want to make the fire?"
"S-Sure... how?" Eric said blankly. They had no matches... nothing.
Nikki looked a bit shocked but didn't say anything about it. "Well... we need dry wood... That tree over there looks quite dead," she explained.
Eric took hold of the various twigs, snapping them off. She wasn't really sure what she was doing, but took what she could.
"If I can get into town... maybe I can get some clothes for you too," she said looking at her. It would still be a difficult mission given how she looked. Not completely impossible... if she could just find the right way to do it.
"Huh?" Nikki asked with a confused tone. "I never had to wear clothes before."
Eric paused a bit shocked. "You must do! At least.. wear.. something"
"I was told I could if it makes me feel happy," the skunk-girl explained.
Eric shook her head. Wherever this girl was from, was clearly not a normal place. In truth she was getting a bit concerned about it now. Did her mother deny her clothing? "So... you could wear clothing if you wanted to, right?"
The girl nodded. "Uh huh. I actually have a few things.. back home. For special occasions?"
That did make Eric feel a bit better... though not by much. She had to stop as she heard.. something. "What's that?"
"Horses," said Nikki. "They are coming this way,"
Oh hell! Humans? They had to hide. "Hide in the bushes..." She said quickly.
"Don't forget the firewood," Said Nikki pointing it out.
Eric gathered up the various twigs. It was annoying to leave signs of their presence at all... but hopefully whoever it was, would just ride past them. She would feel a lot better to have the forest to herself.
At school, David was just getting the things she needed from her locker... when she saw Mark. She couldn't help but notice the 'darker' energy from her sister seemed to have gone. The emotional tie they had was in some ways even stranger then their physical link. Mark was still clearly upset about some things... but maybe something happened that took a turn for the better? The truth was, after that kiss with Rachel, she was sure Mark would be angry. This was completely unexpected.
David thought she should go see her..
"Hi..." David said carefully.
Mark gave a little nod acknowledging him. "Hey..."
"How are you?"
"Not quite myself," She said trying to make a little light of the situation.
David gave a little smile. "You seem to be doing well..."
"I had a fun party last night" She said.
"I know-" She David paused. Using their shared experiences like this still felt intrusive. She knew every dance Mark had done.. she had quite a workout too. It certainly was a pleasant experience, and that experience was shared by all of them. It was interesting to David given she didn't really dance.
Mark gave an unsure look then just nodded again. "Well.. I don't... blame you knowing. This whole thing was my fault," She said sadly. She didn't know if it was the transformation whispering or 'changing' her mind... but... she regretted it. She really regretted it.
David wondered if she should confess the kiss... but Mark was making progress at the moment. She just couldn't say it was her. Even if she didn't initiate it, the pleasant feeling that came from it did belong to her, and it was shared to them all.
"... Did someone hurt you?" Asked Mark.
David blinked. "N-No..."
"One of us.. was upset two days ago..."
Oh- David winced. Yes.. she did cry. All her sisters knew!
The sudden change of feeling was sent instantly to Mark. "It.. was you.. huh..." She said a little mono toned. The link however allowed David to know, she was speaking in concern. She actually... cared? "You seem to have had an adventure or two," the angel girl said looking at her still. She didn't judge at all... it was so unlike her. Was the change affecting her mind?
"I- saw a few new places... I'll take you someday. If you want."
Mark looked down a bit. "I'd... like that," she said in the end. "Well, we best get to class... by the way. What happened to my shirt?"
"Um- It's not among my things," explained the angel girl. "Maybe Zara has it?"
"I'll check with her later."
Jon saw Brittany and knew she had to steel this chance. Important couldn't even begin to describe it! But when was the best moment? Class was going to start soon. "Brittany?"
The strange celtic girl turned to see the slug girl. "Greetings Jon." she said warmly. "Have you had a pleasant weekend?"
"Yes... but... there's something I really need to talk to you about," She cringed slightly.
Brittany tilted her head. Whatever it was, Jon seemed incredibly distressed. She sat him down and pulled her chair closer to her desk. "What's the matter?"
"Well- after class, would you come with me to my locker?" Her voice was a whisper.
"If.. you like," Brittany replied her curiosity peeked.
Jon nodded in thanks. She then glanced at the new.. person coming into the class. A horned girl, wearing a lot of layered clothing. But the face was unmistakable..
Tiffany?
Steven glanced about nervous... nobody was really paying attention to her. Thankfully. Still... perhaps they didn't know it was her? After all, she had gone past the point where she looked anything like a boy. Except maybe her face was still recognisable.
She collected her things from her locker, as she ran up to her first class. It looked like she was to be given the introduction to her schedule, as well as to take the test. It was annoying, she knew she was still the same person as before. She had to actually show it though.
She had entered a corridor, with quite a few other transformees also taking the same test. There was a nervous energy in the air...
It looked like there were a few people already taking the test, and were finishing. They left the room one at a time, some quite anxious, others jubilant... Given it was designed to see how much you have changed mentally, it gave a lot of undue stress. Still... she guessed she could understand why the school had to do it. How stressful would it be not to realise someone was mentally unfit to be in a particular class?
Speaking of mentally unfit... she saw Hiro leave.
The cyborg paused seeing her. "... Hi..."
"... hey," she said back. "I didn't know you came to this school."
Hiro looked uncomfortably. he was dressed very conservatively. His hood half shielded his face. "I didn't... after I transformed, I didn't think there was much point. I can recall everything perfectly... I know everything. What is there for them to teach me?"
Ass hole, thought Steven. "You feeling okay?"
"I will be..." Hiro's sister, Hitomi, insisted he should go to school still. Even if what he said was true, if nothing else, it will at least show his parents he was keeping out of trouble. He couldn't really argue that. He was going to be in enough trouble with them. He looked at the flower girl with some guilt. The memory of his dream was still there... it would always be there.
There was no half way situation for him. He could either remove the memory, or keep it. For some reason... he thought it was best to keep it. Despite how it made him feel. Tinkering with a mind he realised, was a very dangerous thing.
"how did the test go?" Asked Steven
"... I was able to analyse every way they could interpret my answers. I responded how I would have if I had not transformed... I didn't really want them to know about my abilities."
"You broke the system?" The flower girl said with some concern. "But.. the test isn't supposed to be like that. It's supposed to help you." If Hiro was hiding his true abilities...
"Life has taught me, one can never be too careful, princess" he said sadly. "I don't trust the feds... I want to turn my life around... but... I don't trust them. I don't trust... anyone."
The cyborg walked away.
Steven shook her head. Having him around was awkward... but it didn't look like he wanted to cause trouble any more. She looked at the line she had joined. There were other strange transformed people... two dragon girls...
... and somone else was there too. Something familiar... her eyes widened.
"Oh.. my... God..." She said staring. "Ben?!"
The figure gave a small hidden half smile. "Well... I figured, why not?"
