Fantasy Hartha Nëa School for All Magical Creatures. Applications closed

[Thief Of Hope]

Carver jerked awake from his half-sleep with a start.


Dammit, I didn't almost fall asleep again did I? would have been his immediate thought, however, he was much more preoccupied with the massive wolf barreling towards him.


Without thinking, he jumped over the back of the bench, trying to get as much distance between him and the beast as possible. He could feel his skin itching, his brain screaming. His entire body was yelling at him, telling him to shift. But he would not obey.


What is this thing doing coming after me? I didn't piss it off did I? Well, did I? I mean I might have. Eh, who even knows anymore.


"S-Stop! Uh... Please!" He shouted, not quite knowing what else to say. The wolf dwarfed him, almost standing as tall on four legs as he did on two. He had no doubt it could rip him in two without a second thought, unless it was a shifter. In which case it would probably not rip him in two. Probably. God he hoped it was a shifter. He was tempted to pray, for the first time in his life.

 

[Isune]

Leo watched as the stranger practically jumped over his bench and hid behind it. He couldn't help but chuckle as he watched the stranger shout and continue to use the bench as a shield. He only continued to laugh and chuckle a bit as he watched from under the tree. He then shouted over (even though he was still laughing),"You alright there buddy?"

 

[Ariel]

Yin noticed her brother stop dead in his tracks when the boy became afraid of him. He didn't see her yet and began backing away, with a curious look. When the boy leaped over the back of the bench, however, he landed on the young foxes tail and she yelped in surprise, squishing herself as far as she could into the corner, staring at the boy with round, golden eyes. Her brother was already too far away to hear her yelp and was looking behind another nearby building.

 

[Thief Of Hope]

Carver must have leaped at least twenty feet into the air when he heard the yelp from below him. He ignored the Centaur's jeers, not wanting to push himself any further.


"Jegus! How many animals are there around here! What is this place, a farm?!" Carver shouted, glaring down at the ground. His skin was still crawling, and it took near all of his mental energy not to shift.


Today was shaping up to be rather awful, he would say.


With a sigh, he crouched down, staring at the fox beneath the bench. He honestly felt bad for stepping on it's tail. If it was an it, and not a shifter. Things were getting rather annoying to follow, in his opinion.


"Uh, sorry. I didn't see you there. Was that wolf, uh, chasing you?" He asked, his voice naturally quiet.

 

[Ariel]

Flinching at his loud words, Yin wondered if she should just stay under the bench. Once he knelt down and spoke to her though she decided it'd be better to come out.


Hesitantly crawling from underneath the bench, Yin changed back into her human form. "Yes. He is my brother..." She whispered, her hand in front of her mouth and her gaze averted. Although she hardly made the effort to ever care about how others were feeling beside her brother, she felt guilty for disturbing the poor boy. "I'm sorry if we scared you." She could also sense something from him that made him seem more trustworthy through mutuality: he seemed troubled somehow.

 

[Thief Of Hope]

"N-No! Not at all!" Carver sputtered in his quiet way, suddenly worried he had bothered her, and at least he now knew for sure it WAS a her. He wasn't really focusing on that, however. What he was more interested in was the fact that he had finally found someone not taller than himself. Okay maybe she was a little taller than him. Only a little.


"So, um, I'm Carver. What's your na-"


A sudden pain shot through his head, cutting him off and making his legs suddenly collapse beneath him. He would have hit the ground, but caught himself on the back of the bench just in time. All he heard inside of his head was screaming. Very loud, very angry screaming. His skin felt as if it was burning, and he very nearly began to scream himself. He pressed his palms into his forehead, which was boiling hot. Clenching his teeth, he was now devoting all of his energy to not shifting. For the second time in his life now he considered praying.

 

[Isune]

Leo had watched the events unfold until he watched as the stranger almost collapsed onto the ground! He quickly stood up and trotted over to him before saying,"Hey! are you okay? Do you need to go to the nurse!?" He then looked at the girl who was a fox just moments ago and said,"Do you know what happened?"

 

[Ariel]

As he spoke, Yin watched him, observing to find more out about him. Why is he looking over me like he's sizing me up? Just as he spoke he seemed to suddenly become overtaken with pain. For the very first time in her life she touched another person. Reaching out with wide eyes, she instinctively tried to stop him from falling. After he caught himself though, she ended up just firmly placing her small hand on his arm. "Are you okay...?!" She squeaked.


From not far off, Yang stood, back in human form, watching his sister reach for someone other than him. Somehow he grew jealous but quickly buried the feeling and continued watching from behind a wall.


 
"N-no... " she mumbled. She couldn't help but feeling like this was her fault. Maybe if they hadn't scared him...

 

[Thief Of Hope]

Carver closed his eyes. The sounds of the world around him had dissolved into static. He felt completely alone, like he was floating in a void of silence. He began to take deep breaths, slowly lowering himself to the ground.


His head began to clear, and his hearing returned. Inside of his mind was nothing but silence. The screams had stopped, and he was alone. He pushed himself onto his feet.


Something felt wrong.


He was lower than before. Much, much lower. His entire body shook and felt weak, but strangely lithe. Something was protruding from his mouth. Fangs, he realized with a sudden jolt. His eyes were sharper, everything seemed much more focused.


Are you kidding me he thought. Directing the question to no god in particular, more as a general complaint to the entire universe.


It had been so long since he had shifted he had nearly forgotten the pain he went through to do so.


He now stood on the ground in the form of a young Lynx.


Well this is officially high up on my list of "Worst Days Ever" He thought bitterly.

 

[Ariel]

Yin's hands flew up to her mouth as she gasped. He was a shifter? But why was it so awful for him? Again, completely stepping out of her comfort zone, Yin cautiously placed her hand on top of Carver's head in a comforting gesture. She knew even if it seemed a bit belittling it was a nice feeling in shifted form. She just hoped he wouldn't get cross with her over it. What was up with her today? Talking, caring... This place had weird effects on her.

 

[Thief Of Hope]

Carver froze when he felt the hand on his head. Was this girl... Petting him?


He felt slightly annoyed, but at the same time he didn't mind the sensation.


Without realizing it, he had begun to purr. He backed away nervously, suddenly feeling embarrassed at his childish behavior.


He felt strangely small and weak, and lowered himself to the ground, as his legs were still shaking. Even though he had only been in this form for maybe a minute, it was already the longest he'd ever spent. The other few times he had gone through that he managed to force himself back near immediately after it finished. But something told him it wouldn't work this time.


He opened his jaw to speak, but all that came out was a tiny mewl.

 

[Isune]

Leo watched as Carver turned into a lynx. He was a bit surprised that Carver was a shifter at all! The centaur simply stared down at the Lynx, purely amazed. He held out a hand and lightly patted the Lynx on the head before saying,"You must be a shifter, but why'd you shift like that?"

 

[Thief Of Hope]

Carver recoiled at the second hand. He hadn't even remember that the Centaur had been there at all. At his comment about him shifting, he very much wished to rip at his throat. He restrained the urge.


It would be a while before he could change back and explain to him how he was born a mutant who couldn't shift properly.

 

[Isune]

As the Lynx recoiled at his hand, Leo quickly said,"Right, you don't like that..." He quickly put his arm to his side and continued to examine the Lynx. He was very interested as the why he couldn't just shift back like any normal shifter could. The centaur bent down a little to get a better look at the Lynx. This was very interesting to the centaur.

 

[Ariel]

Shifting back into her fix form, Yin knelt in front of the small Lynx synbolizing vulnerability and good intentions between animals. Perhaps this way they could better communicate and he could explain what occurred or at least say if he was okay.


Yang by this time had left, feeling negatively about the situation.

 

[Thief Of Hope]

Carver stared at the transformed girl nervously. She had bowed down in a strange manor, and he could feel the Centaur's eyes burning into him.


He slowly stood on shaky legs. Perhaps this body was still the equivalent of a child, as he's spent near no time in it.


Lowering his head next to the fox's, he wondered silently why she had changed. He was still rather unversed in what being shifted was like, and what he was capable of in this form.

 

[Ariel]

In a body language and variety of sounds animals used to communicate, she asked him, "Are you okay?" He was so small and seemed so shaken. She genuinely hoped he was alright. He didn't look to comfortable in this form.

 

[Thief Of Hope]

The Fox-Girl made several yelping noises at Carver, which somehow, he understood. He attempted to make similar noises back at her, hoping he got his message across.


"Y-Yeah I think so. D-Do you always feel this weak when you shift or is it just me?"


Part of him pondered why this girl was even bothering to help a mutant like him. The other part however was finally reveling in the fact he was finally taller than someone. If only a little. Okay maybe he wasn't taller than her at all, even in animal form. Actually, he was fairly certain despite being slightly hunched she might have been at least a little bit taller than him.


Why must the universe curse me so? He wondered.

 

[Ariel]

"Usually you are supposed to feel stronger but I can see you've had trouble shifting." She looked over him wondering why it was so hard for him. Is he hurt? Is he sick? She knew sometimes the harsher fevers would make shifting a challenge. She cocked her head to the side quizzically at him.

 

[Thief Of Hope]

"Y-Yeah... It's a... let's just say disability of mine."


Carver looked away from the girl, slightly embarrassed. His ears twitched at every little sound, and his eyes saw in a strange color. This entire situation was so alien to him he didn't know what to make of anything.


"O-Oh! I just realized! I still don't know your name!" He said in the strange, meow-roar that he used to speak.

 

[Isune]

Leo watched as the two animals conversed, not aware of a single word they were saying. Sure he was half horse, but he didn't speak a lick of animal. He would have to wait and watch to see if the shifter in despair finally returned to his normal form.

 

[Ariel]

A disability? That's so sad... Her heart went out to him. She noticed he looked extremely uncomfortable in his animal form. How often did he change? She wondered. "My name is Yin. It's nice to officially meet you." She conveyed with a friendly purr. She felt far more comfortable as a fox.

 

[EarbudsOnMute]

Violet opened her mouth a little after hearing Crisis's hurting reply. She grabbed her luggage and began to unpack. She placed a framed photo of a green hill with a large tree on the side up on her wall. She grabbed a little purple stone and placed it on her dresser. She placed her hands on her hips and nodded she knew she had finished settling in. Her eyes slowly moved over to Crisis which led her to see that he was talking to a bird that was on a perch. Her eyes grew wide so she looked away. She picked up her sketch book and jumped onto her bed. She layed on her pillow and blanket drawing a little picture.


"You know you might as well tell me why you act like you do," Violet spoke clearly through the room to Crisis.

 

[Thief Of Hope]

"Y-yeah. Nice to meet you too."


Carver had begun to get anxious. Really, really anxious. Every little thing seemed so huge in this more sensitive form, and he desperately wanted out.


"S-So could you give me any advice for... I dunno... Getting out of this body? It's begun to get kinda... weird. I dunno... I'm just rather... tired."


It was true too. His inner cat appeared to be wanting to do what cats did best, lie down in the sun and nap. But he couldn't do that. He had to get out of this body. Something cliche in the back of his mind seemed to give him the worry that if he stayed in the body for too long he would be trapped in it. And as much as he despised the idea, he was legitimately concerned about it.

 

[Ariel]

Getting out of it? For her it was natural. But what was it Yin did when she fazed back... Pondering for a second, she answered with, "Well it's a matter of detaching yourself from your animal side. Think of things you could only do as a human. Imagine wanting to do them." He looked like he was about ready to hyperventilate. She hoped her advice would work and be the least bit helpful. She believed it would be but still...