The power wells up inside of me. I can feel it flow down my legs and through my arms; inside my toes and into my fingers. I can feel the transformation take place. The fur surrounds me and replaces my skin. I shrink down and stand on all fours. My fur is spotted exactly like the animal that I have become. I smell the air as I take in a deep breath. The sky is pitch black and dark as night. I left before my family could wake up. The recent rain has given the land a certain smell that I love more than anything. It is the best smell in the world it represents a new beginning about to take place. A fresh rain, it waits for the next one to come. This is the one time that I like to come out and hunt. I smell a deer and take off into the forest, my paws hitting the soft wet ground. They barely make a sound. I leap forward jumping for the deer's neck. I pin it down quickly, its blood trickles down. I rip open its neck with my sharp canines. It squirms and becomes difficult to hold it down but after a few more quick attacks it goes still and limb beneath my weight. My razor-sharp claws tear at the deer cutting open its skin and tearing at the meat. The blood trickles down my throat and I chew the meat. I finish off the deer quickly and lick my lips. The blood has soaked my muzzle. I take a final look at the deer before running off into the forest once again.
I have chosen a good animal to become today. Today I am a cheetah, the fastest land animal known. The blows back the fur on my body and I run faster. I can feel myself start to weaken so I slow down. I take deep breaths. I'm not in the mood to run anymore today so I think of a fast bird. I'm no wiz on birds but lately I have been reading up on animal books. The falcon comes to my mind. I think hard about the animal, its feathers, its short beak and long talons. The magic flows through me once again. My legs start to change yet again this time into a falcon's. My arms turn into feathers all different shades of gray. My hands turn into wings and my feet turn into long orangey talons with sharp black claws. When the new transformation is complete I lift off the ground and soar into the sky. I fly as fast as these wings will carry me. I start to head back in the direction of my house, my mom and sister will probably be waking up soon. I make a barely audible squeak of pleasure as I fly. Usually when I become animals I try not to make any noise because the sound is so unfamiliar to my ears. I remember one of the first times that I changed. I was a lion; I made the most horrifying sound. I got scared of it myself. It just didn't sound right for that noise to be coming out of me. But right now at this moment that tiny squeak felt perfect and right to me.
The wind travels through each individual feather on me. When I reach my house I fly through the window that leads into my room. I keep it open when I go out so I don't have to sneak in naked or in the form of some wild beast, that would be awkward if a neighbor or my sister caught me.
I perch myself on my bed and think of myself. I think of my regular human structure. I think of my relatively tan skin, my long muscular arms, and toned chest. I see the feather fall off and my arms appear beneath them. My talons turn into my feet and my midsection starts to shape. MY head takes longest to change back to normal. I have never been able to figure out why but, then again I learn new things about what I am everyday. I am now sitting on my bed naked and shivering. I grab the white towel that I set out before I left this morning and wrap it around my waist. I get up and walk over to my dresser to get some clothes.
"Whew," I say taking a deep breath.
"Charlie?" my mom calls from the other side of the door.
"Um, yeah, mom," I says worried. She cant come in I haven't had time to pick up all the feathers yet. "Did you need something," I ask
"No I was just letting you know that breakfast is ready," she says
"Ok I'll be down in a few just let me change really quickly," I say to her.
She probably said something like "ok", or "hurry", but I didn't hear her. I search through my dresser and pull out a pair of blue boxers and a pair of shorts. I put then both on and then take a quick glance in the mirror.
"Dam it," I say to myself.
I pick up the towel that I dropped to the floor and start to wipe the dried blood of the corners of my lips. My dark blond hair is a little ruffled and messy but other than that its fine there is no dried blood. I pluck a gray feather out of my t-shirt and throw that into the pile with the others.
"Ok," I take a deep breath and open my door.
I walkout into the hallway and see my sisters door crack open. I practically sprint down the stairs and into the kitchen. My sister and I recently had an argument and I'm not in the mood to deal with her right now. Usually when we fight it will go on for hours back and forth with each other neither of us ever missing a beat.
"Hey, mom," I say strolling lazily into the kitchen next to her. A big stack on French toast sit on a plate on the counter so, I pick one up and shove it in my mouth. Turning into animals tends to work up an appetite despite the fact that I just had a deer.
"At least use a plate," my mom says laughing and sliding the syrup over the counter.
"Don't mind if I do," I say grabbing the entire plate and the syrup next to it.
"Hey, at least try to be considerate your sister hasn't eaten yet," my mom says taking a few pieces of French toast off of my plate and putting them on another one. I smile wide at her and drench my toast in the thick sweetie goodness. My sister Jasmine walks in then. I hate my sister she thinks that she knows everything. We fight about a lot of things almost everything really but, if there was anyone that I was going to tell my secret to, it would be without a doubt her.