Before story
Early summer
Katsumi
It was late in the afternoon on a hot summer day and I was walking to the river.
I came across a small creek that I had named Uno (don't ask why). I jumped onto the unstable driftwood bridge that I had rebuilt last year because of the strong current in the winter washing it away.
Grabbing onto the fallen tree limb that I had used as a railing, I swiftly tugged myself up onto the other side of the bank.
The path in the forest was covered with dried leaves and pine needles. Blackberry vines were strewn across it as well as poison oak and other plants, some with little red berries, some with oddly shaped leaves, but they were all different.
I came across the small fallen tree that would trip anyone who didn't know it was there named Step Watcher. I'd almost forgotten about it until I saw the roots on the other side, so I hopped over it and continued on my way.
The dead tree that I called the Forest Ghost's branches were hanging low in the path. In-between the limbs and the trunk was a wide arch. That's where I got through it every time.
I made my way down a hill and exited the forest. I ran down another hill into Gaara's Abyss (yes I love Naruto); a sandy and rocky gully that, at one time, had river flowing through it. Back up the knoll to the other side, I found long grass with a million types of bugs. It was hard to find the trail, but I caught the scent of it again.
Then it was simple. Around Beaver (the biggest tree on my way to the river), down and up Termite Heaven (a ditch with a lot of rotting wood in it), and through the Whispering Forest of Deadly Pain (a small passageway prickly bushes that make whispering sound as they scratch your flesh), and I was home free!
Gazing at the red mud and rock wall that I'd seen at least a million times before, my eyes traveled up and I saw the old Erin Lodge, which now belonged to someone I wasn't sure who was.
I looked around as usual to see if anyone was watching as usual, and transformed into my true form; half white fox, half human, and dove into the cold water. My hair turned white and my eyes turned blue as they usually do. My dad said that my mother's hair was black and she had violet eyes, whereas he had blonde hair and blue eyes.
Cleaning the inside of my ears with a towel that I kept hanging on a tall lush bush, I glanced up at the lodge again and saw a boy about my age with red hair staring at me. I gasped, quickly putting my head underwater and willing myself to change back, even though I was sure he had seen me, fur, tail, ears, and all.
My head popped back up, and I whispered, "Damn," but he was gone. I shook my hair out and dried it, it returning to it's normal shaggy short and blonde with bangs, my eyes back to violet.
I'd never told anyone my secret. Ever. Not Daddy or Gram.
And I didn't plan to.