Ruby Immerd woke slowly, her body aching all over.
What happened? She thought, her mind overwhelmed and exhausted. The last thing she remembered was…
Car lights, a loud horn, and pain, so much pain!
Gasping, the young woman sat up, her heart pounding a staccato rhythm within her chest as she was thrown fully into consciousness. She was in a forest, lying within the middle of the small clearing, the musical noise of a waterfall tinkling merrily in the background. Birds chirped overhead, their joy for life expressed through song.
Slowly, Ruby raised her right hand to her forehead, and she gasped again as she took in the sight of her extremity. No longer was her hand that of a human, no, now it was longer, more elegant, and strangely enough, slightly furry, with claws for fingernails. Looking down the rest of her body, Ruby saw more changes, unexpected but wonderful all the same.
She still wore her ultra low hip hugger jeans, their red stitching complementing the short ginger and white fur that now covered her body. Her silky black halter neck top covered her from breast to navel, concealing her luscious curves from any eager eyes, be they male or female. Feeling gently up from her collarbone to her face, Ruby was relieved to find that the fur faded out on her neck, leaving her well shaped face free of her new covering.
Most exciting of all was perhaps the tail which she had acquired. It was long, and she could control it as if it was another limb.
Standing slowly on her six inch stiletto heels, the newly minted cat girl became aware of other advantages to her new physiology. Her sight was improved, she could now see further than ever before. Like a cat! She thought excitedly.
Her hearing too was now superhuman, the sounds of the forest becoming clearer as she concentrated on this new sense.
Calming her excitement, Ruby took stock of her surroundings, trying to figure out how she had gone from being in the middle of a clubbing night in the middle of a city to here. After all, hadn't she been hit by a car?
Was she dead?
I must be, she thought sadly, closing her eyes against the grief. She felt her heart break for her mother, all alone now without the only family she had left. I'm sorry Mom.
The seventeen year old slowly pulled herself together, opening her sparkling emerald orbs to once more examine her surroundings.
Just them, a beautiful man stepped from the trees in front of her, and she decided that she was, in fact, dead.
And in Heaven.
Barely containing the delight within her, Ruby moved forward, as silent and light on her feet as the elf ahead. Debating whether or not to call out to him, she waited, wondering if he would notice she was there. She had no doubt she could defend herself if he attacked out of fright, after all, she'd been an early karate prodigy, handling larger and older men with ease ever since she'd begun. She also was an excellent archer, having studied extensively, looking for a new challenge once she'd reached her black belt.
Legolas had yet to notice her, his eyes focussed on the small pool of sapphire water just on the edge of the small clearing. Grinning, Ruby stepped on a twig, frowning when it didn't break. Stamping harder, she was rewarded with the snap of the dead tree debris, and the startlement of the gorgeous elf before her.
"Hi." She said, grinning.
"Who are you?" The elf looked frightened, his body tense as he took in the unusual sight of the cat girl.
"Ruby Immerd. And you are Legolas."
Puzzlement and growing fear passed across the elf's face.
"How do you know me? Where do you come from?"
Ruby paused for a moment, her mind racing. How was she supposed to tell him that he was dead too? That they were obviously fated to be together?
Grin widening, Ruby came to the perfect conclusion.