Disclaimer: I do not own pokemon.
Author's Notes: Sorry things are taking so long to heat up. I just want to make sure my characters have some backstory.
Not far away, a murkrow in a (more or less) human body lay sprawled unconscious in an alley. He shuddered occasionally, as if trapped in a horrible nightmare.
Suddenly, he woke up. There was no mirror in this alley, but he could feel right away that something was wrong. He lifted an appendage up and found, instead of a wing, an arm and hand.
What! How? This must be another nightmare…
For nightmares had been troubling him all night. Swallowing his panic, Murkrow got up, and instantly decided that had to be the case, although it was an unusually clear and defined nightmare. His legs were utterly different; he couldn't see his talons anywhere! He could feel them, though…
Murkrow took off his 'shoes' (he lived in the city-he could recognize those, at least) and found that he was not really utterly lost. His 'toes' were longer, more flexible, and obviously stronger than a normal human's. Where a human's toes ended in flimsy nails, his now ended in dark talons that looked rather dangerous.
What am I now, some half-and-half creature? What in the world happened!
He shakily decided that he had to find out more, starting with what this body was like. He had collected many shiny things as a murkrow, including a small hand mirror.
I'll just… find them. And then find out what's going on. There's got to be an explanation…
Another thought struck him. His previous dwelling was very high up. He would have to be able to fly to get there. Not knowing where to start looking for his wings, he decided to just get there along the ground first, and then try to fly.
That quickly provedmore easily said than done. Murkrow was lucky in that he had some experience in using only two legs before, but his balance was something else entirely. The walls frequently resounded with crashes as he got used to a new way of transportation. After a while, he fell less, and made his way to the building whose roof he had previously made his home.
During one of his many falls while learning to walk, Murkrow had painfully found his wings. He had refrained from unfurling them, however, afraid of what he would see, and not understanding how he would get them out through his 'jacket'. For they were folded on his back, not at his side, as they used to be.
Taking a deep breath, Murkrow spread his wings out. They somehow came easily out of the jacket. That, at least, was a relief. He pumped his wings, and quickly found himself thrust far higher in the air than he had expected. Regaining his balance, but not his breath, he saved the surprise for later and concentrated on moving the new wings with only the slightest movements, so as to not make any more unexpected jumps. He finally reached the roof, having managed the whole thing without once looking back at his wings. He drew them in, and walked over to where he had hidden his stash. He reluctantly uncovered the small hand mirror, and looked at himself fully for the first time.
He was certainly a half and half creature. Although, at first glance, he looked human, if one looked longer they would notice certain differences. His clothes, when inspected, had many dark feathers tightly woven into them, especially from the waist down. Above it he wore a sleek black jacket with long sleeves over a yellow t-shirt. On the back of the jacket, there were two slits, overlapped by material, which his wings must have slipped out of. They were almost completely unnoticeable, even up close.
His hands were of a white-ish shade, and didn't look very useful. When he flexed them in a certain way, however, feathered claws slid over them, from inside his sleeve. He flexed them again, and the silver-colored claws and black feathers slid right back up into unnoticeable shadows.
His face was the same color as his hands. His mouth was set in a gentle smile.
The iris of his eyes was a deep black, as if it was lost in shadows. His pupils, however, were of a yellowish white, and shone like stars, as light can only shine when surrounded by darkness.
Finally, Murkrow decided that he had to see his wings. He unfurled them-
-and, for the first time, was very much impressed by what he saw. His wings were huge- much larger than previously- and felt incredibly strong. He estimated that they were about two times his body length, making for an astounding 12-foot wingspan. They were covered in dark plumage, but it no longer seemed one solid black piece. Every detail of every feather could be seen, and yet they still blended quite well with the shadows. He lifted one up to the light, and was thrilled to see it clearly, outlined in the light of the dying day. Night was coming, but he didn't care.
He also found that he had excellent control over his wings, very finite control, although these wings were far from finite. They were strong, strong enough to do serious damage, he realized. After spending some time learning how to use them, Murkrow found that he could fly farther, faster and higher than he had ever before, at the cost of only a little agility- which he was sure he could regain with practice.
He was afraid of being seen, however, and settled back into the alley. He was by no means happy about his predicament, though he had enjoyed flying. What good is flying if one must always be on sharp lookout for probing eyes?
For Murkrow knew of humans. They feared anything that was different, and he was certainly different. He could not afford to be discovered, for humans destroyed what they feared.
His moping was interrupted by the swift arrival of another creature. It looked human, but the swift pace it was charging at him suggested otherwise. Getting hit by that charge would hurt.
Needless to say, the creature was constantly stumbling- as if it had suddenly gotten its balance drastically changed, or had lost some legs. Looking for a second longer, Murkrow noticed several long pale tails flowing behind it. A ninetails, escaped from a pokemon center, I'd guess, but maybe its offbalance because it's in the same situation as me? Murkrow speculated.
There was no time to ponder the subject further, however, as the human/? creature had gotten it's balance back from its most recent fall, and was charging again, straight at him.
Murkrow threw his wings out and pumped them down as powerfully as he could. They threw him far off the ground, which was lucky, because he still only narrowly missed the searing blast of flame the creature launched at where he had been only a few moments before, as it charged past. Murkrow slashed with his claws at it, and then dropped out of the sky to attack from behind. The creature spun and charged again. Murkrow slammed one of his wings into his foe, as hard as he could, and sent the creature flying backward into a wall. He stood tensed, hoping that the creature would not attack again.
A few seconds later, it stood up again, dazed. It studied him for a moment, quickly muttered "Sorry!" and dashed off in the opposite direction.
What scared it so much to come charging in like that? And why did it attack me?
"Interesting." Said a deep voice from behind him.
Murkrow whirled, claws still outstretched, hoping this creature was not a threat. What he saw sent a shiver of fear down his spine. The human/? creature wore robes that seemingly flowed from the shadows. Around his neck was a blood red …something… that reminded Murkrow of a jagged jaw.
What had scared him the most were the creature's eyes. The irises were an innocent bright blue, but his pupils were black, darker than anything he'd ever seen… and they frightened him. This was not a kind creature.
Since the creature didn't seem like it was going to attack right away, Murkrow decided to tentatively ask:
"Who are you? What are you?"
"Who am I…. is for me to reveal as I choose. As for what I am… Is it not obvious? I am gijinka. A pokemon that has become, visibly, human, but has kept all of their pokemon abilities."
Murkrow just stared, for the description fit him perfectly.
"You are, obviously, a strong gijinka… I tested that other, pathetic ninetails gijinka, and found it sorely lacking. But it seems I did not waste my time. You're fight with it was magnificently onesided."
This 'gijinka'… it scared that other creature so bad that it ran off that fast… and attacked me.
"I wondered why it attacked me in the first place."
"Probably because of the color. You are a creature of the darkness, just like me."
The way the other gijinka said 'creature of the darkness' vaguely disturbed him. Sure, he was a nocturnal dark type, but the creature's smooth, cold voice implied something more sinister.
"What is it that you want?"
"Why, to ask if you would …travel… with me, of course. I can teach you many things about your new state."
I need to know that sort of thing, Murkrow thought. And he did beat that other thing without getting a single scratch on him…
…but I something about him is wrong, and there's no way he's telling all. I can't trust him.
"Ummm… no thank you. Maybe later."
Surprisingly, it worked. The other gijinka studied him for a moment longer with those dreadful eyes, and then turned around and melted into the darkness.
Murkrow shuddered. So he was a gijinka.
Authors Notes: I like the way this is going. Do you? Please review!
