We made the switch without a problem. I flew to her house in owl morph. When I wasn't in mortal peril, that morph always made me feel good. Owls totally rule the night. And the early morning.
We had been having a week of gorgeous weather. It was a beautiful day for a picnic. When I fluttered into Cassie's window, the sun was just rising. The air was cool in that "Don't worry, I'll warm up," kind of way. Butterflies were rising into the breeze off the dewy grass. The sky was cloudless, and pink with the arrival of the day.
After ignoring Cassie's cold feet, acquiring her quickly, and kicking her out of her room, I slid the window shut.
I got goose bumps as I began the morph. We Animorphs almost never morph people. It feels wrong. We're fighting against aliens who use the bodies of others. To morph people feels like sinking to their level. We never morph people without their consent, except in absolutely desperate situations.
I thought that Cassie's conflict was cause enough to bend our rules. I had her consent. In fact, she was grateful. And I was using it for a good reason. To make her and her parents happy. If you're going to morph a human, what better conditions can you get than that?
The morph was over very quickly. It wasn't complex. Not compared to almost any of the other morphs I've done. My skin darkened. My hair tightened into short, thick curls, then turned black. I shrunk a little. My body shape changed.
"Hmm, gotta talk to that girl about these ten pounds," I said, and heard Cassie's voice come out of my mouth.
That was it. The morph was done.
I picked up the clothes she had laid out. I stared at them. Poor Cassie. I knew she had done her best to get me something that looked nice. But … wow. I held the overalls up. They stopped six inches above my ankles. The shirt was a tent. The socks were the same style, but were two different lengths. I rubbed my forehead, laughing quietly at the girl.
Okay, fine. I would wear the clothes. I was supposed to be Cassie. And no matter how much I might want her to, Cassie couldn't develop a fashion sense overnight. Besides, I knew her wardrobe. There wasn't much to work with. The few outfits I helped her buy were sitting at the bottom of her dresser. Worn once out of deference to me, then stuffed away out of sight.
I smiled. The smile felt funny on my face. Everything I did felt slightly different, a little weird. I wasn't at home in her body. But that was okay. I wasn't supposed to be.
There was a light knock at the door. "Cassie," Cassie's mom called from the hall, "Are you up?"
"Yeah, Mom!" I responded. "I'm up!"
"Okay. Go take care of Horace, then c'mon in and help me pack for the picnic!"
"Okay!"
I tugged on Cassie clothes, brushed my hand over my short hair. Then I added the finishing touch. I had "borrowed" Jordan's digital watch, and brought it with me. It was one of those new ones – elegant enough, but with a dozens of different functions. I clicked it to timer and pressed the button. It began to count down. One hundred and ten minutes left in morph. I left myself a ten minute margin just in case.
I bounced down the stairs, through the kitchen, into the mud room, where I tugged on Cassie's big boots. Her dad poked his head in. "Morning, Cassie!"
"Hey, Dad," I smiled.
"You going to take care of Horace?"
"Sure am."
He left, probably to find coffee and Cassie's mom, and I headed out to the barn. Horace was a temporary guest in Cassie's family. He belonged to a local stable, but had broken his leg. The stable owner knew Cassie's family, and had asked them to treat him. Cassie told me I could just feed him, and that she'd take care of the rest. I had been friends with Cassie long enough to know how to feed a horse.
Horace nickered when I came in. I swear, some animals can see straight through a morph. "Shhh, boy, it's just me," I said. "It's just . . . just me." I had been about to say it was just Rachel. But I left it at "me." You never know who could be listening in. And I didn't want to say I was Cassie in the empty barn. I didn't really want to lie to the horse.
It's weird. I didn't mind deceiving Cassie's parents, Jake, everybody. But I couldn't bring myself to say, "It's just Cassie," to a horse.
The human mind, who can fathom?
I finished up with Horace and came back into the house. "Cassie, wash your hands and help me pack!" Cassie's mom yelled.
"Coming!" I washed my hands, then came into the kitchen.
For the next hour, we pulled out what looked like all of the food in the kitchen, and cooked up a feast. I kept having to say, "Mom, remind me how to whip this cream," or "Mom, I forget how many eggs to add here."
"Really, Cassie!" she waved her spoon at me threateningly. "Are you gonna forget all the cooking tips I ever taught you?"
"No," I said. "I'm just a little forgetful today."
When all the peeling, chopping, mashing, mixing, boiling, baking, whipping, and packing was done, it was nine AM. I had gone to the bathroom to demorph twice already, was covered in flour and food scraps, exhausted, and very happy. Armed with three picnic baskets, we loaded up "Mom's" station wagon and trundled off towards our traditional picnic spot. I hoped Cassie was having as good a time as I was.
If I had only known.
We had been having a week of gorgeous weather. It was a beautiful day for a picnic. When I fluttered into Cassie's window, the sun was just rising. The air was cool in that "Don't worry, I'll warm up," kind of way. Butterflies were rising into the breeze off the dewy grass. The sky was cloudless, and pink with the arrival of the day.
After ignoring Cassie's cold feet, acquiring her quickly, and kicking her out of her room, I slid the window shut.
I got goose bumps as I began the morph. We Animorphs almost never morph people. It feels wrong. We're fighting against aliens who use the bodies of others. To morph people feels like sinking to their level. We never morph people without their consent, except in absolutely desperate situations.
I thought that Cassie's conflict was cause enough to bend our rules. I had her consent. In fact, she was grateful. And I was using it for a good reason. To make her and her parents happy. If you're going to morph a human, what better conditions can you get than that?
The morph was over very quickly. It wasn't complex. Not compared to almost any of the other morphs I've done. My skin darkened. My hair tightened into short, thick curls, then turned black. I shrunk a little. My body shape changed.
"Hmm, gotta talk to that girl about these ten pounds," I said, and heard Cassie's voice come out of my mouth.
That was it. The morph was done.
I picked up the clothes she had laid out. I stared at them. Poor Cassie. I knew she had done her best to get me something that looked nice. But … wow. I held the overalls up. They stopped six inches above my ankles. The shirt was a tent. The socks were the same style, but were two different lengths. I rubbed my forehead, laughing quietly at the girl.
Okay, fine. I would wear the clothes. I was supposed to be Cassie. And no matter how much I might want her to, Cassie couldn't develop a fashion sense overnight. Besides, I knew her wardrobe. There wasn't much to work with. The few outfits I helped her buy were sitting at the bottom of her dresser. Worn once out of deference to me, then stuffed away out of sight.
I smiled. The smile felt funny on my face. Everything I did felt slightly different, a little weird. I wasn't at home in her body. But that was okay. I wasn't supposed to be.
There was a light knock at the door. "Cassie," Cassie's mom called from the hall, "Are you up?"
"Yeah, Mom!" I responded. "I'm up!"
"Okay. Go take care of Horace, then c'mon in and help me pack for the picnic!"
"Okay!"
I tugged on Cassie clothes, brushed my hand over my short hair. Then I added the finishing touch. I had "borrowed" Jordan's digital watch, and brought it with me. It was one of those new ones – elegant enough, but with a dozens of different functions. I clicked it to timer and pressed the button. It began to count down. One hundred and ten minutes left in morph. I left myself a ten minute margin just in case.
I bounced down the stairs, through the kitchen, into the mud room, where I tugged on Cassie's big boots. Her dad poked his head in. "Morning, Cassie!"
"Hey, Dad," I smiled.
"You going to take care of Horace?"
"Sure am."
He left, probably to find coffee and Cassie's mom, and I headed out to the barn. Horace was a temporary guest in Cassie's family. He belonged to a local stable, but had broken his leg. The stable owner knew Cassie's family, and had asked them to treat him. Cassie told me I could just feed him, and that she'd take care of the rest. I had been friends with Cassie long enough to know how to feed a horse.
Horace nickered when I came in. I swear, some animals can see straight through a morph. "Shhh, boy, it's just me," I said. "It's just . . . just me." I had been about to say it was just Rachel. But I left it at "me." You never know who could be listening in. And I didn't want to say I was Cassie in the empty barn. I didn't really want to lie to the horse.
It's weird. I didn't mind deceiving Cassie's parents, Jake, everybody. But I couldn't bring myself to say, "It's just Cassie," to a horse.
The human mind, who can fathom?
I finished up with Horace and came back into the house. "Cassie, wash your hands and help me pack!" Cassie's mom yelled.
"Coming!" I washed my hands, then came into the kitchen.
For the next hour, we pulled out what looked like all of the food in the kitchen, and cooked up a feast. I kept having to say, "Mom, remind me how to whip this cream," or "Mom, I forget how many eggs to add here."
"Really, Cassie!" she waved her spoon at me threateningly. "Are you gonna forget all the cooking tips I ever taught you?"
"No," I said. "I'm just a little forgetful today."
When all the peeling, chopping, mashing, mixing, boiling, baking, whipping, and packing was done, it was nine AM. I had gone to the bathroom to demorph twice already, was covered in flour and food scraps, exhausted, and very happy. Armed with three picnic baskets, we loaded up "Mom's" station wagon and trundled off towards our traditional picnic spot. I hoped Cassie was having as good a time as I was.
If I had only known.