Wings of Paper - Chapter 20

Shapeshifter's Grudge

I never really tried to create monsters for my world, but apparently my imagination had decided that the kingdoms needed some sprucing up. 

Okay so maybe the term monster was a bit derogatory. If there’s anything I’ve learned from creating characters, just don’t insult them. Which means setting a fine line between creature, monster, and person. 

For example, Sadie was a person even if she wasn’t human. 

The figure in front of us didn’t really have a defined line and I was a bit confused as to what to refer to them as. 

Then, uh, I’ll just go with creature wasn’t very large. She - I decided it was a female - was a serval, which is a type of spotted cat with bat-like ears. Now, your typical serval isn’t large in the first place - a little bigger than a house cat. 

This serval was the size of a wolf. Her dark spots contrasted against her pale, auburn fur. She wasn’t a typical serval, which kind of clued me in on what to expect before the change. 

If I would’ve blinked I would’ve missed it. The serval transformed into a human, her ears shortening as her bones morphed. A shapeshifter, it seemed. I had forgotten they existed in this world - probably because they were a quickly shut down thought. 

I had almost written a story about shapeshifters but decided against it when I came up with the idea for Kip’s story instead. 

She was young, a little older than me but definitely not in her twenties yet. Dark, spotted paint lined her face and her rose gold hair dripped down past her shoulders in waves. She was breathtakingly fierce, she looked like if I made a wrong move she would kill me. Dismember me without a second thought. 

The shapeshifter eyed us with intense suspicion and it took me a moment to realize she wasn’t Darkness consumed, something that surprised me. 

“Are you allied with Dee?” Kenzie stepped forward, her blade extended. 

The shapeshifter’s eyes flitted across Kenzie’s knife but she made no move, as if she were still interpreting the language. 

Finally, the shapeshifter spoke. Her voice was like a soft purring, musical. “Are you allied with this mysterious Dee?” She raised an eyebrow, glancing at all of us. Her gaze lingered on me, something that made me extremely uncomfortable. 

Kenzie hesitated before answering, and I knew why. We had no idea whether the shapeshifters were on our side or if they had voluntarily sided with Dee. It was possible that Dee had offered sanctuary in these outer parts of the world for those who sided with her, and shapeshifters were cunning. They would take whatever option best helped them survive. 

“I ask again, are you allied with Dee?” Kenzie repeated. 

The shapeshifter’s eyes narrowed, but then she smiled tootihly. “You are very intelligent for children of your age. Yes, indeed.” 

I didn’t really understand what that meant but I assumed it was a good thing. 

The shapeshifter thought for a moment before continuing. “You bear no mark of the Dark Woman, and the sword hanging at the older boy’s side tells me you are against her. You will find allies among the shapeshifters, though not friends.” 

“Life without friends would be pretty lonely,” Sadie noted. 

The shapeshifter shrugged. “The Creator long forgot about us, my dear princess. He cares for us none, so we don’t interact with his ways with the … other life forms.” She sounded bitter and I felt guilty. How many species had I forgotten that I created? There was Stella and the nymphs, but now the shapeshifters too. 

The shapeshifter eyed us craftily, taking us in. “We will give you safety and passage for a few days, but the clan will not be able to provide for longer than that.” 

“Thank you, ma’m,” Alex interjected before Kenzie could protest. “We’re very grateful for your hospitality, no matter how small. Your act of kindness will not be forgotten. Is there any way we can repay you?” 

“Hmph,” replied the shapeshifter, which I couldn’t tell if that was a positive or negative response. “I suppose if you happen to meet the Creator on your journey you could remind him of our existence.” She said this all while staring straight at me and I could feel shame welling up in my throat. I wondered if she knew who I was. 

“We’ll be sure to do that,” Alex decided, sending a pointed look at me. “Wait, how did you know the Creator is in this realm? Or that Sadie is a princess?” 

The shapeshifter raised an eyebrow at Sadie. “She smells like royalty, reeks of it to be exact. As for the Creator …” she was looking at me again. “I have a feeling that he is here, and closer than I expect.” 

I was really uncomfortable now. I hoped that we wouldn’t stay long at all. If all of the shapeshifters were like this… I shuddered at thought. 

“Our lair is this way,” the shapeshifter announced. “My name is Trelasa, by the way. I can tell many of you were wondering. I already know who all of you are, so there is no need to introduce yourselves.” 

“Oh yeah,” Sadie asked as we began to walk through the swampish land on the other side of the bridge. Though the ground was mushy, it was still more solid than the soupy land under the bridge. The path wound around the trees and into the forest. Sadie crossed her arms as she walked. “Prove it.” 

Trelasa gave a sigh that sounded disgusted. “My dear princess, if you really desire proof than proof I will provide. The dark haired young boy is Samson, a royal guard. His mother was killed by witches and he feels he disappointed her. The fierce, scary girl is Kenzie, a maiden from the Topaz Kingdom. She provides services for the Princess named Ash. The other girl with the blue eyes is Alexandra, though her past and future are guarded from my vision. And yet I can feel her troubles dwelling deep within her - she knows something. As for the other one, I give no explanation.” 

I was surprised by Trelasa’s abilities until I remembered that shapeshifters were also skilled with logic, intelligence, and foreshadowing. They were quite impressive at reading body language and emotions. Yet Alex was hidden from her - probably because she was from the real world. And Trelasa had said nothing about me, for reasons I still didn’t understand. 

“What about Luke?” Sadie asked. 

Trelasa shifted back into her serval form, trotting along on silent padded feet. She clearly didn’t want to talk, which was fine with me.

But my mind kept repeating what Trelasa had said. She had mentioned Alex was hiding something. She had mentioned troubles too, but we were all stressed out from the Darkness, right? 

What was Alex hiding? What did she know that she wasn’t sharing? I was going to ask her but Alex stepped away from me. I got closer to her, which felt weird but I needed to talk. 

“What are you hiding?” I hissed in her ear. I was sure the others were watching, but I didn’t care. Our team wouldn’t be able to function well if we kept secrets from each other. I was probably being hypocritical - I didn’t want to share everything with the group, but if it was important to defeating Dee I wanted to know. 

“Nothing,” Alex muttered back defensively. 

“If it’s important you need to tell us,” I whispered. She glared at me. 

“I’m not hiding anything, so leave me alone,” she spat. Because that wasn’t suspicious at all. I sighed. I knew better than to argue with a girl like her. I would end up disemboweled if I kept probing so I slowly backed away. 

We didn’t have to walk long and Trelasa shifted back into human form a few minutes later. “I protect the village from intruders, which is why I was at the bridge. The others will be surprised to have company, so please act reasonable. I may know that you mean no harm, but they will not know that.” 

“So don’t draw weapons,” Sammy clarified, seeming disappointed. 

Trelasa nodded. “Precisely.” She straightened up, brushing off her sunset colored dress. Then she pressed her hand against the bark of a tree. The tree was missing leaves and needles, which was a bit surprising even with the Darkness killing everything. The tree seemed naked compared to everything else. 

There was a soft hiss and steam rose from the ground in front of me. 

The mist parted to reveal a bustling tiny village. The shacks were made of stones, wood, and an assortment of other natural materials. All kinds of people and animals hobbled about, some caring buckets of water and others guiding livestock through the streets. I could smell baking food as well as the sweet scent of fruit. Although it was noisy, the village still had a quiet feel. There was a small man playing a flute in the shadows. Children scurried around in circles. 

The creature forms of the shapeshifters were all cats. Where Trelasa was a serval, I saw cheetahs, lynxes, and various other wildcats. Each one was slightly off size, about wolf-height like Trelasa had been. The children were a bit smaller - or at least I assumed they were the children. 

One of the tiny lion cubs saw us first. It shifted into a small, human boy with narrowed amber eyes. He made a musical sound like a purr or growl but more … I didn’t know how to describe it. It was like a language. 

Trelasa raised her arms in a gesture almost like surrender but less dramatic. “Friends,” she said, pointing to us. “Allies. No harm will come to them.” 

Apparently not all of the villagers knew English very well, so this was their solution. Trelasa used her hands and body to express a lot of her words. The other shapeshifters seemed to understand and went back to work. 

Trelasa turned to face us. “Find the boy who calls himself Benedict, he often takes the form of a lynx. He will show you to a place you can stay unharmed. I’m afraid that my brethren won’t all accept your presence in their midst for long.” And with that she shifted back into a serval form and darted away. I marvelled at the way her dress shifted in and out of form with her. 

It didn’t take us long to find the lynx called Benedict. In fact, he showed himself very quickly. I saw a dart of movement out of the corner of my eye and followed it to a tree on the edge of the village. 

Benedict shifted to human form. He had bright mud colored eyes and grayish hair that curled around his head. But despite all of this he only looked to be about ten. 

He gazed at us for a moment and I got the feeling he was smarter than all of us combined. Then he shifted back into lynx formed and scampered away, leaving us in awed silence. 

“Well, follow him!” I cried, earning some odd looks from other people. We took off after the cat. 

Luckily Benedict seemed to wait for us at every turn. He darted along through the trees like he knew exactly where he was going. I guess he probably did know where he was leading us, but I was hopelessly lost. 

Finally, I lost sight of the gray furred lynx. 

We were stopped at a gorgeous waterfall, the rocks wet from mist. The water was surprisingly clear and I could spot a few fish swimming against the current. The creek didn’t look deep, maybe six feet at the most. 

“Look,” Kenzie suddenly pointed. I caught movement out of the corner of my eye, right at the base of the waterfall. Sammy and Kenzie rushed forward first. “There’s a cave!” 

Sammy ducked inside first and Kenzie followed him. The rocky outcropping on the sides of the waterfall had a small hole, one I was barely able to squeeze through. But on the inside it was everything but small. 

Although the cave was tinier than Kenzie’s grandmother’s cottage had been, it was still roomy for being under a waterfall. 

Luminescent moss lit the ceiling and walls with a dim, blue glow. The rock ground was damp but not soaked. The waterfall roared beside us, though a large group of rocks blocked the spray from hitting us. 

Benedict became human again, his trousers and shirt nearly glowing silver in the low light. When he spoke, his voice sounded a lot like Trelasa’s only huskier. 

“You shouldn’t have come here,” Benedict told us.

“Trelasa said you were against Dee, so shouldn’t we be allies?” Alex argued. I was wondering the same thing. 

Benedict shook his head. “We are against Dee at the moment, but that could change. A majority of the clan wants to join her cause. Trelasa, a few other rebels, and I are the only ones fighting to protect the humans and elves. You aren’t safe in the village.” 

Great. Yet another group of creatures wanted us dead. 

“So why are you helping us?” Sammy asked, narrowing his eyes. Benedict thought for a moment before responding. 

“My name sounds human, does it not?” We all nodded, it definitely didn’t sound like a name for a shapeshifter. “My father was a human, my mother was a nymph. They named me after my father, who also had elvish ancestry very far back. Trelasa has a similar story, though her traces are further than mine. I can’t stand to let my past die out.” 

Although Benedict’s story sounded solid, he didn’t seem convinced of it himself. I let it slide - I figured we shouldn’t be rude to our host. 

“How long do you plan to stay?” the boy asked. 

“About a day to rest,” Kenzie decided. “We won’t impede on your hospitality any longer than that. We have a … mission.” 

“Hmm,” Benedict muttered. “I suppose this is to stop the Darkness. But you do know that only the Creator can stop Dee and the Darkness - the ancient texts said so.” Once again, the shapeshifter’s eyes met mine and held my gaze. 

“Why does everyone keep staring at me?” I asked, trying to sound normal. It was seriously unnerving me. Maybe I would invest in a bag to put over my head. 

Benedict looked away. “I am very sorry, but your presence here intrigues me and the other shifters.” He didn’t elaborate anymore, but I was pretty sure I knew what he meant. The shapeshifters were intuitive enough to figure out who I was. 

“Well, I hope you enjoy your stay,” Benedict said at last. “I’ll be back with food for you later. You can rest for the night, but then you should be on your way.” 

“Thanks again,” I said, grateful for the mention of nourishment. 

Benedict stared at me. “No, thank you.” And then he shifted into lynx form and darted out of the cave.