Rebirth of the Magi (IC)

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Xindaris

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The entire city was a mess. Much of the major destruction came from various crashes, people knocked unconscious at the wheel, and every chain reaction that had resulted from that. There were fires all over the place, and nobody to put them out; a decent building code was all that kept Gateway city from turning into a literal inferno.

Raerin had no idea why he was thinking about fire. There was something much more important to be thinking about right now.

Water...

He had been turned into a wolf, and it was a miracle he could even walk in his new form. He had seen reflections...he didn't look like a normal wolf, not any picture he had seen. His eyes were still the same color they had been before, and his coat of fur was red, hardly suited for camouflage in any biome he was aware of. There were still some fresh scars on him, one on his face (muzzle?) and a few on his sides. When attacked by some other animals...some people, insane people, who he knew somehow to be feral, he'd run away, unwilling to hurt them back despite how much his body seemed to scream it wanted to.

He couldn't eat anything that wasn't meat. He'd tried, there was still some food left in the hotel's kitchen, but he'd just hacked it up. He still managed to scavenge a little bit, but it felt like he was always hungry. Every little bit of meat he found only served to whet his appetite. That was worrying. When he had seen a rabbit, he'd started drooling, and had to remind himself that that had probably been a person before. That might still be a person. But when he had tried saying hello, it just ran away.

He knew he'd eaten enough to survive for a little while. He knew that what he needed, more than anything, was water. His throat was parched, and he hadn't had anything to drink in several hours. He had no idea how long it had been...he looked up into the sky, and saw the sun burning almost directly overhead. It had been around noon, hadn't it? So, that would make it noon again...he had officially been a wolf for a day, even if some of that time he had been unconscious. It wasn't going to be much longer if he died of thirst.

Fortunately, as he turned a corner on the sidewalk, Raerin came upon what looked like a pool of water on the corner. On closer investigation, it was a result of a fire hydrant that had been knocked over by a car. That was good, it meant the water was probably relatively clean. Raerin drew close, looking around and seeing nobody else around, and then bent his head over the puddle and started drinking. Using his tongue was unfamiliar and weird, but he was far too thirsty to care right now.


((OOC here))
 
"YOU KNOW WHAT, JUST FUCK OFF!!! GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!!!! I HATE YOU, AND YOU CAN BOTH JUST GO TO HELL!!!! SO GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE, AND DON'T COME BACK EITHER!!!!"

With that being said, along with a quick and very loud slam of her bedroom door, those were the last words Aimee Halburn said to her parents, before....well, before the crazy stuff started happening. They had left her all alone in the large mansion on another one of their so-called "business trips". Of course, Aimee knew it wasn't a real business trip. Just one of their "secret vacations" they always took to get away from her as quickly as they could. They were ashamed of their daughter. They pretty much resented her, wondering why she couldn't be like their friends' daughters. But complaint was in order, beacause Aimee is a little....rough around the edges. Always getting into trouble at school, cussing out the teachers and the principal, cussing out and sometimes hitting at and throwing things at her parents, getting into fights with both girls and boys (and won every last one, too!), sneaking out to wild college parties, getting arrested for everything (from shoplifting to battery), underage smoking and drinking, these are all just a few of Aimee's day to day "hobbies". She has been like this since a very young age and now trouble has become a way of life for her. With a juvie record a mile long, the 16-year-old has no shame at all. She even found herself a pretty cool boyfriend after attending one of her monthly court hearings. Of course, Godot Leandro knows nothing of Aimee's wild nature, and never really cared to check, much to Aimee's pleasure. He's probably one of the only 2 people in her life that she actually cares about, and that's a lot to say since Aimee doesn't really give a duck's ass about anyone other than herself.

Amidst her bitchy and terrible personality she has gained a lot of friends, although she thinks they actually are her true friends. The only reason they befriended her was so they wouldn't get their ass beat by her. Everyone is typically scared of her except for Godot and her feathered-friend, Harper, a Red-Tailed Hawk she smuggled from the zoo during her a boring school field trip when she was 14. Her and Harper eventually became very close, more a best friend than a pet. The only other positive things in Aimee's life is her love for singing and playing the electric guitar. Right before the radiation, Aimee was sitting on the living room couch of her parents' mansion, listening to her ipod, watching re-runs of the Hills, reading various magazines, drinking vodka and smoking. Her parents had left the day before, and she had let Harper out of her bedroom window to get some sunshine and food. She looked up for a moment at the t.v. to laugh at a scene of Heidi and Spencer arguing, when all of a sudden Harper flew into the living room and in front of the t.v. squawking and flapping around crazily. Aimee pulled the earplugs blasting screamo music out of her ears, put out her cigarette, and said as nicely as she could, "Harper! What the hell is wrong with you?! Calm down!" Shooing at the bird with her magazine, she tried as hard as she could to keep her patience with her best friend. "HARPER!" she yelled, only to now have the hawk flapping her wings in Aimee's face. Aimee screamed a bit while swatting at the bird confusingly. What was wrong with her?

All of a sudden, Harper stopped as Aimee fell to the floor screaming in pain. Aimee could feel something squirming painfully through her body. Kicking around and screaming as she knocked things over, it hit her so fast that she had no time to comprehend what exactly happened. And then she blacked out. Aimee woke up hours later on the floor she noticed all of her stuff had been scattered all over the floor in her wierd fit of pain. But.....she could see so clearly! It's as if her eyesight had gotten 10 times sharper than it was at first! She could clearly read the small writing on the back of the wasted Vodka bottle on the floor even though it was 5 feet away from her. Groaning and rolling over on the floor, she looked up to see Harper looking down at her, perched on top of an expensive vase. "......This is your fault, you know....," Aimee slurred at her. She felt like she was hungover, but it's not like she had drank that much vodka. She rubbed her forehead with then back of her hand, then screamed when something sharp poked her in the eye. Aimee opened her eyes to look at the "culprit" only to notice........her arms and hands had been morphed with wings and claws. Aimee fainted again after she screamed bloody murder and woke up another hour later. She had never been so scared in her entire life, so afraid to open her eyes to see her...."arms" again. It was like a terrible nightmare for her. Hyperventilating as she slowly peeked at her new body, she didn't know what to do! Everything was the same except her new wing-arms and her toes were curved and morphed into talons. Her eyes were now yellow instead of light blue....she looked like....like.....like Harper!

Crying, Aimee got up and ran out the front door to find somebody, anybody that could help her, only to face the reality of her real situation. Everything outside was crazy. A couple cars were smashed into each other and into telephone poles all down the road, and there were wild animals everywhere. Some of them only half-animal with a few human/elf parts. Aimee quickly ran back inside at the sight of all this. This had to be a dream. It had to be! She knew she had led a pretty terrible life for a while now, but if this was karma, then what could she do to turn things around? Sobbing and curling up by the door, she cried herself to sleep hoping that her tears would maybe change whatever it was that happened. Cursing and making half-hearted promises to God to do better in hopes that somebody would hear. All she wanted was for things to go back to normal. She refused to believe that all of this was really happening to her and pushed away the wierd animal instincts burgeoning deep inside her. This was too surreal for Aimee, and as she fell asleep, she made a promise to herself to stop watching reality t.v. shows during the day, especially while she was drinking.

This was day one for Aimee.

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What a catastrophe, this was all horrible. Neal moved his hands from his face and looked at them. The fingers were long, the palms were big, and the skin was leathery and tough. He looked around his old bedroom, now empty except for two boxes of his old junk that hadn't been moved yet. Heaving a sigh Neal hauled himself up off the ground and stood up straight, resisting the urge to walk on his hands and feet. It was light outside again and Neal had better look around to see if he could find his family.

He lumbered down the hallway trying to ignore the odds of finding his family rolling around in his head, then he noticed himself with a start in the bathroom mirror. Pushing the door open, he stared at himself. He was taller, and he had already felt the increase of his muscle mass. His face was changed too. His forehead overshadowed his eyes, his mouth was longer and when he parted his lips he saw his teeth, mostly the canines, were bigger. Looking down at himself he noticed his clothes were ripped where his increase of mass split some seams. He may be mostly animal now but he still felt the need for clothes.

After finding a hoodie and a pair of pants that fit him he promptly raided the fridge due to a sudden surge of appetite and ate every piece of fruit and vegetable he found. There was a lasagna his mom prepared for him, his heart ached as he consumed it. When he was done eating he drank a lot of water from the tap and now he was ready to set out. Neal moved the heavy couch and end tables from the door with ridiculous ease and stepped outside to see what he could find.
 
"Freeze! Put down the shotgun!" Godot called out, his weapon trained on one of two men inside a gas station. They had been resisting arrest and fleeing for a good 5 miles, before crashing the car into a pole, leaving a dead accomplice in the car, while the other two tried to flee into the gas station. They hadn't given Godot any reason to arrest them, until they decided to start running when he pulled around the corner in his patrol vehicle. So much for getting home early today. Two hooded fellows were inside, one with a Mac-10 and the other with a rather illegal SPAS-12. They couldn't have been older than 18, their horrid driving skills attested to that. Unfortunately, they killed one of their friends inside, which they seemed to have next to no remorse for. Must be the adrenaline from running. He was still rather unaware that the three men had just robbed a bank not 10 miles away, and thought they were home free.

Godot kept the man with the shotgun under crosshairs, the man having the shotgun pointed at a horrified customer turned hostage. "Put down the shotgun!" Godot called again, making sure he heard him this time. "Hey man, FUCK you!" the goon called back, not moving the shotgun an inch from the customer's head. Backup was 5 minutes out, and he had no heavy ordinance. All he could do was keep them under his gun and hope that backup would take less than 5 minutes.

Before he saw anyone, a car came slamming into his patrol car, just about knocking him onto his ass. So surprised, Godot forgot the men entirely and turned to the car that hit his own car. Before he could even see the driver, another car screeched nearby, to which Godot turned. The next thing he knew, a huge inferno raged forward, flames brushing onto his skin just barely. The only reason why he wasn't burnt to a crisp?
Because he was 5 feet in the air, blown back by the blast. Figures that the out of control car smacked right into a gas pump. The only thing running through his head is that he was one hell of an unlucky bastard. Godot was hardly aware of him smashing through the convenience store window, until he ended landing on and knocking over a shelf. An amazing pain shot through Godot, screaming and clutching his eye, a rouge shard of glass gashing around his eye. Now, to make matters worse, he felt his whole body burn, but not like heat. It was odd, like he felt his body melting from his bones. His screams kept on and on, his mind just wracked with incredulous agony...

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He awoke who knows how many hours later, covered in rubble, glass and various feminine products. His left eye had vision left, thank goodness, but it was burning and crusted with blood still. In fact... he felt he had better vision, in both eyes. He could see the plate of the car that blasted him through here, even though it was across the parking lot, clear as day. He breathed in deep through his nose, and was regaled by at least a dozen, unrecognizable smells, as strong as if they were up his nose. He managed, with a bit of effort, to stand up and get on his feet. A shot of pain rose in both his shoulders, the glass shredding both shoulders rather bad. Fortunately, his wounds had closed up. He stepped down on hard, cold tile... Hard cold tile? He looked down, and saw a rather shocking sight: where his foot was; a long furry foot, complete with razor sharp claws had replaced it. He yelled, looking at his feet again, and running through wreckage to the bathrooms. Godot almost instantly regretted it, walking down the hallway, the smells bombarding him, as he passed and went into the much nicer smelling ladies room. He ran to a mirror and-- Muzzle, amber eyes, long, brown mane, and murderously pointed and sharp teeth. He looked like a damned lion! Godot Leandro had, somehow, been turned into a lion... but he still walked upright. Hands, feet, everything like his old elf form... but not, having the exact look and features of an adult male lion. Godot simply stood and looked. It seemed like hours before he dared move, wishing it was a sick joke or nightmare, or perhaps a prank mirror. Much to his dismay, it was not, as he felt his teeth and claws, his mane and fur now his skin, and--
A thought arose in Godot's mind. He turned, and leapt through the ladies room door and sprinted (much faster than usual) down the hall into the main floor. He forgot the criminals he was after. The lion-man looked around, under shelves, through random boxes of products, and found no sign. He wondered if they escaped, or what happened to him in turn happened to them. He looked for the hostages as well, and turned up empty. Godot walked outside, looking for his police cruiser. He walked over, the first rouge car rammed right up the tailpipe of his car. Oil and gas were both leaking from the cop car, making it unusable for transportation. Godot looked around, seeing rabbits and deer around, and a rather basic, nonetheless strong and primal need arose:
Hunger.
The former police officer resisted pouncing on and devouring the small woodland creatures and opted to loot the convenience store for packs of beef jerky, grabbing a backpack from the cruiser and stocking up on all he could carry. A flashlight, his pistol with plenty of clips, matches and plenty of bottles of water made for the 20-30 pound backpack. Godot tore into and quickly masticated a single pack, quelling his bestial urges for the meantime. Godot began to walk down the street, trying to decide where to go. Hell, he was afraid of what else might've happened while he was unconscious. His thoughts turned to Aimee, a girl he met on a case a year or two back. Godot began to worry, Aimee's house not too awful far from here. Godot resolved to go search for Aimee, and do his best to help anyone along that he could. His body had changed, but his mind hasn't changed that much from the elf that wanted to snuff out all injustice on the streets.



 

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Mel choked. The smell of something burning rushed itself into his nose. Stiff and sore, he stood up. Mel looked down, remembering he was a fox. He slowly took a step forward, almost falling down. He turned his head, looking at where he was. The same alley as the night before where he passed out at. The alley was long enough. He shook all four of his paws, shook his head, and ran. He fell after the first five seconds. He got back up and ran again. This time, he fell after seven seconds. Progress. Mel stood, shaking his furry head again. He set his stare down the alley way. He focused. He ran. Mel made himself not think too much on the fact that he had four legs and payed attention to what was in front of him. He made it all the way down the ally. Mel stopped and turned himself around, this time he ran back up the alley. Success. He made it all the way up with no falls. He was still wobbly, but he'd get use to it.
Now he was hungry. Mel trotted out of the alley, sniffing the air. Smoke returned to his nose and other not so great smells. He stopped on a sidewalk, where a sign flickered above him. A fast food restaurant sign. Mel guessed the place was closed, but he wondered if there was any left over food. Preciously meat.

Mel found a fast food joint nearby which was partially wrecked. He moved himself inside. He got himself over the counter and into the kitchen part, where faint smells of hamburgers and fries took the place of smoke. A smile, or well some kind of grin, spread itself across Mel's now muzzle. He sniffed around the kitchen, finding an old fry or two, which he ate. He got the feeling that he should feel a bit disgusted about doing something like this, but he also decided that since he was use to eating whatever he could get on a daily basis, this was no different. Finally, he found meat. And old burger hid itself behind the oven. Somehow, Mel managed to squeeze himself behind the oven and get to the meat. He gorged on it. Afterwards, he decided to leave, going out through a demolished wall on the side of the building.
Mel trotted through the city mess. He was still hungry, but he decided to let the thought pass and focus on what was his problem. He was a fox, in a torn up city, and so far he hadn't seen anyone. A weird sigh came from him, as he moved his four legs up a sidewalk. His ears perked. He heard some kind of dripping. Water? He turned his head. On the far corner of the road was a puddle of water. Something was lapping at it. A wolf? Yeah, it was a red wolf. Mel hadn't realized that he was that thirsty, as his mouth became dry. But from the years of being alone, it kept him from approaching the water the wolf drank out of.

Mel sat by a, surprisingly still standing, STOP sign. He cocked his head a little as he stared at the puddle of water created by the fire hydrant. He would wait until the wolf left. Then a thought came to him. What if the wolf had been human or elf once? Perhaps it was someone else who had turned the day before. Still, he was smaller. If the wolf wasn't nice, it could easily turn him into chopped dice. Mel didn't want that; he kept his distance. So, instead he decided to dart across the street to maybe find some other water source. It couldn't be hard. Maybe another fire hydrant had exploded somewhere. If not, he'll come back to the other one when the wolf had gone, who looked very thirsty already. The wolf will probably be there for a while, Mel guessed.

After a bit of searching for water, he didn't find anything. Mel trotted back to where the fire hydrant was. He lay down near a dumpster as he waited for the wolf to leave. In the time being, he closed his eyes and drifted to sleep.
 
There were many animals roaming around in the streets, most of them were frightened away as he called out for his family. His new voice sounded gravely and the words came out as a deep growl. Feeling weary from the looming hopelessness of finding his family Neal leaned forward and started walking on all fours, using his fists. It didn't feel entirely unnatural doing this, probably because he did it all the time playing with his brothers and sisters. The pain Neal felt from thinking he may never see his family again caused him to grimace and heave an enormous sigh.

Neal continued calling out for his family, going down the street watching animals scurry away. He turned a corner and stopped calling out the names of his family as he saw a large red wolf, drinking from a puddle formed from a broken hydrant. Neal stared at the wolf, wondering if it was like the ferals from last night. Well Neal had to drink again so he advanced casually toward the puddle, passing a dumpster on the way. If the wolf started acting aggressive he'd scare it away or something, gorilla-humans were scary, right?
 
Darren was tired. Given all that had transpired so far today, this is all his mind could process. Breathing heavily, he looked around for any current threats, ears perked up and scanning for any noises. His auburn fur was matted down with grime and sweat, having been working ever since he grew accustomed to his new form. While he still wasn't exactly comfortable with it, his need to survive taught him all that he needed to know. Darren learned that he was an elk of impressive size and stature, with majestic antlers crowning his head. Walking on four legs was odd, but more comfortable than it had been while he had been human. He was also much faster than his human form as well as many of the animals he encountered.

When Darren had first stepped out, mayhem had greeted him with open arms. Car alarms blared out, joining into the cacophony of fired burning and animals making various noises. Whatever had happened to Darren was not limited to him as he cautiously entered this new frontier. Almost immediately, he had been set upon by the various predators that lurked, looking for easy prey. However, unlike the rabbits and other beasts that they had been feeding on, they found him a different task altogether. While it's true that he was their natural prey, like hell was he going to go down easy. Mutilating some on his antlers, others with his hind legs, he took care of most of his attackers, only running away when he deemed them too strong. Darren noticed though that his efforts not only led to his safety, but to the safety of other animals that lurked within the shadows of the buildings, their eyes filled with appreciation before they scurried off in search of safety.

Darren was tired and he needed water to parch his growing thirst. As he walked along the street, most of the animals having gone their separate ways, he heard a fire hydrant off in the distance. His new form heightened his senses to where he could sense movement, and sounds all around him and it could be used to find predators just as well as it could find water. As Darren approached the water, he found he was not alone, though this hardly surprised him. Water would be hard to find if everyone were animals, and in places like this surely the watering hole would be hotly contested. Already, he saw what looked to be an ape and a wolf. However, the ape looked oddly human, as if he hadn't fully taken on the form yet. Holding his head high, he tentatively walked towards the water, testing both of the other animals resolves, seeing if these were feral or if they had kept their minds about them. Darren had already noted that not all the animals were primal, some having kept their human/elven intellect. As he approached, he also noted a fox slumbering by a dumpster, seemingly unaware of what went on around him. Not like he had to worry though, no one would pay a fox mind when such larger threats moved about.
 
Aimee woke up curled up by the front door on the floor, her eyes puffy from having cried so much. She gasped as she noticed she was still half-hawk, and finally came to the conclusion that the situation couldn't be helped. Getting up, she walked slowly into the bathroom to look in the mirror. If it wasn't for her wings, her beady, yellow eyes, and her bird-like toes, she could almost pass as a little human. Her wing-arms had torn her quite a bit through the sides of her pink tank top that said, "FUCK WITH ME, AND I'LL FUCK WITH YOU." on the front in big black letters. Her denim shorts were fine, however, and she was barefoot, but there was no way she could wear shoes anymore with her long, sharp toes. Plopping down on the living room couch, she didn't really know what to do. Nothing was the same anymore, and it's not like she could call anyone on the phone or something to get help. If anyone human was still around, they'd probably shoot her before they'd help her. Burying her head in her arms, Aimee began to cry again. What was she going to do? She was only 16, after all. All of a sudden, Harper flew in and perched beside her on the couch. Aimee was going to shoo her off when the the craziest thing happened.

"You know, you'll never make it out of here alive if you just sit there and cry," Harper said.

Aimee screamed and hopped up from the couch, backing away. "D-Did you just....say something?" she asked. Harper fluttered her wings and shook her head as if laughing. "Well, it surely wasn't the couch! Now, come on! Pack your things! We need to get out of here!" Aimee couldn't believe it. She had always wondered ever since she first saw Harper what it would be like if she could talk, and now.....she was! Aimee didn't know whether to scream or laugh. Everything is wierd and twisted now, and if this was the help she could get, then she sure as hell wasn't gonna pass it up, "W-What do you mean we have to go? I'm not going anywhere! There are.....people-animals out there!" Harper sighed, "As if you aren't one, too! I've seen feral, vicious animals out there, Aimee! And it won't be long before they break in here! And those tigers would love to have 2 nice Hawks to nibble on!" Aimee wasn't convinced. Nothing had come in, yet. So why should she leave the comforts of her home, now? "This is my home, Harper! We'll be fine here! A-And Mom and Dad left food in the kitchen to last us 2 weeks! And they should be home by then!" Aimee said, "There is no way in hell I'm going out there!!!" Aimee marched back to her room, leaving Harper to ramble behind her. "You really think you'll be able to any of that food in there?! You're a Hawk, now! Hawks don't eat that junk! And while you're trying to ignore me, you need to realize that your parents aren't coming back! And you know it!"

The girl knew she was right. Just looking at those Doritos made her want to hurl, and, for the most part, her parents had left her for good. At this point, Aimee really didn't care about anything anymore. She just wanted to find someone, anyone who understood her problem! She didn't want to leave the comfort and safety of her house, but......she had to! Sitting quietly on her bed, she finally made a decision, "Fine.......I'll go. But only so I can find someone I know! Like Godot! If anyone around was alright, it'd have to be him! I know it!" Aimee pulled out a backpack from underneath her bed, and packed what she could. Just the thought of even stepping a foot outside unnerved her, but she had no other choice. Walking outside the house and down the street, with Harper flying behind her, Aimee kept her hand on the AK-47 strapped onto her backpack just in case any of the surrounding animals decided to attack. Of course, Harper wasn't going to keep quiet on their little trek,"Why are you walking? You have wings, remember! If you flew, we'd both get there faster!" Of course, Aimee rolled her eyes and kept walking. A few hours later they came to a part of town, she'd only been to once. Maybe twice? Harper then got excited. "OH! OH! Aimee! I hear running water! Do you hear that?" Harper was right. They were getting close to water.

And it was the craziest sight she had ever seen! A gorilla-man, a wolf, and a deer all sitting by a small puddle of water created by a busted fire hydrant! And it looked as if a fox was sleeping behind the dumpster, too! Aimee didn't know whether to pull out the AK-47 and start shooting or to leave them alone. Either way, her feet was hurting and she was tired of walking, so she walked on over and plopped down on the ground beside them. "DO YOU ALL TALK, TOO?!" she yelled at them, not sure if they understood her or not.

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Raerin's ears picked up others coming...he stayed alert, but he was still too thirsty to look up unless something came close enough to attack. He finally looked up, and saw before him a creature not quite like anything he'd seen before, like a man-ape thing..he was stuck staring at the strange creature for a good several seconds, and finally shook himself free to see another, what looked like a regular deer, drawing close.

This was just enough to make him wonder. He had to at least try, he thought, and began to quietly talk. "Hey, hello? Can you--" was all he got out before someone else had appeared, and screamed. His hearing was far more sensitive than before, and he'd gotten used to listening for very quiet sounds; the girl's screaming was nearly deafening, and caused him to somewhat comically try to cover his ears with his forepaws, which in turn left his muzzle to fall into the shallow pool with a small splash. The fall was short, and the water cushioned it enough that he didn't get hurt, so he got up and shook off his head.

He turned his head toward the girl, who he now saw had hawk-like wings for upper limbs, and a normal-looking hawk with her. "Ow...yeah. Not so loud, please, it's like scraping a chalkboard..."
 
Mel's ears perked and he opened his tired eyes. He hadn't realized how tired he had been. He looked up to only be surprised. He had suspected that the wolf had left, but instead there were now five creatures. One of them scared him to pieces. An ape-like man who, he suspected, could easily kill anyone off he had to. Mel got to his paws, watching wide-eyed as the creatures all drank at the water. Some of them were talking. He could understand them, so that was good. He guessed that they all used to be either human or elf as well once.
Mel quietly strolled over to the other animals, stopping about three yards away. He was still uneasy about getting too close. He twitched his ears and tail, as he stared at the water.

He wasn't afraid of any of the animals he was witnessing, but to keep a distance is what Mel was used to, unless he was stealing. And stealing water didn't seem like a possible affect. Mel sat; his tail curling around him. At least, he though, he wouldn't get too cold now in the winter. Maybe a little good would come out of being a fox, and perhaps some bad. He didn't let the thought bother him. He watched as the animals interacted with each other and as they drank from the water. Perhaps they wouldn't try to hurt him if he tried to approach... Mel set a paw out in front of him, but then retreated it. He would sit and wait until one of them kindly invited him in. If not, he would kindly retreat and leave them alone. And it also may be a way to find out if they were nice. Mel breathed in, hoping for a good outcome, and now something he would have to run from..again.
 
Wow, quite a variety. There's the wolf, the elk, an annoying bird and a hawk. Neal grimaced when the bird/girl started yelling. Squawk squawk. "Great, we're friendly." He ducked his head down and drank from the pool of water. As he wiped his mouth he heard small feet, or paws?, on the ground and turning around saw a black fox, watching. Neal looked at the others in turn, grunting with some amusement at the bird-chick's shirt, and gestured to the fox to come drink. "I don't know if you guys remember your names," he said to them all as the fox started drinking, assuming the fox, moose, and hawk were people even though they hadn't spoken yet-"but I'm Neal." Neal waved.
 
The lion was noticeably struggling with walking on his new feet. He was certainly stronger and more agile, he felt. What stroke of luck to be turned into a lion, and not some turtle or sloth! More beasts of all manner, some of which he'd never seen live roamed the streets, most seeing the former cop, and fleeing quite quickly in the other direction. No, it wasn't because he was a cop. Cops didn't exist here anymore, Godot mused. Just anarchy and survival. Regardless of the situation, he found himself helping animals he could get near, helping them on their feet, like a unconscious bear he found. He awoke him, to which he gave thanks and plodded along on wherever he was going. He hadn't found many others since the bear, nearing a pretty urban area, where he personally patrolled frequently, it being a high crime area. His thoughts turned again to Aimee and his own family, his feet just on auto pilot now, as his mind worked out what may have happened. Aimee didn't live far from here, so she must've been affected, unless she was out of town, to which he'd be relieved to hear. His family was back home, in Italy, where he was native from. He moved here with his mom when he was only 3 to live with his distant relatives. His family couldn't care for him, since they had a vineyard and it was almost destroyed in a fire, so little to no profit was made that year. He could only hope that this accident was small and wasn't world spread...

After a bit more walking, a rather shrill sound met his ears, to which his reply was a small roar of disapproval and the covering of his sensitive ears. It almost sounded like a hawk or an eagle screeching, and it wasn't far off. He was also reminded of how Aimee sometimes squealed when she was happy or surprised. He resolved to investigate the sound, breaking into a trot towards the sound. Police training told him to never walk around an unknown corner with who knows what on the other side, so he pressed his back to the wall of a building, and peered to the other side. He saw quite clearly: a gorilla man, a wolf, a bird person with a hawk in tow and an elk. He cautiously felt for the pistol in his bag, making sure it was in his backpack before turning the corner. He slowly walked up to the group, making sure not to startle with any sudden movements if they were feral. He'd never fought as a lion before. He'd have to improvise if it came down to it.
"Hello?" he called, a bit loud. Unfortunately, for him and the others, it came out as a nice, somewhat loud roar, to which he closed his mouth immediately. "Sorry!" he said, trying to get the hang of talking.
 
Wow! They could understand her! Aimee managed a quick smile to herself before introducing herself after Neal, "Well..... I'm Aimee....Did all of you used to be people, too?" She felt wierd talking to a bunch of animals, but, hey, she was pretty much an animal herself, now. She looked over at Harper to see her bending over and drinking the water, like everyone else. As much as Aimee found it amusing to watch animals lap up water, she was definitely not going to do that! No matter how much she was part-hawk! Besides, maybe resisting her animal instincts may help her change back?.....But watching them drink that way was starting to look so tempting.....and now she felt really thirsty. Swallowing hard, she bent down slowly to drink the water, when all of a sudden there was a loud roar from behind! Jumping up and pulling out the AK-47, she turned around and started shooting faster than she could catch herself! Thankfully, she was a terrible shot and missed the lion-man by an inch, and when she stopped abruptly, she seemed to have recognized him........

".........Godot?"

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Raerin jumped at the shot, and then after a brief pause he nodded to the girl's question. "Yeah, I--wait, used to be?! I'm still a person! I'm just..I just look like a wolf right now," he said, quickly losing track of what exactly he was trying to say. "I mean, I'm not feral or anything." He wasn't even sure why it came to mind so quickly, but the term seemed quite natural to use for the people who had gone insane, completely lost control of their own minds.

"Um, I should probably introduce, err, my name's Raerin. I was just..I don't know this town at all, so I've been looking for a way out since...since I woke up, but just ended up going around in circles. I'd wish for a map but I guess I wouldn't have any way to hold it..." He scraped his right hand..right forepaw?...against the pavement a bit nervously. Talking so much wasn't normal for him, and it was starting to make him uncomfortable.
 
Godot was thankful for those years of training he underwent as a cop. Quick wits and reflexes saved the hawk girl from perforating a hole in the lion man's head. Understandably so, he thought, as he was almost shot. He roared by accident, but a lion's roar would scare the piss out of just about anyone. Still, to be safe, he deftly pulled out his service pistol. Don't put your finger on the trigger unless you intend to shoot. Proper stance, arms straight. Aim down the sights, and don't lose visual of the target. No sooner had he pulled up the pistol and aimed directly at the illegal AK-47 toting hawk girl--

Those piercing blue eyes, those piercings, that way she was standing and wielding that weapon. Even her scent, which was a new sensation to him. He'd never placed a scent to a person, except for like perfume. This was the person's actual scent. Flashbacks of cases a while ago, a rude, pink haired girl who he was out looking for in the first place.

"... Aimee? Aimee, is that you? Jesus..." he said, lowering his weapon and rushing over to the other beasts and Aimee. He lost much else in his mind, except to just walk up and embrace Aimee. He was worried sick about her. It was disappointing to see she'd been changed much like he was, but it was such a relief to see her (and Harper) alive again.
 
Neal clamped his hands over his head as Aimee started shooting. What the hell was going on? Once Aimee stopped shooting he rushed over and snatched the gun from her with a scolding look. "What do you think you're doing? You could kill some one! Freakin kids these days and their guns..." Looking where Aimee was shooting at he saw claws and fangs rushing this way. Instinct moved Neal forward intercepting the big cat and knocking it off it's feet with a shove to it's chest. Neal blinked. There was a man-lion with a gun laying on the ground ahead of him. Neal wanted to ask if he was okay but all he said was "Uh..."
 
Aimee didn't know how she could recognize Godot underneath all that fur. Animal instincts? She didn't really know for sure, but she was too excited and happy to care. She didn't even notice Neal snatch the gun out of her hands. All she cared about was that Godot was alive, and finally, she didn't feel so alone anymore. As she ran over to him, Neal practically tackled him, and Aimee gave him a quick kick to the stomach and said, "MOVE, FURBALL!!!!" She pulled Godot up and hugged him. "Godot!!! You're alive!!! I can't believe it!!! I was alone at home, and Harper was pummeling me in my face, and before I knew it was on the floor in pain and when I woke up I was like this and I cried cuz I thought I was cursed or something! And then Harper started talking to me and we came here and.....I'm just SOOOO happy to see you!!!!!" she rambled, "Are you okay?!?! I didn't shoot you or anything, did I?!?! Come on! Get up! Don't worry about the monkey-dude! I guess he must've thought you were trying to attack or something."

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Godot didn't expect the gorrila to push him, and it caught him off guard as he was pushed to the ground. It didn't hurt, but he was a little mad about it. He said sorry (at least he thought he did) and he didn't approach threateningly. Regardless, he knew it was certainly Aimee when she started to go on a tirade about what happened. He managed to catch enough to understand. Harper must've felt in his instincts the danger that was coming before Aimee even knew, he surmised. He smiled when they hugged, feeling her warmth on his own now furred body. "Yeah, I'm alright, and you're lucky I ducked. You might've clipped me! What're you doing with an AK-47 to begin with? They're illegal in this city!" he said sternly, but shook his head soon afterwords. "Nevermind. Law doesn't mean a damn thing right now. Are you in any pain?" he asked, getting up and getting a closer look at the motley crew in front of him. "Wow. Quite a diverse group." he commented, smiling. "I'm Godot, a police officer. I don't mean any harm" he said to them, slowly and deliberately.

 
After the kick to the gut, he felt pretty embarrassed about the whole thing. "Sorry about that, just kinda tense from this whole-" he made a general gesture at everything with a big hand "-thing. Uhm, I'm Neal. Good to meet you, Godot." He shook the dude's paw hand thing. "We were actually just getting to know each other. Come have a drink and join our pow-wow." He walked back over to the puddle and sat down.

"So far only this guy-" pointing with his chin at Raerin "-and Aimee have told us who they are. I don't know who these guys are yet." At that he looked from the hawk, to the elk, and to the...where'd the fox go?
 
Mel had walked away as everyone was talking. He didn't know how to handle so much at once besides, he never could handle more than one person's voice at a time. They gave him a headache. As of the moment, he trotted down the center of the city. He wasn't sure what he was doing or where exactly he was going, but it felt good to be roaming around alone again. But he knew, he knew that later he'd have to go back to the other creatures. It may be the only way in finding out how to turn back into elf. Mel didn't care for being a four-legged. He crawled under a pile of ply-wood and rested there, not sure of what else that could be done for the time being.

After resting, Mel plopped back up. His stomach growled. He hadn't realized he'd been almost twenty-four hours without food. He was hungry. He looked at his form. He didn't know how to fight in this body. Mel sighed. He had to go back to the others and ask if they'd help find food with him. Mel shook his head and headed back that way, unaware of what was around him.


((Sorry for sucky post, didn't have much to go by. ^^; ))