Forever Lost

Chapter Thirty-Four: I Open My Eyes

Stealth and I walk through the trees in Saltus. Our path is lit by the moon's light that shines through the trees. Night guides our path with a cool warmth. We finally find a spot beneath a tall oak and we take a seat.

"Okay, so why am I here?" I wonder, sitting crossed legged in my black training suit with jade edges.

"We are here to work on the third form, meld." Stealth replies casually.

"Okay, well what is it?" I ask, a little lost.

"Oh yes. Well let's start by defining the other 3 forms as well. You remember them?"

I nod. "Human, animal, meld, shift."

"Yup, and since you are already familiar with the first two, that just leaves the last two."

"Okay, then explain away."

She nods. "Well, the last two forms directly connect with the animal form." I give her a confused expression. "Let me finish. Now, remember what form I had when I was an animal?"

"Of course, you were my calico cat, Julie."

She smiles, nodding. "Yeah, well can you tell me other animals in the cat kingdom?"

I smile widely. Finally my vast knowledge of the beautiful animals would pay off. "Yeah, you have Savannas, Bombay's, Main Coon, Rag doll, Sphinx, Persian, Osicat, Angora, Tosh-"

"- No no no, I mean wild, not domesticated."

"Well, Savanna's are half wild half domestic." Stealth gives a short laugh. "What? Don't believe me? Then explain to me why they are outlawed in six states in the USA back on Earth." I sass.

"No, I believe you, I just find how passionate you are about this funny."

I roll my eyes. "Both of my parents died, I had to do something with my time!"

"So you chose to devote your life to studying cats? Or would you feel better if I used the term feline?" She laughs.

"Actually, the scientific term is Felis catus, and stop mocking me!" I whine.

"You're right, I'm sorry." she calms herself, cheeks slightly red.

"You're forgiven. And to answer your question, some examples of wild cats would be the jaguar, cheetah, tiger, lion, cougar, leopard, and also the bob cat." I answer casually, cheeks still red from being slightly embarrassed.

She nods. "Well, in the shift form, I can become all of those animals."

I gawk in amazement. "So you could become a saber tooth tiger... right now?!"

She nods, smiling. "But I can only do this when necessary, such as if I'm attacked or on a mission."

I nod. "So the shift form is changing or evolving from one appearance to the next?"

"Not exactly, I can only become something with my animal species. Make sense?" I nod. "Then that just leaves meld. Basically, I become one with you."

"Huh?"

"Think of Renee and Wisdom. When in the meld form, they become--"

"A centaur!" I answer as the dream floods my mind. "So when we enter the meld form, I become half human, half cat."

"Exactly, how did you know that?" She inquires curiously.

"Uh-" I ran a list of pre-prepared lies through my mind until I found one that fit the situation. "You see, in my sophomore year of high school, our English class had a line of fantasy books and-"