Lily's mind was ..different as a snow leopard. Quiet. There were only the most basic things. Run, or fight. The smell of too many strangers around.
The smell of the trees too; Cool and fresh. They seemed close now as compared to before her world changed forever.
The others were too close. It was too noisy. She hissed instinctively, and the others backed away, but not enough. A slight gap was created in the group of onlookers almost big enough for her to slip through, and she leaped towards the opening.
The sensation was unbelievable. The speed and power carried her further than she expected. The people closest scattered like ants doused with a bucket of water.
She landed on her front legs, and her body seemed to bend in such a natural way, absorbing the impact before gracefully shifting weight to her hind legs. It wasn't like walking as a human.
Her back legs pushed off from the ground and she flew forward again.
She caught sight of the group she'd just escaped from in the corner of her eye. Someone had transformed into a wolf as if to come after her.
"Just let her be for now Micheal," said one of the older female healers. The other students stood gossiping. They didn't even seem to notice the second bell had rung.
"Yeah, Lily I think," a student said several feet away talking to another student as if in answer to something.
'Lily.' the name seemed so familiar. 'Lily...' her subconscious seemed to call out to her.
And yet, at this moment ..she wasn't Lily. She just was. She was alive. And she was powerful and free.
The warmth of the sunlight that soaked into her fur was replaced with the cool darkness and solace of the forest.
She could feel the blood and adrenaline pulsing through her body. She could hear the pounding of her heart in her ears as the stimulation of her run started to dissipate. The sounds of the grassy clearing were replaced with soft sounds of animals, and the whisper of leaves in the slight breeze.
Lily felt a sense that everything was how it was meant to be. In the quiet shelter of the oak trees, her mind started to come back to her. It was surreal. She looked through her legs to see her spotted tail. She flicked it, as if in annoyance or contemplation. It was utterly bizarre. To think the thought to move it, and to have this new body.. this beautiful creature carry out the action.
She saw a thick horizontal branch up ahead, and she leaped onto it with perfect balance.
She lay down and breathed deeply as her heartbeat began to slow again. Time seemed to stand still as the bright spring afternoon turned into evening.
'Guess I missed General Agility,' Lily thought to herself... but it didn't seem important. It seemed far away now.
She knew it was close to dinner time, but she hadn't eaten outside of the lunch hour for weeks now, and the thought of going now seemed repulsive. She didn't want other students to gawk and gossip about her. Not when she could just stay in the safety of her trees.
She wasn't hungry at all anyway. It was a while before she remembered that you can't eat in animal form. She wondered if that's why she didn't feel hungry.
The rich lavender sunset had nearly turned to black before a new sound approached.
The crisp sounds of leaves as an animal stepped over them moving in a slow, methodical way.
She could hear it getting closer, but she made no effort to move out of its way. Let it come. And if it does cause me trouble, I have the advantage from this height and with the sharpness of my teeth and claws.
But the approaching animal only turned out to be a small tawny wolf. 'Anne,' Lily seemed to know instinctively.
Lily wasn't sure what to do then. Her actions seemed reasonable at the time, but she wondered if she should be embarrassed about running away earlier. And yet... She couldn't seem to find the will to care. And now... now what was there to do but to sit on her perch of safety and breathe in the feeling of being alive?
Anne watched her for long moments. As if not sure if Lily would attack. But when it seemed clear that Lily wouldn't, Anne gave an oddly mournful howl to the glass-domed ceiling. It was answered by another howl seeming a long distance away.
Seeming satisfied, Anne's wolf started circling and digging a bit at the dirt at the base of a large oak tree. Curling into a ball, and nestled between the exposed roots of the tree, Anne drifted into sleep.
It wasn't until the sky had turned black, and the forest sounds had settled into the rhythmic symphony of night, that Lily found herself drifting off as well.
There would surely be hell to pay tomorrow. Explanations to make, and rumors to avoid.. classes to attend ... but for tonight at least, it was cool, dark, and peaceful.
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