"So Connor, what do you wanna do after school?" Dad asked.
Connor seemed to enjoy this. He grinned and said, "a hero sir."
Dad looked stunned, but he nodded and smiled. "Any particular reason why? "
Connor srunched his face and looked down at his plate of food. "Well, I've never really thought about it. I just liked helping people in need, and I could do it so why not."
"What can you do?" Frost asked, rudely interrupting as always.
"I shape shift into animals, " Connor said.
"Oh that's cool. " My little brother snorted and snickered to himself. "I'm cool too."
There was a collective cringing across the table, save for Connor's amused grin.
"Oh yeah, I bet you are."
Frost grinned and grabbed Connor's glass of water. The little ice devil froze the water until the ice sublimated.
"Frost no freezing stuff at the dinner table, we've gone over this, " Dad scolded. Frost dropped the frozen glass onto Connor's lap and the poor guy yelped.
Zooli hopped up on her chair, her shiny princess dress glittering under the kitchen lights. Let's rewind, after I invited Connor I ran home and forced my siblings into good clothes. But the thing is, we never had good clothes, ever. Most days we wore stained, torn clothes until they fell apart. It was by habit, we always wore our best ratty clothes when we had guests. Anyways Zooli stood on her chair and practically announced, "I can speak animal."
I cleared my throat and cringed.
"Oh like Rayne? " Connor asked.
Zooli pondered on that then shook her head. "Well not really... " She scratched her head and then shook away the confusion. "I can do this." She shook her head and scratched her nose, until whiskers appeared.
"You're a shapeshifter too! "
I was pretty surprised when I realized that, because Zooli's powers were quite the mystery. One minute she'd be screaming like pig and the next she'd have ears like a bunny.
"Only partially though, " Connor said and Zooli pouted. "Which is good, " He added. "You can still be in human form and be a little bit animal, or you can be two animals at once. "
Zooli seemed astonished by the thought. Dad looked over at me and a small smile played at his lips, whose meaning I understood as 'He's nice'.
Blaze and Nile were being awfully quiet. They stared at Connor then back at each other then at me. I narrowed my eyes at them, hoping they'd let me in on their silent conversation but they only rolled their eyes and looked away. What a bunch of girls, they were being.
After dinner Dad, Blaze and Nile took Connor out to the porch to give him a talk. I was nervous for him for some reason. They were only talking I reminded myself. I fixed my dress and just as I was about to stand and leave for the porch, the door opened and my brothers and dad walked in. They acted like I wasn't even standing there, strutting past me like I was a lifeless statue.
"Ooo-kay...? "
I stepped out to the porch to see Connor staring off into space, deep in thought.
"You ok? " I asked. Connor flinched and turned around till we were face to face. "They didn't say anything too... Well, y'know? "
He gulped and broke eye contact. "Nothing much. "
"Oh." I didn't want to intrude but he really looked like he needed someone to talk to. "You good?"
He practically jumped at the opportunity to talk. "How did you do that? Calm the wolf? "
I shrugged. "I talked to it, plain and simple. "
"No, there was something more. You, made him sleep. "
"Yeah, I guess it's something I can do. "
"That's amazing, " He mused. "Did it tell you why it was suddenly attacking people? "
"Actually no. It didn't but I think I know why," I said, "Someone drugged him."
Connor listened intently. "Who would do it though? "
"That, I wouldn't know."
"I'm guessing the drugs didn't only make him feral but also—"
"Mutated him. " We said together.
I blushed and looked away. Connor grinned and snapped his fingers. "The vet."
"What? " The embarrassment faded. "You think a vet did this? "
"If there's anyone who knows animals and drugs it's vets. "
"You're right."
"Anything from other animals? " He asked.
I looked off into the forest. "The forest, there's a building in the forest somewhere that's attracting animals." Immediately after I said that, a migraine came over me. I groaned and grabbed onto the rails.
"Woah! Are you okay?"
"Yeeah, to–tally, " I muttered. My feet moved on its own and I was already walking down the backyard path that led into the forest.
"Really, you don't seem so fine to me! " Connor raced to me, and gently grabbed my arm. "Is someone in danger? "
I didn't respond because I didn't understand what he had said until later. I practically dragged him along, into the forest. Critters and birds hummed in my wake.
"Woah," I heard Connor say, soon we came to a stream. On the other side of that stream was a deer. Screams forced me to my knees. But Connor didn't seem to be fazed, either he couldn't hear what I had heard or that his mind was made of metal.
The deer flinched when I gasped. It lifted its head to me, and what I saw was horrific. The deer had three heads, on one body.
"Holy shit it's the Cerebus of deers! " Connor exclaimed. I looked back at him with wild eyes.
"Should we run? " I asked.
"I don't know, you're the animal whisperer! "
I nodded and contemplated. "Run! "
Connor pulled me up and we ran, the deer behind us didn't seem to move. We barreled to the porch, falling clumsily onto the stairs.
Connor grabbed his knees and pointed back into the forest. "What in the world was that?! "
I gasped for air. "Muta—tion"
It became silent when a creature came striding out behind the bush. The color left Connor's face. The deer was back, carrying something in its mouth: a white rabbit.
Connor morphed and transformed till he was a wolf. He looked back at me, as if asking for my permission.
"They're already hurt. Don't hurt them too much, " I said. My mind was suspiciously calm, from communicating with the deers.
Connor seemed to nod then he turned and pounced, they both fell to the ground. One of the deer's head did a 180 towards him. He held the creature down and I got the courage to help. Suddenly the two other heads turned and bit Connor on the abdomen. He howled in pain and fell. The deer stood over him watching him stagger. I couldn't say I knew how a herbivore had teeth like a carnivore, 'cause I didn't.
"Who did this to you? " I asked the deers.
They didn't respond. I honestly didn't know what to do, I had never tried to calm three mutated deers before. But it at least had the decency to lift its head.
"I can help you. "
How? You may ask. No shitting idea but I could try.
Blood dripped from all three of its jaws and its eyes had turned red. The creature had just eaten a rabbit and bit my—friend? Well a companion. Anyway I was determined to finish this pathetic fight.
It was do or die. I stepped towards the savage deer, hands up in surrender. Their mind was lost, I had to do some real deep telepathic communication to get them back but even then would they be fine, merged as one?
To any sane person this was the stupidest thing one could do, reach out to a mutated three-headed carnivorous deer. I was insane, guilty as charged.
I watched as another leg popped out of its middle head's neck. Then another on its hind.
I touched the middle heads forehead, and immediately I felt light headed. The head I touched stared back at me, and I heard it talk.
"Where am i—woah what's that on my shoulder—What the heck, is that cousin Bill! "
"Can your hear me? " I asked.
"Obviously! What in the wilderness happened to me?! " He became uneasy, tried moving his feet then realized there was a leg sticking out his neck and screamed.
"I know, I know. Just be calm and I'll help you. "
"Be calm?! Lady how can I be calm when—oh, oh no they're taking me! " Off the deers when, back into the forest.
Beside me Connor morphed into an eagle, and flew after the mutated creature. I, still in a dress, followed behind on foot, we reached the stream and Connor swooped down to the deers, clawing their back until it bruised. My back suddenly felt numb. The deers fell, and I fell with. The critter sounds got louder and before I knew it bugs swarmed the deers.
The next thing I knew, bursts of water came from somewhere behind me and hit the deers and bugs. The bugs escaped but the deers fell again and hit the ground.
"Frost! " I heard dad's voice yell. "Now!"
The water turned to ice and the deers were stuck in a pillar of ice. I stepped forward and did what I did best. I calmed the beast.
(A/n: yes the word beast will be used often, not too often but it will be dropped here and there. Plus that's the whole point of this story. Girl who talks to animals=queen of the beast. I know, lazy name. I'm lazy!)